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5 Stars / Contemporary / Review

Audiobook Review: Stealing Home by Tara Wyatt 🎧

Maggie Jennings didn’t think she’d ever see Dylan McCormick again. When she was eighteen, he took everything she had to give—her heart, her love, and her virginity—and then broke her heart when he left for college. But now he’s back in her life, playing for the Dallas Longhorns, where Maggie works as the team’s media director. Watching him on the field is the most exquisite torture—he’s a muscled, talented athlete who looks amazing in a pair of baseball pants. Seeing him again makes her want all kinds of things she shouldn’t.

Dylan McCormick has it all. A pro baseball career, millions of dollars, and a life most only dream of. But everyone has regrets, including Dylan—and his is Maggie. One look at her, and he knows that he’ll do anything to get her back. He wants her. He needs her. He’s determined to atone for the past while showing her the man he’s become because he knows there’s no one else for him. But the past has a way of refusing to stay buried, and when secrets surface, their sizzling chemistry may not be enough to keep them together…

Title:Stealing Home
Author:Tara Wyatt
Narrator(s):Alyssa Avery
Bradley Ford
Series:Dallas Longhorns (Book 1)
Pages / Length: 212 / 6hrs 44mins
Category / Genre(s):Contemporary
Audiobook
Trope(s):Second Chance Romance
Sports Romance (Baseball)
Point of View:First Person, Past Tense, Dual Viewpoint (H & h)
Narration Type:Dual
Location:Dallas, Texas, USA
HEA:âś”
Release Date:27th July, 2021
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Excellent story, characters and audio

This is the first Tara Wyatt book I’ve read (or in this case, listened to) and I was probably about 5 minutes in when I realised that it would definitely not be my last.

Stealing Home is the first book in the Dallas Longhorns series – the Longhorns being a baseball team from Texas. Maggie works for the team while Dylan is traded there after an injury and subsequent disastrous season at his previous club.

Longhorns connection aside, Maggie and Dylan are also former childhood sweethearts who didn’t part under the best of terms. And now it’s 10 years later and they’re once again in each others lives.

Maggie was a likeable and totally relatable character. She wanted to get over and move on from Dylan but even she admitted to herself that he was fooling herself. She was smart and a little sassy and I especially loved how, when things went wrong in her life, she wallowed for a bit then dusted herself off and got back down to business. A top character.

Alyssa Avery took on the role of Maggie and I loved how she brought emotion and depth to the character. She didn’t just read the lines but performed them – adding the necessary inflections, and acting it the way the author likely intended.

“…I fell hard for the story, the characters and the writing.”

Equally, Dylan was a great character and an exemplary hero. I loved that he was all in with Maggie despite initially turning down her relationship proposal and how he kept on trying to break all the ground rules she put down. He was very level headed and I enjoyed his bromance with Hunter just a smidge less than his romance with Maggie!

Dylan was read by Bradley Ford and did an equally excellent job of the part. He had a nice, deep and pleasant voice that I enjoyed listening to and he added great depth and emotion to the part.

In terms of the story itself, this was the kind of book that is just a joy and once I got into it, I wanted to keep listening just to hear more of the story. It’s a classic sports romance with second-chance vibes and I fell hard for the story, the characters and the writing.

This is the first book I’ve listened to in third person and it worked just as well as those I’ve listened to in first person. With each narrator taking the chapter written from their character’s point of view, we still got right into the heads and emotions of Maggie and Dylan.

I do also have to give honourable mentions for the accurate and sympathetic portrayal of mental illness, as brief as the mention was. And also for the Real Housewives reference, a particular pleasure of mine!

This is the ideal first book in a series as I loved Maggie and Dylan’s romance but also wanted to keep reading about this group of players, friends etc. I’ve popped all the following books on my wish list and can see myself grabbing them all in the very near future and devouring them as quickly as I did this one. Definitely 5 stars.

Tara Wyatt is a Canadian contemporary romance author. Known for her humor and steamy love scenes, Tara’s writing has won several awards, including the Golden Quill Award and the Booksellers’ Best Award. In addition, she was a 2018 RITA® Finalist for her romantic comedy novella, Until the Sun Sets.

When she’s not hanging out with your next book boyfriend, she can be found reading, watching movies, and drinking wine. Tara lives in Hamilton, Ontario with the world’s cutest dachshund, as well as her husband and daughter.

https://www.mayahughes.comhttps://www.instagram.com/mayahugheswrites/ https://www.goodreads.com/mayahughes https://twitter.com/mhugheswriteshttps://www.facebook.com/mayahughesauthorBookbubPinterestCircular TikTok Logo

Dallas Longhorns Series:

Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 4
Book 5
Scoring Position by Tara Wyatt Cover
Book 6

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