Switch-Hitter (Hit and Run, #1) by E.M Lindsey (3/16)

Amy-tbs says Switch-Hitter is an "enemies-lovers sports romance with a grumpy-sunshine feel and a hero with an accent"

From the blurb:

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.


Amy_tbs Review:

Well, Switch-Hitter literally just knocked every book I've read in 2022 out of the ball park! 🏏 

This is my first book by E.M Lindsey that I've had the pleasure to read. I know, I know! (I must live under a rock) but I have a newfound favourite author. This is an angsty, former bodyguard, enemies-lovers, Ex boyfriends best friend, sports romance. With a horde of amazing sideline characters and a meddling, manipulative ex with next level toxicity. I mean what more could we ask for?  The road to true love never runs smoothly. 

Our two main characters Pietro and Thierry have A LOT! of history and none of it is essentially good. They are both down and out in their lives. Pietro is struggling with his diagnosis of severe ADHD and the breakdown of his long-term ill fated relationship with Hervé. Thierry is a former best friend and ex-bodyguard of Hervé. After a night on the job protecting Hervé, a devastating and life-changing  injury puts Thierry on a new path to a once forgotten dream job. When Pietro and Thierry's lives come to a crossroads, the pair are thrust back into each other's orbits, nothing is plain sailing though. 

These two men are not their former selves anymore, nor are they under the cruel thumb of Hervé. Could these two men be more similar than they once thought? And could they both be the answers to problems they are desperately looking for? 

This was a rollercoaster of emotions and I loved every second of it. The pacing of the book was so well done and I applaud E.M. Lindsey for handling challenging subjects like mental health, disabilities, and disorders with such sensitivity, care and research. 🖤🖤🖤 I think I speak for everybody when I say we need Hervé's story!

Rating: 5 Stars

Tatted Book Freak's Review: 

I’m beginning to think this author is intentionally speaking straight to my soul with their books!

Specifically with the similarities of feelings endured after the math of an injury. The word building was absolutely stunning, along with character development, but the true prize is the experiences endured by a paraplegic. I absolutely love the inclusion aspect of this authors stories, no fear of tackling the stigma of the disabled community!

“𝙼𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚖𝚘𝚛, 𝚖𝚘𝚗 𝚌𝚘𝚎𝚞𝚛. 𝙹𝚎 𝚟𝚎𝚞𝚡 𝚚𝚞𝚎 𝚝𝚞 𝚓𝚘𝚞𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚜.”

Pietro and Thierry have a chemistry so intense and pure, with a raw passion and poetic appeal. But, it was so much more than the act itself but more so the intimacy of these two men. Pietro never hesitated or looked at Thierry different, taking the time to learn more about his injury and genuinely wanting to help. Their relationship gradually grew overtime, despite their difficulties in the past.

Definitely recommend Switch-Hitter to anyone, especially the disabled community! E.M. has a way with words, never going too far but far enough to make your mind open. Cannot wait for more books from this author!!

Rating: 5 Stars

Heather's Review:

If you know the saying, you never get a second chance to make a first impression, you'll know where this book is going... after years of anger and resentment, life changing events and misconceptions, Pietro and Thierry are thrown back together and EM Lindsey makes the most of this trope to really build on and examine their pasts and their presents as they circle each other warily and as their orbits shrink again, the fireworks when they finally collide...

Switch-Hitter is a rollercoaster of emotions, real and raw, and explores disability and trauma in a sensitive and thoughtful way.  It's incredibly well paced and holds your attention from the first page to the last... don't start Switch Hitter on your way to bed, if you are planning to sleep, because once you start, you won't want to put it down.

I can't wait to see where this series goes in the future!

Rating: 5 Stars

Switch-Hitter is currently available in e-book and paperback and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription