The Last Out Pitchers and Catchers Book 4 edition by Declan Rhodes Romance eBooks
Download As PDF : The Last Out Pitchers and Catchers Book 4 edition by Declan Rhodes Romance eBooks 
“I don't care how hard it is. I'm keeping my promise.”
Kyle Chambers, of the expansion baseball team the San Antonio RoadRunners, is nearing the end of a moderately distinguished pitching career. He is hoping for two or three more years out of his aging arm when a locker room altercation with a homophobic rookie results in an injured shoulder. Intensive physical therapy gets him back to the big leagues, but his performance is only mediocre.
"Sometimes out is the only way up."
Duncan Poole has been solving problems for others through statistical calculations in his head since childhood. After a stellar college career in mathematics, he enters the infant field of sabermetrics helping major league baseball teams by analyzing performance statistics.
After meeting, Duncan agrees to help Kyle and the pair discover there is more than baseball between the rising statistician and the aging pitcher. Romance blossoms, but Duncan rebels against the idea of years in the closet. A deal is struck. He will guide Kyle's comeback season and pursue the romantic relationship if Kyle promises to come out before the season ends.
The Last Out is the fourth book in the Pitchers and Catchers series. It includes characters from Catching the Pitch and The Imperfect Game, and it has a happily ever after ending.
The Last Out Pitchers and Catchers Book 4 edition by Declan Rhodes Romance eBooks
The only thing I remembered about the blurb for The Last Out when I sat down to read the story was that one of the characters is a professional baseball player, so when the second character was introduced (at 19%), I was really excited to find out he is a numbers geek. It was a smooth, quick, and enjoyable read for half the novella, and then things started to unravel…As is the case with almost every professional-athlete M/M romance I’ve read, Kyle Chambers keeps his homosexuality a secret from the public, keeping his occasional sexual encounters discreet. After suffering a preseason injury to his pitching arm caused by an altercation with a homophobic rookie, thoughts of retirement weigh heavily on him. He isn’t ready to hang up the cleats, so he pushes for a comeback, but after a lengthy recovery, his performance is not as good as it was until he meets one of the team’s data-crunching front-office geeks, Duncan Poole. Duncan is fascinated by statistics, so when he learns of Kyle’s intention to return after the injury, it’s a new puzzle for Duncan to solve. His analysis of the numbers leads him to have suggestions for helping the struggling pitcher, though it takes some extra work on his part to those suggestions to Kyle. After the two meet for the first time—conveniently enough, at a gay bar—it isn’t long before sparks fly between them and they start a clandestine relationship. But Duncan doesn’t want a long-term relationship if it’s closeted, so they come to an agreement: Duncan will continue to crunch the numbers to keep Kyle’s comeback season on top and Kyle will come out before the season ends.
I loved the relationship that bloomed between these two guys at the start, but when it became clear that the plot was going to become a me-or-the-closet conflict, I got worried. It turns out that worry was for good reason, because not long after the deal was made, Duncan switched from being the geek I was rooting for to the sort of character I hate to read in these tropes: nearly every scene that followed had Duncan hinting at or outright asking about when Kyle would come out. While it really doesn’t matter to me that Kyle is a professional athlete—he could have been a trash collector and my opinion on this would stay the same—coming out is a very personal conflict every LGBTQ person must handle at their own pace. Duncan did not come across as supportive so much as pushy, and because that behavior went on so long, I lost my love for him by the time things got to their happy ending. This situation bothers me any time I see an author use a pushy character try to do more than just encourage another out of the closet. It really bothers me when the author is a gay man.
It’s a shame because the writing and writing style were good, the setting and storyline were good—as a big baseball fan, I loved the fact that there was a lot of baseball talk here—and with the exception of a few small things—for example, the altercation with the rookie at the start of the book turned out to serve no further purpose in the story—The Last Out really could have been one of the best novellas I’ve read. Instead, it won’t be something I ever read again.
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The Last Out Pitchers and Catchers Book 4 edition by Declan Rhodes Romance eBooks Reviews
This is the second book of Declan Rhodes I have read and was very excited as it was a m/m romance in a sports theme.....my favourite romance theme! Ok, so to begin with, it's quite heavy in baseball and this detracts slightly from the story but Kyle and Duncan are certainly likeable characters.
I really like Declan's style of writing but am frustrated that he either seems to miss points he was intending to explore further, like the threatening phone call Duncan receives but no further is mentioned of it, or simply decides not to follow these up which are a bit disappointing as a reader. Declan's books are short and I think this is what detracts me as a firm fan because I always seem to want something more....they feel slightly rushed and all too brief.
That being said, Kyle and Duncan's story is a good one. It's a bit frustrating at times but that's more to do with the speed Declan is trying to get across his story! Kyle is an aging baseball star who injures his pitching arm, damaging his shoulder in a confrontation with a homophobic teammate. Oh, and of course he is in the closet. Duncan, a numbers man who uses his love of the sport to predict results, is a much younger and openly gay man who is proud of who he is.
This leads to some interesting conversations and moments between these two and both have to decide what they want from their relationship and whether it's worth the risks involved. Duncan seems quite aggressive in his confrontations with Kyle about his sexuality and frustration he is in such a public eye but is closeted. It does make him less likeable unlike Duncan but, I think again it is simply the fact the story is so short that this seems so intense.
Is this book worth the read....if you like m/m romances and sports, this certainly ticks all the boxes. You go on a mini roller coaster with them and in the short time we have with these characters they are interesting and their story is a good one! Give it a try!
I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book
This one had several things going for it.
** The author knows baseball inside and out.
** Kyle, the pitcher, is a well developed, closely drawn human being with fears and hopes reflective of his age and occupation.
** Duncan, the geek and Kyle's eventual lover, is capably drawn and very well portrayed with fears and hopes reflective of his age and occupation.
** The romance is well handled and deliciously portrayed.
** The cover is perfect. Neither is gorgeous but each is beautiful to the other.
Nice book, will read more from the author.
I'm a sucker for well written gay romance stories that include sport as its central theme. Where baseball is concerned there are a few that stick out as being exceptionally good and include "Out in the field", "the last day of summer", and "Catching the Pitch." "The last out" doesn't quite reach the heights of the books already mentioned. Partly I think because the love story itself is a bit rushed and takes a backseat to the theme of Kyle's last season in baseball and partly because the novel itself is only about 140 pages, therefore, some plots are not explored as much as could have been in a longer story. The main characters are likeable and the story itself is engaging, but I think there was a lack of chemistry between Kyle and Duncan. Overall the book is good and I will read more from Mr Rhodes. Recommended read.
The only thing I remembered about the blurb for The Last Out when I sat down to read the story was that one of the characters is a professional baseball player, so when the second character was introduced (at 19%), I was really excited to find out he is a numbers geek. It was a smooth, quick, and enjoyable read for half the novella, and then things started to unravel…
As is the case with almost every professional-athlete M/M romance I’ve read, Kyle Chambers keeps his homosexuality a secret from the public, keeping his occasional sexual encounters discreet. After suffering a preseason injury to his pitching arm caused by an altercation with a homophobic rookie, thoughts of retirement weigh heavily on him. He isn’t ready to hang up the cleats, so he pushes for a comeback, but after a lengthy recovery, his performance is not as good as it was until he meets one of the team’s data-crunching front-office geeks, Duncan Poole. Duncan is fascinated by statistics, so when he learns of Kyle’s intention to return after the injury, it’s a new puzzle for Duncan to solve. His analysis of the numbers leads him to have suggestions for helping the struggling pitcher, though it takes some extra work on his part to those suggestions to Kyle. After the two meet for the first time—conveniently enough, at a gay bar—it isn’t long before sparks fly between them and they start a clandestine relationship. But Duncan doesn’t want a long-term relationship if it’s closeted, so they come to an agreement Duncan will continue to crunch the numbers to keep Kyle’s comeback season on top and Kyle will come out before the season ends.
I loved the relationship that bloomed between these two guys at the start, but when it became clear that the plot was going to become a me-or-the-closet conflict, I got worried. It turns out that worry was for good reason, because not long after the deal was made, Duncan switched from being the geek I was rooting for to the sort of character I hate to read in these tropes nearly every scene that followed had Duncan hinting at or outright asking about when Kyle would come out. While it really doesn’t matter to me that Kyle is a professional athlete—he could have been a trash collector and my opinion on this would stay the same—coming out is a very personal conflict every LGBTQ person must handle at their own pace. Duncan did not come across as supportive so much as pushy, and because that behavior went on so long, I lost my love for him by the time things got to their happy ending. This situation bothers me any time I see an author use a pushy character try to do more than just encourage another out of the closet. It really bothers me when the author is a gay man.
It’s a shame because the writing and writing style were good, the setting and storyline were good—as a big baseball fan, I loved the fact that there was a lot of baseball talk here—and with the exception of a few small things—for example, the altercation with the rookie at the start of the book turned out to serve no further purpose in the story—The Last Out really could have been one of the best novellas I’ve read. Instead, it won’t be something I ever read again.
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