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3.15 AVERAGE
3.15 AVERAGE
There was a lack of chemistry between the main characters, and they were constantly either sleeping together, or fighting. There was never really a good scene with them, once we got passed the scene where they first met. Both characters were also pretty unlikeable and bland, and Jimmy seemed pretty immature even though he was in his late 30s.
It was a really short book, and could be read pretty quickly, and this may have contributed to it's shortcomings. So much could have been expanded on, detail and backstory wise, and it should have been expanded on. The writing was choppy, and would skip around a lot without giving any more details. Why are we mentioning trauma that the main characters have experienced, and then never expanding on how it may have affected them and their relationships/why they are the way that they are now and them working on it to recover from their traumas. The ending also fell quite flat, with an abrupt ending, and not really rounding off anything, and I feel like there was no character progression throughout the entire story.
I don't know if the ending has changed at all since the ARCs were sent out, but I do think that it could use some work overall, and with the ending. With the way that things were left off, I can't picture these two characters lasting much longer after the ending of this book.
Thank you to Katie Cotugno, Harper Perennial, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book. This is my honest review.
It was a really short book, and could be read pretty quickly, and this may have contributed to it's shortcomings. So much could have been expanded on, detail and backstory wise, and it should have been expanded on. The writing was choppy, and would skip around a lot without giving any more details. Why are we mentioning trauma that the main characters have experienced, and then never expanding on how it may have affected them and their relationships/why they are the way that they are now and them working on it to recover from their traumas. The ending also fell quite flat, with an abrupt ending, and not really rounding off anything, and I feel like there was no character progression throughout the entire story.
I don't know if the ending has changed at all since the ARCs were sent out, but I do think that it could use some work overall, and with the ending. With the way that things were left off, I can't picture these two characters lasting much longer after the ending of this book.
Thank you to Katie Cotugno, Harper Perennial, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book. This is my honest review.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A novel inspired by Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce, but make it baseball.
Jimmy & Lacey had great banter, but the spice could have cranked up a notch, characters could have been further developed, & the ending was lackluster.
It was an enjoyable romcom read, but I’m glad I borrowed from the library as I don’t think I’d reach for this again.
Jimmy & Lacey had great banter, but the spice could have cranked up a notch, characters could have been further developed, & the ending was lackluster.
It was an enjoyable romcom read, but I’m glad I borrowed from the library as I don’t think I’d reach for this again.
I listened to most of Heavy Hitter on the 4 hour drive back from Rhinebeck, NY, and finished it up the next day because I was invested and needed to know how it ended.
I thought it would annoy me to read a romance novel inspired by real world celebrities. I thought it would feel voyeuristic or cheap. But Heavy Hitter did a really good job, and while the female romantic lead is quite obviously inspired by Taylor Swift she is also different enough and fleshed out enough that I didn't feel like I was reading thinly veiled wish-fulfillment fanfiction. I ended up enjoying spotting the pop culture Easter eggs that were pulled from Swift's real world situations.
I found myself getting the butterflies reading about the characters overanalyzing their text messages, or talking on the phone into the wee hours of the morning about ridiculous things, and it accurately reminded me of the early days of my own relationship. The characters felt REAL, and FLAWED, and I LIKED THEM. It made me smile warmly and I probably would have kicked my feet in delight, but I was driving up an interstate highway and the highway manuals strongly discourage this.
It was also really nice to read a romance novel with protagonists solidly in their 30s.
Steam Level 5.
There were no dragons.
I thought it would annoy me to read a romance novel inspired by real world celebrities. I thought it would feel voyeuristic or cheap. But Heavy Hitter did a really good job, and while the female romantic lead is quite obviously inspired by Taylor Swift she is also different enough and fleshed out enough that I didn't feel like I was reading thinly veiled wish-fulfillment fanfiction. I ended up enjoying spotting the pop culture Easter eggs that were pulled from Swift's real world situations.
I found myself getting the butterflies reading about the characters overanalyzing their text messages, or talking on the phone into the wee hours of the morning about ridiculous things, and it accurately reminded me of the early days of my own relationship. The characters felt REAL, and FLAWED, and I LIKED THEM. It made me smile warmly and I probably would have kicked my feet in delight, but I was driving up an interstate highway and the highway manuals strongly discourage this.
It was also really nice to read a romance novel with protagonists solidly in their 30s.
Steam Level 5.
There were no dragons.
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
funny
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
very thinly veiled Taylor/Travis fanfic and i'm frankly here for it.
So funny that people are saying it was too short and cotugno didn't sew up a thousand storylines. Because that's what I LOVED about it. those people can go read a 400 page abby jiminez book and i'll be over here reading just about the romance and not everyone's relationship with their mothers.
If you can't tell me a story in under 300 pages, take it somewhere else. Katie Cotugno is welcome in this house.
So funny that people are saying it was too short and cotugno didn't sew up a thousand storylines. Because that's what I LOVED about it. those people can go read a 400 page abby jiminez book and i'll be over here reading just about the romance and not everyone's relationship with their mothers.
If you can't tell me a story in under 300 pages, take it somewhere else. Katie Cotugno is welcome in this house.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don’t know why I liked this book so much because, upon reflection, it wasn’t great. I just happened to love all the elements within it so, subjectively, this was sooo good lol. Baseball player on the verge of retirement? Super-famous pop star? Horrible communication that made me want to tear the book up? Yes, yes, and yes. And I was like okay cool this works for me.
Katie Cotugno always writes celebrity characters into her adult romances and then takes a controversial topic (in this one, parasocial relationship) to throw at them and she always does a good job. Like, we don’t know what these super-famous people are thinking but somehow Cotugno can make a really good guess.
My biggest issue with this is that I wish it were longer and dove deeper into the psychology of the characters and established their relationship more.