So I have been a big fan of everything I've read from Katie Cotugno but I have the same issue with this one that I've had with the others - I wish it were longer! There are always things I wish had more chance to breathe and build up to and the ending always feel too abrupt. Aside from that, I enjoyed this one, although I do wish it wasn't so heavily influence by Taylor and Travis. At times it was Swifting a little too much and that pulled me out of the story.

Short, sweet- I wanted more! Overall a binge able , from the headlines romance! Thank you NetGalley!

This was a quick read. I didn’t love it but somehow I ended up finishing by it. I liked it more at the start but as the story went on I found myself getting more and more annoyed at the characters. It was obvious that in at least some way this was inspired by Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce but there were some changes in the characters, mostly to the Travis Kelce character. The FMC was obviously inspired at least in some way by Taylor Swift but the characterization of her was almost one dimensional. She seemed to have very little agency over her own life, in a way that almost felt unrealistic considering who the character was clearly inspired by. The MMC was slightly better but mostly because there was at least some two-dimensionality about him.

"Heavy Hitter" by Katie Cotugno is a fun, fast-paced romance that pairs international pop star Lacey Logan with MLB catcher Jimmy Hodges. The story, reminiscent of real-life Taylor/Travis coupledom, dives into the complexities of their relationship as they navigate fame, media scrutiny, and personal insecurities. I found Lacey a bit self-absorbed and the plot occasionally too smutty, but appreciated the dual POV and the chemistry between the characters. Despite its brevity and some underdeveloped parts, this lighthearted read offers a delightful mix of pop superstardom and sports romance, making it a perfect summer escape. 3.5/5 stars.

This was overall a fun little read. I like that it’s essentially a baseball version of Taylor and Travis. I know some people stated it was too smutty but to be honest that’s not really a thing to me 😂

This book is for literally anyone who's said or thought anything about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's love story being straight out of a rom-com ... just with baseball not football. Like, it's giving Baseball Tayvis. This book was a rare novel that I started and finished in one day, OK fine a few hours, because I literally could not put it down. I had to discover what would happen next. The language is fun, quippy and snappy that had me so intrigued to keep reading. The book, told in dual first-person points of view, has banter for, like DAYS. And I mean that. I even chucked a few times, like honestly. Overall, this book reads super quickly but in the best way. It is absolutely adorable and can definitely, without a doubt cure a reading slump. My only criticism? It ends kind of abruptly where I just wanted more. Like what happens at the World Series? Does she go? Does the team win? Does he follow her on her Europen tour during his off-season and what would that be like? Come on, Katie Cotugno, can you please give the people a sequel or an epilogue? It's, like, a need-to-know basis right now, just saying.

Yuck. I don't have much to say other than this was the most disappointing read of the year for me. It was pure smut, toxicity and immatureness all wrapped into one story that had no depth, plot or character growth.
I love sports romance novels and I love spice in them, but this seemed like a sex novel with a side of baseball tossed in. I feel like I still know nothing about the character's and what drives them, and definitely don't think they should have ended up together in the end. Everything was SO rushed and toxic.
Will not be picking up another title from this author. Very disappointed.

I was provided the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel courtesy of Harper Perennial, Netgalley and the author.

This novel had a great premise, and I adored the baseball romance aspect. I really did enjoy the characters and their romance, however I felt that the delivery of this novel was one that is not for me. There was the use of third person pretty often throughout this novel and I typically do not finish novels once I hit the 3rd person perspective.

This novel is cute don’t get me wrong as it has a celebrity/sports player romance very much Taylor Swift like. The romance relationship was cute in theory but the “smut” was cringe. The sex scenes were very odd, and felt very choppy/rushed. The terminology used was also not for me. This is a shorter read however it did not hit the mark for me. Had I not been wanting to leave a review I would have DNF’d this novel.

I would recommend this to more of fans of Tessa Bailey and fans that love quick sports romance reads.

Are you kidding me? Celebrity and baseball rom com? Yes please! Honestly, my two favorite themes in one book! This was such a quick read for me! I ate it up! 3.5 stars!

When spotting this novel on the “shelves” of NetGalley, I was immediately drawn to the cover and title: Heavy Hitter. I’ve been enjoying sports romance / romcoms lately and baseball seemed like the next sport to visit on my journey!

Heavy Hitter is a cute, fast-paced, dual POV romance novel; filled with snippets of pop superstardom and the MLB sports world. Lacey, an internationally famous musician, immediately hits it off with an MLB catcher, Jimmy, who happens to be nearing the end of his career. Will the two survive Lacey’s super fans, the media, and their own miscommunications?

This novel, and the main characters, seemed to give off the vibe of a very popular musician/athlete couple in the media. I enjoyed the similarities of this piece of fiction with the couple that are currently in the spotlight. The athlete X pop star mashup made for a fun to read plot with some added spice.
I felt the FMC, Lacey, came off a bit too conceited; at times she appeared to care more about her image and pointing out how much of a celebrity she is. Jimmy felt like a very likeable character, someone you couldn’t help but root for after his bout of self discovery.

If you’re looking for a light summer read with some sports spice, Heavy Hitter will certainly get the job done!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

International superstar Lacey starts up a relationship with professional athlete Jimmy... hmm sounds familiar (granted Jimmy's a baseball player, not a football player). They have great chemistry but navigating the perils of being in a tensions in the public eye causes some difficulties.

This book was quick, lighthearted and a fun read. I did find Lacey a bit much not taking into account Jimmy's feelings in everything and using him as a media ploy. But the same could be said for Jimmy not freaking the severity of the life Lacey leads.

Very cute and short read! This one is not super long, you could read it in one sitting if you are motivated enough. Loved the idea of a celebrity and a baseball player dating and it was executed very well!

Katie Cotugno did not disappoint one bit with Heavy Hitter!!!! My favorite Adult novel of hers so far!!!

This book was fun! dramatic! and HOT!!!! Everything I wanted from a popstar x athlete romance. It's obvious that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce were the inspo behind Lacy and Jimmy, but that inspo doesn't go beyond Lacy being the world's biggest popstar with a demanding fanbase, and Jimmy being a semi-famous athlete. Outside of that Jimmy and Lacy are their own people who I couldn't help but root for, despite their messiness at times (Katie's signature lol) Their chemistry was electric from the start and I was blushing with every spicy interaction they had.
However, one of my favorite parts of the book was how they still ran into awkward situations despite their sexual chemistry. I loved watching them overcome that awkwardness and grow comfortable with one another.
Though Lacy is so far from Taylor Swift I did appreciate the commentary on the stakes that come with being at a level of fame such as Taylor Swift or even a Beyoncé. And I also loved Jimmy's journey of knowing when to call it quits.
Overall this book was so much fun! A perfect summer read. No notes!

Definite no for me on this one. It was disjointed and completely without emotion. It focused more on logistics than actual feelings. It was basically Taylor Swift / Travis Kelce fan fic and not even in subtle way. It was quite short and ends so abruptly I thought something was wrong with the advance copy I was reading. Cannot recommend this at all.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.

What a fun little book. I read it in one sitting. The characters were a little underdeveloped and the plot felt a little rushed but all in all a satisfying four hours!

Heavy Hitter by Katie Cotugno is a pop-star/athlete romance a la Taylor and Travis. In this book, it’s the story of Lacey Logan, pop superstar, and Jimmy Hodges, a catcher on the Baltimore Orioles. Their romance starts after meeting in a club one night and the story takes us through their relationship as they deal with insecurities, how fame impacts their ability to develop a relationship, and making a relationship work when they are rarely in the same place at the same time.

The premise of this book was absolutely made for me, but unfortunately the execution fell flat. I felt Lacey Logan too closely resembled Taylor Swift (leaving fans Easter eggs, a four hour show, surprise songs, etc.), which made it read too much like real-people fanfiction. I also felt like the book was too short and there were parts of the story that could have been way more fleshed out, especially in the part of the book where the relationship was developing. At 250 pages, I think an additional 50 pages could have substantially improved the quality of the story.

I had high hopes for this book, with the Travis Kielce/Taylor Swift like couple. Unfortunately, both the main characters and they initial meeting felt flat to me and I just wasn’t invested in them finding romance. Unfortunately I had to DNF this book.

I really wanted to like this, but I was, unfortunately, underwhelmed by the book.

I loved the idea behind a celebrity x athlete relationship. I’m definitely someone who keeps up with celebrity gossip (do not shame me!) so I love any romance books about this, especially when one of them is clearly modeled after Taylor Swift. I’m not a Swiftie, but I’m not not a Swiftie…basically, I’m too old to identify as one, but I would totally be one if I was younger. There, I said it.

Moving on, I did like how Lacey was not always what she appeared. I liked that she was incredibly smart and always had to think in order to outwit the paps and her crazy fans, although it was super sad that she was having to deal with some of the stuff she did. I liked that she was a good girl with a sailor’s mouth. Not sure why but that juxtaposition was crazy cool to me.

When it came to Jimmy, I liked that he was “normal” in the sense of a late-thirties man. He was not described as having jaw-dropping abs or a V of any kind. Instead, he had a little bit of a tummy, thick arms, and athletic muscles. So, basically, the dream f**k-me-and-then-snuggle-me partner. I did like his snark as well, but he took it to the point of being hard to talk to instead of just funny.

There were a lot of things I felt just weren’t covered, like his drinking problem, his brother’s death, his strained relationship with his mother, her strained relationship with her mother, her relationship with her assistant, her lack of friends, and their relationship depth overall. While I enjoyed them getting to know each other over phone calls because it was super cute, I found this was the only time we got to see them interact outside of their fights in person. I wish we had a lot more interaction between them.

For those curious, the spice was closed door. Once P was in V, we were told to get the F out. Not a problem, just an observation/note for those interested.

I also felt the writing was a bit disjointed at times. I wouldn’t realize what just happened and would have to reread the prior paragraph a couple times. This mostly seemed to be at the beginning of the book but was noticeable on a few separate occasions.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Perennial and Paperbacks, and Katie Cotugno for the opportunity to read this book. The thoughts and opinions expressed above are honest and my own.

2.5 stars

This book had great potential, but it didn't quite do it for me. The idea was really good, but I didn't really like either main character that much. I didn't really feel the emotion and the feels that I want when I read a romance. Everything just felt really forced. Just a very average read.

✅ Baseball ⚾️ x popstar romance
✅ Lacey Logan, 32, international popstar in her prime (think Taylor Swift) & Jimmy Hodges, 37, baseball player (catcher) for the Baltimore Orioles in his last season before retirement
✅ If you’re enchanted by the whole Taylor-Travis romance you will enjoy this
✅ Under 300 pages
✅ lot of Ohio shoutouts - Lacey grew up in Cincinnati
🌶️: yes but partial fade to black. Meaning, if you’re picking this up for 🌶️, this is the wrong book

My biggest issue with this book is that it ends too soon 😆