The Art of Catching Feelings is the story of a woman at a baseball game (Daphne), a few drinks in, who heckles a player in a slump (Chris). It turns into a thing so she attempts to apologize over instagram but fails to explain she is the heckler so they just start chatting. Yup, you can see where this is going…. Because oh yeah, she gets hired by his team and he doesn’t realize she is the same person he has been texting. Let me be clear, I hate miscommunication and stories centered around people not being open. But something about this story really struck a chord with me. Chris’s slump was due to a recent tragedy and his mental health was in shambles. Daphne was trying to regain her footing after a divorce. The two of them were just inherently likable, their banter was off the charts and they just felt like real people caught in this awkward situation. And the baseball bits were fun and not over the top and made for a perfect sports romance. All in all, it was a sweet summer romance that I flew through and really enjoyed.

⚾️ The Art of Catching Feelings ⚾️
Alicia Thompson
#BerkleyPartner

I was so excited to read this one! I haven’t read a lot of baseball romance and the concept of the heckler and the heckled coming together sounded fun! I really enjoyed this one. I know that the secret identity and lying is going to cause issue for some of you, but it did give me some You’ve Got Mail type vibes….I mean I wish she would have told him sooner than she does. The way this all wrapped up is what made me more ok with it in the end and oh the angst and spice was HOT I liked the texting conversations that happen between Daphne/Duckie and Chris. Overall, this is a great twist on a baseball, secret identity, workplace romance that I think a lot of you would enjoy!

After drunkenly heckling a baseball player whose emotional reaction goes viral, Daphne reaches out to apologize on Instagram, sparking a friendship that evolves into a friends-with-benefits relationship, complicated by her new job with the team and her uncertainty about revealing her identity.

Read if you vibe with….
⚾️ Baseball Romance
🤫 Secret Identity
💬 Texting
🎤 Workplace Romance
❣️ Friends with Benefits
🔥 Slow Burn
💞Dual POV

Daphne Brink is not a baseball fan at all, but she ends up at a Carolina Battery game after signing divorce papers. After having a few drinks, she gets into the spirit of the game and heckles one of the players, literally driving him to tears.

Chris Kepler can’t believe he became emotional over a fan’s taunts. That never happened before, but he’s in a pretty bad state. He’s grieving and not playing the best baseball. When a fan named Duckie sends him a text message empathizing with him, he is quite receptive and begins a friendship with her. The unique thing is that the friendship is strictly through text messages, so he never comes face to face with her.

Meanwhile, Daphne gets a job with the baseball team. What Chris doesn’t know is Duckie and Daphne are one and the same person. What’s going to happen when the truth comes out?

I’m a huge baseball fan so I couldn’t resist this one. I’m always looking for some good fiction set to the backdrop of baseball. This is a good, solid romance, although I thought it took a bit too long for the truth to come out.

There were a few steamy love scenes. I was afraid Chris and Daphne’s chemistry would melt my e-reader. I liked both characters very much, even when I wanted to shake Daphne into coming clean with Chris.

The supporting characters were all portrayed realistically. I cared about them almost as much as I cared about the main characters. I could even see a sequel in the making.

This is the first book I've read by this author, but I'll be checking out her backlist. Overall, a hot romance with emotional characters you can truly care about.





FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book is a wonderful delight. You can feel the conflict coming a mile away but it doesn't really matter because you've fallen in love with these characters and want everything to work out for them. Daphne makes some really terrible choices but always in the name of saving someone she loves pain or putting herself first for once in her life. I think everyone is going to fall in love with Chris. This book was so much fun from start to finish and I hope everyone gets a chance to check it out!

Many thanks to Berkley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Read If You Like:

-Hidden Identity
-Mental Health Representation
-Sports Romance
-Friends w/Benefits
-Slow Burn
-Dual POV
-Workplace Romance-

The Art of Catching Feelings is a cute yet emotional romance following Chris, a struggling baseball player, and Daphne his one-time heckler. The tension between these two was SO GOOD!
I loved Chris and Daphne together but also loved them on their own. Felt very real in a sense like you know they are lasting past the book! Such a good read

This was such a heartfelt, swoon-worthy sports romance!
Daphne is a new divorcee who knows next to nothing about baseball. After having one too many beers at a game, she heckles Chris Kepler and makes him cry. She DMs him to apologize only to fail to identify herself as his heckler and when he responds, they strike up a friendship. When Daphne starts working with the team in real life she has a hard time dealing with her guilt and ends their online relationship.

Daphne and Chris were great together. Chris was a caring, cinnamon roll of a man struggling with loss and Daphne’s a bit of a mess but completely relatable.
I wasn’t always the biggest fan of her decision making but I couldn’t actually be mad at her. Their connection was so genuine and her fear of losing that was understandable.
The chemistry and angst were just so good!

I loved their text conversations as “Duckie” and Chris and how vulnerable they were with each other.
The mental health rep in this was so well done!
The closer they became, the more anxious I was for her to tell him the truth. I do wish he’d found out sooner but I was happy with how everything worked out because that ending was PERFECTION!

The Art Of Catching Feelings: ⁣
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Thank you @prhaudio @berkleyromance for my gifted copies! #PRHAudioPartner #BerkleyPartner ⁣
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“If you love something, there’s no reason to deprive yourself of it. Love’s not a superstition. It’s not a game of failure.”⁣
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I’m sorry, but I thought I was the only one who felt this way about Fastball’s 90s banger? Are we like a kindred spirit Alicia Thompson? Also, my husband once told me in an argument that for a Communications major, I’m horrible at clear communication, so I’d like to invite Daphne to the same miscommunication/com major party. Hello. ⁣
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If you take out the entire “I’ve been lying these entire time and can’t find a way to tell you” miscommunication/dishonesty trope, it’s a 5 🏃‍♀️ for sure. But the “just tell him already”s got very loud and very insistent, so we’re gonna knock it down a bit. Also, I feel like it someone is that sketchy in not talking in the phone. ⁣
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The audio was amazing. Kristen Sieh has got the dubious husky male lead and male goofy best friend down pat. It was very fun listening to the different characters. This is a little bit tamale spicy, so as always, wear headphones if you must, or don’t. Do you boo.⁣
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Overall, I don’t do miscommunication tropes, but here we are, really enjoying and liking this one. Is The Art of Catching Feelings the exception to the rule? I believe so. ⁣
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Out June 18th.⁣
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QOTD: What sports team do you cheer for? Don’t do sports, that’s ok! What is your ideal snack?

The Art of Catching Feelings by @aliciabooks is a must read if you love sports romance or enjoy baseball.

⚾ Probaseball MMC
⚾ Broadcaster FMC
⚾ Secret Identity
⚾ He Falls First
⚾ Lots of chemistry
☕🔥🔥 Spicy
**There are also other sensitive subject content (please check trigger warnings).**

One night out at the ballpark will leave Daphne having to make amends. Is she able to show remorse for the damage she's caused? When the opportunity strikes she must decide if she'll reveal her identity or continue the charade.

Chris Kepler loves to play baseball but is still trying to work through a painful loss that sometimes gets in the way of his game. What will happen when a fan impacts his game?

This is a tender story about navigating through loss, overcome dissapointment, defeat, and finding a space to share feelings.

The way Alicia writes captures the tenderness and complex layers in the world of social media. Lines are blurred, trust is broken, and family expectations are challenged.

I can't wait to read her next book!

There is a lot to like about this book. To start, the male lead is a well rounded man, with emotional depth and compelling character. In other words, he’s not some postage stamp of a man. He’s got complexities, and I think seeing leading men like this in our romance novels is important.

I also found the other main characters to have depth, and I liked them all.

For me, though, the book moved slowly and I had to push myself through it.

In spite of my complaints about the book moving slowly, I think a lot of fans of contemporary rom coms, especially sports romances, will enjoy the depth of the main romance and the depth of the characters.

Thanks to @prhaudio and @berkleyromance @berkleypub for the #gifted ALC and eARC.

The Art of Catching Feelings
By Alicia Thompson
Narrated by Kristen Sieh

Story Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (0-5)
Narration: 🎧🎧🎧🎧 (0-5)
Overall: 3.5/5
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥 (0-5)

What I’m Starry-Eyed Over:
🤩 It’s written in third person dual POV, so one narrator works, and the narrator is a good storyteller.
🤩 Baseball romance!
🤩 I love how we start right away at the baseball game, Daphne celebrating her divorce.
🤩 The heckling is hilarious but brings all the feels fast with Chris’ reaction.
🤩 The storyline is captivating and so very cute.
🤩 The social media chatting/texting is very cleverly written as part of the plot.
🤩 The miscommunication/deceitful secrets didn’t bother me at first just built anticipation, excitement, and fun.
🤩 Lots of laugh-out-loud moments.
🤩 That first phone call. That first kiss—I’m a sucker for elevators.
🤩 Daphne and Chris are hot!!
🤩 Chris is total book boyfriend material—caring in all the ways. “Why don’t you want me to, sweetheart?”
🤩 Amazing friends.
🤩 The mental health representation.

What I’m Wishing/Dizzy About:
💫 I think it might have been my limit when the miscommunication/deceitfulness went on way past the halfway.
🤩 Which is too bad because EVERYTHING else is perfect: the Sharpie drawings, the on-field and sidelines of baseball season fun, the steamy goodness and intimacy.
💫 Some actual practice (steamy goodness) after the time apart would have been good.

Thank you to Berkley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this book did not do it for me. Right from the start I was more frustrated with the miscommunication and lies than intrigued to see where things go. The budding romance seemed almost immature for the age of the characters and it definitely turned me off. I ended up DNFing at about 80 pages in.

I love me an Alicia Thompson book! This was such a cute romance and it was just so easy to read. Overall I really liked the characters but I would say I was frustrated with the FMC times (a lot of times.) However, I did appreciate the character development and thought the pacing of the book was well executed. The story was entertaining and felt realistic. I would recommend this book to other romance lovers

This book made me care about baseball, which is the highest praise I can give a book. I absolutely loved this story, the characters felt so real and relatable to me. I dont always love a secret identity trope in romance, but I really felt for Daphne and why she felt she had to keep her secret from Chris. I also didnt mind the 3rd act breakup, I thought it was a necessary part of their relationship arc. I laughed and cried throughout this book, I highly recommend it.

Chris was an interesting character. The way he was via text was different from how he was in person, which is very relatable I think. I loved that it was finally a sports romance for baseball. Randy was a fun character. Daphne was eh. She could have been lovely, but I hated her scheming ways. I am not a fan of the miscommunication trope, or secret identity via lying. Other than that, I felt like the book flowed smoothly and the characters were authentic. I loved the banter and romance, the realness.

I really enjoyed this book, but there were definitely some things that I was not a fan of.

The plot revolves around a lie for most of the story. I don't love this in romance books because it stresses me out a bit. The whole issue could have easily been resolved, which was very frustrating at times, but other than that, I had fun with Daphne and Chris's relationship.

I thought it was sweet how thoughtful and kind Chris was with Daphne. He really took the time to get to know her, and it was obvious early on that he couldn't get enough of her.

Many warm moments in this book kept me reading on despite my frustration with Daphne's deceit.

Overall, I gave this a 3.5/5

Believe it or not this was my first sports romance, and I really loved it! Time to go binge Alicia’s backlist!!!

*Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review and to PRH Audio for the gifted ALC*

Guys, I like sports now! But really, this felt like you really got to learn about baseball and sideline reporting rather than just the love interest happening to be a third baseman. I liked the epistolary elements, especially mixed with the classic You've Got Mail trope. But Alicia Thompson also mixed in messages about mental health throughout that gave me the warm fuzzies. (Not to mention the mutual masturbation scene on the phone fogging up my earbuds) The family and team dynamics were delightful and Randy deserves the WORLD. But Daphne and Chris were no slouches either.

I think, unequivocally, this is the best yet from Alicia Thompson.

I am so in love with this book. It was such a unique set-up that I haven't read before. The writing by Alicia Thompson was so well done and I really felt like I was peeking into Chris and Duckie's text conversations. I couldn't put the book down, anxious to find out how it would be revealed that Duckie is also Daphne. The baseball elements were so genuine, too. I'm now wondering if I should get into baseball this summer :) The familial relationships were beautifully done. Representation of loss, grief, divorce, and anxiety all added a beautiful element to the story. I have nothing negative to say about this book! I'm a new ALicia Thompson fan and will be running to read her other books now!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book and found myself rooting for the characters even amongst all the secrets and lies. Chris really was a Book Boyfriend™️ and deserves the world. I struggled with Daphne’s lies and just wish she would have said something sooner. :/

Huge thanks to @berkleyromance for the advanced copy! ♥️♥️♥️ I am such a fan of Alicia and will continue to read whatever she puts out!

As an avid reader of sports romances, I was eagerly anticipating *The Art of Catching Feelings* by Alicia Thompson. It’s refreshing to see a sports romance centered around baseball, especially when hockey romances seem to dominate the genre. However, despite my high hopes, this book didn’t quite hit a home run for me.

The story revolves around Daphne and Chris, whose relationship develops primarily through text messages driven by the deception trope. While I usually enjoy an instant connection between characters, this one felt abrupt and unconvincing. The quick development of feelings between Chris and "Duckie" over a few weeks of texting left me scratching my head, struggling to buy into their connection.

Daphne, the main character, was a significant point of contention for me. Her decisions throughout the plot were often frustrating, especially the prolonged deception involving the text messages. It felt inevitable that Chris would eventually uncover the truth, and that anticipation detracted from my enjoyment. The narrative relied heavily on these texting conversations, which became overwhelming and monotonous rather than engaging. Spreading them out more evenly could have added to the story’s depth.

One of the biggest challenges for me was the moral dilemma posed by the major miscommunication and catfishing situation. Daphne’s conscious continuation of the deception, supported by some people in her life, made it difficult for me to fully root for her and Chris. While the pair shared some genuinely nice moments, the foundation of their romance is built on a lie felt wrong and undermined my investment in their journey.

Despite my reservations about the storyline, I must commend Alicia Thompson’s writing style. Her prose kept me engaged and moving forward, even when I was frustrated with the plot. This is the third book by Thompson I’ve read, and I believe her to be a talented writer. It’s unfortunate that the story chosen for this couple didn’t resonate with me as much as I’d hoped.

In conclusion, while *The Art of Catching Feelings* was readable and well-written, the core premise of the story didn’t align with my tastes. The deception trope, the rapid development of feelings, and the overload of texting conversations all contributed to my mixed feelings. However, I acknowledge Thompson’s skill as a writer and look forward to seeing what she comes up with next, hoping for a storyline that better aligns with my preferences.