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maferg01's review
5.0
The ending of Grant and Declan's love story will be just what you wanted. Now committed to one another, playing for different teams, and living together in the same city - it seems like the guys have it all. But we wouldn't have a 3rd book in their story without a few plot twists and bumps in their journey. They navigate the difficulties of meshing two lives together and playing for opposing teams, dealing with the press, all while figuring out where they go from here and what their future looks like. No spoilers, but I'll tell you that the ending to their story is super sweet and just melted me.
I listened to all 3 books in this series and Teddy Hamilton and Jacob Morgan brought this entire story to life. They portrayed the strength of the characters so well in humorous scenes, emotional moments, and the steamy and sexy times so well. This is a story best experienced in audio with the spectacular acting these men brought to a wonderful book.
I particularly connected with this story after finding out about Lauren's family and her personal connection to writing MM stories set in a world where you can love who you love. For my part, I was welcomed into my husband's family most warmly by his two aunts, who had been in a relationship for more than 25 years by the time we met in 2007. I was deeply touched, years later to have been able to witness their wedding once it was finally legal in Chicago. And my heart and mind often misses Natalie now that she has passed. I wish for everyone who loves someone, that they find acceptance in society and in their families like Lauren has written in these stories. Maybe one day in the not so distant future, homophobia will be a thing of the past. Love is love.
I listened to all 3 books in this series and Teddy Hamilton and Jacob Morgan brought this entire story to life. They portrayed the strength of the characters so well in humorous scenes, emotional moments, and the steamy and sexy times so well. This is a story best experienced in audio with the spectacular acting these men brought to a wonderful book.
I particularly connected with this story after finding out about Lauren's family and her personal connection to writing MM stories set in a world where you can love who you love. For my part, I was welcomed into my husband's family most warmly by his two aunts, who had been in a relationship for more than 25 years by the time we met in 2007. I was deeply touched, years later to have been able to witness their wedding once it was finally legal in Chicago. And my heart and mind often misses Natalie now that she has passed. I wish for everyone who loves someone, that they find acceptance in society and in their families like Lauren has written in these stories. Maybe one day in the not so distant future, homophobia will be a thing of the past. Love is love.
thecorioliseffect's review
3.0
This was okay. It wasn't QUITE them just being happy and in love but... it kind of was. Idk, I'm just not really interested in reading books where a couple is happy and dealing with their life. I prefer them to have angst and drama and all this. It had a TINY bit of tension between the leads but... not much. It was still enjoyable enough though. Just felt a little unnecessary I guess.
spectre83's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
blaireisrad's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
slee907's review
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sunray_sunburn's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-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
4.5
Yay!! The final installment in Grant and Declan's amazing and heartwarming story. I loved this book. It was so interesting to get a peak at the couple's relationship after they finally got together. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows because that is not how reality works. It was really nice that they were able to work through their continued insecurities together. I especially love when Grant recognizes that it is not the time to bring up kids after they go to breakfast with Declan's dad, and he talks about how he knows what Declan needs to do to recover from that outing. It really showed how much he cared about Declan.
I cannot express how much these characters felt like real people to me. Their story felt so real and raw. I love Lauren Blakely's stories for this reason! She puts so much love into her stories and their characters that they feel like they are your close friends you are rooting for. This story was so much about the real and raw parts of a relationship. No rom-com here, just pure romance and character growth for two amazing guys. And then throw in baseball and steamy hot scenes and you have a top-tier L. Blakely book!
10/10 series and 10/10 couple!
I cannot express how much these characters felt like real people to me. Their story felt so real and raw. I love Lauren Blakely's stories for this reason! She puts so much love into her stories and their characters that they feel like they are your close friends you are rooting for. This story was so much about the real and raw parts of a relationship. No rom-com here, just pure romance and character growth for two amazing guys. And then throw in baseball and steamy hot scenes and you have a top-tier L. Blakely book!
10/10 series and 10/10 couple!
laura_katie_j's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely glorious. This trilogy gave me everything I needed from a love story. Achingly sweet and tender. Emotionally charged from start to finish. Thrilling, and enrapturing. Real world love meets movie love.
It was the ending that both the characters and the reader deserved, but was in no way forced or contrived. The characters feel so real, and the obstacles they overcome are more than just plot devices — everything is there to make a point. At no point in this trilogy did it feel like the story was dragging the characters along.
I devoured these books. I know absolutely nothing about baseball and I didn’t really need to. Nothing about the language or story is exclusionary. I was moved to laughter, to tears, to unfettered bouts of joy.
And it was an extra special treat to listen to the audiobooks. Teddy Hamilton and Jacob Morgan are masterful narrators. They brought Grant and Declan to life seamlessly. At no point did it feel like there were two different versions of Grant or Declan. It was obvious that both narrators knew the story and their characters inside out and really cared about them.
If I could forget having read them and start again from the beginning I would, purely for having the pleasure of experiencing this trilogy for the first time. I was so pleasantly and gratefully surprised by how much I enjoyed this series.
These books are for absolutely everyone. Even if this genre isn’t your kind of thing, absolutely everyone should experience this story. Never have I ready a book that shows a truer, grittier, sweeter love story than this one. And very seldom have I experienced LGBTQ+ fiction that is quite so open and honest, without the whole story centring around the fact that the main characters are gay.
In one word: enchanting.
It was the ending that both the characters and the reader deserved, but was in no way forced or contrived. The characters feel so real, and the obstacles they overcome are more than just plot devices — everything is there to make a point. At no point in this trilogy did it feel like the story was dragging the characters along.
I devoured these books. I know absolutely nothing about baseball and I didn’t really need to. Nothing about the language or story is exclusionary. I was moved to laughter, to tears, to unfettered bouts of joy.
And it was an extra special treat to listen to the audiobooks. Teddy Hamilton and Jacob Morgan are masterful narrators. They brought Grant and Declan to life seamlessly. At no point did it feel like there were two different versions of Grant or Declan. It was obvious that both narrators knew the story and their characters inside out and really cared about them.
If I could forget having read them and start again from the beginning I would, purely for having the pleasure of experiencing this trilogy for the first time. I was so pleasantly and gratefully surprised by how much I enjoyed this series.
These books are for absolutely everyone. Even if this genre isn’t your kind of thing, absolutely everyone should experience this story. Never have I ready a book that shows a truer, grittier, sweeter love story than this one. And very seldom have I experienced LGBTQ+ fiction that is quite so open and honest, without the whole story centring around the fact that the main characters are gay.
In one word: enchanting.
carolinereader's review
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0