You Should Be So Lucky: A Baseball Rom-Com Between a Star Shortstop and a Reporter in New York City

From the moment I read the blurb, I was intrigued. But I wasn’t expecting how gorgeous and emotional this book is. I couldn’t put it down. The writing is beautiful, and Cat Sebastian has a way of delving deep, getting to the heart of things, and expressing them so poignantly. This slow burn is so satisfying. At the start, Mark is grieving the death of his long-term partner, a man he could only love in secret and now must grieve in private. He’s been in survival mode, locked down, with no plans to open back up again. Eddie O’Leary is younger, seemingly naive, and desperately lonely. He’s in a batting slump he can’t train his way out of, and a sports feature is the last thing he needs. But these two need each other, even if they don’t realize it at first. I am such a huge fan of Shirley Jackson’s Haunting of Hill House, and the time these two devote to dissecting that novel thrilled me. Late-night conversations, notes written in the margins, and references made throughout. You can learn so much about another person from the books they read. Lula, the dog, stole the show. Let’s be real, she’s the third MC. Her grief over her owner made me tear up, as did her ‘tolerance’ of Mark. Every interaction with Eddie made me do a happy dance, and her judgmental looks made me smile. This is such a beautiful read, and I can’t wait to dive into book one of this series. If you love golden retrievers and prickly kitties who need to be pspsps’d into a relationship, check it out. Overall…

Cat Sebastian is the queen of my heart! I’m a puddle of goo for her midcentury boys, and Mark and Eddie are no exception. We met Mark Bailey in We Could Be So Good, he works at the paper and persisted in gifting Nick with queer literature. When we begin his story, he’s deep in mourning for his late boyfriend - withdrawn from life, he has mostly quit his job but still lurks around the office. One day Andy gets the idea to send him to do a weekly feature on Eddie O’Leary, a baseball player deep in both a PR scandal and a batting slump. Both men are in crisis, and they find unexpected kinship in one another. I adore the unique grumpy x sunshine dynamic these two have! Mark is prickly and biting, but essentially kind. And while Eddie is sunny and easygoing for the most part, he has a hell of a temper. Watching them learn to support and trust one another was completely lovely. The writing is as immersive as always, expertly building this world of dreamers and lovers in a time when to be true to themselves was a jail sentence. As with her other books, these are what I’d call cracked door spice, but the emotional impact is weighty and the tension delicious. Every moment and character carries significance to the story, and I can’t get enough of these journeys. I recommend this for anyone, but fans of sports romance, historical, and/or Cat Sebastian won’t be disappointed! (This one also frequently references one of my favorite authors of all time, Shirley Jackson, so that was a…