A Mika Review: Wild Pitch (Homeruns #1) by Sloan Johnson

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

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

Wild Pitch by Sloan Johnson was my second book by this author and first m/m read from her. I went into the book with no expectations or judgments just kindly reading along. Got excited since it was based in Chicago half of the time. I liked the beginning a lot as I really enjoy the friends to lovers trope. I thought Sean expressing his love in the beginning in his thoughts were funny. Being in love with your best friend for years is hard when you have to be around that person, especially someone as likable as Mason.

I had a couple issues with the plot. I felt like Sean should have been happier because he got everything he wanted but it felt like self sabotage. I did not get these reservations because in the beginning this was his dream, to have the love of your friend and your career. Mason surprised me by how easy it seemed he transitioned. I do have a problem with him being “bisexual” for years but being scared to tell Sean. I did not see the point of him stating that, and then being calm about Sean’s feelings.

I mean that the attraction to men never came up in all the years of friendship. I did not buy that Mason was interested in Sean the entire time, but his actions showed he was clueless when it came to Sean’s attraction to him, if that makes sense.

There was no family dynamics to like. His family was non-existent throughout the book except for his sister. Certain comments were made from Sean about his family dynamics, but the readers never seen the family together. It’s almost like Sean would mention something he know his family wouldn’t like, and then talk about their reasoning but all of this is from his point of view.

He had never been with a man, so where did the bi-sexuality come from? I liked some of the characters. I don’t really understand Sean’s family dynamics, it’s like they spoke around the issues that were important. I’m still not sure.

I really liked the first 40% of the story, and then it went downhill. It seemed like the pacing got slower, and it just became wordier as the pages went along. I would had preferred it to be all sugary sweet once the two guys came along, I just felt the second half of the story was unnecessary drama. The epilogue. I felt like it’s something Mason wanted, and I’m glad he was happy.

Cover Art by: I liked the cover model. I don’t know which guy it’s supposed to be, but he’s cute and goes along with what I had  in mind for Mason.

Sales Links:  All Romance (ARe) | Amazon  |  Buy It Here

Book Details:
ebook, 248 pages
Published June 13th 2015 (first published June 11th 2015)
seriesHomeruns #1