Baseball fan or no, You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian is so sweet and charming that you’ll be rooting for everyone in this book like they’re your hometown team in no time.

Mark and Eddie’s love story starts off rocky, but that made reading how their relationship develops that much more satisfying. It was fun to see how the grumpy vs. sunshine trope would play out in these characters, and eventually see their opposing qualities compliment each other instead of causing them to clash. From the beginning (even if they didn’t want to admit it), Mark and Eddie have great chemistry, and their witty banter and funny inner thoughts made it easy to keep reading. While there are a lot of lighthearted moments in this book, I enjoyed that the story was also serious when it needed to be. Mark and Eddie both experience life-changing challenges and setbacks throughout the book, and it felt realistic how slow or confusing it can be to navigate it all. The theme of second chances is perfect for their story.

Besides Mark and Eddie, there were a variety of likable side characters, such as colleagues from Mark’s workplace, The Chronicle, Eddie’s teammates and the Robins’ management team, their friends and family, and more. I loved these side characters just as much as I loved Mark and Eddie, and I was invested in their goals and growth as equally as I was for the two main characters. When I finished the book, I realized that I not only missed Mark and Eddie (and Lula), but also Lilian and Maureen, Tony, Sam, Constance, and Eddie’s teammates, George, Eddie’s mom, and everyone else, too. Every character had unique details and perspectives that helped to flesh out the main characters, the storyline, and the historical setting of that time.

I don’t tend to read historical fiction, but surprisingly that aspect was one of the things that I enjoyed the most about this book. The author’s worldbuilding details and context clues made it easy to slip into the past, without it feeling overwhelming or confusing even if I sometimes didn’t recognize brand or store names, or historical figures or events of the time.

I especially enjoyed learning any details about that time period’s queer lives or queer history. As expected, the queer hardships of that time are numerous, but the book successfully balances it with moments of queer joy so that the hardships don’t dominate the narrative. Although the book mainly focused on queer themes and struggles, which makes sense considering the main characters, it didn’t shy away from also including the adversity of women, BIPOC, and the intersectionality of the three in those times. While progress has been made since then, the emotions and some of the struggles that the characters face still resonate today.

You Should Be So Lucky was a homerun for me! This was my first time reading a book by Cat Sebastian, but I’m looking forward to picking up more books by her. Big thank you to NetGalley, and Avon and Harper Voyager, for sending this book for review consideration! All opinions are my own! 4.25/5 stars.

It's no secret the Cat Sebastian is the champion of queer historical romance and this remains true with You Should Be So Lucky.

Set in the universe of We Could Be So good (one of my all time favorite books) YSBSL is full of soft, endearing and romantic moments while supplying the perfect amount of angst, and queer panic. There are cameos of our favorite characters from WCBSG while still maintaining the ability to be a perfect standalone. YSBSL explores the fear of coming out, the consequences of hiding who you are and finding love where you least expect it.

Eddie and Mark are perfect compliments to each other and that can be seen in how they bring each other comfort and how they push each other to grow. YSBSL has considerably less soup than WCBSL, but still absolutely crushes the caretaking and he hates everyone but him tropes. Watching Mark soften as he grew to care Eddie filled me with the warm and fuzzies and felt incredibly real.

I appreciated the relationship between Eddie's queerness and being a professional baseball player was handled. There was angst, fear, and trauma, but it never crossed the line of catastrophic. <spoiler>I also appreciated that Eddie's queerness was acknowledged by others in a manner that kept him safe, but also let him know he wasn't alone.</spoiler>

The worst part of this is book is that's it's fiction.

One of the most cruelly banal and gloriously affirming things about life is that it keeps on going after we’ve suffered something catastrophic. Cat Sebastian has written a string of dummies in love stories, but this is not that, though she remains strong on atmosphere and feeling. In You Should Be So Lucky, Eddie and Mark are each going through their own catastrophe when they meet. Eddie’s catastrophe is playing out in front of crowds and on TV. Mark’s is so private he can count on one hand the number people who know. They meet when Mark, a reporter, is assigned to write a weekly “diary” for Eddie, a baseball player going through a devastating batting slump.

Eventually they figure out the other is queer. Eventually they become friends. Eventually they become lovers. Their progress from writer and subject, to friends, to lovers, to more is lovely. It has everything you will want from a Cat Sebastian book. In some ways it reminded me a lot of The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes in that it pairs a person with big golden retriever energy with a person with scratchy feral cat energy and makes them deal with grief and other emotions. Eddie has to learn that he is more than his ability to hit a ball with a bat, and Mark has to deal with people knowing AND liking him. The horror!

If you already love Cat Sebastian’s books, this is your next great read. If you haven’t read Cat Sebastian, give this one a try and see what the fuss is about. If you are grieving the recent death of a partner, or in the grip of a calamity, this might not be the right read just yet. But if you are ready to hear about the day after calamity, dive in.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Avon and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

This book was not what I was expecting at all, but in the best possible way. Not familiar with Cat Sebastian's writing, I went into this thinking it was going to be a sweet MM sports romance with a bit of angst thrown in due to the era it is taking place in. What I didn't expect was a heartfelt love story that centers on grief, living unapologetically, and finding family in your friends.

Mark and Eddie are the perfect opposites attract couple. They are the epitome of the grumpy x sunshine trope. Their love is slow, sweet, and so subtle. You don't know exactly when it happens, but you suddenly know that they're deeply in love and it's so satisfying to see them find each other.

I loved the 1950's NY baseball setting because it sets the background so perfectly for what's socially acceptable and what isn't and how queer individuals were viewed at the time. The secondary characters are well-fleshed out, I'd love to see more of their lives, specifically the manager. Definitely a big fan of Cat Sebastian now.

You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian was just like other Cat Sebastian books, which is to say, they were perfect! I thought the romance was so cute and I loved, loved, loved these characters. They're not perfect but they're totally lovable. I love that these stories take place in the 50s and yet it manages to express queer acceptance in a time where that wasn't the easiest thing to do. Days after finishing it, I still thought of Mark and Eddie and all the incredibly sweet characters from this book. It was sweet, it was funny and it was memorable. I will be recommending this book to everyone and anyone.

Thanks to the publisher and author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I adore everything Cat Sebastian writes, and this was no exception. The world of 1960's baseball was so much fun to live in, and Eddie and Mark were a well-matched complimentary pair. Mark is a part-time newspaper writer putting his life back together after the loss of his long-time partner, and he gets assigned to ghostwrite weekly columns ostensibly from the perspective of the newest baseball player in town.

Eddie is the sweetest golden retriever hero, a young baseball player trying to put himself back together after an unexpected trade takes him away from his home, family and friends. He's naive and at times immature, but also sensitive and thoughtful. Mark, along with a cast of characters from his new team, help Eddie figure out how to get his game working again.

One thing I love about this series is the way the author explores spaces of queer acceptance in historical New York - obviously queer people have always existed but it's lovely to see the characters find spaces where they feel safe and belong. I also enjoy that there's no third act breakup, we just get to see the characters grow and be happy together.

I think this was a really solid release by Cat, but I don't know if it was a release for me. I wanted to like this, I really did! I almost worry that maybe I overhyped it for myself because how much I loved We Could Be So Good and I compared them too much to each other when it should have been treated as its own entity.

You Should Be So Lucky follows Eddie, a professional baseball player who has been traded off to a new baseball team in NYC and Mark, the journalist who has been tasked with writing about Eddie's less than stellar transition. Mark has been in a fog for the last year, grieving a partner who he has not been open about since the beginning. Through spending time together, Eddie and Mark learn a lot about grief, friendship, and trying to live an authentic queer life in the 1960s.

While I loved both Mark and Eddie as characters and I much cherished the scenes of domesticity they had together (my queen Lula!!), I struggled with this book and I think it's because it's very much a character driven story instead of plot driven. And yes, I know how silly it sounds since this is a book about a BASEBALL PLAYER, I think there was just too much baseball? There were too many scenes about Mark and Eddie's seperate lives and I wanted more of the two of them together. I didn't connect with this book and had to put it down a couple of times instead of binge reading it like I expected.

This book is still a stellar release from Cat Sebastian and I think if you're a fan of her previous works, you'll really enjoy this!

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon for this advanced copy, all thoughts are my own.

I had high expectations for this because of how well-loved it is by so many others, but it didn’t really hit for me. I have a hard time getting into stories that aren’t set in the present era and that might’ve been a big part of the issue. I also just didn’t find myself identifying well with these characters. The plot was good though and I loved the baseball.

Another Cat Sebastian classic! In 'You Should Be So Lucky,' acerbic and prickly reporter Mark Bailey (whom we met in 'We Could Be So Good') flounders after the death of his longtime partner. He reluctantly takes an assignment reporting on Eddie O'Leary, a winsome, heart-on-his-sleeve baseball player who was just traded to one of New York's new (fictional) expansion teams in 1960. Eddie's going through a record-setting slump, and the precise borders of Mark and Eddie's different griefs and loneliness catch edges and entangle. The love story follows a familiar shape for Sebastian: opposites attract and appreciate, feelings grow, emotions are simple and swelling and overwhelming. Cat Sebastian's novels always make my heart pound, my eyes well, and laughter bubble up regularly. 'You Should Be So Lucky' is no exception.

Many thanks to Avon and NetGalley for the eARC.

What I was expecting was a cute MM romance set around 1950s baseball but what I got was a beautiful story about love, grief and obviously baseball.

This was the perfect slow burn romance that kept the tension building between the grumpy reporter and eventually happy carefree baseball player. I loved watching them discover more and more people who respected them and were understanding and supportive.

When mark realizes he has a found family and that’s his team, it brought a tear to my eye as I reflected on my own found family. The reminder to live a full life was a great way to end the book.

I don't know what it is about baseball that makes it the perfect backdrop to a story but I really appreciate it. This story was one I wasn't sure I would be so into in the beginning, but the more I read the more I loved it. I need to check out more of Cat's books in the future.

Thank you, netgalley and Avon, for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Mark is assigned to write diary entries for Eddie O'Leary, a talented baseball player who is having a batting slump for The Chronicle, the newspaper Mark works for. While writing the entries, Mark and Eddie become closer, but Mark is hesitant to become something more because he doesn't want to be someone's secret. He was someone's secret for years, and he doesn't want to be one again.
This was such a beautiful story! I loved seeing Mark and Eddie fall in love. I don't like baseball at all, but I didn't mind it at all in this book. Eddie was such a sweetheart and was so patient and understanding with Mark. And Mark was a cute grump, I loved him. Definitely pick this book up once it's released on 05/07/24.

cat sebastian is everything to me. this book was a 5-star-read from the very first page. it was, admittedly, pretty similar to WCBSG, but that book is one of my all time favorites, so I'm not complaining. I usually don't love third person present tense, but somehow it just works so magically in these books. the writing was also so funny. like, this is an emotional book, but I still laughed out loud multiple times. it's a grumpy/sunshine story, but I didn't even notice until like halfway through because this book does not feel trope-y at all. I mean, some trope-y books can be good, but this book has you read classic tropes without even realizing it because you're so immersed in the reading experience. the characters are great. the found family is great. the epilogue is one of the best epilogues I have ever read. one thing I am sad about, though, is that I am now finished with cat sebastian's backlist. heartbreaking. I could read a new book from her every single day for the rest of my life, and most of them would probably be 5-star-reads. can't wait for whatever she does next.

I was lucky enough to receive an arc of this book and I will forever be grateful that I did. This book is something special. I have read a couple of other books by Cat Sebastian including We Could Be So Good and this is by far my favorite one.

One of my favorite parts of this book is was towards the start when Mark lends Eddie The Haunting of Hill House. He does this knowing that he has annotated his book and those annotations/the book could give clues as to Mark's sexuality. That is something that may seem small but can be such a big action. Lending someone a book that you have annotated is letting a person have a glimpse into your mind. It can reveal your inner thoughts and feelings about a book.

There were moments throughout this book that had me laughing and moments that had me crying. It was such an interesting look at the 1960s and how queer people still had to hide who they were. But the characters had these moments where they were able to show their true self to those who they cared about and could have those moments together and it still be a beautiful thing. One scene that made me sob on my lunch break while reading it was the scene where Eddie comes out to his mother and she accepts him. It is something that during this time is so brave of him and even though he knew she would be fine with it, it was still amazing to see her reaffirm that.

I loved how Eddie's relationship with his team grew throughout the book. He started with this negative impression and slowly showed how he was not that and the team showed him how they were not what he though they were either. The scenes with Eddie, Price, and Ard{} were some of my favorite.

Another relationship I loved was the one between Mark and George. It was an unexpected friendship but it truly warmed my heart and so many of the moments between those two especially towards the end tugged on my heart strings.

Overall I loved this book and I know it will stick with me for a long time to come. I cannot wait for the book to be released and I can fully annotate a physical copy of the book.

*RIP Mark and Eddie you would have loved Trent Crimm*

Cat Sebastian is truly one of the best at writing historical romances. I loved We Could Be So Good, and it was really wonderful to get back into that world with You Should Be So Lucky. The romance was sweet and tender, and the story was so fun. I love that Cat made YSBSL not only a historical romance, but also a sports romance. The combination of the two, as well as Cat's beautiful writing, made YSBSL into one of my most enjoyable reads this month.

This is my second Cat Sebastian book and I thought it was absolutely lovely.

Like the other one I've read, this started out a little slow. Eddie and Mark are both in a slump. Eddie was traded to a team in a city he didn't want to be in, and now he seems to have lost the ability to hit the ball, at all. His teammates seem to hate him, and he won't even find himself a stable place to live because he's afraid he's going to be sent down to the minors any day.

Mark is depressed. He holds on to a job at The Chronicle basically because he is friends with his boss, who lets him write the bare minimum. He is having a hard time facing life since the unexpected death of his partner, William. But now his boss needs him to do some actual work, and write a regular column about Eddie.

Their romance is very much a slow burn, not only because of Mark's reluctance but because of the reality of being gay in 1960. It seemed like a time when being gay meant you could exist but also could not. It was dangerous to step out of the very narrow parameters society has laid out, even in a city such as New York.

A lot of this book is about loss. Mark's personal loss, of his partner, as well as the losses he's suffered in the past when his family doesn't accept him. Eddie's loss of confidence, of skill, of his home and security. Sebastian has written very well about grief and about the ways it can hobble you, then let you live, and then sneak up on you all over again. The information about baseball and the realities of being gay in 1960 feels well researched and believable, even if she probably did pull some punches. There is a lot of homophobia alluded to, but there is not traumatic homophobia on the page.

I was not expecting to be thoroughly charmed by this baseball player and his reporter boyfriend, but here we are.

I utterly adored this book. It's a romance novel, and Mark and Eddie's relationship is at the center of the story, of course, but it's also a treatise on grief and loneliness, an examination of queer identity, and a love letter to baseball and the way we turn sports into metaphors for life. You don't have to love baseball to read this book (it's not my sport of choice), but it's clear that Sebastian does, or at least understands those who do, and that comes out in the writing.

One thing I really appreciated about the book craftwise is the choice to switch POV in larger sections rather than each chapter like most romances do these days. Sebastian made the same choice with We Could Be So Good and it works just as well here. The extended time with one POV character allows you to really settle in and feel Mark's grief and Eddie's loneliness, but we still get to see both of their internal struggles and their growing feelings for each other.

Another thing Sebastian excels at is creating supporting characters who actually feel like real people and not just story props. The team manager, the older sportswriter, the Black pitcher, and even Mark's dog all have their own personalities and quirks and Sebastian manages to show them to us without just listing a bunch of traits or shoehorning things in. It makes me want to reread the book just to study how she does it so well so I can try and replicate it in my own writing.

Ultimately, this is a beautiful book about finding joy after heartbreak and getting back up after a failure and the way terrible things happen, but we still get to make the next choice and it's up to us what we do with that chance.

My first book by Cat Sebastian and not my last. As a baseball fan, I was so excited by the premise of this book and man oh man it did not disappoint. I finished You Should Be So Lucky and immediately wanted to restart it just so I could be back with Eddie and Mark. There are so many moments while reading this where I had to stop and really reflect on what I had just read and what it meant to me in that moment. While I didn't fly through this book (thank you slump), I enjoyed every second of it. The writing, the characters, the story.. all of it was so much more than I was hoping for when I started.

My favorite thing about the entire book is that Eddie and Mark are so...real. They are multi-layered and funny and dumb at times and kind and I wish I could keep reading about their lives together. Their story is warm, cozy and complex. It offers so many moments that feel so special and intimate in a way that I haven't found from many other authors. It's easy to see how much effort Cat Sebastian put into the research for this book and the care she had for getting the story right with all of the hard topics it covers (grief and homophobia being the main ones with racism and misogyny sprinkled in the background). From the decent amount of actual baseball mentioned to the feel of what it really meant to be queer during the 1960s (the fear and feeling of hiding/pretending), there are so many details that only add to the whole of the story in the best way.

I feel like I could rave about this book forever but I'll finish by saying that I can't wait to pick up a physical copy when it comes out.

This book is the literary equivalent of being wrapped in your coziest blanket while snow gently falls outside and then being handed a bowl of your favorite soup warmed to the perfect temperature. There's also a cat and/or dog asleep by your feet.

In other words, this is such a lovely and comforting novel. It still deals with heavy topics (grief, homophobia, and potentially career-ending underperformance, to name a few) but in such a way that reaffirms that while life is unendingly hard, it can also be soft and safe when you most need it, especially when you find someone to help carry the burden. I am so thankful that books like this exist when we arrive at a time when we need them, and I personally hope that Cat Sebastian never stops writing them.

Have I not sold you yet? This also has BASEBALL! and it's set in NYC in the '60s! There's also a very cute dog, and the characters themselves find comfort in reading. It's basically a walk-off home run of a novel (has every review made this joke yet?), and I give it 800 stars out of 10. Can't wait to read it over and over again.

Many many thanks to Avon and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Loved every second of this book.

You could tell that Cat Sebastian did a lot of research for this novel and made sure to make it historically accurate without adding unnecessary and superfluous facts. I also enjoyed that while it was very heavily focused on baseball, the subject could have been changed to anything (even not sports related) and had the same theme.

Both characters were well defined and believable. The seemed like they could be really people. I also enjoyed the side characters when I usually am really annoyed for many/any side characters to be included buy they were really flushed out too and added to the story slowly so you didn't get confused about who's who. 10/10! A new all time favorite.