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cheye13's review
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I was rather impressed with this one. Gay sports romances tend to fall short for me when the voice and plot are incongruous, but this one meshed perfectly. I would have preferred a smidgen more actual baseball game (rather than the politics behind the scenes), but the book painted a very full picture of the sport as the setting. The cast was also wonderfully well-rounded and standalone for the first in a series; the side characters are not only memorable, but add to the story. Picking them out in later books will feel familiar rather than like a challenge. Above all, the stakes felt significantly emotional while remaining safe & believable. Despite the conflict occurring primarily in Zach's head (as readers, we can easily predict coming out will be fine), his emotions sufficiently convey the gravity of being a gay professional athlete.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Sexism and Pregnancy
the major content warning is homophobia, but it's entirely internalized homophobia and primarily about the fear of coming out