This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
Frank Amoroso’s Ode to the Baseball Gods sends Babe Ruth to Hot Springs, Arkansas, after his disastrous final out of the 1926 World Series leaves him desperate to escape the ridicule. The Spa City is also sheltering Chicago crime boss Al Capone, traveling as Gabriel Ermino, whose abandoned baseball ambitions make Ruth an irresistible rival. When the two men compete for singer Celeste Garland, the contest becomes a baseball showdown between Ruth’s Bustin’ Babes and Capone’s Nine-to-Lifers. Ruth needs the game to help rebuild an orphanage destroyed by fire, while Capone has found a way to put Ruth’s entire career at risk. Above them, Kai, the youngest Fungo, introduces the baseball gods, each capable of turning a single moment on the field in a direction no player can predict.
Frank Amoroso’s Ode to the Baseball Gods is pure fun, and Amoroso’s knowledge of baseball gives every inning an authenticity beneath the fantasy. I love the way Kai narrates from the ether, treating every impossible turn on the field as family business among the Fungoes. Amoroso is also wonderful with setting. Bathhouse Row feels alive as players recover in the thermal waters while gangsters conduct business nearby, making 1920s Hot Springs the perfect meeting place for both worlds. The baseball writing is terrific, especially when Cool Papa Bell turns a sacrifice bunt into a run because his speed changes what anyone thinks is possible. Jazz Garland, the park ranger investigating Indian Mountain, adds a second route into the criminal side of the story. Well written and enormously entertaining, readers who enjoy baseball fantasy will adore this.
