I am a full-time freelance sportswriter and your support allows me to continue doing work like this. A paid subscription also supports the community that we are building here, which includes events like the Out of Your League Book Club and our (very active) paid subscriber Discord server. You can upgrade here:
OOYL Book Club Selections: May, June, & July
One of my favorite things that I get to do is hype up my friends and colleagues who have written dope LGBTQ+ sports books while also allowing my subscribers to chat directly with them about the work. This book club isn’t just one where we read and discuss the books, but where the authors join us directly so you can ask them questions yourself in an intimate, friendly setting.
So far this year, we’ve read A SHARP ENDLESS NEED by Mac Crane, UP TO SPEED by Christine Yu, TURNING POINTE by Chloe Angyal, and HOT GIRLS WITH BALLS by Benedict Nguyễn.
Over the next few months, we are leaning into romance! We even have a bonus event in July! Our book club doesn’t usually feature new releases so that folks have time to read the book, and I also know how much a press cycle around a book dies down immediately after publication so I enjoy revisiting books that have come out some time back. However, occasionally I’ll do an author event with a new release, and we have one of those for you in July with Emma Baccellieri and Jordan Robinson, authors of COURT QUEENS: Celebrate the Players, Teams, and History of Women's Basketball.
May: HOW YOU GET THE GIRL by Anita Kelly
This book was requested by the Out of Your League Discord community, as many of the members have read and loved the book. Not only that, it features ace representation, which is rare in a romance novel! The discussion will be on Saturday, May 30th at 2 PM ET/11 AM PT. The link to register will go out this weekend, but you can save the date now!
From the book’s description:
When a smart-mouthed junior joins East Nashville High's basketball team, Coach Julie Parker's ready for the challenge. What she's not prepared for is the teen's new foster parent, a super-hot ex-WNBA baller and star of Julie's fantasies. Julie knows the cool and confident Elle Cochrane is way out of her league. But despite being completely tongue-tied around her, somehow Julie persuades Elle to step in as her assistant coach.
Elle has not been on a court since her career-ending injury, but she can't seem to resist Julie, who is just as adorable as her nervous babbling. Maybe because being around her makes Elle feel sparks for the first time in long while--which is why she offers to help when Julie reveals her lifelong insecurity about dating and how she wishes she could practice at it...like sports. As Elle helps Julie navigate dating life, lines grow increasingly blurred, and the two must decide whether they'll stay on the sidelines--or finally take their shot.
June: BREAKOUT YEAR by KD Casey
I met KD a very long time ago when I was a woman baseball writer and she was part of an all-women hosted Washington Nationals podcast. It has been a pleasure to watch her pump out gay, Jewish baseball romances under a pen name inspired by Katie Casey, the “baseball mad” girl mentioned in—and often now erased from—the well-known song “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”
From the book’s description:
Eitan Rivkin is used to being first. First generation born to Russian immigrant parents, first overall pick in the draft, now the first ballplayer to come out... before his first big contract. It's lonely being the first, and it's especially lonely in the inescapable eye of New York sports media. So when he wants to practice dating openly for the first time, he hires a boyfriend-only for the cameras of course. But he never expected that boyfriend to be Akiva Goldfarb, a once-promising player who disappeared after he and Eitan played together way back when.
Akiva is used to being first too. The first-and only-Orthodox Jewish player drafted to play professional ball. The first to quit when things got rough. The first named in the acknowledgements of the books he freelance edits, because, hey, the rent's due on the first of the month. Being hired as someone's (fake) boyfriend is just another gig, right? Even if Akiva left baseball-and baseball players-behind for a reason.
What starts out as a brief arrangement gradually transforms into something more. But being the first openly gay active player in professional baseball comes with a heavy personal cost, one Eitan is less and less certain he's willing to pay. And when an on-field incident threatens to disrupt Eitan's free agency plans, they'll have to figure out if the truth is better than fiction.
July: HALF COURT SHOT by Kimani Mae
A WNBA romance that so many people have been excited about, I couldn’t wait to pick this one! We’ve also got two fake-dating books in a row, which is one of my favorite romance tropes.
From the book’s description:
Daniela Da Costa is working to become the greatest women's basketball player. But seven years into her professional career, she's more known for her tragic love life than her skills on the court. When she's traded to the Jersey Jaguars, and reunited with an old flame, she realizes she'll do whatever it takes to change her image and the team's failing odds.
Perry West Reiss has come a long way from the girl she used to be. Mommy issues aside, she's dedicated her career to the Jaguars-even if they haven't had a winning season in years to prove it. When the team's put in a dire spot, she agrees to fake date Daniela, someone Perry hoped she'd never see again.
As Perry and Danny grow closer in the public eye, their private lives get messier as old feelings emerge. But both are determined to fight for the team they love and each other's hearts, despite their red flags.
More information will be sent out, including dates and times, as the events get closer. These events are open to VIP All-Access tier subscribers, and are recorded for folks who can’t make it live.
If you’d like to become part of the OOYL community who attends our events, please consider upgrading. We’d love to have you!
