Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
This book put the biggest smile on my face - it was everything I was hoping for in this new King Sports series!
Thad St. James and Kelley Afton get off to quite the rocky start when they’re forced to spend weeks together in a cabin in the middle of winter. Thad is still mourning the loss of his professional baseball playing dreams, while Kelley seemingly has everything Thad dreamed of but is struggling to get his anxiety under control after coming out.
The sneaking around and keeping things a secret was a lot of fun to read - since they lived in different cities and Kelley traveled so much, it was one of the more believable secret relationship stories I’ve read. Even though Thad and Kelley share a love of baseball, they couldn’t be more different but they work together so well, anticipating what each other needs, going out of their way to be thoughtful and sweet. Their relationship felt unexpected but so believable at the same time.
Of course I loved all of the Damon moments…he’s really grown into himself and being the boss suits him for sure. And Thad’s friendship with Brady was the perfect way to tie all of Eden’s stories together plus I’m never going to turn down even little glimpses into Brady’s HEA. I wish there was more of a resolution with the storyline with Thad’s brother, but maybe that’s going to go somewhere later? I guess we’ll see!
Really looking forward to seeing where the King Sports series will take us next. Fingers crossed for a certain two feuding agents at the LA office!
Thad St. James and Kelley Afton get off to quite the rocky start when they’re forced to spend weeks together in a cabin in the middle of winter. Thad is still mourning the loss of his professional baseball playing dreams, while Kelley seemingly has everything Thad dreamed of but is struggling to get his anxiety under control after coming out.
The sneaking around and keeping things a secret was a lot of fun to read - since they lived in different cities and Kelley traveled so much, it was one of the more believable secret relationship stories I’ve read. Even though Thad and Kelley share a love of baseball, they couldn’t be more different but they work together so well, anticipating what each other needs, going out of their way to be thoughtful and sweet. Their relationship felt unexpected but so believable at the same time.
Of course I loved all of the Damon moments…he’s really grown into himself and being the boss suits him for sure. And Thad’s friendship with Brady was the perfect way to tie all of Eden’s stories together plus I’m never going to turn down even little glimpses into Brady’s HEA. I wish there was more of a resolution with the storyline with Thad’s brother, but maybe that’s going to go somewhere later? I guess we’ll see!
Really looking forward to seeing where the King Sports series will take us next. Fingers crossed for a certain two feuding agents at the LA office!
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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:
Complicated
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
This was a fun read, and it's always a treat to dive back into the Sadenverse—especially with this one, which gave us glimpses of so many familiar faces from past stories. I’m glad I read Brady’s MMM book beforehand because it let me in on what he was up to, even when our main characters were in the dark. I gave it 4 stars; it checked all the boxes with well-developed characters, solid humor, decent feels, and just the right amount of medium angst. I held back from 5 stars only because I wanted to see more of the characters actually together. Overall, it’s a solid addition to the catalog, and if you're a fan of Eden/Saxon's work, you’ll enjoy this one too. Excited to see what’s next in the King Sports series!
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thad is feeling very sad and bitter that his baseball playing days ended with his college graduation and not the pros like he so desperately wanted. Unfortunately, Kelley is the target of all the anger and bitterness when he believes that Kelley is taking his pro career for granted and is overthinking silly things and makes no attempt at hiding these feelings. What Thad doesn’t realise is that Kelley suffers from anxiety and hyperfixation and has a tendency to catastrophize events around him and isn’t overthinking things for fun or because he’s egotistical.
The story doesn’t take long to send Thad, Kelley and Brody off to the Catskills for 2 weeks in the middle of winter to put Kelley on a social media ban after coming out. If you’ve read ‘Can’t Say Goodbye’ you would recognise that the timelines overlap, and it’s funny to see that Brody is not so talented at sneaking around as he thought. Kelley and Thad finally spend significant time together (since Brody keeps disappearing) and realising how much they actually have in common become FWB for the time they are there. By the end of the 2 weeks they both want to take their situationship outside of the Catskills but knowing it could cost Thad his job they separate but both keep fantasising about the other.
I loved loved loved having so much Damon in this book! He has popped up here and there in the Puckboy series but I adored he features heavily here. The other cameos were done very well without overpowering Thad and Kelley’s story with fan favourites. Kelley’s mental health struggles were handled delicately and I enjoyed being inside his head when he was trying to explain his thought processes to Thad. Can’t wait for King Sports!
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
hopeful
lighthearted
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
This was a great start to a new series! Not only does it give us cameos of characters, but it also introduces a fresh group for which to root. Thad’s initial behavior may be abrasive, but his transformation is worth the wait, especially when he realizes how perfectly he complements Kelley, a sweet and anxious character. The progression of their relationship feels natural, balancing romance and career dedication, with that blend of spice and sweetness typical of Eden Finley’s writing. Their chemistry is great, and I love watching their conflict evolve into something meaningful. I can't wait for the next book and the exciting directions this series might take!
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
I've been excited for this book since it was announced, and it did not disappoint. It was great to be back in The Kings Sports world. It was so good to get cameos from Damon, Maddy, and others.
Kelly is an out and proud baseball player, with some mental health issues. While Thad is a former baseball playing hopeful coming to terms with his 'back up plan' of being a sports agent. We got a little anxious sunshine and his grumpy balance! <3
When Kelly is sent to a secluded cabin resort for a mental health/social media break with Thad as support/"babysitter".... Thad is forced to deal with his resentment over failed dreams, pivoting to paths, and how unbelievably gorgeous Kelly is!?!
I really enjoyed them entering into the 'NDA - approved' secret relationship, and watching them come to terms with the evolution of their feelings. And hello grand gestures! That feel honest and relatable.
As ever, the side characters and found family in this book were a delight! I enjoyed Thad's roommates, just as much as I enjoyed Kelly's supportive teammates! And I've got my heart and hopes set on a couple of them getting their own stories too.
This was a great official set up novel for the King Sports series, and I'm excited to see how it develops!
The Back Up Plan does share a timeline with 'Can't Say Goodbye' but is safe to read standalone.
Kelly is an out and proud baseball player, with some mental health issues. While Thad is a former baseball playing hopeful coming to terms with his 'back up plan' of being a sports agent. We got a little anxious sunshine and his grumpy balance! <3
When Kelly is sent to a secluded cabin resort for a mental health/social media break with Thad as support/"babysitter".... Thad is forced to deal with his resentment over failed dreams, pivoting to paths, and how unbelievably gorgeous Kelly is!?!
I really enjoyed them entering into the 'NDA - approved' secret relationship, and watching them come to terms with the evolution of their feelings. And hello grand gestures! That feel honest and relatable.
As ever, the side characters and found family in this book were a delight! I enjoyed Thad's roommates, just as much as I enjoyed Kelly's supportive teammates! And I've got my heart and hopes set on a couple of them getting their own stories too.
This was a great official set up novel for the King Sports series, and I'm excited to see how it develops!
The Back Up Plan does share a timeline with 'Can't Say Goodbye' but is safe to read standalone.
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
✍︎ 𝙳𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚃𝚘 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜
✍︎ 𝙰𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚇 𝙰𝚝𝚑𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚎
✍︎ 𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚋𝚒𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚗 𝚁𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎
✍︎ 𝚂𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚝 𝚁𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙
✍︎ 𝙰𝚗𝚡𝚒𝚎𝚝𝚢 𝚁𝚎𝚙
✍︎ 𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚡𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚢
✍︎ 𝙴𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚂𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝙷𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗
✎ 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙱𝙰𝙲𝙺𝚄𝙿 𝙿𝙻𝙰𝙽 is the first book in the 𝙺𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚂𝙿𝙾𝚁𝚃𝚂 𝚂𝙴𝚁𝙸𝙴𝚂 and it was such a beautiful story,Eden Finley really did a good one with this story.
✎ 𝚃𝙷𝙰𝙳 is good guy under all the bitterness and resentment.He’s interning at King Sports,working on becoming an agent but his bitterness is stopping him from giving it his best to the internship.𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚍 has always wanted to become a baseball player so his parents invested in him,caught him coaches and enrolled him in classes to help him develop his baseball skills but it all went to nothing because he didn’t make it to MLB because his skills was mediocre,so he had to settle for becoming a sports agent which has always been his backup plan,if his MLB dreams never came through.One day he was assigned to “babysit” a MLB player and that how everything started.
✎ 𝙺𝙴𝙻𝙻𝙴𝚈 is so precious but he suffers from anxiety disorder and it doesn’t help that since he came out,the media and people think they have the right to pass judgement on him because of who he loves and anytime he reads any comment about him on the internet his anxiety spiral into a panic attack.So boss of sport agency representing him decided to send him to a cabin with two interns from the agency to make sure he stays away for the internet and relax his mind before the new MLB season begins.But it seems that one of the interns hates him and he doesn’t know,so he makes it his mission to find out why.
✎ I love the story,𝙺𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚢 and 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚍 both so precious,I loved how 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚍 apologized to 𝙺𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚢 and admitted he was wrong for how he treated him.It was beautiful how their relationship grew from people who just wanted to f&$k to pass time in a boring cabin to something more.I don’t know why,but I love that fact that 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚍 was the one person 𝙺𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚢 could be his real self with,without judgement.In a way both of them helped each other out of a bad place and made each other a better version of themselves.
✎ I love the way Eden wrote about anxiety disorder,she knew exactly what she was writing about,she did her research about it and it shows in the book.I’m also happy to see Damon’s hair is graying now and it makes him even hotter and I’m happy his clients still gives him hell 🤣.And he still have clients who are sleeping with his agents🤣.
♡𝙸 𝚌𝚊𝚗'𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"No matter where we go from here, what happens with either of our careers, I just wanted you to know that you’re loved."
Thad's spent his whole life wanting to be a professional baseball player. When he finally acknowledges that he's just not good enough to make it, he turns to his backup plan of being a sports agent. But it's hard to let go of all that grief and resentment of not accomplishing his dream. And no one stirs up those negative feelings quite like hotshot pitcher, Kelley Afton. When he's forced to babysit Kelley in a remote cabin for two weeks, all those feelings get stirred up. But as Thad gets to know him, he comes to like Kelley for who he is. And when his attraction is reciprocated, these two fall into bed together knowing that it can't got anywhere. But those feelings don't stop growing and soon they need to figure just how hard they're willing to fight to be together.
"He is the only person I can trust with this. The only person who lets me take those self- preservation walls down and let go."
One of my favorite things about this book was the mental health rep. Kelley's spent his whole life with anxiety issues and when he decides to come out publicly, it exacerbates all his feelings and sets him off on a spiral that he can't get out of. His feelings and that balance between overthinking the unknown and needing to know the truth even if it's hard felt so real. At first, Thad let his own feelings stop him from understanding that part of Kelley, but once he does, he becomes a safe, non-judgemental place for Kelley to just be himself.
"I’ve spent my whole life wanting to be the middle of the pack. I’ve wanted to be good enough but not one of the greats because I’ve always thought the higher you are, the harder the fall. But with Kelley, I might be ready to fall."
The way these two helped each other become better people was also wonderful. Kelley helped Thad realize that just coasting wasn't going to get him far in life and that he actually had to fight for the things he wanted. The Thad from the first half could be frustrating at times. But as he grew up and learned to take charge of his life, he became the steady, supportive presence that Kelley needed. And in return he gave Kelley a space where he was free to explore who he is outside of being a baseball player and gave him the courage to just let go for the first time in his life.
"He might be kissing me to set me free, but all it’s doing is locking up my heart and throwing away the key."
I was also glad that they didn't rush into the big "I love you" moment after just a few weeks of being together. For a second there, it really looked like they were heading that way, but I'm glad we got to see them be together for a while before that moment. It made it more special and meaningful for me. And of course, it's always great to see Damon. His people never stop giving him a hard time, and Thad and Kelley really put him through the wringer. But he's a big softie at heart, and he does his job as head matchmaker very well.
"Falling in love is easy. Keeping it is work, and Thad shows me every day that he’s willing to do whatever it takes."
This agent/athlete romance was a fun start to the King Sports series! I'm so excited to see what comes next for this world. Personally, I'm hoping it's going to be about Lincoln and Archer because that's sure to be an interesting story!
Thad's spent his whole life wanting to be a professional baseball player. When he finally acknowledges that he's just not good enough to make it, he turns to his backup plan of being a sports agent. But it's hard to let go of all that grief and resentment of not accomplishing his dream. And no one stirs up those negative feelings quite like hotshot pitcher, Kelley Afton. When he's forced to babysit Kelley in a remote cabin for two weeks, all those feelings get stirred up. But as Thad gets to know him, he comes to like Kelley for who he is. And when his attraction is reciprocated, these two fall into bed together knowing that it can't got anywhere. But those feelings don't stop growing and soon they need to figure just how hard they're willing to fight to be together.
"He is the only person I can trust with this. The only person who lets me take those self- preservation walls down and let go."
One of my favorite things about this book was the mental health rep. Kelley's spent his whole life with anxiety issues and when he decides to come out publicly, it exacerbates all his feelings and sets him off on a spiral that he can't get out of. His feelings and that balance between overthinking the unknown and needing to know the truth even if it's hard felt so real. At first, Thad let his own feelings stop him from understanding that part of Kelley, but once he does, he becomes a safe, non-judgemental place for Kelley to just be himself.
"I’ve spent my whole life wanting to be the middle of the pack. I’ve wanted to be good enough but not one of the greats because I’ve always thought the higher you are, the harder the fall. But with Kelley, I might be ready to fall."
The way these two helped each other become better people was also wonderful. Kelley helped Thad realize that just coasting wasn't going to get him far in life and that he actually had to fight for the things he wanted. The Thad from the first half could be frustrating at times. But as he grew up and learned to take charge of his life, he became the steady, supportive presence that Kelley needed. And in return he gave Kelley a space where he was free to explore who he is outside of being a baseball player and gave him the courage to just let go for the first time in his life.
"He might be kissing me to set me free, but all it’s doing is locking up my heart and throwing away the key."
I was also glad that they didn't rush into the big "I love you" moment after just a few weeks of being together. For a second there, it really looked like they were heading that way, but I'm glad we got to see them be together for a while before that moment. It made it more special and meaningful for me. And of course, it's always great to see Damon. His people never stop giving him a hard time, and Thad and Kelley really put him through the wringer. But he's a big softie at heart, and he does his job as head matchmaker very well.
"Falling in love is easy. Keeping it is work, and Thad shows me every day that he’s willing to do whatever it takes."
This agent/athlete romance was a fun start to the King Sports series! I'm so excited to see what comes next for this world. Personally, I'm hoping it's going to be about Lincoln and Archer because that's sure to be an interesting story!