Catch Her If You Can Review (Big Shots, #5)

Hello, all!

Let's chat about Catch Her If You Can by Tessa Bailey.

Pub Date: 1-20-26
Adult - Romance

Madden Donahue left Ireland and a bad home situation when he was a teenager and was taken in by his aunt in Rhode Island. Madden was quickly swept up in this new way of life and instantly taken by Eve Mitchell. Madden fell hard and fast for Eve, but she wanted nothing to do with him. The pair became close friends, but Madden has always dreamt of more. Now, Madden has just signed a lucrative deal as the new catcher for the New York Yankees, and has a proposition Eve is hard-pressed to deny.

Growing up as the daughter of a strip club owner, Eve Mitchell became used to being the town pariah. Hearing the crude jokes and seeing the judgment on everyone's faces had become second nature, so Eve leaned into her reputation by turning her father's club into a burlesque hall. Already drowning in debt, Eve's sister unexpectedly left her to care for her niece and nephew, leaving Eve scrambling for support. So, when Madden proposes that the pair get married so she can get health benefits, Eve agrees, but only if they keep it secret so her reputation doesn't affect Madden's career. But the pair have been harboring feelings for one another for years, and it doesn't take long before their pretend marriage begins to feel very real.

This had many elements I love in a romance book. Marriage of convenience? Check. A hot, protective Irish man? Check. Years of mutual pining? Double check. Based on all that, I was ready for this to be my favorite book in the series, but sadly, that wasn't the case. It wasn't bad, but it was just so meh. I liked Eve and Madden enough, but never felt connected to either of them. One of my issues with Bailey's writing is that it sometimes lacks emotional depth, making it feel like her books were written by a horny teenager, and that was the case here. There was a lot of history between Eve and Madden, but it still felt very surface-level. They also got married because of her niece and nephew but the kids were barely part of the plot. Most of the conflict was also of Eve's making due to her insecurities, which became repetitive. It was still a decent, quick read, but it was definitely my least favorite in the series.

Rating: 3/5

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