The love I have for this series knows no bounds!! This was another home run and it just made my day reading it. This series is seriously where Tessa Bailey shines.

Robbie was a minor character from the previous two books in the Big Shots series. We (the reader) first meet him in The Au Pair Affair (Book 2), affectionately named as part of the duo “Orgasm Donors.” That’s just silly Tessa Bailey humor for you, but if you find that name cringe, then I don’t recommend this book. Robbie lives up to that name, but when we meet him in “Pitcher Perfect,” he’s still reveling it up as a bachelor rookie hockey player. With pride. Until he meets Skylar, the sister of the baseball player that Robbie and his hockey teammates supposedly hate because of some hockey/baseball rivalry. The banter was enjoyable and interesting for sure, but it felt a tad childish. At least in the beginning. But hey — that’s her writing and I personally like humor in romance books. (When the time is right.) We meet Robbie as this bachelor enjoying his lifestyle, but as soon as he lays his eyes on Skylar, and then agrees to a fake dating plot to make her crush jealous, there’s this radical shift to Robbie only having eyes for one woman the rest of his life. That switch felt like the insta love trope to me, and although it took a while for Robbie to say the word love, I still found myself difficult to believe their instant attraction. However, it was Skylar’s resistance to Robbie’s advances, but the progression of her feelings for the rookie hockey player that kept the romance somewhat of a slow burn. The use of the fake dating trope helped shape the story’s purpose: Skylar and Robbie’s romance.

I didn’t really enjoy the “third act breakup” in the end. I found it to be incredibly pointless. I won’t spoil what happened, but it could’ve been avoided. The resolution and happily ever after ended the story well, but how it led to the resolution was irrelevant. It gave a complete 180 to Skylar and Robbie’s character developments — and their relationship. It threw me for a loop and it made me slightly upset.

I found the conflict to be lacking. What was stopping from them being together? Robbie’s bachelor lifestyle? His sudden feelings for her, and Skylar questioning whether his feelings were true? Robbie’s inability to commit? Skylar’s crush on her brother’s best friend, Madden? I couldn’t decide which it was.

What made the book shine was all the things that Robbie and Skylar did for each other. Robbie passing out Boston University shirts to Skylar’s entire family. Robbie saving Skylar from drowning in a lake. Skylar scheduling in times for Robbie to “teach” her intimate moments, subtly letting Robbie know that she is interested in Robbie. Skylar only having eyes for Robbie, even when Madden was in the room. Skylar ditching her “not date” with Madden to go back to her parents’ house and wait for Robbie. Skylar going to save the kite in the tree from Robbie’s childhood story. All of these parts of the book contributed to the larger plot and purpose of this book: Skylar and Robbie’s happily ever after.

If you told the person I was who just finished The Au Pair Affair that Robbie, one half of the “Orgasm Donors,” was getting his own book, she would’ve laughed in your face. When Tessa first announced this book, I knew I wanted to read it — a baseball/softball and hockey romance? Sign me up. And I did. I liked it — just like with her past books, even books I supposedly didn’t like as much as some of the four and five star books by her, I found this to be enjoyable, hilarious, romantic, and spicy. A classic Tessa Bailey book.

Would I recommend? If you like humor and witty jokes sandwiched in with spicy scenes, then you’ll like this one.

Rating: 3.5/5

From their very first meeting on the pitcher’s mound that did not go well, you knew Skylar and Robbie were going to challenge each while also falling quickly for each other in this fake dating, teach me romance book between a softball pitcher and a hockey player. Robbie was just that kind of crazy to agree to be Skylar’s new teammate for this family competition week while also helping her make her long time crush jealous.

The veterans called it when they said Robbie was going to have a hard time not falling for Skylar because that’s exactly what he did. He wanted to know everything about Skylar while showering her with the unwavering support and encouragement she’s always wanted. Skylar tried so hard to keep her initial opinion about Robbie in the forefront of her mind but once she got to know him she realized just how wrong she was and how much she liked being around him.

This is my second favorite book in the series right behind Fangirl Down. I really loved Skylar and her tenacity and how vulnerable she was with Robbie because of how he made her feel. Skylar was so worried she was changing Robbie and that he would resent her but he wanted to change his ways for himself and for Skylar. These two balance each other out well- they both understand their competitive jobs and what it takes but also make each other a priority because it’s what matters to them.


There’s at least one of more in the series that we know of right now and I’m definitely interested in what’s going on between the two MCs after it was sprinkled throughout this book.


Thank you @avonbooks @tessabaileyisanauthor and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for this ARC! I am always here for a fake dating trope and even more so when the FMC Skylar is trying to get her brother’s best friend to notice her by fake dating the hot shot hockey player, Robbie. When Robbie agrees to team up with Skylar for her family’s annual competition, she barely tolerates his BS while he tries to win her over. Sparks fly and soon Skylar is wondering if she is chasing after the wrong guy. Thanks for another great one Tessa!

This book was a good time! I really love when a guy is obsessed from the start and has to win a girl over, and this book delivered on that. I also liked how much we saw of the FMC’s family. I didn’t love the back and forth conflicts towards the end because then the make-up then felt rushed and unrealistic to me. But overall, I enjoyed this book and read it in a day!

Tessa Bailey will A L W A Y S do it for me. The flirting and banter in this book !!! was hitting me straight in the chest and keeping me grinning.

This was definitely insta-love, BUT his immediate affection and want to mature feels better/deeper than the normal trope.

Literally couldn’t put it down. Read in one sitting.

Robbie and Skylar meet in a hockey vs. baseball player game and sparks fly. Within hours of meeting, Robbie has agreed to be Skylar's fake boyfriend (and teammate) at her family's annual competition. A week later they are thrown together for a week of family bonding and Robbie teaching Skylar his flirty ways as she attempts to win over her real crush (and brother's best friend). Obviously, sparks fly between Robbie and Skylar as they team up to take on Skylar's family. I admit that Tessa Bailey books are really hit-or-miss for me. While this suffered from a few of the qualms that I generally have with Bailey's book, I overall really enjoyed it. Skylar and Robbie do have good chemistry, which she definitely lacks with the brother's best friend. And Robbie changes his playboy ways very quickly, so I didn't have to suffer many "orgasm donor" jokes. However, like some other Bailey books, this book moves fast! The characters go from meeting to in love within two weeks of first laying eyes on each other. That isn't always a bad thing, but given they are really only getting to know each other for a few days before declaring their love, it feels a little absurd. Robbie, specifically, falls fast. Right after laying eyes on Skylar he is asking her to coffee and pledging to change his playboy ways. (Again, thankfully it ends the bad jokes, but you have spoken 10 words to her and are pledging your heart to her?!?) Even with the rapid descent into love, I really enjoyed the book. It has classic Tessa Bailey banter and Skylar and Robbie are fun characters that you want to root for.

3.5 stars

I’ve read just about every Tessa Bailey book, fan girl down is my favorite and unfortunately since then I feel like the writing has steadily gone down. This one however brought me back to thoroughly enjoying Tessa’s books. The banter and spice are great. The nicknames could be a bit much and repetitive at times but nothing too annoying. Robbie and Skylar are adorable and a great time. The family weekend was a nice backdrop for our lovebirds.

This is my favorite book in the series! Robbie and Skylar start out as enemies, but he falls for her so hard. I also love that he has red hair! Robbie is a hockey player who is trying to reform his playboy ways so that Skylar will give him a chance. Skylar wants to fake date Robbie so that he can help her win over her childhood crush. While they spend time together, Robbie's feelings for Skylar grow, and she starts to develop feelings for him. They may be opposites, but they find their way to each other. It's a slow burn, but it gets spicy!

Pitcher Perfect was so much fun! Robbie, who was a goofball when we met him in the previous books, meets his one in Pitcher Perfect and falls hard and fast.
Robbie's character arc is one of the things that works really well in this story. He mends his playboy ways, and grows from that guy, to someone who shows up for Skylar constantly, supports her, and works on himself to be a better person.
Skylar is pretty great too - she does not shy away from telling Robbie what she thinks of him, kinda mean sometimes, which Robbie absolutely loves!
I enjoyed every moment of this story: the forced proximity when they fake date, the way Robbie is honest and genuine about his feelings, the way Skylar brings out the best in him, and the undeniable chemistry between the two.
Great moments with the main characters of the previous books too! I have loved every book in this series (read them all for the first time this month, too!), and I look forward to more!

This was a really cute story and I loved how Bailey used strong female characters and several different tropes. It was cute, thoughtful, and spicy without feeling overwhelmed by tropes. This was my favorite book of hers that I've read. I will recommend it to my friends and followers.

Oh I really enjoyed this one. It's my second favorite in the series, easily, next to Fangirl Down. I related to Skyler and her type A personality, and Robbie was an amazing reformed playboy. I liked how when she called him out on his misogyny and general ick about how he spoke about women, it made him reflect and want to be better, especially better for her. Robbie also helped Skyler so much with her self esteem and loving herself for who she is, and not what her family wants her to be.

The spice and dirty talk was on point, because this is Tessa Bailey, but there was so much heart and growth that really drew me in. I read it in a day!

When Pitcher Perfect was released as a Read Now option for 24 hours on Instagram, I immediately went to the site and downloaded it. Having just read Dream Girl Drama in February, I was ecstatic when Bailey announced the next novel weeks later that the release date was a mere months away. Being able to read it that much earlier is even better.

With three other previous installments, I had some trepidation about the quality of Pitcher Perfect. Fangirl Down was a typical romantic fiction novel, whereas I loathed Au Pair Affair because of its superficial writing style and constant smut. Dream Girl Drama, however, had heart, superb characterization, and a relatively compelling conflict with respect to the protagonists’ relationship. Thus, I was worried that Bailey’s inconsistency would befall Pitcher Perfect too. Indeed, for the first handful of chapters, Robbie’s dialogue is not very believable re: his emotions and the fake dating relationship between him and Skylar was written in a very trope-like/mediocre fan fiction manner (which is unfortunate, given I could feel the zing from the few seconds of their first interaction in Dream Girl Drama). However, as the plot unfolded and Skylar began to reconsider who Robbie was, it was as if a different author started writing and everything quickly fell into place.

There is a lot of soul in Pitcher Perfect. While some of the dialogue during the sex scenes is very cheesy and off-putting, the relationship that develops is probably one of the healthiest I’ve ever read in a novel. Therefore, everything else compensates for those brief moments of cheese (unlike with Burgess closer to 40 in Au Pair Affair, perhaps the lines Robbie says are more indicative of the kinds of statements his generation might make?). Pitcher Perfect’s plot is simple too— it’s almost as if Bailey realized characterization matters more and purposely chose to create a conflict based on the human psyche and condition, rather than an external stimulus.

All in all, I loved this novel and hope Bailey will follow it up with Madden’s story (fingers crossed for continuous flashbacks or dual timelines).

This was a bananas bonkers story. It went from zero to 1000 in just a few chapters and while completely unbelievable it wasn't a bad read.

Things I liked: I really enjoyed how much Robbie supported Skyler; it was easy to see that she needed someone unequivocally on her side and I loved that her family got the wake up call that they needed. I thought Robbie and Skyler had decent chemistry together and it was mostly clear why they were so into each other from the start.

Things I didn't like: The insta-love/lust was a bit over the top and the timeline was way too fast. <spoiler>Declaring they loved each other and moving in with each other all in about two weeks was just way too much. </spoiler> Additionally, while I absolutely think people can change and realize they want to better themselves, it felt entirely unrealistic that after one short conversation Robbie was all in on abandoning how he been previously living and acting. I can often happily suspend disbelief while reading this was a bit too over the top for me. Additionally, while it's clear that there's teasing about who the couple will be for the next book, it felt distracting and almost forced into the story.

All that said, this felt like a typical Tessa Bailey novel that was fun if ridiculous but unfortunately didn't quite hit for me. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon for the eARC - all opinions are my own.

I just finished reading "Pitcher Perfect" and absolutely loved it! After a few thrillers, it was exactly the lighthearted romance I was looking for. While it was a bit predictable, that's often part of the charm of a good romance novel. Tessa Bailey is definitely my go-to author when I want a quick and engaging read.

The Big Shots series by Tessa Bailey never disappoints! It delivers hot sports romance, familiar tropes that feel fresh, plenty of spice, and witty banter. Pitcher Perfect—book 4 in the series—was the fastest read of the four for me. It brought all the fun with much less angst than the earlier books and made for an incredibly enjoyable 4-star read.

If you read Dream Girl Drama earlier in 2025, you might remember the baseball scene where the Boston Bearcats are challenged to a friendly game by supporting character Elton. Pitcher Perfect picks up from there, following Elton’s sister Skyler and her meet-cute with one of the “Orgasm Donors,” Robbie Corrigan. (IYKYK if you’ve read books 1–3—but if you haven’t, don’t worry; you can jump in here!) Robbie gets his redemption arc, while Skyler introduces us to her quirky family—and of course, Tessa Bailey brings her signature blend of fun and chaos.

Thank you, Tessa Bailey, for another puzzle piece in this delightful world. I really hope this isn’t the end of the Big Shots series—I’d love to stay in this world a bit longer!

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Harper Voyager Publishers for the opportunity to read and review this ARC of Pitcher Perfect by Tessa Bailey.

#PitcherPerfect #TessaBailey #NetGalley #booktok #bookstagram #books #booklover #bookrecommendations #bookish #bookworm #reading #bookreview #bookaddict #booknerd #readersofinstagram #bookcommunity #romancebooks #bookblogger #romance #bookshelf #bibliophile #reader #bookrecs #kindleunlimited #booksofinstagram #bookclub #bookphotography #booklovers #realtorreads #soldbyjori #livingonthehill

Thank you Netgalley and Avon for letting me read this book early, I was going to combust if I didn’t have a copy in my hands!!!

This book filled my heart up with yellow kites, like butterflies, all the way to bursting. I fall for all of Tessa’s mmc’s, but oh my gosh…the amount of highlights this book has. Talk about a red letter read, every THOUGHT this man had I was swooning over. There was just massive amounts of support, and consideration, and care shown on both sides throughout the story, and I wasn’t even worried at the last bit of the book, because I just knew these characters couldn’t live very long without each other. This book was perfect to me!!!!! 😭

I loved this enemies to lovers, fake relationship, he falls first romance! I think it takes my top spot in all Tessa’s books so far…

What can I say? Tessa Bailey’s books are pure fun. They have the perfect amount of spice. I read two of the other books in the series and this one was just as good. I definitely plan on reading book #2.

Skylar meets Robbie at a rival baseball game, hockey players against baseball players. Skylar over hears Robbie bragging about his sexcapades and hates him immediately. He hits on her and it starts a brawl. He nets her that if he gets on first base they have to go out for coffee. He proceeds to lean into the pitch and they go for coffee. She decides that fake dating him will help get her noticed by her childhood friend, who happens to be her brother’s best friend. She takes him home to compete in an annual competition her family holds. She sets out a plan for him to give her dating lessons.

I love a fake dating, forced proximity book. I was worried I wouldn’t like Robbie initially but that changes quickly. I loved Skylar’s obsession with planners as a fellow planner. I love that instead of flowers Robbie decides to give her gel pens to write in her planner. That made my heart happy! If you are looking for a fun, fluffy, sexy book this is it. I can’t wait to continue the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper for providing me a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Tessa Bailey has done it again! Every book in her Big Shots series has been amazing and this one is one of her best yet! A perfect mix of swoon and spice, Tessa Bailey never misses!