I think I found my new favorite sports romance book and Alicia didn’t come here to mess around!

Just from the cover alone, I was in love and intrigued. I haven’t read many baseball romances, but I get the hype now and all of a sudden I’m a huge sports fan.

From the very first paragraph, I knew I was going to relate to Daphne’s character as she literally pulled out a book at a baseball game (reading at social events is so much fun, I love it). At said baseball game, she ends up drinking a few beers and heckling one of the players, Chris (turns out to be the home team, yikes). And then he cries (double yikes). Later Daphne apologizes via DM but forgets to mention that she was the heckler. The two start up easy conversation and things go well, until Daphne has to temporarily work as a broadcaster for Chris’s team and is now living this double personality. As Hannah Montana would say, you get the best of both worlds, right? Well, I’ll let you figure that one out when you read it.

I honestly couldn’t put this book down if I wanted to (and I never wanted to). The chemistry and longing and vulnerability between Daphne and Chris was outstanding throughout the whole story. I’m truly at loss of words, I’m so in love with this book. No notes.

“You’re the book I want to reread. For the rest of my life.”

I LOVE THEM SO MUCH…that is all.

CWs: mention of suicide (not any characters we meet)

Some tropes:
-workplace romance
-he falls first and hard (twice)
-sports romance
-she’s a big romance reader
-friends to lovers

CW: death of a sibling by suicide (past), grief, panic attacks, divorce

This is my first Alicia Thompson novel, and I’m ready to read her entire backlist.

I loved her writing style; the prose felt effortless. I found that there were a lot of insightful reflections and introspection by the characters. I loved that.

I adored Chris. I thought he was such a complex character. So often we don’t view professional athletes as regular folk, but they really are just human. I loved seeing this perspective because I think it helps soften us in real life when it comes to viewing “famous people”.

Daphne on the other hand left me a little conflicted. I understand her situation and predicament, and that nothing is ever black and white, but it was a little hard not to feel irked by many of her choices. I don’t dislike her character by any means. In fact I could empathize and understand her, even though I hope I would make different choices if in her place. Ah, the beauty of reading—learning to understand other outlooks from your own!

Now let’s talk about the plot for a little bit. I know the plot heavily centers around lying and hidden identity. That sort of felt like something heavy looming over me the whole time I was reading it, and made me an anxious reader. But, funnily enough, it’s the exact reason I couldn’t put this book down. I HAD to know what was going to happen; I was very much invested in this story and characters. I devoured this book in less than 24 hours!

I hope that aspect of this story doesn’t turn off readers, because there truly is so much to love about this book. The tension? HOT. The steam? HOTTER. Baseball?! The best. I still very much recommend this. And like I said earlier, I’m ready to read Alicia’s other books now.

Thank you for the ARC, Berkley!

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. There may be some spoilers in this.

Firstly, I'm so sorry. I tried, but I just couldn't do it. I ended up having to put it down about 70 pages in.

The main struggle was with Daphne, and maybe a little bit for the plot...Maybe we'll just start with the first thing that took me out of the story.

Daphne's heckling was, to say the least, weird. Like, clearly, she's drunk at the time she does it, but it's also very clear that Chris is having a bad time (and apparently bad season), so what does she do? Yell at him. Yeah, not exactly something I find silly or endearing. On top of that, the heckling is something along the lines of "They should call you Christopher Robin because your batting is pooh". Which isn't funny to me? It's just awkward...And then, of course, she makes him cry.

I have absolutely nothing against people crying, especially men. Please, show your emotions. But I figured he was crying because this was his final straw, you know? Like he's been heckled and put down so much that this one girl (with the stupid line) made him break. But no. No, the reason is because his brother, who passed away traumatically recently, used to call him Christopher Robin. That's such a REACH. Why did that have to be the reason??

And then, in a way to try to make it better, Daphne decides to contact Chris through Social Media under a different name. This trope has never sat right with me.

Lastly, Daphne ends up getting a job as the teams interviewer because her sister-in-law(?) is pregnant and has to stay off her feet. But they think giving her this job (that she has no qualifications for) hilarious.

I just...I couldn't do it. Everything about it didn't work for me and I wish I had liked it because I love baseball and this maybe could have been cuter.

Heartwarming romance with hero that has real feelings and emotions. Enjoyed it more than expected. Enjoyed their growing friendship but was an expected trope.

I've read sports romance but baseball in particular is rare because its always hockey for me and i love hockey but after reading this i might just be a bigger baseball fan.

It was emotional, both characters are going through something and when they text it felt like a breath of fresh air. But then things start to get complicated as they are getting closer. The story drew me in instantly and my heart melted for their love. But when he says "You’re the book I want to reread. For the rest of my life.” i was turned into mush. I loved this!!

It’s always a joy to spend time with Alicia Thompson’s heart, mind, and tender prose. I love that her romances develop due to the sincere care her characters offer one another, rather than intense instant physical attraction. I love that the characters have full lives outside the romance, so the love and support they offer one another have impact beyond the sexy, flirty time they spend together. I love that the characters feel grounded, flawed, and unique, with realistic fears and insecurities. I love the blend of light humour and big heartfelt feelings. I love that there’s always a secondary love story, whether that passion is for a topic of interest (serial killers), a place (Cold World), or a sport (baseball). It’s impossible to read an Alicia Thompson novel without feeling her affection for the worlds she creates as well as for her characters, and TAOCF is no exception. Here, we follow two characters grappling with grief—him from his brother’s recent suicide and her from her recent divorce—who give each other space to be messy and complicated, to make mistakes, to feel sad and angry, to take chances, to be brave AND be afraid, to steal a base or steal a kiss, to speak up for what they want and need, and to be part of a team, with all the joys and complications that come with the territory. Sweet, swoony, and a little bit steamy, Thompson’s latest blends popular romance tropes with a heartfelt look at life’s curve balls, and how we help each other move forward in the aftermath. It’ll leave you humming a popular song or two (you'll know them when you see them), and dusting off an old mitt for *one more* chance at the perfect catch.

Miscommunication trope x 1000

I LOVED With Love, From Cold World. Seriously, it was one of my favorite books in 2023. I was over the moon to receive an early copy of The Art of Catching Feelings. Unfortunately, this one didn't quite measure up for me (sorry, I tried to think of a baseball pun for that but I really struck out...). I liked the main characters, the writing, and most of the plot. Spoilers below--

The absurd amount of lying that Daphne does during the course of this book ruined it for me. The frequency and the nature of the lies were so hard for me to get past, especially because there was no real reason for it. And somehow Chris forgives the abundance of largely unjustified lying and is the one to make a grand gesture to win her back?? I'm sorry I was just so thrown off.

This was so cute.

From the very first chapter to the very end, it kept me interested the whole time.

Ugh, this is probably one of my other favorite tropes. Plus there is sports. So that's a win win.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley (publisher) for my E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Art of Catching Feelings by Alicia Thompson
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ (3 stars)

As a die-hard baseball fan and an avid reader of sports romance, I was really excited to dive into "The Art of Catching Feelings." However, much as I wanted to love it, this book just didn't quite hit the mark for me.

The concept of the story didn't quite align with my tastes. I found myself struggling with Daphne, the main character, primarily due to the choices she made throughout the plot. There were moments where I wanted to jump into the pages and shake some sense into her, especially regarding the texting conversations that drove much of the conflict. It felt inevitable that Chris would eventually find out about it, and that anticipation was a bit of a turnoff for me.

Speaking of texting conversations, I felt there was an overload of them in the narrative. It would have been more engaging for me if they were spread out more evenly. Despite this, I must commend Alicia Thompson's writing style, which kept me engaged and moving forward despite my reservations about the storyline.

One of the biggest hurdles for me was the quick development of feelings between Chris and "Duckie" through these text exchanges over just a few weeks. It felt a bit rushed and left me scratching my head, trying to wrap my mind around their connection.

While "The Art of Catching Feelings" didn't quite win me over, I can appreciate the author's writing prowess and the unique spin on sports romance. It might resonate better with readers who enjoy a faster-paced, technology-driven romance narrative.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc.

I’m a huge fan of everything Alicia Thompson has ever written, so it’s not surprising that I absolutely loved The Art of Catching Feelings, a baseball player and his heckler romance with a You’ve Got Mail inspired element that made me swoon. Daphne is newly divorce and angry and unusually drunk when she heckles Chris, accidentally triggering his trauma surrounding a death in the family and making him cry at his baseball game. But when she messages him to apologize, she forgets to identify herself and inadvertently begins a conversation in which she knows who he is but he doesn’t know who she is. Things are complicated further when she gets a temporary job covering the games as a sideline reporter, and begins to fall for him both as herself in person and as her hidden identity online and via text message.

With tender and heartwarming depiction of two complicated people working to heal from trauma, this romance is as absolutely delicious as the cover makes it look.

Thank you to Netgalley, Berkley Romance, and Alicia Thompson for this eARC. This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was really cute! It was my first by Alicia Thompson, and I'll definitely be looking into her other books. I've really been enjoying sports romances lately, so this was perfect! I found that there was just enough baseball in here, not too much, which I liked. I did, for the most part, like Daphne as a main character, as well as Chris. Honestly, though, the side characters, particularly Randy, were some of my favourites (he was probably my favourite character and his interactions throughout the book were quite funny). I thought the premise of the book was really interesting as well, and overall thought that the author followed through well on it. The idea of a heckler-turned-broadcaster dating the player she was heckling was pretty entertaining, and I thought it was done really well! There were some heavier themes throughout the book (TWs: grief, panic attacks, death of a loved one, suicide), but the author dealt with them very well.

What I didn't love was the amount of miscommunication in this; I was really getting annoyed with Daphne around the 60% mark; she just kept dragging things out, and it was getting repetitive. I also found that the resolution was a bit too quick. I think it would have benefitted the story to have things revealed earlier so that the resolution could be expanded a bit. There wasn't much relationship development between Chris and Daphne after they figured everything out between themselves, and I really would have liked to see more of them as a couple.

Overall, there are definitely some things I didn't love here, but those were really just personal preferences. There are also some trigger warnings (panic attacks, death of a loved one, suicide) to be aware of going in. I would definitely recommend this book if you like sports romances, fun side characters, and great chemistry :)

Each Alicia Thompson book is my new favorite book--but THIS one is just perfection. I love Thompson's ability to give flawed, real-feeling people HEAs. I finished in one sitting even though I didn't want it to end. I love a You've Got Mail situation and this one was done so, so well. I've never been that into baseball but, uh, I'm thinking maybe it's time to get involved in some sports.

Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

I am not a fan of the miscommunication/ dishonesty trope. Normally, I will DNF rather quickly. However, The Art of Catching Feelings kept me engaged enough that I finished the book in its entirely.

I appreciate a romance that tackles hard issues as well. The Art of Catching Feelings is not a light hearted rom-com but it does end happily as all romances should.

Alicia Thompson is now three-for-three with phenomenal contemporary romance novels. What is striking about Thompson's work is that all three are so different and have little to no overlap on themes or characters -- a sign of someone who knows her craft inside and out.

This was a unique spin on the "You've Got Mail"/"Bookshop Around the Corner" secret pen pal/real life tension trope, which, after all these years, is refreshing that it can still work in new and exciting ways. I loved that we got peeks into both of their brains, and the discussions about Chris' brother and Daphne's divorce were handled with exquisite care. I also appreciate that Daphne had her friends call her out on her shit! but also a community to rally around her (and Chris) when they needed that push towards each other at the end.

A TOTAL HOME RUN for this book. Grand slam. Baseball metaphors.

Super cute baseball romance between a girl who got divorced then went to a baseball game, got drunk, and heckled a baseball player... and the baseball player she heckled. Daphne goes to Instagram later that night to slide into Chris's DMs to apologize, but then in her composition of a giant message meant to humanize her, she forgot to include the part where she reveals who she is. They start to talk, and she doesn't want to mess up their rapport by revealing who she is. Her sister in law is a sideline reporter for the team who needs to go on unexpected bed rest, and so as part of an image recovery, SIL gets the girl to take over her job duties for the time being... Which includes interviewing the players.

Very hot, lots of emotion and internal conflict as well as the obvious conflicts that come from conversing with someone without revealing your true identity-- one of my favorite tropes, no matter how messy it can get!!

TW for suicide.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my thoughts!

This book had me from the first page.

Let me be so clear, I HATE the miscommunication trope, and this wasnt technically that but it was. HOWEVER, it was done so well.

I kept thinking, how are we going to get out of this one? but Alicia Thompson, GIRRRRRL, you did it. YOU DID ITTTTT.

So we follow our girl Daphne, who is going through a divorce. Her personality is honestly adorable, she loves books, shes sarcastic yet corny, and has so many connections to books and music she loves.

Chris, another book boyfriend to add to my collection, is a beautiful baseball player who is going through so real things in his life, making it hard for him to focus on the game.

And as a baseball gal in my youth, this book HIT it out of the park.

Daphne gets drunky and sloppy and screams some things during a game when Chris messes up and he ends up crying after. She gets televised and broadcasted and it doesnt go well for her but she mostly cares that she hurt his feelings so she DMs him and they end up exchanging even more until Daphne realizes she never apologized.

Anyway there are so many more things that happen and choices that needed to be made.

I was loving the love, the baseball, the chemistry, the confusion honestly, and overall i HAD A BALLLLLL with this book (the puns will go on forever)

"The Art of Catching Feelings" by Alicia Thompson offers a refreshing take on the classic romantic comedy, blending humor and heartfelt moments against the backdrop of America's favorite pastime. Daphne Brink's accidental heckling of Carolina Battery player Chris Kepler sets the stage for a quirky and endearing romance. Thompson skillfully navigates the complexities of modern dating and social media as Daphne and Chris forge a connection online, unaware of their real-life encounter. As their relationship deepens, Daphne grapples with the guilt of keeping her true identity hidden from Chris, adding an element of suspense to the narrative. The dynamics between the characters are authentic and relatable, drawing readers into their world as they navigate the ups and downs of love and self-discovery. With its witty dialogue and charming storyline, "The Art of Catching Feelings" is sure to delight fans of contemporary romance and leave them eagerly rooting for Daphne and Chris to find their happily ever after.

I love Alicia Thompson's books but I had a little trouble with this one. Firstly, I'm not a huge fan of books where a large percentage of the dialogue is relayed through chatting or texting. It seems lazy, imo. Having said that, I think I would have enjoyed this better if I liked Chris as a character more. While Daphne was definitely the one lying and catfishing, Chris came off as strange to me that he fell for someone he never even met in person or knew what she looked like. She could have been a minor for all he knew, and that one particular scene came off creepy to me rather than erotic because of this. The book improved once the texting "relationship" ended and as a huge baseball fan, I loved that aspect of it. Although I had a hard time picturing the Battery as an MLB team. I kept thinking it was a triple-A affiliate or double A simply because it was fictitious yet played against real teams. I don't know if this was a choice or if it was a legal issue, but I would have preferred if he had played for a real team, if that were possible. Not a bad read, but not my favorite from this author. I'd still recommend it, especially for fans who love a little sports with their romance. 3 stars. Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the DRC in exchange for an honest review.

I shouldn't be surprised that I like a good sports romance, and this was a good one. Daphne is recently divorced. She's happy to be divorced but struggling with how to handle her failed relationship. She drinks too much at a baseball game and heckles one of the baseball players to the point of tears. Daphne and Chris, the baseball player, start chatting over social media - except Chris doesn't know it's his heckler. It gets even more complicated when she ends up with the sideline reporter job for the team. I really enjoyed this book and all the books I've read by Alicia Thompson.

I really love Alicia Thompson, and her contemporary romances are some of my absolute favorites from recent years. I didn't love this quite as much as her first two, but that's a really high bar, and loving this one slightly less means that I still really, really liked it. The premise here is so good - recently divorced Daphne Brink gets drunk with her best friend at a Carolina Battery baseball game and randomly heckles a player in a very weird way, only to cause him to have a very short (but very public) breakdown in response. She writes Chris Kepler (the heckled player) via Instagram once she's sobered up but forgets to include the part identifying herself as the heckler, and they start a social media/text relationship that quickly intensifies. Meanwhile, she also takes over for her sister-in-law, the usual sideline reporter for the Battery, who has to go on bed rest, and she ends up developing a real life relationship with Chris as well. As with Thompson's other books, there's an impressive balancing of humor and levity with some pretty intense trauma. Really, the thing that made me like this slightly less was the miscommunication in Daphne and Chris's IG/text relationship - it made me really nervous! Still a great read, with excellent chemistry between the main characters, some great side characters, and some very real-life stuff that makes the story even more relatable. Content warning for suicide (past, off-page) and a pretty messy divorce.