I love sports romance, so I was very excited to read this - especially since it dealt with "real life" issues! I'm excited to recommend this to library users and look forward to reading more titles by this author. The ending was so sweet.

Sadly I DNF'd this. I hope other loves of sports romance found it fun and sweet but the writing wasn't for me.

This book was such a fun romance read! I loved the sports romance vibes, and the banter was perfection!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book an exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adore sports romances! While I'm typically drawn to all the tropes presented in the story—fake dating, sports, romance—unfortunately, this one fell short of my expectations. The lack of chemistry between the protagonists and the rushed insta-love made the book fall flat for meWhile it may appeal to readers seeking a light, breezy read, those craving substance and complexity may find themselves wanting more.

Another cute, cheesy, emotional, and heartwarming story! In her debut novel, Ally Wiegand writes about loss and grief beautifully, highlighting the struggles of losing someone you love, but also giving advice on how you can continue on but still honor the ones you loved. I found myself teary eyed throughout the book and could feel Maggie's pain and heartache. I also loved the character development throughout the book - watching the bad boy become the good guy and the hurt girl fall in love.
If you enjoy: Slow burn, fake dating, baseball romances, bad boy good girl, or friends to lovers then "First Base" is for you!
Thank you for this amazing copy.

There are things about myself as a reader that I know to be absolutely true- I love baseball romance. I love insta-love. I love a snarky/spunky FMC... but yet this fell really flat for me. The writing was not bad, but there were numerous times were I just had to shake my head at the way the author wrote these characters interacting. It was over the top and rather embarrassing. I ended up DNF'ing because it just wasn't for me.

I recieved an ARC of this so I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this!


Maggie the main character, really spoke to me throughout the story and I could really relate to aspects of her life. She had experienced a great loss that really broke her to pieces (rightfully so), and protected her heart for YEARS. She continued to protect her heart like the badass woman she is throughout the whole story, but you still got the taste of how her past was still digging into the future she was trying to make for herself. Sometimes it can be so hard to trust, especially when you aren’t given all the information and you’re put into a situation where it’s doomed to end. Maggie was an amazing photographer with plenty to gain in her line of work as a baseball social media/event photographer. Where she met the wrecked struggling to keep his head up Tommy Mikals. Tommy Mikals was portrayed as a bad guy to the world. He really gave me hope to that there are good men out there, even if they are being portrayed in a different way online. He truly took care of Maggie throughout the book and gave her the time and space that she needed to get through her own issues. They chemistry between this two had me giggling and aching to read more, and I just loved “watching” them fall in love, even if it was unexpected. It was just too perfect, and of course the big twist at the end had me wanting to throw my kindle. But I loved the way it played out and how Maggie handled herself and really closed some doors that she needed to get through.

This book really captured my heart and I loved the story it told.

I’ll forever be in my sports romance era!

Note—if you’re looking for 🌶️, this is not the one for you.

This book started off shaky for me…Maggie and Tommy had one extremely brief encounter thanks to a foul ball and Maggie immediately went into panic mode and was obsessively thinking about him all night. Thinking about what it might be like in a relationship with him. If I were a team employee, I think the last thing I’d be thinking is that I have a chance with one of the pro athletes. But hey, maybe that’s just me.

I will admit that Maggie’s back story is unique, but there are moments when I find her frustrating because it’s as if she is deliberately misconstruing the things that Tommy is telling her.

Maggie and Tommy are both looking for second chances, so when an opportunity arises for them to enter into a fake relationship, they both take it, but for different reasons. It doesn’t take long, though, before they both start to sense a shift from fake to…NOT fake.

Overall, once I got past the first 50 pages or so, this was a sweet book full of baseball, overcoming the past, and finding love.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

I am loving the influx of sports romance books, and this was a fun read. There was banter, popular tropes like enemies to lovers, and enough sports to keep me interested in it as a plot point. A great way to start off the summer.

3.5 stars!! I really loved the enemies to lovers aspect of this book. Both main characters & the side characters were amazing and I loved all of the history and the banter. I will be looking for the next books in the series!! Thank you for letting me read this book in advance!! 🩷

This was such a cute sports romance book! I really enjoyed this debut book in a series, and I am certain that I will look to more from this author. I found the characters to be so well developed, the dialogue to be good and I enjoyed how much growth the characters had. I found the dual perspective to be satisfying, mainly keeping with Maggie's POV, but it was important to have those moments where we got to see the situation from Tommy's POV. The love story was sweet, with a fake dating troupe, but it also had a lot of heart with what the reader learns about both Maggie and Tommy's past. I enjoyed, and I think most other readers with as well.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

First Base by Ally Weigand
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶🌶

**Thank you to Netgalley and for this advanced copy. **

Tommy is a professional baseball player who needs to get his act together or else his career is over. Maggie is a team photographer for the Cougars.

When Maggie and Tommy are photographed together, the team gives him an ultimatum. Fake date Maggie or get kicked off the team.

These two characters grow so much in such a short period of time. Maggie has a lot of past trauma and the fact that Tommy is so incredibly supportive and encouraging was truly heart warming.

This was debut novel and she did not disappoint.

The emotion 🥺

I was drawn to this story initially because I had never read a baseball romance and because the FMC, Maggie, is a photographer and so am I. What I didn’t expect going into this book was how emotional I would be throughout the entire thing. I am such a sucker for a story that includes over coming trauma from your past and reading about Maggie and everything she had been through and had overcome made me love her fiercely. It was such a beautiful addition to this romance to see her having to accept Luke's death and move on to find love again.

How can you not love a big ol’ cinnamon roll MMC like Tommy. He was sweet, he was endearing, his story and his past were relatable and REAL. His character was one that had flaws that he openly admitted to and that was great.

I love a good fake dating trope. Because honestly what’s better than two people being thrust together like that. I thought the tension between the two of them was really sweet and I also loved how they seemed to fit together personality wise. I'm not personally a big fan of instalove type tropes so the pacing in this book felt a little fast at times. It wasn't super noticeable but I did just wish there was more time with them together before the end of the book came up.

I did really like the ending as far as reality goes. I appreciated the 3 year time jump and the perspective that kind of updated the reader about what was going on at that current time. This type of Epilogue was really unique to me!

“It was just a game... until the rules changed.”

This book was absolutely adorable. Fake dating? Yes, please. Add in baseball? I’m sold. Personally, I feel that there are not enough sports romances out there that bring baseball into the mix. I know when I find one, I have to read it. Which is why as soon as I saw this book on Netgalley I had to have it.

One of the best things about this book was the dialogue between the two main characters. I loved the way the characters talked to each other. I felt that the conversations between them were deeper than most conversations in a fake dating romance.

While the fake becomes real earlier on in the story than I normally see, the book is fade to black. For me, this didn’t take away from the story so I wasn’t bothered by it at all.

My only complaint is that I felt the book started out very strong in the beginning, but then felt more rushed at the end, as if the author was rushing to tie up everything quickly into a HEA bow.

Overall, a sold 4 star read! Definitely it out if you’re in the mood for a super cute, short, fluffy romance.

Thank you Netgalley and Ally Wiegland for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you NetGalley, 8th Note Press, and Ally Wiegand for an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Maggie Redford is a photographer for her favorite MLB team, the Chicago Cougars. And now, two years after the death of her fiance, she's content with keeping her head down and staying single, convinced that she's found the one true love of her life already. Enter Tommy Mikals,

Tommy is a tattooed "badboy", with a reputation that's left him with Chicago being his last shot at a career in the MLB. Determined to set his life and career on the right track, Tommy isn't letting anything get in the way of that. That is until Maggie is almost hit with a rogue foul ball and Tommy is who helps her out. Sparks ignite and once they're spotted by paparazzi, Maggie and Tommy have to sign a contract to be in a fake relationship as a way to hold Tommy's image together. As feelings start to feel more and more real between the two, Maggie has to continually remind herself that this is merely a business exchange... right?

---

I'm a sucker for fake-dating, however the one gripe I have with the troupe is that is usually always comes with miscommunication. While Tommy and Maggie are always honest about their feelings, (hella refreshing, thank you!) there just HAD to be a bit of unnecessary miscommunication to cause some conflict. It felt a bit forced but the chemistry between our two main characters was enough to make me really enjoy this book. It's a great beach read that's sure to make you day dream about tattooed baseball boys.

This book was really fun and a quick read. I’d loved everything about the baseball metaphors and that Maggie works as a female sports photographer in a male dominated field. The slow burn fire between Maggy and Tommy made this books:so much more exciting. I noticed this book is not available yet on audio, it would make an amazing audio version with both male and female characters narrating this book.

"First Base" by Ally Wiegand, courtesy of NetGalley, is an emotionally resonant read that captures the complexities of life and love. The characters are richly developed, and their relationships feel genuine and heartfelt. Wiegand seamlessly weaves important themes throughout the narrative, leaving a lasting impact on the reader. Overall, "First Base" is a touching and thought-provoking novel that I highly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy!

I. Loved. This. Book.

Truly, this is one of the best books I have read in a while. First Base follows the story of the Chicago Cougars' professional baseball team photographer, Maggie, and the team's new player with a bad boy reputation, Tommy Mikals. When Maggie and Tommy get unexpectedly linked by a contract to help improve Tommy's image, Maggie is hoping she will walk away from this relatively unscathed. However, it doesn't take long for Maggie to see Tommy's true colors, and she likes what she sees.

This story is funny, heart-warming, and will make your cheeks hurt from smiling. Whether you are a baseball fan or not, this story will be fully enjoyable either way. I promise you won't regret giving this one a read.

2.75⭐️ It was a perfectly sweet story but I felt like I had no connection to the characters and their relationship the entire time. I wish we got to see Tommy in his “bad boy” phase instead of just being told about it because it didn’t make his progression throughout the book all that impactful. I also felt no real feelings towards Maggie. Her inner monologue was really repetitive (there’s no way he could possibly like me) and I just didn’t connect with her. The third act breakup was even more frustrating for this reason (I knew he couldn’t possibly like me).

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Star Rating: 4/5 ⭐
Spice Rating: 2/5 🌶️

What to Expect:
- Baseball Romance
- Baseball Player x Team Photographer
- Fake Dating
- Reformed Playboy
- Golden Retriever MMC
- Forced Proximity
- Insta Love
- He Falls First
- Love After Loss
- Dual POV

First Base is a heartwarming read and a solid debut from author Ally Wiegand. This story follows Maggie, a photographer for the Chicago Cougars, and Tommy, the bad boy, hotshot, new addition to the team. A viral club photo puts Tommy and Maggie in an interesting position. Tommy already has a bad reputation, and this compromising photo does not do him any favors. The PR team for the Cougars comes up with a fake dating plan to help clean up Tommy's reputation.

Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes, and I loved how it played out in this story. Tommy and Maggie were so good together. They are likable characters, and I couldn't help but root for them. I always enjoy it when a romance story is more than just a romance. Both Maggie and Tommy have traumas they are working through, and both experience growth throughout the story. I loved how they supported and genuinely cared about each other.

Overall, this was a quick and fun read. The characters are well-developed, and the story is well-written. I recommend First Base to those looking for a short, cute sports romance with a great ending.

Thanks to Ally Wiegand, 8th Note Press, and NetGalley for the eARC. Opinions expressed are my own.