📖: 🌟🌟🌟🌟.5/5
🥵: 🌶️🌶️/5

The Art of Catching Feelings follows Daphne, newly divorced, as she navigates a complicated relationship with baseball player Chris Kepler. The two get off to a rocky start, but things take a pretty interesting turn!

I really enjoyed this story! There was so much emotion from both MCs and they were going through pretty difficult times. For Daphne, it was ger struggle with self worth following years of marriage and her perception that her brother wasn't on her side. For Chris, he is dealing with the passing of his brother, a difficult relationship with her dad, as well as poor performance on the team.

Daphne was a really interesting character. She had some quite clear flaws and definitely made some bad decisions. I really liked her tenacity and the way she found what she wanted form her life.

Chris was such a cutie, and omg so broken. I just wanted to wrap him up in cotton wool. He was a very emotional character, and the struggles of men's mental health (especially within a hyper-masculine arena such as professional sport) was really well done.

They were so sweet together, they worked so well and were each other's person to talk to when they needed it. The varying facets of their relationship were so interesting, and I was excited to see how they would work out.

I liked the side characters, although I was a little irritated at Daphne's brother Donovan and his wife Layla. They felt a little manipulative at times, but they grew on me! Randy was also really funny!

This was my first book by Alicia Thompson, and I will definitely be reading some more! A lovely emotional read.

There’s no crying in baseball! The minute you quote one of my favourite movies you have me. This was an enjoyable read whether you are clueless about baseball like our leading lady Daphne or your’ re an expert like our leading man Chris. The circumstances that led to their relationships were interesting and I was interested throughout wanting to know how things would work out. Daphne and Chris had really good chemistry, and both characters were relatable, sympathetic and at times incredibly frustrating. I loved the alternating between each of their perspectives. Good supporting characters as well (Randy was great). A solid 4 🌟

Let’s start with the cover - how cute!! This gave me A Cinderella Story vibes with the anonymous texting and I was left praying it all worked out. There were so many times I wished our fmc would reveal herself but ugh I guess it added to the drama!! It did lose me a little around halfway due to this but found me again as the relationship evolved but the ending did feel a little sudden. Very cute though and who knew I’d love a sports romance ⚾️?

I absolutely loved this book! I felt so many emotions whilst reading it, I love a sports x romance book and this is definitely one of my faves,

I LOVED THIS BOOK - 4.75 STARS !!!!
I loved the premise of the book and was ecstatic when I realised how it was going to pan out. The book is so different to anything I have read and it was extremely refreshing. The plot was fast paced and addictive.
I loved the characters. The female main character was extremely relatable and the history and mental health of the male main character was eye opening and again refreshing.
The side characters were amazing and really funny.

Alicia Thompson is one of those rare authors I'd read anything from, and with her latest sports romance she does NOT disappoint! Such a fun delve into the world of baseball, through the eyes of a woman who couldn't care less. When Daphne drunk-heckles one of the players to the point of tears (his, not hers) she goes viral overnight. When she tried to apologise to the player in a DM she neglects to actually apologise, and their conversations quickly turn personal and important. But then Daphne is coerced into taking a job with the baseball team, the heckler turned after game reporter, and suddenly it seems very important that Chris doesn't know she's also the woman he's been talking with all this time.
As they fall in love in person, it gets harder and harder to keep the secret, especially considering Chris takes betrayal very hard.
An absolutely fantastic novel that had me smiling to myself on every page.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishing for the ARC

Yes, yes, yes! I loved it! A perfect romcom with fun characters and a swoony romance. I liked the characters and their relationship. There were so many adorable moment in the novel and I had a blast reading it. Really recommend and I will be sure to check out other books by the author!

I was a huge fan of Alicia Thompson’s after having read With Love, From Cold World and was excited to read her take on a sports romance.

The Art of Catching Feelings is filled with Thompson’s signature charm, wit and gorgeously crafted characters. It is also, however, a story that is deeply rooted in both miscommunication and the FMC basically catfishing the MMC. Whilst I appreciate miscommunication isn’t to everyone’s tastes, it’s often not to mine, I did still enjoy this one as I just love Thompson’s style of writing.

The Art of Catching Feelings is Daphne and Chris’ story. Fresh from her divorce Daphne finds herself at a baseball game where she drunkenly heckles Chris. Chris, who hasn’t processed his grief following a tragic loss, breakdowns on the field. Daphne later DMs him to apologise, but forgets to identify herself as the heckler. When Christine actually responds and the two begin to talk they find solace in talking to one another. Daphne isn’t sure how much longer she can keep lying to Chris, especially as she starts working with the team in real life and their feelings for each other deepen. When he finds out the truth, will it be three strikes, she’s out?

Thompson has again written a novel that balances a tender romance with well written characters who are going through some really serious and challenging situations (CW for divorce and loss from suicide). Chris was an absolute sweetheart throughout and was trying his best in the face of a huge loss. Daphne was a great character but my goodness I wish she’d come clean earlier, there were so many opportunities for her to do so that it was pretty frustrating. And yet it still made for a great story.

I’ll be honest in saying I preferred With Love, but this was still a good read and I’ll look forward to reading what Thompson writes next.

I should have clocked the miscommunication/hidden identity trope as being central from reading the blurb, so my discomfort with that is entirely on me. The lead male character is sweet, and I enjoyed all the baseball chat, but the deception was too long and too deep for me to feel comfortable with the romance. If you're into secrets = tension though, this might be for you.

So I feel like reading this took forever this time but I know it didn’t. I wasn’t sure about the sports romance and I couldn’t really get into it with ice breaker but again. Yet another sports romance I’m loving! The MFC was a little book lover and I think that resonated with me a little bit. Definitely recommend for anyone in there romance era!

Daphne Brink is on the verge of a melt down after signing her divorce papers and to be true to her stubborn self she took the tickets for a baseball game which she had no interest in. After too many beers to get herself through ‘America’s snoozefest’ she heckles Carolina Battery player Chris Kepler who shows the country there might actually be a little crying in baseball. Totally horrified Daphne reaches out to him on social media to apologise, but forgets an important part of the message. That she’s the heckler.

Chris doesn’t usually respond to random fans on social media, but when a DM from “Duckie” catches his eye, he impulsively messages back. Duckie is sweet, funny, and seems to understand him in a way no one else does.

Daphne isn’t sure how much longer she can keep lying to Chris, especially as she starts working with the team in real life and their feelings for each other deepen. When he finds out the truth, will it be three strikes, she’s out?


This is the first book I’ve read from this author and I really enjoyed it. I’m really enjoying sports romances at the moment and the variety within the trope. Being from the UK baseball isn’t a big sport over here so I went into this book completely clueless in terms of rules and what happens at a game. I feel this book gave me a good basic idea on how a game works and the description of everything wasn’t too much. I feel this would be a great read for a fan of baseball and someone clueless like me. I did feel there was quite a lot of the sport included in the book but that is something I actually like even when I don’t know much about the sport.

This book was written from third person pov and within that it also followed both Daphne and Chris. Typically third person pov books are instant dnfs as this isn’t something I usually enjoy but after reading the blurb of this I really wanted to give the book a go. After the first or second chapter I was into the book and I felt it didn’t annoy me as much as I thought it would. I do feel having this book in dual pov would’ve made it better.

I kept finding myself shouting at Daphne to tell Chris much earlier than she did, but that wouldn’t have made the suspense in the book now would it?

I’m giving this book 3.75 stars and would’ve given it 4 had it been dual POV.

Really intriguing book with insightful discussions about love after loss and how family affects us. Although the third act breakup was predictable, I really enjoyed the chemistry between the two characters and their bond felt genuine. Looking forward to more from this author.

Daphne is newly divorced, out of her comfort zone at a baseball game, and drunk when she impulsively heckles one of the players. His reaction to her words is the starting point for a chain of events that is by turns awkward, amusing, steamy, frustrating and heartbreaking.
I enjoyed many aspects of this, although the sports part was kind of irrelevant to me (because British... baseball... huh?). Essentially this is a tale of two people reeling emotionally from recent events in their lives and feeling lonely and out of place in their environments. I couldn't help rooting for them through all their interactions, both online and in real life, and their chemistry is palpable. Daphne in particular is one of those characters who evokes all sorts of reactions in the reader: at times I really felt for her, and at other times I was all "just TELL him already" because the miscommunication was stretched out to a painful degree. Part of the reason I couldn't stop reading was that I really wanted to know how and when the inevitable car crash was going to happen. Ultimately though this is a romance with depth and vulnerability and characters who have very real flaws, and if you can deal with the communication issues and the tension that creates, then the payoff is definitely worthwhile.

Thank Berkley and Netgalley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Art of Catching Feelings is a Baseball romance between professional baseball player Chris who has fallen into a "slump" with his game due to personal bereavement and an accidental heckler Daphne who is fresh off a divorce and unsure of her future. Now usually I don't mind a hidden identity trope however this one didn't sit right with me, went on too long and the reasoning for it was ridiculous.

Chris was a really sweet and charming character that was clearly struggling and trying to recover from a devastating loss and along comes Daphne and she catfishes the hell out of him. The initial contact she made with Chris after the heckling incident was fine but the moment she realised her mistake of not disclosing who she was and he started opening up to her the way he did and she did nothing to clarify who she was with him the more uncomfortable I became with her as a character and the story. She had SO many chances to come clean and chose not, the amount of lies she told and the length of time it went on for meant that any relationship/love connection between them felt wrong and flat for me.

I know this is a sports romance but it was a bit too heavy on the baseball for me, as someone who doesn't follow the sport the amount of pretty detailed game scenes and baseball lingo made my eyes glaze over and I found myself skimming whole chunks of the writing, and because of my above issues with the romance aspect of this story I just felt very disconnected to it throughout. Unfortunately this book just didn't work for me but reading is subjective so it could very well work for you. 🤷‍♀️

Sweetness overload.

Really enjoed reading this. It is one of my favorites for this year so far.

Love it.

All in all, this was a really fun and entertaining romance. It was heartwarming and put a smile to my face several times. I would highly recommend this book if you’re looking for your next sports romance!

Jesus Christ, I loved this book so so much. I’ve had a bit of a hit and miss when it comes to Thompson’s books in the past, but this one hit it out the park. Excuse the pun.

I can’t even put into words how much I enjoyed reading this one. Chris and Daphne were such special characters both dealing with their own personal issues who happen to meet when Daphne heckles Chris at one of his baseball games. I was so annoyed at first when Daphne reached out to him via DM and then continued to do so when she started working with him.

And making my Chris sad by cutting things off so suddenly. But I get it, she didn’t want to deceive him. But then when they got together and you saw how special they were together and the chemistry was RIGHT THERE ON THE PAGE. I thought the reveal of Daphne’s secret was also incredibly well written. I would have done anything to prevent this. I’m rambling now but honestly, this is such a special book and I’m so glad they found their way back to each other.

The Art of Catching Feelings is a cute summer romance that I really enjoyed. It is an easy to read, fun romance but also highlights some heavier topics such as grief and mental health in an appropriate way. There is a bit of miscommunication trope here which i did find slightly frustrating at times but it did also fit for the plot of this book. Overall an enjoyable romance that was the perfect summer read for me on holiday.

A cute summer sports romance! I really liked Chris as a character and his struggles with grief throughout the book were written in a sensitive and empathetic way. It was also fun to read about a FMC who's not only a reader, but a bookstagrammer! While baseball was a key part of the story, I appreciated that I didn't need to understand the game to enjoy the book.

What I didn't love was the excessive miscommunication trope in this book, as there were so many opportunities for Daphne to explain herself throughout, and she just didn't, which made it a very frustrating read! The amount of messages between them made for an unusual format as so much of their discussions was conveyed through texts.

This was a charming and fun baseball romance - I did struggle with the layout of the messages, that was hard to follow but when I found my groove with it, I was swooning and rooting for our Daphne and Chris.