Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Double Play
SERIES: Hit and Run
AUTHOR: E.M. Lindsey
NARRATOR: Michael Ferraiuolo
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 6 hours and 48 minutes
RELEASE DATE: December 22. 2022
BLURB:
If self-destruction is an artform, then Hervé is a master artist.
After all, he’s perfected self-sabotage since he was young and full of promise.
He’s spent his life running from his past and pushing away anyone who might break down his walls, but it wasn’t until his body betrayed him that he realized just how lonely his presence had become. Now, he’s in the countryside, trying to figure out if anything is worth salvaging, and wondering if he’s the sort of man who will ever be worth a second chance.
Even when Orion Coulter—one of the star pitchers on the Denver Vikings—shows up in his little village like some sort of predestined knight on a white horse, Hervé doesn’t trust him. How can he when Orion is close to all the men Hervé hurt?
But Orion’s situation is more complicated than Hervé realized, full of pain and grief, looking for some kind of escape. And while Hervé knows that he hasn’t quite earned meeting the man of his dreams, Orion’s quiet voice, tender hands, and impossible promises has him wondering if maybe—just maybe—the universe is willing to give him the chance he doesn’t deserve.
Double Play is the third audiobook of the Hit and Run MM baseball romance series. It features countryside kisses, grief, redemption, long walks, careful handling, and a painfully tender happily ever after.
REVIEW:
Hervé is a famous French actor who has fallen from grace. His life took a turn when he had a very public collapse. Between his addictions and his body finally being pushed beyond the breaking point of his underlying condition, he can no longer do his job or be the man he once was. He has escaped to a rental in Brittany and is working with his therapist trying to determine how he is going to move forward in his life. His “friends” have deserted him – not that they were actual friends to begin with. He also doesn’t want the pitying looks that he is sure would come his way. He’s treated the true friends he did once have shabbily and they have no contact with him anymore.
Orion Coulter is pro baseball pitcher who arrives in Brittany to take over the rental for a family member who cannot use it. Since it’s the off-season, he agrees because he is reeling from the diagnosis received by said family member. He doesn’t speak French and he’s not really sure what he’s supposed to do there, but he sees the beautiful Hervé while visiting a cafe for coffee after doing some shopping for food. He’s unprepared for the gorgeous man, who seems none to happy to have Orion in his space, collapse. While he comes around pretty quickly, Orion is concerned for the man to get home safely. He insists he’s fine and leaves.
When Orion next comes upon the man, he has fallen and cut his head. Orion waits for him to come around and takes him back to his rental to patch him. He also insists on feeding him and they begin to chat. Orion is interested in the man even though he seems quite skittish. He agrees to stay the night because Orion is worried. Orion walks him back home the next day where Hervé basically closes the door in his face. Turns out that they are not complete strangers and that they have friends in common. Unfortunately it’s the same friends that Hervé had treated so poorly 🙁
Once Orion has put two and two together, he and Hervé have a chat. Hervé confesses what he has been through and how he is dealing with his addictions and his diagnoses and how his medication are/are not working etc. He knows he treated his former friends badly and he would like to make amends and ask for their forgiveness. He likes Orion, but he in no way believes that he deserves a nice man like Orion. Eventually Orion shares the reason that he has hightailed it to France so that he can deal with his personal situation and prepare for what will be a devastating loss. They come together, despite the symptoms and sometimes inconveniences of Hervé’s condition.
Then the unthinkable happens and Orion must return to Denver. This is sort of a “scene of the crime” as it were location for Hervé and despite his own personal situation and knowing he’s going to have to confront his past, he still drops everything and makes the effort to help Orion get back. Needless to say, there is a lot to deal with and Orion is not in a position to handle much. While some things to better than others, it’s clear that there is something potentially very good between these two men if they can find their way through the obstacles to be together.
This is the first book I have read in this series and while it does have spoilers for previous books, I didn’t feel like I was missing anything that I really needed in order to enjoy this one. First, the setting of Brittany where Hervé and Orion meet is near and dear to my heart after having visited recently. I can confirm that the walk up to top of the church Mont-Saint-Michel is grueling and I would NOT recommend spending the previous 4 hours shopping on the cobblestone streets of a medieval town and then attempting it 🙂 But it is so spectacular – especially at night in the summer if you can stay for the sunset. Bucket list worthy! But I digress. I love the way this author writes characters who are dealing with physical and psychological issues. In this case, Hervé has to grapple with both his physical issues and symptom management, but he’s also trying to heal from his addictions and his deeply embedded trauma from his upbringing and the lack of unconditional love in his life. He struggles with self-worth and that has driven a lot of his self-destructive behavior. And now that he’s trying to be a better person, he is forced into a situation where he has to confront his past in the people that he has hurt if he wants to have any sort of a future with peace of mind and certainly any future with Orion.
For his part, Orion is dealing with loss and the need to be there for his family. He wants Hervé, but he also wants to protect him. He doesn’t always get it right. He is lucky though that his friends back him up and try to help him figure out the balance. Hervé is shocked that he has more support than he thought he ever would as well. At the end of the day, Hervé still has a lot of work to do on himself, but he’d much rather do it with Orion by his side. There are soooo many feels in this story. Orion is a strong guy, but he discovers that he also for the first time feels very protective of Hervé. He understands that Hervé did a lot of thoughtless and hurtful things – that he’s been selfish and callous in the past. He also understands the reasons why and he accepts that Hervé is a work in progress and is really trying to be a better person. I really appreciated how Hervé tried to make things right and that he did not want to interfere in anyone’s life. These two guys had to work pretty hard to figure things out and I was happy that they were able to work it out. If you’re a fan of sports romances, second chances, stories of overcoming difficulties and dealing with some of life’s most difficult moments, then you will like this one.
Michael Ferraiuolo does a really lovely job with this one. His French accent is very good and I loved Hervé. I felt really bad for both men dealing with such devastating moments of their lives. Michael is one of my absolute favorite narrators and he made me feel the pain of both Hervé and Orion. There are a lot of moments of uncertainty also and I could really understand the dilemmas both characters faced. The many supporting characters were distinct and clearly delineated with the voices/accents as well. Really just a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience and definitely worth the time. I believe listening to this story really enhanced my experience of this serious but ultimately uplifting tale.
RATING: 
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