This is a mature YA read due to sexual content that is accurate, age-appropriate, and handled with tact. 
 Annie is a high school junior whose father was a hot-shot pitching prospect 17 years ago. He was signed to the Yankees, played one game and was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, never returning to the game as a player. Now, he's being recruited by a longtime baseball friend to be a pitching coach for the Kansas City Royals. It's a long way from Arizona where Annie, her dad and her senile Grams life a quiet life. 
 Annie likes it quiet, and hates when her flighty mother drops in--as she tends to do every couple years, or so. So, she urges her dad to make the move, and NOT reveal their new address to his estranged wife. 
 Annie's dad's main job is to refine a hot-shot prospect, Jason Brody, who has a great arm, and a bad history. He's nineteen, an ex-con? (Sorta) Anywho, Annie and Jason spend a lot of time together, and Annie develops the teensiest mega-crush on the pitcher. But, she can't act on it. First, she's 17, he's 19. Second, if anything goes wrong with Jason, her dad's out of a job. Third, does it matter? You know she's going to make a play for him... 
 Here's the thing, this isn't a flitty teen romance. It gets to the seemy underside of pro sports. Annie's new BFF Lenny is the daughter of First Base. He's a playa, and his famiy is polished yet fragile. Lenny's a smart girl, but likes to cut loose, bringing Annie along for the ride. 
 Jason's a decent guy, even if he's attracted to a high school girl. Actually, one thing he really lacks in his life, a family connection, is something that he really admires in the bond between Annie and her dad. He's infatuated with the idea of being a part of a family again, ever since his mother disowned him. 
 I really enjoyed the playfulness, and the introspection. Annie is a confident character, not a hot mess. She has goals--and is extremely competitive--yet she is human. She sees the heartbreak of a teammate and makes a choice to help someone else, instead of herself. She is mature, having practically raised herself with no mom around. And, she is fierce in her love for both family, and Jason. 
 The book unfolds over the course of the baseball season--roughly five months. The feelings develop and are expressed in terms of months, not weeks, so we don't get whiplash from INSTALOVE, which is grand. Again, the characters do become intimate. In careful stages. With lots and lots of verbal communication. They make responsible, adult decisions and though Annie's dad goes a tiny bit (read: whole lot) ballistic, life works out well for all the characters. In a way that doesn't compromise the MC's ideals. 
 Yes, there are curveballs. Yes, sometimes Annie has to perform a suicide squeeze when she wants to hit a dinger. Yes, Jason is panty-melting hot--and Annie's not sure if he's capable of reading her signs. The baseball metaphors are sprinkled throughout the book like poppy seeds on a Chicago style hotdog bun, and it worked for me. (side note: this reviewer played 10 seasons of fast pitch softball and spent her youth, and adulthood, cheering on the White Sox.) I appreciated the appropriate language of the game, and how skillfully the story enfolded all aspects of baseball in a way a non-fan could still understand. 
 A big hit, for me. I received an ARC via NetGalley.