Flirting With First

Belltown Six Pack #5

by Sophia Summers, Heather B. Moore, Rebecca Connolly

Welcome to Belltown! Six baseball players meet in the college town of Belltown, Massachusetts, becoming best friends, their lives intertwining as they each get called up to the Major Leagues.

Follow Sawyer, Cole, Axel, David, Ryker, and Levi in these six swoony sports romances.

Visit us on Facebook: Swoony Sports Romances

Belltown Six Pack Series:
Hitching the Pitcher
Falling for Centerfield
Charming the Shortstop
Snatching the Catcher
Flirting with First
Kissing on Third

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Sports, Clean Romance, Sports Romance, Contemporary Romance, Fiction

234 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 3, 2019

About the author

Sophia Summers is an award winning author who just wants to relax a little and enjoy a great beach read. She lives in a quiet southern town brimming with an extra dose of hospitality and a whole lot of charm.

She writes historical romance under a different name. The Billionaire Royals is her first contemporary romance series.

Reviews

[Mara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ryker Stone aka Rabbit because he's one of the fastest runners in the league, and he's super lucky. He may be unbelievably fast on the baseball diamond, but not when it comes to love. He's interested in actress Trista McKinney, who he met a few months ago thanks to his friend Cole (another of the Belltown Sixpack), but he's not sure she's interested in him. Oh, Trista's interested alright, but Ryker keeps putting her in the friendzone. What's a girl have to do to get to first base with the first baseman?

I'm borrowing a word from GR friend Aimee (Getting Your Read On) Brown to describe Ryker and Trista's story--"yummy". It was SO good. I'm glad I got to learn more about Trista, because the little bit I got of her in Cole's story Falling for Centerfield didn't leave me with a good impression. She seemed like any other self-absorbed actress, but she's definitely not like that at all. Trista's first love isn't acting--that just pays the bills--it's actually math. Who knew she's a math geek? I loved when she met Ryker's parents, especially his dad the math professor. I liked that Trista took an interest in Ryker's little sister, Bree, and wanted to be friends with her.

I loved how Ryker was kind of insecure of Trista's interest in him at the beginning of the book--he wasn't full of himself like some pro ball players can be. That's why he kept saying stupid things that put Trista in the friendzone, but she didn't want to be there.

Ryker and Trista didn't have an easy time with their romance. He's traveling with his baseball team and she's shooting a movie in a different country. With the time zone differences and their work schedules, a part of me was afraid it might not work out, but of course these two manage to work it out and love wins in the end. #teamryker all the way. When he told her You're my stone I melted. So swoony.

#rykerstone #rabbit #firstbase #luckyrock #ItsNotaRockItsaStone #YoureMyStone
#belltownsixpack

This is a clean romance with swoony kisses. I received a complimentary copy to review but all thoughts expressed are my own.

[InD'tale Magazine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 4.5/5.0

“Flirting with First” is laugh out loud funny!

Read full review in the 2019 October issue of InD'tale Magazine.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice little addition to the bell town six pack. These are fun, sweet stories about the 6 baseball players who are falling in love. This one was hard to get into, they just were so awkward at the beginning. It ended well and had some nice moments. I liked that this one was less about baseball and really focused on the love story.

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
Yay! Another Belltown Six Pack story! I'm SO loving this series!! I love the blue on white theme with this book cover- it's so attractive to me. Like Ryker. 😍 I read this book right on the heels of Snatching the Catcher and Grizz who I think is still MY number one favorite but Ryker might hold a close second. A VERY close second.

Ryker is cautious when it comes to Trista because of her profession and the media exposure she frequently receives but Trista is all in and has been since she first met Ryker. She really wants to move forward with a relationship with him but between both of their occupations and Ryker's hesitation, things are moving at a snail's pace. Poor Trista was so frustrated! I felt her longing and her increasing desire to be near Ryker. She was practically begging Ryker to kiss her!

I love when Ryker decided he was all in. It was such a good moment for me as a reader. I just love all in moments. I loved how Trista wanted to protect her growing relationship with Ryker. I loved the "luck stone" and it played a part in the whole story. Especially the ending. 💙

This book is part of the Belltown Six Pack series but can stand alone. I would recommend reading them all though! It's a fun bunch of books!

Content: kissing

[Julie Carpenter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Go BellTownSixPack!!!!! Y'all, I've been loving this series. I've finished all 6 of the books and am a little sad that I've read them all. But the good news is that I can go back and read them again. And let me tell you that Ryker's story is one I want to reread. I picked it up and devoured it in one reading! It also helped that I was in the mountains and had some quiet time to myself while reading.

Trista is a movie star and a model. We met her in a previous book as a background character. I didn't really like her that much in that book. But then, this book happened. And she has quickly become one of my favorite leading ladies of the BellTownSixPack! She was not who I thought she was from the first little introduction of her in the previous book. I absolutely adored her character and reading about her backstory. She's fabulous!

Plus her and Ryker were a perfect pair. They had their struggles to endure, especially dealing with his intense sports season schedule and her filming schedule. Two very difficult schedules to balance and find any time with each other. But believe me when I say that I loved the scenes when they were together and finding any little time they could to be together. There are a couple scenes I want to reference but I just can't otherwise I'd end up spoiling things for you. Oh, but it's good!

These two characters are a little unsure of themselves and the best way to go about showing their affections towards each other. It was fun watching their flirting, or rather trying to flirt at the beginning. They have their reasons for it of course and those reasons are fun to watch play out throughout the book. *happy sigh*

You could read each book alone if you wanted to. But I will say that reading all of them in order is very, very enjoyable! I love having all the characters still portrayed and included in each book. It's so fun to get to these final books and still seeing previous characters that I've come to love and cheer for! Even their leading ladies!

Content: Clean. Some kissing but nothing further. Some very mild innuendos.

I received a copy from the publisher. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

[Katie (hiding in the pages) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic series! I have loved getting to know each member of the Belltown Six Pack better and this was Rabbit's story. He's really fast and really lucky, on and off the field, but a last minute date with up-and-coming actress, Trista, puts him in a whole new league. These two each have high profile careers, which makes for some drama, but the heart knows the truth.

I thought this author did a great job of portraying the demands of a pro athlete's career, as well as a Hollywood actress's. Meshing these two difficult schedules isn't easy, but true love is worth it, if they can overcome the publicity and their individual insecurities. I love how deep and real both Ryker and Trista are--they're not conceited and full of themselves, but have issues to work on and love to find.

The flirting and romantic tension is almost palpable at times and I really enjoyed the stolen swoony moments, as well as the camaraderie that comes from being a part of this Six Pack.

This is one series that I'm sad to see come to an end--one more book to go! This is a great series for any romance fan, sports lover or not.

Content: mild romance (kissing, some innuendo)

*I received a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own and were voluntarily given.*

[Heidi Robbins (Heidi Reads...) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was so fun to see the continuation of a meeting that happened between two people in one of the previous Belltown books! Ryker fills in for Cole when he decides to ditch the famous actress his agent set him up with, and Ryker's friendship with Trista moves to the next level in this book. It was interesting to see Trista's insecurities and secret passion for math that makes acting and modeling just another job for her. Ryker is a good friend to her, but he's trying to play it cool so that she'll stay interested in him. I love the perspective of the guys and realizing how differently they think and perceive things. I enjoyed the personal side of their relationship, but the media side of their lives was not only frustrating and exhausting to them, it was to me as a reader. But that really drove the conflict and the plot, so I kept reading and appreciated the way Ryker and Trista handled the hype and obstacles along the way as they grew closer together. The dynamic of the Belltown Sixpack was as always a highlight of the book for me, it really makes this series stand out!

(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trista and Ryker, swoon!

I loved their honesty and trust. Ryker didn’t go crazy about Trista’s costars. He was vulnerable but had faith in Trista’s loyalty. Reading as their love grew and deepened was amazing. There weren’t any crazy misunderstandings. Instead they dealt with realistic issues. They didn’t let their insecurities derail their love for each other. A love story full of understanding, trust, and love. What more could you want? Oh! And chemistry. Plenty of chemistry!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, it might easily be my favorite of the series. Rabbit is getting his romance in a spin off from Cole's book, in which Ryker had a date with a movie star, and now Ryker and Trista are getting a shot at their own relationship. I loved how complex they both were about their careers and how it affected their relationship. I liked that she loved math and that he worried about his luck. If we don't get a big epilogue ending after the last book in which all the couples have continued happy endings I'll be seriously annoyed because I really want more of these characters and their love.

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fun, as I’ve come to expect from this series. I look forward to and dread, in equal measure, the final book. I’m excited to read the last one and not excited for the series to end. I’ve loved the six pack characters.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

These Belltown Six Pack books are some of my very favorites! I love the way they’re written by different authors, but they all feature the same characters and town. That just makes it fun. I’m going to be sad to see this series end for sure.

This one features Ryker and Trista. I loved that because in Cole’s story, he was supposed to hang out with Trista as kind of a promotional thing. But he had someone else he cared for. Seeing Ryker and Trista’s story was just awesome for me!

I really liked Trista. She is already in love with Ryker as the story opens, but unsure of how he is feeling. I didn’t like the way her publicist keeps shoving her toward Trevor. And I didn’t really like him either. There were times in the story when Trista kept putting herself and her career over anything else in life. And that bugged me a bit too, but she eventually figured things out.

I liked Ryker too. How could I not?! I think he is a great guy. He really puts up with a lot with the #teamtrevor and #teamryker war. It gets a bit intense, but he fights for what he wants and things work out how they’re supposed to.

The plot of this one includes baseball, so that’s fun. It’s romantic, and cute. And it was a fairly quick read as well.

If you like sports and romance, this is one you won’t want to miss!

I was sent an e-copy of Flirting with First as a gift from the author. All opinions are my own.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute story with some interesting internal conflict regarding career vs. personal life. It was fun to see some of the other characters from the "Six Pack" and their strong friendships and connections. I really liked Ryker and Trista was a good match for him. At times they both seemed more high-schoolish in their reactions to being in a relationship, but there was some good chemistry and storyline that made up for it and kept me turning pages. The thing I struggled with the most, however, was the editing. The typos and misspellings, missing words and missing quotes, all took me out of the story. Looking beyond that, though, Flirting With First, was a sweet afternoon read and a nice addition to the series.

[Donna Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great one in the baseball series. The characters are really fun and the romance sweet and clean.

[The Flipped Page (Susan K) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romance, clean; series, but stand alone read
Gorgeous fun read!! Ryker and Trista's fall was a gorgeous, fun read! If any criticism, it is that I just wanted more! More with Bree, more with Ryker and Trista, just more, more, more! So sad to leave their world. I think what I enjoyed about this book were the interactions. You could really 'feel' the feelings, the attraction, the chemistry with these two, even in the beginning when they were dancing around each other, and hoping for more. The small moments were big in this novel, truly getting in the heads of the two MC as this was told from alternating points of view. Of course, always fun to see the other characters featured in these novels in this one. Fun series, lovely romance, and loved this with two honest hearts, with great attraction, and a beautiful fit for each other.
I received a copy in exchange for a fair and honest review, my opinions are my own. #Sixpack

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love the Belltown Six Pack series. I love the 6 men and their quirky personalities. I love their families and the women they fall in love with. I loved Ryker Stone and his dedication, commitment, and his quirky quotes on first. I really liked Trista and her need to find a place to belong. DELIGHTFUL!

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flirting with First is a fun sports romance, even if you're not into baseball. Ryker and Trista are both accomplished in their fields. He's a MLB player, and she's an actress. Neither feels worthy of the other, and consequently, are insecure in the relationship. Their careers place additional strain on the relationship, everything from not being in the same area to kissing scenes in the movies that Trista is working on. I enjoyed reading how they worked through all of the challenges. I love the friendship of the Belltown Six Pack and the razzing between them. The plot moves quickly, and the dialogue flows naturally. I would highly recommend this book to readers of clean/wholesome romance. I hope to read more from Sophia Summers and more of this series. I got my copy though KU.

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderful Belltown Six Pack Book! These characters were great! They had real depth, insecurities, and strengths. I loved their chemistry and sweet romance. I also always love that other members of the Six Pack are part of each book. If you like clean romance with a great ending you’ll love this book!

I received a complimentary copy of the book. All opinions are my own and are expressed voluntarily.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was really cute! Ryker Stone and Hollywood starlet, Trista McKenny meet when Ryker's friend has to cancel on a date with Trista. They become friends, but both aren't sure what kind of relationship they have, if they can bridge the gap and be more than friends or not. I expected Trista to be high-maintenance, but she was down to earth, a little insecure, and a nerd in a model's body. I loved her obsession with math and numbers, and how she could let her true self show with Ryker.

They seemed made for each other, and just when they're about to start a relationship, one of Trista's co-stars, Trevor decides that he wants Trista (or maybe just the attention of a "relationship" with her). What follows is an all out twitter war with fans on Team Trevor and Team Ryker. I was really annoyed with Trevor, but ended up liking him enough by the end to hope he matures and finds the right woman for him. Ryker, I loved! He was sweet, funny, and a perfect foil to Trista and what she needed. I also loved that she was willing to fight for and try to protect Ryker.

A little Hollywood shine, baseball, social media, heated kisses, and a sweet romance. I really enjoyed this one! Go Belltown!

Note: While this is part of the Belltown Six Pack series, each book can be read independently.

Content: clean (Making out)

[Lorieah · Rating 3 out of 5]

...so I really, really wanted to love this book, and it kills me that I didn't. My favorite parts were still the interaction between the guys. But I had to take a star off for a lot of proofing misses (I'm almost wondering if I was sent the wrong copy?), and another for feeling like it was too much like Cole's story (the whole the-publicist-gets-to-run-my-private-life thing). I also struggled with feeling invested in Ryker and Trista as a couple, when they spent so little time together — especially when he epic fails on the first few times (intervention, indeed!).

There were a couple of threads left hanging, like the homeless musician guy, and the jerk that dates his sister.

I've read Sophia's work before, and just expected...MORE...from this one. Flirting With First, is a clean, fun romance, like the rest of the Belltown novels, all of which I recommend. I received a free copy, and this is my (brutally) honest opinion.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is part of a 6 pack of books written by three amazing authors. This is the third I have read in the series but the 5th to be released. I have enjoyed all of them. This is the story of Ryker aka “Rabbit” so named for his incredible speed. Trista was briefly introduced in Falling for Centerfield when Cole was asked to be Trista’s date at a red carpet event. Cole has to bail on Trista so he called up Ryker and got Ryker to take his place as Trista’s date. Ryker and Trista hit it off when Trista opened herself up to Ryker at the event. Since then they have become good friends but both of them are too afraid to put their hearts on the line. Ryker feels that Trista will get bored with him quickly if she knows he is interested in more then friendship. So he keeps her safely in the friend zone. Trista has some deep routed self esteem issues and doesn’t think that Ryker really has feelings for her. Trista and Ryker both have crazy schedules but when they both decide to give their relationship a try the publicity maybe too much. Trista wants her private life to be private but her professional image as girlfriend to her costar May ruin everything. As the public debate between Team Ryker and Team Trevor heats up does Ryker and Trista really have a chance? This is a fun loving, sweet romance. I can’t wait to read the rest in the series as the 6 baseball players are close as brothers and are discussed in each book.

[Adrienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ryker has been interested in Trista ever since he met her, but he thinks if he lets her know his true feelings, she'll lose interest in him. So he's moving super slowly, making Trista, who really likes him in return, think she's stuck in the friend zone. When they do start to make their feelings clear, their professional lives complicate having a relationship--Ryker's busy with his baseball career and as an actress, Trista has to be on location and deal with weird publicity stunts, like her latest co-star getting the media to think he has feelings for her and that he and Ryker are competing for Trista's heart. Does their romance stand a chance?

This was a fun, flirty romance. I love that this is part of the Belltown series (which can be read as stand-alones); I have enjoyed getting to know each of the Belltown boys and the baseball theme. The pacing of the story was good and the romance was great but clean. I loved that Trista had insecurities and wasn't a stereotypical actress who thinks she's amazing; she was down-to-earth and really likable. Ryker was totally adorable; I loved him. Just a lot of fun to read.

I read an ARC provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.

[vicki zimmerman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Clearly not what I was looking for

The first chapter was a boring start. But, I suppose, you gotta start somewhere. But, a little something to have grabbed my interest would have been nice.
By the second chapter, when ‘armpits’ have came up twice, so far, I can safely say, this is not the kind of ‘romance’ I was looking for.
I read no further. I deleted it from my kindle, and needless to say, will not be recommending this one to anybody. Ever.

[Janene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will not summarize this story because it is already given in the description of this book. The purpose of this review is to give potential readers information to make an informed decision about reading this story.

What I liked:
• The baseball theme to the story.
• The personalities of Trista, Ryker and the supporting characters were well developed and likeable.
• The romance between Trista and Ryker was believable.
• The pacing was good.
• The descriptions of locations and emotions were well done and easy to visualize.
• The story is well written and flows smoothly.
• This was a clean read.

What needed improvement:
• After reading 4 other Belltown SixPack stories, this one just did not feel unique like the others.
• I would have liked an epilogue. The story just did not feel complete.

I recommend this story to readers who enjoy a clean sports romance. I received an ARC of this story from the author. My review was voluntary and my opinions were my own.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (8/31/2020)! 🎁

[Sherri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series makes me laugh every time. The characters are great from book to book and the romance is awesome. Love them.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Belltown Six Pack Series was so much fun to read. I couldn't put them down, I had to read all the books in the series. Now I've become a baseball fan!

[Dawn Pearson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ryker Stone has a reputation for being lucky. But, when he meets Trista McKinney, a famous actress, his confidence begins to slip. He begins to wonder if his luck is based on his skills or his special rock.

Trista just wants someone to see her for who she is and not her beauty or something that she has no control over. So, when Ryker starts to fill those shoes, she has to figure out a way to not mess things up - which gets difficult when her costar tries to generate media attention between the two of them.

What follows is a story of two professional people with near impossible schedules to coordinate. Can they make it work in spite of the obstacles?

For the most part I liked the story, but there were several places that I questioned the believability. I also thought that the relationship felt rushed at times. They hardly had time together. Then, there are several plots that are abandoned - the musician, Bree & her boyfriend, and the young mother working 3 jobs.

Romance - PG / kissing & innuendo
Language - PG / clean
Violence - attempted mugging with a knife
My rating - 3 stars

[Ilene Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this is book #5 in the series, it is the first one I have read. It is a stand alone book. I am anxious to read the others. I loved the baseball theme. Ryker, one of the main characters plays first base with a professional team. His teammates from college baseball play with other teams. I enjoyed the positive and loyal interaction the players have with each other.
Trista, the female main character is an actress. She has liked Ryker since the first time they met and is unsure how he feels about her since he always seems to be telling her he is her friend.
This book is a clean romance. It started out slow for me and was a bit hard to get into. However, after the first chapter or two I was hooked and had to finish it in one sitting.
In the story the two characters have to figure out if they care enough about each other to try to make their relationship work because they are both very busy with their careers. I like how they respect each other and are honest about their feelings. I highly recommend this book.

[Silverscarf · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third book of this series that I have read so far, after Snatching the Catcher I was going to take a break from the Six Pack and go straight to the first book in the new Hockey series that's a spin off of this series. But since the Hero's sister from this one is the heroine in the new Hockey one I decided to give this a read too. And I'll be honest, this didn't exactly blow me away like Snatching the Catcher did. I didn't quite connect with this author's writing style, here the characters were only okay, and some of their interactions were kind of awkward at times. Their romance was definitely not as thrilling as Grizz and Rachel's and they weren't as open with each other as I would have liked them to be. Also there were a lot of editing errors in the first half that took me out of the story, normally things like that don't really bother me, but after a while there were a few too many to ignore. Overall this was still a decent read, but it won't exactly be making the favorites list anytime soon, but I'm still really looking forward to Bree's story.

[Elda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was entirely too short! I never wanted it to end. Very well written, of course, since these authors are awesome. Trista and Ryker, aka Rabbit because he runs so fast, seemed well suited for each other. It took them awhile to get there though. They both seemed a little insecure thinking twice about their feelings and wondering if the other felt the same. When they finally came to the same page together, though, all kinds of bells and whistles were going off. Their time apart seemed like forever and they never got breaks at the same time to talk on the phone. Only texting and voicemails carried them over until they could see each other again. Oh boy! When they saw each other in the end they couldn’t get enough of each other. Their faces were probably as sore as mine is from smiling so much. It made me happy to see them happy. Yaaayyy, #TeamRyker all the way!