A Grumpy/Sunshine baseball story?? Yes, please!

Set in the 1960s, this book follows a fictional newly-formed major league team in New York.
Eddie, up-and-coming shortstop and batting phenom, had a dramatic on-camera reaction to being traded, and now his new team hates him and he's in a hitting slump. Enter Mark, a snarky reporter in his own sort of slump, having not written much since the death of his boyfriend over a year ago. Mark has been assigned to ghost write a weekly journal article for Eddie to help sway the public opinion. Que friendship that develops into romance. And a very sweet one, at that!
Being gay in the 1960s brings its own set of challenges to the couple, especially with Eddie being a sports celebrity. The author does a great job representing both the fear of being discovered and the anger at having to hide.
And, as a huge baseball fan (Go Dodgers!), I loved the way the game was portrayed.
Overall, it's a fun, sweet read that may kick of my sports romance era!

I have read many of Sebastian's books, and I must say this is my favorite so far. Imagine a fictional NY Mets team called the Robin's in 1960 NY. Eddie O'Leary has just been traded there. He found out on national TV and did not take it well, so his teammates do not take to him well. Plus, he is in a batting slump.
Enter Mark, a grief-stricken newspaper writer and relatively out gay man. His friend and paper editor assigns him the task of writing a weekly diary for Eddie.
This is a slow burn gay romance written with humor and kindness.
Also, there is lots of baseball.
I really enjoyed this look at 1960's gay life in New York. Eddie is a fabulous character, I just loved everything about him.
Plus, there is an adorable dog, a lesbian couple who watch out for Mark, and many terrific side characters. I couldn't put this book down to the detriment of my sleep.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the EARC.
These are my honest opinions.
I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Avon & Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the advance reader copy of You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian.

Get ready for May 7, 2024!

I feel so lucky that I had the opportunity to read and review an early copy of this book. Wow, simply WOW. I loved this one so much!!!

Eddie O’Leary has joined the Robins and is having a difficult start with the team and on the field. Mark Bailey is assigned to cover writing about Eddie and the Robins.

Eddie and Mark are perfection. These two are so well suited for each other and it was such a joy to read them finding each other. The personalities of these two characters are so complimentary and that aspect is written so well in this story! Mark and Eddie are one of those couples that know and get each other and you see that throughout their developing love story.

This book is one of my favorites so far this year!

Also, I’m now convinced the world needs more pay phones and we should preserve the ones that we still have!

You get two novels in one with You Should Be So Lucky, by Cat Sebastian. One is a great baseball novel, full of feelings and historic facts from the earlier days in the game. Well, 1960 might seem earlier to many of today's readers! I liked the main characters Mark and Eddie. Mark is a journalist/writer who is writing about the shortstop Eddie as he faces a major slump. Mark himself is grieving the loss of his lover. The two fall for each other, but it's 1960 baseball. What could go wrong? A strong romance joins a strong baseball story for a great read.
Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

5 stars! I'm really enjoying reading my way through Cat Sebastian's books. The characters feel very real, fresh, alive, relevant, and relatable, which historical fiction doesn't always achieve, especially without veering into anachronisms like too many other books in the MM romance/LGBTQ+ world.

This book is a sequel-of-sorts to "We Could Be So Good," which I enjoyed a lot. "Of-sorts," because we do get some of the characters in the previous book, but you wouldn't have had to read that earlier one. And in many ways, I enjoyed this second book even more than the first one. Both books have made us know what it could be like to be an LGBTQ+ person in mid-20th-century America, all the fears, all the repressions, but all the possible joys some could and DID create and experience in pre-Stonewall times. So, kudos and more kudos for a world I really enjoyed being part of and to the author sharing that world with us!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts of the book.

This book was so much fun and I really enjoyed it! It’s such a unique plot for a romance that really makes it stand out with the sea of other books. 1960s baseball was a fun and interesting backdrop to place this story in, and you could tell it was well researched and thought out. The romance was an adorable enemies to lovers slow burn that had me really invested, even if it took a bit for me to get into at first - it was well worth it! I’m definitely going to read more by this author

ARC provided by netgalley

This book was amazing! I do, however, think I would have liked it more if I hadn’t read We Could Be So Good, not because it isn’t good or because it’s too similar but because I had very high expectations, which did not give this book a fair chance. Nevertheless, this was a solid 4.5 stars. I absolutely loved the two main characters and their dynamic, and I loved the found family aspect with the team. I wish Eddie would have apologized earlier so we could have seen more of his interactions with his teammates but what we did get was beautiful and so fun to read. I wish we could have gotten more into Mark letting go of his fear for Eddie or at least giving Eddie the chance to choose his own path without so many underhanded test. This book had some wonderful quotes and moments which left me giddy.

This was such a fun read! I appreciate the work that this author puts into making the historical aspect of these stories feel very real (although I do wish that we got a bit more of the baseball side of this one). I loved the slow burn relationship here, and their struggles/hesitancies felt very genuine. The George side plot made me cry lol.

One thing I felt like I was waiting for the whole book, only for it to not come, was for the two main characters to discuss their grief. Mark struggles throughout the book with the loss of his previous partner, and we know that Eddie lost his dad when he was younger. I felt like it was a missed opportunity that these two characters never had a conversation about their grief, on screen or off. That was a bummer to me.

Other than that, really great story with very sweet moments.

I requested and received an eARC of You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sesbastian. I was super excited to read this! I’ve always been a fan of Sebastian’s historical romance. This particular novel takes place in the 1960s, centered around sports and writing. Mark Bailey is a writer going through a slump, professionally and personally. Eddie O’Leary finds himself in New York City when he is traded from his team back in Kansas City. When Mark is assigned to write Eddie’s “diary” for the sports section at The Chronicle, Eddie is immediately uncomfortable. He always speaks before he thinks and has garnered a certain reputation that isolates him from the rest of his team. Extra attention, especially as he is struggling with his performance in the game, is the last thing he wants. But something about Mark’s blue eyes, the way he smells and the way he holds himself apart from the rest of the world draws Eddie in…

Swooooon. In this book, Cat Sebastian brings the slow to slow burn and offers an interesting take on the grump/sunshine trope (although it’s obvious that both of these men were in need of some sunshine!) The first half of the novel does a fantastic job of building longing between the characters while also peeling back the layers so the audience has a chance to know Eddie and Mark more intimately. I’m not a sports person, so I didn’t care a fig about Eddie’s baseball career, but I was drawn to him as a character because of his seemingly shy nature and his tendency to say the wrong thing. He is described as being very physically attractive, so I thought this was a terrific way of balancing the character (nothing makes me gag than having one MC be the epitome of perfection.) By the halfway point, I was rooting for his success in his little games and by the end I was absolutely enamored with the character.

I certainly identified more with Mark. He’s the “grumpy” half of the trope. And I was glad when Eddie finally understood that he lashes out because of his need for reassurance. It isn’t an endearing quality, but it is one that makes Mark so incredibly human and relatable as a protagonist. Plus, he apparently has fabulous taste in books! I really enjoyed reading the analysis of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House and the importance the novel holds for Mark. While this is a terrific romance story, it is also a story about grief. This element of the novel infuses the relationship between the men with a mixture of uncertainty and tenderness that makes their relationship memorable and one the audience wants to root for. There were a couple of spicy scenes, but they were brief and didn’t overwhelm the story, and the relationship between the MCs developed in a natural and enjoyable way.

💙I just adored this book. Mark and Eddie, what sweethearts they are. Two very different people but both so desperately lonely are forced to work together and begin to navigate their secret-ish relationship in a time when being queer is still illegal. Mark is grumpy and mean sometimes and Eddie is a sweetheart and a mama's boy. But somehow they make sense together. Some of their dialogue together was hilarious but also so sweet and loving. Mark's breakdown over the cherries broke my heart but i'm so glad he had Eddie there. Found family AND there's a dog (LULA!) Also do not fear if you aren't a sports or baseball fan, I'm not either but this was an easy read for me! This book is set in the same universe as 'We Could Be So Good', also by Cat Sebastian and does feature appearances by the characters from that book. I'll definitely have to read that one soon. 'You Should Be So Lucky' is a tender love story that beautifully and delicately navigates grief and loneliness and what it means to be queer in the 1960s. I think this one will become a favorite of mine that I'll want to read again and again. 💙

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

If you throw together a sports romance and the grumpy/sunshine trope you have a winning recipe for a book I’ll like and You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian definitely finds this true. This a story of grief and overcoming obstacles.

What I loved about reading this books is that I always rooted for Mark and Eddie. Even when they had disagreements, I still rooted for them. Mark our grump, was also really caring not just towards Eddie but to many of the other characters. It made him very likable. Eddie our sunshine, had a lot to overcome and learn throughout the book. They complemented each other as characters in a way that made me want to keep reading and reading.

If you like reading m/m and sports romance I’d definitely give this books a try!

Imgur Link goes to instagram graphic scheduled for May 7th
Blog post goes live April 23rd
Will be discussed in Youtube's April Reads pt 2

**TL;DR:** A slow, sweet story that sneaks under your skin. I was shocked by how much I loved this at the end.

Cat Sebastian wrote some of the first queer romances I'd ever read and I've been a fan since. You Should Be So Lucky is her newest release and she continues to hit a home runs. This is the story of Eddie and Mark. Eddie is a newly traded player to the Robins, and has seemingly lost his game winning swing as a batter. Mark is the reporter assigned to follow him and write a column for the local paper talking about Eddie's day to day. The book follows both Eddie's work to recover his swing and the slow burn between Mark and Eddie.

This was a such a sneaky little book. It takes place over a long period of time, the 'parts' divided into months as the the two learn to work and love in the restraints of the time when being queer. The bulk of the story is very focused on their life and the lives around them. That's what ultimately sold me on this. The story was sweet and it was lovely but the lives of the characters around them really made it rich. The story does focus on being a softer, cozier story but we get hints and notes of the tensions and rules of the time.

The only real issue I can foresee for a lot of readers is the slow pace and Cat's slightly choppy style. Both of these things made the book a slower paced story for me but it was well worth it in the end. A bonus is the fact that there is an adorable, very lovable dog. So +100 points that don't matter for that.

5 out of 5 golden key holders

Being my first Cat Sebastian book, I really didn't know what to expect. I just know I saw a baseball player (which I LOVE) on the cover with a news reporter (my HS dream job) and I was instantly wanted to read.

Set in 1960's New York City, we have shortstop Eddie O'Leary, who was publicly informed that he was being traded to play for a losing record team with a drunk manager. Needless to say, he was not very happy and he let the reporters know about it.

When he gets to New York, nobody in the clubhouse likes him, resulting in the greatest hitting slump he has ever had. His teammates don't talk to him and the fans don't exactly give him a warm welcome.

The team owner makes him give a whole bunch of interviews with a seemingly closed off and snobbish reporter, Mark Bailey. He will follow and talk with him for a few weeks and the articles will ultimately be published in the newspaper as diary entries of Eddie.

First off, I loved Eddie's character. He wasn't an asshole like the reporters and media made him out to be. He was just misunderstood and was told a life changing event in front of people who shouldn't have seen it because he didn't even have time to process what had happened. He was really sweet. I'd say he was more of a golden retriever personality and just needed to find people who understood him. The treatment of him in the clubhouse by his teammates was really crappy and mean and it made him feel like crap and in a time that mental health was not a thing, led to him not taking it very well.

Mark Bailey was so closed off. Understandably so, because he was grieving the loss of his partner. At the time in 1960's America, it was not acceptable to be queer so his grief had to be hidden from the world which is just so heartbreaking because he basically alone in his thoughts and had no one to really turn to.

This book really touched on how it was for queer people in the 60's and it just breaks my heart that they had to hide themselves from the world and could never truly express their true identities in public without fear.

The way the author was able to captivate their love story really awed me because it was written so well. They were both trying not to give in to what they thought might be a disaster waiting to happen, but the heart wants what it wants and what destined to be will always be.

The way his teammates and manager eventually came around and were accepting without publicly talking about it warmed my heart because they knew how the world worked and what would come about being associated with queer people.

This was such a sweet historical romance book that focuses on accepting ones true self. I loved the basis and the storyline of this book, plus its centered around a baseball player which of course is my favorite.

Thank you NetGalley, Avon Books and Cat Sebastian for the digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC of You Should Be so Lucky!

You Should Be So Lucky had me smiling from beginning to end. It’s the ultimate feel-good, charming and romantic entry we need this summer, something that both explores the history of its queer characters and celebrates their place in the world. I couldn’t recommend it enough, finding it a more than worthy follow-up to the delightful We Could Be So Good. The dialogue is quippy, the relationship between its leads is built steadily in sweet and small moments, and the whole thing feels like a big, warm (much-needed) hug. As LGBTQIA+ rights are still constantly up for debate and discussion, it’s affirming to remember that we’ve always been here and always will be.

You Should Be So Lucky is set during the 1960s, and follows reporter Mark Bailey who is hired to write the diaries of recently traded baseball player Eddie O’Leary. While baseball is featured, the focus remains more on Eddie’s recent batting slump and his camaraderie with his teammates (for those of us who don’t worship the Sports). Some early remarks regarding the trade have followed Eddie and left a sour taste in the team’s mouth, and it appears he has several uphill battles to face. Enter Mark, who promises to make Eddie look good and relatable to workshop his image. As the two men spend time together, they find more than they intended, and we get treated to lots of kissing, late-night phone calls, and domestic dog-walking visits. But as always (especially in the 1960s), there’s a difference between what seems smart, and what feels right.

Sebastian crafts something comforting and timely. It’s a true love story, as these two men give little pieces of themselves to each other in earnest, despite the challenges. Love, like baseball, requires some tact and some determination. Even when the odds are down, there’s still joy in the play and something worth fighting for. As Mark ponders at one point, there’s something envious in the falling, in the participation of it all–not so much to find an ending, but to remember we’re truly alive now.

I. Can’t. Recommend. Enough.

I LOVED We Could Be So Good, so I was incredibly excited about this, and it did not disappoint. Eddie and Mark are so lovely. Their story is slow and cautious and tender. We get a couple of cameos from Nick and Andy. The baseball talk was interesting as was the journalism. It was a really, sweet soft book.

4.5 stars rounded up! I read and really liked WE COULD BE SO GOOD, but I think I enjoyed this one even more. Set in the same universe as WCBSG, YOU SHOULD BE SO LUCKY follows arts writer Mark Bailey and baseball player Eddie O' Leary, neither of whom are in a particularly good place when we meet them. Mark is still grieving the loss of his long-term partner and struggling with the fact that they could never be completely open about their relationship. Eddie's star-player status is quickly devolving into the worst slump of his life, and to top it all of, he's finding it difficult to bond with the team he's been traded to. Needless to say, when Mark is assigned to write a weekly column on Eddie, partly to give him some positive publicity, partly to bring in some more readers for the paper, neither of them are exactly thrilled about it. But soon, the two men strike up a friendship, which then becomes something more. Mark isn't prepared to be someone's secret again, and Eddie can't come out as a professional athlete. Will they risk everything to be together?

This was such a cozy, comforting read! Mark and Eddie are the quintessential "black-cat-and-golden-retriever" dynamic, and their relationship was so well-developed and heartwarming to read about. Beyond the romance, I thought Cat Sebastian did a fantastic job of crafting both characters and, through their journeys, exploring themes like coping with grief, allowing yourself to be known and loved for who you are, and moving forward from whatever "slump" you may be in. In YSBSL, Sebastian shows readers that it's okay to open yourself up to love, friendship, and community—and while some of those relationships may not last forever, it doesn't make them any less meaningful or special, in the moment and in the long run. The cast of side characters was just as wonderful as our two leads—my personal favorites were George and Eddie's mom, but I also liked seeing some familiar faces from WCBSG again! In terms of what I'd have wanted to see more of, I wished that the setting had been utilized a little bit more, and felt similarly about WCBSG. I think the 50s/60s setting in historical fiction and romance is such an interesting and underrated one, and would have loved a little more development in that aspect—some of the dialogue/narration, for example, felt more "modern," 2020s vibes rather than 1960s, if that makes sense. The storyline of Mark and Eddie being afraid to fully come out and have a relationship in the public eye, given the time period, their respective careers, etc., was really well-done, but beyond that, I felt like the setting could have been a bit more fleshed-out overall. For instance, I loved the little pop culture references about books, movies, shows, etc., that the characters would have enjoyed during that time, and would have liked to see more things like that throughout the story. Otherwise, I'd definitely recommend this one, and hope Cat Sebastian writes more books set in this universe in the future! You'd be "so lucky" to snag a copy of her latest this spring. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC.

First off I would like to thank the publisher, Avon and Harper Voyager as well as NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. As a baseball enthusiast, I was so excited for this book, especially as it was a different type of "sports romance." While I loved the story of Eddie and working through his slump, the story of Mark and his own personal life "slump" due to loss was something I wasn't fully prepared for. As someone who experienced loss of a partner, I would have liked more of a trigger warning on that, so if you are sensitive to these story lines, you may want to read this with caution. Other than that, this was a great story of life, life, teammates and camaraderie, and overall about moving forward and finding new love. 4/5 stars.

You know those books that sort of feel like a hug just this shy of painful, but that just... bring tears to your eyes because that's exactly the kind of hug you needed right at that moment? This is that book. And it's not even particularly the themes of the book (which, I'll get to and were great, imo). It's the vibe that Cat Sebastian brought to the entire book.

Eddie goes from being a Midwestern baseball player with a killer swing to a much bigger baseball player in New York with a crappy team that hates him and an inability to hit the ball for the life of him. The way he struggles with that, as well as his struggles with navigating and thinking in more detail about his queerness in how it relates to his now more public life and how other people do this same was just excellently done. Eddie is such a golden retriever of a character.

Then there's Mark. The grumpy, prickly, cat-like reporter who's stalled in his career and his life due to the grief of losing his former partner in a relationship he could never publicize. The way he slowly opens up and just lets himself grieve hit like a punch to the gut.

And when the two of them are together? It's just so heartwarming. I was fully prepared going into this to potentially witness a tragedy (this is my first Cat Sebastian book, so I don't know if this book is an outlier or if her books don't need to end with queer historical tragedy), but was so relieved and happy when that wasn't the case. There's just so much hope in this book (and there's baseball, but less so the fine beat-by-beat of the games and more so the minutiae of the team and how they work together) and it just worked for me.

Content Warnings: Homophobia (time period appropriate), Grief

Sebastian has produced a great, slowburn romance. For those who enjoy romance but are sex averse, there are no overly spicy scenes, but there are great explorations of blooming feelings, overcoming loss, and love.

Also, worth noting that even though baseball is key to this novel, you don’t need to be a sports fan to enjoy it. It’s a key setting and informs the work, as it’s the main reason the two main characters are together, but it never reads like a play-by-play, even when games are directly described.

Mark Bailey is a newspaper writer who has lost his long-time partner and, as a result, mostly done just book reviews for a while. Throughout the book, he must grow around his grief, situating his feelings for his former relationship with his current one. It is not immediate and it is not clean, but that makes it all the more heart-warming as he realizes that he is worthy of a second love.

Eddie O’Leary is a newly traded baseball player from Nebraska who doesn’t know how to navigate city life, regular or queer. He is hard on himself but always optimistic, hard-working, and earnest. He must overcome his insecurities, on and off the field, to grow into his true potential. He is the sunshine to Mark’s grump, and the two play off each other so well in their moments of strength and vulnerability.

I highly recommend for anyone who wants a heartfelt, slowburn romance with a happy ending.

An adorable grump and sunshine story. Both characters are likeable and understandable. The baseball setting was fun even if you are not into baseball.