Well this audiobook sure was interesting and fun! My husband and I enjoyed it more than expected. As baseball parents ourselves, knowing how angry some parents and coaches get during a game, we laughed out loud so many times!!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC audiobook.

Baseball Dads by Matthew S. Hiley is a dark novel that includes the themes: sex, drugs, murder, and children's baseball.

The narrator, Dwayne Devero, is a disgruntled coach who decides to take matters into his own hands and punish the people who have wronged him and his family. He is a man who doesn't care about the consequences of his actions, as long as he can restore his own sense of justice.

The audiobook version of Baseball Dads is narrated by the author himself, (almost always a positive in my opinion) and he captures the voice and personality of Dwayne perfectly. He speaks with a thick Texas accent, a sarcastic tone, and a rapid-fire pace. He added some humorous comments and jokes throughout the story, which lightened up the mood and added the necessary comic relief.

The audiobook is well-produced and has clear sound quality.

If you are looking for a book that will make you laugh, cringe, and gasp at the same time, then Baseball Dads might be the one for you. It is not for the faint of heart or the easily offended, as it contains graphic scenes of violence, sex, drugs, and profanity. However, if you enjoy dark humor, satire, and crime fiction with a twist of baseball lore, then you might find this book entertaining and engaging.

I am rating Baseball Dads 3 out of 5 stars for its originality, humor, and suspense. It is a book that will keep you on your toes.

However, I would not recommend it for younger readers or those who are sensitive to graphic content. Will appeal to fans of Matthew S. Hiley's previous novels.

Not a fan. Of baseball or this book. Very political and not much of a plot. Good narrator though. Would recommend to those who like politics.

I was very excited to listen to, “Baseball Dads,” by Matthew S. Hiley as I have had a child in travel baseball and thought I would be able to find common ground with the characters in Mr. Hiley’s book. Unfortunately, I was immediately turned off by the nasty and abhorrent tone, commentary and behavior of all the main characters as well as the dark and humorless story. This book is quoted as being “comedically dark,” but that is very much untrue, Instead I think this book had a great opportunity to be comedic with a bit of darkness, but the author went full tilt off the deep end and turned a good idea into a very bad book that was so bad I couldn’t even finish it. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this book and be able to provide my unbiased review.

This book was.....Interesting. first off all, this book is certainly not PC and contains language that might not appeal to all. So if thats something youre not interested in your books, then this isnt going to be the book for you. Like the cover indicates, theres plenty of sex m, drugs, muurder, and childrens baseball. There were several parts that made me laugh throughout. The story kept me engaged but as the book went on it got more and more ridiculous. Think little league dad going out for a run and people abandoning their cars in the street to join. Tha narration was great which was its strongest suit. I don't think I would have stayed as interested as I was if I read this instead of listening. Overall mostly enjoyable read.

*I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This was not what I was expecting at all.. in a good way. The humour was genius! I read this as an audiobook and it definitely kept me engaged the whole way through. It's not my usual genre but I needed something different and this definitely delivered!

If you have ever had a kid in little league this will hit home. It is funny, lighthearted and tells the honest to goodness truth. I loved this audio book. (and yes... it was laugh out loud at times)

Narrated by Josh Innerst ⭐⭐⭐
Story by Matthew S. Hiley ⭐⭐⭐

*Loved the opening of this book! FIVE stars for that.
*I love that this book goes against the grain for all the PC nonsense
*10 stars for all the sex

Overall all though this book just isn't captivating enough for me to recommend it. If I'm truthful I become quite board by the halfway make.

As much as I didn't enjoy this story, I would try this author again because Matthew S. Hiley is outside the cookie cutter box and I find that refreshing.

I did finished the book, albeit on a max effort kinda mood.

Bad narrator choice first and foremost.

The book itself tells you to fuck off right from the beggining which i thought was original for the type of writting employed... But the book dies right after.

Listening to this felt... wrong? biased? not sure how i can put it. Maybe others find joy in this one, i for one, didn't.

Nope.
This was not for me.
Granted, it was probably written for misogynistic cis men who are secretly (or not so secretly) horrible bro dudes.
It's a bunch of egotistical men being douchebags.
Racist, gay bashing comments, women having disappointing and/or unrealistic sex with these douche canoes, oh and some murder.
Sooo not my thing.
I might have been able to disregard these things had the writing been better and the poor bit been necessary. Neither was the case, so I just ended up listening to a boring book with a lot of characters being horrible examples of humans beings.
Thanks (?) to NetGalley & Greenleaf Audiobooks for my ALC.

5⭐️; Audiobook; Horror/Comedy;

A raw and authentic portrayal of the life of American baseball dads and the struggles they face in their day to day life.

If you are a fan of horror comedy and unapologetic profanity, look no further – "Baseball Dads" is the book for you. Brace yourself for an outrageously wild plot and characters that will have you reaching for your rosary beads!

These baseball dads don't take any shit. They are determined to win at all costs, and you bet your m*therf*cking ass they’ll kill anyone who gets in their way.

"Baseball Dads" is an absolute riot of a book that fearlessly goes for the gut. Certainly not for easily offended pansies...

An instant Hiley fan here.

1 star for the narration.

There's a disclaimer of sorts at the beginning that tells you to **** off if you are easily offended. I think this is the reason most people carried on reading. Proof that they are not prudish or part of the PC crowd. I carried on because I'm an inveterate finisher of books. Even if they give me a headache/I barely understand what the book is about or as in the case of Baseball Dads I thought that it might get better later. I was encouraged to believe this story would be pithy and witty and an antidote to the PC generation of tiptoeing around everything that might be considered a slight.

However what I got was chapters of Dwayne having increasingly athletic sex with his wife; whole sections where the dads texted each other; lots of murders by a man who called himself a ninja/jedi/baseball god but dressed in a Batman suit?

By the time I reached a third of the way through I wasn't shocked or disgusted; I was bored. So I skipped through whole chapters that started with Dwayne and his wife gazing lustfully at each other, I skipped through the beatings and the murders, I even skipped through the baseball because its duller than cricket.

I guess thus would appeal to you if you vote Trump/think middle aged white men are getting a raw deal/have a limited attention span and love repetition. Either that or read the first third of the book and you've pretty much nailed the rest.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance review copy. As I said the narration of the audio was good so thanks to Josh Innerst. I hope you had more fun narrating than I did reading. However, I picked it so I've only myself to blame.

Glad there was a warning at the beginning of this book. Otherwise I would have been caught off guard. Though this book is raunchy and over the top as a former travel baseball parent I get the point. Don't read this if you don't have a sense of humor.

It is an interesting plot with "colorful" characters. THe narrator does an excellent job. It's just not for me

The initial description of BASEBALL DADS captures the essence perfectly: "A darkly humorous tale encompassing sex, drugs, murder... and children's baseball."

Although uncertain if this book would align with my usual reading preferences (or rather, listening preferences), I ventured beyond my comfort zone to give it a chance. To my delight, I found myself thoroughly engrossed in the intricacies of the characters and the storyline. Numerous shocking events left me astounded. However, amidst the world of parents devoted to their children's pursuit of baseball, where victory and defeat hold tangible significance, some individuals go to extreme lengths. These individuals are more than just "baseball dads"; they are passionate fans who demand nothing less than professional-level performance from their young ones, regardless of the sacrifices involved.

Baseball dads is a book about a group of dads who does what it takes to make sure their kids suceed in the every competitive world of little league baseball. This book is funny, raucous in all the good ways. I would recommend this book for anyone who likes or liked Carl Hiaasen.

I’m bad with comparisons, but if this were a movie or series, Baseball Dads would be like a mash up between Falling Down and Eastbound and Down. There’s a lot of balance between dark and humorous, and I could easily picture this being a David Gordon Green script.

It moves at a steady pace, with the mentioned sex, drugs, and murder making it maybe a little cartoonish in how things escalate, but I enjoyed that as I initially worried this would be if anything, too much about baseball. It’s more about the sort of sports parents that get power hunger with their children’s “spot” in the team. This book is about baseball, but it won’t bore non sports fans.

I think the author left it open for another installment. I’d be interested in seeing if themes would shift or if we would see another baseball - serial killing - antihero - comedy novel. I’d be open to checking out what comes next.

This book was one big offensive thrill ride and I'm not even mad. I absolutely loved it and listened to the whole thing in a day and a half. I cackled and couldn't get enough. So much fun. Absolutely wrong and graphic but so good!

This wasn't my favorite. It felt like if Finlay Donovan without the cleverness and the Bromance Bookclub without the heart came together and wrote a book. I get that it wasn't for everyone but if this was with a bit more nuance and stopped leaning on the stereotypes I think it could have been something

Holy moly - what did I just listen to? It was wild! Insane. Crazy. It sounded like some guy's uninhibited dream (and nightmare). As a baseball mom, I know all about the politics of little league baseball so I can relate to the details about the favoritisms of coaches and assistant coaches. Lots of truths being told! I have to say, in this day and age of everyone being politically correct, Matthew S. Hiley was refreshing. If you need trigger warnings and safe spaces, this is not for you. The narrator was fantastic, one of the best I have listened to. He has distinguished voices for each character (now that is talent!)

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the audiobook.
#BaseballDads #NetGalley