Thanks to Putnam for an advanced copy of Welcome Home, Caroline Kline. I wanted to love this book as a Jersey girl but unfortunately this book wasn't for me.

Caroline Kline has to be one of the least likeable characters I've read in a long time. Plus, she's very immature and doesn't take responsibility for her actions. Plus as a Jersey girl who did move home for a little bit and lived in my high school bedroom (while teaching high school) it's not ideal but her disdain for NJ was too much for me.
There is a lot of baseball. I like baseball and the Yankees, but if you don't know baseball, that's a majority of the book.

There was very that was little likeable about this book.

This story follows Caroline whose life just exploded and her dad injured himself so she must go back to Jersey Shore where she had to replace him in the softball league. This wasn’t a bad story but this is another one of the books where it’s categorized as romance but it’s women’s fiction. I enjoyed the meaning behind the book and seeing Caroline develop her story. Priess had a good writing story. I loved how descriptive the details were and how she explained the baseball part of the story. Though I did wish the story went a lot smoother as some scenes were cute short or were too long. The pacing was fast and this book is written from Caroline’s pov.

Caroline is the FMC of this story and I really enjoyed her character. At her age, her life is chaotic and she wants to find a place for herself but can’t. I love seeing her discover that part of herself and just seeing her grow. There were many side characters in this book and I mainly enjoyed Caroline’s friend who was sweet. There were also the parents who were very involved with the story and were entertaining. I thought this book would be a bit romance-heavy but it was not. The romance is very light and not the main focus even though the book is categorized as romance.

The romance was well done and I loved the ending for Caroline. She developed so much and found a place for herself in New Jersey. I enjoyed this story though I was expecting it to be a romance book but it was still a great read. I loved seeing the self-development even though the family was not too supporting. I recommend checking this book out if you want to read a young woman joining the men’s softball league and doing well.

*this arc was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*

I really wanted to love this one but it wasn't for me. I enjoy baseball so it wasn't the plethora of that plot point. It was the characters
I just didn't like any of them. I wasn't invested and ended up not finishing the story..

What I Liked:
-Jewish Representation
-Addiction Representation
-Redemption storylines

What Didn't Quite Work For Me:
-The characters never truly spoke to me, despite relating on multiple levels and I did not find myself caring about them

I appreciate that this is a debut from Kline and I will definitely give her another chance in the future.

Welcome Home, Caroline Kline is a sweet story about how you *can* go home again, and sometimes find the things you were missing that chased you away in the first place. Caroline left her suburban New Jersey home (where the biggest thing around is the local men’s baseball league) for a career and a boyfriend in New York City, but finds herself without either when her dad asks if she can come home to take his place on his beloved team after he suffers a health scare. Caroline battles through the sexism of the boys club and the disappointments of a breakup and career derailment landing her back in her childhood home, but she’s less disappointed that a chance encounter throws her back into the path of her childhood love, Crispin.

Caroline needing to come home to take care of her aging parent, struggling with unexpected shift in the direction of her life (and poor decisions) force her to grow up. The biggest source of angst comes from the overt sexism she faces on the baseball diamond, where her team at first refuses to treat her with respect. There’s an interesting thread involving her old softball bestie-turned-rival, grown up and now married to a beloved veteran who plays for a rival baseball team, with maybe a touch of queer rep, that feels underbaked. This was a fun, light read with a bit more than just a romance to recommend it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.5 stars, rounded down.

Thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Welcome Home, Caroline Kline written by Courtney Preiss was definitely an interesting story. I feel like this was more of a YA book than romance, I mean the romance was there but I just can't put my finger on it, it felt like something was missing. I had a love/hate relationship with Caroline Kline, she had so much potential for growth, but it felt like she kept making mistakes over and over without really caring about the consequences until she has to attend an AA meeting for dunk driving with her longtime crush, Crispin Davis. I mean, I guess that's what happens when you are young, you make mistakes and you learn from them, but it just didn't feel like that with Caroline, I really wanted the best for her, she seemed so sweet and everything was going wrong for her. In the beginning of the book, Caroline was super whiny, but about halfway through she tried her best to become the best version of herself she could possibly be. I'm so obsessed with that gorgeous cover, also let me point out that Welcome Home, Caroline Kline takes place in the Jersey Shore for any Jersey lovers out there. I can't recommend this book enough, so please do yourself a favor and grab a copy immediately.

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND PENGUIN GROUP PUTNAM FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!

If you were given the chance to return to your hometown for a second chance because you were failing miserably in life would you take that leap and go for it?
-I absolutely would because it could be for the best, or it could also be for the worst, you never know until you actually take that leap and face your fears. I know life isn't always sprinkles and unicorns, but if I made mistakes and I was given a second chance to better myself, I totally would take that scary leap.

In New York City, Caroline Kline is newly single and stumbling her way through the recent implosion of her life. After a surprise break up leaves Caroline with no job, no apartment, and newly single, Caroline is unsure what to do next with her life. Caroline tries hookups but those don't work either because she doesn't want to get too attached to that said person. One night when Caroline is out with one of her booty calls, she receives a phone call from her stepmother that her father has injured himself falling. Leo, Caroline's father asks her return home to the Jersey Shore that Caroline has always wanted to escape. Leo doesn't want Caroline to be his caregiver, but rather his fill in as a third basemen for his men's softball league. This isn't just any season, Leo claims, this is the year they have a real shot at the World Series, the pride and joy of Glen Brook, New Jersey. This softball team isn't really welcoming to Caroline, mainly because it's an all men's softball league and it's full of old timers, but I think they should have welcomed Caroline with open arms for helping them get to the World Series. Caroline decides to agree to move back home to the Jersey Shore because she feels like Leo is hiding a more serious health condition that he's not willing to admit.

Like I said, Caroline had so much potential for growth, but it didn't really happen until one night when a night out goes wrong and lands Caroline in the path of her hometown crush and first love, Crispin Davis. Caroline and Crispin attend a drug and alcohol program when Caroline has had one too many margaritas. When Caroline and Crispin start to catch up one their lives, Caroline realizes that Crispin is on the right path that she should have been on a very long time ago. I applaud Caroline for realizing she's making mistakes, but I think she waited a bit too long and this drunk driving charge could have been avoided. After watching Caroline spiral out of control because everything is going wrong in her life, I just wanted to reach into my kindle and give her the biggest hug and tell her to keep pushing through. I will say there were pop culture references, but it didn't overpower the book at all. I feel like this book can open so many people's eyes for all the right reasons , you just have to take that leap and read this book for yourself despite the pop culture references. I have never read Courtney Preiss before, but this certainly won't be the last one that I read despite having a few issues.

WELCOME HOME, CAROLINE KLINE is a coming of age tale for a reluctant female protagonist on the long end of the age scale for this type of tale. Caroline has fled multiple ‘failures’ and returned to Asbury Park from her attempt at adulting in NYC. The truth is she is fighting this business of adulthood, kicking and screaming, or drinking, drugging and sexing, her way blindly through her 20’s, hoping something lasting and successful will land in her life. If it does it will be through her active attempts at avoidance. Oddly enough, life has some surprises in store for her, as usual, when all else fails. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

thank you netgalley for this e-arc. i loved loved loooooved this book. the way the author described things around setting a scene was so wonderfully masterful. i was highlighting a lot of sentences and sometimes whole paragraphs to write down later. the relationship with all three of her parents was well done, giving each of them a distinct personality and you don't have to wonder why it's a great family to have. i selfishly want a second book just about winnie's life and problems. i loved how the romance was handled between caroline and crispin, going between too much and not enough when she wanted to respect his boundaries getting sober. 12/10!

I want to know Caroline Kline. Smart, fun, and earnestly herself, Caroline lands back in the town where she grew up, returning feeling defeated by being dumped, out of work, and out of options. In WELCOME HOME, CAROLINE KLINE, Courtney Preiss introduced me to a brave woman taking on impossible challenges with spirit, everything from taking her father's place on his beloved baseball team to growing into her sober, thoughtful self by facing her past and triumphing over past evasions, expectations, and lost opportunities. As a New Jersey native, I especially appreciated the keen and insightful ways Preiss shared insider knowledge and perspective with tremendous respect, insight, and heart. Another aspect I completely enjoyed was in not knowing what would happen next -- so I was with Caroline when she faced down a bad call by an umpire, rummaged through the closet of her broken hearts, and dug deep to honor and support her family. A truly enjoyable time! I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

Welcome Home, Caroline Kline by Courtney Preiss was a wonderful debut!
I really enjoyed this novel and loved Kline's writing and style.
It was well-written and humorous.
I thought the characters were well developed and interesting.
I will definitely pick up her next novel.

Thank You NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

There were so many good things about this book. So many! I really liked the love interest, Crispin, and the fact that he was in recovery. I don’t know that I’ve ever read a romance with a main character in recovery and it was both refreshing and legitimately interesting. It added a real layer of depth to the plot. I also liked the subplot where Caroline comes home to help her ailing father. I think her mixed feelings about coming back to her hometown and how it feels like a failing rang true to me.

I mentioned how much I liked Crispin. I wish we had seen a lot more of him and a lot less of softball. This read more women’s fiction than romance which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but wasn’t what I wanted from it.

I also wish Caroline wasn’t such a hot mess for the majority of the book. Bad decision after bad decision over and over again! It just became a little exhausting and repetitive.

Overall, I think this book was interesting and well-written. I think it will scratch the itch for a lot of readers even if it wasn’t quite a perfect match for me.

Not for me

I appreciate that the author obviously put time and research into writing this book (the baseball info, for example), but it just wasn’t the book for me. I didn’t connect with the MC, felt she was immature for her age, and did I mention baseball? There were certainly hard topics too, but not enough to balance out the rest.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

Welcome Home, Caroline Kline is a story about recovery and finding yourself. It's about family, home, and BASEBALL. Let's face it: Caroline is a little bit of a mess. At times you will be like, "girl!". But she is also equally part endearing. And she just needed to find her people, her purpose and her place. And Welcome Home, Caroline Kline is the journey to finding that.
Thank you #NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC.

This was horrible. There is absolutely no character development and all the characters are boring. I couldn't root for anyone because I didn't care about them.

I received an arc through netgalley.

Welcome Home Caroline Kline is a fun, easy to read book, that does cover some hard topics. I liked that the main character was messy. At the start of the book, caroline has quit her job and moved out of her apartment to move with her boyfriend to LA, and then he dumps her. When her father has a fall, he asks her to come home to NJ to support him but mainly to sub in for him on his beloved softball team. Caroline takes a lot of sexism on the men's team, but finds her strength in lots of ways, while connecting, romantically and otherwise, with people from her past. I really wish I'd heard more of Kelly's story - this was teased in such interesting ways and I almost wonder if the author's next book will be about her. The book is also a love story to the NJ music scene, so if you grew up with that, you will enjoy it.

Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️💫 rounded up

Caroline Kline is a mess. She has no job, no place to live and oh she is broke. Why? She was supposed to move to LA with her boyfriend – well her now ex-boyfriend, he dumped her before the LA move. Thankfully she has friends couch to crash on and out partying. Now she finds herself heading back home, to New Jersey, a medical emergency, her dad is in the hospital. Caroline’s dad wants her to stay not because he needs her help, nope she needs to replace him on the local softball team.

I really thought this would be a fun book but it was not. Caroline was such an unlikable self-center character that truly did not redeem herself at all by the end of the book. At the age of thirty she was very immature, crude and just not funny with a drinking problem. To be honest, I am not a sports fan so all the baseball and softball story lines were wasted on me. Overall, this book was just not for me.

Thank you, Courtney Press, G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This novel is due to be released on April 16, 2024.

Interesting premise, but it was a lot of baseball talk for me that I don’t think was balanced out enough by the rest of the story. Just a personal preference though

Sadly a dnf at 15%. I have read or attempted to read so many stories like this lately. This is totally a me problem but I just can’t read another book about a main character returning to their hometown even though they never wanted to go back.

I really wanted to like this book, based on the synopsis but unfortunately the book was a huge disappointment.

This was a slow read for me due to the excessive baseball chatter and an unlikeable main character.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.