ARC Review: Diamond Ring
Harper Collins union ratified their contract, which means we can share our reviews of their imprints! Carina press being one of them. AND Y’ALL, I CAN FNALLY YELL MY FEELINGS ABOUT THIS ABSOLUTE STUNNER OF A ROMANCE. Ahem. Being cool. I’m thrilled to be sharing this advance review from one of my all time favourites: KD Casey.
I’d like to thank NetGalley and Carina Press for the advance copy, thoughts before are my own, enjoy!
There’s a deep comfort to the way KD Casey’s words snuggle their way into my heart. Their romances are some of the most resonant. most moving, most authentic I’ve read. But their love of the genre may only slightly be outpaced by their depth of love for the game of baseball. Their craft married with the love and respect they have for the game come together (pun very much intended) to create some legitimate magic.
This one, follows a jewish pitcher (Jake) and a catcher (Alex) on their EPIC 10 year journey in the league and to each others hearts. I’m already getting weepy, so I’m gonna try to make this whole thing make sense.
Jake being the golden retriever top prospect, and Alex being the ‘I already may have a chip on my shoulder’ recently called up catcher, play so so so delightfully off each other. There’s these small interactions in each of Casey’s romances where the two MCs have the softest moments of brushed shoulders or subtle humor with each other that just DO THINGS TO ME. And this book, DID THINGS TO ME in big and little ways.
There is a lot of heart ache in this one. For dreams not quite realized, for relationships found and lost, for friends and loved ones lost to tragedy. But there is also so much triumph. So much joy and growth and genuine happiness. And bravery. And wit. Casey’s writing has equally as much wit as heart, and if you’ve read any of their books you’ll know that means it’s there in spades.
The themes in the book can be heavy and I encourage you to read with care (that said, there are really great content warnings provided and support resources shared as well). These themes are handled with immense grace and respect and add to a manner of storytelling that is so visceral I always feel like I am living it along side their characters.
Jake and Alex are adorable idiots (affectionate) who I now love very much and will be thinking about every 1-3 days for the rest of my life. I laughed, I cried, I cried a little more, I definitely checked to see how many days were left until opening day, I wanted to hug Jake and then Alex and then Jake (again). By the end of any of Casey’s books I always feel like I’ve become friends with the MCs, and then I end up genuinely missing the them a lot after I’ve turned the last page.
Also I absolutely lost my marbles at the “just how gay is this baseball club”, chef’s kiss.
I loved it and I hope you’ll pick it up when it hits retailers April 11th 2023. It’s dreamy, heartachey, funny, poignant, and a clear love letter to both the genre and to professional baseball. I am so lucky to have found Casey’s books, they are really really special. You need them in your life, for real.
xo Kels