Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ 3.5/5

“It was just a game… until the rules changed.” That pretty much sums up the dynamic between Maggie Redford and Tommy Mikals in this sports romance that mixes fake dating with the world of professional baseball.

As someone who enjoys both fake dating and sports romances, this book started on the right foot for me. Maggie, a photographer who has already experienced love and loss, is a relatable character, and Tommy, the tattooed bad boy on the brink of losing his career, brings the right amount of tension to the story. Their chemistry is undeniable, though it leans heavily into insta-love territory, which made their connection feel a bit rushed.

Despite the quick attraction, I appreciated that the characters took the time to build a friendship before diving into anything serious. The fake dating trope is executed well, with plenty of moments that will make you smile as their pretend romance starts to blur the lines of reality. The inclusion of side characters, like their friends and family, added a nice layer to the story and made the world feel more fleshed out.

However, while the book had a lot of good elements, it did fall short in a few areas. The third-act breakup, driven by miscommunication and assumptions, felt a bit too cliché and lacked the emotional punch I was hoping for. I also wanted a bit more drama to keep things interesting. The backstories provided some context for their actions, but I found myself wishing for a bit more depth and complexity in both Maggie and Tommy’s characters. They were likable but could have used a bit more attitude and edge to make them stand out.

Overall, this is a nice rom-com with a sweet relationship and a satisfying ending. It may not be a standout in the genre, but it’s an enjoyable read, especially if you’re a fan of sports romances and the fake dating trope. If you’re looking for a light, fun romance to pass the time, this book will do the trick.

Final thoughts: “It was just a game…” delivers on the basic expectations of a sports romance, with a likable pair of leads and a fake dating scenario that offers some entertaining moments. It may not break new ground, but it’s a solid pick for fans of the genre looking for a sweet, low-stakes read.

Absolutely loved this audiobook
need the physical as an audiobook trophy on my shelves
<3 love love love

I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it's engaging and easy to go through, making it a delightful read from start to finish.

The characters are well-developed, and the plot keeps you hooked.

And not last, I would like to thank to NetGalley, author and the publisher for offering me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this sports romance it was sad at times but also fun and exciting and I loved the characters. The narrator was also good to listen to and overall I loved this one

Really enjoyed the themes of the story and the character arcs both leads went through. First Base is not without flaws, however—it does far too much 'telling' and not 'showing.' A lot of things were chewed up and spit out onto the page so I as a reader would receive a fully digested idea instead of it being conveyed to me through character interactions.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

I have been loving all the athlete love stories recently. I hadn’t read a baseball version so far so I thought I’d give it a go. I have no interest in the sport but this didn’t affect my reading experience at all.
The narrator did a great job and made it really easy and enjoyable to listen to.
My only criticism is these books themed the male is always the athlete

This was a great audiobook, a relaxing listen and a fun fake dating sports romance. This is the debut novel for Ally Wiegand and she did a fantastic job. Maggie, a team photographer finds herself in a situation where she's agreeing to fake date the bad boy of the baseball team, Tommy.
Luckily his reputation in the media doesn't seem to be the reality for Maggie but is it just a show to save his pace on the team?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to the upcoming sequel in the Chicago Heartbreakers series,

I was obsessed with this book. The narrators and the story were just perfect! I loved how good Tommy was to Maggie there was definitely some points when his cuteness brought tears to my eyes.

The storyline was so gripping and the romance was addictive. Just some of the tropes in this were; fake dating, sports romance, they both fell just as hard, bad boy turned good, troubled pasts, baseball and rich male.

I will definitely be looking for more by this author, they have definitely sparked my interest in audiobooks

This was good!! 3.5 stars. I am a big fan of fake dating and sport romances, so this book ticked a few boxes from the start. I enjoyed the story, and I liked Maggie and Tommy. I did feel like it was very insta love, as they got a big crush on each other after the first time they met, but I liked that they at least took the time to become friends first. The pace was good and I enjoyed the appearances from side characters like their friends and family. I did want a bit more drama, and was a bit let down that the third act "break up" was due to miscommunication and biiiig assumptions from Maggie. I enjoyed learning their back stories and how they helped to understand their present behaviour. I did feel that the characters lacked a bit more depth and attitude, but overall it was a nice rom com with a sweet relationship and ending.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bonnier UK Audio, and Ally Wiegand for the early audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

🎧Audio Book Review🎧

First Base
Ally Wiegand

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Hot on the heels of my first sports romance read, I've sped on from Formula 1 racing and hit a home run with this, my next read which features baseball as the backdrop to this brilliant romance.

I was pretty sure that this would run along a standard format - boy meets girl - issues with the sport - girl helps boy and we rejoice in a happy ending.
Now, there's absolutely nothing wrong with this format and I could read this genre forever and never tire....
But this storyline held so much more.

I loved both our characters and apart from the circumstances of their meet, I was also intrigued by both the backstories.

Tommy, obviously the bad boy of baseball, lost his shot at his top of the league team and headed out to Chicago.
Not only trashing his reputation, he also lost the love of his life Sutton.
Maggie, the team photographer,hasn't dated since the loss of her fiance 4 years ago and is more than happy to hideaway at home.

As we learn more over the course of the book, these two storylines work through to very satisfying conclusions - also culminating in the happy ending we needed.

Despite a slightly unconventional start to their relationship - I loved the way this developed.
I don't really want to spill any spoilers, so won't give details but I loved how each of them supported and helped the other through their struggles and fears.
I was almost waiting for the twist towards the end - but I'm really pleased that this wasn't dragged out for too long.
Sometimes the 'will they, won't they' element is over-played - but here I wasn't in distress for too long!

This was less focussed on the sport itself - so not so much technical or behind the scenes of baseball - than my last read - but the addition of the backstories made this another great read and I'm looking forward to seeing the next book in this series.



💕Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my ARC copy - this is my honest review 💕

Photographer Maggie Redford is happy to watch life from the stands. She's already met and lost the love of her life and would rather spend her time snapping shots of Chicago's MLB team. 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's on the brink of losing his baseball career for good and that the Cougars are his last shot at redemption. Vowing to give up his party-boy ways, he can't afford any distractions - including one gorgeous team photographer.

When a wild team outing leads to a compromising photo of Maggie and Tommy going viral, suddenly they've become the hottest new celebrity couple. With his reputation and her job on the line, they have no choice but To go along with it.

Cute and quick read with an easy writing style and very fast paced. I enjoyed the dual POV and the dual narrators which make the characters more interesting. However, I found it at some points a bit repetitive and there was no need for the miscommunication towards the end. I would recommend it if you like an easy read.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book.

Overall I liked this book, I enjoyed the plot and main characters and also the narrators

- fake dating
- sports romance (baseball)
- only one bed

I really liked the premise of this book, it has a lot of my fave tropes and I found it really fun and there were some really enjoyable moments in this book

There are a couple of heavy topics but thought they were handled well

A negative for me is that the conflict in the book was solved way too late imo, I'm someone who wants to live a little in the HEA before the end and this conflict etc was happening in the 90% mark which was just a little too late

Thank you to NetGalley and Bonnier UK audio for the ALC - all opinions are my own

Such a fun little sports romance that addresses more serious topics and keeps the reader engaged. Can't wait to see what's happening in the next book!

This book had potential and I would be open to reading this author in the future, but boy were there some major flaws. I thought the first 50% was sweet, but the pacing and plot in the last half really let the book down overall. The male main character never became interesting to me, and his only personality was “reformed party boy” executed soooo badly. The author kinda just went “oh yeah he used to party trust me” and didn’t actually do anything interesting with him. The romance didn’t really feel earned because resolutions happened so easily throughout the book UNTIL you get to the WORST third act break up I’ve read in a longggg time. Seriously what was that? I wanted to scream in frustration at the main character for being such a fucking idiot. OWD ANDDDD misunderstanding? No. And then the line where she thinks what is so obviously a grand romantic gesture is a CRUEL BREAK UP TRICK? Be so fr right now. And to top it all off, she rejected a life changing amount of money for literally no reason. For fucks sake. I was so angry. The ending just completely disappointed me too, we didn’t even get to see the proposal and epilogue in their POV??? Oh, and the ratio of POV was beyond weird, if you’re gonna have the mmm feature that little just leave his perspective out of it. Anyway, this book did NOT work for me, but the promise in the first half earned two stars, and I will be open to potentially giving this author another chance in the future.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

As one of the photographers for the Chicago Cougars, Maggie Redford is in the perfect place for a baseball lover. She loves her work, and being with her best friend, Olivia, and the team, is a dream come true. However, the new player is none other than heartbreaker Tommy Mikals, whose last chance is in Chicago, and if he does anything to damage his reputation further, he will be dropped like that. So when the paparazzi get a shot of Maggie and Tommy leaving a club together, and claim they are a new couple, the only thing that can be done is for the pair to lean into the idea, and run with it. But will their fake romance be one that they can handle, or will their feelings become less forced, and more real?

I wasn't sure what to expect with this book because I know absolutely nothing about baseball. It's not a sport played in the UK, and all I know about it is that it's a bit like rounders and cricket joined together. Even so, as soon as I started this book, I was hooked. Maggie was such a likeable main character, whose love for her friends and family was so plain to see, and her job was so important too. Even if she was attracted to one of the players, she knew that getting involved would risk her job, and she wasn't going to do that, not when it was the only thing that had kept her going after the death of her late husband. She only went along with the plan to rehabilitate Tommy's reputation as a way to help him, and she tried to put up walls that were strong enough to keep him out. But he was persuasive, and had fallen for her from nearly the first moment. Tommy's past reputation wasn't completely true, but he definitely turned it all around when he was with Maggie, and he worked his butt off to prove he was worthy of her, and that she would be safe with him. Honestly, this was such a beautiful book, and I'm glad it's part of a series, as we need to see more of Maggie and Tommy in the future!

I want to say thank you to Netgalley for the audiobook of this romance book

I highly enjoyed reading this & one of my favourite tropes in fake dating turning into real love for one another. Seeing two people who are from different sides of life and how they are more familiar then they thought. The romance here was nice a little faster then I like but was really enjoyable and this will definitely be a re-read for me

This is a feel good story for all those who love a good sports romance book. It came with smiles and tears for what the two main characters are going through in their life and how they help the other through it all.

First Base - Ally Wiegand

Maggie and Tommy were a delight to delve into, they both had great background stories that made the reader fall in love with them a little more. I enjoyed getting to know their respective families also. The author gave us great chemistry and I was rooting for them both straight from the beginning. The narrator did a fab job and it was so easy to follow and listen to. Thank you very much Netgalley and Bonnier UK Audio for this audio book version in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions

I loved this book! Listened to it as an audiobook and the narrator had a bit of a monotonous voice however the storyline gripped me and the ending had my heart full of happiness!

A lovely sports romance which is currently the rising genre!

Cute romance with loveable characters. I really enjoyed this audiobook and think the MCs had great chemistry. The book is really well written and gets you hooked quick