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Playing for First #3
From Third to Home
First baseman Amy Perry and her Cincinnati Reds teammates have one goal for the new win the World Series. Sportswriter and best friend, Lisa Collins, is there to cover the action from spring training through the hot days of summer. But baseball isn’t the only thing on Amy’s mind. Her wife, Stacy McCrady, is trying to have a baby. The thought of becoming a mother pushes Amy to think this might be her last year—if the Reds were to win it all. While covering the Reds, Lisa gets the surprise of a lifetime. Her father, whom she has never met, contacts Lisa. Can Lisa’s partner, Frankie Dunkin, help Lisa set aside more than thirty-five years of anger? Kat Benson is the cocky second baseman for Amy’s former team, the Kansas City Bandits. The Bandits manager insists that Lisa and Amy attend a game to assess Kat’s potential for the minor leagues. Kat, however, struggles to focus on baseball while confronted with her family’s secrets. From Third to Home continues Chris Paynter’s Playing for First baseball series. Join Amy, Lisa, Kat, and the women who love them for an exciting season full of ups and downs, hopes and dreams.
302 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 29, 2016
1 person is currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
Chris Paynter
10 books79 followersChris Paynter is the author of nine novels, including "Survived by Her Longtime Companion," the winner of the 2013 Golden Crown Literary Society Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award and Finalist for the 2013 Lambda Literary Award in Lesbian Romance. Her latest release is "Just a Touch Away," a romance set in Indiana about a grieving children’s book author and the illustrator who captures her heart. She has been a three-time GCLS Finalist for the Ann Bannon Award, and her novels have won five Rainbow Awards Honorable Mentions. She was also a GCLS Finalist in Traditional Lesbian Romance for "Come Back to Me."
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 26, 2019
My third book by this author. And my favorite of the three I’ve read by Paynter. Though all three are part of the same series that builds on itself, so people coming along behind me are directed to read from the beginning – from the first book.
Unless I'm mistaken, and I could very well be, I see a pattern in this series. First book had 1 point of view, Lisa Collins. Second one had two points of views - Lisa Collins and Amy Perry. Third one has three points of views. Lisa Collins, Amy Perry, and Kat Benson.
Book one focused on Lisa Collins and her personal and professional life and her connection to Amy Perry. Professionally, Collins, in that first book, followed Perry as she moved from a player on a professional female baseball team, to the MLB winter league, to minor league ball, and then a brief appearance in the majors. Personally, Collins, very quickly in that first book, developed a friendship and romantic relationship with Perry. By the second book (actually, during the first), the friendship part remained, but only the friendship part. By the third, the friendship part, which was somewhat shaky in the second, was on firm ground, and any lingering romantic feelings are gone.
Book two focused more on Amy Perry and her time in the majors. Well, the book opened with her still in the minors, but very quickly she made it up to the majors in the second or third month of the season. Collins, though, remained one of the points of view in the book, and some of the focus remained on her professional and relationship life.
Book three, this book here, keeps the focus on Perry and Collins, but adds in an unexpected third party. Perry’s former coach contacts Collins and suggests she stops by and watches one of her players. That player being one ‘Kat Benson’. Like in the first book when Perry was watched by others, Benson is introduced to readers by having people watch her. Unlike the first book, Benson’s own thoughts suddenly, seemingly of their own accord, break through and let others in on her thoughts.
Benson could very well have ended up being an afterthought. Someone whose story is just tacked on, but she has a deeper story, and deeper impact on the book than I had expected.
Benson pulls in another character who wasn’t previously in the series, one Stephanie McGrady – Stacey’s sister. Kat and Stephanie circle each other in this book, and I quite like both of them and their budding relationship.
Family plays a large role in this book. Collins and her long lost father. Perry & McGrady attempting to deepen their own family by having a baby together, and Benson and her strained relationship with her alcoholic mother.
Baseball remains the underlying theme, and structure to which the various subplots anchor upon. And the baseball action, at times, was even somewhat thrilling to observe.
As I mentioned in my review for the previous book in this series, written moments ago, I liked the third book best of all. The books, if I were to give them a number rating, probably hovered around 4.7 for the first book, 4.8 for second, and something at or above 5 for the third.
June 9 2016
Unless I'm mistaken, and I could very well be, I see a pattern in this series. First book had 1 point of view, Lisa Collins. Second one had two points of views - Lisa Collins and Amy Perry. Third one has three points of views. Lisa Collins, Amy Perry, and Kat Benson.
Book one focused on Lisa Collins and her personal and professional life and her connection to Amy Perry. Professionally, Collins, in that first book, followed Perry as she moved from a player on a professional female baseball team, to the MLB winter league, to minor league ball, and then a brief appearance in the majors. Personally, Collins, very quickly in that first book, developed a friendship and romantic relationship with Perry. By the second book (actually, during the first), the friendship part remained, but only the friendship part. By the third, the friendship part, which was somewhat shaky in the second, was on firm ground, and any lingering romantic feelings are gone.
Book two focused more on Amy Perry and her time in the majors. Well, the book opened with her still in the minors, but very quickly she made it up to the majors in the second or third month of the season. Collins, though, remained one of the points of view in the book, and some of the focus remained on her professional and relationship life.
Book three, this book here, keeps the focus on Perry and Collins, but adds in an unexpected third party. Perry’s former coach contacts Collins and suggests she stops by and watches one of her players. That player being one ‘Kat Benson’. Like in the first book when Perry was watched by others, Benson is introduced to readers by having people watch her. Unlike the first book, Benson’s own thoughts suddenly, seemingly of their own accord, break through and let others in on her thoughts.
Benson could very well have ended up being an afterthought. Someone whose story is just tacked on, but she has a deeper story, and deeper impact on the book than I had expected.
Benson pulls in another character who wasn’t previously in the series, one Stephanie McGrady – Stacey’s sister. Kat and Stephanie circle each other in this book, and I quite like both of them and their budding relationship.
Family plays a large role in this book. Collins and her long lost father. Perry & McGrady attempting to deepen their own family by having a baby together, and Benson and her strained relationship with her alcoholic mother.
Baseball remains the underlying theme, and structure to which the various subplots anchor upon. And the baseball action, at times, was even somewhat thrilling to observe.
As I mentioned in my review for the previous book in this series, written moments ago, I liked the third book best of all. The books, if I were to give them a number rating, probably hovered around 4.7 for the first book, 4.8 for second, and something at or above 5 for the third.
June 9 2016
October 3, 2018
This is the third book in the Playing for First series. And I liked it very much.
It's about Lisa, the reporter, and her wife Frankie and about Amy, the first baseman from the Cincinnati Reds, and her wife Stacey and a new player Kat Benson.
I really like Chris Paynter's writing. The only small problem I had, I didn't understand a lot of the baseball talk, but that's just because I don't really have a clue on baseball.
I liked the three POV, always written in the third person. The topics mentioned are very different: from getting contacted from the never known father, to trying to have a baby, to struggling with an alcohol addicted mother. And there is always baseball. How is Amy holding up in the season, can they win the World Series? Will Kat ever be able to play in the same position than Amy? And will Lisa always follow the Cincinnati Reds?
The three storylines are well intertwined and enjoyable. The secondary characters are adding depth and insight. Overall a wonderful series about friends, family, and baseball.
My rating 4.5 stars
It's about Lisa, the reporter, and her wife Frankie and about Amy, the first baseman from the Cincinnati Reds, and her wife Stacey and a new player Kat Benson.
I really like Chris Paynter's writing. The only small problem I had, I didn't understand a lot of the baseball talk, but that's just because I don't really have a clue on baseball.
I liked the three POV, always written in the third person. The topics mentioned are very different: from getting contacted from the never known father, to trying to have a baby, to struggling with an alcohol addicted mother. And there is always baseball. How is Amy holding up in the season, can they win the World Series? Will Kat ever be able to play in the same position than Amy? And will Lisa always follow the Cincinnati Reds?
The three storylines are well intertwined and enjoyable. The secondary characters are adding depth and insight. Overall a wonderful series about friends, family, and baseball.
My rating 4.5 stars
September 12, 2016
Loved this book! The characters are wonderfully written. I did find myself getting confused a time or two with which character was the love interest of another character. Since all of them interact with each other and not always as couples. Great baseball scenes! Intense play by play descriptions. Fun reading. And looks like a seat up for possibly another book in the series. I HOPE!!
April 18, 2016
Loved this book.
Great book. Start to finish. It was great following Amy in her struggles as a woman in the men's major leagues. I loved hearing about her friends. Hopefully there will be more about Amy and her friends. But I will definitely read whatever Chris Paynter writes next. Can we get Audible to make this series? Please.
Great book. Start to finish. It was great following Amy in her struggles as a woman in the men's major leagues. I loved hearing about her friends. Hopefully there will be more about Amy and her friends. But I will definitely read whatever Chris Paynter writes next. Can we get Audible to make this series? Please.
June 24, 2017
I like Chris Paynter's books. With this one I had a "slight" problem: I haven't got the faintest idea about the rules of baseball, the terminology is pure hebrew to me, so there were quite long chapters I couldn't understand!
August 28, 2017
5 star, can't put it down kind of book....but again, no surprise here. The end made me cry a bit....and wished for more ☺
September 25, 2016
2016 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: From Third to Home by Chris Paynter
1) This is the third novel in a series. Not having read the first two, I was a bit lost at times, but that had nothing to do with the writing in this book. Overall, this was a very enjoyable read with vividly drawn characters.
2) While I'm not particularly interested in sports, I still found the story to be quite readable, and I can imagine that anyone who likes baseball would enjoy all the baseball talk, which comes across as very believable. The writing is solid, the best I've seen in a while. Word usage was good, and punctuation was correct. Those might seem like small things, the basics everyone should have down pat, but more and more writers these days fail in this arena, so I wanted to point it out. The writing flowed well, with little or no awkwardness. I felt comfortable as a reader, trusting the author. The dialogue was good. I almost felt there were too many main characters, but by the end, I knew everyone well enough and liked all the different storylines. There was a casual and believable insertion of details about in vitro fertilization. Any time we needed details on IVF or AA or baseball, the information was delivered in a good way. There were just a couple of places where there was some unnecessary repetition, sometimes almost line for line (in particular when Lisa was talking about her feelings toward her dad). I also found it odd that so many of the characters were surprised by sex. It seemed a little unrealistic. I've never found sex all that startling, even good sex. You don't have to be startled to enjoy sex. All in all, a well-written book that was a good read.
3) Usually series books aren't as good as the first, not true with this one. The author has a winner. She scores big in all categories, especially her characters. Her writing is getting better with each book.
4) A good read. Probably I would have liked it more if the book was more concerned with one single couple storyline at the time, because the amount of characters involved left me sometimes confused about the pairings and who was talking. But the story is fresh and interesting. The setting is quite peculiar and that makes up for some shortcomings in the story plot.
1) This is the third novel in a series. Not having read the first two, I was a bit lost at times, but that had nothing to do with the writing in this book. Overall, this was a very enjoyable read with vividly drawn characters.
2) While I'm not particularly interested in sports, I still found the story to be quite readable, and I can imagine that anyone who likes baseball would enjoy all the baseball talk, which comes across as very believable. The writing is solid, the best I've seen in a while. Word usage was good, and punctuation was correct. Those might seem like small things, the basics everyone should have down pat, but more and more writers these days fail in this arena, so I wanted to point it out. The writing flowed well, with little or no awkwardness. I felt comfortable as a reader, trusting the author. The dialogue was good. I almost felt there were too many main characters, but by the end, I knew everyone well enough and liked all the different storylines. There was a casual and believable insertion of details about in vitro fertilization. Any time we needed details on IVF or AA or baseball, the information was delivered in a good way. There were just a couple of places where there was some unnecessary repetition, sometimes almost line for line (in particular when Lisa was talking about her feelings toward her dad). I also found it odd that so many of the characters were surprised by sex. It seemed a little unrealistic. I've never found sex all that startling, even good sex. You don't have to be startled to enjoy sex. All in all, a well-written book that was a good read.
3) Usually series books aren't as good as the first, not true with this one. The author has a winner. She scores big in all categories, especially her characters. Her writing is getting better with each book.
4) A good read. Probably I would have liked it more if the book was more concerned with one single couple storyline at the time, because the amount of characters involved left me sometimes confused about the pairings and who was talking. But the story is fresh and interesting. The setting is quite peculiar and that makes up for some shortcomings in the story plot.
December 23, 2019
This was the third one in the Playing for First lesbian baseball romance that I’ve been reading over the past couple years. I received all 3 books at the same time but apparently there was a long wait between the publication of the 2nd and 3rd. The acknowledgements are really touching as the author explains that her dad, who was a big fan and motivator behind this series, passed away so it took her some time to get back into it. This whole series was really enjoyable – lots of baseball excitement for fans and really supportive relationships for romance readers.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews