The Dugout

Let me ask you a question: If someone is vying for your spot on a team and just so happens to injure you during practice, would you believe it was on purpose? Word around campus is...it was no accident. That injury has cost me everything; my starting position, my junior year- and the draft. Now, I'm a senior fresh off recovery, struggling to find my groove, until the day I run into a nervous, fidgety, girl with freckles, in the dining hall. They call Milly Potter The Baseball Whisperer, The Diamond Wizard, and The Epitome of All Knowledge. She believes in baseball. She breathes it. She's the queen of an infamous dynasty, but no one actually knows who she really is, and she plans to keep it that way. One mishap in the panini line, one miscommunication in the weight room, and many failed attempts at an apology equal up to one solid truth- Milly Potter never wants to speak to me again- no matter how good my forearms look. Little do we both know, she's about to become more than just my fairy ballmother. 

The only fool around here is the fisherman hat-wearing, cookie-shoving, crushing-on-Carson Stone lady- I'm talking about you, Milly

Okay, first off, let's start this by saying that I've already come to realize that Meghan Quinn is a queen. She's one of my favorite authors, she writes magic, and I don't know how a person could not love everything she's ever put out. I always know when I open a book from Meghan that I'm going to love it, that it's going to exceed any expectations, and that she is going to leave me completely satisfied- while also making me laugh until I'm crying along the way. 

"Uh-huh. You know there's only so much busting of my balls I can take." From the playful lilt to his voice, I know he's not serious. "Poor baby, do you need me to coddle them?" Silence. Wait..what did I say? Did I offer to coddle his testicles? I think back to what I said and yup, would you look at that, I offered to nuzzle his junk

I loved everything about this book. I loved the characters, I loved the baseball, and I loved how it made me feel. Milly is, hands down, one of my favorite female characters now. She was SO relateable. She was awkward, had little to know experience interacting with a guy she found attractive, and was the ultimate tom boy. It was so refreshing to have this character described as someone that didn't go all out, didn't try to impress anyone, and was still described as beautiful. She was just your girl next door with a vast knowledge of baseball. I'm a huge baseball fan, so this made Milly even better to me! I just seriously loved everything about her, and that cookie scene, OMG I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard while reading a book. 

Carson was such a breath of fresh air. This wasn't a guy that was described as a womanizer, there weren't any exes that you had to worry about, he didn't have any groupies hanging around. I just liked that my anxiety could chill and I didn't have to worry about him finding himself in any type of trouble. It was just, for the most part, a light and feel good read. I also loved Carson's interactions with pretty much everyone, he was a genuine guy, and even when he acted like a douche, he immediately regretted it. 

The bond we have, this connection, it's what the greatest love stories are made of. It's what I want our story to be made of. 

What I didn't expect from this book, was for it to make me cry. I'm talking full on ugly cries. I don't know if it's because of what Carson was going through, or how he reacted to it. Or even if it was because Milly was such a wonderful person, she didn't give up. All I know is, there was this whole section of the book, labeled by months, that I was just crying like a baby. It really got to me, the real life anguish that was happening, it just pulled at my heart. 

I also feel like I need to point out, as usual, the side characters were just as fantastic as the main characters. I loved everyone, the baseball team, Milly's best friends, Milly's family..Meghan is the best at making you literally fall in love with almost everyone in her books. She always makes me wish I had these people in my life. 

Overall, I'm giving this one 5 STARS. It's a no brainier for me. I love Meghan, I love these characters, I love this series. I can't wait to find out what's next.