Hannah B.'s Reviews > The Art of Catching Feelings

✨Chris Kepler can take me out to the ballgame and then just take me 😮‍💨✨

TL;DR: The Art of Catching Feelings was a really great read—both for baseball fans and non fans alike—but my review comes with a pretty big JUST HEAR ME OUT. The majority of the plot and relationship are centered around lying and hidden identity, which I know is pretty polarizing so…JUST HEAR ME OUT. The romance was HOT with fantastic tension—I mean, hey, lying’s at least good for that!—and I was hooked from the first.

But…I definitely got tired of Daphne chickening out from telling Chris the truth…but I do also understand that once she got to a certain point, they were too deep into the season to do much. Baseball players are very superstitious and you should probably not drop bombshell news on a starting MLB player mid season…but you should also maybe not lie! But also part of me ate up that drama, so who’s to say?? All I guess I’m saying is that yeah the miscommunication was a dark cloud over the book, but there was still a lot of light within and it would be a shame to write this one off!

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Okay, let’s get this out of the way, if you—like me—dislike plots that rely heavily on lying, concealing the truth, miscommunication…just take a deep breath and trust the process. I was curious but also SCARED to see how it was going to resolve, so I think this will make a fabulous reread, seeing as I know now how everything shakes out and I won’t have to stress. Because stress I did.

The lying was definitely a giant piano hanging overhead of literally 80% of the book. It had some You’ve Got Mail vibes, especially at the beginning, which was fun but also a bit frustrating. I’ve noticed that the “I wanted it to be you so badly” of it all is always lost whenever books play on that plot. Because the hidden identity doesn’t cause a fight (in either The Shop Around the Corner or You’ve Got Mail)!! That’s why it’s a comfort movie to me!!

So it seemed like a bit of a missed opportunity to wait until the very end to have Daphne reveal her deception, because literally everything was tainted by us knowing he was going be SO hurt. And I mean everything. Including the VERY HOT SEX. It was so hot!!! Like mutual masturbation over the phone hot!!! But it was also so not hot when Daphne kept avoiding the truth.

There were so many times she could’ve revealed herself but chose not to, and by the third or fourth one I was like GIRL please give us something!! If the big reveal would’ve happened around 50%, it would’ve a. still given him time to be angry (warranted!!) b. been an unexpected and very welcome twist (good) and c. left a lot of time for more relationship development WITHOUT the looming downfall (hot).

Because now I have to preface this review, and probably any time recommend the book, with a big BUT. Because I know this setup—especially how it played out here—is a turn off for a lot of readers. And I LOVED so much of this book, so I’m just a bit sad that the romance was partly (and I have a feeling for future readers, will be) overshadowed by the lying.

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But aside from that, I really had a wonderful time. The story was fast paced, the writing was charming, and I got so enamored by the fantasy of it all. Sure, I was stressed about the lies, but don’t get it twisted, I was LIVING for the drama. There was something so satisfying about the story turning into a workplace romance—with it being a bit forbidden and his teammates knowing he wanted her when he thought it was soooooooo secret. And that also being obvious LIVE ON AIR.

I love baseball—and I know Alicia does too—so it was very fun to be in the headspace of Daphne, who could literally care less about the sport. I’m sorry, but if my brother worked for an MLB team and I had the opportunity to casually be near the players??? All bets would be off. I feel her though, because I too have brought a book to the ballpark on more than one occasion.

As for Chris Kepler—an ode to the starting right fielder for the Minnesota Twins, and my personal angel baby boy, Max Kepler—he was literally a dreamboat. We got his POV, and I really appreciated the nuances of his character. He wasn’t a playboy, but he wasn’t timid either. To sum it up, I was very into his whole ~thing.

Do I think any baseball player would actually be such perfect boyfriend material in real life? Absolutely not, and frankly I try to think about players off the field as LITTLE as possible, because the athlete lifestyle ₛₜᵣₑₛₛₑₛ ₘₑ ₒᵤₜ in a very non hot way. So much so that I was actually surprised how much I did, in fact, love this book!!

I think it’s a great romance for baseball fans and non baseball fans alike. I read it FAST, so I can’t wait to savor it with a reread during the summer aka baseball season. Also, this is the first book I’ve been officially acknowledged in??? Like “Hannah @fringebookreviews” is officially in a published book??? I literally cried.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25/5 🌶️🌶️.75/5


CWs: Panic attacks, suicide of a loved one (recounted)

I received an eARC from the publisher. All opinions are honest and my own.