⚾ Bookish Thoughts
I am always down for a fake dating romance and this one did not disappoint. Robbie and Skylar were so cute together. Robbie is peak golden retriever energy and honestly impossible not to love. He was all in, and I adored how much effort he put into everything, even when Skylar tried to keep her distance.

I felt a lot for Skylar. She is the ultimate perfectionist and carries so much internal shame. Her family was intense. The constant competition would have sent me over the edge. Way too much pressure.

I mostly enjoyed how the book wrapped up. I did not love the third act breakup. Skylar felt really immature in how she handled it. Robbie had his moments too, but he seemed to have more self-awareness. Still, the epilogue was very cute and I will definitely be continuing the series.

🏒 What You Can Expect
• Fake dating
• Enemies to lovers
• Golden retriever MMC
• Competitive softball FMC
• He coaches her 😏
• Hockey Himbo MMC

📖 Final Score: 4.25 stars
📅 Pub Date: September 9, 2025
Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

Baseball vs hockey hurt my heart .

Robbie really was sweet but it was impossible to believe “Orgasm Donor” changed his ways so quickly. His entire personality was being a f*ck boy.

The competition was very funny, but I wish we had gotten more of Skylar playing her actual sport.

Thanks to netgalley and Avon for the ARC.

4.5 stars

Once again, Tessa Bailey proves that she is at the top of the game for a reason. (She even had me swooning over a red-headed hero, which hardly ever happens!) Pitcher Perfect plays to all of Bailey’s strengths, though this time Skylar is the “grumpy” and Robbie is the “sunshine.”

I personally love a black cat/golden retriever combo, and this one does not disappoint. I enjoyed the banter, the wit, the steam, and the cast of characters. And it left me wanting more stories from the characters we haven’t gotten books from yet. This will be a yearly re-read for sure!

All in all, this is the… perfect… addition to the Big Shots universe. I can’t wait to see who’s on deck next!

I didn't like Fangirl Down much, but part of what bothered me was the infantalization of Josephine's diabetes. This was better but I just don't care about sports that much lol.

I love books that center around sports and athleticism, so I was excited to pick this one up. Both Skylar and Robbie are interesting, relatable characters that I found myself rooting for early on. At times it did feel like certain behaviors, habits, and coping mechanisms that would likely take longer to fully shake were changed super quickly, and that felt a little unrealistic - as did the one week timeline of the majority of the story. But at the same time, I don't often read romance novels purely for their realism :) The writing is solid, I love seeing the expansion of this series, and I thoroughly enjoyed the supporting characters right alongside the main characters. There's a medium amount of spice, and overall it was a great read!

I have throughly enjoyed Tessa Bailey’s sports romance books and this is no exception. I love that this took place near the end of her last book. I enjoyed reading the first interactions between Robbie and Skylar at the baseball field. I thought that having the two main characters being athletes was a nice touch that I didn’t know I wanted. It starts with her being in love with her brothers best friend, and using Robbie to make him jealous. And Robbie doesn’t want to never see her again and also change her opinion of him, so he goes along with it. They go to her parents house for a yearly competition where she and Robbie will compete against her parents, brother and her brothers best friend. They start out as a team and Robbie quickly realizes he like her, and wants her to pick him. Skylar starts to realize that Robbie really sees her, more than her family, by buying her favorite food and showing up her in college’s gear to support her. She eventually realizes that her crush might just be that, because it’s never been as easy with him as it is with Robbie. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to Mailer’s book!

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the ARC!

I'll be honest...the writing in this book is so cringe. I've read several other Tessa Bailey books and this might be my last. The characters were so immature, it was hard to read. Adults who act like teenagers? No thanks.

Another cute installment in the Big Shots series by Tessa Bailey and this did not disappoint. A misunderstood hockey player who thinks he can have any woman he wants has met his match with this spitfire softball player and she makes a bet with him to go her families competition under the guise of trying to win the interest of her crush, who happens to be her brothers best friend. What is the real prize? Let the games begin!

It’s cute, fast-paced, light-hearted and spicy! I don’t think Skylar would be needing those lessons anyway. I always like it when MMC falls first because it made the whole story cuter and sweeter.

Tessa is a master of rom-coms full of fun banter, swoony men, and touch on deeply held emotions. This book was a fun easy read, when I was desperate for something light and spicy.

Robbie had me completely hooked. His eager golden retriever energy is contagious and easily morphed into an irresistible spicy coach. I loved his total commitment to everything Skyler from the very start. Once she was the goal he never wavered and he listened so well.

Skyler is a buttoned up overachiever who is rightly skeptical of Robbie from the start. She sees herself as a bit of a loner in her social circles and her family but is still fierce and strong when defending herself. Her motivations change from the beginning to the end of the book and it’s great to see her progression.

It was fun to see the characters from the other books and I’ll bet we get even more from the Big Shots series!

The spice (as always with Tessa) was phenomenal. There is a spicy list! There is coaching! There are mountains of tension! There is a scene in the rain! And of course Robbie has a heck of a mouth on him!

I really enjoyed this cute and whimsy read. I loved the MMC and FMC as well as their dynamic. I felt that the plot unfolded at the perfect pace and while it was sporty, it was annoyingly so. I also really loved the banter and the personalities to all the characters. This book really was the perfect read.

Fun, silly and romantic - this is classic Tessa Bailey, focused more on character development than some of her other books, which I do enjoy!

What an amazing addition to this series!! I absolutely loved Robbie and Skylar. I didn't expect to love Robbie's character as much as I did. He was absolutely the sweetest. I loved it
Skylar and Robbie chemistry was off the charts from the very beginning. I loved seeing their relationship develop slowly through the book. It was absolutely amazing.
I loved all of the side characters introduced. I hope they all get books.
Loved this! Can't wait for the next one.

Thank you Netgalley, Tessa Bailey, and Avon publishing for approving me for this ARC! This is a completely unbiased review.

I have loved everything I read by Tessa Bailey and this series is one of my favorites by her. I am so glad we got Robbie’s story I absolutely adored his character. As soon as I found out this was a fake dating trope I swooned and it did not disappoint. I’m not one to drool over a red bearded orgasm donor but alas I was a puddle over this man. Also the teach me side trope was chefs kiss and the spice in this was top notch.

Skylar’s character is one of my favorites FMC’s in a while. Sometimes I have a hard time connecting to FMC’s but something about her instantly made me like her. Their banter was chefs kiss and I don’t think there is a single thing I didn’t like about this book. I also love that we got little hits of burgess in this.

I adored this book and everything Tessa Bailey writes turns to gold!

Pitcher Perfect was a great next installment of this series! Tessa Bailey's stories are always funny and this did not disappoint. I'm a sucker for a good insta-love story lately and Pitcher Perfect definitely met that requirement. I did feel like the relationships in the book were not super deep or fleshed out, not just between Robbie and Skylar, but also with their families and friends. We know some of Robbie's friends from previous books in the series, but Skylar is a mostly new character and I would have appreciated a deeper look at her relationships with her family and Eve, her best friend (although I suspect we will get that in a future book). Robbie's relationship with Mailer was amusing, as always. I liked learning that there's more to the two of them than we've been given glances of in previous stories. Overall, a cute and fun read!

A lot of fun but with some serious heart. Insta love on the part of the MMC, but I really didn't mind. He shows up for our heroine. Her family isn't bad, although a little intense, but he knows how to protect her feelings from them and that was really sweet. I like Tessa Bailey books, and for the record this has a good spice level, but not crazy 5 alarm chili spice like her books occasionally do. I know that matters to some people. This one is a winner.

I’ve never not loved a Tessa Bailey book. And Pitcher Perfect? Total home run ⚾️ (See what I did there? 😉) 🩷 Give me fake dating, a cocky/playboy hockey player, and an FMC who does not put up with his BS, and I’m a goner. Robbie had me swooning and giggling. Don’t even get me started on those spicy lessons 🥵

Robbie and Skylar’s chemistry was instant, and I loved watching their relationship blossom. Was their relationship a little fast for me and a touch of insta-love? Yes, but I still enjoyed it. Another fun, flirty, feel-good read from the queen of rom-coms! 💕

If you love:
⚾️ Fake dating
🏒 Hockey playboy MMC
⚾️ Great banter
🏒 He falls first (and hard!)
⚾️ Spicy lessons 👀
…then add this to your tbr.

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Pitcher Perfect comes out September 9!

Thank you Avon, Harper Voyage, Tessa Bailey, and NetGalley for this arc!

This was such a fun, quick read. I absolutely loved Skylar and Robbie’s characters. There are so many cute scenes between the two of them. Add in lots of spice! 🌶️ This is definitely a must read.

Tessa Bailey’s Big Shots series has been an absolute home run for me, and Pitcher Perfect is no exception! Boston Bearcats rookie Robbie Corrigan is living the dream—women, making it to the NHL, living his best friend—until he meets Skylar Paige, division 1 softball pitcher, who is fully unimpressed by him. But when her teammate for her family’s competition backs out, she needs a partner and a way to get the attention of her brother’s best friend, and Robbie seems to be the best solution for both. But he can’t get enough of her and the more lessons in flirting they go through, the less fake it feels. This book has everything! It’s enemies-to-lovers/opposites attract, it’s fake dating, it’s a sports romance. I highlighted so much in this book! I loved how obsessed Robbie is with Skylar and how deep he falls for her. And the way he lifts her—Robbie is the new dream guy! And Skylar is full of competitive energy and drive. Their banter and steam is so good! These characters just do so much to show up for each other. Their conversations and intimacy felt so genuine and sweet. I was just addicted to this book! I just had so much fun with this book, and I loved it!

Devoured this one in less than day. This one is definitely my favorite so far in the series. Wish I had Skylar’s confidence and Robbie really surprised me with how much I like him. I felt like the humor in this one was also perfect. Loved little moments from past characters as well. Overall love this book! Go Team Rocket and Redbeard!