Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced review copy of this book.
Format: Digital ARC
CW: mental illness, parental emotional abuse, car accident, panic attacks/disorders, grief, death of a partner, former toxic relationship, alcohol, and discussion of drug use.
Publisher’s Summary | Skip to Review
But for the people in the stadium that knew the truth, their tale was more than a storybook romance. It was the story of two perfectly imperfect people loving each other despite it all. How could you not be romantic about baseball? (QUOTE FROM THE UNCORRECTED PROOF COPY)
Summary from the publisher
It was just a game… until the rules changed.
Baseball photographer Maggie Redford is happy to watch life from the stands. At twenty-five, she’s already lost the love of her life and is content to focus on her job snapping shots of Chicago’s MLB team instead of her lovelife. But Maggie’s thrown a curveball when the team signs Tommy Mikals, a tattooed hotshot whose talent for making plays is matched by a playboy reputation.
Tommy knows he was traded because his last team grew tired of his tabloid escapades, but he’s looking at this season as a chance at redemption. Vowing to give up his party-boy ways, he can’t afford to be distracted by the gorgeous team photographer.
When a wild team outing leads to Maggie getting caught on the wrong side of the camera with Tommy, the photo goes viral—making Maggie look like just another of Tommy’s hook-ups. With his reputation and her job at risk, the PR team devises a plan: fake a romance to convince the world that the two are an established couple.
But as their pretend relationship plays out in the spotlight, real feelings come into play. Maggie’s already loved and lost, Tommy’s never learned to commit: Can they even make it past first base?
Review
I was excited to see a new baseball romance on NetGalley (I’m in my sports romance era), but this one was a strikeout. (you see what I did there?)
There was so much potential in this book: mental health rep, healing from grief, complicated parental relationships, redemption. But the execution was lacking. I loved the different characters and I always enjoy a peek into the backstage of the baseball world, but really struggled with the pacing, some of the character choices, and, to be honest, the plot dynamics. The timeline was all over the place. They met, went to the club, met with their bosses and signed the contract, went on two dates, flew to California for a series of games, met his parents, attended a black-tie Gala in California and it’s only been a week?! The math isn’t mathing here.
Both main characters struggle with mental health and their public image in different ways: Maggie’s anxiety and grief and Tommy’s struggle with his image, past decisions, and father issues. However, I wish the author had spent more time having the characters explore their emotions more. Maggie’s anxiety felt very one-dimensional and stereotypical. She would be in the middle of a panic attack, but photographs of her would come out the most beautiful she’d ever looked. As someone with anxiety, I can tell you that’s not how it works at all, at least for me.
I wish the author had let us into Tommy’s world more often and more substantially. As readers, we only get a little peak into his mind and motives occasionally and the story suffers for that. For a sports romance, there was only a little sports and gameplay included. I wanted the rise and fall of a game, the stress of losing, and the highs from a win. I wanted more sports!
There were many sweet moments, but the chemistry of the characters seemed…….off. I can’t put my finger on it, but they didn’t really seem like they worked together. Maybe it was the consistent telling, rather than showing, but I just didn’t believe them as a couple.
“I was beginning to realize that I enjoyed hanging out with Tommy. He was the first person I’d been willing to leave my apartment for besides Olivia in a long time. I didn’t dread not being able to watch movies on my couch or in my hotel room because I had to do something else. What I still couldn’t reconcile was that Tommy acted like he really wanted to hang out with me too.” (QUOTE FROM THE UNCORRECTED PROOF COPY)
Let’s be honest, the set-up for fake dating was an HR nightmare. Their employer is demanding they date or be fired? They are required to kiss?! I wanted to shake them. I couldn’t focus on the story because every time the higher-ups emailed them asking for more or spread rumors about them in the press to sell the “relationship,” I wanted to scream.
One thing that really shone, however, was the city of Chicago. The author really highlighted the city’s best features.
Overall, this book didn’t really land with me. However, it is a debut and I’ll give this author another shot with their follow up book, out this fall (also based in Chicago).
Tropes
fake dating, sports romance, almost clean, only one bed, forced proximity, he falls first, insta love, third act breakup, miscommunication, grand gesture
Rating: 2.5 kitties!
Radish and The Hare: Reads 
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