An emotional, slow-burn, grumpy/sunshine, queer mid-century romance for fans of Evvie Drake Starts Over, about grief and found family, between the new star shortstop stuck in a batting slump and the reporter assigned to (reluctantly) cover his first season—set in the same universe as We Could Be So Good.
The 1960 baseball season is shaping up to be the worst year of Eddie O’Leary’s life. He can’t manage to hit the ball, his new teammates hate him, he’s living out of a suitcase, and he’s homesick. When the team’s owner orders him to give a bunch of interviews to some snobby reporter, he’s ready to call it quits. He can barely manage to behave himself for the length of a game, let alone an entire season. But he’s already on thin ice, so he has no choice but to agree.
Mark Bailey is not a sports reporter. He writes for the arts page, and these days he’s barely even managing to do that much. He’s had a rough year and just wants to be left alone in his too-empty apartment, mourning a partner he’d never been able to be public about. The last thing he needs is to spend a season writing about New York’s obnoxious new shortstop in a stunt to get the struggling newspaper more readers.
Isolated together within the crush of an anonymous city, these two lonely souls orbit each other as they slowly give in to the inevitable gravity of their attraction. But Mark has vowed that he’ll never be someone’s secret ever again, and Eddie can’t be out as a professional athlete. It’s just them against the world, and they’ll both have to decide if that’s enough.
Author Info
Cat Sebastian writes queer historical romances. Cat’s books include We Could Be So Good and the Turner series, and have received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist. Before writing, Cat was a lawyer and a teacher and did a variety of other jobs she liked much less than she enjoys writing happy endings for queer people. She was born in New Jersey and lived in New York and Arizona before settling down in a swampy part of the South. When she isn’t writing, she’s probably reading, having one-sided conversations with her dog, or doing the crossword puzzle.
Reviews
"Cat Sebastian writes about love in all its forms with the care, warmth and effortless mastery of someone putting a homecooked meal in front of you. I don't know how she keeps getting better, or how she managed to make me care so much about a sport I know literally nothing about, but this one is--again!--the best yet. A truly wonderful and heart-healing romance about community, grief, perseverance, New York bakeries--and baseball." — Freya Marske, bestselling author of A Marvellous Light
"It's impossible not to be romantic about baseball in YOU SHOULD BE SO LUCKY. It's a book about second chances, the inevitability of failure, and the everyday miracle of finding--and deserving--love. As with all Cat Sebastian books, this one changed me irreversibly. For everyone who's ever had to come back from the worst thing they've ever imagined; for everyone who longs for life to be surprising and wonderful again. I never wanted to put this book down--I laughed, I sighed, I cried, and I know I will return to it many, many times." — Olivia Blake, NYT bestselling author of the Atlas series
“People think the ending is what defines a romance, and it does, but that’s not what a romance is for. The end is where you stop, but the journey is why you go. Whether we’re talking about love, baseball or life itself, Sebastian’s book bluntly scorns measuring success merely by end results… Hoping, loving are things you do for their own sake, to mark being a human among other humans... If you read one romance this spring, make it this one.” — New York Times Book Review
"Another wonderful read from Cat Sebastian. This book was like a big warm hug, with wonderful characters you can't help but root for. Mark and Eddie stole my heart within the first few pages, and their story of love and growth, especially in the face of grief, will be a sure hit with readers." — Emma Denny
"Sebastian’s latest is full of grumpy/sunshine goodness, with an absolutely delicious slow-burn romance." — Library Journal (starred review)
"Sebastian delivers another irresistible period romance in this poignant spin-off of We Could Be So Good... The pair’s endearing slow-burn romance, which plays out between ball games and on the Robins’ road trips, delivers a big emotional payoff. (“?‘I love you,’ Eddie says... ‘You’re a nightmare,’ Mark returns, in precisely the same tone of voice.”) Readers will melt." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A delicious slow burn threaded with midcentury New York detail… Elegant character development and strong, witty writing make this one a home run… Another stunning queer historical romance from a writer at the top of her game.” — Kirkus Reviews(starred review)
"Sebastian delivers a home run of a romance that gracefully pivots from moments of sweet romantic yearning to sizzling sensual heat with perfect aplomb. Readers are so lucky to have books by the ridiculously talented Sebastian, who makes writing superbly satisfying love stories with wry wit and endless empathy seem effortless." — Booklist (starred review)
