The Art of Catching Feelings Book Review

This was my first introduction to the sports romance genre…

…and I absolutely loved it!!!

For some context: my husband played baseball for several years, as did two of my brothers-in-law. (One is currently playing in college and has a shot at making the majors!) I married into a hardcore baseball-loving family, so of COURSE it made sense for my first ever sports romance read to be a baseball one!

Before I dive into my official review, here’s a little more about The Art of Catching Feelings by Alicia Thompson:

“A professional baseball player and his heckler prove that true love is worth going to bat for. 

Daphne Brink doesn’t follow baseball, but watching “America’s Snoozefest” certainly beats sitting at home in the days after she signs her divorce papers. After one too many ballpark beers, she heckles Carolina Battery player Chris Kepler, who quickly proves there might actually be a little crying in baseball. Horrified, Daphne reaches out to Chris on social media to apologize . . . but forgets to identify herself as his heckler in her message. 

Chris doesn’t usually respond to random fans on social media, but he’s grieving and fragile after an emotionally turbulent few months. When a DM from “Duckie” catches his eye, he impulsively messages back. Duckie is sweet, funny, and seems to understand him in a way no one else does. 

Daphne isn’t sure how much longer she can keep lying to Chris, especially as she starts working with the team in real life and their feelings for each other deepen. When he finds out the truth, will it be three strikes, she’s out?”

While this was my first Alicia Thompson novel, this certainly will not be my last. Wow!

First, as you can tell from the blurb, there’s a miscommunication trope hard at work here. Normally the miscommunication trope is one of my LEAST favorite tropes in the romance genre – so much so that I haven’t finished some books that featured it. Too many times I want to shake the characters for not having valid or strong enough reasons to not just sit the eff down and talk to each other, for the love of god. XD But this book took the miscommunication trope and not only made it work – it didn’t make it annoying. Of course I knew that at some point the truth would have to come out – the characters couldn’t form a healthy relationship or have a happily ever after if it didn’t. But for once, I was actually nervous about the truth coming out and how it would blow Daphne and Chris’s relationship into smithereens, not annoyed about them not talking about it.

Daphne and Chris’s chemistry was also simply amazing. They had the banter, the swooniness, the spice, the inside jokes, the tender moments. Chris was so calming to Daphne’s anxiety, and the way he helped reassure her warmed my heart. As someone who struggles with anxiety a lot, these are things my partner has done for me, so I just really appreciated the tenderness shone there. Simultaneously, the way Daphne was there for Chris and his struggles and really listened to him was so important. Thompson leaned into the healthy reminder that men showing emotions is healthy, not a sign of weakness, and I loved how supportive both of these characters were to each other.

Also, the baseball games, practices, camraderie between the teammates, the interviews, etc – all were exquisitely well done! I loved being able to know exactly what kind of play the author was talking about. You can definitely tell Thompson is a huge baseball fan and knows her stuff, which is super important when it comes to several genres, but especially the sports romance genre! Hardcore sports lovers will be able to call you out on incorrect lingo, descriptions, plays, rules, etc, so it’s vital to do your research and get those things right.

Obviously since this IS a romance novel, it’s not a spoiler to say it has a certified happily ever after. And it was so, so sweet. Literally one of the best endings for these characters that I could have hoped for. ❤ Naturally I’m trying to be vague here so as not to share actual spoilers, but yeah. You’ll just have to take my word for it. 🙂

All in all, a fabulous 5-star read for me, and I’ll be visiting some of Thompson’s other books in the near future! Have you read this one or any of Alicia Thompson’s other books? I’d love to get your thoughts in the comments! 😀

NOTE FOR READERS: this book does feature some non-explicit pregnancy related issues with a side character and there is non-explicit mention of a family member’s suicide. Please review all applicable trigger/content warnings to see if this book would be a good fit for you! ❤