Review: KD Casey's DIAMOND RING.

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

Dislike(-ish) to friendship (& a small moment of more) to dislike(-ish) to love. So many parentheses, but to me KD Casey’s writing is filled with nuance & subtlety & feelings that aren’t always straightforward, especially when our leads don’t communicate with each other for YEARS even though we all know they belong together  (second chance mini emotional explosion over ;)).

Ok so I am still working through my emotions about KD Casey’s upcoming book, Diamond Ring, out tomorrow. But in short, KD Casey is one of my favorite writers & this book is amazing & 5 ️stars, & I want you to read it .

Alex Angelides & Jake Fischer both make the same Majors team at the same time. In the beginning, Jake is the player to watch, the golden pitcher. That season, Alex & Jake’s friendship grows & before the end, they’ve become intimate in another way.

But after Jake has a career-sidelining injury, he & Alex start imploding, & the best friends turned lovers aren’t communicating anymore.

In the current storyline, they’re reunited on the same team with their baseball career expectations changed & all the memories of the past they keep holding onto.

Anxiety & depression rep are a big part of this novel & it’s emotionally affecting & inspiring to see a lead who not only uses therapy & meds as resources (& talks about them) but also shares how he has difficulty orgasming as a result of taking them. I love how Alex & Jake’s sexual relationship plays out in the book & how pleasure, understanding, & patience is such a big part of their physical dynamic without those things being absolutely predicated on orgasms every single time they engage in intimacy.

Besides that, there’s such a fun blip of anonymous date app texting, & the grumpy & the sunshine vibes are delish.

This is such a great book & if you haven’t read KD Casey’s books yet please do so & then message me to discuss!

5⭐️. Out 04/11. 

CWs: Previous death of father. Reference to antiSemitism. Mother worried about Jake self-harming. Panic attack. Compulsive tidiness. Difficulty getting aroused.

[ID: Jess’s white hand holds the book in front of a marina with buildings on the right & a dock on the left.]