Pitcher Perfect by Tessa Bailey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Boston Bearcats rookie Robbie Corrigan is living the dream. He’s made it to the NHL, his best friend/teammate and fellow “orgasm donor” is his roomie—and the women of Boston love them both. Life is sweet. That is, until he meets Skylar Paige, division 1 softball pitcher, girl least likely to take anyone’s bull…and the one member of the opposite sex immune to his charms. Robbie might be dazzled by the badass pitcher, but Skylar pegs him as a filthy player and wants nothing to do with him.

When he discovers she’s carrying a serious torch for her brother’s best friend, Robbie knows he should just go back to clubbing and whipped cream bikini parties, but he can’t seem to leave Skylar to flounder on her romantic quest to land another man. Nor can he miss out on the opportunity to spend time with her and hopefully redeem himself. Before Robbie knows it, he’s agreed to be Skylar’s fake boyfriend/love coach at an upcoming family wilderness competition where her crush will be in attendance. What could go wrong?

Through a series of contests that require them to trust each other, Robbie and Skylar grow closer and closer until their fake relationship starts to feel like the realest thing they’ve ever known and the sizzling lessons in sensuality burn out of control.

But it’s all just pretend…right?

The Planner and the Player

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💙💜💚❤️
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏
Character development: 😋😀😍🤯🥰
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Dual Narration

🎧 Audiobook Review: Pitcher Perfect (Big Shots, #4)

Author: Tessa Bailey
Genre: Sports Romance
Narrators: Teddy Hamilton and Callie Dalton

🦸🏼‍♀️ The Heroine: Skylar

Skylar is the kind of heroine you root for from page one. A Boston University fast‑pitch softball pitcher with a baseball player’s heart, she’s spent her whole life trying to measure up to a family obsessed with prestige and perfection. Her stepbrother Elton is the golden child—Brown University, baseball star, minor‑league bound—while Skylar’s acceptance to BU is treated like a consolation prize rather than the achievement it is.

Underneath her competitive drive and color‑coded planner lies a girl who’s been overlooked for so long she’s convinced she’s second best in every arena, including love. Her long‑standing crush on Madden, Elton’s best friend, is less about romance and more about longing to be chosen for once.

She’s earnest, disciplined, and quietly aching for someone to see her. And that’s exactly where Robbie comes in.

🦸🏻‍♂️ The Hero: Robbie

Robbie is the quintessential rookie hockey player—talented, charming, and coasting on a reputation as a shameless flirt. He’s new to the Boston Bearcats and desperate to prove himself, but the veterans keep him at arm’s length. His life is a mix of locker‑room teasing, shared mortgages, and casual hookups… until Skylar throws him completely off his axis.

What makes Robbie compelling isn’t just his humor or swagger—it’s the way he softens. Beneath the jokes and bravado is a man who’s been underestimated too, and watching him shift from playful troublemaker to someone who genuinely champions Skylar is one of the book’s most rewarding arcs.

📚 The Plot

A dog‑park argument about baseball spirals into a challenge game, and Elton recruits Skylar as his secret weapon. Robbie is instantly hooked—not just by her talent, but by her spark. One flirtatious bet later, they’re on a date that reveals far more than either expected.

Skylar’s upcoming family “Olympics” trip becomes the catalyst for everything. Her best friend bails, her crush Madden remains oblivious, and Robbie—ever the opportunist with a surprisingly soft heart—volunteers to be her fake boyfriend.

What starts as a scheme to make Madden jealous quickly becomes something deeper. Robbie sees Skylar’s insecurities, her ambition, her loneliness… and he steps into the role of partner, protector, and playful co‑conspirator with an ease that feels both natural and swoon‑worthy.

🌟 Strengths

• Skylar’s planner‑girl energy is perfection. Her structured “lessons” with Robbie are equal parts adorable and undeniably steamy.
• Robbie’s growth is a highlight. His transformation from boastful player to emotionally grounded, respectful partner feels earned and deeply satisfying.
• The nicknames add charm and intimacy. Rocket and Redbeard are playful, personal, and help build a believable connection between them.

💔 Limitations

• Madden is painfully flat. His lack of personality makes it hard to believe Skylar carried a torch for him for so long. He’s not toxic—just bland, which undercuts the love‑triangle tension the story tries to build.

🎙️ Narration

Teddy Hamilton and Callie Dalton deliver strong performances, with Hamilton’s gravelly warmth especially well‑suited to Robbie. The story leans heavily on Skylar’s POV, which means we get less of Robbie’s internal world than the narration team is capable of delivering. A more balanced dual POV would have elevated the emotional depth even further.

💬 Final Assessment

This audiobook shines as a playful, heartfelt sports romance with a heroine you want to hug and a hero who surprises you in the best ways. The chemistry is vibrant, the banter lands, and the emotional payoff is worth the ride. While the love‑triangle element falls a bit flat due to Madden’s lack of dimension, Skylar and Robbie’s dynamic more than compensates.

A charming, feel‑good listen perfect for fans of fake‑dating, athlete romances, and heroines who finally learn to choose themselves.

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