Series Review: Balls in Play by Kate Stewart

Series Review: Is this series worth your time? Does it get better as the novels progress? Or does it get worse? Find out below:

Balls in Play Series

Synopsis for Anything but Minor (from Goodreads):
“She’s a nerd.”
“Heyyyy!”
“Okay, she’s a flight instructor.”
“Better.”
“He’s a ballplayer.”
“The best that ever was.”
“Technically, you aren’t according to MLB stats.”
“See? Total nerd. She also has no filter.”
“He’s no southern gentlemen.”
“I had one last season to prove my worth.”
“I’d never seen a game.”
“He told me he was a player.”
“She told me she was a lesbian.”
“But you fell in love with me anyway.”
“Yeah, baby, I totally did.”

Series: Balls in Play
Author: Kate Stewart
# of Books: 2 (Anything but Minor, Major Love)
Book Order: Connected
Complete?: Yes
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Sports, Humour
Heat Rating: really warm
Point of View: First Person, Alternating
Publication Date: July 2016 – November 2016
Source & Format: Kindle Unlimited–eBook

**This post was originally posted as a Fresh Friday review of the first book of the series. It has now been updated to reflect my conclusion to DNF this series. It will not be further updated.**

Why I Picked it Up / My Expectations:

I saw this when I was browsing Top Romance reads on Kindle Unlimited. I’ll admit, it was the cover that first drew me in but when I read the synopsis, I couldn’t wait to start this book! I added it at the last minute when I was finishing up my Kindle Unlimited Trial, throwing a wrench in my reading plans but nevertheless excited to read a funny contemporary romance.

What I Liked:

–The Setting–

I really liked the sense of community this book created. When you meet all these characters and see their network, it made me excited to see what would happen to this crew in later books.

What I Didn’t Like:

–Insta-Love–

I couldn’t even tell you what these two liked about each other besides physical attraction. The romance just happened way too fast for me.

–It Just Bored Me–

Never have I contemplated DNFing a book more at the 50% mark than I have with this one. It’s a shame because this started so strong. I was chuckling along for the first 25% or so, getting used to the town and characters and then I just didn’t care anymore. Part of it was the insta-romance–I just wasn’t feeling these two together–but the other factor was the characters themselves.

Alice is quirky and I enjoyed that about her at the start. But then some of her traits just irked me. Like her inability to hold her bladder at certain times. Now, I’m not judging anyone who has bladder incontinence, but it was a little much for this story. And the humour started to die for me after that.

This story isn’t anything I haven’t read before and that just made it a little dull…

My Expectations for the Rest of the Series:

Despite the fact that I really liked the people I met in this story, I just don’t really care to read what happens next. And I feel like things were semi-wrapped up in Anything but Minor so I’m OK with how things end.

My Rating: 2/5

Anything but Minor 2/5 | Major Love N/A

This started strong but quickly bored me. If you haven’t read a lot of sports romances (or you really love them) this might be worth a read. Otherwise, if you don’t like quirky heroines, stay far away.

Read if You Like: quirky heroines, light romance, sports
Avoid if You: dislike sports