When a heckler becomes an accidental love interest, a baseball player’s game will never be the same. Daphne never meant to make the third baseman for the Carolina Battery cry. And she certainly didn’t mean to fall in love with both the player and the game. But Chris and Daphne’s relationship takes off, first in DMs and then in real life. When Daphne’s secret comes to light, it might be three strikes and she’s out, unless Chris is willing to give her another chance at a home run to his heart. You won’t want to miss The Art of Catching Feelings by Alicia Thompson.
Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. This post contains affiliate links. That means we receive a small commission at no cost to you from any purchases you make through these links.
The Art of Catching Feelings by Alicia Thompson
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Standalone
June 18, 2024
Read this if you want:
- Baseball romances
- Loved Alicia Thompson’s previous books (love for baseball optional)
- Love seeing athletes be vulnerable
After signing her divorce papers, Daphne just wanted to blow off steam. Unfortunately for Chris Kepler, the 3rd baseman for the Carolina Battery, that came in the form of heckling him during a home game. And with tears in his eyes, neither Chris nor Daphne will get to pretend it never happened. But when Daphne tries to apologize via DM, she accidentally forgets to identify herself as the heckler. As Chris and Daphne talk more, they begin to fall for each other – first in writing, then in real life. But the longer their relationship goes on, the harder it is for Daphne to fess up to being Chris’s heckler. When the truth comes out, both Daphne and Chris will have to decide if being together is worth the pain and sacrifice, or if they’ve struck out of love.
I have to say up front: I am not a baseball girl. While I enjoy sports romances in general, I’ve never been so eager to read a baseball one. But Alicia Thompson may have converted me.
I’ve loved Thompson’s previous books; With Love, from Cold World was one of my favorite reads of 2023. If you’ve loved her previous books, you won’t want to pass on The Art of Catching Feelings. I’m sure if you love baseball, you will love this romance even more, but Chris and Daphne’s relationship is so great on the page that non-baseball fans (or non-sports fans in general) will still find a lot to love in this book.
Thompson did include a good deal of baseball terminology and/or references within this story, but thankfully, Daphne is also clueless when it comes to the sport, so many things are explained or answered in plot. Readers can thoroughly enjoy Chris’s chosen profession without needing to know much about it.
One of my least favorite things about romances is the third act breakup. Of course, with a plot like this book has, I knew going in that Chris would inevitably find out that Daphne was his heckler. Knowing what would inevitably happen definitely made the last part of the book a lot easier to read, so even when I’m not a fan of the third act breakup, I actually didn’t mind seeing it here.
The Art of Catching Feelings was fun, had plenty of steamy goodness, and had more internal conflict than external. Thompson does include some heavier topics, especially regarding Chris, but it was all handled well by both the characters and the author. I really enjoyed this read, and it firmly placed Alicia Thompson on my auto-buy list.
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