In Her Own League | Silk & Sentences | Danielle Robinson

There’s a moment in In Her Own League where Reese Remington, the first female owner in Major League Baseball, reflects on the reality that every decision she makes will be scrutinised in a way her male counterparts never experience. It’s one of those moments that quietly shifts the novel from being simply a sports romance into something a little more interesting.

As someone who has never read any of Liz Tomforde’s Windy City novels, I went into this one with absolutely no idea what to expect, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that this is an incredibly emotionally intuitive and thoughtful book.

The Story

Reese Remington has just inherited ownership of the Chicago Windy City Warriors, making her both the youngest owner in the league and the first woman to ever hold the position.

It's not exactly a warm welcome. The team is bleeding money, the advisory board is determined to undermine her authority, sports commentators question every decision she makes, and many people seem convinced she's only in the role because of her grandfather.

Then there's Emmett Montgomery. The Warriors' field manager has devoted years of his life to the franchise and initially sees Reese as another executive making decisions from a spreadsheet rather than understanding the people behind the numbers. Their relationship begins with frustration, misunderstandings and more than a few arguments.

Unfortunately for both of them, it also comes with a rapidly growing attraction neither can ignore.

What follows is a slow-burn workplace romance wrapped around a story about leadership, ambition, loyalty, family and what it means to earn respect in rooms where people have already decided you don't belong.

Reese Remington: The Real Star of the Book

I've always believed the strength of a romance depends largely on whether the protagonists could carry a story even if the romance were removed.

Reese absolutely could. She is, without question, one of the stronger female leads I've encountered.

She's compelling because she's competent. She understands baseball but she's also constantly navigating a world that assumes she doesn't.

The sexism woven throughout this story feels believable because it isn't cartoonish. It's not usually outright hostility. It's dismissal, and assumptions being made before she even speaks.

It's death by a thousand paper cuts. Watching Reese refuse to shrink herself to make other people comfortable became one of the most satisfying aspects of the novel.

Emmett Montgomery: Peak Book Boyfriend Material

If Reese is the heart of the story, Emmett is its steady foundation.

He's in his forties, a former professional athlete, and a man who has spent most of his life taking care of everyone around him.

His attraction to Reese never comes from feeling threatened by her power or wanting to possess it.

He admires her, and perhaps most importantly, when he witnesses the sexism she's experiencing, he doesn't try to rescue her from it.

He stands beside her while she handles it herself. That's a surprisingly rare distinction in romance. Their relationship works because they're equals. Neither character needs saving.

They simply make each other stronger.

The Romance

The tension simmers for a long time, and there is forced proximity, and yes, there is spice.

Plenty of it. But the emotional connection develops alongside the attraction. The romance doesn't exist in a vacuum. Every step forward in their relationship is tied to growing trust and understanding.

By the time they finally stop fighting their feelings, it feels earned.

What Didn't Work Quite As Well

This is a strong novel, but it's not perfect. The central conflict occasionally feels a little too cleanly divided between good people and bad people.

Scott, in particular, functions more as a symbol of institutional sexism than a fully developed character. His motivations are understandable, but he's written with very little nuance.

I also think some readers may find the handling of the media backlash somewhat simplified. The public criticism Reese receives is intense throughout much of the novel, but some aspects of that conflict resolve more neatly than reality would likely allow.

Neither issue significantly diminished my enjoyment, but they did stand out.

Final Thoughts

What makes In Her Own League stand apart from many contemporary sports romances is that it understands romance doesn't have to come at the expense of ambition.

Too often female protagonists are forced to choose between career success and personal happiness.

This novel refuses that narrative. Reese doesn't become smaller to find love. Instead, she finds someone who celebrates them.

At its heart, In Her Own League is a story about leadership, confidence, partnership, and learning that vulnerability isn't weakness.

It's funny, and surprisingly thoughtful. While I came for the romance, I stayed because I genuinely wanted Reese Remington to win.

Thankfully, she does.

Rating: 4.0 Stars

Book Details

In Her Own League — Liz Tomforde

Paperback ISBN

978-1649379795 (Entangled: Amara trade paperback edition; varies by region)

Hardcover ISBN

978-1035420193 (Hodder & Stoughton hardcover edition; varies by retailer and region)

eBook ISBN

978-1649379801

Genre

Contemporary Romance; Sports Romance; Adult Fiction; Women's Fiction

Subgenre

Baseball Romance; Workplace Romance; Slow-Burn Romance; Contemporary Sports Fiction; Romantic Comedy; Professional Sports Romance

Tropes / Literary Threads

Boss/employee romance; forbidden romance; workplace romance; age gap romance; grumpy/sunshine dynamics; slow burn; found family; emotionally mature hero; female executive in a male-dominated industry; professional rivalry; opposites attract.

Publisher

Entangled: Amara

(Entangled Publishing)

Series

Windy City Series Universe

(Standalone Spin-Off)

Series Order

In Her Own League

Formats Available

Paperback; Hardcover; eBook; Audiobook

Audiobook Narrators

TBC / Varies by edition

Release Date

3 March 2026

Page Count

Approximately 512 pages

(varies slightly by edition)

Setting

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Primary Setting Details

The headquarters and home stadium of the Windy City Warriors Major League Baseball franchise. Much of the novel unfolds between stadium offices, dugouts, clubhouses, team flights, hotels and road trips throughout the baseball season. The sporting world provides a backdrop for broader conversations about leadership, sexism, power, ambition, family and belonging.

Main Characters

Reese Remington

The first female owner in Major League Baseball and the youngest owner in league history. Intelligent, ambitious and highly competent, Reese inherits the Windy City Warriors from her grandfather and must navigate intense scrutiny, sexism and resistance while leading the franchise into a new era.

Emmett Montgomery

The Warriors' field manager and former MLB All-Star. A devoted father figure, mentor and leader, Emmett is fiercely protective of his team and family. Beneath his gruff exterior is a deeply compassionate man learning that he deserves happiness and support of his own.

Arthur Remington

Reese's grandfather and former owner of the Warriors. A respected figure in baseball whose retirement sets the novel's events in motion.

The Rhodes Family

Kai Rhodes, Miller Rhodes, Max Rhodes, Isaiah Rhodes and Kennedy Rhodes return from previous Windy City novels and form the emotional backbone of the story's found-family dynamic.

Scott and the Advisory Board

Senior executives and advisors who repeatedly challenge Reese's authority and become symbolic of the institutional barriers she faces throughout her leadership journey.

Harrison Kaiser

A talented but divisive player whose behaviour creates significant tension within the organisation and becomes central to one of the novel's major conflicts.

Cultural & Literary Influences

Professional baseball culture; women in leadership; contemporary workplace dynamics; sports media; modern feminism; found-family storytelling; contemporary romance conventions; professional sport politics; corporate leadership.

Major Themes

Institutional sexism; women in leadership; ambition and success; grief and healing; found family; emotional vulnerability; trust and partnership; independence versus interdependence; leadership and compassion; public perception; personal identity.

Content Warnings

Sexual content; workplace power imbalance discussions; emotional abuse (past relationship); sexism and gender discrimination; sexual harassment; grief; bereavement; illness references; strong language; public humiliation; workplace conflict.

Comparable Titles

Caught Up

Play Along

The Right Move

Mile High

Icebreaker

Fangirl Down

The Cheat Sheet

The Graham Effect

Ideal Readers

Readers who enjoy sports romance, workplace romance, slow-burn relationships, emotionally mature heroes, strong female protagonists, found-family dynamics, professional sports settings, contemporary feminist themes, character-driven romance and stories that balance emotional depth with chemistry and humour.

Rating

★★★★☆

(4 Stars)

Spice Level

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ / 5

Open-door romance with multiple explicit scenes. The sexual content is significant but remains character-driven and integrated into the emotional development of the relationship.

Where to Buy In Her Own League by Liz Tomforde

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made through Amazon links, at no additional cost to you. I also encourage readers to support Australian booksellers wherever possible.

📖 Amazon Australiahttps://www.amazon.com.au/

📖 Amazon UShttps://www.amazon.com/

📖 QBD Bookshttps://www.qbd.com.au/

📖 Dymockshttps://www.dymocks.com.au/

📖 Booktopia (if available following its relaunch and current stock status)https://www.booktopia.com.au/

📖 Big W Bookshttps://www.bigw.com.au/

📖 Target Australia Bookshttps://www.target.com.au/

📖 Angus & Robertsonhttps://www.angusrobertson.com.au/

🎧 Audible Australia (Audiobook)https://www.audible.com.au/

🎧 Spotify Audiobooks (where available)https://www.spotify.com/

📱 Apple Books (eBook)https://books.apple.com/

📱 Kobo Australia (eBook)https://www.kobo.com/au

📱 Google Play Books (eBook)https://play.google.com/books

📚 Your Local Independent BookstoreIf

In Her Own League is not currently on the shelf, most independent bookstores can order it for you. Supporting local bookshops helps sustain Australia's reading community and literary culture.

Silk & Sentences | Danielle Robinson - Literary Critic, Writer, Overthinker

Danielle Robinson is a literary critic and writer whose work explores literature through the lens of atmosphere, memory, culture, and emotional experience. Holding a double degree in philosophy and theology, she combines academic insight with a deeply refined aesthetic sensibility shaped by more than three decades working across the creative industries as an internationally published, multi-award-winning makeup artist, fashion stylist, and interior stager.

She reads widely and rigorously, reading and reviewing more than 200 books each year as both an ARC reader and commissioned critic. Through Silk & Sentences, Danielle approaches literature as something immersive and lived with — not simply stories to consume, but works that shape the way we think, feel, and move through the world.

She writes from her rural Queensland home, where she lives with Alex, her husband of 33 years, their dogs Oscar and Paige, and an ever-growing library of books.