Sophie Reads YA: May 2024

May Summary

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ARC Review: First Base (Chicago Heartbreakers #1) by Ally Wiegand

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First Base
Series: Chicago Heartbreakers #1
Author: Ally Wiegand
Published April 23rd 2024 by Embla Books/8th Note Press

Goodreads Synopsis
It was just a game... until the rules changed.

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 between 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 PR's plan of faking a romance to the world.

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 can they even make it past first base?
Goodreads

Review
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!

Dates Read:
May 26, 2024

Rating
4 Stars

4 Stars

Blog Tour & ARC Review: Miss Isobel And The Prince (The Triplet Orphans #2) by Catherine Tinley

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4 Stars

ARC Review: Miss Rose and the Vexing Viscount (The Triplet Orphans #1) by Catherine Tinley

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Miss Rose and the Vexing Viscount
Series: The Triplet Orphans #1
Author: Catherine Tinley
Published October 26th 2023 by Mills & Boon Historical

Goodreads Synopsis
An unsuitable match for the Viscount

And not just because she vexes him!

One of The Triplet Orphans. Bookworm Rose Lennox has no interest in making her debut—she’s only in London to discover the truth of her parentage. Her sponsor’s nephew James, Viscount Ashbourne, is equally cynical about the marriage mart, yet they still rile each other every time they speak! The sparks of animosity soon become flames of attraction, but Rose’s unknown past means she can never be a viscount’s wife…
Goodreads

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

When they turn 21, orphaned triplets Annabelle, Isobel, and Rosabella Lennox are told by their guardian that it was their mother's wish for them to head to London for a Season. Giving each of them a challenge to discover more about their mother, and her reason for being in Scotland alone, they head out for an adventure. However, youngest sister Rose is less inclined to the social side of the Season, and would rather return to Elgin to become a teacher. However, her host's handsome nephew, James, Viscount Ashbourne, may just be the one to make her reconsider. But would a viscount ever want to be with a bookworm whose parentage is unknown?

When I first started reading this book, I clearly wasn't in the right mood for it, as I only got 2 chapters in, and wasn't hooked. However, when I tried again, the triplets story gripped my attention, and the more time that James and Rose were together, I needed to read on to see them hopefully get a happy ending. Rose was always the shier of the sisters, but with James she was comfortable enough to snap back, and make snarky comments, cementing their friendship greatly. Both fell hard for the other, but fought their attraction as much as possible. I hated the third act breakup scenes, but James's actions more than made up for it. The discovery at the end of the book on who exactly their mother had been was fantastic, and though I'd guessed at the connection earlier, it was lovely to see it play out. The other sister's have had their stories planned out, and I can clearly see who their love interests are going to be - I can't wait for Isobel's with her prince!

Dates Read:
April 28, 2024

Rating
4 Stars

Ali Hazelwood

Waiting On Wednesday: Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood

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3 Stars

ARC Review: Say You Swear (Boys of Avix #1) by Meagan Brandy

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Say You Swear
Series: Boys of Avix #1
Author: Meagan Brandy
Published March 26th 2024 by Bloom Books

Goodreads Synopsis
From USA Today bestselling author Meagan Brandy comes the viral TikTok sensation Say You Swear. When Arianna starts college, she's hopeful this will finally be the year she wins the heart of her brother's best friend. But things don't quite go as planned...and that's when she meets football star Noah.

Her brother's best friend broke her heart, but what happens when his new teammate wants to put it back together?

Arianna Johnson has been dreaming of what college life might bring, and it’s finally coming over the horizon as she and her friends plan one last beachside summer together. So much has changed over the years, but there’s always been one constant. The boy her heart returns to no matter where her imagination runs: her brother’s best friend, Chase.

This is the summer she’ll finally tell him how she feels. That it’s him. It’s always been him.

Until suddenly, it isn’t.

Ari’s heart is in splinters when she meets star quarterback Noah Riley. His friendship is exactly what she needs after Chase’s rejection, but from the start, Noah wants more. Even when their path is blurry, even when tragedy strikes, even when Ari doesn’t know her own heart, Noah will fight for the feelings he knows they both have…no matter what it might cost them.

They say first love lasts forever. Ari is about to find out if that’s really true.
Goodreads

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

Arianna Johnson has been looking forward to college so much, especially when her brother and all of their friends will be together. Spending one last summer at the beach house their parents bought for them, it's the perfect time to see whether her brother's best friend, Chase, loves her as much as she does him. He's always been the one for her, and one night on the beach seems to imply that he feels the same. But when he breaks her heart, she doesn't know what to do, and keeps the pain and heartbreak to herself. At least, until she meets the quarterback of the guys new football team, Noah Riley. Noah seems to see through her walls, and wants to know everything there is to know about her.

I think this book has been one of the most hyped NA romances recently, so grabbing my review copy was no hardship. I liked Ari, and her and Noah definitely had a romance and chemistry which was epic. It was a bit convoluted at times, and definitely overly dramatic, but also that added to the enjoyment of it all. I hated Chase from pretty much the first view pages, and the way he treated Ari was not on, at all. I'm glad that everyone eventually found out what he had done, but it could've come sooner, and lessened the amount of heartbreak that Ari and Noah had to face. There was so much potential in this book to make it 4.5-5 stars, but the plot twist was honestly one of the worst I've read in a long time, and I hated every second of the aftermath. Even so, there was so much drama and intrigue that I had to read it all in one sitting, and I probably will when the next book is released too. Definitely an over hyped book, but one that I couldn't put down.

Dates Read:
February 18, 2024

Rating
3 Stars