Book Smart Kate

Book: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Audiobook: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

by @aliciabooks – Many thanks to @berkleyromance and @prhaudio for the gifted digital and audio copies of this AMAZING book. Once I finished it, I immediately ordered a signed copy! Below is my honest review.

Daphne isn’t a big baseball fan, but she wasn’t about to let her ex-husband have the tickets her brother (who works for the team) got for them. This is how she finds herself drunk behind home plate, heckling the players while the ink is barely dry on her divorce papers. But when one of her jabs hits too close to home for the home team’s third baseman, Chris Kepler, Daphne regrets her taunting and takes to Instagram DMs to apologize. Unfortunately, she forgets to identify herself as the heckler in all of her drafting and re-drafting of the apology. Chris doesn’t usually respond to DMs, but something about the message from duckiesbooks draws him in, and they strike up a friendship that starts to become something more and begin to share parts of themselves they’ve never shared with anyone. But as the days go by and Duckie doesn’t own up to being the heckler, it becomes more challenging to do it, particularly when she gets an opportunity to work as a temporary sideline reporter for the team. Now Chris knows Duckie and Daphne as two separate people.

I have read numerous sports romances, yet this book stands out EASILY as one of my favorites. It weaves a compelling plot, introduces two remarkably relatable and complex characters, and the sport is not just a backdrop but an integral part of the story. The supporting characters are a delight, and the personal growth of key characters is wonderful. The romance is a perfect blend of steamy and tender, evolving from no strings to a deep connection in such a sweet and tentative way. The third act is a testament to the authenticity of the characters, filled with both subtle intimacies and grand gestures. 

Kristen Sieh (Funny You Should Ask) narrates the audiobook and does a fantastic job with both POVs and tons of text interactions.

Do you have a favorite sports romance? If not, what are you reading now?