Erryn reviews ‘Switch-Hitter (Hit and Run Book 1)’ by E.M. Lindsey. The ebook was published March 16, 2022 and was 308 pages. The audiobook version of this story was narrated by John Solo, released April 14, 2022 and is 8 hrs and 1 mins long. A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.
Why I read this book: I’ve been enjoying the On The Market series.
Get a personal chef, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.
And then Thierry shows up and Pietro realizes his mistake. Because he knows Thierry. A little too well.
Thierry is the man who told his ex to leave him.
Thierry is the man who punched Pietro and ran.
Thierry…is his ex-boyfriend’s best friend.
But Pietro also knows the man needs a job. An injury destroyed his former career, and Pietro is nothing if not a bleeding heart. Besides, he doesn’t have time to search for a new chef, not with the World Series looming and his team ready to go all the way.
Life gets more complicated, though, when he and Thierry cross a line one night after a lot of wine and several bad jokes. And while hooking up is one thing, Pietro knows the last thing in the world he needs is for his heart to get involved.
Too bad it tends to make decisions without him.
Switch-Hitter is the first book in a fictional MLB series featuring a lonely baseball player with a chip on his shoulder and hope in his heart, a team ready to win no matter what it takes, a grumpy French chef who will defend escargot to the death, and a few bottles of dry red wine leading to the sweetest happily ever after. Each book in the Hit and Run series stands alone, contains no cheating, and has a happily ever after.
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My review:
I enjoy E.M. Lindsey books. I especially loved the On the Market series. I love how she writes disabled characters who live their lives as if they are just regular ordinary people – which they are. We, as a society, need to be more accepting. As someone in this book points out – it’s shouldn’t be remarkable when someone who is deaf or blind or an amputee plays baseball – it should be the norm.
Pietro is an adorable character. He’s a professional baseball player with ADHD. As someone on that spectrum, I could totally relate to what he was going through. He’s tried to adapt – as we often do – and some strategies are more effective than others – totally a relatable situation. What he does have is a scummy ex-boyfriend. Blech.
Thierry has had a rough go of it. He was a bodyguard to Pietro’s ex-boyfriend and believed the man cared for him. When Thierry’s shot, however, and paralyzed, he discovers who his friends really are. Recovering in Colorado, he finds himself needing to get a job. Rehab is expensive and he needs to start covering some of his costs and not relying on family. What does a former bodyguard do? Become a chef, of course.
Except the only man who’ll hire him is the man he once punched in the face.
An auspicious beginning if ever there were one.
Yet it works. Thierry works hard to get Pietro to eat something other than ramen noodles, and Pietro shows he’s capable of forgiveness. And when his team is in contention, everything sort of falls into place. Of course there has to be a dark moment, a grand gesture, and a lovely epilogue. I happily got all three.
John Solo did a great job of narrating this story. There are more books in the series and I can’t wait.
My rating:
9/10 Pots of Gold – Compares to 4.5/5 Stars
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