Fire Season by KD Casey: Book Review

Fire Season

BY KD CASEY

Rating: 5/5 
Genre: Sports Romance
Steam: Explicit
Publisher: Carina Press
Pub Date: July 19, 2022
Thank you so much KD Casey for allowing me to read an ARC. All opinions are my own.
Available: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

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Fire Season Synopsis:

Charlie Braxton has it all: a wicked curveball, a beautiful wife, and the kind of money and attention that’s attached to a professional baseball contract. Except his famous curveball comes with intense social anxiety, his wife is actually his soon-to-be ex-wife, and the money… Well, suffice it to say, he knows what it’s like to be treated like an ATM. But at least he’s better off than the new guy.

Relief pitcher Reid Giordano is struggling to maintain his sobriety—and his roster spot. The press, along with a heck of a lot of his new Oakland teammates, seem to think his best baseball days are behind him. Only Charlie Braxton gives him the benefit of the doubt—and a place to stay when Reid finds himself short on cash…and friends.

When their growing friendship turns into an unexpected attraction, and that ignites a romance, both Charlie and Reid must grapple with what it means to be more than teammates. And as their season winds down, they’ll need to walk away…or go out there and give it everything they’ve got.

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CW: Anxiety, references to Drug and Alcohol abuse/addiction, Homophobia/biphobia, classism, racism, antisemitism are all mentioned.

Full Disclosure: KD Casey and I are mutuals are social media and I have sent her best battery socks. This has no affect on my opinion on this book.

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Fire Season Review

I love sports romances, particularly baseball romances (if you’ve seen my twitter you know). But the way that KD Casey writes her romances just put her at the top of the baseball romance pyramid and this book is absolutely no exception.

From the characters to the plot there is no lack of things for me to praise about this book. Seriously it’s one of my favorite I’ve read all year. Charlie and Reid are absolutely perfect together. Balancing each other where the other falls short, and come on you can’t tell me that helping someone perfect a curveball isn’t the most romantic thing? (You can try to argue this with me but idc it’s top tier flirting.) Charlie is the sweetest man who is just going through it. Reid has been through it and is trying to prove himself again. Together they’re truly perfect. Plus their discovery of their relationship together is amazing.

The plot is so good too. While this book is definitely character driven, the flow of the season and how the characters interact and continue to push the book along are great. I loved all of the side plots and characters and thought they made an incredibly compelling novel. The ending too! I was tearing up it was so perfect. Just trust me on this.

Also can we just take a moment to appreciate the baseball in this book? I mean the detail to the pitching, adding in catching with Zach Glasser (from Unwritten Rules–read this book too!!!), the ebbs and flows of baseball seasons, and some of the more unsavory aspects of professional baseball too. This book definitely has less of that than Unwritten Rules, but it’s the attention to those smaller details that really sells it.

Long Story Short

Do I recommend this book? YES! Please, please, please do yourself a favor and read this book. Charlie and Reid deserve all of the love. Read it now during the season and savor. Or maybe wait until after season to give you happy memories of baseball. OR do both. Just read this book, but it on your TBR and enjoy. For Charlie’s sake because he is a puppy of a man that needs to be read by all.

If You Liked This One…

I would highly recommend reading Casey’s other novels. One True Outcome features a veteran looking for another chance and a rookie looking for his chance, Unwritten Rules hits you in all of your feelings, breaks your heart, then mends it right back up in the kindest way, and  Dirty Slide cowritten by Lauren Blakely and KD Casey. Otherwise I’d recommend Megan Cousin’s Curveball for a less intense baseball romance but so swoony, Team Player by Julianna Keyes for forbidden player/worker romance, or any of Meghan Quinn’s Brentwood series!