Out in the Field

Out in the Field is written in four parts: First, Second, Third and Home. Part one was exciting watching them get together and deal with keeping their relationship secret and the last part was rewarding to see them both out even with the downs and ups that go with it. The middle of the book was slow with too many time jumps in my opinion. I think the story of Matt and Iggy would be better served as a series of books to better tell their love relationship in all the time frames. The middle read more like an outline to me with a few highlighted scenes.

One of my favorite M/M romances and my ABSOLUTE favorite baseball M/M romance, Out in the Field, will be re-released on May 13! I was fortunate enough to get a copy to review and I can tell you that it tops the 2011 version with new scenes and updated to reflect the more progressive society we now live in. (Yes! And we’ll keep fighting the good fight Tea Party assholes.)

Kate’s own description of the differences:

"This new edition has been thoroughly reedited. I’ve expanded some scenes and trimmed others—it’s got about 5,000 words of new material now, all told. I updated the book, too, for 2016. (No more flip phones, for one thing, but also to acknowledge the progress LGBT athletes have made in the 5 years since I wrote the first draft.)"

I loved it all over again and it remains firmly on my absolute favorites shelf. Baseball romance perfection.

My original review from September, 2012:

Out in the Field was one of those books that had languished on my get-your-ass-in-gear shelf for over a year. That is a shelf of books I am 90% sure I will love, but I just need to find the perfect time to read them, preferably when I can read them in one sitting since I have a super scattered brain and hate taking breaks in the middle of a good book because I always forget stuff. Well, I had that opportunity last night and after reading two books this week that had absolutely NO romance in them what-so-ever, Out in the Field seemed to fit my reading bill perfectly. This was a M/M romance lover’s dream come true with two masculine but incredibly tender hearted MCs who, over the span of four years, explore their love of baseball and each other while handling their secret affair with their family, friends, fans and the press. It wasn’t all wine and roses and smooth sailing for these two, as I had read in a few reviews. They dealt with some pretty heavy angst, but they dealt with it as a team and that made it so much easier to handle when all I really wanted was a feel-good romance. Iggy and Matt made my heart sing and were beautiful together. I literally cried tears of joy during the last 4 pages of the book. It made me ridiculously happy.

If you are looking for a lighter romance, with a touch of angst that our heroes deal with lovingly together, with loving emotional, brilliantly hot sex, that also includes four years of great baseball stories, I can absolutely recommend Out in the Field.

LOVE WINS!

Reviewed by Erin for Diverse Reader
Kate McMurray has a home run with Out in the Field. Baseball, two hot, charismatic MC’s, and a sizzling romance … this book has it all. I read this book years ago and I loved it then. I loved it even more the second time around. Matt and Iggy are just as fabulous as I remembered, and once again, the story line had me captivated from beginning to end.
A truth … baseball isn’t my thing. I’m a hockey girl, but I enjoyed every moment of the baseball in this story. And there’s a lot of it, but not so much that it takes anything away from the burgeoning romance between rookie Iggy Rodriguez and veteran Matt Blanco. I loved they dynamics between these two. One at the very beginning of his career, the other in the sunset of his. The hero worship aspect Iggy feels toward Matt, the realities of a double decade’s long baseball career and the toll it takes on a body. The politics of being gay (and hiding it) in sport where being gay might mean the end of your career.
I also loved the setting. I don’t live in New York but I’d imagine sports fans can be a bit on the rabid side toward their home team (and I know this is true from die-hard NY baseball fans) and it was fun to be immersed in that atmosphere. The history of the fictional Eagles, the way they are a part of the city landscape, the aura of the stadium and team are all a visceral part of the story line and added so much depth and feeling.
The romance between Matt and Iggy is scorching. Their chemistry is instantaneous and palpable. Iggy’s forwardness combined with Matt’s older, wiser attitude completely worked. I love these guys. I loved how McMurray deals with the reality that Iggy has idolized Matt for YEARS but learns to see him as simply Matt, the guy he loves. I loved how she showed how hard it was for them to hide, but never made it overly dramatic. I loved how these guys acted like adults and faced their many challenges together.
This is a re-release and it’s been updated to show the changes in LGBT laws as well as a few other minor things. In my opinion, this edition is even better than the first, which was pretty perfect. If you love baseball, and even if you don’t, be sure to read Out in the Field ASAP. You’ll love it, I promise.
*The review will also be posted on www.diversereader.blogspot.com and an ARC was received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review*