Playing the Rookie

A Men of Spring Novella

By: Rachelle Ayala

Narrated by: Charley Ongel, Tor Thom

Length: 2 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's Summary

Jessica Song is tired of being a good girl, staying in a relationship well past closing time. Fresh from a breakup, she takes a walk on the wild side as a sports events intern.

Baseball rookie Jay Pak Ahn has been burned one too many times by good girls, especially his cheating ex-fiancée. When he meets wild Jessica, he throws away all caution to enjoy her to the fullest.

Jessica and Jay agree to a week of enchanting, starry-eyed dates and wild, unrestrained sex to get their exes out of their systems.

Their pasts collide, exposing the secrets in Jessica's heart and threatening Jay's position on the team. Jessica must leave her disappointment behind while Jay has to decide whether Jessica comes before baseball. What will they sacrifice to turn their fling into true love?

©2014 Rachelle Ayala (P)2017 Rachelle Ayala Publishing, LLC

Enjoyable Novella

This story was entertaining. There was a lot of both characters jumping to the wrong conclusions but eventually they figured things out. The narrators did a great job and I will definitely look for more of their work.

Cute, Sexy short

Playing the Rookie is a cute insta-love short story that is perfect for a spring afternoon. It will definitely help get you in the mood for Spring Training! It is packed with steam, drama, and love all in only 100 pages!

The narration was amazing! I really enjoyed listening to Tor and Charley and will be on the look out for more by them!

Somebody Is Wearing Their Horny Pants!

Playing the Rookie is a Novella in the Men of Spring Baseball Series
by Rachelle Ayala.


There are currently 4 titles, with 2 being available in audio. The rest are due soon!


Tor Thom and Charley Ongel narrate the series.
(They are an awesome duo!)


HEA with no cliffhangers!


Book notes state that this Novella can be read at anytime along with the Men of Spring Series 1-3.
♥ I personally would suggest reading it first. ♥


Length: 2 hrs and 32 mins


Content Advisory:
Author’s Heat rating is Steamy: Sex and lovemaking shown with naughty words for body parts. Love and lust intertwined, but couple is monogamous.


♥ Story ♥

This Novella is short but oh so sassy good. If you are starting with this title, then you get some early introductions to the sights and sounds that makes up the “world” that is this series. You will also get to meet and greet a few characters that you will see again.


Jessica Song is interning for spring training, and spends way to much time talking to her lady bits. Jay Pak Ahn is a sponsored rookie pitcher from Korea trying to make a good showing that will hopefully lead to a long term spot on an American team.


Both of them are horny and tired of waiting for a relationship to get some, but also gun shy because of their exes. They decide to help each other out so they can indulge in the carnal. There is just this one big problem, neither are truly casual sex kinda people so they can’t help but get feelings involved in the equation.


I feel bad for Jessica that her default thoughts on any expressions of emotion by Jay is automatically one of regret. Once she finally confesses her back story, you can see where that stems from, but she does take it to the extreme. Usually those thoughts come with the goodbyes or lack of contact after the deed, not the moment after climax.


There are some twists and turns that will come as a surprise. This does not play out in a predictable fashion. It does have some throat punch worthy moments, so be prepared to run the gambit of emotions even for a short listen.


♥ Author ♥

Rachelle Ayala delivers another scrumptious morsel of a story! Looking forward to listening to more.
Rachelle has 21 Audio Titles.


♥ Narrator(s) ♥

This whole series is voiced by one of the best duos out there!
Tor Thom & Charley Ongel give great performances. They make it very easy for a person to lose themselves in the story! They even have a duo link in the Audible system.
Tor has 19 Audio Titles.
Charley has 28 Audio Titles.



Ebook obtained through Kindle Unlimited.
Audiobook obtained for free at my request and I am voluntarily leaving this unbiased review.
More Reviews @ GoodReads Id: AudiobookRomance
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If you found this review helpful please mark it below.

Enjoyed the narrators, enjoyed the story!

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Sizzling home run

Jess is on a job as a sports event intern. tx She hopes to find a hot baseball player for a fling to prove to herself ( and her inner voices) she can have a relationship with no feelings and get over her ex, Todd. When she meets Jae she lets her wild side loose.
Jae has been burned too many times but when he meets wild Jessica he decides to enjoy her the short time she is here.

Whoa! I am used to Rachelle's sweeter stories and this one really surprised me.
I did like it though. I think my favorite part is Jess's inner voices. I laughed so much it hurt. Todd also made me laugh. There is a couple twist I never saw coming.

I loved Charley Ongel, Tor Thom Narration. I love having both male and female voices in M/F romances. They brought so much life to the story and The female voices of Jessica's inner Goddess were just perfect.

If you are looking for a short. sexy, funny sports romance this is for you.

Quick, hot read

This is my first Rachelle Ayala book, but I won't be stopping here. I absolutely adored these characters, the story, the setting. She's taken my favorite sport--baseball--and given me a sexy novella in the process.

The narration is perfect. Charley Ongel and Tor Thom are always exciting to listen to. I swear, their voices, they are so smooth, sexy, and I never get enough.

"This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review."

Fun and spicy

This book was a fun listen due to the outstanding performance of the narrators. The team of Charley Ongel and Tor Thom is great in how they deliver the emotions and conversations and dialogue. The story wasn't as much about baseball, but different cultures and relationships. As an older adult, I just didn't get a lot of the story. I have voluntarily reviewed this book that I requested. I will continue to listen to more books by Rachelle Ayala, Charley Ongel and Tor Thom.

Quirky and cute~

I like many aspects to this book. It had heat, was quirky and was something new. This was my first story where the lead characters were Korean. This was a cute sports romance- Romantic Comedy. The narration was awesome. The story was great! My only down side was that the conversations of the Korean characters could read choppy at times which was a little distracting but not enough to make me not like the book. It definitely matched the character, it was just a little different for me. All in all, great book. I look forward to reading the next in the series. Thanks!

Note: I received this book free in exchange for my honest and un-biased review. It in no way affected my opinion of this book.

Playing The Rookie

What did you love best about Playing the Rookie?

The story is unique and I like how the author adds humor, interesting story line and info on Asian culture.

Have you listened to any of Charley Ongel and Tor Thom ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first performance I've heard from these two narrators. They were great! I really enjoyed having both male and female reading their parts.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I found the parts when Jessica's channeled her inner goddess here very humorous.

Any additional comments?

Rachelle Ayala always brings us a good story. I found this one to have a perfect blend of humor, surprises, touching moments and enlightened us on some Asian culture and traditions.

Entertaining

This is a quick read from a baseball themed series. I have read two others in the series. I'm normally not into sports themed books but I have truly enjoyed this series. The players tend to make cameos in each others books which enhances my investment in the series.

This story involves Jessica, a spring training intern, and Jay. who has come to the US as a rookie to start spring training. There is a spark but will it ignite love or just passion?

I connected more with Jessica. I loved her inner goddess scenes.I liked Jay but just couldn't get into him as much. At first I thought it was because he is a male character. However I have read a few books by this author and this was the first time I had difficulty. Then it dawned on me it was the point of view. I think because each of them had their own narrator, Jay being written in third person was what threw me off. I don't believe I would have noticed as much if I were reading it on my Kindle.I enjoy the look into Asian culture. One of my favorite things about Ms Ayala's books is that I learn something while I am being entertained. She has a way of combining humor with respect in teaching us about different cultures and situations. It is a wonderful gift that helps bring harmony to a battered world.

This book is for mature readers. It is a heated romance that uses mild but somewhat explicit wording. I was listening and had the gardener hooked. I have a small Sitka Rose bush outside my window. He took over 2 hours to trim it, normally he is done in 15 minutes. I guess that is proof this book can be enjoyed by both women and men, Ha!

Cute, Funny Read

This is a short funny, lighthearted sports romance. This maybe short, but it definitely packs a punch with how much it packs in.

Jay and Jessica definitely have plenty of chemistry which showed through Tor Thom and Charley Ongel's narration, who both did a great job bringing this story to life.

“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”

Funny, sexy and sweet... a romantic homerun!

If you are looking for a quick, easy, sexy and sweet sports themed romance, this is it! Jessica and Jay's story is funny and charming but also reflects some of the insecurities of young love and past heartaches. I particularly enjoyed Jessica's somewhat cheeky inner goddess, who can be vocal at inappropriate times. Despite being short, Rachelle Ayala has managed to incorporate twists in the plot. The story also includes some subtle Korean cultural nuances which adds depth to the characters. Overall, an easy to listen to and enjoyable audiobook!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Fun Listen!

Rachelle Ayala brought cultures and relationships together in Playing the Rookie. There is not as much baseball in this book as I'd anticipated. This book is a fun listen due to the outstanding performance of the narrators. The team of Charley Ongel and Tor Thom is great in how they deliver the emotions and conversations and dialogue. They are wonderful bringing the characters to life.

Sports romance and so much more!

Fun! Fun! Fun! Rachelle Ayala is able to pack so much into her books, I don't even know where to start. This sports story introduces us to Jessica and Jay. Jessica is coming off a long term relationship and needs to get over her old boyfriend. This week of working away and seeing the baseball players in training is just the thing to help with that. Jay is an up and coming pitcher, who is attracted to her. This couple is hot from the start and so much more. In this short novella, we have blackmail, traditions, social climbing, craziness, dealing with the past, overcoming fears...I can go on..so much entrenched into a very well developed plot and story that it is easy to get lost in it and enjoy yourself! I love this book and look forward to the next installment of the series.

Picking the narrating team of Tor Thom and Charley Ongel was an excellent decision for this duet. The two together have a rhythm that paces the book perfectly. They play off of each other with precision, yet make the conversations between the characters feel natural.