What There Is by Kate McMurray
What There Is by Kate McMurray
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The Blurb…
Former professional baseball player Justin Piersol needs a new life after a career-ending injury, and his job as a high school baseball coach isn’t exactly fulfilling. Still, things are looking up: he finds the perfect room in an apartment in Brooklyn with Mark, who writes a popular column on sports statistics.
Mark is nerdy and socially awkward and intensely shy, and he immediately develops a terrible crush on Justin, who barely seems to notice him. As they get to know each other, Justin admits he misses playing baseball, that coaching doesn’t scratch the itch. Mark confesses he thought he’d be married by now, that he wants a serious relationship. So they make a pact: Justin will help Mark find a man, and Mark will help Justin find something he loves more than baseball.
They put their plan into action… and then life gets complicated. Mark meets a nice guy named Dave, and Justin is suddenly crazy with jealousy. Justin realizes he wants to let go of the past and focus on the present, but as Mark and Dave become an item, Justin fears he’s too late.
So what did I think?
This was easy reading – short and sweet. It is the story of flatmates who fall in love.
Mark and Justin are opposites, the classic athlete and the nerd. “Cripplingly shy and socially awkward. That was Mark in a nutshell.” He’s wildly attracted to Justin but has no idea how he is going to live with “..an athletic dreamboat.” Of course, neither of them imagine the other wants them!
The story revolves around Justin helping Mark to find a boyfriend and Mark helping Justin to expand his horizons beyond baseball.
It was a nice story, not overly special but enjoyable all the same. The pairing of the geek and the athlete was cute and I liked the premise – you don’t know what you’ve got until someone else wants it! And of course I liked the happy ending!
“Mark had wanted Justin to find something he loved more than baseball, and Justin knew in that moment that he had. He’d found Mark.” aww
To find out more about Kate McMurray and her books visit her website.
Buy What There Is from Amazon.