Stealing Home

Broken Vows

by Kimberly Carrillo

Harlow is off-limits. As my coach’s wife, I know I should leave her alone. I definitely should not be finding opportunities to see her and texting her when I know she’s alone.
She’s a beautiful woman. I can’t be the only man who flirts with her. It’s harmless, until I see my coach take another woman into his hotel room when we’re away for a game.
I won’t let her husband or our age difference keep us apart. Now I’m playing for keeps, and this time I’m stealing home.

This is a stand-alone romance with an HEA.

Genres: Romance, Sports, Sports Romance, Contemporary Romance, Baseball, BDSM, Contemporary

390 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 10, 2023

About the author

Kimberly Carrillo is a storyteller from the Pacific Northwest, currently living in a small town with her teenage son and a house full of pets. The author of the romantic suspense Destroy Series, and other books, Kimberly writes tales of beautiful, messy love. When she isn’t reading or out supporting her son at sports events she can be found moving a cat off her keyboard so she can help the heroine find the love that she deserves.

Follow her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kdcarrilloau...

Titkok: @kimberlycarrilloauthor

Instagram: @kdcarrilloauthor

www.kimberlycarrilloauthor.com

Reviews

[Vee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now this was an insta-love, but the FMC needed a man that wasn’t a piece of sh*t like her husband, so I support this decision. Doesn’t mean I’m behind all the decisions (😬), but this one I am.

This is an age gap and forbidden romance between the coach's wife and a college player. He was 21 and she was 33/34. Prior to the beginning of their relationship, the MMC had a crush on her for 3 years, so the wheels were already in motion.

There was some emotional cheating, but the relationship between the two main characters doesn't begin until after the FMC has separated. Again though, her husband was a piece of sh*t. Like scum of the earth.

Now, I appreciated the DV Survivor storyline and the strength of the FMC throughout the book, but the romance didn’t feel very natural to me and I had a couple of other issues (that may only bother me)

I’m not a big fan of (some) nicknames, so her constantly calling him ‘hotshot’ cringed me out and weirdly made me more aware of her age and made me think of her as older. It sounded like it would be used in a baseball movie, set in the 1950s. I don’t know if this makes sense, but it’s in the same realm as ‘champ’, ‘ace’, or ‘big shot’. Possibly overthinking this 😅

Also … the wording could be a little awkward, especially when she first met Wren, who I assume is from another one of this author's books (I looked and her book is Two Wrongs).

Wren shared her whole life story and it sounded like a book synopsis. She married her husband’s dad, who reads to her (I’m assuming that’s a pivotal scene in her book) and then we hear all about Bestie Bess. Then we meet Granny D and Griffin, who we must mention saved Wren from something. I don’t need all this context. Wren your book is probably great, but currently, I don’t want to be focused on you and these conversions have such unnatural segues🤔

Again, personal preference. I’m not the biggest fan of other books crossing over into a new book and their whole plot being rehashed. If it’s relevant to the story then yes, but Granny D saving Wren and the mention of all these other plot lines in Two Wrongs seem irrelevant.

DNF at 54% as it’s not my kind of romance. I read over 50% and had an interest so it’s 3 stars. The two stars were lost as I had some issues with the writing … which is probably VERY clear 😂

If these things don’t bother you though, you should try

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved them soooooo much 🥹🥹🥹🥹 I know this book will definitely not be for everyone bc they’re technically cheating together, but I loooooved it 🤭
I love me a soft heroine with a protective, would do anything for her hero and that’s exactly what Harlow and Scott were!
The was Scott cared for her and loved her just, ugh, filled me with happiness lol.
I also loved the uniqueness (in my opinion) of how she’s not claiming she needs “time” for herself after her divorce. She’s been alone in her marriage for eleven years and she deserves someone who is all in for her. In so many books, the h pushes the H away because she feels she needs to be by herself after breaking up with someone. Which is totally valid, but I enjoy the sense of how this h needs the H and doesn’t want him to leave her alone
I just loved them so much, like I know I already said that but I really did. Scott was so mature for his age and was honestly one of my favorite H’s I’ve ever read. He didn’t let a SINGLE person talk bad about OR to her. He truly loved her so much. He did not waver in his love or devotion to her for one second of this book. So yeah um, Scott… 🫶🫶🫶🫶

And of course I loved my poor, broken, insecure baby Harlow 🥺🥲 she was so scared to let Scott in, but she wanted to SO bad. She never had anyone truly love (not including her sister) or choose her, and she wanted to have someone so bad 🥹 and while she was scared to let Scott in, she couldn’t help but give in to him and I love it for her😇🤭 she just touched my heart because her husband and family truly made her self worth non-existent, and so she was always trying to put Scott ahead of her even though she wanted him with her.

Another thing I loved (yeah I know I loved the whole thing 😭) was that Scott never had intentions of playing ball after college, and had a solid career planned out for when he graduated. I don’t ever see that in sports romances and I really enjoyed it. And how he gave up his trust fund so he could make it on his own because if his parents weren’t going to support him and Harlow then he didn’t want it 😭 loved that. It was so sweet when he moved in with Harlow after this and allowed himself to lean on her for finances for a while until they move and he starts his job. I thought that was sweet bc usually H’s don’t like to reply on H’s for money.

I do wish we had gotten a further out epilogue, but I feel so solid in this couples future that I really didn’t feel like it was truly missing like I do with some books that have epilogues not very far out from the last chapter

I will say though that I wish Scott had taken legal action against Katrina. She sexually assaulted him not once, but twice. I did appreciate though that he didn’t treat her delicately after she assaulted him while he was sleeping. When I read that he shoved her out of his bed, I was sooo happy. Usually girls who sexually assaulted H’s in books are treated as if they just did something silly, but not here because Scott was pissed. With the second assault, which technically happened before the first but isn’t revealed until after, I usually hate that troupe of how it was revealed, but once again Scott made me sympathetic to him when I wouldn’t normally be with the way it was revealed. (The sexual predator Katrina secretly filmed herself blowing a blackout out of his mind Scott ). He was sick and very upset about it, and had no clue it happened.

Anywayyyyyyyyyyy. I’ll be thinking about this book all day I just adored it.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I really liked this book, I loved seeing Wren and Griffin and their whole gang from the first book.

In this book I loved Harlow and Scott, they had so much going against them and he was so down bad for her and so sweet and everything she needed.
Her husband was a piece of shit and I’m so glad she left him so early in the book cus I was worried it’d be a whole dragged out thing. All the drama surrounding the divorce was dragged out but her decision to leave him before she would start something with Scott had me really rooting for her.
She had a lot of issues to work through but the H was really supportive and for a 20/21 yr old he was so mature that you wouldn’t feel their age gap except it was constantly brought up.
They go through a lot, there’s a lot of really good side characters that are on the couples side and they get a really nice ending.

Safety: SPOILERS

There is no cheating between Scott and Harlow, there’s OWD but he’s completely faithful to her.

OM: none apart from her abusive ex husband causing her stress and scaring her because he won’t accept the divorce. They were married for over 10 years I think but she hadn’t slept with him in over a year even before she filed for divorce.
He’s been cheating throughout their marriage and for the last year blatantly sleeping with and being seen with a trainer for the team.

OWD: so firstly I’ll say that Scott was a virgin but just as in he’d never had full sex but he did other things.
He was with his high school girlfriend Mara for 3 years and she wanted to wait so they’d be each others first, last and everything but he ended it a year ago after he found her in bed with someone else. Then he went off the rails a bit and was drinking and earned himself the nickname ‘the hookup king’ from his teammates.

“At the last moment, I always lost my nerve. I’m not a saint though. There I was with a raging hard on, and a willing woman, so I did what most men would do. I pushed them to their knees, and let them relieve at least one of my problems. I’m not selfish. They always left satisfied, even if I remained a virgin.”

Anyway, this all apparently came to an end even a few months before he started pursuing the h. He stopped drinking and he knew they only wanted him because they thought he was getting drafted and going pro. But one of these hookup girls, Katrina wouldn’t leave him alone and after she slept with a teammate he was completely done with her. At a party at the team house the H was in bed asleep and she snuck into his room and cuddled into him and put her hand down his boxers, he woke up and pushed her off and screamed at her and the other guys came in and his friends told her off too and she was banned from the house after that. They even said it was assault and that he could have called the police but the police are apparently corrupt and the town wants to team to win so nothing would have came of it.
Later when the H and h are properly together but still a secret, a guy on the team who is jealous of the H and the girl Katrina share a video to everyone in the bar of her giving the H a bj that was taken months prior and he is blackout drunk in the video and they alluded to it being taken the night before. The h is at the same bar with her friends, the H is there with his teammates and they did this because they found out about Harlow and Scott and were trying to break them up, her ex husband was also at the bar and shows his true colours in public when he hits her.
Harlow freaks out and leaves and they don’t see each other for a week, she realises it was an old video because he was actually at the hospital during the time it apparently happened and the girl couldn’t get her story straight when the other people in the bar questioned her about it. The H was so sick about this because he was basically assaulted again, he didn’t know the video was being taken, he even gets his housemate to switch rooms with him cus he couldn’t be in the room where it was filmed.
But after the h and H talk and she believes he didn’t cheat they’re relieved because now everyone knows about them and they don’t have to be secret anymore, he even told his parents.

His dad is a giant fucking asshole and even though Scott has told him Harlow filed for divorce, her ex was abusive to her and how much she meant to him and he loved her his dad wanted to break them up. So during a visit to his parents, his dad orchestrated for his ex Mara to show up. Scott was furious and told her to fuck off and went off on his dad, even his mom was pissed at his dad.
Later at a baseball game his parents are trying to make amends but he sees them talking to his ex again and assumed they brought her but apparently she took it upon herself to visit and try to talk to Scott, he shuts her down so hard it was so satisfying.
But during this distraction where he’s talking to his parents and putting ow in her place Harlow is kidnapped by her ex. When Scott realises and goes to get her back and when she’s in the hospital after, he can’t find out anything from the Dr because he’s not family and his dad is just like oh you’ll have to marry her soon and then it’s just all suddenly accepted by the dad. The dad did and said so much to and about the couple I don’t think I could have forgiven him for a long time.

It’s not explained after what happened to the ex husband like if he was jailed or for how long or anything.

Also there was a chapter where they went to a sex club and it was the most random thing just threw in there, made no sense and did nothing for the story. They watched for a bit and he was touching her and then she wanted to go home to finish but it was just so out of place in the book.

Dual pov
Age gap she’s 33 he’s 20 and turns 21
Hea
Epilogue is weeks later they’re getting married and she’s found out she’s pregnant. I would have loved a years later epilogue too though

I wish I was someone who can write short and to the point reviews while still giving all the details/spoilers because I can only seem to ramble and not even in a good way, excuse this review it’s a mess but it’s 1.30am and I needed to get this all out before I go to sleep and forget 😂

[Christina Rybka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harlow is my Coach’s wife and she is definitely off limits. Coach makes Harlow do an event for players and children, and Scott and Harlow become friendly. The attraction between is intense, but they won’t cross lines. Scott is at an away game when he sees Coach bring a woman in his room. Scott sends Harlow a picture, and she decides to leave her husband. Harlow is thirteen years older than Scott, doesn’t want to be with an athlete. Can Harlow look past all the obstacles and be with Scott? Great characters and storyline Highly Recommended Amazing Book. I love Scott and Harlow and the character development was excellent. Great supporting characters. This story touches on topics so you should check your trigger warnings.

[Paige McPherson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Identity Crisis

This book could have been soooo good. Instead it was like three books in one. Zero character development, the storyline jumped around and just had so much going on. The ending was definitely predictable but better written compared to the first half of the book. Unfortunately, I do not recommend .

[Sophie Bojo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75⭐️
insta love but cute story
loved the side characters

[thebeespot72 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stole My Heart

I wasn't ready. Author Kimberly Carrillo's "Stealing Home" was heartbreaking and angsty––but a wonderful read.

First, I can count how many reverse age gap romances I have read—not many. I am all about the older man/younger woman trope. In "Stealing Home," Harlow is 33, Scott is 20, and he is in college. Harlow is also married, but stay with me here.

I got completely sucked in. But here's how I'm rationalizing my unusual reading behavior. Scott is such a sweet young man. I seriously found myself blushing. Scott is genuinely such a nice guy. A senior in college and a shoo-in for professional baseball, Scott finds himself drawn to his coach's wife and becomes alarmed when he sees signs of potential ab/üse. When an opportunity arises to work closely with her, Scott nabs that chance, and the two grow closer. Although he gets wrapped up in Harlow's challenging life, he is there for her 100%—the good and the bad, proving to her that age is just a number and his love and respect for her is what truly counts.

"Stealing Home" was a sweet read with several spicy moments. Read the TW/CWs. It is a standalone but interconnected with other books in the author's series—other characters are mentioned from previous books.

[Katie Jae · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Adds Scott Ryan to my wishlist*🫠🫠🫠

I can’t tell you how many times I said his name in shock while reading this, the man was a virgin? Talking dirty like that? Hook him up to a polygraph machine because I think he’s a liar.

Honestly, the story wasn’t great. There was a lack of details with the characters and I felt the story itself was lacking overall, seemed rushed.

However, the spice? Man, the spice was spicing🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ V card went out the window and Scott turned into an animal🥵

Though I was a little upset that there wasn’t much baseball, Scott made up for it with his dirty mouth😏

[Daisy Nijs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stealing Home is a reverse age gap romance between a baseball player and the coach’s wife.
Is it wrong to fall for your coach’s wife? Probably, but when Scott sees how the coach treats Harlow and cheats on her, he knows she isn’t in a happy marriage. And he will do anything he can to make her see the life she really deserves.
I’m still rather new to Miss Carrillo’s books, but she makes me love them more and more with each book I read. This book has the perfect combination of drama mixed with happiness and how good life can really be with the right people in your life. Even when doubts and insecurities make Harlow question everything, Scott is able to make her see clear again and that it is okay to walk away from the bad.
I’m really excited to read more from this author. This book was fairly quickly devoured, it was really hard to put it down at night.

[TheReaderVert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cooling off steam

So… This is a difficult review to create.  I will say I'm not mad about reading it 😆.  The author is good and I appreciate her work. The thing I loved was how the book felt like an epilogue to the first book. I really enjoyed seeing how all of those tangled connections played out in the future.  It was the highlight of my read. 

 🚨⚠️ spoilers

A lot of my issues steam from just personal preference. I have become a fan of Reverse Age Gap stories and this is a great one. My biggest holdout revolves around my personal feelings on college-age main characters. I knew that going in and Ryan is a great guy. Just for me reading the steam scenes took me out of the moment. It was really difficult seeing a former virg!n become this earth-shattering wonderful smex god with great dom scene skills. I just struggled with viewing a 20/21-year-old that way 😆. When she calls him Sir,  it just doesn't hit the same,  at all. That's a me issue not with the writing. When Ryan wasn't being a Dom in the bedroom I did enjoy the spice. It was well done and delivered. 

👌🏾The MMC was nice (haha),  but for me,  just didn't light a flame to Griffith. Griffith was all manly growls and his forceful daddy ways were 🥵.  Here Ryan was more bell pepper 🤷🏾‍♀️. 

👎🏾I didn't love the proposal. It was not my favorite thing and the epilogue was not as enjoyable or satisfying as Two Wrongs. I actually cried during the epilogue in the other book 😆. Like real tears in my eyes. It felt like a beautiful way to thank us for reading the angst.

👎🏾As odd as it sounds,  I sort of wish the one parent held on to the relationship's disapproval for a little bit. An attitude of "I'll come to terms but not be gung-ho" 😆.  I would have appreciated that level of realism with everything else that pops off in the book. It made the story realistic and grounded with everything else going on. 

👍🏾 I'm going to end on the good. I thoroughly enjoyed the story. The author is really good at what she does. She makes you feel for all of these people and it's lovely to see how they exist in the world after their books are written. 

👍🏾Fist pump for how mental health is encouraged in these stories. So much talk about PTSD from abuse, and needing to go to therapy were all great additions to the dialogue.  I love seeing that.  I loved the acknowledgment. Seeing how Low got the help she needed was real and I appreciated those scenes. The camaraderie with their immediate friend Wren was a full-circle moment for Wren and it was nice seeing the growth of the former MFC. Low was the perfect mix of emotions and actions. She wasn't an annoyance nor was she weak and meager.

[Julie Booklover · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. There are many reasons Harlow and Scott should not be together. Their story is emotional, and the characters are beautifully written. You will detest Harlow’s ex for his treatment of her. You will swoon as Scott realizes how Harlow is treated and becomes her friend. You will cheer Harlow as she grows to realize what and who she needs in her life.

Thank you to the Author for the advanced copy; this is my voluntary review.

[Marta Pelech · Rating 2 out of 5]

Scott's been reading too much smut

[Keza Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harlow and Scott should not be together. She is the coaches wife, and he is the coaches pitcher.

Harlow has been abused for far too long by her husband, and now someone sees her. He wants to help her, protect and love her.

Harlow's scars run deep, and she soon comes to find that Scott is all in with her!

Harlows story is a heartbreaking one. Being in an abusive relationship is something only the person who experiences it or who has been can truly understand.

Finding love again and a good supporting and caring network of friends and family like Harlow and Scott did is fantastic.

This was my first book from Kimberly, and it will not be my last. I really loved this book from beginning to end.

[World Of Books 65 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book by this author, and what a great introduction, Stealing Home will steal your heart, it is an emotion-driven romance with Harlow at the centre of it and Scott, the young college baseball player that is about to steal her heart and be there when she finally makes the move to get away from her controlling husband who also happens to be the coach of Scott's baseball team.

Scott is twelve younger than Harlow, but at no time did that seem too big of an age gap, his maturity was evident right from the start, the obstacles that this couple have to overturn were never going to be easy, but when they get their HEA, WOW was it worth the wait, great heat, great connection a must-read.

[Yanilsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually really liked this one. I thought the reverse taboo was refreshing, so props.!

[mantha_ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Update: I couldn’t sleep last night and this book was bothering me so I (ever the masochist) re-downloaded it and kept reading.

I’m not going to slag it off anymore. I think the smut was fine.
The ending happened, and I wouldn’t recommend you pick this up.

_________

This book was so repetitive that I genuinely thought about editing it myself for funsies. I had to DNF otherwise this would have been stupidly long and there’s only so much hate reading a person can endure.

My issues? …, glad you asked.

I shouldn’t be 30% of the way in and reading about his cheating ex for the THIRD TIME over a couple of pages.

It felt very jumpy; none of the plot points had a smooth transition between them. Where was the chemistry? Why does he care so much? Why does she immediately trust him?

there was no actual introduction to the MMC, he just appeared.

I’m guessing the other characters were from other novels but I truly didn’t give a fuck about their backstory, as it made little sense. They were suddenly there with an information dump & friendship bracelets.

I knew this was an age gap before I started (MMC being 20 was a bit of a personal ick so I just aged him up in my head) but what 20YO talks like this “you’re safe with me”. SIR…. You just met.

There’s a moment where she finds out her husband is tracking her location but that is never explicitly said. “the feature has been activated” we need context!!!

My final issue (as I DNF’d at 47%) is that she serves papers to her husband, spends the night with her boy toy and then is kissing him in public. I thought we were still hiding? What about the “fall out”. Consistency, where?

I know writing is hard, and this feels like I’m putting a dampener on someone’s hard work but there are so many resources to ensure readers aren’t being fed the same information over and over again, it’s hard to not view the book in a negative light.

[Tammy Manning · Rating 5 out of 5]

I may be a little biased considering that I was an Alpha reader for this book and I’ve read some parts so many times that I’ve lost count…but I absolutely loved this book. Even going back and doing a read through from start to finish, I flew through it and still loved every minute of it.

Harlow doesn’t have the greatest self esteem thanks to her abusive husband and all she wants is for someone to see her. Enter Scott, who has been watching Harlow for years (in a non creepy way). Scott sees not only Harlow, but the fact that her husband Nando is actually an abusive asshat, paving the way for Scott to make his move. And let me tell you, when he sets his sights on her, he’s not about to give up, even though she’s older than him and the fact that her soon to be ex-husband is his baseball coach.

The way that Scott is with Harlow is completely swoon worthy. He helps her to see herself in a more positive light, and when he realizes that she’s going to need more than just him, he encourages her to seek therapy. He’s there for her in a way that nobody has been in a long time and I loved watching her growth because of it. Their journey isn’t easy by any means and they have a lot of obstacles to overcome but the end result is more than worth it. I absolutely love Scott so so much. I told Kimberly while she was writing it that I thought he was a cinnamon roll in the streets and an alpha in the sheets, and damn was I right. He’s sweet, patient, and totally devoted to Harlow but will totally take control and show that dominant edge when there are sexy times.

I love these two as a couple and I loved reading their story. Add in the fact that we get to see the characters from Two Wrongs in this book as well, and I couldn’t get enough it. I can’t wait to see what Carrillo writes next.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled with this as I wanted to like it so much more. I love reverse age gap stories and the premise here of the coach's (ex)wife and a guy from the team is unusual.

However, I found the writing frustrating, repetitive and cliched in places, while the instalove storyline is difficult to believe - how did they build trust, understanding and interest in each other? There's no foundation to their relationship. The idea that Scott, who is ostensibly a virgin, becomes some kind of dominant sex god as soon as they are together, and this doesn't have any impact on her PTSD despite being assaulted and coerced into sex by her ex-husband seems...unlikely. There's a whole load of other woman drama too (not Scott's fault) where a jersey chaser has abused him twice, including one occasion where she filmed it and allowed one of the team to share the video. At no point does Scott contact the university, or the actual police, to press charges, despite being furious and upset. I don't understand. Also, there's a totally random, truncated, visit to a sex club which in no way relates to the rest of the story.

I did enjoy the cast of secondary characters - both Harlow's friends and the baseball team were engaging and enjoyable to read and added life and energy to the story. I also really liked that Harlow stood up for herself against her husband, even when he publicly hit her and verbally abused her. And although throughout the story Harlow usually had friends and Scott to defend her around, when it mattered, she was able to save herself. Go girl!

[Misty (Reds Romance Reviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

She is the last woman on earth he should be interested in or even think about pursuing...she is married to his coach, but it's easy to see that it's not happily. He sees the bruises, the fake happiness and smiles, and misery written all over her face and he wants nothing more than to fix it, to put a genuine smile back on her face.

It's starts out as harmless flirting and friendly exchanges, but then Scott witnesses something unforgivable, and it's the perfect reason to make Harlow his once and for all.

Stealing Home is an emotionally charged forbidden romance that is destined to leave a mark on your heart. These two characters will wander onto the page, their beautiful, yet sometimes painful, love story will unfold and you will find yourself completely taken with it all. The words captured my attention from the first page and didn't let go until the last, I just couldn't pry my eyes from the pages, I had to see Harlow find her well deserved happily ever after.

This is a first read for me and I have to say it impressed on all fronts, the words were captivating and emotive, the characters so easy to love, and the happily ever after heartfelt. I loved every minute of it! It's the perfect escape, highly recommend you take a chance on it!

I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving my honest and unbiased opinion.

[KassiKayC · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I can say 1 thing about this book and only 1 thing it would be... Where do i get a Scott Ryan? That man is so steadfast and determined to show Harlow how much she means and how much more her life could be. He is always there for her. He doesn't waiver. I thought I loved Griffin, but Scott outshines. I loved getting to see little glimpses into Wren and Griffins future and how their gang so readily accepts Harlow and makes her family when she needs it most. I will say I am also not always a huge fan of the reverse age gap. Tragic I know, but I love this book. ... What did her husband do to finally get her to leave? Was he always abusive in some way? Does he readily let her go? Harlow meets scott who is a player for her husbands team at a dinner then they are forced to partner together on a project when her husband puts her in charge of a baseball camp. A camp he gets her fired from her job to spend more time on. For Scott he knows right away and he wants more of Harlow. In whatever way she will have him, colleague, friend or more. Does Harlow let him in? Does she keep running? What happens with her ex? Does he get what's coming to him or does he get away scott free (...see what I did there)? This book was great and as much as I loved Harlow and Wren, I loved this 2nd book more, which I can't often say in a series. I would love to see where they are 5 years from now! 

[Whispered Secrets · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stealing Home is everything an old woman like me could ask for. This woman has lied to herself about how her husband has treated her for years. She knows he’s borderline abusive but he is so far beyond that. She reasons with herself that he’s never hit her so he’s not physically abusive. Although she knows he is emotionally abusive and just plain mean to her. But she stays because she thinks she can’t make it on her own. It’s not that she’s afraid for herself, but her sister has already lost some much. She will endure whatever she has to to keep her sister safe and happy.
Until the hot observant pitcher on her husbands baseball team starts to acknowledge that he knows she’s being mistreated…he’s never not met a goal he’s set for himself and when he sets his site on her…there is no turning back. Not her ex, not his teammates, friends or parents will be able to keep them apart. The only thing that could is his career in baseball. BASEBALL could destroy all the hard work he’s put in. He has a secret not even his closest friend knows…a few actually.
This book is so enthralling from the very beginning. It’s hard to put down and all you wanna do is read until it’s over then it’s sad because it’s over. And you have no more words to read. This is the only downfall of the whole thing. I wanted more!!!!

[Stacey Foss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harlow has been beaten down, emotionally and physically from her husband her self-esteem is nonexistent, and she has finally hit the end of being able to deal with him. She is ready to leave her unhappy marriage and try and start a new life. Scott is the pitcher of the baseball team her husband coaches, and he is intrigued by Harlow, attracted to her and wants to protect her. These two form a friendship that leads to them both feeling more than friendly towards each other. This book has a lot of emotional feels to it and will have your heart aching as they both go through some struggles. Harlow with trust and self-esteem issues while also worrying she is not enough. Scott struggles with the life of a baseball player, his parents' disapproval and wanting to make her see him for who and what he is. This book was well written and will captivate you and pull you in. I devoured it in one sitting. I also loved that we got to see some characters from some of her other books. I have a huge heart for Griffen and Wren, so it was fun to get caught up with them in this book. I as given this book as an ARC for my honest review.

[Cheryl O'Harney · Rating 4 out of 5]

After years of being emotionally and physically tormented by her husband, Harlow’s self-esteem is nonexistent, he’s worn her down to the point where she’s finally had enough and is ready to say goodbye to what’s become an unhappy marriage and start a new life. Whilst in the process of preparing to leave her husband Harlow meets Scott, the pitcher of the baseball team her husband coaches.

Scott has always found Harlow attractive, and the pair find themselves working alongside one another on a baseball project, a friendship is formed which leads to things becoming a lot more friendlier between them, despite their obvious age gap. However there are hurdles in their path starting with Harlow’s soon to be ex husband and Scott’s coach, Nando. Harlow’s trust and self-esteem issues and Scott as he struggles with his parents disapproval and life as a baseball player in general.

This was a well written, emotion filled read with some great characters, the perfect companion to spend a cosy evening with, this was my first book by this particular author and I look forward to reading more.

𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀𝓈 & 𝐵𝑒𝓎𝑜𝓃𝒹 𝐵𝓁𝑜𝑔

[Marni Ortiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stealing Home by Kimberly Carrillo is such a exceptional read . So wonderfully written and e emotionally charged . The type of romance that has the ability to leave you utterly speechless, to make you feel like your heart is being crushed , to keep you on the edge of your seat anticipating what will happen from one second to the next . It’s simply a emotional rollercoaster in every single way . Scott and Harlow just grabbed onto my heart so tightly and reused to let go . Their journey is not easy by any means . Harlow has had to endure so much trauma do to being married to her ex husband who was extremely abusive . All she wants is to be in a healthy relationship and to be seen and loved . Then she meets Scott and everything changes . Scott is the type of guy everyone wishes for . He’s kind , and loving , and patient and protective and just what she needs . But they definitely have their work cut out for them to be together. Angst , humor , witty banter , off the charts chemistry, second chances, tragedy, passion, love , obstacles heartbreaking and heartfelt moments, struggles , family , friendships, phenomenal world building and so much more .
a few seconds ago

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harlow is in an abusive relationship with her husband, who is the coach of a college baseball team. Scott Is a baseball player on that team who has a crush on Harlow and notices the bruises.

Harlow's husband is the worst. She stays with him because she doesn't know where else to go and she is paying for her sister's school. I loved the addition of the characters from the first book in this series, Two Wrongs. They take Harlow in and make her family.

Reverse age gap is one of my favorite tropes and this one was done really well. Harlow is 33 and Scott is 20 when they get together. He is very mature and I didn't feel the age gap too much. There was a little drama with Scott's dad about their ages and the fact that Harlow was technically still married, but even that made sense and the story line progressed well.

Scott and Harlow are perfect together. Harlow has a lot to work through and Scott is patient and everything she needs.

This is an emotional story but it's not short on the spice. Scott likes to take control in the bedroom and Harlow is all for it.

This story is emotional, spicy, and so sweet. I love Scott's actual family and Harlow's found family.

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars, rounded to 5 because I got what she was going for

What I loved:
-interesting heroine who despite facing an aweful situation, she herself finds the strength to get out
-respectful, feminist hero
-accountability of men who didn't speak up when they knew a woman was getting cheated and abused
-the age gap here is delicious and it make sense that they are together
-the found family trope with Wren and Griffith and everyone else. supportive, funny, actually heartwarming

What I didn't love:
-you're telling me, the perfect feminist hero demands the woman to take his name after marriage? disgrace. it's like the book dipped a toe into sexism so suddenly i didn't know what to do with it
-he was possessive when he got the heroine, not toxic, but I would keep an eye on him. i am not a fan
-Wren/Griffith/Liam's storyline. Ghetto.

Overall I loved the older woman x younger man dynamic without the ageism that often plagues this trope. I would read more of this author in the future (except Wren's story, leave it alone)

[G · Rating 5 out of 5]

It consumed me

This book, this book, yes I repeated that twice, where to start, as soon as I started reading the first couple of pages I knew I was done for the next 12hours, (life in-between) I could not stop reading, my heart my whole soul was vibrating with the need to turn the next page, I have read books, I have been consumed by books, it's been a long while mind, but this one,when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it, opened my kindle app any chance I could just to read a few chapters, a few pages, i can't even give it more stars but if I could I would, I didn't want it to end, I can't believe I've finished it so quick, I just want to shout out to the author, 'what have you done to me' seriously though I'm needing to read every book in this universe that she has created, I know this is book 2, I got it through bookbub, so now I have to read book 1, probably this again, and so on. That's how it's going to go, yep, thank you kimberley my time is not my own anymore.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harlow & Scott

Baseball romance
Coach's wife
reverse age gap

Harlow is married to Nando the coach of the boys college baseball team. He was in the minor leagues after his college career but never moved to the majors. He was a miserable bastard and took it out on his wife Harlow.

At one of the baseball banquets, Harlow talks to one of the players, Scott and he notices the way that Harlow is around Nando, timid and scared. He wants to get to know Harlow better, they end up doing a baseball kids camp together and spend some time together there, but he wants more.

After filing for divorce from her piece of shit husband, Harlow and Scott have a relationship and you can see the love they have for one another, it may be quick but if you know you know!!

One part of this book (in my opinion) did not have to happen was when they went to the "club". Not sure what that was about but it felt forced and not necessary. I was a little taken back actually that that was put in there.

Anyway other than that strange part I really enjoyed this book. I received an ARC for this book in return for my honest opinion.

Please read the TW before reading!!

[Jen • jenteereads · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was so much promise to this book, but it just didn’t work for me. I thought the premise of a reverse age gap would be an issue for me, but honestly I loved it. It was the other parts that didn’t work for me. Like them telling each other they love each other before they know ANYTHING about each other. I also think it needs a stronger edit because some of the lines were so cringey.

Example: “Hang on to me, gorgeous, I’ll keep you from drowning. I’ll make room for you on my door.”

Then, like two days after meeting her they’ve professed their love to each other and he says shit like this: “I shake off his hand. “No offense, because I can see you all care about her, but she’s mine to take care of.”

This was so fucking random. Why are people always getting invited to sex clubs?? Outside of a book devoted to BDSM, they do it so poorly.

[Anna Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was veryyyyy instalove like almost immediately but still cutesy & enjoyable (emphasis on their relationship) bc mr ex husband should have died imo 🤷🏼‍♀️ not sorry about that but plus healing your partners insecurities is HARD, especially from past abusive relationships, to do and it was very feel good to read it with Harlow & Scott 🥰 but if I had to hear him say “I love baseball but I don’t wanna go pro” one more time I was going to throw my kindle

but since it’s interconnected & the side characters stories sound wild & his parents story seem even wilder???? I might pick up the others bc it was enjoyable and made me giggle & smile a lot ☺️

p.s. I’m a baseball coach wife so that’s what made me pick it up and I wasn’t disappointed:) (except for the fact of THIS specific coach bc fuck him sideways with a chainsaw fr)🫶🏻