Pretty much everything Cat Sebastian writes is utterly fantastic, and You Should Be So Lucky is no exception. I love that it's set during a time period not usually explored in the romance genre, and even as someone who knows nothing about baseball I was able to thoroughly enjoy it. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a slow-burn, grumpy-sunshine historical romance.

True rating: 3.5
I will start with saying that I perhaps came into this story with unreasonably high expectations based on how much I loved We Could Be So Good.
This book was very well-written (as always with Cat Sebastian) and the historical setting and references felt very authentic. I'm not an avid baseball fan, so I can't speak to how authentic the historical representation of the sport was, but I can say I enjoyed reading about baseball in the 1960s; It felt very nostalgic.
Mark and Eddie's relationship was really fun to follow. There is so much depth automatically added to queer romance when it's historical and set in a time when being out and open wasn't an option. I enjoyed their slow-burn romance along with the rich community that surrounded them throughout.

Slow burn
Found family
Historical romance (1960s NYC)
Queer romance
Nostalgia

I'd definitely recommend this book for all historical sports romance fans!
Thank you to the author, Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

An absolutely delightful queer historical romance that includes a heartfelt exploration of love and identity in 1960s New York. The novel follows Eddie O’Leary, a struggling baseball player in a batting slump, and Mark Bailey, a grieving reporter reluctantly assigned to cover Eddie’s season through weekly diary entries. Their slow-burn relationship was rich with humor, heartache, and tension as they navigate a queer romance in a time when being open wasn’t an option. The found family theme is prominent throughout and I adored the entire community of characters.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

For some reason, nothing feels as New York as baseball from the middle of the century. It just screams nostalgia and old-timey NYC, and as someone from the area, I'm here for it.

I'm not at all a baseball fan, but I've been known to read and love baseball romances. What's interesting to me is that baseball stories often feel a lot like watching baseball for me; they are interesting, but drag on a bit longer than my attention span holds. You Should Be So Lucky felt very much like that.

I loved the raw emotions from this story. I felt each character and what they were going through, and I was heartbroken and moved by each MCs struggle with isolation and loneliness. I think Cat Sebastian does such a masterful job with her characters. They feel incredibly read and fleshed out. I enjoyed the slow-burn aspect of the romance, and the way these characters grew and evolved together over time. A LOT was done right here.

Where a few points were taking off for me was in the pacing. I don't know why this book felt so long, but it really did. There is a lot of inner thoughts and monologuing, and it just took a really long time for me to finish the story. It was a satisfying read, but not one that kept me glued to my Kindle all night.

Highly recommended for all historical sports romance lovers.

i was always going to love this but did love it more than i expected. gay baseball!!! forever!!! the historical context was also well done which i expected but was pleased to see

I really enjoy fictional queer stories that take place during the time period You Should Be So Lucky (and well, even older time periods) because while the current world is not exactly completely accepting, you forget how people had to seriously keep their live a secret in order to be safe. Add to this a major league baseball player who tends to say what's on his mind for the most part, and you end up with an unusual story that is full of heart. The analogy of baseball being life rings true throughout the story as well as keeping yourself from loving others won't lessen the pain when they are gone. I listened to a good part of this as an audio and the narrator left me "flat" a bit. I know these men were gay but his vocal affectation felt so forced and unnecessary to me. In any case, I look forward to reading a whole lot more from this author. 4.5 stars.

Mark Bailey is an Arts and Culture Journalist who gets asked to fill in for a sports article last minute. He gets assigned to the new expansion team The Robins. He begrudgingly accepts because he hasn't been doing much writing in the last 14 months.

Eddie O'Leary is the Robin's recent acquisition and he's less than pleased about it. He found out at the end of a game he'd been traded and was rather candid with the press about it. His new teammates aren't thrilled with his shit talking and give him the cold shoulder. Eddie then latches on to the first person to actually talk to him, which is Mark.

The 2 dance around the fact that Eddie is secretly gay, but Mark isn't and how disastrous for Eddie's career it would be if the 2 were even rumored to be together. Men in sports tend to be overly homophobic. They spend the season talking more and more as Mark writes more about the team.

I appreciate the way grief was depicted in this book and their relationship was okay. Anything that was physical between Eddie and Mark however was so awkwardly vague. It was open door but might have been better as closed door. 2.5 stars

You Should Be So Lucky is the delightful grumpy/sunshine novel I’ve been needing to help get me out of a slump. Set in the world of baseball, far before gay was okay, this heartwarming story invokes a sense of pride and wonder for what makes us human.

Admittedly, the hope the characters have for the hope of queer people in the 20th century made me a bit sad. But I loved this book even so!

**Audiobook Version**

I adored the premise but I ended up DNFing this book. I should have done my due diligence to realize there would be period accents in the audio and that is not something that I liked

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this title. Slow burn, grumpy/sunshine, queer romance about grief and found family. Set in the same universe as We Could Be So Good, be sure to check that out as well.

You Should Be So Lucky is definitely going to be one of my favorite books of the year. I picked it up, belatedly, because I needed to fill the prompt read your highest rated book on Goodreads (I picked from just my 2024 ARCs, but even still this one has a very high rating!). I've been meaning to get to it for ages, as evidenced by the fact that it is an ARC I requested, but also I own the physical copy. Anyway, before I start explaining why this is a magical book and I love it so much, let me tell you a little bit about what it's about.

Eddie is a professional baseball player and he got abruptly traded to this New York team and he is not having a good time. He has completely lost his ability to hit the ball and feels like everything is just so hard, including the fact that he is now living in a city that cares about baseball so he can't sneak away to find a safe space. He's also exceptionally alone because none of his teammates will talk to him. Then we have Mark. Mark is a reporter and he's mourning his past relationship (view spoiler) and feeling pretty stuck. His "boss", Andy, assigns him to write a column of Eddie's "diary" on a weekly basis and this results in the two of them slowly becoming friends and eventually more.

What I love about this book is the found family. The care Sebastian takes to make all of these characters real people. I hate baseball, but I found myself so invested in this team and wanting them to succeed. I want a spin off book about the manager and the owner. Like, this book absolutely stole my heart because every character feels so deeply real and I love them so, so much. The romance too is absolutely wonderful. It's 1960 and so things aren't the greatest in terms of civil rights (obviously), and there's a big conversation about how to live your life openly, when you also, you know, can't do that safely. I just... I can't even explain to you. It's so good. If you haven't picked it up, you really should.

You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastion is, if not one of the best, mid-century queer books I’ve read to date.

We follow Mark, an arts column journalist with the personality of a black cat, as he's given the assignment of interviewing Eddie O'Learly, a major league baseball player in the 1960s.

Eddie O’Leary hasn’t had the best year. From being traded to a new team at the start of the season to having an entire fanbase who boo’s every time he steps on the field, Eddie’s year has been nothing but downhill since it started.

Mark Bailey knows what that’s like. Maybe not the baseball part but he does know what it’s like mourning something that was taken suddenly from him. After a year of sitting alone in his apartment reliving a relationship with a partner he never got to be public with, and struggling to write about what he loves, Mark is given an assignment to write a tell all about baseball’s most hated player, Eddie O’Leary. The problem is Mark isn’t a sports reporter and is sure nobody will want to read what he has to say.

As it turns out his tell all is pretty popular. If only they knew the behind the scenes.

You Should Be So Lucky was one of those books I wasn’t expecting to love as much as I did. Having not a lot of knowledge in baseball I thought that would be a problem but I quickly realized it wasn’t going to be. The writing felt genuine and easy to follow along with which I greatly appreciated in terms of the sports metaphors and references. I fell in love with the characters almost as quickly as they were introduced and found myself yelling at the pages when Eddie, SPOILER, wasn’t given the time of day by any of his teammates. Just give that man a friend!

Eddie’s the defintion of a golden retriever. He’s sweet, caring, and almost the exact opposite from what you expect when your’re first introduced to him through the tabloids. I loved the way he cared for his teammates even when they hated him and how he had a small dog named Lula with an affinity for expensive food.

Mark was the opposite in terms of personaltiy but the same in the way he cared so much for his friends and eventually for Eddie. Cat’s writing of Mark is hilarious and heartwarming at the same time. If I could write quippy one liners the way she can I would be more then happy.

Highly reccomend.

This book was balm for my soul. Mark and Eddie were so tender and poignant and made me cry several times. This is also a heavy book that deals with grief. Cat Sebastian sure can WRITE.
Thank you to netgalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

This book genuinely felt like a warm hug. I love the dynamic between the two MCs and I have been known to devour a sports romance. I’m excited to see what the other books in the series are!

I was really excited to dive into You Should Be So Lucky, especially after loving We Could Be So Good last summer. Cat Sebastian's refreshing take on the time period is something I truly appreciate, and as someone who enjoys baseball, I found the references and setting added an authentic touch to the story.

However, I found the connection between the characters in Mark and Eddie lacked the tension and depth that I loved in Nick and Andy's relationship from "We Could Be So Good". While the book certainly wasn't bad—perhaps I just over-hyped it for myself in my eagerness to read it.

That being said, Cat Sebastian remains a favorite author, and I'll continue to read whatever she publishes. There's always something delightful in her storytelling, even when it doesn't quite hit the same highs as previous works.

Thank you to Cat Sebastian, Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for sending me the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved how tender the love in this book was. It dealt with big topics such as grief, the loss of a partner, and the feeling of being closeted. I absolutely love Cat Sebastian's work and this book made me love the author even more.

So cute! I loved the first in this series and was so happy to see another one. Loved the grumpy one meets golden retriever energy. The discussions of grief were done so well.

I really loved how tender this enemies to friends to lovers romance turned out to be. I loved the callbacks from the characters from the previous book, and especially loved how this book talked about heavier subject matter like being closeted, partner loss, and grief. Truly, I would read Cat Sebastian's grocery lists!

This book had me all in the feels. I enjoyed it and it made me sob. I highly recommend. It reminded me of the movie Major League but with the characters being queer.

QUEER. HISTORICAL. BASEBALL.

This book is great. It's so fun and so soft, yet hits really hard. Thank god Cat Sebastian is able to write whatever the heck she wants.

Thanks to Avon and NetGalley for this ARC.