This second-chance romance is an absolute home run! The chemistry between Razor and Ashton is electric, with tension crackling from the moment they reunite. As they navigate old regrets and a rekindled connection, unexpected betrayal from a trusted friend add even more emotional stakes, making their journey even more intense. The sports backdrop adds an exciting layer, but at its heart, this is a story about love, growth, and second chances. Every stolen glance and heated exchange feels incredibly real, and the mix of passion, angst, and drama makes this book impossible to put down! Loved it!

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

love a good sports story and this one didnt disappoint

razor has retired from softball so when she is approached by her crush ashton to play again... though she does refuse at first how can she turn down her crush.....

and as they begin to work together again feelings start to appear.....

but the team have a few issues that need sorting out plus is there someone close by who is causing trouble

its an interesting read and though i know nothing about softball i thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading more from this author

Before I get into my review of “Coming Up Clutch”, I’d like to thank NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the eARC.

This book has some really important themes (trauma, SA (not on the page), mental health, etc. so make sure to check TWs before reading!

This book felt kind of YA-ie to me for a while until towards the end, which I kind of enjoyed!

As someone who knows absolutely nothing about softball, I still enjoyed this book!

This was a sweet romance, that I’d be tempted to classify as second-chance adjacent. We meet Ashton and Razor, who played softball for the same university but only fleetingly overlapped during their time in university, only now Ashton is a coach and Razor returns to fill an opening on the team. The dynamic between these two characters is good, and both characters seemed realistic and relatable. I’m not an athlete so can’t speak to how realistic the whole scenario about Razor returning to play is. Overarching spotlights on trauma, grief, mental health, and recovery/retirement all were covered with care. I would enjoy reading another book set in this same universe.

This is a slow burn story mainly focused on sports ( softball). I don't know much about softball but I thought the author did a great job bringing the story to life. I loved the main characters Ashton and Kelly aka Razor. as well as the secondary ones. I thought there were likekable and relatable. Overal;l I enjoyed the story.

Thanks to the publisher Bold Strrokes Books, NetGalley and the author Anna Gram

Coming up clutch, is a story about softball. Now I am not an expert nor really know anything about softball so if you enjoy the sport this is definitely for you as really this is central to the story. We meet Razor who gets an opportunity to retell her story as a catcher on her uni softball team.

Razor is a really interesting character she is troubled and tormented by a sexual assault (not to her and not on page) that ended up getting her shut out by her team for doing the right thing. We learn about her past, who she is and rightly what she stands for.

There is a wide range of characters, coaches, teammates, family and new friends but the romantic focus is on Ashton where the dual POV starts. It is definitely not a solid sports romance but it has its moments but is strictly professional until the last few chapters where honestly it felt very YA prior to that point, I would have liked more but the real focus is softball and in reality mental health caused by trauma. There is further trauma caused including some questionable choices by a further coach which that have a deep impact on Razor and the team.

It is an enjoyable read but for me felt too long and in places slow, I really wanted the book to hurry up and get to the point! Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for giving me an opportunity to read prior to realise on the 15th April.

This was my first book by this author and I enjoyed it for the most part. I love softball so this captured my attention from the start, but fell short of what I was expecting.

Kelly "Razor" Mitchell left softball behind 5 years ago after a series of incidents and is now focused on her business and everything that entails until Ashton Sharpe waltz's back into her office and her life and gives her a chance to play again if only for a season.

Ashton Sharpe has a lot of regrets, but not giving Razor a chance was one of the biggest. When she has a chance to be back in Razor's life, she jumps at the opportunity, but its not all sunshine and rainbows for either of them.

I do think there should be a warning for assault even though its only talked about for the most part. This a super super slow burn with a decent amount of angst and revolves around softball which I love. It dragged on and on in some parts, but it did have some suspense woven throughout.

Overall, it was enjoyable. I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoy a good women’s sports story, but unfortunately this was not a favorite. The story seemed slow to progress and the writing focused on a lot of details of the game versus relationships. I would rather have liked more of a focus on the relationship dynamic between Kelly (Razor) and Ashton. The sabatoge elements of the story also weren’t the strongest which made this a difficult book to finish. 2.5 stars

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Book and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.


Kelly aka Razor a nickname that she doesn’t really like she was a college freshman and upcoming softball player who was rising but she left when her mother got sick and because she tried to stand up for a fellow player and got outcasts because of it and she always suspected the coach she went to did it. Razor have felt guilt for years she feels she push her fellow player when she wasn’t ready. Ashton is fellow player who was on same team as Kelly but was a senior there was a spark between them but Ashton turns Razor down and that one regret she has. Ashton is one of the coaches who needs Razor help because one there player gets in trouble. Razor at first doesn’t want to do it but Ashton gets her to agree there is some tension with the team at first with Razor but eventually it’s get better especially when she forms a bond with one the team players Summer. Ashton and Razor still have that spark but both are aware that nothing can happen while they are coach and player but things get complicated when Razor gets a complaint against her and she fears she be alone again after trying to do the right thing seven years ago. This was such a good read because I like that the author have Ashton talk to Razor instead of jumping to conclusions when someone is trying to sabotage their relationship and Razor reputation even though she had some doubts. I like that Razor have such fight for everyone but for herself and l like that this time she realizes she has a lot people in her corner and she won’t be alone and it’s time fight and it’ll never amazes how people let their ambitions override doing what’s right even if you have to do it alone.

Despite not knowing much about softball I was prepared to give this book a chance, perhaps the story around the game was worth the time I spent reading the book. Unfortunately, more than 80% of the book was about details about the game, 10% about a Person trying to destroy everything for Razor and 10% about the love story between Razor and Ashton that in my mind should have much more of a focus. On top of that the writing really was dragging and I had a hard time to finish the book.

If you are really interested in softball this book may be worth to read but if not, it is probably not the book for you.

In Coming Up Clutch we meet Kelly “Razor” Mitchell, a former college softball player who left the sport seven years earlier and her former teammate, Ashton Sharpe. Back in their playing days, Ashton had turned down Razor’s bold attempt at asking her out and this has become one of Ashton's biggest regrets in life. When the two women are brought back together as a result of a crisis in the university softball team, the sparks are still there. The problem is that Ashton is now staff at the university and an assistant coach on the team while Razor has been brought back onto the team as a player. This new dynamic makes it problematic for anything to happen between them but this certainly doesn’t stop the sparks from flying.

On top of this there are tension in the team including other players who do not initially warm to the idea of Razor coming on board, Razor’s struggle to be a team member and not try to coach her teammates, and other characters plotting in the background to foil Razor’s return to the sport, much of which follows on from the initial incident seven years earlier which drove her away from playing in the first place.

What follows is a story of the developing reconnection between Ashton and Razor in an atmosphere full of jealousy, distrust, power plays and scheming. The question is whether the two women can balance their growing attraction with the need to protect Ashley’s career and to salvage Razor’s reputation. I was drawn in from the very start of the story and found it very difficult to put the book down until it was finished. I’m really hoping that there will be more works from this author in the future and I will certainly be looking out for them.

I am grateful to Anna Gram, Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC copy of Coming Up Clutch and am leaving this review voluntarily.