~ Book Review: You Should Be So Lucky (Midcentury NYC #2) (ARC) ~

Author: Cat Sebastian

An emotional, slow-burn, grumpy/sunshine, queer mid-century romance for fans of Evvie Drake Starts Over, about grief and found family, between the new star shortstop stuck in a batting slump and the reporter assigned to (reluctantly) cover his first season—set in the same universe as We Could Be So Good.

The 1960 baseball season is shaping up to be the worst year of Eddie O’Leary’s life. He can’t manage to hit the ball, his new teammates hate him, he’s living out of a suitcase, and he’s homesick. When the team’s owner orders him to give a bunch of interviews to some snobby reporter, he’s ready to call it quits. He can barely manage to behave himself for the length of a game, let alone an entire season. But he’s already on thin ice, so he has no choice but to agree.

Mark Bailey is not a sports reporter. He writes for the arts page, and these days he’s barely even managing to do that much. He’s had a rough year and just wants to be left alone in his too-empty apartment, mourning a partner he’d never been able to be public about. The last thing he needs is to spend a season writing about New York’s obnoxious new shortstop in a stunt to get the struggling newspaper more readers.

Isolated together within the crush of an anonymous city, these two lonely souls orbit each other as they slowly give in to the inevitable gravity of their attraction. But Mark has vowed that he’ll never be someone’s secret ever again, and Eddie can’t be out as a professional athlete. It’s just them against the world, and they’ll both have to decide if that’s enough.

You Should Be So Lucky is the second novel in the Midcentury NYC series. This novel is set in the same universe as the first novel, We Could Be So Good, while having its own set of characters. Like most other series, readers may prefer this one or the first one or vice versa. For me, I think this one was a little better than the other even though I did enjoy the other novel. The story is set in 1960 and is surrounded by the world of baseball. Mark Bailey usually writes for the arts page but has been assigned to be a sports reporter.  His assignment is to interview professional baseball player, Eddie O’Leary, who is originally from Nebraska and has been traded from his team in Kansas to NYC. He has hit a batting slump and is determined to break it.

The story keeps its focus on the two characters who are going through their own journeys. Eddie’s is more career-related whereas Mark’s is more personal. Mark is grieving the loss of his partner, who was also a secret because of the time period, of seven years. There is some exploration of queer acceptance, like Cat’s other novels, which are well-done for me. Both characters were not always the most likable, but they were well-written and enjoyable. There is a grumpy/sunshine dynamic between them without it being too over the top. The two characters had great chemistry and since romance is the core of the story, I felt it was well-done. The two characters played off each other well and I think their stories were woven together well. I think there is more still that could have been explored and yet there are moments that felt long, but, overall, this was an excellent story.

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Avon, for the opportunity to read this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**