Book Review: You Should Be So Lucky

When I first read Cat Sebastian’s We Could Be So Good, I found myself wishing for more romance set in era of the late ‘50s/early ‘60s, and specifically another novel by Sebastian, who so vividly painted a picture of what a queer community and queer relationships would look like in a time when they were agains the law. Needless to say I was surprised and delighted when I found out about You Should Be So Lucky.

You Should Be So Lucky follows Mark Bailey, an arts reporter who hasn’t done much reporting since the unexpected death of his partner. Still grieving the loss, and without much of an outlet for said grief, Mark is a shell of his former self. That is, until he’s assigned to the baseball beat report on a new player, Eddie O’Leary, who went from being full of promise to the bane of his team’s existence, seemingly overnight.

The romantic tension between Mark and Eddie builds slowly, through a variety of organic factors. Sebastian mercifully avoids tragic contrivances that would otherwise keep them apart - honestly, real life is tragic enough. Instead, what she does is tell the beautiful story of two lonely souls who, despite the fact that they know it’s not the “smart” decision, find a common ground with each other, and realize being together might just make this hard, lonely life a little easier and a little less lonely.

The themes of grief, loss, and fear are pervasive throughout the novel, but never detract from the love story at the heart, rather they strengthen it and make it feel true. But the book is also funny, and heartwarming, and much like the men the story is about, is full of so many facets that just draw you in and keep you breathlessly turning the page.

You Should Be So Lucky hits shelves on May 7. Special thank you to Avon for the advance copy for review purposes.