Some of my FAVORITE moments:

When he leaned down, when he would have kissed her - every pinprick of her nerves celebrating in response, flashing hot and wild, rushing - he stopped before their lips could meet, searching her eyes with an intensity that blocked her next inhale.

"Tell me everything you want," he demanded, dragging their mouths together roughly. Oh my. "Tell me every fucking thing you want and need."
==
"Who made you her spokesperson?" Elton wanted to know.

Robbie rolled a tense shoulder. "I’m not qualified to be anyone's spokesperson, but I’ll tell you this. When I notice something making her sad, you can bet your ass I’m going to say something about it. That's my girl.”

God, it felt so good to say that out loud. Even if it wasn't true yet. Felt true, though. Felt as real as the sky overhead.
==
"Okay." Resigned, he nodded. Planted both hands on his hips and regrouped. "Okay, I hear what you're saying. You need time to believe I’m for real. That's fair, even though I hate it." He'd never looked this serious. Not since she'd met him. "Just tell me you have feelings for me. Tell me I'm not crazy."

Oh God. Admitting she had feelings for him would only encourage him to pursue this relationship - one that would absolutely lead to her getting hurt when he eventually decided to go back to his wild bachelor ways. Hurt was putting it mildly, too. He'd cut her off at the knees, wouldn't he? Yes. Because she had been developing feelings for him. Sneaky ones. They'd been nipping at her heels since day one. Now they were fully grown, biting her everywhere. Stealing chunks of her preconceived notions about Robbie. Chunks of what might have been her resistance.

"I have feelings for you," she whispered.

He remained still as a statue for long moments, before the breath came whooshing out of him, his big body falling forward, hands planting on his knees. "Holy shit. I was only giving myself ten to one odds." It took him some time to straighten and slow his breathing down and all Skylar could do was watch in fascination. This reaction .. . it was all for her? "What about him?" Robbie's voice had dropped way down in pitch, his eyelids hooded as he observed Skylar closely, seeming to hold his breath again. "You still got feelings for him?”

"I don't know," she said, truthfully. And hey, "I don't know" was a huge downgrade from a couple of weeks ago when she would have willingly thrown herself in front of a train for Madden. She'd just never expected the train to have unruly red hair and an appetite that rivaled the passengers of a medium-sized cruise ship.

The fact that her feelings had been massively - and troublingly - downgraded didn't seem to satisfy Robbie in the slightest, however. In fact, his jealous expression as he backed her up against the kitchen counter made her shiver, her neck losing any semblance of strength, head falling back when he spoke against her ear. "Give me ten minutes in the dark with your panties off and you'll know. I’Il get you over him underneath me."
==

I loved this book so much. Those moments I shared aren’t even CLOSE to the best or hottest parts of this book. I would have finished it in a day if I didn’t keep rereading passages and entire chapters. We have Skylar and Robbie, both who first made appearances in Dream Girl Drama. I loved even the glimpse of their interaction in that book and when I found out that they were going to be the featured couple in the next book, I squealed as if I was 10 years old again watching New Kids On The Block’s “Hangin Tough Live” VHS (who are, appropriately, from Boston - or the Boston-ish area). Sig, Chloe, Burgess, Tallulah, and Mailer all make guest appearances, and the scenes have so much humor in them, I literally giggled out loud. While this book can technically be read as a standalone, you’ll miss out on the full depth of these relationships—and honestly, a bit of the magic of what makes these people so important to each other—if you skip the earlier ones.

Robbie is an affable ladies' man who does not realize the ire he has drawn from so easily using women for sex, and he happens to be a rookie in the NHL. Robbie’s appetite is an entire hilarious personality on its own. Skylar is a driven college softball athlete who is in love with her brother’s childhood best friend, Madden, and has a bit of an inferiority complex. They all grew up together, but she has never crossed from the casual friendship threshold into confidante, so she doesn’t really know much about Madden, who is in the baseball minor leagues with her brother. At first sight, Robbie is captivated by Skylar because nearly the moment he lays eyes on her, she mouths an obscenity at him because she’s just overheard him loudly and disrespectfully gloating about his sexual conquests. I completely believed that a guy accustomed to women falling for him easily would be fascinated by someone, who happens to be an attractive female athlete, who immediately dislikes him. Skylar is initially thrown by Robbie’s constant and overt flirting with her because she is insecure about her attractiveness. She doesn’t think she’s an oaf, but she definitely does not think she is some alluring, sexual creature, either, something Robbie realizes and is stumped by. Robbie realizes the only way he is going to get this woman to spend time with him is to trick her into it, and he does it ADORABLY. He quickly learns Skylar is in love with Madden. Robbie, desperate not to let Skylar slip out of his life completely, hatches a half-baked plan to fake-date her—partly to stay in her orbit, and partly in the ridiculous hope that he can redeem himself in her eyes and maybe change her mind about him. He accompanies her on a weeklong event with her family to do just that. And with that, cue the swoon-worthy moments that slowly (and irresistibly) pull Robbie and Skylar closer together.

An entire scene that happened in Dream Girl Drama unfolds again in Pitcher Perfect, and I LOVED IT! We get to see the scene from the POV’s of Skylar and Robbie, and we are let in on what caused the brawl that Sig and Chloe happened upon after catching her runaway dog.

Robbie is so hilarious and fun-loving, but as he and Skylar get close, she begins to see beyond his goofy facade and dejects the idea that he’s just a joke, giving Robbie the same security he begins to give her about her worthiness as a daughter, sister, and woman. Robbie constantly shows up for her and makes it clear he will always be on her side against anyone who even slightly isn’t, her family included. While I believe it was Skylar’s immediate contempt for Robbie that initially spurs his interest and desire to stay connected to her, spending time with her and getting to know her is what solidifies his feeling into something substantial and real. It’s clear he’s not a bad guy, and when it finally hits him that he’s been treating women more like bodies than people, he’s genuinely ashamed. But it’s Skylar, maybe the first woman in a while to be wholly disinterested in him and unafraid to call him out on his shortcomings, who reminds him that the person he’s become was not who he meant to become, and he chooses her to witness the change he’s determined to make.

They are so lovely together. The moments Tessa Bailey built for them to crest their friendship and budding relationship on were so perfectly written that they legitimately belong in some rom-com montage somewhere. This book needs to be turned into a movie. Robbie had some of the sexiest and swoon-worthy lines I have ever read - PERIOD. Tessa Bailey’s ability to write hundreds of scenes describing lust and intimacy that never sound the same has always been so impressive to me. And I’m genuinely wondering how in the HECK has not one of her books been made into a movie, yet? Cinematic universe, let’s get it together, please!

I know that not everyone has the same taste. And that’s okay. I have been guilty of GREATLY disliking a book that others - some DEAR friends - have loved. And guilty of sharing those disgruntled views before in a review. So while I know not everyone is going to have the same AMAZED reaction as I did to this book, I do feel the need to counter the very small number of bad reviews I read about this book. And apparently, I’ve designated myself as the one to defend Tessa Bailey’s honor, so here we go.

One of the critiques was about how Skylar could be so inexperienced at her age after two sexual encounters. How great for some folks that they feel like badasses in the sack after two sexcapades, but there ARE people out there who deal with insecurities that are FERAL, despite how pretty they are. I was halfway decent and a cute size 6 in college, and despite having an entire five fingers to dedicate toward the number of sexual partners I had to help define my sexual prowess by senior year, I was still COMPLETELY so insecure and felt completely sexually unprowessed. (I know unprowessed is not a word, and it doesn’t really fit - but I don’t care. It FEELS right.) (And I blame my insecurities on daddy issues, but that’s an entirely different story.) Skylar grew up being the tomboy, and the bulk of those boys apparently saw her as one of the guys. I do not think her sexual insecurities were unwarranted or far fetched, no matter how beautiful she is. Funnily enough, another review tried to make Skylar sound one-dimensional while describing 4 entire categories.

Let’s break them down: 1. She’s a Type A personality. Type A personalities are driven, intensely focused and driven by results. This isn’t a one-element type of personality. Thousands of hours went into Skylar honing her skills so that she could be the starting pitcher at a D1 university, and the university she attends is no slouch, which means she had to also balance her studies to be good enough to be accepted - which means this girl had to be somewhere in the top of her class and land some impressive SAT scores. And I don’t think it should have to be spelled out in the book for us that it’s evident that this single trait profoundly influences and amplifies many other aspects of her personality, even being a springboard to create other ones. It’s not difficult to imagine the amount of stress someone like Skylar would constantly be under.

Another critique about Skylar’s lack of personality was directed at her inferiority toward her family. That Type-A personality was also partly driven by her very competitive family, where I’m sure a slew of psychological issues were born as she felt like she could never catch up or be good enough, especially when she does not get into the one university that her entire family worships. I think the point of sharing this was to highlight the constant reminder she is dealt with anytime she is at home and why this would overly heighten her insecurities about herself.

Next on the list: apparently people who obsess about planners don’t have a lot going for them. It’s stated that she is obsessed with her planner like that’s some kind of boring detriment. I didn’t think this was an unsatisfying aspect about her. If you go on Instagram and hashtag planners, you will find there is a robust community dedicated to them. For years, I was in that hole. (a very prettily decorated hole that made me more broke but way more organized) I saw the reliability she had with her planner as another subset of her Type A personality and I also saw it as a hobby, because she just didn’t ensure her days were heavily planned, she decorated her planners with stickers and had an array of gel colored pens, which could be a stress relieving activity for her. (I’m definitely superimposing myself here because it was stress relieving activity for me. I literally used to spend hours a week on my planner.)

That doesn’t sound like an empty or half assed shell to me. I would honestly find it difficult to find more than 4 chunk worthy categories to dump most romance heroines into: it’s a rom-com. We need some main basics to clutch about the character, but the main reason we’re reading these books is for the “rom”, the “com”, the “swoon”, and the “HEA”. Exactly how deep do we need these characters to be? And I was actually impressed with these characters. I found Skylar to be tough and endearing and Robbie to be hot and hilarious with his Stouffers lasagnas. (I have never eaten a Stouffer lasagna in my LIFE but it’s on my grocery list because now I need to see what all the hype is about.)

I don’t see the book as not being a traditional enemies to lovers trope as a detractor, and this is not the first book out there partly genred as an enemies to lovers trope where only one of the people actually dislikes the other while the other is harboring secret feelings. I’m usually not a fan of love at first sight books, and while Robbie is definitely almost immediately entranced with Skylar, and later laments that he believes a part of him knew that she was the one, I don’t ever recall him saying he loved her at first. I think her immediate and prominent disdain for him definitely piqued his interest in her. Robbie apparently had women falling over themselves to be with him. He admits he never had to try. I definitely think that was his initial interest in Skylar, and actually getting to know her is what amplified and cinched his feelings for her. And his need to redeem himself to her was also explained: Skyar gave him a verbal shakedown on the kind of man she saw him as: a philanderer who was regularly disrespectful to women. I’m sure he wasn’t entirely unaware of these criticisms, but hearing them laid out so bluntly by Skylar must have been jarring. The harsh clarity of her words likely forced him to confront just how negative his behavior had been. Realizing how disrespectful he’d acted—especially in light of the values instilled in him by his late, beloved grandfather—it's understandable that he’d want to redeem himself in the eyes of the one woman who truly captured his attention. Ironically, she’s also the one woman who finds him repulsive, in stark contrast to the admiration he seems to receive from nearly every other straight woman in Boston.

I get we’re not all going to love the same books, and that’s okay, but I wholly loved this one.

Thank you to Avon for the advance reader copy of Pitcher Perfect by Tessa Bailey.

After getting to see Robbie and Skylar meet in Dream Girl Drama, Pitcher Perfect picks up from that moment. Robbie, learning that Skylar likes her best friend’s brother, offers to be her fake boyfriend and love coach so that she can attract her long time crush.

Pitcher Perfect is an enjoyable, fun, and easy read. It was great to finally get to read Robbie and Skylar’s story after the preview we got for this book in Dream Girl Drama. When introduced, I wasn't expecting a story for Robbie or Mailer but similar to what Tessa outlined the acknowledgements, as soon as I read Robbie and Skylar, I was hoping that they would get a book. If you love Tessa Bailey, you’ll enjoy this next book in the Big Shots series.

This book definitely welcomed me back into the Big Shots series. Tessa Bailey has a way of plucking side characters out of the story that I didn’t have any strong feelings towards, and making me love them once they’re in the spotlight.
Fake dating, Insta love, and a lot of heart mixed together to make a really enjoyable story, I hope to see more of these 2 down the line.

I finished this book in a day. I literally couldn't stop. I've been waiting for Robbie and Skylar’s story since readying Dream Girl Drama and it did not disappoint. Tessa Bailey is an instant buy for me and I hope this series continues. I HIGHLY recommend this book!

I honestly am on the verge of tears having just finished this. Thank you so much to harpercollins and netgalley for this advanced copy.

I have been in the funkiest book funk lately. Life's got me down. Nothing has really inspired me to pick it up...until I saw Pitcher Perfect by Tessa Bailey. TB is a go to author for me. I always know what to expect. Her writing always lifts my spirits, keeps me engaged and entertained, and delivers romances that I can't help but eat up. This book was absolutely what I needed (hence me being a little emotional right now).

I don't know if this book is 1st or tied for 1st as my favorite in the Big Shots series. I can literally think of almost NOTHING I took issue with in this book. This was, like, my dream fake dating story. The only thing I will say, is TB's spice is sometimes an acquired taste (in my honest opinion), but I love her for it. I have been MANIFESTING more red headed MMC's in my books and boy howdy what a MAN he was. I also loved how open and honest the MMC and FMC communicated with one another!!!! It isn't illegal to NOT miscommunicate, people!

I'm honestly so proud of myself for making it to the end of this review without using any expletives because this book effin' ROCKED.

This was my fave of the three hockey player books in this series. I liked that Robbie was redeemed quickly--I wanted to cheer for him. Some of the strengths: it was a fast-paced read that didn't get too bogged down in the third act conflict. I'd give this 3.5 stars if I could.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Avon & Harper Voyager for the ARC of Pitcher Perfect by Tessa Bailey.

I think this one is my favorite so far in Bailey's Big Shots Series (Fangirl is #2), which I'm a little shocked about because normally I don't go for the fake dating trope, but, as usual, Bailey can make me love anything. In Pitcher Perfect we follow Robbie, one of the Bearcats' "orgasm donor" twins as he falls in love with Skylar, the pitcher from the brawl in Dream Girl Drama.

I think a new reader could hop into this book without reading the previous 3. Chloe and Sig and Burgess and Tallulah make brief appearances, but Skylar and Robbie's meet-cute is repeated as the opening here so a new reader could start fresh.

I really like how both Skylar and Robbie were written as characters. Skylar's damage is easy to relate to for so many women who never feel like enough or who come from overly competitive families. Robbie is instantly redeemable when Skylar calls him out from the get-go on his treatment of women and he genuinely reminds me of so many guys from college who wanted to be one way in front of their friends and regretted that in private conversation or in the reflection of being post-grad/out of their mid-twenties. I just found both of them to be real and relatable - their struggles were one that I think many others will be able to identify with as they read. I also appreciated that the fake dating was never put in a place where Skylar was using Robbie -- it's very obvious in the story to everyone but Skylar why this was never going to work -- but she also makes the realization herself without threatening what she and Robbie are building, which I really appreciate.

So excited to see Catcher If You Can is next given what we learn in Pitcher Perfect (don't want to name the characters because you need Pitcher Perfect first)! It'll be great to have Bailey back in her NYC atmosphere that she's cultivated in so many other series.

I do also want to note: The books in the Big Shots series are listed as sports romances, but the sport side is very light - I think it might be better suited to say either one of the main characters has a sports-oriented career and the romances are more based around their regular lives. I'm completely down for it, but I think it's just something that's fair to note for those looking for something more in-depth in a sport itself or for those who don't want too much sports in their novel.

Book Title: Pitcher Perfect
Author: Tessa Bailey
Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Fake Dating, Love Coach, Forced Proximity, Sports Romance
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

🤩The Vibe:
This is classic Tessa Bailey at her best—sharp banter, sizzling chemistry, and just the right blend of emotional growth and laugh-out-loud moments. After a couple of misses in this series, Pitcher Perfect delivers the kind of fast-paced, high-heat romcom that reminds you why Tessa is a queen of the genre. It’s a fun, flirty ride that doesn’t take itself too seriously but still manages to hit those emotional beats when it counts.

👩‍❤️‍👨Main Characters:
Robbie Corrigan:
Boston Bearcats rookie and resident “orgasm donor” (his words, not ours). He’s charming, cheeky, and more emotionally self-aware than he initially lets on. While his early playboy antics are a little much, he becomes surprisingly grounded as the story develops. His growth—and his slow-burn pining—make him the standout of the book.

Skylar Paige:
A focused, sharp-tongued softball star who’s immune to Robbie’s charm and locked in on her long-standing crush (her brother’s best friend). Skylar doesn’t hold back and isn’t here for BS. Watching her slowly soften to Robbie without ever compromising who she is was a real treat.

💕What We Loved:
• The fake dating/love coach dynamic was hilarious, flirty, and full of tension.
• Robbie’s character arc was well done—he’s more than just the cocky player we first meet.
• Their banter was snappy and fun, especially once Skylar stopped resisting the attraction.
• The forced proximity wilderness competition added just enough chaos to heighten the tension.
• We love a cinnamon roll hero disguised as a bad boy—and Robbie nails it.
- The spice was well done—hot without being overwhelming or too over-the-top (a welcome change from some of the earlier books in the series).

🚫What Didn’t Work for Me:
• The love story unfolds over just a few days, which made the emotional shift feel a little rushed. Robbie switching from playboy to golden retriever in an instant after meeting Skylar is pushing it a bit.
• The subplot involving Skylar’s friends owning a strip club and her taking on her sister’s kids felt like unnecessary filler and distracted from the romance.

🤔 Final Thoughts:
Pitcher Perfect is a spicy, swoony, and surprisingly sweet sports romcom that hits a lot of the right notes. Though the romance develops a little too quickly and the side plots wander, the sizzling chemistry, emotional payoff, and lovable leads bring it all home. If you’re a fan of flirty banter, redemption arcs, and the softest playboy in the NHL, add this one to your lineup.

I love Tessa Bailey. I’ve read a ton of her books. She writes great sports romances. I liked this story. However it did seem like she played a little too much with a thesaurus. There were SO many words that normal people do not use. I’m all about upping vocabulary by reading but from 2 athletes…. Didn’t seem realistic.

"Pitcher Perfect" is the fourth book in Tessa Bailey's "Big Shots" series and has the same wit, banter, and romance that Bailey is known for. This particular book centers around talented softball pitcher Skylar, who is desperate to have her brother's best friend (Madden) finally notice her as a woman and not just an annoying little sister. While choosing her enemy, known ladies' man Robbie, to be her partner in getting Madden's attention may seem inconceivable to some, they quickly realize that they have more in common than they ever realize. And what will Skylar do when she realize the man she's constantly thinking about is Robbie, not Madden?

This was a fun, enjoyable romance that I was able to read through quickly. I enjoyed the familial elements to this book, as well as reading about characters from previous books. I will definitely read the next book in this series! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for an ARC of this ebook. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Skylar and Robbie’s love story. I have not read any of the other interconnected stories in this series but I didn’t feel like I was missing anything. I loved the fake dating and “teach me how to ___” tropes in this book. This was a fun, quick read over the weekend and definitely recommend!

Tessa can do no wrong and she hit this one out of the park 😘 such a fun read! I binged it in 24 hours!

The best book yet in this series! This sports romance can be read as a standalone and is both spicy and funny. I could not put this down and read it in one day. Thanks to Tessa Bailey, the publisher, and NetGalley for the chance to review.

I had so much fun with this one! We follow Skylar, a collegiate softball pitcher, and Robbie, a playboy pro hockey player. In true Tessa Bailey fashion, Robbie is down bad for Skylar as soon as they meet and spends the rest of the book proving it. Skylar has always crushed on her brother’s best friend, and uses Robbie as a fake boyfriend to get noticed. Naturally, after spending so much time together, Skylar realizes her crush is misplaced. Highly recommend if you’re looking for a laugh-out-loud funny and steamy sports romance with fake dating, relationship coaching, reformed rake, and forced proximity tropes.

2.5 stars. It was charming at parts, I guess. But I’m sorry the characters meet with her overhearing him brag about last nights conquest… and if my math is correct, just 13 days later they say I love you?? And that includes four days of not speaking due to the third act break up. Sadly I could not suspend disbelief. Fan Girl Down is one of my favorite of Tessa Bailey’s, I am sad that the rest of the series hasn’t lived up to it.

Thank you to HarperCollins and Net Galley for this complimentary eArc i. exchange for an honest review.

This was my first Tessa Bailey book and im now going back to read her other books. If you are into tropes with sports,fake dating, and HEA you will love this. I enjoy that the 3rd act conflict not being too dramatic as some make them to be. I would recommend this!

I received an advanced reader's copy of Pitcher Perfect, and it was amazing! Tessa Bailey never fails to make me giggle with her sharp dialogue and swoony, chaotic characters. This book was the perfect mix of flirty, heartfelt, and fun. The chemistry between the leads was on point, and I loved every minute of their banter. I can't wait for the next Tessa Bailey book she always delivers!

This is a quintessential Tessa Bailey book. It's cheesy, dirty, predictable and you absolutely won't be able to out it down. Seriously, I have enjoyed her books for many years and find it fitting that every new book has the same level of cheese and smut as before. Can't wait for the next one.. and they next 10!

Thank you netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pitcher Perfect by Tessa Bailey is perfection and dare I say, my favorite thus far? It's addictive and fun!

I loved her sport romance series so when I saw she would be adding another book to the series I was thrilled and it did not disappoint. I love a good sport romances and I liked how she mixed hockey and softball and made them both athlete and then we throw in spicy lessons and a playboy that gets brought to his knees and he's down bad obsessed? Oh I love him. It was so fun, flirty and full of banter. Their dynamic was so tension filled and playful that keeps you giddy the entire time and the mouth on that man? Oh Tessa Bailey knows how to write spice that will have you blushing. I love how they made each other better and balance each other and how they want to be better, especially the way he knows she's it for him and doesn't just say it but proves it to her and I also loved seeing familiar faces again. its such a fun swoony book and a must read!

I swore I wasn’t going to read the follow up to dream girl drama because that book was one of the worst I’ve read in a while. HOWEVER. As a former college softball player, i HAD to read this. HAD TO. Books are never written about female softball players. And this was perfect. Totally worth it. Softball player, fake dating and a hot as sin professional hockey player? Yes, yes and more yes. Skylar and Robbie were legit perfection and their chemistry was 🔥🔥🔥 seriously, such and easy read. I flew through this and loved every second.