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