Wild Pitch

Title: Wild Pitch (Homeruns #1)
Author: Sloan Johnson
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: March 17, 2015
Genre(s): Contemporary/Baseball
Page Count: 296
Reviewed by: Gigi
Heat Level: 4 flames out of 5
Rating: 2 stars out of 5
Blurb:

There’s never been any question in Sean Tucker’s mind that he’d do whatever it took to make it to the major leagues and be one of the best pitchers of his time. The day he acknowledged to himself that he was gay was also the day he vowed to stay in the closet in order to chase his dreams. The problem is, he never counted on Mason Atley.

Sean showed rookie short stop Mason Atley the ropes, both on the field and off. The two forged a friendship which continued as both of them moved through the ranks of the farm system and into the majors. Unfortunately, there’s always been one secret Mason never felt he could share with Sean. Until now.

For seven years, Sean lived with the fact that he loved a man who would never reciprocate. When Mason admits that he’s always known he’s bisexual but has never allowed himself to pursue a relationship with a man, will Sean be able to put aside his reservations about starting a relationship with the friend he’d always assumed was straight? And more importantly, will they be able to find a way to stay together when their careers keep them apart more than they can be together?

I LOVE sports themed books. Baseball, Hockey, Football, Ice Skating, Basketball, just about all of them. I also try to read as many of them as I can. This one by Sloan Johnson looked like a winner to me! Excellent blurb, gorgeous cover, great early reviews. But I had a really big problem with the way women were portrayed in this book. Enough of a problem that it seriously hampered my enjoyment of it. The best way to express how badly women were treated is to post some of my status updates for you to read:

“Hey, sweetie,” Mason answered, flipping me off as I rolled my eyes. It was immature, but I couldn’t help it. He was so in love with her he couldn’t see what a controlling, manipulative bitch she was. I couldn’t hear what he was saying as he walked away, but it sounded like she was freaking about something. Again. She’d made Bridezilla look calm and laid-back about three phone calls ago.

15% – Ugh, the women in this book are being treated and talked about like they are merely pieces of meat, appreciated only as things to fuck. I hope that goes away soon.

18% –

Spoiler: Those boys didn’t wait long AT ALL to get to the hot ‘n heavy sex acts. Which I liked!

30% –

…four waitresses wearing skimpy referee outfits bombarded us. All of them seemed to have tugged their shirts a little lower and tied them tighter in the back in preparation for tonight. Waitresses counting on their assets to earn bigger tips, or something else altogether, seemed to be one of the few constants from one city to the next.

Did I mention how poorly women are treated in this book?

54% –

…had no clue how Teresa had gotten a key to his place or why she was here, but there was no way in hell I was going to leave her unattended. She perched herself on one of the high barstools at the breakfast bar and glared at me. I chuckled as I wondered whether she was working to put some sort of hex on me, because she sure looked like a witch with her pointy black shoes, straight black hair and long fingernails.

68% –

“Yeah, he knows.” Her body tensed, and I knew this situation was about to get even worse. “I had to threaten his new slut when she answered his phone, but he knows.”

Even the women hate the other women in this book. I’m disheartened.

100% – Not thrilled. Characters were confusing. Women treated like garbage.

So, there you have it. I wasn’t able to see the positive through all the negative. But don’t get me wrong! I actually enjoy an evil, back-stabbing, conniving bitch (or bastard!) character in my favorite M/M books. But this one just went above and beyond my definition of good taste. Cannot recommend.

Sidenote: Wild Pitch enjoys a 4.03 average rating at GoodReads and a 4.5 average rating at . I am definitely in the minority, so make sure you read some other reviews before deciding not to read this one based on my review alone. Oh and, yes, I will be reading the second book in the series Curveball. I’m hoping the women are treated better in this one!

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