The Art of catching feelings
by alicia thompson

From the publisher

A professional baseball player and his heckler prove that true love is worth going to bat for.

Daphne Brink doesn’t follow baseball, but watching “America’s Snoozefest” certainly beats sitting at home in the days after she signs her divorce papers. After one too many ballpark beers, she heckles Carolina Battery player Chris Kepler, who quickly proves there might actually be a little crying in baseball. Horrified, Daphne reaches out to Chris on social media to apologize . . . but forgets to identify herself as his heckler in her message.

Chris doesn’t usually respond to random fans on social media, but he’s grieving and fragile after an emotionally turbulent few months. 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?

My Review

I love that this impeccable romance novel starts with the main pair really getting off on the wrong foot. What a meet cute! She is drunk at the ballpark after signing her divorce papers and, mimicking the drunk guy next to her who seems to know something about baseball, she starts heckling the players. But she knows nothing about the sport, so she (a copywriter by trade) yells insulting puns based on nothing but the players’ names. And then she actually makes one of the players cry. Whoops! Time to slide into those DMs with a apology!

Apology gone wrong more like! Cue catfishing, secret second identities, a maternity cover job for the team as a PR stunt and more shenanigans. Clearly, these two are meant for each other, right! Obviously. It is a romance novel after all. We are getting our HEA come hell, high water, or something else starting with an “h.”

I loved that Daphne is a mediocre bookstagrammer (did I relate too hard to this? maybe). She’s had her confidence destroyed by her ex and Chris is a pro baller dealing with his own trauma and repressed emotions. They’re both having a *really* bad season. Until! …

Five stars.

Other books by Alicia Thompson:
Love in the Time of Serial Killers (2022)
With Love from Cold World (2023)
Never Been Shipped (2025)