I enjoyed this book a lot!
I thought that it was fun and summery.
I am a sucker for baseball everything, and I think this did a great job of capturing the excitement of baseball.
The character was well done too!

4.5 stars!! I absolutely adored this book. Not only does this book have a sports romance, it has great representation of mental health, super fun main characters, great side characters, great banter and some great spice!! This book truly has it all. Daphne is the best and so is Chris. I loved the plot structure of this book, and honestly found the plot a unique twist on something classic like a sports romance.

The Art of Catching Feelings has cemented Alicia Thompson into auto-buy status for me! With Love from Cruel World was a favorite of mine from 2023, and I think I loved this book even more. After Daphne Brink (aka Duckie) gets a little caught up in drunken heckling at the baseball game, she reaches out to player Chris Kepler to apologize via Instagram (her book account, naturally). Except she forgets to tell him she was the person heckling him. Ooops. It's too late now, right, after they start falling for each other...and working together, as Daphne takes over on-camera interviews for her sister-in-law. Except Chris doesn't know that Duckie = Daphne. It's a hilarious case of mistaken identity and some miscommunication, but Alicia Thompson writes it so well, and I could not stop reading along! I was also lucky enough to receive an audiobook via PRH audio and bounced back & forth between ebook and audio. Narrator Kristen Sieh was phenomenal in bringing Daphne and Chris' story to life. I highly recommend this one for fans of romcoms and sports romances! Note: I received an advanced reading copy, receipt of which did not impact my review.

This was such a great read! I really think Alicia Thompson's writing has just been getting better and better. I was hesitant to read her second book because I didn't really enjoy Love in the Time of Serial Killers. I thought it was just boring, but her second book was better, and now her third book is great!

Perfect book to read during baseball season. I thought it was funny, charming, and cute. A dream scenario to fall in love with an athlete really, minus how they met lol. There are definitely some heavy topics in this so I would suggest checking the TWs first, but overall I loved it and can't wait to read more from Thompson!

Thank you so much Berkley and Netgally for the eARC!

Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for the copy of the eARC!

I knew the moment I started reading Alicia's first book that she was going to be an auto buy author. And now we are into her 3rd book and the feeling is still the same!

Alicia is a baseball fan and you could tell by reading that she loves baseball. I also have to point out that I am a Chris Kepler fan simply for the fact that HE IS FROM PHILADELPHIA (don't think I gasped at the mention of Dorney Park) and in my head he would play for Phillies but I will settle for the Carolina Battery.

Listen, I know miscommunication is not a favorite trope amongst romance readers and with this I have so many realistic questions but I can suspend reality for the sake of the book. I just would like to think in today's society and someone who is a public figure phone numbers and conversations would not be with someone who doesn't have any profile picture on their Instagram. That was probably my only ick with the book but like I said I can suspend the reality for the sake of romance.

"If you knew me in real life, you wouldn't say that."
"I want to know you in real life. You have no idea how badly."

I love the relationship between Chris and Daphne and the book really takes off when they begin to have a constant texting relationship. I love seeing texting conversations in books especially because it's such a common thing that happens in today's culture. Most relationships of all kinds develop through messaging in some way.

I felt bad for Daphne because she was struggling on trying to decide if she should tell Chris the truth or not. There was so much at stake and she knew she was falling further and further for him only making it worse. I love their moments when it would be just the two of them after she started working for the team. Chris was so far gone for Daphne/Duckie and you could tell that he desperately wanted more from her on so many occasions. I just really love the two of these characters and I was rooting for them the whole time and possibly also was screaming in my house for them.

Side note: I thought the conversation between of Chris and his dad was beautiful. I felt Chris's pain of grieving his brother's death and trying to connect with his father and not avoid the topic of his brother.

Alicia's writing makes me believe in love and I love how she makes her characters fall for one another. I need her to write more baseball romances - please and thank you!

PS - I will say this in every review I do for Alicia but if you do not follow or subscribe to Alicia's newsletter - YOU ARE MISSING OUT!

4.5

This book is such a delight! It's full of summery baseball fun, and a hidden identity plot that feels insurmountable, but leads to a beautiful happy ending.

I was so happy to discover a baseball romance! It is my favorite sport to watch but definitely under appreciated in the sports romance arena. With that said, I really was not a fan of the lying/deceit aspect and feel that it really affected my enjoyment of this book.

All in all, this romance was a lot of fun and entertaining. It made me smile multiple times and was quite endearing. If you're searching for your next sports romance, I strongly suggest this book!

I am really grateful to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with a digital review copy of this wonderful book in exchange for my honest opinions.

Daphne and her best friend attend a baseball game to cheer her up. She has been feeling down after her divorce, and a night out is bound to help her feel better. Maybe she should have laid off the beers because she ended up heckling the star player, causing him to have an emotional outburst in the middle of the game.

A sobered-up Daphne realizes her big mistake and ends up apologizing to him via ‘DM’ later without exactly explaining who she is. Now, she is working with the team and has to encounter him every day. The only problem is that he hates her because she is the heckler. How can she get him to like the real her?

The beginning of the relationship is very rocky. Daphne doesn’t know how to confess the truth to Chris. I really wish she had come clean sooner. It would have spared the drama and the ultimate pain. However, it was very fun watching them fall in love twice. They connect online and then finally in person.

I really didn’t know what to expect going into this one. Honestly, I’m not the biggest sports romance lover. Maybe it’s because I don’t actively watch sports a lot, though I find them entertaining. The author does a good job of meshing sports and romance without neglecting either.

Chris is the real reason I enjoyed the storyline. He is a masculine guy who has a lot of issues and is somehow very vulnerable and kind. The author really does a good job of peeling back the layers of his character. Daphne is the perfect match for him, as she has been hurt and deserves a loving man.

Overall, a nice read for sports romance lovers. I would pick up another book by the author.

The cover is A+ and I was so hoping to love this one, but I was easily distracted throughout it and I had a really hard connecting with our FMC. I love the dual POV, and I enjoyed seeing the characters work through their trauma and post divorce / death, but I didn’t really believe that a famous baseball player would chat with a weird IG name with barely any photos, and then it just felt like catfishing entire time when she should’ve said something so much sooner… I think lots of people will enjoy just wasn’t for me

4⭐️
2🔥
 
Quick Breakdown:
 
Baseball Romance
Workplace
Epistolary Vibes
Secret Identity
Cinnamon Roll Hero
Friends w/ Benefits
Divorced Heroine
Dual POV
Open Door – Mild to Moderate Detail
 
Thank you @berkleyromance for the gifted eARC and & finished copy & @prhaudio for the ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.
 
Shortly after signing her divorce papers, Daphne gets drunk at an MLB game & ends up heckling player Chris Kepler. Feeling awful & out of character, she DMs Chris to apologize, not expecting a response, but forgets to own up to the actual heckling. What comes about is an unexpected friendship & connection that only becomes more complex once Daphne starts to work with Chris’s team.
 
There is nothing better than finding a book that makes you rethink one of your least favorite tropes. I typically steer clear of miscommunication & I must be honest, there is a big undertone of that here. Daphne essentially catfishes Chris, although it’s genuinely unintentional. The events of the books felt so realistic, as if the circumstances could easily have happened to me & I couldn’t help enjoying myself. The romance was so soft & full of pining. I adored how Daphne & Chris seemed to help heal each other’s wounds from their previous emotional baggage.
 
Outside of relating to Daphne, Chris was a huge selling point. He is the BIGGEST cinnamon roll hero. Gimme more emotional men who wear their heart on their sleeve, please! He was equal parts hesitant to open himself up, but searching for the right person to open up to, & he found that in Daphne twice.
 
I listened to this on audio. It’s narrated by Kristen Sieh & I instantly became a fan. While this is told in dual POV, both parts are read by Kristen & I love how her voice sounds when narrating male voices. Something about it brought out how earnest Chris is & it had me hooked from the very beginning.

Daphne is having a rough day and is at the baseball game she was supposed to attend with her not ex. Of course she spends the game drinking beers which leads her to some heckling. But when she makes one player cry, Daphne realizes she may have taken things a bit too far. She reaches out to Chris after the game to apologize, only to accidentally leave out the part of the message where she says that she is the person who was heckling him. The two begin an unusual friendship, DMing back and forth through social media. But when Daphne gets a job working with Chris’s team, she isn’t sure how to tell him that she is Duckie, the woman he’s been talking to.

Miscommunication, or rather a huge omission is a big part of this story, so if that doesn’t vibe with you, take this as your warning. I did get frustrated with Daphne at times and wanted her to be honest, but it was not a deal breaker for me. Chris and Daphne were such a good match and despite their individual struggles, it was nice to see them slowly open up to each other and let their walls down. Chris in particular was the star of this book in my opinion. He was the sweetest book boyfriend of all time and I just wanted to give him a hug through most of the story.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy.

This was a sweet story that I will recommend to those that love a sports romance. Also perfect for those that like a lead character with something realistic like suffering from panic attacks (as Chris does in this book). I am recommending this one to fans of romance (even for those who don't prefer a sports romance - I think they will find something to like here with Daphne and Chris). This was my first book from Alicia Thompson and I look forward to reading more from her.

Chris Kepler doesn’t wear gloves because he wants to “feel the bat” and I DON’T KNOW WHY I LOVE THAT SO MUCH.

About the book: Reeling from a recent divorce (and from one too many beers), Daphne Brink heckles professional baseball player, Chris Kepler. The heckling footage circulates all of the regional television networks, and partially due to her newfound infamy, Daphne becomes a temporary sideline reporter for Chris’s team, the Carolina Battery.

This book was really cute! There is a massive mistaken identity element, which can be a really tough sell. That kind of dishonesty really rankles me. Like, at one point in this book I said to myself “is this… unforgivable?” But I do think Thompson did a great job of bringing everything together in the end.

I gotta award bonus points for the phone call scene because that one’s going to be living in my head for a loooong time 🥵 After reading this and With Love, from Cold World I can confirm that Alicia Thompson knows how to write a steeeeaaamy scene!

Big thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the eARC!

This started out so promising but it was really frustrating that Daphne wouldn't just say who she was. Letting it go on as long as it did was unnecessary and uncomfortable. That said, the baseball setting was fun and the banter between Chris and his teammates was good.

This was a fun read! As someone who loves a good messy romance, adding baseball into the mix was an absolute win for me. While some readers might not appreciate the heroine keeping her true identity a secret from the hero, I found that it added a lot of depth to both the plot and the romance, keeping me hooked from start to finish.

From the cover, I was expecting a lighthearted story, but the book also tackles some pretty heavy themes. I thought the author did an excellent job balancing these with the romance, creating a narrative that was both engaging and meaningful. The spice level was quite strong, which added an extra layer of excitement to the story.

The pacing of the plot was generally good, but I did feel that the characters developed feelings too quickly after just a few text messages. The author could have done a better job of gradually showcasing how Daphne and Chris fell for each other. Despite this, the chemistry and tension between Daphne and Chris made up for the rapid shift in their relationship.

All in all, this was a really fun and entertaining romance. It was heartwarming and brought a smile to my face several times. I would highly recommend this book if you’re looking for your next sports romance read!

The way this book gave me secondhand embarrassment for Daphne whenever she heckled Chris and he cried. If I was Daphne the book would’ve ended because I would’ve had to move to a new state and change my name. But that isn’t the point lol. The only reason I gave this book 4 stars and not 5 are because I hate when the main character is intentionally lying about something because they are afraid of the outcome. Also the fact that Daphne was so well connected and could just get a job on the team was super unrealistic. Other than that, I loved seeing Daphne and Chris’ relationship(s) develop and seeing both of them open up to each other.

After signing her divorce papers, Daphne just wanted to blow off steam. Unfortunately for Chris Kepler, the 3rd baseman for the Carolina Battery, that came in the form of heckling him during a home game. And with tears in his eyes, neither Chris nor Daphne will get to pretend it never happened. But when Daphne tries to apologize via DM, she accidentally forgets to identify herself as the heckler. As Chris and Daphne talk more, they begin to fall for each other - first in writing, then in real life. But the longer their relationship goes on, the harder it is for Daphne to fess up to being Chris’s heckler. When the truth comes out, both Daphne and Chris will have to decide if being together is worth the pain and sacrifice, or if they’ve struck out of love.

I have to say up front: I am not a baseball girl. While I enjoy sports romances in general, I’ve never been so eager to read a baseball one. But Alicia Thompson may have converted me.

I’ve loved Thompson’s previous books; With Love, from Cold World was one of my favorite reads of 2023. If you’ve loved her previous books, you won’t want to pass on The Art of Catching Feelings. I’m sure if you love baseball, you will love this romance even more, but Chris and Daphne’s relationship is so great on the page that non-baseball fans (or non-sports fans in general) will still find a lot to love in this book.

Thompson did include a good deal of baseball terminology and/or references within this story, but thankfully, Daphne is also clueless when it comes to the sport, so many things are explained or answered in plot. Readers can thoroughly enjoy Chris’s chosen profession without needing to know much about it.

One of my least favorite things about romances is the third act breakup. Of course, with a plot like this book has, I knew going in that Chris would inevitably find out that Daphne was his heckler. Knowing what would inevitably happen definitely made the last part of the book a lot easier to read, so even when I’m not a fan of the third act breakup, I actually didn’t mind seeing it here.

The Art of Catching Feelings was fun, had plenty of steamy goodness, and had more internal conflict than external. Thompson does include some heavier topics, especially regarding Chris, but it was all handled well by both the characters and the author. I really enjoyed this read, and it firmly placed Alicia Thompson on my auto-buy list.

Thanks to Berkley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

I admit I'm struggling with this book and have finished about 50% before putting it down. I'm not really a fan of the deception from Daphne, the FMC and how she is KNOWINGLY lying to Chris, the MMC. I just can't see how they can have a loving, trusting relationship when it's all being built on deception. It gives me the ick.

I honestly don't know if I'll finish the book.

I completely devoured this book! I fell in love with Chris and Daphne and how their story evolved. The themes on grief and suicide of a loved one was written with care. I sometimes don’t like books with a secret that one character has on the other. However, I think it was done really well and I was satisfied with the ending! I appreciated that Daphne was able to connect with Chris as herself and not just as “Duckie” and stopped talking as “Duckie” when she became more serious with Chris. This was such a heartwarming, emotional, and fun book! Alicia Thompson is for sure an auto-buy author for me. Thank you Netgally for the ARC!