I knew early on that I was probably not the best reader for this book- I cannot bring myself to care one bit about baseball (I have been that person in excellent seats with a book in hand), and once I realized this was going to fully hinge on lying/miscommunication I REALLY had a hard time investing in it. Alicia Thompson captures PEOPLE in her books so well, so Chris and Daphne felt realistic and their chemistry was fabulous, and that is what DID work for me.

I’m conflicted about this book. The whole premise is Daphne finalizes her divorce, goes to a baseball game, heckles a player, starts a penpal relationship with him, works with him, and ends up falling for him. It had to be the miscommunication that I didn’t appreciate

Daphne had a bit of a weak personality. She didn’t want to lead Chris on when she attempted to apologize, but that’s exactly what she did

Chris needed therapy. Long before the trauma that ensued. But him finding out about Daphne shouldn’t have been the catalyst for that to happen

I don’t think I loved the inner character dialogue. It was very long for me and pulled me out of the story more than it kept me in. With Daphne not revealing her true self, I got uncomfortable with the spice scene. Because Chris bared his soul and told her his deepest secrets and feelings. Yet Daphne left out the most important part of who she was. In terms of character POV switch for the chapters, I do think the switch could have been made more clear.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I ate this book up!!! Daphne is our MFC and she was just delightful, so sweet and quirky but not in a cliche way! Chris is our main guy and I loved him so much, he's dealing with grief beyond measure and I loved how vulnerable he was and the journey we got to see him go through as he moves through his grief. The book opens with Daphne going to a baseball game, which she hates (me too girl), but as she starts drinking she gets into the hype and starts heckling poor Chris in a way that reminds him of his recently deceased big brother, he starts to cry in the middle of the game!!! Guess he didn't get the memo that there's no crying in baseball, he of course turns into a meme and it's all very embarrassing. Daphne goes on instagram to apologize, but whoops, somehow she forgets to include that she's his heckler! They start talking and really like each other but she doesn't know how to tell him, only to further complicate matters by starting to work as a social media person for his team! I was on the edge of my seat just waiting for the it all to come tumbling down! You won't be disappointed with how Alicia Thompson handles the mishaps and wraps everything up in a perfect HEA!

The lying and miscommunication completely ruined this for me. How can I be convinced they love each other if she can’t even be honest with him? Immediately no.

Alicia Thompson always has the best covers and the most fun voice when writing. Baseball romances have been making their rounds this summer and this one is definitely a home run (pun intended)

4.5 stars

Another 3rd person POV book, but that’s okay, this one was good too! By a fifth of the way into the story I was already very emotional at all that was happening! The way that Daphne felt after heckling Chris, I have totally had that feeling after arguing with someone or saying something mean to them, even if I felt justified when I said it, the look on their face or how they responded to it, similar to Chris in that first situation, totally sent me spiraling into feeling horrible.

Now this was a major story of not telling someone a secret that could have been solved so much earlier in the book, but I know that it was the plotline in a way, so had to be done that way. And even though I know that, it is why I couldn’t give it a 5 star rating, had to drop to 4.5 instead.

But the chemistry between these two both through text messages as well as in person once Daphne took over her sister-in-law Layla’s job working with Chris’s baseball team was so good. And the steamy scenes had some very steamy bits that I enjoyed, and were perfect for when they were a part of the story and not too much. I loved the awkwardness of Daphne’s rambling at times when she was nervous, it was realistic for me, and reminded me of my own bad habit of oversharing or saying things at the wrong time.

The book made me remember how much I used to enjoy baseball and going to my hometown games for the Kansas City Royals, whether we were having a winning year or one of our normal struggling years. And when the author did name some real teams, I had a little hope maybe she’d name my KC team, but alas it wasn’t to be. All in all this was the perfect read for this time of year, the baseball season, and I loved the romance so much. I’ve wanted to read this author before, and now I know I will have to go back and read some more!

Daphne doesn’t know baseball, but that doesn’t stop her from going to a game. Her pregnant sister in law does media for the team. Daphne gets carried away and heckles a good looking player named Chris. When she apologizes online, she forgets to tell Chris that she was the heckler.
It gets even more awkward for Daphne after her sister in law has to go on bedrest. Daphne takes over the media position, where she has to interview players and travel with the team, and after awhile she and Chris start dating exclusively.
However, Daphne is stuck. Chris doesn’t know Daphne was his heckler,, and now she doesn’t know how to tell him. Will this secret ruin their relationship permanently?
I enjoyed this well written sports romance, 4 stars.

From the publisher:
Daphne Brink doesn’t follow baseball, but watching “America’s Snoozefest” certainly beats sitting at home in the days after she signs her divorce papers. After one too many ballpark beers, she heckles Carolina Battery player Chris Kepler, who quickly proves there might actually be a little crying in baseball. Horrified, Daphne reaches out to Chris on social media to apologize . . . but forgets to identify herself as his heckler in her message….
Daphne isn’t sure how much longer she can keep lying to Chris, especially as she starts working with the team in real life and their feelings for each other deepen. When he finds out the truth, will it be three strikes, she’s out?

Thanks to Berkley Romance and and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Art of Catching Feelings is a heartwarming and witty romance that explores the unexpected ways love can take form. Fresh from a divorce, Daphne Brink finds herself heckling baseball star Chris Kepler at a game, causing him to have a nervous breakdown. Feeling remorse, she reaches out anonymously to apologize for her terrible heckling. Chris, nursing his own emotional wounds, is captivated by Daphne's online persona, sparking a hilarious online exchange.

The majority of the story revolves around Daphney's hidden identity as her being a heckler. She's worried about the reveal but truly feels for Chris as the two become closer. The plot may seem a bit dreary, but I enjoyed it, especially the inclusion of baseball. I love a good sports romance, and this love story is scorching. The slow burn was torture but so worth it. The emotional turmoil and added drama fueled a bit of frustration on my part, but nonetheless, I enjoyed it. Overall, this is a charming and emotional read with layers of forgiveness and understanding that will make you smile.

Baseball metaphors and pining and secret identity (that didn’t make me throw my hands up because it was really well done) and tenderness and romance and swooning.

(of course a baseball book got me out of my slump!)

Alicia Thompson’s books just keep getting better and better.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Art of Catching Feelings is a sweet and emotional romance following Chris, a struggling baseball player, and Daphne his one-time heckler. The story is full of charm with so much humor, tension, and emotion laced throughout the engaging plot and writing. Daphne and Chris were beautiful together and separately, their conversations led to so much charged chemistry, and the slow buildup to them coming together was perfect. I loved how they were so soft with each other yet willing to share all of their raw and gritty sides; the deep topics never got too heavy but added a needed layer of dimension. I absolutely recommend this warm and vulnerable romance and cannot wait to explore more from Alicia Thompson!

Read If You Like:
⚾Sports Romance⚾
⚾Friends w Benefits⚾
⚾Slow Burn⚾
⚾Hidden Identity⚾
⚾Mental Health Rep⚾
⚾Dual POV⚾
⚾Workplace Romance⚾

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing the ARC.

I am so torn on this book.

On one hand, I absolutely loved the story and the characters. I loved how they were both so fragile and helped each other find their strength. I loved how their relationship blossomed into something amazing.

On the other hand, I really, really had a hard time with the fact that Daphne never identified herself. Like really hard. I understand the reasoning provided in the book. I understand how truly complicated and convoluted it all was. But I still cannot, for the life of me, understand why she didn't just say "oops I left out key information" in the the very beginning. And that misunderstanding was the sole conflict of this book.

The writing was excellent, the characters were excellent, the conflict was just not what I wanted or needed it to be. But I know plenty of people that will absolutely eat this book up (and I'll probably end up rereading it regardless).

Daphne is just newly divorced and in order to prevent her ex from getting baseball tickets from her brother she decided to go to the game with her best friend. Daphne gets too drunk and yells an insult that hurts Chris (one of the players)’s feelings and makes him tear up. Feeling bad about her behavior she decides to slide into his DMs to apologize, except she forgets to mention she is his heckler and an unlikely friendship starts.

This book is so much fun! I could not put it down! I read the whole thing in one sitting. There were some parts that made me cringe so hard but it was what the author intended. I thought the love story was incredibly fun but I love a cinnamon roll MMC.

This book does have some really serious topics so protect yourself if the mention of depression and unaliving is too much for you.

Overall the book was so fantastic! I highly recommended!

Tropes: cinnamon roll mmc, miscommunication, rivals to lovers, work place romance

Thank you to netgalley, Berkley publishing, Berkley romance, and Alicia Thompson for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced reader copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I haven’t read many sports romances, but of the ones I have read, I’m thinking ones involving baseball players are my favorites! It makes sense since it’s my favorite sport! I really enjoyed Daphne/Duckie and her quirkiness. I found her flawed yet endearing. Chris was adorable and oh so swoony! I liked that they both had real life issues that they were going through which made them more relatable. Thompson did a great job handling the anxiety and depression rep. The text conversations between Chris and Duckie were delightful, and I enjoyed the banter between him and Daphne as well.

I struggle with the miscommunication trope though, and that’s really what this book focuses on so I wasn’t sure that I’d like it at first. Well, leave it to Thompson to make this trope work for me! Daphne had many chances to come clean, yet, I was able to understand she didn’t sooner. Yea it was frustrating, but it kind of worked for this story.

I listened to the audiobook and thoroughly enjoyed Kristen Sieh’s narration. She was perfect for Daphne and I enjoyed how the emotions were portrayed for both characters. I would have loved a dual perspective/narrator situation for this one so we could have gotten more of Chris’s feelings portrayed.

While this wasn’t my favorite by the author, I highly enjoyed it. You should definitely check this out if you want an out of the park romance!

Thank you Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the digital ARC and PRH Audio for an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review!

📣 a You’ve Got Mail-ish contemporary romance with📱 ⚾️ 👄.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

📖 what’s one of your Tuesday numbers? 1, dog I’m pet sitting, infinite, number of cups of coffee I need, 1, burnt orange romper I’m wearing.

Alicia Thompson is one of my fave contemporary romance authors. She crafts these compelling stories that are a riveting balance of emotional and physical.

The Art of Catching Feelings is another striking, winsome romance. It even features some plot details that stressed me out—& still, I really liked this book. I think that’s the mark of a great writer.

(✍️ I’d also like to state for the record that I think this is the first time I’ve ever crushed on a Chris.)

Baseball player Chris is a sweetheart grappling with the recent loss of his brother by suicide, a loss he’s kept secret from almost everyone.

Recently divorced Daphne (though not really recently separated) heckles him at a game, hitting a sensitive spot & devastating Chris & setting everything else about the plot in motion.

Daphne & Chris have a semi-anonymous online relationship (she knows who he is but not vice versa) & then a real life one, & that stress got to me as their story unfolds. Part of the reason for that stress was that I knew how much they belonged together 🥹, another mark in Thompson’s favor as a writer.

Though I wish that that truth had come out earlier, I still felt invested in both leads & in their romance, pulled along by their want for each other.

So while this isn’t my fave Alicia Thompson romance (shout-out to Cold World!), it’s still another really great book & I’m already excited about the author’s next release.

4.5 ⭐️. Out today!

Please see a trusted reviewer’s list of CWs.

[ID: Jess holds the ebook in front of green & pink plants.]

Thoughts: Daphne and Chris have great chemistry together, both via text as Duckie and Chris, and in person. There were plenty of cute scenes, Chris was total #boyfriendgoals, and Daphne was likable and relatable. I loved the baseball setting and author Alicia Thompson realistically portrays on-the-field action and the art of sportscasting. So why the three stars? It was too much of a retelling, in my opinion. Thompson puts her own spin on it, but essentially it felt like the movie You've Got Mail with baseball and sex. I'm probably being too harsh because there are a lot of differences -- like Chris' family issues and Daphne's very recent divorce, among other unique tidbits -- but the premise itself felt too familiar, which kept me from getting really into it. I didn't dislike it at all, but Thompson's latest isn't my favorite of her works. But I really do appreciate a baseball romance that's perfect for binge-reading this time of year.

**Thank you, NetGalley and publishers, for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.**

Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC!

First of all, look at that cover. Oh my, is it beautiful.

Wow, I love this book. This is sports romance done right. I loved the tension. I loved that Chris fell in love with Daphne twice. It was the cutest thing to watch. I just loved this so much.

I also very much loved the discussions about mental health. It was done with so much respect and love and it really resonated with me. So thank you to the author for that.

Another thing I loved were the side characters. They were all so supportive and fun people. I loved reading about them, too.

Overall, this book was such a joy to read and I neeeeeeed to own a copy.

After a terrible divorce, Daphne Brink decides to go a baseball game (despite not knowing anything about the sport) and heckle one of the professional players... what she doesn't expect is to make him cry and then become so guilt ridden that she begins messaging him... but she forgot to tell him who she is and as they fall for one another her secret might just destroy her second chance at romance. Daphne Brink is newly divorced and decides to go to the baseball game she was meant to go to with her ex, the only thing is Daphne knows nothing about the sport and isn't exactly a fan. So a few days after signing her divorce paper she goes to the game and decides to heckle one of the professional players, Chris Kepler. Her heckle was just meant to be a joke (she said it when she was super drunk) what she didn't expect was that it would make Chris cry and it would become a widely televised moment. Daphne is riddled with guilt and messages him to apologize... except she never actually says who she is and to her surprise he begins to talk to her and confide in her. Chris doesn't normally respond to random fan messages on social media, but he's still grieving and dealing with a lot, from his older brother's suicide to the strain of the game and his relationship with his own father. Yet when a DM from a "Duckie" catches his eye, he impulsively answers and so begins a sweet and romantic relationship. Daphne is falling for Chris but the more she talks to him the ore afraid she gets of revealing who she is and to make matters worse because of her nationalized moment as his heckler she is actually hired to do the team interviews... so now she has to pretend to not know Chris while also keeping her secret. Can she keep lying to Chris or will her online and in person worlds collide and the truth spill out and destroy the relationship between them? This started off really cute but got kind of annoying because honestly Daphne was straight up catfishing this poor dude for so so long and it really felt like she would have absolutely never ever told him. Daphne had so many opportunities, had so many chances, especially as the relationship was getting more real, that it felt a bit weird and maddening that she just refused to tell the poor guy. Chris is better than me, if I found out someone who not only heckled me, but used what I told them about myself in my vulnerable moments and threw it in my face, and then also would have never told me the truth if I didn't find out, I would have never turned back and couldn't even be in the same room as them. I can understand Daphne's fear but it just didn't feel right to me. I thought the romance was sweet at first but then the whole third act breakup happened and honestly, I kind of wanted better for Chris. Overall, it's a great book if you are a fan of hidden identity relationship stories.

Release Date: June 18,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own. @BerkleyPub @BerkleyRomance #BerkleyPartner #Berkley #BerkleyBookstagram #BerkleyBookTok
I loved this book. Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE romance and I LOVE baseball (especially the Red Sox), so this book was the best of both worlds for me! I loved the chemistry between Daphne and Chris and I also loved all the 80s movie references featured in this book. Out of Alicia Thompson's novels, this is probably my second favorite of her novels (My first is Love in the Time of Serial Killers), but this is now a very very close second! I can't wait for Alicia Thompson's next book! I highly recommend you go pick up this book RIGHT NOW!!!

5+ Stars!!!!


Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

********


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The Art of Catching Feelings by Alicia Thompson
Narrator: Kristen Sieh
Rating: 4 stars
Steam: 2 chilis
Pub date: 6/18

Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing for my advanced copy and PRH Audio for my complimentary audiobook.

When newly divorced Daphne Brink heckles Carolina Battery player Chris Kepler after a few too many beers, she inadvertently sets off a chain of events that neither could have anticipated. What begins as a drunken outburst turns into an online connection when Daphne, under the pseudonym "Duckie," reaches out to apologize to Chris without revealing her identity.

I loved Alicia Thompson’s other novels, and this one is no different! It’s full of humor and heart, and the interactions between Daphne and Chris sizzle with chemistry.

As a baseball fan, I loved all the references to the game and the team's found family aspect. The central plot device—Daphne's concealed identity—casts a shadow over the story, and while the miscommunication adds drama and excitement, it also brings a sense of impending doom that stressed me out.

Despite the reliance on deception, the story's charm and the characters' depth make it a worthwhile read. Chris's vulnerability and Daphne's growth are beautifully portrayed, adding an emotional element to their romance. Their journey from strangers to lovers is heartwarming, and I was rooting for them to get their HEA. I went back and forth between the ebook and the audiobook, and the narrator, Kristen Sieh, did an amazing job bringing all of the characters to life.

I think the secret identity piece will divide readers, but I hope people will give this adorable rom-com a chance! The genuine connection between Daphne and Chris shines through, making it a story worth rooting for.

Read if you like:
*sports romance (baseball)
*secret identity
*miscommunication
*dual POV
*open-door romance

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Imagine this - you heckle a major league baseball player and move him to tears. Then, you develop an anonymous friendship via DMs, and finally, you have to work with him in real life without revealing your online alter ego. Yep, Daphne definitely was spinning a web here, and she could only hope to untangle it when she catches feelings for Chris.

It's not a secret that I adore Thompson's books and this was another great one. From the rather amusing meet-cute to the meaningful discussions they shared, I loved how Chris and Daphne interacted and how their bond grew. Yes, poor Chris was left in the dark that Duckie and Daphne were the same person, and I know so many people hate deception and miscommunication, but Thompson made it work. She was able to help me understand why Daphne made these choices, and though I grew frustrated at times, I was able to forgive Daphne as I rooted for this union.

Both Daphne and Chris had some demons to slay. Daphne was finally free of a rather toxic relationship. She was a bit gun shy given that she had bought into the fantasy and not the reality of her past relationship. This made her doubt herself and her feelings for Chris.

Chris was still reeling from his bother's death by suicide. He was brought up burying his emotions and it was taking a toll on him and his game. It was very touching the way he opened up to Duckie and eventually, Daphne. And they were there for each other and provided support as each worked through their issues.

Funny, sweet, sexy - this book had it all. I loved the romance, the drama, and the baseball, and was impressed with how Thompson blended it all together. Overall, this was another home run from Thompson.