Out in the Field (Crabbypatty’s Review)

Title: Out in the Field (Second Edition)
Author: Kate McMurray
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: May 16, 2016
Genre(s): Contemporary Romance
Page Count: 216
Reviewed by: Crabbypatty
Heat Level: 4 flames out of 5
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Blurb:

Matt Blanco is a legend on the Brooklyn Eagles, but time and injuries have taken their toll. With his career nearing its end, he’s almost made it to retirement without anyone learning his biggest secret: he’s gay in a profession not particularly known for its tolerance.

Iggy Rodriquez is the hot new rookie in town, landing a position in the starting lineup of the team of his dreams and playing alongside his idol, Matt Blanco. Iggy doesn’t think it can get any better, until an unexpected encounter in the locker room with Matt proves him wrong.

A relationship—and everything it could reveal—has never been in the cards for Matt, but Iggy has him rethinking his priorities. They fall hard for each other, struggling to make it through trades, endorsement deals, and the threat of retirement. Ultimately they will be faced with a choice: love or baseball?

I didn’t read Out on the Field when it was first published in 2012 (prior to its revision with some new scenes, new cover and upcoming new printing from Dreamspinner Press) and I’m kicking myself, because I absolutely straight-up freakin’ LOVED this book! The story of two baseball players – one at the cusp of retirement from the game and the another fulfilling his childhood dream of playing with the fictional Brooklyn Eagles – is beautifully done from start to finish.

Matt Blanco is in the closet, living a half-life where he is out to his family and a very few carefully chosen friends and fellow ball players:

He never got close enough to anyone to fall in love, and that was fine, because he had baseball. Baseball was the most important thing in his life. Falling in love risked taking it away. Which, he knew, meant that when his career ended, he’d be left with nothing.

Into this lonely existence explodes rookie Iggy Rodriquez, “one of the best-looking men Matt had ever set eyes on, if you liked your men Latin and young – which Matt did.” What starts out as a casual hook-up quickly turns into something much more and over the course of four years, we see Matt and Iggy fall in love, without any Tragic Miscommunication, Angst-Filled Scenes or Huge Unilateral Decisions (three of my least-favorite themes in M/M or any romance). And that love is so damn hawt and steamy, bless you Kate McMurray!

Yes, that was what Matt wanted. He wanted friction and heat; he wanted dirty sex and sweet love; he wanted Iggy, in his life, in his bed, for always. And that was his last thought as his reptile brain took over. He thrust up against Iggy, struggling to get the right angle that would get him off. Iggy squeezed harder, thrust again, and then let out a moan. As soon as the first shot was fired, Matt surrendered to everything and let the orgasm power through him. He closed his eyes and arched his back, and then he was coming, shooting onto Iggy, onto himself, into the air. It didn’t matter. None of it mattered, because he was back with Iggy, and that was where he belonged.

Even if you don’t like sports-themed romances, give Out in the Field a shot. The plot is perfect, the pacing will keep your interest every page of the way, the chemistry between Matt and Iggy is off the freakin’ charts, and the ending is perfect in just about every way.

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