A woman strikes up a secret texting relationship with an MLB player who she heckled, only to land a job as the team sideline reporter, where she falls for him in real life. Chris and Daphne were both so easy to root for. Even though the reader KNOWS Daphne's dual personas are going to blow up in her face, you're on the edge of your seat hoping it all works out. know sports romance is popping off as of late, and I'm LOVING all of these baseball books. The details in this one had me craving a trip to my beloved Camden Yards. I think the third act break-up/conflict came too late. It didn't hit until about 80% in, and it seemed like it was resolved a little too quickly/easily.

Newly divorced Daphne attends a baseball game with free tickets her brother (who works for the team) gifted to her and her now ex-husband (who also happens to be his best friend) in a last-ditch effort to pair them back up. Daphne decides instead to take her best friend to the game, and after a few too many drinks, she fully gets into it and causes quite a stir when she decides to heckle the third-baseman, Chris Kepler, on the sidelines…and makes him cry.

Feeling guilty, Daphne decides to reach out to Chris on Instagram as DuckiesBooks to apologize, but in her state of drunkenness, neglects to identify herself to him. What follows is a budding friendship between the two, and then more…but Chris still has no idea she’s his heckler, which becomes even more complicated when her sister in law (who also works for the team) is put on bed rest due to complications with her pregnancy, and Daphne has the opportunity to join the team and fill in for her on air, opening up the possibility of an in-person friendship as her true self.

I really enjoyed the build up on this one. I liked the writing, the story itself, and the baseball involvement (even though I’m not a fan). I adored the Instagram relationship building, and then the in-person interactions made it even better. BUT. BUUUUTTTTTT…I absolutely hated that this book was majorly built on the secret that Duckie and Daphne were the same person and she was lying to him throughout a majority of their story. After all he’d been through, I just wanted her to be honest with him. This could have been a five star read if not for the lies.

This is another great romance from Alicia Thompson, perfect for hot summer days. This is emotional, sweet, and a bit spicy. You don't even have to be a fan of baseball to love this one!

This was a fun book, and I really appreciated the opportunity to read it! I will recommend this book.

Admittedly, I did not know anything about the plot of this going in. I saw romance, spice and sportsball, and that is generally enough for me.

Baseball is the only sport I know a bit about--I didn't play softball in second grade for nothing. And still, I do not find it interesting! As always, it does not seem to matter.

Anyway, this book has a two-sided love triangle, which is historically the only kind I like. But I guess I have never read one from this POV before? Or maybe I've never read one with this kind of stakes? I don't know. I just found myself getting SO ANNOYED with Daphne because why didn't she just freaking TELL Chris already?

But then I realized that I was getting so annoyed because I think I would have done exactly the same thing as she did? I would totally have messed up my initial DM without realizing it, and then not want to say anything because he's just saying thanks for the message, it's not like you're going to be involved with him. And then all of a sudden you're talking more and how do you tell him NOW? And then you meet in person and how do you tell him that not only are you this online person, but that the online person is a lie? At every step it just feels like you're in too deep now, and you keep hoping that things are going to somehow right themselves.

Is there a third-act breakup? Yeah, but you know it's coming the whole time. Because Chris is going to find out eventually, and you know he's going to be devastated. It's like this storm building throughout the entire book, and you're just waiting for it to hit.

It's so good though! Romantic and spicy, and I think Chris was meant to be grumpy but honestly I found him delightful.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Daphne is officially divorced and ends up at a baseball game. After a few too many drinks, she joins in with the heckler beside her not realizing that the players can actually hear her. When she heckles Chris as he goes up to bat, with a Winnie the Pooh reference, everyone is shocked when he gets emotional. She wants to apologize for her behavior and decides to send him a message on Instagram. Only the next morning when she reads back the message, she realizes she removed the actual apology part of the message meaning Chris has no idea that she's the heckler.

Chris has a secret. His brother passed away before the beginning of the season. He's keeping it to himself and not telling anyone. When he gets a seemingly random DM on Instagram he starts falling for the mysterious woman he's been opening up to.

Really enjoyed this one, it's more then a romance as Chris navigates through his grief. Recommended!

This book is great to read when you want a Sports RomCom! I really enjoyed the lighthearted touches but felt like this book really stuck with me when it talked about the loss of a family member and dealing with the aftermath.

Daphne was just trying to get over a divorce by enjoying a little heckling at a baseball game; she didn’t know that Chris would react so strongly to something she thought was harmless. When she realizes just how badly Chris Kepler took her joke; she decides to reach out to him on social media to apologize but forgets to mention she was the heckler!

I enjoyed the back and forth harmless flirting happening between Daphne and Chris but I was so irritated with Daphne! Like she had so many ample opportunities tell Chris the truth but decided to just keep it a secret until it blew up in her face. I wish she didn’t string Chris along. It felt really cringy when she kept the lie through most of the book. Especially when Chris was confused in his growing attraction for someone he knew ‘online’ while also falling for the new sports reporter for the team! Daphne had redemption at the end but it was hard to finish this book because of her. I wish she was not so complicated.

I love a good sports romance. I've gotten really into baseball recently so I was super excited to see this author write a sports romance book. I thought they did a great job. It had the perfect mixture of romance, funny moments, and both characters were vulnerable and open to change. Overall, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it. It's more then just a romcom.

Enjoyable. Took me about 4 chapters to get into it. I liked it, I really liked Chris, but some aspects of writing felt flat. Characterization was uneven, and I struggled with Daphne’s duplicity even though I understood how it happened.

This adorable baseball romance got me in the feels! So cute and heartwarming. First book I’ve read by this author but I loved it! I will be reading more. The cover is sweet and so is the story! Read this one!

I love how this one initially started out, but the catfishing went on for entirely too long. It was frustrating.

First of all, being a fan of baseball is probably super important for liking this book. I love baseball, I love following a team that’s not always great, which makes it all the more exciting when they are playing great. And staying up past 1 am while in my third trimester of pregnancy to watch one of the wildest game 7s of any World Series to see my team end a 108 year drought! So loving baseball certainly made me love this book more.

Yes this book has a ton of miscommunication, but it’s in the form of mistaken identity. I knew what I was getting myself into, and I somehow felt alright about it. I loved that it was dual POV, and both characters were well fleshed out.

I am so serious when I say one line made this a five star read for me. When my love of books and baseball collide, this kind of magic happens for me. Daphne being a bookstagrammer was just icing on the cake. And that epilogue! It’s what we would all want!

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was such a fun read. I'm in my sports romance era and this really met a lot of the criteria that I was looking for!

Read this book if you enjoy:
> Baseball player MMC/sideline reporter FMC
> Secret identity
> Mental health rep
> Friends with benefits
> Book lover FMC
> Open door spice

There were parts of this book that absolutely made me laugh out loud. I love Alicia's style of writing and the way that the dry wit and sarcasm can create hilarious moments. I thought both of the MCs were well developed - and I definitely felt the tension between them. The chemistry was hot and the friends with benefits arrangement led to some seriously spicy scenes. The third act break up was both predictable and incredibly emotional - the blow up was believable and warranted based on how the MCs got to that point in the story.

To that end, the miscommunication and 'secret identity'/catfishing scenario wore on me a little bit. I get it in the context of the story and it definitely fit in the storyline, I just wish it would have been resolved earlier on. It went almost to the point of being uncomfortable - and there were multiple times where I desperately wanted the FMC to set the record straight earlier on. That being said, the writing was excellent and I devoured this story - I definitely was invested in the outcome.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book!

My first book by Alicia Thompson and certainly not my last! A super cute sports romance with some grit and heartwarming moments intertwined. I really loved Chris — he was the perfect vulnerable, sensitive and sweet male main character. I loved the You've Got Mail vibes too! A great read for the summer!

This was a cutesy romance but also had depth in the plot and characters. I loved that a lot. Plus make it a sports romance?! I'm immediately sold!

I don’t know where to start. I went in blind as I always do with books and not read reviews but I wish I had.

The catfishing gave me the ick. It wasn’t even miscommunication, she had opportunities to come out with the truth and she still decided to lie. I’m all about miscommunication tropes too but straight out lying not once but twice. No thanks. It was about 60% when the truth finally came out and not because she wanted to tell him.

Also Layla, what a not so nice B word. She was constantly tearing Daphne down and her brother doesn’t do anything either (he seemed like he was good for nothing too).

Everyone feeling sorry for Chris but he knew what he was doing too. Daphne wouldn’t share her name, photo, any real details or even talk to him not be phone but he fell in love? Delulu much.

Don’t get me wrong I’m a sports romance girly through and through. But this wasn’t it for me.

Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for an advanced readers copy of this book.

Batter up! He slides in to home while she slides into his DMs. If you love a good baseball story, you'll love this one.

Alicia Thompson has quickly become a favorite author. After reading "Love in the Time of Serial Killers", I was pumped to get an advanced copy of her new baseball romance. She and I share a sense of humor and I totally feel like I am the target demographic for her writing. She's funny, a little cheeky, and the characters are lovable.

I docked one star for the unnecessary lack of communication. While I really enjoyed the overall story, I found that poor communication frustrating. Will I still recommend it? Of course!

[SPOILERS]
TL;DR: Heckler makes the baseball hunk cry. She anonymously apologizes in his DMs, friendship blooms, he falls for mystery internet woman. They're forced to work together - TENSION. She digs herself deeper into a hole by withholding truths. He's torn between internet girl and real girl, she knows and he doesn't. Internet girl leaves him high and dry - he's crushed, falls for real girl. Truth comes out, everything falls apart. Have no fear... Happy Endings for Everyone!


📚Trope(s): He Falls First, Grumpy/Sunshine, Secrets/Withholding Truths
What you get: ⚾️🐱📚🎥🎤
⭐️Plot: 4/5
🔥Chemistry: 5/5
🌶️Spice: 4/5

I have a serious thing for baseball players, so this book was like catnip for me. I loved everything about it!

Chris and Daphne were amazing together, and I adored how their relationship unfolded. The side characters, especially Chris's teammates, were wonderful, and the baseball aspect of the book actually seemed mostly plausible. Coming from an obsessive baseball fan that lives for the 162 game season, that is very high praise.

There was also a very well written and emotional mental health storyline that gave this book a little more seriousness.

If you enjoy a good sports romance, then this one is a must-read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

“You’re the book I want to reread. For the rest of my life.”

This book made my anxiety ramp up to the highest levels, like my goodness. I knew going in that the main trope would be miscommunication, “hidden identity”, and rely heavily on deceit. I absolutely knew that’s where it was heading but I didn’t realize that it would weigh so heavy on me! I needed these characters to just fess up!

Daphne was so messy. Such a messy and chaotic character! She was precious and I wanted the best for her, but there were points where I wanted her to come clean so badly so the entire story could be happy and it could all be resolved! Chris was so wholesome and you just wanted to hold him and give him the world on a platter. He had gone through so much and to be an outsider looking in knowing how it was eventually going to happen was so difficult.

I know it’s such a polarizing trope! BUT! I will say - the romance between Daphne and Chris is actually so hot and so freaking sweet that it is absolutely so worth it! There are gonna be times you want to scream at Daphne for being a chicken but you know it’ll all work out in the end 🫶🏼

Daphne is going through a rough divorce when, after a few too many ballpark beers, she heckles a baseball player during a game...who promptly begins to cry. Coming to her senses later, Daphne reaches out to the player on Instagram with a long apology where she accidentally forgets to note that she's the one who heckled him. The player, Chris, has been privately mourning his brother's suicide for months, and so when he gets Daphne's somewhat anonymous online message (he knows her only by her handle, Duckie), he opens up to her in a way that wasn't possible in real life. But when Daphne gets a job working with the media team for Chris's team, they're suddenly interacting in person (and naturally sparks start to fly), though Daphne can't find a way to reveal that she's also Duckie.

There's something a bit hard to believe about this book, when the entire premise could've been fixed with a quick "oh, btw, I'm the one who heckled you, sorry!" DM. Otherwise, the relationships and personal hang-ups seem fairly realistic, and it's a generally fun book. I just wish it didn't have such an easily fixable premise!