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A review by bee_thebibliophile
Unwritten Rules by KD Casey
5.0
Unwritten Rules is a MM baseball romance, written by a baseball fan. As someone not super interested in the game of baseball, I was hesitant going in but wow, were my expectations exceeded. I loved this story - the back and forth between timelines, the growth in the characters and the love that never fully went away.
Zach Glasser is a professional baseball catcher with a hearing impairment, but doesn’t want that to be his defining characteristic. He’s been with the Oakland Elephants for a few years, has a knack for working with younger players to develop their skills and tends to befriend those that need someone to be in their corner. His Jewish family is overbearing but so loving and such an integral part of his life. But Zach has to keep a big part of himself hidden, his sexuality, to continue playing the game he loves and to make his family proud. He’s afraid of so many things (coming out, losing his spot on the team or his family, etc.) that he lets that fear drive many of his life decisions, but he’s also incredibly lonely.
Eugenio Morales is a rookie professional baseball catcher, looking to earn his spot alongside Zach on the Elephants’ team. His framing skills need some help and he ends up spending a lot of time up close and personal with Zach, getting to know him and becoming a huge part of his life. While Eugenio is out to his family, he also keeps his sexuality under wraps in the early part of his career out of fear of not succeeding. He’s precious and almost too good to be true - he’s understanding, sweet, thoughtful, funny and confident. Once he decides he wants something, he goes after it with everything he has and Zach is most definitely one of those things.
Zach and Eugenio’s love story was sweet, angst filled and hard fought. As professional athletes, being together was difficult and done mostly in private for their careers. When Eugenio wants more, Zach gets scared and Eugenio leaves but neither of them ever fully let go. Years later they meet up again at the All-Star Classic and find out their chemistry and connection hasn’t gone anywhere, forcing them to reevaluate their lives and decisions, especially Zach. Their story navigates so many big topics in such a natural way - coming out, baseball politics, sexuality in professional sports, religion, racism and disabilities, making Zach and Eugenio and their relationship feel so real.
And the freaking aloe plant…my heart couldn’t take it! There were so many little details in this story that I loved and that made me smile. Zach and Eugenio’s romance was definitely a hidden gem and I can’t wait to read more from K.D. Casey!
Zach Glasser is a professional baseball catcher with a hearing impairment, but doesn’t want that to be his defining characteristic. He’s been with the Oakland Elephants for a few years, has a knack for working with younger players to develop their skills and tends to befriend those that need someone to be in their corner. His Jewish family is overbearing but so loving and such an integral part of his life. But Zach has to keep a big part of himself hidden, his sexuality, to continue playing the game he loves and to make his family proud. He’s afraid of so many things (coming out, losing his spot on the team or his family, etc.) that he lets that fear drive many of his life decisions, but he’s also incredibly lonely.
Eugenio Morales is a rookie professional baseball catcher, looking to earn his spot alongside Zach on the Elephants’ team. His framing skills need some help and he ends up spending a lot of time up close and personal with Zach, getting to know him and becoming a huge part of his life. While Eugenio is out to his family, he also keeps his sexuality under wraps in the early part of his career out of fear of not succeeding. He’s precious and almost too good to be true - he’s understanding, sweet, thoughtful, funny and confident. Once he decides he wants something, he goes after it with everything he has and Zach is most definitely one of those things.
Zach and Eugenio’s love story was sweet, angst filled and hard fought. As professional athletes, being together was difficult and done mostly in private for their careers. When Eugenio wants more, Zach gets scared and Eugenio leaves but neither of them ever fully let go. Years later they meet up again at the All-Star Classic and find out their chemistry and connection hasn’t gone anywhere, forcing them to reevaluate their lives and decisions, especially Zach. Their story navigates so many big topics in such a natural way - coming out, baseball politics, sexuality in professional sports, religion, racism and disabilities, making Zach and Eugenio and their relationship feel so real.
And the freaking aloe plant…my heart couldn’t take it! There were so many little details in this story that I loved and that made me smile. Zach and Eugenio’s romance was definitely a hidden gem and I can’t wait to read more from K.D. Casey!