This book was so cute!

FMC Sierra is the brand new pitcher for a major league baseball team. She’s the first woman to be called up to the majors. She gets placed on a team with her idol, MMC Mateo. He is the grumpy team captain who is chasing a World Series ring while trying to hold his body together long enough to stay in his position as catcher. She has one rule: she doesn’t date baseball players. As you can imagine, hijinx ensue.

Sierra is a totally bad*ss character who you definitely want to root for. Mateo is such a sweetheart; you want to root for him as well and the way that he develops in his relationship with Sierra is super special. 

The plot is well paced, and, if sometimes predictable, still  engaging. The dramatic tension of the book is interesting. It doesn’t go where I thought it was going to go given that we are dealing with celebrity athletes. I know nothing about baseball and I was still able to follow the plot and feel like I was invested in the outcomes.

There is definite tension between the MCs from the very beginning. They have great banter and it’s a bit of a slow burn…until it’s not. The spice is pretty spicy and there are some explicit k!nk elements. I appreciated the emphasis on practicing safe 🐝DSM. And I felt like I learned some things 😂. I give it 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

There is lots of diverse representation. Both main characters are bi. They are both people of color (she’s Latinx American and he’s Filipino American). And we see their extended families as secondary characters, who are also people of color and include queer characters. Mateo‘s body is basically succumbing to the wear and tear of being a catcher in the major leagues for 13 years and so we get some chronic pain representation as well.

Overall, this was such a cute little read. I already had the sequel on my TBR and now I’m even more excited to read it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25 / 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️