I’m so thankful to NetGalley that I was able to get this book as a ARC, I am not a sports person and probably would have never even known about this book otherwise but this story is so beautiful!

This is a historical fiction that is so absolutely wholesome and heartwarming sweet but also filled with aching pain that isn’t blatant but so present through every interaction of the characters as queer individuals who have to constantly hide themselves.

Both of the main characters are people I love and will protect with everything now. Eddie is an adorable puppy who actually often reminded me of Steve Rogers (Captain America) in how he behaved and went about life. He starts off as a really lonely down on his luck youngster in a new city but as the book progresses we see him grow into himself in New York and with his teammates. He is someone who does everything in his life wholeheartedly either it be playing baseball or loving Mark. He is just an overall walking green flag! And he is the perfect counterpart to Mark, who is easily going straight to top of my favorite characters of all time ever list.

Mark is an arts journalist who starts off as a lonely man whose partner, William, had died 16 months prior to the start of the book. The handling of William and Mark’s love story is done so beautifully by Cat Sebastian. We begin by seeing this really perfect perspective of William and Mark’s relationship that slowly shows how while they loved each other wholly, they did have their problems like every other couple. As Mark’s story grows and shifts with Eddie’s, there’s a very respectful separation of what they have to what Mark had.

Mark’s characterization is just *chef’s kiss*. He is a grumpy little baby who cares so deeply inside. Whenever we are in Mark’s point of view, we can see he repeatedly claims he’s a cynic, a practical haughty man but his actions are the exact opposite! It’s quite adorable actually how much he cares for everyone around him while constantly living with the fear of being queer in the book’s time period. Mark has so much pain and sweetness in every action he does, that you as the audience are fully aware of since we get to know Mark through his own and through Eddie’s perspectives. It’s impossible to not love him and want to wrap him in a giant blanket and cuddle him.

I don’t think there’s any way I can explain how lovely this story was, everyone needs to read it! I will be getting the physical book for my own collection and mark it up much like Mark does with his beloved copy of The Haunting of Hill House 🥹

You Should Be So Lucky is the first of Cat Sebastian's books that I've read. I will certainly be coming back for more. I actually already owned two of their previous releases but hadn't read them yet. I love their writing and dialogue between characters. When done well, that is an aspect that will keep me returning to an author's work over and over again. I am a baseball fan and a romance fan and, for me, this is the best baseball romance I've read. I really enjoyed the earnestness and sincerity of the characters, even Mark - who often covers his with attitude! I am very much looking forward to reading the other romances I own by Cat Sebastian and likely their future work!

I think it will be pretty tough to ever beat We Could Be So Good in my mind. That being said, this novel set in the same time period/setting was equally as gripping. I hope to find other well-written historical queer romance in the future; so far, this remains one of the few that I can recommend without hesitation (even though I don't even really like baseball all that much!).

I hate to say that I didn’t love this one nearly as much as I loved We Could Be So Good - hard bar to pass when that was one of my favorite books of last year! YSBSL has a ton of inner monologues and really focuses on the two MCs, Mark and Eddie, far more than the plot. But I found myself wishing there was some plot to move things along a bit, rather than lingering in this middle space of the two of them slowly falling together and figuring out how they can be together. It’s sweet, but I felt myself not loving the MCs or romance nearly as much as WCBSG. Still adore Cat Sebastian and will be thrilled to read the next books in this 20th century series!

Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 (4.5-5)
I am in love with *You Should Be So Lucky* by Cat Sebastian—an adorable, midcentury romance about love, grief, and baseball. Taking me completely by surprise, this is one of my favorite books I’ve read this year.

>> What I loved: This is a beautiful story of the joys and complexities of queer love. The setting, plot, and pacing were on point—everything felt necessary, nothing felt overdone, and the stakes felt real and compelling. Above all, the characters are wonderful. Mark—a grief-stricken, serious reporter—and Eddie, a kind-hearted, optimistic professional baseball player struggling through a major batting slump—develop and grow together in ways that are emotionally vulnerable and honest. I cannot say enough about how much I appreciate the amount of care present in both the story itself and the way it was written.

Fans of historical, queer romance should pick this wonderful book up. I read this one prior to the first book in Sebastian’s Midcentury NYC Series, and I can’t wait to go back and read the first book now!

**Acknowledgments & Disclaimers**
✨ Thank you to NetGalley, Cat Sebastian, and Avon and Harper Voyager, for providing an ARC and the opportunity to share an honest review of this book.
✨ All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
✨ My reviews and ratings strive to evaluate books within their own age-demographic and genre.

Cat Sebastian knocked this one out of the park!

After finding out he was being traded into a major baseball league with an alcoholic coach in New York City, Eddie O’Leary not only lost it in front of the reporters and cameramen, but he also lost his swing. Now he is stuck in New York City, with a team that hates him, harboring secrets, with hounding reporters at every corner and living out of a hotel…to say he hates his predicament is an understatement.

Mari Bailey is not a sports reporter, he barely works for the Chronicle at this point. Writing book reviews every so often, haunting a vacant floor in the office every few days. He’s a shell of who he used to be.

When Mark gets assigned to ghost write Eddie’s diary entries, the two couldn’t be more different. Eddie may be hated by his team and half of New York City but he’s the underdog they’ve been waiting to root for. Ever hesitant to really be close with anyone outside of his tight-knit group of friends again, Mark can’t help but to be unhappy with the job that he’s been assigned to.

Soon, Mark finds himself with an interest in writing again, and Eddie starts progressing in baseball. Things are sizzling under the surface, but it’s the 1960s and Eddie is nothing short of a celebrity at this point.

Can the two navigate the complexities of their pasts, their futures, and the newfound fame to make something work?

You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian
5 stars!

Cat Sebastian has written such a beautiful story about learning how to be loved and learning how to communicate with your partner. This story is told against the backdrop of 1960's New York City. When we meet our protagonist, Mark Bailey, he is just learning to navigate life without his partner William after his death. As Mark starts to get back into his work as an on-again/off-again columnist for the local paper, he is given the assignment to write a series of articles about the struggling newest player of New York's expansion baseball team, Eddie O'Leary. Eddie has come off as brash and not too happy about his trade to New York. But Eddie is really struggling to fit in with his new team and he is dealing with a major slump. As Mark starts to interview Eddie they develop feelings for each other, but both men have hurdles to cross before they can truly commit to each other.
You Should Be So Lucky is told from both men's POV and boy, did I love getting to live inside both Eddie and Mark's brain for a while. At different points, I could relate to each of them. Also, as a baseball fan and a New York Mets fan, it did not go unnoticed that Eddie's team, The Robins are loosely based on the 1960's Mets. I thought this book was really a love letter to anyone who is struggling and to the ones that love them. There is an amazing quote in the book about rooting for a struggling team that is just chef's kiss.
I wholeheartedly loved this book. Thank you so much to NetGalley, Cat Sebastian, and the publisher for allowing me to have an advance copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Apparently I'm in my baseball romance era, and I'm loving it!

This was stinking cute. I loved prickly and grieving Mark and golden retriever baseball-player-in-a-slump Eddie figuring things out. The secondary characters were complex and delightful, including Lula the dog. The midcentury era is so unique for a historical romance, especially a queer historical romance, and I am here for it and already craving more. Watching them navigate the complexities of Eddie's career and Mark's pain from hiding his relationship with his previous lover in 1960s NYC was so freaking interesting that I was honestly surprised to find myself at the epilogue/end.

I also didn't realize this was part of a series until I was about 85% through it, so if you're thinking about reading it as a standalone, you'll be perfectly fine.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my thoughts!

After spending the past 16 months barely existing after the death of his partner, Mark Bailey, a writer for the Chronicle’s arts page, is tasked with writing a profile on the Robins’ newly acquired shortstop, Eddie O’Leary. Between Mark wanting to be left alone and Eddie having the worst season of his career, this is the last thing either of them would’ve chosen. But they both take one for the team, and in doing so find that a HEA is still possible.

I adored this book. This is a book about grief in all its forms, but it’s also a book about hope. About life after catastrophe. About taking calculated risks, and living a life of your choosing with the family of your choosing. About the inevitability of failure, of loss, and also how that doesn’t mean the end. My heart ached for them but also delighted in their triumphs. Mark is justifiably grumpy and Eddie’s a total sweetheart, and the two of them together is a story that everyone should read.

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the arc!

First thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!!

I cannot say adequately how much I loved this book! A queer baseball romance set in the 60s was everything I needed to pull me out of a reading slump. Eddie and Mark are so freaking adorable and the PINING! So much queer pining and I loved every second of it! The characters are so well fleshed out and add to the beauty of the story. It handles grief in such a lovely and delicate way that I found myself crying along with them. All in all, I cannot recommend this book more!

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
SPICE: 🔥

This book was fantastic and I was in my feels the entire time. This story was tender and epic and just absolutely one of the best and most refreshing reads I have read this year.

Eddie and Mark are everything and must be protected at all costs. Actually every single character in this book must be protected at all costs because I love them with every fiber of my being.

TROPES ⬇️

✨ Baseball Romance
✨ Grumpy / Sunshine
✨ Opposites attract
✨ Secret Relationship
✨ 1960’s era Romance
✨ Found Family

This book is a queer sports romance set in the 1960’s and honestly the time period and the narrative were what made this story just so much more.

Mark and Eddie are fantastically portrayed, with Mark jaded snark and recovery from a grief her can’t fully express, to Eddie, the young golden retriever baseball star trying to find his place. I felt then with every fiber of my being. I laughed with them, I cried with them, I felt rage for them… and I loved them, their story and their world.

And we can’t forget about the third main character of this story… baseball. The way the game was shown, the nostalgia, the superstition, just everything about how the love and lore sport was told. I don’t think I have words.

I literally put this book down and stared at nothing for a few minutes because I was so wrecked. It’s still days late and I’m wrecked. This has to be one of the best queer romances I’ve read, and the pain and joy that I felt reading it is going to live with me for a long time.

Talk about a home run of emotions! This book is packed to the brim with heart and enough baseball vibes to make even the staunchest sports skeptic do a victory dance. The main characters? Total MVPs. I mean, I was cheering for them harder than a die-hard fan at the World Serie

You Should Be So Lucky is a beautiful queer love story set in 1960’s New York. Eddie is a professional baseball player who has been recently traded and is having some bad luck with his game and Mark is a newspaper reporter tasked with interviewing him for a series of articles. Eddie and Mark slowly build their relationship from strangers to friends to lovers. The story touches on found family, the grief of losing a partner, and the realities of being queer in this period of time. I thought this was a beautiful story and I enjoyed watching their relationship develop.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is another very moving and poignant story by Cat Sebastian revolving around a gay reporter in NYC in the 1960's who knew all too well how hostile the environment is for men like him. He’s already loved and lost and had to keep who he is hidden. Eddie is the young phenom baseball player traded against his wishes to the new NY expansion team. The rising star’s hitting slump did not endear him to the NY fans nor his teammates. When he’s ordered to allow reporter Mark Bailey to do a series of interviews, Eddie has no choice but to allow the cynical grumpy reporter in.
These two couldn’t be more different but there is an attraction that can’t be ignored. But a relationship enjoyed in private runs the risk of ruination if it becomes public. Any rumor of homosexuality could be career ending for Eddie. Mark has already kept one relationship secret – not something he ever wants to have to do again. They both have some very tough and unfair decisions to make.
Once again, as in We Could Be So Good, Cat Sebastian will have you feeling the heartbreak, the fear, the love with her words like no other. She does such a wonderful job of addressing so many issues in a subtle way giving the readers two very loveable characters, that I could do nothing but root for them! And I especially loved Mark and all his grumpiness but his devotion to keeping Eddie safe. A simple dinner with friends – something so many of us take for granted - was such a punch in the gut and pivotal scene.
And as an avid Yankees fan, the insight into the baseball locker room and sports press box was so interesting and obviously well researched and I loved that aspect of the story as well.

Absolute 5 out of 5 for me. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This book has so much more heart than your normal romance novel. Yes, there is pining and romance and some very tasteful spice, but you also see the heart of a struggling baseball team with a manager just trying to do his best and the end of a journalism legacy who doesn't want to give up his love. This is a story of Baseball and how it brings people together.

The romance isn't all sunshine and rainbows, as both characters have their own personal challenges to overcome, but at the end of the day they get their happily ever after. I admittedly kept waiting for the other shoe to drop as I approached the end of the story, as many romance novels have some kind of last minute conflict arise, but I was pleasantly surprised that this one did not. It is truly a happy story and I am already itching for a re-read.

The perspective of the story changes throughout, which really gives you an in-depth look into who these characters really are. I fell in love with each and every one of them, their flaws and all. Each is trying to overcome some life challenge, whether its grief, substance abuse, aging, sexism, or a personal slump. You watch each character grow.

Absolute knock out of the park!

Just as fantastic as You Could Be So Good, and I could pretty much copy and paste that review here. I loved Mark and Eddie and their story.

SO much heart in this book and so many things to love. Full on baseball feels, and I just loved both MCs. The last 20% especially just made my heart feel so full. The banter, and the way the MCs grew close as they got to know each other was just everything.

Mark is currently going through the hardest year life has ever dealt him. In order to reasonably keep his reporting job, he must interview the new hotshot shortstop for the Robins. Mark is not a sports reporter and has no interest in making this obnoxious man look good. Eddie was just traded without warning to the Robins resulting in him making an ass of himself on national television and then topping it off with the worst batting slump anyone has ever seen. To make it worse, his manager now wants him to meet weekly with a reporter. How could anyone possibly think this is a good idea?

I fell in love with these characters so incredibly quickly. The perspective changes really gave so much insight into their characters: what they truly mean, how they are perceived, etc. I really appreciated how queerness both was and was not a conflict in this book. I don't love to read books where queer characters have to constantly suffer for being queer but it does feel odd sometimes to root a book in a time period and then ignore the general attitude toward queer people during that time. This book found a good balance of acknowledging, but still allowing the characters to have plotlines and conflicts that didn't really harp on the issue. I was very happy with how everything turned out for them.

Grief is a very strong theme in this book as if life after tragedy/misfortune. Because of this, I would advise any reader to check the trigger warning ahead of time as I could not imagine how terrible it would feel being caught off-guard by such an incredibly sensitive subject.

This is for the baseball fans, the romance fans, and anyone interested in reading about happily ever after following tragedy.

5 STARS!

"You Should Be So Lucky" is the first Cat Sebastian novel I have read, and I cannot wait to read more of her novels because this book is TERRIFIC, an absolute freaking delight of a book. I relished and cherished every single page of this incredible, earnest, slow-burning story. This is the kind of story, the kind of writing, I yearn for, the kind of prose that warms and satisfies my cold, dark, pessimistic heart. I am just so overjoyed with this story. I could gush about it for years. Mark Bailey and Eddie O’Leary won't be leaving my mind anytime soon. They are both incredible main characters. Eddie is the new guy on his baseball team in 1960s New York. Eddie is being shunned by his new team because he's in a monumental career slump... and no one wants their team to suck as bad as he has been stinking. He wears his heart on his sleeve. Mark, on the other hand, is a grumpy, standoffish journalist tasked with writing the baseball beat for the time being. He is still grieving the loss of his romantic partner and is not looking to fall in love ever again. When Mark is asked to write some fluff pieces about Eddie to boost his popularity, the two strike up a friendship, mostly against Mark's better judgment. Slowly over time, Eddie confesses that he is, indeed, queer in the Big Apple without many friends or relatives to tell or guide him. These two men navigate around each other's orbits and find themselves falling desperately for one another despite the odds, despite their pasts, and despite a world that, unfortunately, doesn't accept them as who they are. Like I said, this book is simply incredible. It will have you laughing, it will make you cry, it will give you hope for a better, more accepting world. I am not a baseball fan, but Cat Sebastian weaves such an intricate tapestry of the sport and the people who play alongside Eddie that I found myself genuinely caring about that aspect of the story, too. This is not your typical baseball romance novel. It is about moving on, acceptance, grieving/overcoming loss, powering through life during the worst, most trying times it can throw at you, and finding connection and love despite those moments of sadness and adversity. This book is, frankly, special. I cannot wait to read more of Cat Sebatian's work because it was truly a privilege to read this.

Thank you to NetGalley, Cat Sebastian, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

Thank you to Avon and Netgalley for this advanced copy!

Cat Sebastian books are just wonderful and like an amazing sweater that just gets better after several washes. I love these modern queer romances. Mark and Eddie are adorable while not being mushy and I love how they work to come together despite the real consequences of being out. Mark is dealing with just incredible grief and Eddie is a loveable lug and they just work. They just work. I don't know that I can say anything better about this book except I can't wait for the next one and I'm mad it's over. I was so happy to see Nick and Andy in this book too!

More . All I want is more.