Catch Her If You Can by Tessa Bailey — Genre’d Podcast Episode Show Notes
- genredpodcast
- 10 hours ago
- 9 min read
This week on Genre’d, we read Catch Her If You Can by Tessa Bailey, a trope-stacked contemporary romance featuring: a secretly smitten New York Yankees catcher, a burlesque club owner with a complicated small-town reputation, and a marriage of convenience that is technically for health insurance… but spiritually for yearning.
And yes, somehow, there is also a secret organ donation.
But first, we have some things to say.
💥 Spoiler warning: The first ~20 minutes are spoiler-free. After that, we sound the spoiler alarm and get into full spoilers (including the kidney storyline, the marriage secrecy logic, and the “wait, how old are they?” realization that changes everything).
We have some things to say
Ryan Murphy’s Love Story and our sudden CBK personality shift
Elyse is fully locked into Love Story and is specifically obsessed with Carolyn Bessette Kennedy as presented by Ryan Murphy. JFK Jr. is… not the point. The point is:
Carolyn’s vibe
Carolyn’s style
Carolyn’s hair
90s New York City as a cinematic universe
Katy is torn on the show overall, but extremely seated for the fashion and the era. We’re talking: voicemail culture, no phones, calling to check messages, and the deeply intoxicating idea of screening a man like it’s your job.
Calvin Klein in the 90s, fashion “collections,” and couture office lore
Katy shares some prime fashion world context, including the difference between a designer’s “collection” line vs the more accessible line, plus an elite anecdote from working in fashion where the couture workroom is basically a hidden society of talented grandmas sewing the most beautiful garments you will ever see.
Also, we spiral (in the best way) about how the most incredible craftsmanship can look like “just a black cotton skirt” to the untrained eye, until you learn it is secretly woven like an art object.
Quince, snowstorms, and getting humbled by weather
Katy placed a huge Quince order. Elyse is intrigued, suspicious, and also aware Quince is aggressively trying to sell her cashmere. We do what we always do: joke about sponsorships while quietly admitting we might be influenced.
Also, there is real snowstorm energy. Katy is filming solo and learning the hard way that a house in winter involves tasks like shoveling and driveway logistics. Our mom sends two men to shovel the driveway, and we all collectively realize we are one “Venmo mom” away from losing financial control.
Headphones, in-ears, and why we are like this
We also acknowledge, for the record, that Katy refuses real podcast headphones and is working with a Taylor Swift in-ear situation that makes Elyse feel like the whole operation is held together by hope.
Book recap: Catch Her If You Can by Tessa Bailey
Synopsis (spoiler-free):
New York Yankees catcher Madden has loved burlesque club owner Eve since high school. When Eve suddenly needs health insurance to care for her sister’s kids, Madden offers a secret marriage of convenience. As their fake arrangement heats up and long-buried feelings surface, Madden is determined to prove this is not just obligation. It is the real thing.
This is Katy’s first Tessa Bailey, and Elyse explains why Tessa is a contemporary romance mainstay who loves tropes and is not afraid to stack them like pancakes.
What we cover in this episode
Genre and vibes
Contemporary romance
Rom-com meets rom-drom
Small town judgment meets big city fame
High school flashbacks that set up the slow burn
A love story with big feelings and bigger choices
Tropes and what you are signing up for
This book is tropes on tropes on tropes, including:
Friends to lovers
Marriage of convenience
He falls first, he falls harder
Somebody else’s kids
Famous athlete plus normie girlfriend (we dub this the CBK trope)
Found family
Virgin with a kink
Interconnected standalones (this is Book 5 in the Big Shots series)
We also talk about how the dual timeline structure does real work here. It sells the “friends” part of friends-to-lovers, and makes Madden’s lifelong devotion extremely clear.
Characters to watch
Eve Keller
Burlesque club owner in a small Rhode Island town, carrying the weight of years of bullying because her dad ran a strip club. She has major trust issues, a strong bolter instinct, and a habit of making decisions based on what she thinks other people will think.
Madden Donahue
Hunky Irish Yankees catcher who has been down bad since high school. Protector energy. Devotion issues. Some real trauma in his backstory. Also, possibly does not even like baseball.
Elton Page
Best friend, comic relief, and the true glue of the friend group. Elyse calls him the “com” of the rom-com. Katy agrees and basically wants more Elton, always.
Veda
Young chaotic angel with band girl energy who helps Eve level up the burlesque club and becomes a major part of her support system. Veda is also the character most likely to get the next book, and frankly, the people demand it.
What it’s giving
Katy: High school emotions turned up to 100
Katy says the whole thing feels like being in high school where everything is the biggest deal in the universe. Eve’s internal monologue is permanently stuck in “this town will define me forever,” and Katy cannot unsee the youth of it all.
Elyse: The Bolter, but make it romance
Elyse connects Eve to Taylor Swift’s “The Bolter,” because Eve’s defining characteristic is running when feelings or visibility get too real. Once you see it, you cannot unsee it.
Would our mother read this?
No. It is too smutty for the mothers.
Katy also notes she expected Tessa Bailey to be even smuttier based on reputation, but Elyse hints there are specific elements to the spice that make it feel extra spicy.
⚠️ Spoilers Ahead ⚠️
We sound the spoiler alarm and then we get into the real discourse.
The main conflict: Elyse loved it, Katy absolutely did not
This is one of the biggest rating splits we’ve had on the pod.
Elyse starts out delighted. Tropes, devotion, fun. Cute, cute, cute.
Katy is out almost immediately. Too dramatic, too young, too ridiculous, and she is laughing out loud at multiple plot choices.
The age reveal that changes everything
A major turning point is realizing Eve is 22.
Elyse admits she mentally aged Eve up into her late 20s or 30s, and once the real age lands, she has to reevaluate a lot of what felt “cute” at first.
Katy, meanwhile, is like: yes. Exactly. This is why it felt extremely young.
Katy’s biggest “no” moments
Eve being a virgin reads very young to Katy
The first hookup happening while the kids are locked in the house is a hard no
The exhibitionist storyline feels too dramatic given the setup, and Katy is not buying the escalation
The burlesque plot keeps framing Eve as down-on-her-luck in a way Katy thinks is unfair to the industry and also just not realistic
We also get an all-time moment of respect for Full Bush Rhonda, who Katy declares to be everything.
The kidney donor reveal
We all agree it is obviously Eve. The question becomes: how is this still a reveal if they have been together this entire time?
Katy calls it embarrassing. Elyse agrees the mechanics are a little shaky.
Secret marriage logic
Katy is annoyed because the marriage is “secret” but they basically tell everyone anyway.
Elyse frames this as Eve’s bolter behavior and fear of her past impacting Madden’s career, even though Madden does not care and also might not even like baseball.
The ending choices
We discuss the whiplash of:
Eve giving the burlesque club to Veda (which makes sense because Veda is actually the one with a vision)
Eve randomly becoming an interior designer with basically no buildup
The jump forward where they have no kids by choice, after spending so much time playing house with the twins
Both of us are pro no-kids-by-choice in life, but we question whether the book built that choice in a way that feels earned narratively.
Also: Wisconsin. The final location is Wisconsin. Which leads to a general “for whom?” moment.
One line plot showdown
Katy:
It’s Burlesque starring Cher, except instead of saving the club with a big musical number, we save it with a secret marriage, an organ donation, and a man who may or may not hate baseball.
Elyse:
A not-so-secretly-smitten catcher ropes his longtime crush into a hush-hush marriage of convenience, only to learn that forced proximity plus an exhibitionist streak might finally turn their high school slow burn into a scorching happily ever after.
This is the moment we realize we were reading two different books.
Final ratings
Elyse: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Originally 4.5, but dropped after the “she is 22” realization and the ending issues. Still had a great time, read it fast, and enjoyed the tropes.
Katy: ⭐️⭐️
Lowest rating on the pod so far. Too young, too dramatic, too low-stakes pretending to be high-stakes, and multiple plot points felt ridiculous rather than romantic.
Mentions
Ryan Murphy’s Love Story
Carolyn Bessette Kennedy style deep dives
Calvin Klein and 90s fashion culture
Quince
Taylor Swift: “The Bolter”
Burlesque (Cher, Christina Aguilera, and the cinematic universe we will not apologize for)
Join the conversation
Are you team “cute, cute, cute” or team “absolutely not”?
Does a marriage of convenience for health insurance make it more believable or more bleak?
Did the dual timeline work for you or did it make everything feel younger?
Are you here for “tropes on tropes,” or is there such a thing as too many?
Who was your real favorite: Veda, Elton, or Full Bush Rhonda?
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Fast facts
Book: Catch Her If You Can
Author: Tessa Bailey
Series: Big Shots (Book 5, interconnected standalones)
Setting: Rhode Island, with frequent trips to NYC and Boston
Main tropes: friends to lovers, marriage of convenience, he falls first, somebody else’s kids, famous athlete romance, virgin with a kink, found family
Spoiler-free window: first ~20 minutes
Mini FAQ
Is Catch Her If You Can actually a rom-com?
Not exactly.
It has rom-com energy (banter, forced proximity, secret marriage hijinks), but emotionally it leans closer to rom-drom. There’s trauma, reputation anxiety, addiction backstory, public scandal, and a surprise organ donation subplot. You’ll laugh sometimes — but you might also find yourself pausing to ask, “Wait… how old are they again?”
Do I need to read the other Big Shots books first?
Nope.
This is an interconnected standalone in the Big Shots series. You’ll see characters from previous books (notably Skyler and her hockey player), but you can jump in here without confusion.
That said, if you love spotting cameos and extended friend group lore, reading in order might enhance the experience.
How spicy is it?
Spicy-spicy.
Tessa Bailey does not shy away from heat — and in this one, she layers in an exhibitionist element that becomes central to the romantic dynamic. If you’re cool with open-door scenes and kink exploration (especially with a “he falls first and is extremely down bad” energy), you’ll be fine.
If you prefer fade-to-black or low heat, this one may not be your jam.
Is this high stakes or low stakes?
Emotionally high stakes. Logistically… debatably low stakes.
The external conflict revolves around:
Small-town judgment
Reputation
Healthcare access
Paparazzi
Career pressure
But depending on your tolerance for drama, it may either feel deeply emotional or like everyone could have solved this with one group text.
How old are the main characters?
Eve is 22.
Madden is mid-20s.
This fact may or may not fundamentally alter your reading experience.
Is the marriage of convenience believable?
It depends on your threshold for trope joy.
The premise — marriage for health insurance — feels painfully modern. The secrecy, however, stretches logic at times. If you love marriage-of-convenience as a trope, you’ll likely forgive the mechanics. If you require airtight realism, you may start asking follow-up questions.
Is this more about baseball or burlesque?
Surprisingly balanced.
You’ll get:
Catcher dynamics and “calling the game” energy
Yankees fame and media pressure
Behind-the-scenes burlesque club life
A found family of dancers and misfits
If you came for sports romance, you’ll get it. If you came for burlesque chaos and Full Bush Rhonda, you’ll also get that.
Does it stick the landing?
Controversial.
Without spoiling too much here: the epilogue makes some bold life choices for the couple that not everyone felt were narratively built up. Some readers will find it refreshing. Others may experience mild whiplash.
Who is this book for?
You’ll likely enjoy this if:
You love trope stacking.
You adore “he falls first and has never emotionally recovered.”
You want devotion, yearning, and spice.
You’re in your Tessa Bailey era.
You may struggle if:
You’re sensitive to younger protagonists.
You don’t vibe with heightened emotional reactions.
You need your third-act conflicts to be airtight.
If you’ve read it, we need to know:
Were you team “cute, cute, cute”… or team “absolutely not”?
What’s next on Genre’d
Next episode: Daggermouth by H.M. Wolfe, a dystopian read that both of us have already started and are genuinely excited about.
Remember to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen.
And remember: no genre shaming unless it’s funny.
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