Batting Fourth

by Linda Fausnet

I never thought I would meet my celebrity crush, let alone save his life.

I’m a huge baseball fan and I absolutely adore the Bay Birds' first baseman, Rusty Power. With his red hair and piercing blue eyes, the man is gorgeous. That, and I love his upbeat attitude and how grateful he seems to be about playing ball. Having a celebrity crush can be fun, but it can also be depressing. I’m about as plain as a woman could possibly be, so most men ignore me. Even the fantasy of a man as incredible as Rusty noticing me is ridiculous.

Baseball is my life. It always has been, and I still can’t believe I made it to the majors. Every day when I put on my Baltimore Bay Birds uniform was like a dream come true. Until one day when all that changed…I was walking on the warning track during batting practice when everything suddenly went black. The next thing I know some woman is frantically doing CPR on me. My eyes met hers for a second before the trainers pulled her away and rushed me to the hospital.

I saved Rusty Power’s life. Thank God I knew CPR and had dashed onto the field during batting practice. Not only had I restarted Rusty’s heart, but I was at the hospital with him when he got the worst news of his life.

He would never play baseball again.

Genres: Contemporary

294 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 26, 2022

About the author

Linda Fausnet is the author of several genres of books, including romance, LGBT fiction, chick lit, and middle-grade. She has also written numerous screenplays of various genres. Two of her scripts have been optioned by production companies in Los Angeles; Mega Films, Inc. and Runaway Productions. She runs a fan club for romance book lovers called Romance Novel Addicts Anonymous on Facebook and other social media platforms.

Reviews

[Jeanette]

Great read!!

I have enjoyed this series but this book was stellar. It has the romance but the underline story was such a “real” issue with many people. Don’t miss this book!

[Anne]

Batting Fourth by Linda Fausnet is the newest addition to her baseball romance series. It features Baltimore Bay Bird, Rusty Power, and his biggest fan, Amanda. It opens in a bar while Amanda and her friend, Wilder, are watching a game. Jake, a fan as well, approached Amanda and they talked for a while before he asked her if he could ask Wilder out. She was used to it. It was the price one paid for having a gorgeous best friend. Wilder had heard the whole thing and brushed him off immediately and apologized to Amanda. No big thing. She was used to it. She had partial season tickets for the Bay Birds and went early to watch batting practice when she could. She was watching it one day, well, not really. She was watching Rusty when all of a sudden he fell to the ground. She yelled for someone to help him but in her frustration at not being heard, she ran onto the field herself. When she reached him his skin was gray and his lips were blue. She instantly started CPR; she’d just had a class at work. Finally the ambulance got there and the medics took over. Brady Keaton, the star of the team helped her to the dugout and gave her a glass of water. She was still traumatized when Julia, the groundskeeper took back her to her seat. The next few days were a misery, not knowing how Rusty fared.

Amanda was used to bring invisible so when Rusty noticed her she didn’t really believe it. He was such a good guy: always positive and upbeat. His agent had called and asked if she could come see him in the hospital. Of course, she went, and thus began a friendship between the two. She still had the biggest crush on him and he needed her positivity. This is a really nice series, portraying most of the ball players as really nice guys. The plot was simplistic, but effective. The characters were well-written, living through common human problems. Rusty’s frustrations were clear and believable as were Amanda’s. The relationship had growing pains, as do all relationships, but worked themselves out. It was a completely charming story and well worth the read if you enjoy feel-good novels.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of Batting Fourth by the author. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #LindaFausnet #BattingFourth

[Kaitlyn Johnson]

I really, REALLY wanted to give this book 5 stars. The beginning had me hooked and the ending was perfect! However, I felt that there wasn’t the build up you would expect in their love story. I feel like being a professional ball player taking interest in the fan who saved your life might be a little bit slower of a process. I also feel like saving the life of and suddenly being the romantic interest of your favorite professional player should be more of a shock.

I’m kind of speaking from a personal place, as I really connected with Amanda in having a crush that feels too big to be normal. I put myself in her shoes with the player that I dream of noticing me, and if I saved his life and then he took me on a date (not even getting to the part where she realizes it’s a real date) I can’t even imagine the level of freak out and hope and shock I’d be going through. I also relate a lot to Amanda as I too don’t really rank high on the noticed scale, and while not as drastically as Amanda, I have friends who get at the male attention while I sit idly by.

[booklover0228]

Loved Rusty and Amanda. Amanda was a big Baseball fan, her crush Rusty was running and warming up when he collapsed. No one noticed but Amanda. She went to his aid and gave him CPR. His medical stuff was enough to end his career. Amanda stayed by his side until he was well enough to realize he had other options. The two of them found their HEA

[annette k]

Cute

Rusty was a young first baseman. Amanda was a girl that didn't realize her beauty. Then one day Amanda seen her favorite first baseman drop before his game, then lives changed!!