A review by rachelshubin
The Art of Catching Feelings by Alicia Thompson

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. 
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