Oof I think baseball romances are my new obsession. These are by far Thompson’s best characters. The switching between the two POVs but not necessarily on the same situation was fantastic. There was so much depth to these characters without giving the full backstory which still left some mystic to them. The reader knows the immediate trauma that has put there where they are today, which is all you know since both characters were trying to be “aggressively present”. And that line “you’re the book I want to reread for the rest of my life”. Destroyed me. Done. Bye.

Okay now for the baseball, I know more about baseball than Daphne but I have never known every vocab word. This last weekend (as in four days ago) I was at a dodger game for teacher appreciation day. My coworker, a padres fan, sitting next to me, which ew but anyways she’s cool. She answered questions I had but was always too scared to ask. Like what exactly is a RBI (listen her team chose may be bleh but she knows baseball). So read this book a few days later, I felt almost empowered by the more things I picked up (and a little scared to text her some clarifying things). As for the baseball side,I love it. I need more dodger games in my life haha. But I think her review of the baseball side would be more meaningful. And yes I’m going to get her to read the book!

I loved Love in the Time of Serial Killers and Love from Cold World, so I was excited to get approved for Alicia's upcoming romance, The Art of Catching Feelings. I decided to start it at the height of baseball season because it felt...fitting. I wanted to love this one. But unfortunately, it had one of my least favorite plot devices--catfishing.

Even though Daphne stumbles into it on accident, and doesn't *mean* to catfish Chris, she does--DM/texting him as Duckie, while interacting in real life as Daphne...and she doesn't come clean for a good portion of the book. They're intimately acquainted FOR A WHILE, while she's still living with this lie. I was DYING.

I was listening to the audiobook, and I had to actually pause the book right after she accidentally reveals herself, because my anxiety level was so high. It was like watching a trainwreck in slow motion because you knew for LITERAL CHAPTERS leading up to it what was going to happen, and it was excruciating. Five or six days later, I finally circled back and finished the book, and honestly, Alicia did a great job making both characters' reactions and feelings feel realistic while not actively prolonging the angst. I'm glad I finished it, and I think it's a solid four stars...but good grief. The anxiety I felt was almost too much--which honestly might be a me problem, not a book problem.

If catfishing doesn't bother you or you don't struggle with severe anxiety (like I do), I'm sure this will be a great summer romance read to pick up while relaxing on the beach or by the pool. (Insert self-deprecating, laughing emoji here.) I, meanwhile, may need to schedule another therapy session to recover. (Jk...mostly.)

As a certified baseball hater I was worried that a baseball romance just wasn’t going to be for me but boy was I wrong. Within the first few chapters I was smiling and giggling and just overall having a fantastic time. The Art of Catching Feelings is a great example of a romance that balances comedy with more emotional and deeper topics.

I really loved the relationship between Daphne and Chris . You could tell they really cared deeply for one another. Both characters were very well developed and I loved seeing their growth from the beginning to the end of the story.

The side characters were also a ton of fun but I do wish they had been more prominent. I think there could have been a lot of really great moments if they had been more involved with the main couple and the story overall.

This was such a fun and quick read for me. I would highly recommend it to anyone that has this on their radar. Alicia Thompson did an absolutely incredible job and I can’t wait to read more of her books in the future.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Berkley, and Alicia Thompson for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

A swinnnnng and a hit for Alicia Thompson!

Daphne isn't the biggest baseball fan, preferring anything else. With present plans, she attends a Carolina Battery game and ends up yelling at Chris Kepler, player on the outs. Feeling terrible, she messages him and starts a friendship online form her bookstagram.

Chris has had a rough 6 months, with his brother's passing and dad's pressure. He NEVER responds to direct messages but can not resist Daphne's rubber duck profile picture. Striking up a friendship, he can't help it when his heart skips a beat. He needs to know MORE of her. But, Daphne is hiding who she truly is behind the screen and TV mic...a secret that could destroy everything.

I loved the trigger warning sat the beginning, especially because suicide is a subject that when discussed in books all should be given a warning for. There were times when I LOVED where Thompson was taking the story (bookstagrammer, lover of trying to be enough, baseball) and other times were the story dragged. I'm not one hundred percent convinced with how gullible Chris was to not think anything was up with Daphne but hey, isn't that what fiction is all about. The Art of Catching is a solid read that fans of previous Thompson novels will enjoy!

Ok, this book. THIS BOOK. It was sweet and sporty and sexy and just so much fun. I think I am falling in love with baseball reads? I loved this book so much that I think I might be diving wholeheartedly headfirst into sports reads. Now this book does deal heavily with miscommunication/ hidden identity, so if that’s not your thing, steer clear. I think this book is masterful in navigating that, though. The characters are so lovely, too. Daphne, I love you. You are stupid. ILYSM. Chris Kepler, baseball extraordinaire: take me out to the ballgame, but really, boy TAKE ME OUT. Ugh. So good. The plot was great, the characters were great, the sexy was EXTRA GREAT. I think what this book really smashed out of the park (pun intended) was the people dynamic. Every side character really made the most of their moments on page, no matter how small. They were fun and witty and memorable, I did get slightly irritated with Daphne being a bit wimpy about telling Chris, but also, that was kind of the entire point? Despite this, Alicia Thompson navigated the *third act breakup* feels perfectly, and I wasn’t mad at the fallout of her grand reveal. This book was great, I loved it. I loved it so so much. I need more,

Alicia has a way of captivating readers with her romances, and The Art of Catching Feelings was no different! The two main characters, Daphne and Chris will be that couple that will find each other in every lifetime. Readers who are fans of early 2000's rom-coms will really enjoy this sweet story. In a sense, it leaves you feeling nostalgic. Alicia always does a wonderful job of including heavy topics with such delicacy. This felt like so much more than just a cute sports romance. I have a feeling that this will be a romance that many readers will be loving this summer!

The Art of Catching Feelings started off so promisingly and I wanted to love it, but unfortunately the deception lasted too long and went too far for my comfort.

Daphne should have told Chris who she was a lot sooner than she did. Instead she allowed Chris - who was so nice - to share so many intimate details about his life and loss and his struggles with grief while lying to him online and in person. It was honestly off-putting.

I really struggled to understand Daphne's actions and in the end was left with mixed feelings.

The Art of Catching Feelings was sadly a miss for me.

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This was a fast, steamy, emotional read with a main character I could relate to who knew nothing about sportsball who then accidentally catfished the baseball player she insulted during a game on national tv and couldn’t figure out how to make it right. General romantic chaos ensues. Good stuff!! Love this author and each book is better and better!

I loved this book. WOW. It’s got some elements some readers may not like, but for me it was perfectly executed. Baseball, you’ve got mail style romance, and mental health rep means it’s a 5 star from me!

We have Daphne, a bookstagrammer, cat owner, fresh out of a divorce, drunk at a ball game and without a care in the world, heckling the players. Chris, silently fighting the battle of anxiety and grief after his brothers suicide, is the poor shmuck up to bat when Daphne yells out a particularly silly line. It hits home in a way that happens to make Chris cry, at bat, on national TV. What a great opening premise!

The rest of the story involves Daphne DMing Chris via IG to apologize but somehow she doesn’t actually admit who she is and they develop an online relationship in the style of You’be Got Mail where he doesn’t fully know her identity but begins to fall nonetheless. In reality, he doesn’t know she’s the newly hired team broadcaster with curly hair that he’s itching to get to know and she’s trying to be professional but just can’t keep her distance. As you can suspect, things get messy.

What I loved about this book though was the development of their relationship over multiple angles, the discussions around male athletes and mental health, and discovering yourself worth again after a failed marriage. The part people will dislike is the prolonged dishonesty from Daphne, who has many chances to come clean but chickens out time after time. I thought this plot point might take my rating down a star, but in the end it’s handled in a very mature way and feels realistic for the characters.

The romance is cute, the spice is incredible and the baseball was fun. Content caution for suicide off the page but discussed after the fact.

Thanks Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Vibes:
Text messages
Forced proximity
Dislike to love
Secret identity
Baseball galore
Sports romance
Mental health discussions
He falls first
Healing after loss

If I could just type incoherent screaming into this review box, I would. I CANNOT say enough good things, I loved this one sooooo much!

I’m a sucker for a sports romance but don’t actually remember if I’ve read a baseball one? If so, they all got knocked out of the PARK by this one. I didn’t really have many expectations going into this but was immediately sucked in until I finished it only hours later. I had the BEST time reading this; was absolutely screaming and kicking my feet and giggling like a maniac.

I absolutely adored Daphne and Chris, from their initial text interactions to their real-life relationship! They are both so charming and such a good pair. There were so many little things in this book that I loved—the focus on grief and panic attacks, the moment near the end between Daphne and her brother, Milo the cat, the deeper conversations between Daphne and Chris—it all just worked together so well. One big thing to commend- a third act breakup that did not feel AT ALL forced or randomly thrown into the plot, but was actually justified! And it made the resolution all that much better.

The ending was incredible, the last speech from Chris??? CHRIS KEPLER DREAM MAN FOR REALLLLLLL. There’s a line in there that legit stopped me in my tracks, had to take a few moments to recover from that one. This book just made me incandescently happy and I’m immediately going to dive into Thompson’s other books now too! One of my favorites of the year!

A professional baseball player and his heckler prove that true love is worth going to bat for. This was a fun sports romance. I felt like this was a unique take on a cat-fishing / love triangle / miscommunication romance. Both Daphne and Chris are overcoming big life hurdles. Daphne is trying to figure out how to move on after a divorce and Chris is dealing with the loss after his brother took his own life. I feel like in a lot of sports romances the characters are always so perfect and these struggles made them more well-rounded, likable, and relatable characters. I am not a huge miscommunication trope girlie. I get that it was necessary for the plot and the eventual conflict of the story so it didn't bother me as much as some others

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 6/18

The adorable cover of this sports romance had me ready to dive right in!

Daphne and her bestie attend a baseball game the day her divorce becomes official, and Daphne proceeds to get very drunk and heckle a player on her own team, causing him to become the main story on all the baseball broadcasts. When the pair later connect online, they build a friendship….but Chris is unaware that his new friend is his heckler.

There were things I loved here, and things that drove me crazy. I loved Chris and thought he deserved much better than the way things went with Daphne, but he also frustrated me by being fine with the anonymous online relationship they originally built and how far things went there. Daphne just drove me crazy with her cover-ups and lies, and the way that they made miscommunication such a huge trope in this book.

I loved the baseball setting and Daphne’s job and thought they made for definite bright spots in the book. The story was well written and I enjoyed the inclusion of the DMs between the pair as they got to know one another.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC. All opinions are my own. I’d rate this one 3.5 stars.

Another man that hearts his wife. Alicia Thompson writes the best regular people books.

We follow Daphne, a recent divorcee, as she attempts to settle into her life. You read the synopsis, the dramaaaa is too good. Very much a "You've Got Mail" situation.

I love love love a cutie little sports romance, and the Art of Catching Feelings is that and so much more. This book is also a discussion on the nuances of grief, wrapped up in a hesitant and uplifting romance. Of course, the miscommunication trope is very relevant to the plot, however, I think that it was executed well.

I devoured this book in one sitting, absolutely perfect for sitting on a patio or airport terminal.

I thought this was well written and I loved the main characters, but I really disliked how the story played out. I think mistaken identity books have to be done just so to be plausible/forgiveable, and unfortunately this one was not. Daphne’s reasoning for deceiving Chris was basically nonexistent and she had ample time to come clean. As the book went on I got more and more frustrated at the lack of honesty. I know he forgave her but I did not! I wish these two could get a redo. :(

I was so excited by the cover and general premise of this book! I’ve read a few other sports romances this year, including another baseball one, so I was excited for this one. Unfortunately, I was left disappointed.

Let’s start with the positives: I loved Chris. I think he was a great character that showed growth with his emotions, his dad, his career, and with Daphne. I thought he was incredibly sweet and really ready for a relationship. He wanted something genuine and lasting and I loved seeing that in a MMC.

I was incredibly frustrated by Daphne. She made me furious in so many instances and I honestly don’t think she deserves Chris. The whole premise of the book is that she hasn’t told him that Duckie and Daphne are the same person, and she has to juggle her interaction with him so he doesn’t realize that they’re the same person. There were so many instances for her to come clean and tell him the truth. And she doesn’t ever do it herself. She happens to slip up and say something that Chris only told Duckie, her instagram account. And then we have a real third act breakup that lasts AT LEAST two months! But then act like everything is fine?!?! Because he loved both Duckie and Daphne and now they’re the same person?!?!

Overall, 2.5 stars and I found the FMC, Daphne, to be very unlikeable because of her continuous choices to not tell the truth.

Love a baseball romance. However, our lead Daphne? Kinda the worst. Chris deserves hugs and cinnamon rolls. She... has nothing redemptive.

I loved this romance between Daphne and Chris. I think Alicia Thompson's writing has gotten better with each book, and though this story wasn't my favorite, the writing is still fantastic.

This is simply not the book for me. It may be for others, but it didn’t land with me.

I struggled with the lying and deception by Daphne and extensive text conversations between Daphne and Chris. The plot fell flat for me, and I didn’t find the “conflict” to be very compelling, more so just frustrating.

That noted, Alicia Thompson is a good writer and those who like sports romances may very well enjoy this book.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC.

This deals with a situation where everyone knows things are going to be messy once the truth comes out but the female MC cannot stop herself or step back. Daphne heckles a baseball player, Chris making him cry during the game on national television and then she slides into his DMs on Instagram to simply apologize but they connect leading into a friendly relationship. On another hand, she also accepts the role of field side reporter for the same team and starts to get to know him in person as well. At this point, we know and keep wondering how the big reveal is going to be and how Chris deals with it. Chris was such an amazing boyfriend that he is completely adorable. Daphne leading a double personality is a mess and was fun to read though.

The writing and their fun interactions got me hooked completely. All the fans of sports romance will enjoy it.

shortly following her divorce, daphne finds herself at a baseball game, drunkenly heckling the players. to her horror, one player, chris kepler, seems to take her words to heart. she reaches out on social media to apologize…but accidentally leaves out the fact that she was his heckler. now, she finds herself developing a friendship—and possibly a romance—with chris online, while having to work with him in-person. she’s not sure how to come clean now, and she’s torn between letting the relationship develop or cutting it off without explanation.

like daphne, i find baseball pretty boring. however, i do like the “secret penpals” plot line, so this book’s premise intrigued me. ironically enough, this aspect actually ended up making me cringe just a bit. while i still did enjoy this plot line, it was just hard to read about in this case. however, i liked how this was resolved! daphne grew a lot as a character throughout the book and i think the author did a great job of showing this.

i would recommend this to anyone who enjoys adult romances.