One of the most cruelly banal and gloriously affirming things about life is that it keeps on going after we’ve suffered something catastrophic. Cat Sebastian has written a string of dummies in love stories, but this is not that, though she remains strong on atmosphere and feeling. In You Should Be So Lucky, Eddie and Mark are each going through their own catastrophe when they meet. Eddie’s catastrophe is playing out in front of crowds and on TV. Mark’s is so private he can count on one hand the number people who know. They meet when Mark, a reporter, is assigned to write a weekly “diary” for Eddie, a baseball player going through a devastating batting slump.
Eventually they figure out the other is queer. Eventually they become friends. Eventually they become lovers. Their progress from writer and subject, to friends, to lovers, to more is lovely. It has everything you will want from a Cat Sebastian book. In some ways it reminded me a lot of The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes in that it pairs a person with big golden retriever energy with a person with scratchy feral cat energy and makes them deal with grief and other emotions. Eddie has to learn that he is more than his ability to hit a ball with a bat, and Mark has to deal with people knowing AND liking him. The horror!
If you already love Cat Sebastian’s books, this is your next great read. If you haven’t read Cat Sebastian, give this one a try and see what the fuss is about. If you are grieving the recent death of a partner, or in the grip of a calamity, this might not be the right read just yet. But if you are ready to hear about the day after calamity, dive in.
I received this as an advance reader copy from Avon and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.