The Songbird Setup

The Songbird Cafe Series, Book 1

By: Maggie Linn Sharpe

Narrated by: Christine Jenness

Leena Mitchell has no interest in falling in love. She’s done it before and has the broken heart to prove it. Instead, she wants to focus on running her bar and, sometimes, singing sad songs during open mic night. But her best friend has other plans for her, like setting her up with a superstar pitcher.

Bailey Turner is in the prime of his career. He doesn't have time for distractions. But his best friend’s wife won’t be put off. She’s found his soul mate and is determined to push them together.

Leena and Bailey are just as determined to sidestep love and decide a pretend relationship is the best way to get their mutual friend off their backs. But when sparks fly and their pretense feels more real than either of them is ready for, they’ll have to decide—do they stick to their status quo or swing for the fences and take a chance on love?

©2025 Maggie Linn Sharpe (P)2025 Maggie Linn Sharpe

A Spicy Hallmark Movie

And I mean that in the BEST way. I giggled, I cried, I was smiling soo much listening to this sweet and spicy love story!

One narrator…

I believe the story would one hundred percent be more enjoyable if it there were two narrators. It was hard to separate the characters due to lack of change in the narrator. I had to rewind the books a few times to find out whose POV I was listening to. My first baseball romance and it won’t be my last…

Very cute sports romance!

Okay this is an adorable debut sports romance! I liked that the author chose to go with a baseball player for the male main character. I know hockey romance is big right now, but baseball romance needs its time to shine!

The spice was great! It worked well in the story and we still got to see the characters develop.

I really enjoyed the story and the writing, but I struggled with the narrator. Her monotone voice didn’t match the story and there was zero change when she would voice another character, which made it confusing which POV we were listening to.

Fantastic Debut Story

As a debut story, The Songbird Setup was fantastic! The characters were so likeable and easy to connect with. The story had just the right mix of charm, heart, and a little bit of spice to keep things interesting. The narrator did a great job bringing the story to life and added an extra layer of emotion and personality that made it even more enjoyable. I’ll definitely be watching for more from this author!

Cute Story!

A really sweet, fastpaced story! I really enjoyed both Leena and Bailey as characters and their connection 🥹
Unfortunately I didn't like the narration as the narrator doesn't really change her voice at all for the characters, sometimes making it confusing as who is speaking or who's POV it is.