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A review by valemeanie1717
The Backup Plan by Eden Finley
5.0
For years, I've been reading Eden Finley's books. Funny enough, Fake Out was one of the first books of hers that I read, so when I heard that there was a new saga coming out about King Sports, I was so excited to read about Damon again because I missed him. Even though this book isn't about him, I love the parallels between Damon's and Thad's relationship with baseball, how both of them had to give up on a lifelong dream of being professional players.
When Thad expresses his feelings of not being good enough to do the one thing he thinks he excels at, it’s disheartening. Then he meets Kelley Afton, a man who not only is living out Thad's dream but is also incredibly talented. At the beginning, Thad is bitter towards Kelley because he is living HIS dream and seems (in Thad's eyes) to not appreciate it. Thad thinks Kelley is just another diva, annoyed because things don't go his way.
The plan of becoming an agent as a backup consumes all of Thad's thoughts. His baseball dreams cloud this potential future of a fulfilling career. When he learns that Kelley's issues with social media don't stem from narcissism but rather from multiple anxiety disorders, Thad admits he hasn’t been doing his best to succeed in this new path. He realizes he is self-sabotaging and hasn't even given himself a real chance to turn this backup plan into a reality he could be happy in.
On the other hand, Kelley deals with the consequences of coming out in a world that isn’t always friendly to queer people. His addiction to checking social media comes from a need for reassurance. His anxiety makes him think that everyone hates him—for being gay, for not being good enough, and for a million other reasons. So when he reads mean and homophobic comments about himself, it only confirms that he was right: he shouldn't have come out.
Their meeting and learning about each other’s issues is fundamental for them to grow past the problems that were making their lives miserable. It’s not that the power of love cures them of their insecurities, but rather that meeting each other gives them perspective. This relationship begins as something so casual it wasn’t even supposed to repeat, yet they find themselves thinking about each other in ways they never imagined before. I loved the longing they had for each other and how they begin to question how much they are willing to sacrifice to make the relationship a reality and make it work.
*****
I received an ARC of this book and this is my honest review.
When Thad expresses his feelings of not being good enough to do the one thing he thinks he excels at, it’s disheartening. Then he meets Kelley Afton, a man who not only is living out Thad's dream but is also incredibly talented. At the beginning, Thad is bitter towards Kelley because he is living HIS dream and seems (in Thad's eyes) to not appreciate it. Thad thinks Kelley is just another diva, annoyed because things don't go his way.
The plan of becoming an agent as a backup consumes all of Thad's thoughts. His baseball dreams cloud this potential future of a fulfilling career. When he learns that Kelley's issues with social media don't stem from narcissism but rather from multiple anxiety disorders, Thad admits he hasn’t been doing his best to succeed in this new path. He realizes he is self-sabotaging and hasn't even given himself a real chance to turn this backup plan into a reality he could be happy in.
On the other hand, Kelley deals with the consequences of coming out in a world that isn’t always friendly to queer people. His addiction to checking social media comes from a need for reassurance. His anxiety makes him think that everyone hates him—for being gay, for not being good enough, and for a million other reasons. So when he reads mean and homophobic comments about himself, it only confirms that he was right: he shouldn't have come out.
Their meeting and learning about each other’s issues is fundamental for them to grow past the problems that were making their lives miserable. It’s not that the power of love cures them of their insecurities, but rather that meeting each other gives them perspective. This relationship begins as something so casual it wasn’t even supposed to repeat, yet they find themselves thinking about each other in ways they never imagined before. I loved the longing they had for each other and how they begin to question how much they are willing to sacrifice to make the relationship a reality and make it work.
*****
I received an ARC of this book and this is my honest review.