Cat Sebastian has another home run (pun intended) on her hands with “You Should Be So Lucky,” the follow up to one of my favorite novels from 2023, “We Could Be So Good.” This slow burn, historical romance hits all the right notes with two main characters, Mark and Eddie, and the side characters (and of course, Lula) you’re rooting for. When grumpy reporter Mark falls in love with an up and coming baseball player, they both have to decide if the other is enough in a world where being out and proud is scary and dangerous.

From the very beginning, I was hooked — which is funny, because I’m not a baseball fan. Sebastian does a nice job writing about a baseball player and the sport that you needn’t have any prior experience or interest (really) to enjoy it.

Like “So Good,” “So Lucky” is set in a time period we rarely see in LGBTQ romance books — too many times, we are either dealing with modern stories or stuck in the 80s dealing with heavier themes. Hey, if Sebastian wants to move the next one (please let there be a next one) to the 70s, you’ll have plenty of readers happy.

If you’re a fan of lovable characters, a tender storyline set in a New York City bursting with motion, check this novel out. Don’t let the slow burn stop you from enjoying - the journey and destination are worth it. Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, for the ARC.

But sometimes there is no hope. Illness worsens, accidents strike, you lose people you love. It’s inevitable, as Cat Sebastian’s blunt, beautiful midcentury historical makes clear: “Unless a couple has the good fortune to get hit by the same freight train, their story ends in exactly one way.”

At the start of YOU SHOULD BE SO LUCKY (Avon, 382 pp., paperback, $18.99), the journalist Mark Bailey is only 16 months out from the death of his partner. He’s coasting. It’s only when he’s assigned to write about a flailing baseball player on the sad-sack New York Robins that he finds something to connect to: “What’s happening to Eddie O’Leary is an end. That’s something Mark knows about; that’s something Mark can write about.”

Eddie, “a wad of bad ideas rolled into the approximate shape and size of a professional baseball player,” doesn’t know why he is suddenly terrible at a game he loves. He’s lonely and new to the city and shunned by the teammates he bad-mouthed to the press. He’s grateful for Mark’s attention even though he knows it’s an assignment, and he’s quick to notice all the little kind impulses Mark would die rather than admit to. Their romance is like watching a Labrador puppy fall in love with a pampered Persian cat, all eager impulse on one side and arch contrariness on the other.

People think the ending is what defines a romance, and it does, but that’s not what a romance is for. The end is where you stop, but the journey is why you go. Whether we’re talking about love, baseball or life itself, Sebastian’s book bluntly scorns measuring success merely by end results: “The crowd is hopeful, but it isn’t the kind of hope that comes with a fighting chance. It’s a hope that doesn’t need success to validate it. It’s something like affection, maybe with a bit of loyalty mixed in.”

Hoping, loving are things you do for their own sake, to mark being a human among other humans. Or as Eddie puts it: “Sometimes you want to look at a guy and say: Well, he’s f——-, but he’s trying.”

I can think of no better summary of why we do any art. If you read one romance this spring, make it this one.

I really, really liked this is mid-century queer baseball romance. The baseball background is great vibes, the supporting cast is interesting and likable, and Lulu is the best dog ever.

But I just didn't love it as much as We Could Be So Good. Eddie is so wholesome and precious - but just less so than Andy. And Mark has that grumpy charm, but he's less lovable than Nick. Reading We Could Be So Good just before this made me see all the similarities and slight differences in the two stories, and the first book is easily better in pretty much every way besides insufficient baseball energy.

To be clear, You Should Be So Lucky is still great and sweet and wholesome and very enjoyable. I strongly recommend reading both, just not back to back!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian

I love Cat Sebastian’s books and this one didn’t disappoint. The first book in this series, We Could Be So Good was excellent as well. The leads here are Eddie, a baseball player and Mark, a newspaper writer who is drafted as a sports writer. His topic is Eddie’s early career slump and his new team. The year is 1960. Sebastian’s books are sexy and sweet. Eddie is a Sunny soul while Mark is maybe a grumpy worrier but they are not made to a mold and will delight you and each other.

Quickly, you can imagine all the woes these would be lovers are up against but with wit, courage, affection, humor and friends, there is a way to love. They are lovable and real with the sweetest foibles. You can’t help but to fall for them both and root for them. Endearing and hot, great combinations. The details of the time and the other characters with their own quirks adds to the appeal.

I highly recommend you read this book asap. Some of the characters including Mark are in the first book which ups the enjoyment another notch but it can be read as an unbelievably, amazing stand-alone. I thank the author, HarpersCollins Publishers, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this great read.

Thank you to @netgalley and @avonbooks for the digital ARC copy of this book.

Friends, I loved this book. I was head over heels for the first book in the series (We Could Be So Good), and so it’s no big surprise that this one hit a “home run” with me! See what I did there? Baseball romance. Home Run? I made a SPORTS JOKE, folks.

Ahem, okay, so yes, this book, set in 1960, is the story of Mark, a journalist who is grieving the loss of his long term partner, William. And it’s the story of Eddie, a rookie player who just got traded to a new team and is in a terrible batting slump. ... and they fight crime! Am I dating myself as terribly ancient with that? Maybe I am. I’m keeping it anyway.

Mark is assigned to write a series of stories about Eddie, and Eddie is pretty much instantly smitten with him. A lot of the story is Mark trying desperately to convince Eddie that being with Mark would be a terrible idea because it’ll ruin Eddie’s career. And the rest is Eddie completely ignoring Mark’s grumpy tendencies and being stubborn about what he wants (a future in baseball and Mark’s affections). Also there is an ADORABLE dog named Lula who is SUCH A GOOD GIRL.

Favorite Parts - Mark being a TOTAL tsundere and pretending he doesn’t have feelings for Eddie, the way Mark’s grieving for the loss of William is handled was so heartbreaking and beautiful, Eddie being an idiot loud mouthed goofball, the friends that surround both Mark and Eddie and help support them.

Read This If You Love - Found Family, Grumpy Sunshine, Historical Romance, Second Chances, Baseball, and Dogs Who Know What Family Is

I'm OBSESSED with this book. Literally, figuratively obsessed. What a great way to break the no 5-star read hiatus!!

As Eddie describes Mark's suit as soft, similarly, describe both Eddie & Mark to be the softest people to ever exist. Their relationship and chemistry were delicate, precious, heartwarming, & extremely comforting. When Eddie starts reading a book which Mark is reading only because he could talk to him about something other than sports melted my heart.

Another charm of this book is its set in the '60s. Mark & Eddie talking to each other hours over the payphone was fascinating. And not just that I loved how delicately they handled this growing attraction & relationship for that decade. Both had so much internal turmoil but I was glad they found each other. They balanced each other & loved each other with everything they've got.

I'll be thinking about this lovestory for days to come.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Set in the same world as We Could Be So Good, Cat Sebastian’s You Should Be So Lucky is another gorgeously romantic and tender story that, while dealing with some heavy topics, manages to be warm, funny, honest and uplifting - and reminds us that although life might suck at times, it can also be wonderful, especially when you find that one special person who can lighten the load.

It’s 1960, and rising baseball star Eddie O’Leary was having a great season with the Kansas City Athletics when he found out, on live television no less, that he was being traded to the New York Robins, a brand new team languishing at or near the bottom of the league. Not surprisingly, his reaction wasn’t the best, and his invective-filled outburst – also relayed live – made for big news up and down the country. To make things worse, he hasn’t played a decent game since and is experiencing a slump that might well be career-ending, his team-mates are ignoring him, and he’s still living in a crappy hotel room, mostly because he doesn’t think he’ll be sticking around long enough to get himself a place of his own.

When Andy Fleming, editor of the Chronicle, approaches arts writer Mark Bailey and asks him to consider penning a high-brow sports-based feature for the paper’s new weekend magazine, Mark is sceptical, to say the least. Andy wants to publish a weekly diary following one of the city’s ball players over the course of the season, but Mark isn’t particularly interested ghostwriting for a ball player, and when Andy tells him that the player he has in mind is Eddie O’Leary, Mark is even less so; he can’t think of anything more likely to get someone to throw their paper directly into the nearest trash can. But Andy is tenacious. He reckons there’s more to Eddie than the headlines suggest, and is sure that Mark is absolutely the man for the job. Mark still isn’t convinced until, at home, he watches the Robins’ game on television and realises that whatever is going on with Eddie O’Leary is a disaster – and that maybe here is something he can write about after all.

The last thing Eddie expects, when he’s summoned to the manager’s office, is to be told he’s to take part in a series of interviews for the Chronicle. He can’t do anything but agree to it, of course, but he can’t help hoping, when the reporter doesn’t show up in the locker-room after the next game, that the plan has fallen through. And then he notices the man standing apart from all the other sportswriters, leaning gracefully against the end of stall and turning the pages of a book, seemingly untroubled by the surrounding chaos. Eddie is completely blindsided by the other man’s casual poise and handsome face – even though Eddie has turned not noticing handsome men (especially in locker rooms) into an art form – but manages to get through the introductions without babbling something ridiculous. But when Bailey suggests they should get dinner, Eddie blurts out a ‘no’ so fast as to be rude – his teammates have enough reasons to hate him without thinking he’s cosying up to a sports reporter. Realising he’s put his foot in it, he quickly suggests he and Bailey meet the next morning instead – although he doesn’t stick around long enough to actually arrange a place and time. When morning arrives, and feeling embarrassed at having behaved like such a dick the previous day, Eddie decides the stadium is where he’ll most likely find the reporter – and is surprised when he steps from the elevator into the lobby of his hotel to find Mark there waiting for him.

As was the case with We Could Be So Good, there’s not a lot of plot here, and the focus is entirely on the characters and their developing slow-burn romance.The story that follows those awkward initial interactions as Mark and Eddie spend the next few months getting to know each other and falling in love, is full of incredible chemistry and gentleness and understanding while at the same time dealing with themes of grief and loss and loneliness, and about what it means to be queer at this point in time. The author does a fantastic job of showcasing the challenges faced by these characters in trying to balance their desire to live authentically while not opening themselves – and those they associate with – up to bigotry, discrimination and, possibly, physical harm.

At first glance, Mark and Eddie are very different men. Mark is prickly and elegant and precise where Eddie is sunshiny, big-hearted and garrulous (and apt to put his foot in his mouth), but scratch just a little beneath the surface, and they have more in common than even they realise at first; they’re both terribly lonely and are dealing with different kinds of grief. Mark lost his long-term partner very suddenly a year earlier and has been somewhat adrift ever since, and Eddie is grieving the loss of the life he knew and, potentially, his entire career - and yet somehow, all their ragged edges just fit together in ways that help them both to begin to heal and start living again. Mark isn’t good at opening up (understatement!) but Eddie is surprisingly perceptive and sees him as no-one ever has before, and Mark does the same for Eddie. Watching them enjoy a kind of quiet domesticity while slowly learning to lean on each other and let themselves love one another is just so very satisfying and lovely.

There’s a strong cast of secondary characters here, too, including George Allen, the much older, grizzled sports reporter who befriends Mark, and Eddie’s teammates and team manager – a former player who was dragged out of retirement to manage the team between benders. The author builds a strong sense of camaraderie between the members of the team and shows them learning to work together to improve their game and their chances. I know nothing about baseball, but I really liked the sense of this group of disparate players gradually becoming a cohesive unit that the author evokes.

I also liked the subtle exploration of the complexities of what it means to be out or closeted at a time when being openly queer was not only illegal but could be dangerous. Mark’s partner was headed for high public office so Mark had to be very careful almost all the time not to do or say anything that might cause suspicion, while Eddie knows queerness and professional sports don’t mix even as he longs for that part of him to be somehow recognised. As with Nick and Andy, neither man can be properly ‘out’, but what they can be is open with a select group of people who know what they are to each other – which I imagine must have been how many queer people were able to live and love as they chose at this time. It feels very realistic and period appropriate.

I can’t put my finger on why, but You Should Be So Lucky doesn’t quite reach the heights of We Could Be So Good, even though it’s a fantastic read and thoroughly deserving of DIK status. The writing is excellent, the character development is superb, and the slow-burn romance is full of genuine emotion, caring and decency. It’s one of those books you’ll finish reading with a heartfelt sigh and a smile on your face, and I heartily recommend it.

A special thank you to Avon & NetGalley for an e-arc of You Should Be So Lucky in exchange for an honest review!

**No Spoilers
There is something inherently romantic about attending a baseball game. From arriving to the stadium to the 7th inning stretch, there is a ritual preformed at each game that you cannot help but to feel sentimental about the whole thing, and that feeling certainly translates in Cat Sebastian's You Should Be So Lucky. I first want to say how much I adored the 1960s, NYC setting that YSBSL takes places in, as Sebastian really grounds these characters to the atmosphere and society of the day. In many ways, NYC is the third main character of YSBSL.

As for the other two main characters, Eddie and Mark, living inside their heads (even for a short amount of time) was a comfort in itself. Eddie is sweet, sensitive, but also has a short-fuse that gets him into trouble before the book even starts. Mark is particular, honest (to a fault, perhaps), but also pragmatic about the world in which he lives and must navigate. I thought that the progression of these Eddie and Mark's relationship was not only natural, but inevitable. I liked how Sebastian used their different backgrounds, slight age gap, occupations, and family circumstances to show how their understandings of the world have not only shaped how they view society, but themselves in relation to it, and to how they in turn see their relationship progressing privately and publicly.

A quick read, I was both racing through this book to see what would happen next, and at the same time disappointed that it had to end so soon. I wish we had gotten to know the characters of Lilian, Maureen, Andy, and Nick on a deeper level, but I thoroughly enjoyed the glimpses of Mark's friends and confidantes throughout YSBSL. As for Eddie, the members of the Robins organization not only had me laugh out loud a few times (especially thinking of Tony) but to also show the complexities, trials, and tribulations of professional athletes in the early to mid 20th century, especially when thinking about and discussing race, sexuality, and substance abuse. I think my only main critique would be that I wish we had gotten to know/see the team's owner Constance Newbold in a more prominent way, mainly because she was the owner of a baseball team in the year 1960 and I wanted to learn a lot more about her.

If you need more convincing, there is also a very grumpy dog who makes many appearances throughout YSBSL who I enjoyed immensely. Funny, heartfelt, and surprisingly emotional, YSBSL is so far my favorite read of 2024, and I will certainly be picking up Sebastian's earlier works.

Cat Sebastian writes queer historical romance that feels like a giant hug so well. I was so excited to read You Should Be So Lucky, because We Could Be So Good was truly one of my favorite books of last year. I loved the Nick and Andy cameos in this book, but I also really liked getting to know Mark and Eddie. It wasn't quite to the level of We Could Be So Good, but honestly, that's a tough bar to reach. I loved Mark's grumpiness and Eddie's insistence on not letting Mark go -- even when Mark tries to enforce a break so that Eddie can come to his senses or something, Eddie plays along, but then comes right back. I also loved the background of baseball, and the plot of Eddie trying to overcome his slump.

I'll keep reading Cat Sebastian's books, but please please PLEASE write a book a la A League of Their Own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for providing me with an eARC of You Should Be So Lucky in exchange for my honest review.

I loved it so much, it just had me smiling so many times. My heart was just happy with how quiet and sweet it was with the story evolving slowly and us being witnesses of it all. It was such a lovely story of two men who need to find their new normal, their new self, when they can't go back to the person they used to be. Eddie has to find again his swing and go out of his slump, and Mark has to find the strength to open up his heart again even if the fears and grief are keeping him from putting himself out there. Giving love a chance can be terrifying. Add that it's NYC in the 60's and you know just how much scarier it can be.

I loved the domesticity of this story. There are not major twists, nor third act events that shake the story, and it's low angst which I appreciated a lot. They just build their love story from a tentative friendship that evolves to late night phone calls, conversations about books, walking the cutest dog ever, eating out, eating in, staring contests to see who was going to make the first step. Eddie had all the puppy vibes, no wonder Lula became bffs with him right away; he sees Mark and his face just beams sunshine and rainbows, and his big smile is just blinding. Mark might not be as obvious as Eddie, but the small gestures make as clear how much he just can't live without Eddie, even if his brain is fighting his heart to let him has happiness again.

Long story short, I fell in love with Mark and Eddie, and with Lula the dog. Watching Lula go from sleeping by the door to sleeping on the foot of the bed was like watching Mark on his journey. He might not have been sleeping by the door but his heart was stuck, and Eddie's arrival was just what he needed to make it beat again.

If ever there was someone looking for a recommendation for a book to read on a vacation or cuddled up in a reading chair with the comfiest blanket, this book is what I’d recommend. I can’t explain the exact reason why, but it just feels like a cozy book in both the literary context and the physical context. Also, the humor is top tier and I ate it up. 🥰

We meet Mark Bailey in We Could Be So Good as one of very small group of queer coworkers at the Chronicle. He’s reclusive and a bit harsh, but he knows who he is and refuses to hide anymore (within reason).

Eddie is a professional baseball player that was recently traded to New York. He made his… displeasure known quite clearly. Due to this, his team and the public essentially shun him. The cherry on top? He can’t seem to hit a ball to save his life (or career).

Bailey gets assigned to ghostwrite a diary column for Eddie and a magazine spread about the team. Over their post-game meetings and interviews, their bond forms into one of the most wholesome relationships I’ve ever read. 🥹

When I say wholesome, I mean Eddie wakes up at 6am to go to Marks house to walk his dog so he can sleep in. Book boyfriend material. 🥹🥹

The two of them are such a fitting pair. They just work. Eddie is such a sweetheart and refuses to let Mark’s insecurities and worries get in between them…mostly.

Even if you didn’t read WCBSG, this book is amazing and beautiful. It is slow and quite long but it’s supposed to be. Fairly low spicy, mostly vague mentions. The slow burn is slow burning. This is a historical romance. It is focused solely on the romance aspect and doesn’t divert too far away 🖤

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley but this is my honest and voluntary review! 🖤

This story is a heart wrenching romance with a whirlwind of emotions, including grief, fear, and insecurity. I am familiar with queer history and struggles however there is something so personal and gripping about reading a story set in these times with details of a queer persons life that I would never have considered. For instance, when we learn that Mark was unaware of Williams death and had to resort to reading the obituaries to find out where his funeral service would be was heartbreaking. It was a disturbing truth that I otherwise would’ve never considered about the level of secrecy gay men and women had to maintain during those times. While Sebastian made no direct mentions of Marks anxiety, I could feel his mental health struggles coming through the page as a result of keeping a major aspect of his life a secret. I thoroughly enjoyed his character arc and the way he balanced what he had to do for Eddie’s career and what he wanted. Overall, I felt like both characters were incredibly written. I found Marks character especially to be very authentic. He is surly and guarded but is caring and understanding. His intelligence is again, never directly mentioned, but comes through in his quick thinking and quips with the other characters. The chemistry between Eddie and Mark is truly what made this book entertaining from cover to cover.

This book was everything I didn't know I needed from a queer historical romance. There was no blushing innocence, instead, different levels of jadedness based on what each character had gone through. This gave homage to the very real struggles of existing as a queer person any time prior to, like, 3 years ago (and that's questionable still) while giving credence to the idea that living as authentically as possible, while keeping yourself somewhat safe, is worthwhile.
Mark and Eddie were not objectively good people. Neither was particularly kind or selfless, with Mark truly being the grumpy cat the author describes him as. They were anti-heroes that one still wants to root for because their struggles are relatable, and they are as selfish as most people one can expect to meet in their lives. They were both dealing with their own brand of grief with neither being particularly good at handling it. I adored that Mark learned to blunt some of his sharp edges without losing himself entirely. Their love was oftentimes fragile and never without risk, but beautiful.

Spice: 2.5/5 - very vague descriptions but more than one scene

Triggers: homophobia, grief from death of partner, death of loved one, heart attack, alcoholism, references to houselessness as teen and abusive parents

I knew coming into this book that I would absolutely love it, because Cat Sebastian can do no wrong. She writes the most beautiful, heartbreaking and rewarding stories and I can never get enough. You Should Be So Lucky took me through about every emotion I can feel, broke me into one-thousand pieces and then carefully put me back together again. Reading how she dealt with grief, not only of a partner, but of a partner that had to be a secret was absolutely heartbreaking. But one thing I loved the most, was seeing how Eddie handled it and cared for Mark in the way that he knew he needed. Could not recommend this book enough.

This book did an excellent job re-creating one of the most difficult eras to be queer in the US. Because of this, it was a bittersweet read. The 1960s was a decade of increased regulation of sexuality, especially in employment. Cat Sebastian captures the trauma of being queer amidst heightened policing of sexuality and gender nicely. The side characters were also all well-developed and added nicely to the plot. This book will be especially good for readers who enjoy historicals and sports romances.

A reporter dealing with the grief of losing his partner finds a new spark at romance when he is assigned to cover the baseball season with the new star shortstop who is battling the worst slump ever. A sweet slow burn romance between a grumpy x sunshine and just a lovely read overall. The story follows Mark Bailey, an arts reporter who ends up assigned to cover the new season of baseball centered around the worst player... Eddie O'Leary. Eddie is playing the worst baseball of his life and after finding out he was transferred to a new team on live television and having a fairly bad reaction... he is feeling a bit outcasted by his team. Eddie feels lonely and the fact that he's in a new town and is a queer sports player in 1960 and is also playing the worst baseball of his life... it's definitely not a good time for him. Yet from the moment Mark and Eddie meet, they begin a tentative friendship that begins growing into something more as they go out to meals together, bound over their loneliness, and begin to open up to one another. The story was just a really sweet read and seeing Mark deal with his grief and opening himself up to romance again was sweet. I loved Eddie so much, he was such a sweetheart himbo who adored Mark. Eddie's struggles with trying to adjust to a new city and group of people was so relatable and he really was just trying his best. This book was just a comforting read and I would definitely recommend it!

*Thanks Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Cat Sebastian is my queen! I love everything she has done and this is no exception.

Mark is a grumpy reporter. Eddie is a baseball player who's struggling a little bit this season after being traded to another team. Together they make the cutest couple. I love how different they are and how they balance each other out.

I loved all of the side characters and precious Lula. It was really nice to get to see some of the friends in We Could Be So Good show up here. The friendships are so strong and seem so real. I'm glad that these characters had each other.

It takes place in New York in the 1960s and the two really have to be cautious of outing themselves, especially Eddie. I love the moments where they just get to be. There were some very sweet and tender moments.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Avon for an ARC of this book.

This is, without a doubt, one of the best books I've read so far this year. As a baseball fan, I of course was drawn to the baseball. Eddie and his struggles with baseball are so human, so raw, and it weaves beautifully with the romance between Mark and Eddie. This book takes on themes of love and loss and grief in a beautiful way, and I'm so grateful for the chance to read an early copy. Cat Sebastian hit a home run with this one.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Cat Sebastian has done it again. Not only am I now fully obsessed with historical baseball, I am also dying for some good old fashioned TLC.

The two men at the heart of this story are impeccable. Their journeys are beautiful and believable and I could not stand them. Crying, screaming, throwing up, the whole nine yards, any metaphor you want.

Cat Sebastian is an auto-buy author for me for a reason and this book only solidified this for me. I don't want to say too much and give away the sweet moments that are built into this story, just know that you will not be disappointed and you may also start googling historical baseball uniforms... for science.

Mark and Eddies story was super cute and the banter between them was amazing. The slow burn was good, I loved the Mid-century vibe. I recommend this book. It was a cute, emotional, grumpy/sunshine queer romance. 3.5 star from me⭐️