Reading the Signs: Gay Sports Romance Kindle Edition

4.5-5 starsThis was a great story. I loved both Jake and Nico and really enjoyed their story.Nico is a 22 year old baseball player that is pitching his rookie season on a major league team. Nico is playing for a Canadian team but his family lives in Chicago. His father used to play baseball and his brother currently does and Nico has always felt like he has to do just as well as they did in order to be considered half as good. Also, Nico is gay but has spent his life denying his sexuality because of his fear that his father and grandmother wouldn't accept it (even if his sister and srother probably would).Jake is a 34 year old baseball player that plays catcher. Jake's father died but his mother is still around and is a strong supporter of his. Jake has been gay all his life and his parents accepted him but Jake has kept his sexuality a secret because he didn't want his sexuality to overshadow his skill as a pitcher. Jake is into dominance play in the bedroom...it's not full BDSM, more along the lines of dominance with some spanking and bondage.Jake was a catcher for San Francisco for 8 years and when the story begins, he's being told that he's being traded to a Canadian team. This is a shock for Jake because he had no warning...he gets told after playing a game for San Fran and flies out the next morning, expected to play with his new team the very next day. Jake actually grew up in Canada so his mother is thrilled he's moving closer to home but Jake is understandably reeling from the sudden and unexpected change. When he gets there, Jake is informed that the team really needs him to work with their rookie pitcher, Nico. Jake used to be on the same team as Nico's brother so they knew each other and Jake was happy to see him again. When they actually lay eyes on each other, they're both strongly attracted to each other but, not realizing that they're both gay, they avoid acknowledging it.Jake and Nico start working together and Jake is able to help Nico with some of his issues and they work well together. Before too long however, something happens between them and they realize that they're both gay and that the attraction is definitely mutual. After a bit of emotional fumbling, Jake and Nico figure out that they want to be together and start in that direction. The light BDSM play in the bedroom seems to help Nico (in addition to Jake's coaching in the games) and he does better than ever. Jake finds a new love for the game and things go pretty well. They decide to keep things quiet around the team and Nico's conservative family is still an issue to be dealt with. Surprisingly, while there were some rough parts, things turned out very well and end with Nico and Jake starting a HEA together.I enjoyed this story greatly. I loved Nico and Jake. They both had their issues and insecurities but they were both good guys that made a wonderful couple. While I liked the baseball theme, there were some baseball terms in the story that I was unfamiliar with that had me wondering what they meant. I didn't stop to look them up and still thought the story was great so obviously it wasn't that big of a deal but hey, fair warning. Overall, I thought the story was great and would definitely recommend it. :D

Adorable!A lovely pairing of these two macho sporty guys. Keira Andrews does a wonderful job of incorporation of the D/s element into their relationship, and dealing with Nico's anxiety issues. The references to the homophobic stigma of baseball players, and the family drama surrounding the guys' coming out is wonderful. I love the support the friends, the team, and the Canadian fans show!And the audio is beautifully performed by Greg Boudreaux.

OK, I eventually liked this book, and even though it took a long, long time for me to warm up to Rico, I loved Jake Fitzgerald from the start. And I will be very up-front here: if it wasn't for the way Keira Andrews developed his deep, rich, conflicted yet totally confident personality, I may have tossed it aside after the first big error in a book that otherwise got baseball down perfectly.That error, which occurred in another MM romance about baseball players I have read this year, involved a tie game in the top of the ninth inning in which a player on the VISITING team hit a "walk-off home run." No! No! No! No! No! The HOME team still has to come to bat in the bottom of the ninth--and there was no mention of that, just that it was a walk-off home run in the top of the ninth. Jeez!Then there is the matter of Rico's family. It is clear from the start that it is identified as an old-line Italian-American clan, but you know what? I have never come across Agresta as an Italian surname in this country or in Italy (and I am a mini historian on the subject)--it just sounded Hispanic to me until Nonna started making her pasta sauce. And the family is just so cliché I almost threw up.Other than that, it's a decent book about a very young pitcher and a mid-30s catcher who have a history through baseball with Rico's family, and when they get around to it, the sex is very good. I still didn't like Rico at the end, however.

Jake is a gay baseball player out to his close family and nobody else, Nico is a young rookie player still in denial about his real sexuality.There is a lot of baseball technicalities that I do not pretend (or want) to understand but the story is well told and the sex scenes are quite interesting as they involve a bit of rough play.Jake is not into long term relationships and happy to be single, yet over the months he finds young Nico more than just a good guy to have sex with.Coming out to Nico's family was really hard and moving at times.Even if you don't understand baseball this is a nice tale.

I struggled a bit with this one. Definitely not one of my favourites from Keira. It felt angsty throughout and in the end it still did not feel resolved. The whole story was just anxiety inducing for me & I can’t put my finger on why. Also, this book confirmed that I am definitely over my BDSM enjoyment phase. Even the BDSM light in here was cringe worthy for me ! Amazing how reading tastes can change so drastically in a few years. 3 🌟

I didn't know a thing about baseball before I read this book, however, that didn't spoil my enjoyment at all. Kiera Andrews writes as beautifully as always. Jake is 34 and has been traded to another team. He's not happy, he's fallen out with baseball, just sees it as a job he has to do and just wants to see his time out. He's closeted and hopes to stay that way til he's finished playing. Nico is a rookie, he's gay, but due to his upbringing he tries to squash his sexuality. He's also totally stressed out trying to live up to his father's expectations. He's crushed on Jake since he was 13, but hasn't seen him for years.When the two meet again everything changes. Their relationship builds slowly, but they discover that they are perfect for each other. There is some light BDSM, but it works well within the story. I enjoyed the baseball setting, the story was enjoyable and I didn't get bored as I was reading it. I liked the way the two handled their hangups, and reached their HEA. A good solid read.

Everything about this book was excellent. I loved all the characters, I felt the relationship was complex and developed both satisfyingly and realistically. The action was tense without being nerve-shredding, and I 100% found myself crying on the subway at one point, no way to stop myself! Keira takes stories that could be done in cliched ways and makes them exceptional. I loved this book and look forward to reading more of her work!

Keira Andrews is a usual no-brainer as an author. She always writes well & her characterisation is good. This book was no different in many ways - it read well & both of the MCs were quite likeable. However, for this reader, the age gap & Nico's sudden change of heart just didn't gel. Plus, the light BDSM & Jake's 'dominant' side jarred.