I thought this was a cute, funny, emotional story. I love baseball romances so was so excited to read this! I loved the premise, loving a fake relationship, former player & introverted sunshine pairing. Maggie & Tommy were actually adorable, I loved how they were with one another, loving their instant connection. Tommy is actually so sweet & adorable with her, I loved his redemption arc from bad boy. and Maggie comes way out of her shell, learning she can trust Tommy & can lean on him for comfort & love. I really didn’t love the circumstances that brought about their fake relationship. I understood why it was necessary to the plot (I think) but the whole thing was very unprofessional & riddled with lawsuit material (sorry my lawyer side is coming out). I usually can suspend disbelief when reading, knowing some things need to slide for the sake of the story, but the way the boss’s treated Tommy & Maggie (especially) just left a sour taste in my mouth throughout the story.

overall, still a very cute, lovely, funny baseball love story! thank you for the arc :)

This is a very sweet love story. This is for the people who love a cozy romance that gets emotional.
I loved Maggie as a FMC. Her grief and her being stuck in it was so real. I felt for her so deeply.
Tommy was a great MMC. You could also feel how he was feeling defeated. He lost sight of his dreams and it was almost too late for him to save them.
I thought they were really cute together. They supported each other completely. They were a perfect match for one another.

I really loved the epilogue! ‘How could you not be romantic about baseball?’ The way this book described their love for baseball was really special. I loved it.

Overall, this is a sweet and quick read. I wanted to read it because I saw it was a debut for the author. I do think you can kind of feel that it’s a debut novel but it was good. I can’t wait to read more of her work. I hope certain side characters get their own story! Aka Olivia and Jamil.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher: I’m leaving this review voluntarily.

This was so cute! It’s a fake dating baseball romance where the main characters are player and photographer (which I haven’t read before but loved! It should definitely be more common!).

It was a very good quick and cute romance read. Gets into it super far and could easily be read in one sitting. I would have but for some reason I decided to start reading it at midnight. I could definitely see this being a good romance to get you out of a slump as well.

It actually deals with a kinda emotional subject as well which I don’t want to spoil. It’s pretty obvious what happened once you start reading but that doesn’t make it any less sad. However, there is a happy ending to book as a whole in case anyone was wondering.

The two things that I didn’t love about this were that it was so short and Ty at there was miscommunication at the end. I wished there had been more scenes and moments because I loved the characters and the couple. However I do know that a lot of people love short and sweet romances more than long ones so if that you this would be perfect for you. The moments that were there were super adorable. The miscommunication trope is not one that I love, but because this book was so short, it got resolved pretty fast and so it wasn’t as obnoxious or agonizing as usual so the fact that the book was short, in this case actually helped it.

The MMC Tommy Mikals was so thoughtful and supportive. I loved how much he cared for Maggie and how much he made it clear that he loved her and that wasn’t. I loved that he was so open and honest. He shared his feelings in return was a really good listener when Maggie needed to share things. He was super understanding and patient with Maggie. So helpful and sweet. he did all of the little things and treated her as if she was his whole world. He’s definitely book boyfriend material and the type of guy we’re all looking for in a real boyfriend. It helps too that he is a hot athlete lol.

I also loved Maggie the FMC. She had such a fun energy. I love how her brain thought and considered, and looked at the world around her. It was cool to see that from like a photographers perspective as she found the perfect moment and everything. I loved watching her grow trust and open up herself to him as well as to others. I loved her friendship with Olivia. Olivia was a great best friend and it seemed like they had a great relationship. That was definitely one part where I was sad that the book was so short because I wish that, it had been longer so that I could’ve had more scenes with Olivia. I loved their friendship so much. Watching Maggie heel was an awesome journey to be on, and I also loved watching her stand up for herself and stand up for Tommy. I loved when she’d support him and comfort him and when she made sure Tommy’s dad stayed in line.

Overall, I feel like these two made a great super adorable couple. I loved all of their cute moments together. To be honest and never really felt like they were “fake dating“ because we got both of their point of views (if you know me, you know I love dual POV for romance) and in both of their point of views, they were always talking about how they felt things for the other and what they thought of the other, so it never really seemed fake, which also helped since it was so short. I loved the characters of Adam and Jamil. Again, I wish the book could just been longer so there could’ve been more scenes with them. I would’ve loved to seen not only their friendship with Tommy expanded on and some like bro moments but also would’ve loved to see Jamil‘s relationship with Maggie because that was super cute and kind of like a brother sister thing that could’ve been something that made the book even better if there had been enough page time.

In the end, this was a super short, super cute, super sweet, fake dating sports romance book that I would definitely recommend to anybody looking for something like this or trying to get out of a slump or just needing that like quick read to get them back on track. I think this was a super good book, especially for the authors debut. I can’t wait to read more of her books. As I hope Jamil and/or Olivia get their own as well!

Thank you to the author and to NetGalley for the eARC!

3.75 Stars

TW: Grief trauma

First Base is the first installment in debut author Ally Wiegand's Chicago Heartbreakers series. I initially gave this one a go based solely on it's adorable cover and ended up really enjoying it even if it was a bit heavy for the cutesy cover.

Maggie is one of the photographers for the Chicago Cougar's baseball team. For the last four years she's been out of the dating scene and focused solely on her photography career. This is surface level, Maggie's trauma is much deeper. After a car accident killed her fiancé with Maggie in the driver's seat, she's carrying around a heavy bout of grief, guilt and I'm pretty sure some social anxiety. After a rare night out with her best friend, Maggie is caught on camera in the car of new Cougar and notorious playboy, Tommy Mikals. Tommy is on his last chance in the league and is determined to be reformed and prove to his father he can be proud of him and his career. A fake dating scheme is devised by the team's PR department and the story takes off from there.

These two were loveable on their own but together they are heart melting. I loved the way that Tommy and Maggie encourage each other and support each other as they both try to face their traumas. I did like the way they were both not all about the way the PR team was using them...the PR lady was ruthless! This one was highly emotional, especially when Maggie's grief over her fiancé is brought to the forefront. This is not some fluffy sports romance so be advised.

The pacing was good and though I felt the writing read like a debut it wasn't bad. I did feel the romantic scenes were a little scatterbrained and I couldn't really follow what happened but that wasn't too bothersome. The tension leading up to the acts were better than anything anyway.

Overall not a bad debut for Ally Wiegand and I would definitely continue the series especially if the side characters were featured in them. Thank you so much to 8th Note Press for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you NetGalley, 8th Note Press and Ally Wiegand for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tommy is newly traded and on a short leash after being a public relations nightmare on his last team. Maggie is the team photographer who keeps to herself after being heartbroken 4 years ago. Both felt drawn to the other initially and planned to keep their distance until a paparazzi picture made it seem like Tommy was back to his “player ways” and they are put in a position to help each other out by fake dating.

This story is told in dual POV but much heavier from Maggie’s side. I felt like there were a few times I was really looking to hear from Tommy.

I enjoyed the story and was surprised at the emotional side of it. I was anticipating it being a little lighter but the backstory added some nice substance. Maggie and Tommy’s story was fun - I could have done without the “miscommunication” although I was pretty much expecting it.

Fake dating. Famous/commoner. Very little spice.

Such a cute and heartwarming debut ⚾️
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Tommy has had some media trouble recently and after a picture of him and the baseball team photographer are in the news, it isn’t a great look. Maggie has been closed off for years after losing her first love. She’s asked to fake date Tommy in the press to help his image and earn her some cash. Tommy already knows he wants things to be real. He accepts and they get to know one another. Help each other through some past traumas. They fall in love.

There wasn’t really any spice in this one so 0 🌶️ but it was v cute and did mention some intimacy. I really enjoyed the read!

Tropes:
1st person dual pov
Fake dating
Sports romance ⚾️
TW for mention loss of a loved one/grief
One bed

i don’t think i’ve read any books where main characters are: player and photographer. and it was so cute! 📸

i really enjoyed reading the book, and i don’t even know how, but i finished it in one day. there were so many cute moments between main characters as well as dual pov was adding enjoyment!!!
especially, i love the friendships between characters. Olivia and Maggie✨💗(please tell me the next book is Olivia’s!!!)

what i didn’t like was miscommunication!!!!! i think this “trope” is pretty common in romance books, and personally, i don’t understand why authors love it so much? the conflict could have been solved in 5 minutes if she just stopped and listened to him. but still it resolved fast.

another thing, which i don’t know where to include, is length of the book. it was short and fast, and as a reader, i wanted more moments at the end or more moments with tension at the beginning, when they just started “dating”. the plot was moving so fast, but i know a lot of people enjoy quick reads.

3.25/5 ⭐️
This book was exactly as advertised: A cozy fake dating baseball book. One of the best parts of this book was, while it was a romance and both of the characters were tying to grow, they were not dependent on the growth on the other main character. The main characters had the depth to have their own stories outside of just the romance. The grief plot point was powerful, and truly showed the mental growth for both of the characters; from being young adults to being a full-fledged adult.

I absolutely adored the way the friends/side characters were introduced and how they played out in the book. They had such strong character and were easily definable. This book could definitely be one in a series with different side characters becoming the main character.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This was such a sweet fake dating/sports romance story. I am not a big instalove fan though which is why my rating is a tad bit lower. I did really enjoy Tommy and Maggie's banter and the theme of finding love after loss. Hoping for Olivia's story next ;)

Ally Wiegand’s debut novel takes us to the Chicago ball fields for a fake dating romance. Maggie is the Chicago Cougars photographer and Tommy is a hotshot ball player drafted to the cougars who has a bad boy reputation. After being photographed leaving a club together, the Cougars PR manager drafts a fake dating contract to use Maggie’s clean reputation to redeem Tommy’s bad boy reputation. This book is short but sweet. Both Maggie and Tommy have past traumas in which they navigate in such an endearing way. This book talk about guilt, grief, and feeling inferior from our parents, but both characters navigate these issues with such grace and support that you forget it’s a fake dating trope. The setting is Chicago but it reads as more of a small town romance which I love as a reader. This is an overall positive book especially for baseball lovers!

4🌟🌟🌟🌟

⚾️baseball romance
🩵fake dating
⚾️ baseball player x team photographer
🩵love after loss
⚾️dual pov

This is a debut book from this author and overall I found the book to be a good first book and was a cute read.

Tommy was recently traded to
Chicago. Tommy has had a bit of a wild streak played out in the media and coming to Chicago was a chance to revive his baseball career.

Maggie works as the team’s photographer. She hasn’t been in a relationship in a few years after the loss of her fiancé Luke.

When Maggie and Tommy are caught in an innocent yet compromising picture in the media the team asks them to “ fake date” to boost Tommy moral and public image.

When Maggie n Tommy really start falling for each other the sparks between them flew. They were so dang adorable with just a look or touch , or a wink across the room. Such a hallmark type sports romance with a little bit of fun as well.

Solid book from the author. Thank you to publishers and net galley for the advance copy.

I absolutely adored this book. It was so cozy and cute and left me with a smile on my face.
I am a sports romance fan, not a baseball fan. But let me tell you, the way Ally describes Maggie’s love of baseball in the first chapter made me want to love it. I could picture being at the game and creating those core memories. What a great way to start the book!
Tommy was recently traded to Chicago, where Maggie is the team’s photographer. They end up in a compromising photo and the team’s PR decides they need to fake date in order to save Tommy’s reputation. What ensues is a lot of chaos, a little spice, and two people who have found strength in the other to heal their brokenness.
I loved that Tommy already had the mindset that he needed to change before he’d even come to Chicago. Maggie wasn’t the catalyst, but she became a driving force in his being a better man. Maggie was stuck in a rut, and this gave her a way to move out of her comfort zone, confront the past, and finally try to move on.
This book made me giggle, it made me tear up, and had me rooting for a win between Maggie & Tommy. Highly recommend this one and I can’t wait to read the next book!