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sarahsbookstacks's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
So sad to report that I didn’t enjoy this book like I thought I would.
I loved the characters but I think I hated the book. The entire thing is a mistaken/secret identity so there was a lot of lying and manipulation and it bummed me out… like a lot. I wish I could have read about Daphne and Chris catching feelings in a less painful way. The reasoning for keeping the lie going weren’t fleshed out nearly enough so I ended up being pissed off at the liar and feeling incredibly sad for the person being deceived. These two deserve better!
I loved the characters but I think I hated the book. The entire thing is a mistaken/secret identity so there was a lot of lying and manipulation and it bummed me out… like a lot. I wish I could have read about Daphne and Chris catching feelings in a less painful way. The reasoning for keeping the lie going weren’t fleshed out nearly enough so I ended up being pissed off at the liar and feeling incredibly sad for the person being deceived. These two deserve better!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Sexual content
Moderate: Suicide and Pregnancy
akacya's review
4.0
2024 reads: 129/250
i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.
shortly following her divorce, daphne finds herself at a baseball game, drunkenly heckling the players. to her horror, one player, chris kepler, seems to take her words to heart. she reaches out on social media to apologize…but accidentally leaves out the fact that she was his heckler. now, she finds herself developing a friendship—and possibly a romance—with chris online, while having to work with him in-person. she’s not sure how to come clean now, and she’s torn between letting the relationship develop or cutting it off without explanation.
like daphne, i find baseball pretty boring. however, i do like the “secret penpals” plot line, so this book’s premise intrigued me. ironically enough, this aspect actually ended up making me cringe just a bit. while i still did enjoy this plot line, it was just hard to read about in this case. however, i liked how this was resolved! daphne grew a lot as a character throughout the book and i think the author did a great job of showing this.
i would recommend this to anyone who enjoys adult romances.
mermaid_the_bookworm's review
challenging
emotional
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The book starts out well with Daphne making it apparent she is coming off a very recent divorce and then the heckling happens and you as a reader are aware of how awful she feels. The author even does a great job at pointing out how many times “celebrities” aren’t seen as real people. Then everything goes downhill. From the moment she realized she had never identified herself as The Heckler she could have come clean.. The Female Main Character gives the worst possible vibes. She continuously makes excuses as to why she can’t tell him who she is and none of them are even that strong. I am aware it would have taken away from the story, but maybe that would have been a better way for this story to go. Chris is continuously vulnerable with her, sharing things he doesn't share with his closest friends and she still doesn’t tell him who she really is.
Chris is truly the perfect *book boyfriend* and constantly proves his amazingness, but at the end of the day I’m not sure Daphne deserves him. Yes she does the required groveling, but I’m just not sure she really was sorry or that she ever would have told him. I get the feeling he would have either had to figure it out himself, or the accidental slip which happened would have been it.
I enjoy the conversations they had and the authors willingness to tackle the subject of suicide from those left behind was handled really well. I have enjoyed other books by this author, but I have to say I struggled to finish this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Suicide
rachelshubin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The Art of Catching Feelings made me love baseball, cleared my acne, and convinced me to become a broadcast journalist for a chance of interviewing a hot baseball player! Okay only one and a half of these claims is true, but TAOCF was absolutely a fantastic third installment from Alicia Thompson (one of my fave auto-buy authors). I enjoyed the time I spent in South Carolina with the Carolina Battery (not batteries, IYKYK).
I more or less read this book in one sitting because I ate Chris Kepler up. What a golden retriever/cinnamon roll of a man (he’s my new book boyfriend and no one can have him). This story was so well written, that I really got lost in Daphne and Chris’ minds. I’m so glad it was a dual POV because I loved the insight from both main characters. I’m not a huge fan of 3rd person POV but it didn’t bother me here.
The tension was tensioning. Obviously knowing Daphne was Duckie made the story intriguing and also feeling like you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop when Chris finds out but it didn’t happen in the way I expected. The writing was addictive, I couldn’t put it down and had to know what was going to happen. It was a fas paced, workplace drama that was so fun to get lost in. Yes there is lying/and technically a slight form of the miscommunication trope, but it’s obvious that’s what’s going on and it’s done well. The only surprise I had is Chris didn’t contact MTV’s Catfish haha!
The banter, funny moments, the feelings Daphne had around her divorce, and the care that went into Chris’ grief are what made this book so lovable. The feeling of the connection between Chris and Daphne really pulled on my heart strings, especially when Daphne HAD multiple opportunities to open up but just couldn’t quite get there. The chemistry was palpable. I give it 2.5 🌶️ (most of all her books IMHO).
Trigger warnings (which are listed at the front of the book): mentions of suicide (off page before story), panic attacks.
Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Suicide
bookishlibrarian's review
3.0
Shortly after her divorce, Daphne attends a baseball game where she drunkenly heckles a baseball player, Chris Kepler, in a moment that goes viral. Chris happens to be having a bad season, his brother having died by suicide months before, which he has not disclosed to the public or even his team. Afterwards, Daphne feels terrible and intends to apologize via Instagram DM. They begin a DM correspondence, with Chris unaware that she is his heckler and knows her as Duckie, her IG name, not Daphne.
Through a series of happenstances (stretching credulity some), Daphne ends up taking a role with the team which puts her in close proximity to Chris, who does not know she is Duckie, and the two become close in real life, too. The secret identity trope is one that pops up a lot (You've Got Mail), but it was pretty hard to get behind Daphne's deception here, as she knew Chris's identity from the start and the information imbalance was there from the beginning. Also, she lies first as Duckie (not coming clean as being the heckler) and then again as Daphne (not admitting she is also Duckie).
Daphne was tough to root for, but I did like Chris's character a lot and the sensitive portrayal of his grief over the loss of his brother. And, of course, the baseball setting was fun, too.
Through a series of happenstances (stretching credulity some), Daphne ends up taking a role with the team which puts her in close proximity to Chris, who does not know she is Duckie, and the two become close in real life, too. The secret identity trope is one that pops up a lot (You've Got Mail), but it was pretty hard to get behind Daphne's deception here, as she knew Chris's identity from the start and the information imbalance was there from the beginning. Also, she lies first as Duckie (not coming clean as being the heckler) and then again as Daphne (not admitting she is also Duckie).
Daphne was tough to root for, but I did like Chris's character a lot and the sensitive portrayal of his grief over the loss of his brother. And, of course, the baseball setting was fun, too.
skopecky's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ericas_bookshelf's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
This had the bones for a really wonderful romance, but I personally struggled with the lying and secret identity aspect of this plot. Overall this was still a great read, but isn’t one I would reread.
Daphne kept *almost* telling him and then losing her nerve and it got quite annoying after a while, I’m gonna be honest. And listen, I get that this is a nerve wracking thing she’s dealing with, but come on lol. I don’t mind miscommunication in books, I think a lot of time it’s more realistic and can add to the angst of a romance, but this one annoyed me.
I will say that I enjoyed Chris’s character. A LOT. That’s all. I just really loved him haha.
Also, the smut was really hot and perfectly timed in their story, well done to the author for that 🥵
I finished this book generally feeling like I had a fun time but not a memorable time. I’m not a baseball fan in any aspect either so there were a lot of references and Easter eggs that likely went right over my head. 🤷♀️
*I received an arc from the publisher in exchange for my honest review*
Daphne kept *almost* telling him and then losing her nerve and it got quite annoying after a while, I’m gonna be honest. And listen, I get that this is a nerve wracking thing she’s dealing with, but come on lol. I don’t mind miscommunication in books, I think a lot of time it’s more realistic and can add to the angst of a romance, but this one annoyed me.
I will say that I enjoyed Chris’s character. A LOT. That’s all. I just really loved him haha.
Also, the smut was really hot and perfectly timed in their story, well done to the author for that 🥵
I finished this book generally feeling like I had a fun time but not a memorable time. I’m not a baseball fan in any aspect either so there were a lot of references and Easter eggs that likely went right over my head. 🤷♀️
*I received an arc from the publisher in exchange for my honest review*
selinameyer's review
5.0
Thank you Berkley for the ARC!
This is the second of Alicia Thompson’s books I’ve read and as a girl who only understands baseball because she’s dominican, i really loved this one. Daphne and Chris are such a lovable pairing and I think this book does a great job at tackling how everyone processes grief differently and how that looks and impacts their decisions. It’s well written and the characters really come to life outside of the page.
This is the second of Alicia Thompson’s books I’ve read and as a girl who only understands baseball because she’s dominican, i really loved this one. Daphne and Chris are such a lovable pairing and I think this book does a great job at tackling how everyone processes grief differently and how that looks and impacts their decisions. It’s well written and the characters really come to life outside of the page.
jmbibliolater's review
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
mbookishbanter's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0