Review: A Whole New Ball Game by Stephanie Rose


Note: An advance reader copy (ARC) was provided by the author.

There's something about a Stephanie Rose-penned romance that always leaves me with a happy sigh from my lips and an all too satisfied smile on my face, and the trend continues with her latest standalone, which I'm hoping is just the beginning of a new series. A Whole New Ball Game is a contemporary romance set in Brooklyn, New York, and it features a recently retired star baseball player and an aspiring romance author who cross paths, spend one night together, and go their separate ways with nary a promise for more. However, fate has something else planned for these two.

Forty-two-year-old Silas Jones has no time to wallow over how his playing career ended. He's been given the opportunity to take the Brooklyn Bats as far as he can as the team's new manager, and he intends to show the front office that he's more than a name or personality to drum up business. Meeting Rachel Manning is unexpected, and while he's enchanted by her, Silas knows he can't offer the thirty-three-year-old romance novelist more than one night. That point is further solidified when she turns out to be part of the PR team assigned to the Bats. A no-fraternization clause means Rachel can't risk the job that helps her be her younger sister's legal guardian, but neither she nor Silas quite expected to see each other again or to fall in love. 

Main characters in their 30s and 40s, an age gap, a meet cute that is exactly that, and an older sister who's more like a parent? Yes, please! Stephanie Rose has put all these elements together and produced a standalone that's as swoony with the romance as it is heartwarming with the family angle. I loved Silas and Rachel, and Taylor, Rachel's thirteen-year-old younger sister, was a standout peripheral character who I'm hoping will get her own book sometime in the future. There were also a couple of other supporting characters who were part of the team that have potential to headline more Brooklyn Bats stories. Hint, hint. A Whole New Ball Game receives five stars.

Release Date: 24 April 2025

Date Read: 23 April 2025

Learn more about Stephanie Rose.

Purchase A Whole New Ball Game on Amazon.

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