Absolutely spectacular, but I never expect anything less from KD Casey at this point. Alex and Jake were tender and sweet and clearly meant for each other, and I loved reading their journey to an HEA. There's something that's always viscerally real about KD Casey's characters—like you could turn the corner in your town and bump right into Jake or Charlie or Zach (this is more realistic for me because I'm in the Bay Area where they fictionally play 😂), and it's 100% due to the care KD takes in making sure these characters are fully fleshed out. As always, a masterclass in storytelling.

Heat Factor: If you’re looking for characters with ED due to medication with partners who are with them 100%, I have a book for you

Character Chemistry: Every time they were gutted, I was also completely gutted

Plot: Jake and Alex had a whirlwind rookie season, glued to each other, until it all crashed and burned. Ten years later, they’re forced back together on their old team for a last chance to win a championship ring.

Overall: I felt like Eeyore until the end, when I had all the warm fuzzies.

Well, I know K.D. Casey is going to wreck me, I just have to brace myself before I find out how it’s going to go down. I’m not totally sure how she does it, but Casey writes the absolute saddest bois, and I am drawn to empathize with their sadness like it’s mine, but I like it. This time, for the first several chapters, I was pining for Jake right along with Alex. Then they had their fight, and Jake got injured, and really, is there anything worse than feeling on top of the world with your whole life in front of you and then losing it all? And feeling like you’ll never get it back? And then the guy who used to be your person not only hates your guts but also went on to have the life you thought would be yours?

So anyway. Gutted. My eyes got leaky.

But it’s okay, friends, because this is a romance and Alex and Jake will work it out because they have to. Because it’s a romance but also because their jobs depend on it. One interesting aspect of this transition in their relationship is that they don’t really sit down and resolve it as such. The initial problem is one of those fights that might occur with really young people who aren’t really able to get over themselves or communicate particularly well, and that looks different ten years later when maybe it’s just time to let things go. I think most of the time in romance I read characters taking responsibility for specific actions and statements that provides a really solid resolution to the conflict, even if feelings don’t always work that way, so it was kind of cool to read a conflict resolution that acknowledged the underlying feelings at the root of it instead of apportioning blame and responsibility to specific actions.

Casey’s characters can’t have it easy, and in this case we have Alex, who doesn’t really get to be himself as a pro ball player and who carries the trauma of losing his parents as a young child, and Jake, who might come from the most normal Jewish family in the world but has a debilitating case of OCD in addition to losing his career just enough to be able to keep playing but never enough to live up to expectations. As I expect when picking up a book by Casey, there’s a solid foundation of Jewish and mental health rep giving three-dimensionality and depth to the characters and their struggles in this story.

Another observation that caught my interest: This book is the most standard romance arc that I’ve read by Casey (excluding co-written books, though I think those were HFN, too). Unlike in Unwritten Rules, which was single POV and left us with a slightly vague but optimistic HFN, and even like Fire Season, which ended on a very clear note for the characters but a lot of questions regarding what else they might be dealing with after the last page, our characters in Diamond Ring have gotten their HEA with almost no loose ends. And, fair warning, the characters from the other books in the series also show up and we get more of their own more certain HEAs as well. I have to say I loved all of this. I love me a very clear, very perfect happy ending (because the fantasy that everything will turn out tied up in a perfectly tied bow in the end is one of the reasons I read romance in particular and genre fiction in general), but I had to wonder if Casey’s writing is evolving naturally or if outside elements have encouraged a more commercially favorable narrative arc. This book is also written in third present, and it still definitely has some of the punctuated hallmarks of Casey’s writing style, but it didn’t feel quite as lit fic-y as the prior two books in this series. All of this probably doesn’t matter for this book in terms of review, but I could see readers responding to her writing differently as they progress through the works.

If you like being crushed by feelings of despondency and then lifted out of that with tender, sweet love, and if you like baseball (Casey really knows baseball), then read this series and conclude with this book because it is extremely satisfying.

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 is by far one of my favorite baseball romance series and this latest book was absolutely amazing. I love how the author incorporates the love of the game with these wonderfully drawn out romances and complex characters.

Jake and Alex are so well developed as characters and I appreciate how the author has honest depictions of characters with mental health issues. These are things that are part of Jake and something he deals with everyday. Jake and Alex’s conversations surrounding Jake and his medication are honest and realistic and although they aren’t the typical bedroom convos you see in a romance novel, I appreciated that those types of conversations were included. I think having representation is important and if someone sees something they relate to in a book, that’s means something.

I loved the ending for these two characters - it was a well deserved ending for these two MCs who have had a rocky relationship and who doesn’t want to see a happy ending for that reason alone but also that it left open possibilities for the two of them. That although they have their history together and this is this large time gap in their relationship, there is still more ahead of them. Don’t get me wrong, I love when there is a a 5 year epilogue status at the end of a book but I don’t feel like this story needed that given the timeline that was established. I also loved seeing catch ups of characters featured in previous books. Really enjoyed the series as a whole and absolutely loved this book.

okay a lot of my baseball-loving childhood came up while reading this and i am not mad about it! i loved the characters, liked the plot, and was just really rooting for everyone! i might go back and read the earlier ones in the series because now i already love those characters, too.

I loved it!

After reading book three in this series I’ve finally gotten used to the way KD Casey writes – third person present tense? Actually, I was pretty used to it by the end of book two. In any case, I loved this story. This author does a good job of letting us know how Jake and Alex get together 10 years ago.

Their relationship starts when both of them are rookie players on the same team. Jake is the golden boy, a new pitcher called up from the minors. Alex is also called up, from a different minor team, but he’s treated like yesterday’s leftovers. This leaves him with a bad taste in his mouth and not feeling particularly friendly toward Jake but Jake eventually wins him over. They have some great times together until things blow up after a disastrous ending to the championship series.

Fast forward ten years and we find Alex and Jake back on the same team again. Alex is struggling with a lot of things, including depression. I’m pleased to see more and more authors writing about depression in their stories; it’s the illness that people don’t talk about. I have family members who suffer from this debilitating illness and it is hard on family members as well as the afflicted. I think the author writes about this realistically and with compassion.

There is still a spark between Alex and Jake but they both have to overcome old hurts. Once their relationship is fairly solid again, they have to deal with the realities of their differing career goals. Diamond Ring brought out all of my emotions and made me feel for both characters. I enjoyed seeing characters from the previous two books. I also appreciated the extended epilogue that this book had.

I don’t know if this is the end of this series or not but I will be looking for more books by this author.

A review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book.

I think I just don’t like how this author writes second chance. It’s always boring and not believable to me. Both MC’s annoyed me and I didn’t really root for them so I struggled to care about the romance because of that.

Another wonderful, swoony story from KD Casey.

The breakup felt just like a breakup between 22-year-olds should go: hurt feelings leading to a fight, then a career-induced separation that prevented them from making up.

Meanwhile, over the next ten years apart they both grow into these complex, totally different people, and so when they come back together, we get to watch them fall for each other again.

The <spoiler>mystery-identity</spoiler> trope was handled just fantastically IMO.

My only caution is, I feel that for the first time, the emotional impact of the book was lessened because I don’t know baseball. I didn’t realize that catchers are supposed to watch over pitchers and take them out of the game to protect them. So when the catcher mentioned feeling guilty about an injury, I didn’t get what a big deal this would have been for him.

But otherwise, and in all of Casey’s other books, I didn’t feel a lack of baseball knowledge hindered my experience. Well done!!

I got a copy from Netgalley. Opinions are my own

I would be remiss if I didn’t bring everyone’s attention to one of my very favorite reads of the year. I’ve enjoyed everything of KD’s I’ve read, but this book—it was next level. It kept me hooked from start to finish. It tackles religion and grief. It makes you really feel the pace and flow of a baseball game. It hurt SO good, but make no mistake: this second chance teammates-to-lovers queer baseball romance delivers the HEA of your dreams. This was one of those books that I read late into the night, in bed, not being able to stop until I finished. And then, I had to sit there, clutching my phone and grinning for another ten minutes just to savor it. This is one I’ll be coming back to over and over.

❤️❤️❤️
💋💋

I’ve enjoyed other books from this writer, and this was good, but a little slow in places.
If that’s your style you’ll love it.

The characters were excellent and so much emotion and great banter between them.
The relationship is very strong and I loved the growth and depth of that.
Good writing and in all a very good story.

I received an Arc copy of this book and chose to post this review

Sent from my iPhone

I read Fire Season first last year. While I mostly liked it and found the prose especially to be great, I had issues with the pacing and it took me a weirdly long time to read. Not being a fan of second chances romance, I wasn't even thinking about reading Unwritten Rules (the first one in the series) before reading Diamond Ring as an ARC. But after getting basically bullied into reading it, I ended up LOVING book 1 and Zach and Eugenio and I couldn't wait for Diamond Ring (luckily that was four days ago and I've had this ARC downloaded for weeks lmao). I didn't even care about this being a second-chance romance anymore. I didn't even read the blurb!

This is the best one of the series so far. All the pacing issues and the... "not having an ending"... issues from the previous two books are solved. I think this is helped by the fact that the first/second chances timelines are well-balanced and sequential. The build-up of tension between them was so good, and the release was also satisfactory. This is not an angst-free story. Like KD Casey's other books, there's this underlying current of melancholia, carried by the strong and recognizable prose, but the flavor of it is so distinct from the previous books. I loved Alex and Jake and their dynamics, even when they were fighting. I loved the boys equally, but Alex, with his prickly ways, has a particular place in my heart.

I feel like I wrote a lot already and I'm not even coming close to explain why I loved this book so much. I know people talked a lot already about K.D. Casey's writing style. But to me, it's more than the prose that makes this book special. It's just a very well-crafted book, with points of tension and release that flows very well, so you don't feel like it's constricted by a particular narrative frame, even though it definitely has one. It even has a cliché surprise trope at some point in the middle. (And it was Great.)

And points for the mental health rep, which included the discussion of medication side effects without dismissing their use. OCD is not the easiest disorder to write, and I feel like it was well-done (from my purely clinical point of view).

Also, guys, the baseball? Like, I'm a hockey gal. I don't know a lot about baseball, and what I do know, I know in another language. Never before in my life has baseball given me so many emotions. And it probably won't anytime soon, at least until KD Casey's next book.

I found this book to be a compelling, if somewhat angsty at times, baseball romance between two very competitive players for the Oakland Elephants.

Jake and Alex first meet as rookies, with Jake brought up as a pitching wunderkind and Alex as a journeyman catcher. They're gradually drawn to one another and find themselves taking the first steps in a relationship but end up being torn apart by their competitive drives after a World Series mishap. Ten years later, the two end up back on the Elephants' roster and must overcome their past differences in order to succeed. And as they take those steps, they find that maybe, perhaps, there might still be a spark between them and must decide whether or not to act on it.

This book is definitely not a romance with a painted on sports backdrop- which I appreciated. As with the other books in the series this story lives and breathes baseball with its attendant strategies and statistics along with the heartbreak and joys of victory and defeat. I particularly appreciated that the characters had to work hard for their accomplishments in the story-their part in the success of the team felt very real. And the incident that first separated them when they first meet, which stemmed from a play during a crucial game felt real on an emotional level. Having played in a competitive sports league for a time, I could relate to how the intensity of the game could bleed over into friendships in a negative way.

I enjoyed the characters of Jake and Alex quite a bit. They were well rounded and interesting, particularly the relationships they had with their families and teammates. Their journey back to one another was quite affecting in parts, if maddening at times because their communication skills were not the greatest at times. My main quibble with the book was that the last part of the story, where the team contends for the series seemed a bit rushed to me - they're in the middle of the slog of a long baseball season, then it seems that all of a sudden they're in the Series.

If you're a fan of sports romance, such as the hockey books from Rachel Reid, this book would probably be up your alley. Be warned that there are some triggers with some of the more angsty subjects, such as mental illness and the foster care system, but overall they didn't drag the story down to being too gloomy.

This is another good story in this series. I really enjoyed the second chance aspect and being able to see what happened in the past. It was also go to follow them to their HEA.

This comes out tomorrow and it had me hooked right from the start and gave me everything I want in a romance. I highly recommend it. It's a dual POV with two MCs I found very real and very lovable, and I was so damn invested in their happiness. But whew it was a long road to the HEA in this one and my heart definitely hurt while reading it.

The structure in at least one of K.D. Casey's previous books was challenging for me, I struggle with dual timelines. There was only one big time jump here, and I think it was done really well and worked perfectly for these characters and their story. But it still HURT! I really loved the way the MCs sort of went from (one sided) enemies to "can hardly bear it they're so sweet" friends to something more, and then kind of started that journey all over again to get back to one another. There were a lotta feels in this one. A LOT OF FEELS.

Okay, so I happen to like baseball. It's the only sport I care about at all, so I was pleased with the amount of baseball in the book. I also don't think it will be too baseball-y for non baseball people. Even if you don't like baseball, I think the players' feelings about it are incredibly poignant.

One of my favorite things about the book is something that happens around the midway point that I won't spoil but that is a favorite plot device, but it almost always leads to drama and hurt feelings, which I was dreading. Only it didn't. I LOVED the way it played out instead. Squeals, elation, etc from me on that whole bit.

My other favorite thing about the book, apart from the relationship arc feeling so hard earned and so moving, was the way Jake's mental health and other health issues are handled. I've read a lot of romance featuring MCs with mental health struggles, and this is up there with some of the best of them in my opinion. I think Casey really captured the insidious nature of some types of mental illness, how easy it is for it to take over your life, and how easy it can be to fall back into. Mental illness is cruel. There is so often no easy fix. Jake is a character who gets professional help, who takes medication that helps and that keeps him able to function and that also comes with some really frustrating and life changing side effects that aren't going away. Because medication is necessary for so many people, but that doesn't mean the prospect of taking it every day is easy or a magic solution. And it doesn't mean that your mental health struggles just disappear. Neither do they magically end when you find the love of your life or accomplish your goals. You gotta do those things with your mental illness along for the ride. Which SUCKS. I actually cried at one point because Jake's struggles were just so familiar to my own and I wanted to just reach through the pages of the book and say to him, "This feels impossible sometimes, right? Like how do we keep doing this every day? How is it still this hard?" But ya know what, it is hard. And it does suck. And we do keep doing it every day. We keep fighting as long as we can. And the unfairness of and acceptance of that are a big part of Jake's story. Because it is what it is. But it isn't all he is.

My one tiny complaint is I wished we'd gotten a bit more time in Alex's head. I just felt like I knew Jake a little better. But I loved them both equally so I didn't really mind.

And I'll admit that while the couples from the previous books are mentioned here, I am appallingly bad at remembering characters, so I had literally no memory of who they were. And their appearances in this one aren't really spoilers, because they don't give away a whole lot about their back stories. I mean, you'll know they end up together, but it's romance, so you know that's gonna happen anyway. I think it would be fine to read this one as a stand alone, though I enjoyed the whole series.

This was an annoyingly long review but I had a lot of feelings about this book and just was super invested in it. If you don't mind some angst and bumps in the road, and especially if you appreciate some realistic mental health portrayal in romance, I'd absolutely recommend this. I really loved it and can't wait to see what else this author has in store.

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

Dislike(-ish) to friendship (& a small moment of more) to dislike(-ish) to love. So many parentheses, but to me KD Casey’s writing is filled with nuance & subtlety & feelings that aren’t always straightforward, especially when our leads don’t communicate with each other for YEARS even though we all know they belong together (second chance mini emotional explosion over ;)).

Ok so I am still working through my emotions about KD Casey’s upcoming book, Diamond Ring, out tomorrow. But in short, KD Casey is one of my favorite writers & this book is amazing & 5 ️stars, & I want you to read it .

Alex Angelides & Jake Fischer both make the same Majors team at the same time. In the beginning, Jake is the player to watch, the golden pitcher. That season, Alex & Jake’s friendship grows & before the end, they’ve become intimate in another way.

But after Jake has a career-sidelining injury, he & Alex start imploding, & the best friends turned lovers aren’t communicating anymore.

In the current storyline, they’re reunited on the same team with their baseball career expectations changed & all the memories of the past they keep holding onto.

Anxiety & depression rep are a big part of this novel & it’s emotionally affecting & inspiring to see a lead who not only uses therapy & meds as resources (& talks about them) but also shares how he has difficulty orgasming as a result of taking them. I love how Alex & Jake’s sexual relationship plays out in the book & how pleasure, understanding, & patience is such a big part of their physical dynamic without those things being absolutely predicated on orgasms every single time they engage in intimacy.

Besides that, there’s such a fun blip of anonymous date app texting, & the grumpy & the sunshine vibes are delish.

This is such a great book & if you haven’t read KD Casey’s books yet please do so & then message me to discuss!

5⭐️. Out 04/11.

CWs: Previous death of father. Reference to antiSemitism. Mother worried about Jake self-harming. Panic attack. Compulsive tidiness. Difficulty getting aroused.

[ID: Jess’s white hand holds the book in front of a marina with buildings on the right & a dock on the left.]

I am a huge fan of baseball romance and this book does not disappoint. KD Casey weaves together a third story in this universe. Her callbacks to the first two stories are well done and you'll spend the entire book rooting for these two. I nearly through my e-ARC across the room when part one was over and it jumped to part two. Thanks for allowing me to read!

10 years ago Jake and Alex joined the Oakland Elephants baseball team and grew to be friends and almost lovers. A bad play with neither Jake or Alex willing to take responsibility leads to the two parting ways before being reunited 10 years later for what may be their final season. They are still deeply connected to one another and want to be together but must gain back their trust in each other.

I don’t know why this series just doesn’t click with me. It’s one that I really really really want to like but I just can’t make myself fall in love with the characters and their stories. The baseball stuff gets super technical at times and baseball is a sport that while I have watched games, I don’t understand the intricacies of the game. I have mixed feelings about the time jump in this book. We spent about 30% in the past and 70% in the present and thee characters changed a lot in those 10 yeas, so it felt a bit disjointed. I don’t know if this would have worked better for me if the past had been interstitials rather than the first 30%. I don’t know. I just struggled with this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Carina Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was another great outing from KD Casey with a third book in the series of her baseball romances.

What I like about KD's writing is she created real and fallible characters and they make mistakes and have flaws that are not shied away from.

I loved we saw glimpses of the characters from her previous books, but it wasn't overloaded like in some books where you feel you've missed too much about them if you haven't read them.

The ending provided a neat little bow around all three couples and it was lovely to see.

Thank you Carina Press for an eARC of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **I am mutuals on social media with KD Casey.

Have you ever read a book so perfect that you felt like a new human after finishing it? Because I have. And this book is that. After finishing it I immediately went back and reread it again--I know.

The fun optimism and building in the first half of the book to be utterly crushed in the middle to be revived in tender moments and quiet hope of the latter half. Alex and Jake were everything to me.

Jake Fischer is the bright, new rookie pitcher in baseball brought up at the same time as less-praise-inducing catcher, Alex Angelides. These two in the first half of the novel learn how to become a formidable battery. Coworkers to friends to eventually more. The journey these two have in the first half already have your heart going through it.

But then Casey does as Casey does (which if you haven't read Unwritten Rules and Fire Season you NEED to). Your heart becomes shreds. SHREDS I TELL YOU. But it's okay, you will be healed.

The second half of this novel pains you in ways you wouldn't know. The first half is blind hope (which makes sense for those starting their careers and in their early twenties). The second half? KD CASEY! It's filled with a more somber ton of those whose dreams didn't quite turn out as expected and are learning to live in their 30s. There's still chasing of dreams, they've just changed like everything else in life. It's harder to admit you want the big, sparkly things in life. But it's just so good.

Alex and Jake felt completely real. They were complex, multifaceted humans with so much life in them. I adored the family around them too. Alex's aunts and cousin. Jake's parents and extended family (loved the jeweler cousin--that scene is iconic). Everything is so embedded in emotion and heart that it all works perfectly together.

I'm not exactly sure how Casey does it. The end of this book completed me. I was sobbing. Good tears I promise. But just how good it felt and ahhh, read Unwritten Rules and Fire Season first because you will want to. How I adored the other characters coming back and all the details.

Oh, there's also a lot of baseball. Framing is hot. Pitching is hot. Batteries should include more kissing IRL (let's talk about making the game more interesting Manfred....)

Long story short everyone should read this book. You will emotionally go through it, but the person you become on the other side? Cannot beat it. Like I said, I don't think you can beat the feeling of the last chapters of this book. Even better than winning a world series (not that I would know with the teams I root for, but I digress).

I love this series and this book didn't disappoint. I appreciate the callbacks to the first two stories in the series and loved the inclusion of grief, remembering and anxiety/depression in this story!

I'd read the first two books in this series ("Unwritten Rules" and "Fire Season") and really enjoyed them, so jumped at the chance to get to read the third in the series, pre-publication!

It did not disappoint! If you liked the first 2, you'll love this one & see a glimpse or two of the guys in the earlier books. I enjoyed both of the main characters, Jake and Alex, but felt the plot line did slow & get a little mushy (not in the romantic sense - i'm fine with that mushyness, but I mean just felt like the plot got a little bit fuzzy here & there - sometimes I felt not quite sure why they were so at odds, and a bit of rehashing of the same issues). BUT - loved the whole 10 year gap in meeting up again & having their 2nd chance back on the Elephants team, and their growth as characters and consideration of each other's needs. I also LOVED how we get a happy ending, but we see the true struggle and grind that can be professional sports. Not everyone sails into the big leagues and becomes a star and stays there - this shows the absolute dedication and day-to-day struggle of recovering from injury, going back down to the minors for years, or being traded from team to team - I love that the story showed these struggles as well as the absolutely wonderful-to-read final redemption and satisfaction that these guys find in their sport -- and their own personal lives!

(My only other quibble is the near constant mention of necklaces got a bit much, but it's a price I'm willing to pay for another great sports romance - let's hope it's not the last in the series!)