Loved

Sports Romance (open-door)

Ebook via Libby

Published 2024 by Berkeley Romance

Soundtrack: Delicate by Taylor Swift

Open communication (mostly), baseball, a man who wants to worship his woman, and references to other sports romances—The Arthur of Catching Feelings is everything we love about summer romances. Thompson creates complicated, inwardly reflecting main characters, instantly drawing me into their relationship. The side plots are minor, yet I never felt I needed more. Her writing has such a range, covering both severe subject matter and fun music and movie references with the same ease.

In an adorable meet-cute, Daphne, a woman who knows nothing about baseball, has one too many IPAs at a baseball game and heckles a handsome third baseman, making him cry. In her DM attempt to apologize, she accidentally deletes the paragraph about being his heckler, and things snowball.  

At first, I struggled with Daphne’s inability to admit her mistake, yet I ultimately sympathized with her. Her insecurities felt valid, and I loved seeing Chris try to get through her walls. I adored Chris. He was down bad for Daphne, trying to play consistently, all while trying to forget his trauma. It is an excellent depiction of how mental health impacts physical health. You could see the conflict in their relationship coming, and I appreciated that both did some self-reflection before reconciling. It felt necessary and made the experience believable. 

This is a true sports romance with actual sports covered: the plays, the practices, the emotions at the end of the loss, the nitty-gritty of being a fan and player, and I ate it up. I thought it was a great depiction and, despite my lack of baseball knowledge, enjoyed all the references. I prefer my sports romances to reference the sport accurately, and this felt in the right ballpark. 

This book has a Prospects reference, which is an extra spot of joy. Grab yourself some crackerjacks (do they even serve those in stadiums?).. and curl up with this book!