4.25 ⭐️ This is one of my favourite -perhaps least realistic- sports romances I've read in a while!
And I loved it so much! It was free this last Stuff Your Kindle Day, and omg I'm so glad it was, otherwise I may have never found it! Cat Giraldo is a new-to-me author, but I'm definitely checking out the rest of her books because this was seriously all I've been craving from the sports romance genre. It really is that itch that only LGBTQIA+ sports romances can scratch!
This book follows Sierra and Mateo. She's a Female Pro Baseball Player in the Male League -we love that for her!- where both MCs are openly Bisexual, and he's her new team Captain. Really, truly, if that alone doesn't convince you to read this, dare I say just one more thing: Femmedom + k¡nk Awakening. This man has f*cked-up knees, and still can't wait to get on them for her. This is also an Age-Gap (35M-24F). Both come from different but equally rich (and respected) cultural backgrounds, and it's always so beautiful to see different cultures celebrated in books like these. Truly, just those facts alone make this book worth reading, imo.
There were a couple of things that I didn't like, especially because the book tried to make them seem like they were no big deal... when, really, they were. First of all, I'm an Age-Gap Romance hater; have been and always will be. The constant teasing and the jokes here made it hard to forget that this man turned 18 when she was 7 years old. *Shudder* Anyway, that was not great, but my biggest issue here is the situation with Mateos' ex-boyfriend. I thought it was revealed within the first couple of chapters what the deal was, but then the author kept trying to skirt over the explanation until around the 70% mark like it was supposed to be a big reveal or something, when it was just annoying and kind of off-putting the entire time. Even after the explanation, when Mateo tries to convince himself that his suffering for the last three years, even going so far as to move houses because of Oliver was just no big deal. Like this new situation was just the way that things go; like he couldn't have any feelings about it. I felt so incredibly bad and sad for him. Nessa, Leila and Mateo's Mother were great, but the fact that they all pretended like this wasn't happening was heartbreaking to me, and I don't like that it was never truly talked about or processed at all in the entire book. Also, the third-act break-up felt kind of unnecessary, especially the way that Sierra handled it (aka the timing of it all).
It's hard to write about my possible grievances here without spoiling anything, but I hope I managed well enough. Even with these things, this book was amazing and I 100% recommend it to anyone looking for a new sports romance!
Side note, I know that this is just a personal comment, but this is the first book that I've ever read where the FMC has the same parents/ parental structure as me! She has a bi mom and a lesbian mama, and I know that it's not that big of a deal to anyone else, but it was cute to see! I'm glad, however, that there was no bio-dad mess involved here.
🌶🌶🌶🌶 / 5 - This book's main focus is not on the spice, but on the romance itself. However, the spice in this book is so incredibly good and k¡nky, it might melt your face off, so beware! Again, Femmedom + openly bi guy = do not read this if an*l is not your thing. But, omg, seriously read this book.