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hiddenfallacies's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Putting into words what I liked about this book is difficult. A lot of it is simply to die for - the writing style, the accuracy of the historical setting, the way each character feels like a real human being (flaws and all). This story, in the end, is about having the courage to keep trying even when life goes wrong. It manages to make that message not feel superficial, which is a monumental accomplishment in and of itself.
The only thing holding me back from rating it higher is that I was much more endeared to Mark's POV than I was to Eddie's. Which isn't to say that Eddie's chapters were lacking, exactly, moreso that Mark's journey through grief was more captivating to me than Eddie's slow process of self-discovery.
The only thing holding me back from rating it higher is that I was much more endeared to Mark's POV than I was to Eddie's. Which isn't to say that Eddie's chapters were lacking, exactly, moreso that Mark's journey through grief was more captivating to me than Eddie's slow process of self-discovery.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Antisemitism, and Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse, Medical content, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
koistyfishy's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
3 Overpriced Dog Bowl Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level: 🌶️.5/5
I wanted to like this book. I wanted to adore it and love the characters and I went into it with the Mindset that I would given how much I have seen a friend gush about how much she loved and adored this book and how much this meant to her... I wanted to take a chance on this one.
𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨:
This is a third-person historical romance set in the 1960s that follows Mark Bailey and Eddie O’Leary. Mark is a semi-retired journalist and book reviewer who is dealing with the grief of losing his partner, William. Eddie just cannot catch a break. He is a professional baseball player who has just been traded to a new team that he is not happy about. He has publicly spoken against the team and has tarnished his lovable rookie reputation. It also doesn't help that he cannot seem to hit a ball anymore. To rejuvenate and reframe his image, Mark is tasked with ghostwriting Eddie's diary in the Newspaper he works for. As Mark and Eddie spend more time together, they both realise that there is more to the other than meets the eye. Their acquaintance turns into friendship and soon that friendship develops into something more. However, this has its challenges because being Queer in the 1960s, a time rife with homophobia is super challenging and reputationally dangerous.
𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:
My issue with this is that the book was incredibly boring. I just felt like it was going nowhere SUPER SLOW with the plot moving at such a snail’s pace that was spiralling down, never quite going upwards...
Eddie has this cheerful presence and disposition that makes you smile and want to hug him. You just hope he gets everything he wants because he’s such a cutie, and he deserves love, happiness, and support. I loved his character as he gives off this naive, sweet, almost himbo vibe, but then he says something occasionally profound or delivers a really sweet metaphor about life but he doesn't seem to realise it's profound because he is so innocent. He carried the book for me, and every time he was present in a scene, he made it better.
Mark irritated the living daylights out of me. Like super pissed off... He is not a nice person, and I honestly don’t know what Eddie saw in him. He is overly sarcastic to the point where he is generally mean in what he says and how he acts. He has this aloof "attitude that makes him come across as if he thinks he is "better" than those around him because he happens to have "acquired tastes" and prefers quality. He just came across as snobbish and unlikeable.
The aspects of William’s death were sometimes unnecessary. I understand that Mark is processing his grief, and some moments were heartbreaking and had me on the verge of tears, especially the cherry scene. My issue is that there was a lot more focus on Mark’s grief than on the budding relationship between Eddie and Mark. Because the story was so slow, I lost track of the development of their love. It made me feel multiple times that Mark was being unfaithful to William...
Another aspect that bothered me was I didn’t like how so many aspects were thrown into the plot that went nowhere, an example being Ardolino and his potential romance. They didn't serve a purpose, and they might be "nuggets for the next books" but the developments went nowhere and dragged on not capturing my attention.
NOW despite me not liking things in the book... there were some things I REALLY DID like. The writing was sweet and I appreciated the story. This type of book is not easy to read because of the topics it deals with. Not only the grief aspect but also the historical homophobia and how difficult it would be for a queer couple in that time. The fears of being outed in a society that would ostracise them were portrayed realistically and truthfully. This book did an excellent job showing that even in a time when the world was not as accepting, you could still find a family of people willing to accept you for who you are.
𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨 and 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▶ Baseball Romance
▶ ReporterXPlayer
▶ Historical Romance
▶ GrumpyXSunshine (Black Cat and Golden Retriever)
▶ Slow Burn
▶ Age Gap
Overall, it had precious moments, and underneath Mark’s surly behaviour, I do think he cared a lot for Eddie. I’m happy that he had a chance to move on from his grief over William. While slow and having a few issues it was still a sweet grumpy-sunshine dynamic that at times was utterly beautiful. I think if it had been about three hours shorter (Since I listened to the Audio), I would have enjoyed it a lot more.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
WHY IS HE TALKING IN A WEIRD TRANSATLANTIC ACCENT???
I am pushing through cause EVERYONE SAYS THIS IS CUTE...
Spicy Level: 🌶️.5/5
I wanted to like this book. I wanted to adore it and love the characters and I went into it with the Mindset that I would given how much I have seen a friend gush about how much she loved and adored this book and how much this meant to her... I wanted to take a chance on this one.
𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨:
This is a third-person historical romance set in the 1960s that follows Mark Bailey and Eddie O’Leary. Mark is a semi-retired journalist and book reviewer who is dealing with the grief of losing his partner, William. Eddie just cannot catch a break. He is a professional baseball player who has just been traded to a new team that he is not happy about. He has publicly spoken against the team and has tarnished his lovable rookie reputation. It also doesn't help that he cannot seem to hit a ball anymore. To rejuvenate and reframe his image, Mark is tasked with ghostwriting Eddie's diary in the Newspaper he works for. As Mark and Eddie spend more time together, they both realise that there is more to the other than meets the eye. Their acquaintance turns into friendship and soon that friendship develops into something more. However, this has its challenges because being Queer in the 1960s, a time rife with homophobia is super challenging and reputationally dangerous.
𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:
My issue with this is that the book was incredibly boring. I just felt like it was going nowhere SUPER SLOW with the plot moving at such a snail’s pace that was spiralling down, never quite going upwards...
Eddie has this cheerful presence and disposition that makes you smile and want to hug him. You just hope he gets everything he wants because he’s such a cutie, and he deserves love, happiness, and support. I loved his character as he gives off this naive, sweet, almost himbo vibe, but then he says something occasionally profound or delivers a really sweet metaphor about life but he doesn't seem to realise it's profound because he is so innocent. He carried the book for me, and every time he was present in a scene, he made it better.
Mark irritated the living daylights out of me. Like super pissed off... He is not a nice person, and I honestly don’t know what Eddie saw in him. He is overly sarcastic to the point where he is generally mean in what he says and how he acts. He has this aloof "attitude that makes him come across as if he thinks he is "better" than those around him because he happens to have "acquired tastes" and prefers quality. He just came across as snobbish and unlikeable.
The aspects of William’s death were sometimes unnecessary. I understand that Mark is processing his grief, and some moments were heartbreaking and had me on the verge of tears, especially the cherry scene. My issue is that there was a lot more focus on Mark’s grief than on the budding relationship between Eddie and Mark. Because the story was so slow, I lost track of the development of their love. It made me feel multiple times that Mark was being unfaithful to William...
Another aspect that bothered me was I didn’t like how so many aspects were thrown into the plot that went nowhere, an example being Ardolino and his potential romance. They didn't serve a purpose, and they might be "nuggets for the next books" but the developments went nowhere and dragged on not capturing my attention.
NOW despite me not liking things in the book... there were some things I REALLY DID like. The writing was sweet and I appreciated the story. This type of book is not easy to read because of the topics it deals with. Not only the grief aspect but also the historical homophobia and how difficult it would be for a queer couple in that time. The fears of being outed in a society that would ostracise them were portrayed realistically and truthfully. This book did an excellent job showing that even in a time when the world was not as accepting, you could still find a family of people willing to accept you for who you are.
𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨 and 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▶ Baseball Romance
▶ ReporterXPlayer
▶ Historical Romance
▶ GrumpyXSunshine (Black Cat and Golden Retriever)
▶ Slow Burn
▶ Age Gap
Overall, it had precious moments, and underneath Mark’s surly behaviour, I do think he cared a lot for Eddie. I’m happy that he had a chance to move on from his grief over William. While slow and having a few issues it was still a sweet grumpy-sunshine dynamic that at times was utterly beautiful. I think if it had been about three hours shorter (Since I listened to the Audio), I would have enjoyed it a lot more.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
WHY IS HE TALKING IN A WEIRD TRANSATLANTIC ACCENT???
I am pushing through cause EVERYONE SAYS THIS IS CUTE...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, and Alcohol
Minor: Racism, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
aseel_reads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was adorable and funny and emotional and sad and sweet and cute and I loved my grumpy X sunshine pair!! I'm also obsessed with Lulu so much 😍😭 I just want to be friends with mark and Eddie so badly!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Outing, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death and Racism
clara_h39's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I didn’t love this book as much as ‘We Could Be So Good’ but it was still a nice queer romance. I had zero interest in baseball before this book but I did enjoy being immersed into its culture. Full of emotional moments but also funny parts that balance it out. I felt the characters were really fleshed out and appropriately flawed and real feeling. I would not reread this book but I did enjoy it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Grief, and Outing
Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Violence, and Alcohol
just_one_more_paige's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I read, and LOVED Sebastian's first novel in this "series," We Could Be So Good, last year. It was one of my favs of the year. So, while I thought I was done with baseball romances for a while after The Prospects (which was amazing, but just, baseball is not my preferred sport/pastime), the publication of this one said otherwise. And I'm glad I overcame my baseball hesitancy because Sebastian hit this one out of the park (see what I did there? *elbow, elbow*).
It's 1960 and it's setting up to be a terrible baseball season for Eddie O’Leary. He's offended his new teammates and coaches, he can't settle in NYC because he's homesick for the midwest, and he's (maybe, probably) in a hitting slump. When the owner orders him to give a bunch of interviews to some snobby reporter, he’d rather do anything else, but it doesn't seem like he has much of a choice. Mark Bailey is not a sports reporter. In fact, these days, he's barely a writer at all. He’s had a difficult and lonely year, mourning the death of his partner (privately, since they were able to be public about their love). But maybe writing about the (terrible) New York Robin’s obnoxious new shortstop can both get the struggling newspaper more readers and distract him somewhat? Finding themselves mostly alone, but now together in that, Eddie and Mark slowly realize, and give in to, the attraction and connection growing between them. But with laws and society against them, can they find a way to be together - open enough for Mark and subtle enough for Eddie - that works for them both?
Yes. Just, yes. I don't really have a lot of interest in this time period nor in the primary topics (probability/slumps, baseball as a metaphor for life), but Sebastian made me care. First, it's the fantastic historical fiction setting development; NYC in the 60s comes alive in her hands. Second, it's the characters; at only like 40 pages in, I already had soft spots for both Mark and Eddie. How is it possible that Sebastian can do that? I didn’t even really know them yet! Then, as I got to know them better, their development was just as good as the setting. They were full and nuanced, sweet and spiky, wholesome and flawed, each in their own ways. And those ways, in particular Mark’s prickly fearful love and Eddie’s earnest openness, were the literal perfect match for each other. The push and pull between them was so good. Delicious, really. The growing care is tender AF and I could not get enough of it (this was a highlight of We Could Be So Good too, so that's apparently a vibe that Sebastian has on lock). And the fact that they have to be so careful to hide something so tender is heartbreaking. The bittersweetness of that tears me upppppp. And the fact that it's all so unnecessarily heartbreaking - like, just let people love! - makes it all that much more emotionally devastating.
A few other aspects that stood out to me included a really nice acknowledgement of the ways that the queer community received support from allies in the time period. Things were different, yet the importance of those allies, how they communicated and made themselves known and offered what assistance/cover/misdirection they could, was touching. This was explored in conjunction/comparison with racial discrimination, the ways each population was oppressed similarly and differently, and how allyship looked similar and different between them. And while I obviously have no direct experience, nor done my own research, I felt like the picture Sebastian painted conveyed the frustrating and enraging aspects of each, while also highlighting the ways that the human spirit still found ways to rise past/around that. On the other hand, oooof most of these teammates are so dang petty and dramatic...and people think that’s what (only) women are like. Please. Ugh. No wonder unaddressed mental health challenges and unhealthy coping mechanisms abounded.
Against my expectations, I also did find the reflection on luck, and how sometimes bad things happen with no reason or not "within a bigger picture" - they just...are - but you can also still get past it, to be fascinating. Often, a higher power is used to explain these unexplainable bad things, but that has never worked for me (if someone could stop these bad things from happening, why wouldn't they just do that? Why do we have to learn resilience and recovery if we could ensure not needing it?) This consideration of it, using the most superstitious and statistical sport as a backdrop story for the discussion on the inevitability of failure (and coming to terms and being ok with that), was really high quality literary juxtaposition that appealed to my atheist self.
Overall, another banger of a recent historical queer romance from Sebastian. I loved the pacing, the dialogue (oh goodness was the dialogue great), the setting, the cameos from Nick and Andy (my heart smiled big during those), the story development, and, especially, Eddie and Mark. Their ending got me, in all my feels. The heart-filling hope and warmth and affection. I could not love them more.
“Sometimes when bad things happen to you, it’s just because the dice get rolled a certain way. He finds that almost impossible to believe about himself, but would fight anyone who even suggested that [other people] were anything but blameless.” (but for real tho…)
“But maybe it was just a bad thing that happened […] But […] even after a disaster, there’s still tomorrow.”
“I’m not saying things happen for a reason – I hate that. I’m saying that things happen. And it doesn’t have to mean anything except what it means to you. Nobody else gets to decide.”
“He wants to believe in the possibility of a second act.”
“He feels like every part of him is wrapped around Eddie, like they’re tangled up in something dangerous and lovely and terribly, terribly precious.” (anddddd there goes my heart, a puddle)
“They both know you can be happy and afraid all at once; maybe that’s easier to do when you aren’t alone.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol
Minor: Racism and Terminal illness
himpersonal's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I liked this one a lot. It probably could’ve done with a little editing and told a few pages shorter, but it was well done. I hope these two got to live long enough to see the Respect for Marriage Act. Even though the current regime is dismantling all the LGBTQ+ progress over that took decades (and some may argue, centuries) to attain with a few strokes of a pen, they still deserve to see and opt in or out of the Respect for Marriage act within their lifetimes. Given this book is a midcentury story, they might just be able to die with that legal recognition and before the dystopia we live in today.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol
garbage_mcsmutly's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
⭐ 4.5/5
🌶️ 2.5/5
📝 This was a lovely story of two queer men who deal with what it is to be a couple in 1960 when one of them is at least sort of famous (pro baseball player). The connection between them felt real, like they saw each other fully and cared a lot for each other. And they were clearly very attracted to each other as well.
🎧 Single narrator, Joel Leslie, who has done several of this author's books. He did a good job overall, but sometimes it was a little hard to tell when we switched perspectives between MCs because the voice/tone only changed a tiny bit.
🌶️ There's some spice in the book, but it's mostly foreplay. The "main events" are skipped over. But the stuff that is on the page is full of sexual tension.
🌶️ 2.5/5
📝 This was a lovely story of two queer men who deal with what it is to be a couple in 1960 when one of them is at least sort of famous (pro baseball player). The connection between them felt real, like they saw each other fully and cared a lot for each other. And they were clearly very attracted to each other as well.
🎧 Single narrator, Joel Leslie, who has done several of this author's books. He did a good job overall, but sometimes it was a little hard to tell when we switched perspectives between MCs because the voice/tone only changed a tiny bit.
🌶️ There's some spice in the book, but it's mostly foreplay. The "main events" are skipped over. But the stuff that is on the page is full of sexual tension.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, and Sexual content
Minor: Racism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
whatisbeereading's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Sexual content, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Racism, Medical content, Car accident, and Death of parent
thethingwithfeathers's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, and Alcohol
Moderate: Homophobia and Racism
erintempleton's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
reading this book was like if taylor swift and travis kelce were precious gay men in the 1960's, and i will not elaborate because, if you've read it, it should be obvious that i'm right. this book navigates grief, longing, trauma, anxiety, and everything in between with the care and precision of a surgeon while still being fun to read. sebastian writes mark and eddie so that you care about them and want them to be happy, but then there's all this additional commentary about trying again after loss or failure that hits you like a punch to the gut.
you do not need to have read We Could Be So Good to understand this, nor do you have to know-or care-much about baseball to be drawn into the lovable characters and nearly conflict-less plot. reading this book is like getting a little kiss on the head, if you're into that.
my only gripe was the "you should stay away from me for your own good" trope:/ it always felt like mark cared more than eddie did about eddie being outed, and it led to a bit too much borderline manipulative behavior for my liking. i get why mark felt that way, but i still didn't like it. otherwise, another flawless book by cat sebastian. i'll take fourteen more right now.
you do not need to have read We Could Be So Good to understand this, nor do you have to know-or care-much about baseball to be drawn into the lovable characters and nearly conflict-less plot. reading this book is like getting a little kiss on the head, if you're into that.
my only gripe was the "you should stay away from me for your own good" trope:/ it always felt like mark cared more than eddie did about eddie being outed, and it led to a bit too much borderline manipulative behavior for my liking. i get why mark felt that way, but i still didn't like it. otherwise, another flawless book by cat sebastian. i'll take fourteen more right now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Alcohol
Moderate: Outing