I really really enjoyed this read. As a huge baseball fan, I found that my attachment to baseball made me more engaged in the book, and that the book made me think more about my favorite players - and especially how the sport still doesn't permit players to be out and proud. There were some aspects of the writing I wanted to be tighter - some portions where the time jumps became confusing or areas where I felt the writing could be more concise, but overall it was really enjoyable. I think some editing for conciseness would be helpful, AND I hope I get to see how that goes - in the writer's next book, which I hope will come to be! :)

This is a slow-burn, second-chance, baseball player romance that actually focuses a lot on the actual game, and also a journey of self-acceptance.

Zach Glasser is a closeted, Jewish, youngish veteran catcher that is good at mentoring and reading signs. He lives with a hearing deficit that he has mostly adapted to and is fairly open about it, but he hides the fact that he is gay from everyone.

Eugenio Morales is a new catcher he is assigned to work with at spring training. He is outgoing, likable, and just kind of slides into Zach's life unexpectedly....and stirs up Zach in ways he was not prepared for leading to a secret affair.

These two forge a connection and an attraction. Their romance is told in different timelines starting from spring training and expanding to three years later. Zach is ruled by anxiety and fear of being outed and having to choose between baseball and love. Eugenio is willing to live his truth and deal with consequences even though his family has strong religious ties as well. Living in secret is not something that can be maintained indefinitely especially in their situation.

This is truly Zach's story of handling his career, dealing with fears, figuring out priorities, and deciding what kind of life he truly wants to live. He is not happy for much of the book and stuck in a situation ruled by anxiety and possible consequences. It gradually builds, flips back and forth between timelines, and focuses a lot on him being closeted and also the game itself. Although it is obvious they do share chemistry and a connection, I also felt a bit distanced by it due to the third-person point of view from Zach and also trying to keep the timelines straight. It takes Zach a while to begin to make moves towards real change and it is a slow process. But given the culture of the sport, family expectations, possible media exposure, it is also realistic.

The side characters all added depth to the story. The family dynamics are important. The personal relationships with teammates and others along the way are essential to Zach's journey. It all weaves together and becomes part of the framework of his choices.

By the last part of the book, I was invested in Zach and Eugenio finding a way to really make it work and live more than half-lives. I came to admire Zach for his growth and trying to go through the process to be himself and still keep those things in his life that he loved. I would have liked to see a bit more at the end though in an epilogue since there were a lot of challenges to get there.

It's been two weeks since I finished this book and I still don't know what more to say than: meh . Do I still have too high expectations? Because this is book number #i-can't-even-remember-anymore that I thought its blurb sounded soo promising and instead I ended up not even quite remembering what I've read.

Unwritten rules is a second chance M/M romance with two professional baseball players. I liked the representation in the book, Zach is hard of hearing and Jewish meanwhile Eugenio is Venezuelan. It was eye-opening reading more about baseball (which I still don't understand at all) and the obstacles the players have to overcome, even though these obstacle shouldn't even exist in the first place. But as always, humans learn slow and in sports they sometimes are a bit behind...

The book is written in Zach's PoV and I would have to liked to have Eugenio's as well, because Zach was kind of awkward to follow. I don't dislike him but I don't love him either. I did want to hug him though, repeatedly, because he felt so lonely and I all I wanted for him was to find friends. The team didn't have that comradery a team usually has and since this is sports romance it was a bit of a let down. Honestly, it got kind of depressing after a while and I was so sad for Zach. 🥺

The main reason why the book just felt meh to me was the relationship. The chemistry was non-existent and I didn't actually see them falling in love, you know? Slow burn is all about the small touches, longing looks and moments that keep turning the heat up but they just weren't there. Add in Zach's paranoia about them being seen and looking over his shoulder all the time, it felt like their relationship took one step forward and then two steps back.

I wouldn't say this was a HEA but more of a HFN because damn, that ending was such an anticlimax. I wanted to see them out as a couple, considering that was the reason behind the breakup, and get more about them finally together than we did. There was so much build-up and then whoops books is over! "Was that really it!?" was my first thought after finishing it and is still what I think when I write this.

Well, I am done rambling now. I think. I do hope if you read this that you will have a more enjoyable read than I did, because there were glimpses of something good even though I got caught up in the less good things instead.

(PS. Was I the only one who thought the chemistry between Giordano and Braxton felt much more real than Eugenio and Zach's?? I mean, there are soo many hints there!!)

I was not able to finish this book. I had to stop at the 35% mark. I felt like the author spent too much time on technical baseball descriptions which took away from the romance between the two men. The book was well written but feel like the author could scale way back on the amount of words and just concentrate more on the two main characters. I felt myself skimming during these sections and then began worrying I might be missing something important so I finally decided to throw in the towel. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book. Sadly, it just wasn't for me.

I struggled with this author's writing style. I thought the premise was interesting but the odd writing style took me our of the story. It definitely gave a lot of baseball details. and had interesting characters. It was just an ok read for me.

This is the first sports romance I’ve ever read and as someone that is not a sports fan I was not sure what to expect. That being said it blew my expectations out of the water! Casey does an excellent job of giving a perfect balance of baseball and romance with the slowest of burn.

The characters in this book had very long characters arcs with great highs and lows making the story not only more believable, but a willingness to want the best for them as well.

Zach and Eugenio are both professional ball players- in love with one another. Eugenio wants a real relationship but Zach wasn’t easy for that- he is too afraid of the homophobia. So, explosively, they break up and Eugenio asks for and gets a trade. Three years later they meet up again with a second chance at romance.
The story is told in two timelines - a nice plot device that allows us to see them falling in love, failing, and falling in love all at the same time. However, the character development was such that it was a little hard to see the love, not just the lust. It is a sports romance and I looked forward to the baseball part. I love baseball. But the technical detail about baseball just overwhelmed me. It made the book drag a bit for me.
I don’t think I would recommend this book to my patrons.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I have received an ARC of this book by NetGalley, and Carina Press and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review. The Pub date of the book is October 12, 2021. This review will be posted on my Goodreads, Facebook page, and Instagram.
Baseball is a sport that I understand very little, but I like the theme of sports in stories and that's why I'm interested in this book. I can't say I learned a lot more about what I already knew but it was still a pleasant and interesting read.
I confess that my mindset was not in the right place at the time I read this story, and this may have affected the enjoyment of reading, but even so, I think it is an interesting story with peculiar and unique characters.
The author's writing is captivating and doesn't bore us as we read. I liked the past/present interaction and how everything was described and made explicit throughout the story.
There are themes that are difficult to understand from a first instance, but it turned out to be a reading that entertained me. I hope to read the book again at another time and that I can maybe enjoy the story better, as well as I look forward to future books by the author.

Very pleasantly surprised by this book because I honestly doubted whether I would like it. I pursued an ARC because of Twitter, but then found out it’s pretty baseball heavy. I’m not into sports but something about the characters and the writing was very engaging to me, though I honestly didn’t understand half of the baseball stuff. And I’m okay with that because with explanations, it might have been boring to me.

I also don’t super love flipping between past and present because it can be hard to follow or you want to stay in one or the other and than it switches. But that ended up being fine for me too. There was such a strong, sweet connection between Zach and Eugenio in both timelines that I enjoyed the book very much.

Thank you Carina Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

Heat Factor: I mean, it is technically explicit sex, but it’s done in a vignette style until nearly the end, when it feels much more traditionally written
Character Chemistry: I had big feels, but it was because of Zach’s journey, not because of Zach and Eugenio together
Plot: Baseball players fall in love, but one refuses to come out and things fall apart. Until they get a second chance.
Overall: Y’all. I have just been on a whole emotional roller coaster.

Zach starts off a little sad. He’s the guy that you look at and think, “He’s doing great! Look at that successful MLB player living the dream!” And his stats are really good, so why is he so...miserably pathetic? He lacks the self-confidence that might convince you to buy into the idea that he’s really cool and chill. You know the type, yes? An average sort of person, I suppose, at the end of the day. Someone who you’d think has it all, but is really not happy. And the narration is 3rd person, but it’s Zach’s POV the whole time, so this feels like the story of a closeted gay Jewish baseball player who has a hearing impairment...not like a sweeping romance? Eugenio’s biggest problem, as far as I know, is Zach’s unwillingness to acknowledge to anyone anywhere that they have a relationship.

Okay. So. The tone is set. As the story opens, Zach is excited that he finally gets to be in an All-Star game, but he can’t even get to the field because of construction (and what even are detours?!), and although he’s excited, his career is in such a totally blah place - to say nothing of his life after Eugenio left him - that even being in the All-Star game is a sad thing. Like, “Oh, ha, yeah, even my crummy team had to send someone - so here’s crummy me!” (FWIW between flashbacks and this OMG WOW thing that happens toward the end, it’s pretty clear that Zach is a really good player stuck in league politics and his own misery, so this perception is largely his own and isn’t necessarily based on an outward reality.) Bottom line, we are starting from an emotionally blurgh place, okay? And the book needs to carry us through to the happy ending from there.

Does it get there? ...

Y’all. I cried. There were some beautiful moments that I simply perfectly connected with because it is such a human thing to find oneself in an emotionally terrible situation created by oneself and to desperately need a good friend without (much) judgement when things fall apart.

And then I finished the book and texted my friends to ask how I could be unsatisfied after such an emotional roller coaster. HOW?!

HFN is how, I guess. I had some unanswered questions (of the all caps variety), but I clearly am not entitled to answers, which, I mean, if you didn’t want my nosey nose all up in these characters’ business, then…? I really wanted that HEA after the pretty intense drama and breakup that was...the whole rest of the book. Perhaps this book made me realize that, for me, if we’re dealing with a really angsty breakup and a second chance romance, a contemporary romance-style HFN is not good enough. I want a little more security and finality in my ending.

Aaaanyway. Let me help you decide if this book is good for you.

How I decided to pick it up: “Oh, a closeted gay Jewish baseball player has relationship problems with his teammate and they break up only to get a second chance years later?!”

I’ve been on a queer sportsball romance binge (mostly hockey...thank you, Heated Rivalry, I was going to read other books but now, no), and when I was feeling at loose ends, K.D. Casey and Carina Press came through for me. Plus Zach is Jewish and I have also been looking for more Jewish protagonists.

Now that I’ve read it, here’s what else I can tell you:
1. There’s that HFN I mentioned. You might very well end up in the same emotional boat as me. I don’t think the question here is: “is it a good book?” It is. I think the question here is: “is it a satisfying romance?” YMMV depending on how you like your bows tied.

2. Also as mentioned, Eugenio is a mystery. If you want your protagonists to get through some troubles and come out on the other side stronger for having each other… I mean, I guess arguably that happens, but it’s because Zach does all the emotional work after being such an emotional wreck for the vast majority of the book.

3. It’s super duper in present tense. I thought that maybe the present chapters would be in present tense and the past chapters would be in past tense (it had that kind of lit fic-esque vibe, ifyouknowwhatImean), and that would have been exciting, but no. All present tense. I am typically an equal opportunity verb tense reader, but this was a combination of immediate and detached, as if someone was standing next to me, explaining what was happening around me, and it was EXTREMELY noticeable.

4. The narrative jumps back and forth between the present and the past, and it’s not even (which I appreciated because it transitioned when it needed to, not because there was a formula for its construction). This means we don’t hop to the past sometimes, we spend time there, so sometimes the development of the relationship in the past took precedence over the reconciliation in the present. I needed to be invested in their past in order for the present to have an emotional impact, but a large chunk of the emotional engagement and growth is pre-breakup. This, in combination with the conclusion, might have led to my dissatisfaction with the story’s close.

I was extremely invested in this book. I struggled to put it down. I appreciated the premise because you can still, in this year 2021, count on one hand the number of out major league baseball players and have fingers left over. And because sportsball is apparently my new favorite kind of romance I guess. Just...maybe be mindful that the conclusion is not sweeping and dramatic, but it is honest and happy and very optimistic.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report. (October)

This book had so much in it to discover. I loved all the baseball information included in the storyline along with the relationship growth between Zach and Eugenio. There is so much stigma in being a gay athlete and this book brings forth the fears of what it will do to their career if it comes out.
These guys were adorable together and I learned so much about the sport. The author did a wonderful job incorporating both the sport and the two main characters relationship without it being boring. Because that is the one thing it was not! This book was a page turner for me and I think it will be for anyone who comes across it!

I think I learned more about baseball from this book than I have ever in my life. Given that I have actively avoided absorbing any knowledge about baseball, the true testament to the quality of K.D. Casey’s debut romance, Unwritten Rules, is that I enjoyed learning about baseball.

Unwritten Rules is a leisurely paced second chance romance between two professional baseball players. Casey moves between the past and the present, giving the reader the end, the beginning, the middle, and the renewal all from Zach Glasser’s perspective. A major league catcher, Zach is Jewish, has hearing loss, and is deeply in the closet. For most of the book he is uncomfortably numb. Eugenio Morales, is also a catcher, Venezuelan American, and openly-ish bi. They meet at Spring Training camp where Zach is a returning veteran and Eugenio is a rookie called up from the minor leagues for a shot at the majors.

This book is Zach’s journey, from shut down and closeted to starting to be open and accepting of who he is. Interestingly, it took me a good bit of the book to realize that Zach was not a washed up player who never met his potential. I think he thought of himself that way, and of Eugenio as the bright star who went on to better. When Zach says something disparaging about his career, Eugenio looks at him like he’s nuts and points out that he played in the all-star game. Zach is a little bit of an unreliable narrator about himself.

Unwritten Rules has a wonderfully dreamy quality to it. It’s kind of a slow burn, in that Eugenio and Zach have sex early in the book, but the flashbacks feel slightly unreal. Zach’s emotional awakening come later in the book around the beat where slow burn romance book couples are likely to consummate their physical relationship. The only thing I would have liked to see was just a little bit more of happy Zach and Eugenio. The book ended with me feeling confident that they would be happy, but I wanted more of that dopamine at the end.

Romances that play with time and perspective are probably not new, but I feel like I’ve read more of them this year. I love it and hope to see more of it. I’m also hoping for more K.D. Casey.

CW: internalized homophobia, racist microaggressions, sexism in sports.

Thank you to NetGalley and Carina Press for the advance reader copy. I reviewed this voluntarily.

Unwritten Rules by KD Casey
Contemporary Romance
M/M Pairing
Pub Date: October 14, 2021
Content Warnings: Closeted male character
On page sex
Recommended for readers who: enjoyed Heated Rivalry, readers who love baseball, readers looking for Jewish lead characters
Link to GR Blurb https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57876648-unwritten-rules?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=o4AtvfYFFY&rank=1&ref=bk_bet_in


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There is plenty to enjoy in Casey’s debut romance novel, Unwritten Rules. Zack and Eugenio are both baseball players. They meet during spring training and Zack is tasked with helping Eugenio work on his skills as a catcher. Zack has been in the professional league for a few years and Eugenio is attempting to move up from the minors.

The story is told in alternating chapters of past and present and only from Zach’s point of view. We see Zach and Eugenio as their friendship and then relationship evolves. Then we see them breakup. Present day is mostly focused on them reconnecting and rekindling their relationship. When they reconnect, Zack is 32 and slowly aging out of baseball while Eugenio is in his peak season in baseball.

I want to mention that this book is HEAVY on baseball information. If you are not overly familiar with baseball there will be moments in the book where you may not understand things, or at least that was my experience. The facts of baseball weigh down the book in places. Casey is a sports writer and it shows.

The conflict is internal and is centered around Zach not being out as a gay man. Eugenio does not want to be anyone’s secret and he tires of Zach’s insistence that they wait “a little longer.” Zach is worried about how coming out will impact not just his family but also his career in baseball. Zach is feeling pretty lost in the world and in baseball.

The GR blurb refers to this as a “delightful” sports romance and I think that is an unfair descriptor of this book. There are some fun and light moments but I read Zach as a “sad boy”. He feels stuck in his life. He wants something but does not know how to get it. He is afraid to be honest with this family. He has one good friend in the book and he struggles to be honest with her as well. There were moments that were hard for me to read because I felt for Zach and his hurts.

Although this is labeled as a romance, I think it would be better suited to be labeled contemporary fiction with strong romantic elements. Although we, as the reader, see the relationship develop, the book is really centered on Zach’s self-discovery and growth arc. In order to be in a healthy relationship, he has to accept himself and be honest with the people that matter to him. And this is central to the romantic relationship. He does seek help via therapy but that comes late in the book. To me, the ending felt like an HFN and I was not completely convinced that everything had been resolved.

I enjoyed learning about Zach. I was very invested in this love story with Eugenio. Eugenio was more patient with Zach than I think I ever could be. I would have liked to have seen more on page time with Zach and Eugenio in the present that was not sex related but other readers may be fine with this. I would read more in this series and look forward to hopefully seeing Zach and Eugenio again.

Grade: B-/C+
Link to find book

E-galley received via Netgalley courtesy of the publisher, Carina Press

Unwritten rules is a story told in two parallel timelines - the first is when Zach first meets Eugenio on the same baseball team and their blossoming relationship while Zach grapples with coming out, and second takes place three years later where they meet again after their separation.

I love books with parallel timelines. I think that when done well, it can beautifully capture growth, angst, and most importantly that sweet, sweet yearning that most of us enjoy. I really enjoyed the way K. D. Casey executed it and it was easy to distinguish and appreciate the alternating timelines. It also successfully elevated the central conflicts of the story - internalised homophobia, shame, identity, expectations, and acceptance.

But where this book shines the most was the writing of Zach’s hearing impairment. Coming from a disabled reader’s perspective, I think Casey did a fantastic job with writing it in an authentic and sensitive manner. There was a lovely balance between bringing light to the daily hassles and little things that a hearing impairment comes with, while also giving Zach a solid personality beyond that.

So why 3.5 stars? Because baseball forms that heart of story, with much of it taking place on or around the baseball diamond (if you would like a sense of the extent of my baseball know, let’s just say I literally had to google what the diamond was called) and there were probably a number of analogies or metaphors that added to the nuances of this story which I simply couldn’t understand. It is clear that Casey has a fantastic understanding of baseball, but with so many technical terms used, I wonder if a layperson would be able to fully appreciate this story.

I believe that if a reader has a strong understanding of baseball and all its technicalities, this story’s impact would have been amplified. However, for those like myself without a stronger grasp on the sport, it ultimately takes away from the reading experience and turns a beautifully written story into a slightly confusing one.

☼ Thank you to NetGalley and Carina Press for an arc of Unwritten Rules in exchange for an honest review.

So, I didn’t love this book but it was intriguing enough for me to keep going. There was some thing about the writing style that I just didn’t quite like. The story itself wasn’t bad. Thank you to net galley for the ARC.

This M/M sports romance between Zach and Eugenio is wonderful and unique. It is full of baseball insight and I loved all I learned about catchers and pitchers and what spectators don't know! It also sheds light on the incredible uncertainty and hardships ballplayers have to go through to get to the major leagues and stay there. The timeline goes back and forth between the present and the past, and the characters are diverse and multi-faceted. Zach is Jewish and hearing impaired and Eugenio has parents from Venezuela, and the book actually explores both of their backgrounds. This is not your usual sports romance and I very much look forward to more from this author.

Unwritten Rules is a novel about two queer baseball players playing in a fictional major league. I received this book as an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this book overall, although the writing style of jumping back and forth in the timeline took away some off the emotional payoff of their first breakup. I also felt like the stakes that caused their breakup were mostly self inflicted. It had many good points as well; a Hard of Hearing main character that felt authentic in their experiences without it being made into their only character trait, some excellent sex scenes that showed the emotional connection between the characters, a HEA that didn't feel contrived. I would definitely b read more by this author.

Unwritten Rules is a solid debut romance, without it ever feeling particularly spectacular to me. It was sweet, with characters you could root for, and a good balance of past and present within the second chance romance.

The plot follows Zach, selected for the All-Star game for the first time, where he comes face to face with his ex, another catcher who he taught as a rookie. The first half of the book or so flips back and forth between the present All-Star game and the past, when Zach and Eugenio met and fell in love. As I said, I think the balance here was really good. It’s a second chance romance: I have to believe in their relationship, which means I need some flashbacks at least, and the flashbacks here were well-judged. Alright, so there were times I wanted it to lean into the angsty present more than it did, but at the end of the day, I did like the pacing of this book.

It was also a very sweet book, very kind on its characters. Even when the characters mess up, even when they’re not wholly secure, the writing is very gentle with them, if that makes sense. They’re given the room to make mistakes and to develop from those (and go to therapy. The number of times I was begging Zach to just please find a therapist). There’s (mostly) that nuance you need with the issues raised in the book as well. (I say mostly, because I didn’t necessarily think that there was enough patience shown to Zach’s internalised homophobia, but I guess that’s just me.)

Probably there are two reasons why I’ve only given this book 3 stars: less angst than I wanted (I mean, what’s a second chance romance without the angst ratcheted up to painful levels?), and the fact that I wasn’t the biggest fan of the love interest. Both of these are personal, of course, and I can’t really explain the latter. I suppose it’s just sometimes I find myself more drawn to one character than the other and that was the case here. Which is why I couldn’t like it more than I did.

But if you’re looking for a sweet romance you can easily finish in just a few hours, then I would definitely recommend you consider this one.

I'm a huge fan of MM books, especially MM sports romances, and I don't often see baseball represented in MM sports books so I was happy to see more baseball!

I was expecting good things from this book and I was super excited to start it but once I got going, the story was a bit slow and there wasn't much romance. Granted, it was more of a coming out story so I guess it was written in that way, but I just couldn't connect with the characters and the story fell a bit flat. I'm sad about this because I really wanted to like it!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Carina Press for the earc in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, the integration of their relationship in the past with the present was done really well. Zach's journey was really important to me and I loved seeing him grow and just learn who he was and who he was comfortable sharing things with.

I received an arc from netgalley.