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.

(4.5 stars) Picture this - You’re a young baseball player in the spotlight in 1960. You’re gay, and since it’s 1960, you have to hide that essential fact about yourself. That’s the situation Eddie O’Leary finds himself in. He’s just been traded to a Mets-like expansion team in New York called the Robins (with, inexplicably, a BLUE bird as a symbol on their uniforms! Huh?). And he’s gone from having been considered for Rookie of the Year to a Major Batting Slump.

At the same time, a newspaper reporter is assigned to write weekly “diary” pieces about Eddie. Mark Bailey is the opposite of a sports reporter; he normally covers the arts. But he reluctantly accepts the assignment from his friend, Andy, who owns the NY paper. (NOTE: This book takes place in the same “universe” as Sebastian’s previous book, We Could Be So Good, and both Andy and Nick make cameo appearances, but you absolutely do NOT have to have read the first book to enjoy this one. But you should, because it’s terrific!) Mark is also gay and hides it at work, although he has a few friends who know his secret. Mark is still mourning the sudden death of his partner, William, a little over a year before.

So, sure, it’s a sports romance, but what a different one!

It’s been called a “grumpy/sunshine” story, with Mark being the grumpy one and Eddie the sunshine. But I didn’t read Mark as grumpy. He was heartbroken and, because everything with William was so secret, he couldn’t really show the world how heartbroken he really was.

I loved following the slow burn trajectory of Eddie and Mark’s relationship - from strangers to friends to lovers - and how they had to deal with the social environment they were in. And I loved how books became a sort of icebreaker for them, with Mark reading The Haunting of Hill House while he was waiting for Eddie in the locker room (amid all that chaos). Eddie was intrigued. And I’m thinking I may want to go back and re-read that book!

I mostly listened to the audiobook, narrated beautifully by Joel Leslie.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the opportunity to read a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Cat Sebastian is doing something special with these 1950's New York centered - slightly sports - romance novels. They're sweet and I could honestly read several more books in this series. It also makes me rethink about the found family and just what it meant to the queer person before the current century. Both books are also amazingly researched and made me incredibly interested in reading more about queer life in this time period.

I really enjoyed reading this queer sports romance that is set in an older time period, because that is something I don’t often see in sports romance, usually it is always modern and I really appreciated that. The romance between the two characters was set up in a way that felt believable and swoony and I liked them both as individuals a lot too! Sometimes the writing didn’t mesh well with me, but that all comes down to personal preference and at the end of the day it didn’t take away from me enjoying the story! I would definitely recommend giving this book a shot!

This story by Cat Sebastian chronicles the tender, hidden nest of two people facing love when the world is at odds against them, it is the 1960s after all. Mark is a journalist for The Chronicle, a New York newspaper while Eddie is a baseball player who has just gotten transferred to New York’s newest team, The Robins. Both have hit a crossroads in life, both overcoming loss in some way when their paths collide as Mark is taken with ghostwriting essentially Eddie’s diary for weekly publication in the paper. As their conversations unfold, the deeper they go, the more they fall for one another. At its core, that is this book, it is watching Eddie and Mark unfold into each other, fall deeply in love, and understand each other fully, all amidst a world that can never know.

I enjoyed many parts of this book, the pining, the longing, the wanting to want things, all rooted in queer history. Sebastian explores the queer identity of the time through Eddie and Mark and the challenges they face for merely existing. It’s hard for me to read this kind of story, actually, it brings up similar feelings of shame in myself, as I grew up in the Midwest during the early 2000s, no one was out, and you didn’t really see queer stories in any media and so to read this story now dredges a lot of that up, those deep-seated feelings of not feeling wanted, or accepted because of who you are. The shame of hiding a part of yourself from the world because you don’t know what they’ll say, or how others will react. Nonetheless, this story is important, stories that dig in and understand the queer struggle need to exist, the stories need to be passed down to help cultivate an understanding that less than 60 years ago, queer people couldn’t be out at all without fear of retaliation. Queer stories of all time periods need to be told, queer people have been here forever and will continue to be, regardless of what others may think even still today.

For this book, I felt a distance from the characters, which helped me feel some separation from my own feelings of my queer identity that came up but also left me wanting to know more about them and what was going on deep within their heads. Third person tends to be hit or miss for me and I don’t know if I can say this was either because there is also part of me that thinks this is a right book wrong time scenario. Everything I was told or read about the book was major hype while I enjoyed it, it wasn’t what I expected it to be. That being said, It’s a tender, gentle portrayal of the harsh reality of the queer existence during the 1960s. I loved that about this book, I love how Sebastian writes as though she’s gently brushing the words onto the page, with deep respect for the characters she crafts and the history she’s reciting.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and it is worth the read. You Should Be So Lucky is a tender tale of two men falling in love against the backdrop of America’s pastime. An important examination of the queer existence told through romance, something I think you should read to understand that queer joy and queer pain coexist, now and back then, they always have and always will. The shame today may feel different and may come out in different forms but it’s there, rooted deep in us, the fear of coming out, of having to relearn being yourself, of hiding parts of you around certain people, all of it lives deep in the queer existence, yet it’s okay to want and to hope for more, and to let yourself have it.

Taylor Swift Songs I associate with this book: Lover, Cornelia St, Illicit Affair, August, cardigan, Maroon, invisible string, I Look in People’s Windows, Guilty as Sin?, Labyrinth, False God, Delicate, Dancing With Our Hands Tied, You Are In Love

A love story as much about crawling out of dark or hard times to accepting the new and broken parts of yourself. As much about the futility and beauty of being a fan of a sport, a team, a player when it’s all random and unimportant. Highly recommend.

Thank you Netgalley and Avon for approving me for this ARC!! I couldn't put this book down!!

5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'s
↠Pre-Review↞
This book takes place in 1960s New York and the two main characters are a reporter (Mark Bailey) and a baseball player (Eddie O'Leary). Mark is doing a weekly cover of Eddie O'Leary's season, as he is in a slump from the year before. They, of course, are both gay and have to navigate this alongside living in New York in the 60s. Overall, I was stoked for this book!!
↠Review↞
I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book for so many reasons! It's not only a slow-burn romance, but has elements of grief, loss, and found family. Mark is recovering from the loss of a past relationship, having to cope with his large apartment and two best friends who are very much in love with each other. Mark is sort of retired, as he has lost touch with his writing after the loss of his relationship, and is forced to cover Eddie O'Leary's weekly diaries to keep his office.

Eddie O'Leary is dealing with his own problems. He has been unexpectedly uprooted from his hometown to the New York Robins, to make matters worse, he found out he was being traded by a reporter, so he has some issues regarding them.

Alongside the growth of their relationship, both Mark and Eddie experience tons of personal growth, and each lead their own independent storylines. This was a MAJOR like of mine, I love when romances show characters' lives outside of that romance, it makes it more realistic and relatable. Overall: I absolutely loved this book and would recommend it to anyone and everyone!!
CAT SEBASTIAN, I WILL BE READING YOUR OTHER GAY HISTORICAL FICTION NOVELS, AND THE BACKSTORY ON NICK AND ANDY!!

You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian was a cute baseball M/M romance that takes place in 1960’s, centered around a famous shortstop and a newspaper writer. I enjoyed the sumptuous scenes that felt glamorous New York lifestyle and the serious tone scenes of anxiety and navigating gay life in the 60’s(the fear and hiding). As always the finding of found family and finding one’s courage to pursue happiness takes a role here. But I wish there was more to the romance and the initial connecting, but the end was still wonderful. The baseball facts were highly researched and almost showed up more than the romance, which I’m sure someone appreciates I just wish it was more romance focused. I really fell for Eddie O’Leary(Shortstop) and his earnestness and soft spirited nature.

A healthy mix of LGBT+ representation in a time where it wasn't accepted, sports, and romance! This book had me giggling and kicking my feet. I appreciated the fact that it was low angst and slow-burny. I felt like a small part of myself healed just the tiniest bit when I finished it. Bravo!

Totally enjoyed You Should Be So Lucky! I am not a fan of sports at all but really liked the main two characters.

What a wonderful story by Cat Sebastian. Mark and Eddie are a beautiful, healthy representation of queer love and romance mixed in to a past society that didnt accept or understand them. I love the way the sport and romance in this one are woven together to where the progression of their relationship is so natural while their interactions together are very tender and sweet. I really loved getting to know them and watch them pull each other in to a new and healthier pathway together.

This was a tender and wonderful story. Eddie and Mark made my heart melt, they had such an amazing dynamic. I enjoyed the mid-century time period!

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon & Harper Voyager for the ARC of this!

I am obsessed with Cat Sebastian's books already and this one did not disappoint. It was sweet and gave me so many feelings! The grumpy x sunshine was so well done, and even though sports romance isn't usually my thing, I loved the plot around the sports writing and the players they interacted with.

I really loved this book! Cat's style of writing sucks you right into the characters' world and makes the characters immediately loveable. As a person who is typically apathetic to sports, especially baseball, I found myself actually rooting for the team and getting drawn into the rules of the game. It's also a really interesting look into the lives of queer people before it was acceptable to be out, and how they were able to still find community in those days.

You Should Be So Lucky was one that I probably overhyped for myself after We Could Be So Good made the @nytimes 100 Notable last year. While I found it to be perfectly pleasant, it did not wow me the way that hype suggested. I think I wish it had leaned into one of its threads more heavily: either that it be more of a recovery romance, more about the sports reporting, or more about the historical pressures of 1960 on Queer folks, especially in “masculine” spheres. Instead, we get something that’s nice to its characters almost to a fault with a lot of almost drama that never comes to fruition. If you like low angst/low pressure with good steam, this is for you.

One of my top recs for the Boston Globe summer books preview.

Rather than fake dating, Eddie and Mark are faking not falling wildly in love. When an underdog baseball team tries to reboot the image of New York’s most hated baseball player, the last thing anyone expects is for him to make a secret love connection with the still grieving erudite reporter assigned to ghost write his story. But this is 1960, and being out is not an option for a major league athlete and the writer had enough of hiding in the closet with his previous partner. The stakes are high, but their love story is a gentle heartwarming joy. Cat Sebastian is one of the big three of romance, and this mid-twentieth century historical romance is a sexy, swoony home run.

Wow did I love this book! This was my first Cat Sebastian and I definitely will be back for more. This was such a tender, heartfelt queer historical romance. I loved the baseball aspects but most importantly the sweetness and communication between the two main characters.

I don’t know what I was expecting from this book- maybe a cute sports romance? And it certainly was that, but Mark and Eddie’s slow-burn love story had so much emotional depth and tenderness that I was gripping the edges of my Kindle the entire time. I have never read Cat Sebastian’s books before this, but after this they are going to be auto-buys. Thank you, Cat Sebastian, Net Galley, and Avon for the ARC!

I loved this book. I don't generally go for slow burns, but the tender love story made my heart absolutely melt. I could not stop grinning throughout the whole thing.

And the setting is captivating - historicals are not my first choice, but these books set in the '50s and '60s are novel and yet still contemporary enough to keep my interest.

Highly recommend. Really lovely. I liked Cat Sebastian previously, but these two books are another level of great.

This was an absolute delight, not that Cat Sebastian's books aren't <i>ever</i> a delight. I absolutely enjoyed following Mark as he slowly dealt with his grief and reconciling the life he had with the life he still has. I also quite enjoyed his sarcasm and caustic nature, which made him softening as the book continued that much more delightful.

I loved Eddie, and how absolutely <i>earnest</i> about everything he was. I also really enjoyed that there wasn't a magical fix for his swing: he's different, and it would make sense that how he approaches baseball and life are different now. I loved loved loved how tender and patient he was with Mark, and how supportive he was of making sure that Mark knew that William's memory wasn't going to come between them. That William was a part of who Mark was, and that he was glad that Mark was so loved.

But the real scene stealer? Lula. Bless that spoiled, pampered pooch.