Book Description 

An emotional, slow-burn, grumpy/sunshine, queer mid-century romance for fans of Evvie Drake Starts Over, about grief and found family, between the new star shortstop stuck in a batting slump and the reporter assigned to (reluctantly) cover his first season—set in the same universe as We Could Be So Good.

The 1960 baseball season is shaping up to be the worst year of Eddie O’Leary’s life. He can’t manage to hit the ball, his new teammates hate him, he’s living out of a suitcase, and he’s homesick. When the team’s owner orders him to give a bunch of interviews to some snobby reporter, he’s ready to call it quits. He can barely manage to behave himself for the length of a game, let alone an entire season. But he’s already on thin ice, so he has no choice but to agree.

Mark Bailey is not a sports reporter. He writes for the arts page, and these days he’s barely even managing to do that much. He’s had a rough year and just wants to be left alone in his too-empty apartment, mourning a partner he’d never been able to be public about. The last thing he needs is to spend a season writing about New York’s obnoxious new shortstop in a stunt to get the struggling newspaper more readers.

Isolated together within the crush of an anonymous city, these two lonely souls orbit each other as they slowly give in to the inevitable gravity of their attraction. But Mark has vowed that he’ll never be someone’s secret ever again, and Eddie can’t be out as a professional athlete. It’s just them against the world, and they’ll both have to decide if that’s enough.

My Review 

I have been a Cat Sebastian fan for YEARS, so naturally, I nearly fainted when I received my review copy of this book. Despite getting her start in the Regency era, Sebastian’s latest series is set in mid-20th century NYC. And I, for one, am here for it. 

Protagonist Mark played a minor role in the first book in the series, so I was interested in what he would do with a leading role. The answer is: scowl and cringe and wonder what all the fuss is about. 

Mark doesn’t even particularly like sports, so he is baffled and befuddled by his latest assignment to write about the hotshot shortstop for the NY Robins. He’s certainly not expecting to find himself involved in a mutual attraction situation. 

And Eddie… what can I say about Eddie? Sebastian has written a lot of cinnamon rolls over the years, but Eddie is one of the biggest. He’s an absolute sweetheart with a heart of gold. 

This book is hilarious. I found myself smiling throughout. It’s not just the banter– which is delightful, by the way– but it’s also the meals they share and the conversations and just two people finding each other. 

This is going to sound like such a cliche, but this book is like a warm hug. It was just so pleasant with very little conflict. Yes, there was an ever-present undercurrent of the consequences of being discovered– and I don’t want to minimize the stakes involved with that– but there’s no direct threat of being outed or villains to defeat. Yes, there were obstacles to overcome and arcs to complete, but it was more about these two men realizing that the possibility for happiness is standing right in front of them. 

Speaking of which, this was quite the slow burn. You could look up slow burn in the Trope Dictionary and there would be a picture of Mark and Eddie. But all the tension and longing made for better banter and a deeper emotional connection. 

I would absolutely recommend You Should Be So Lucky. This is one of my favorite Cat Sebastian novels. I loved all the historical details, as well as the baseball in the background– even if it did get in the way of the banter and queer romance. 

I received a digital ARC of this book from Avon/NetGalley