A review by ladybird4prez
You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian

emotional funny hopeful sad

5.0

So achingly sweet and heartfelt that I’d inexplicably find myself in tears during moments that were decidedly Not Sad. And then, of course, there were the actual tear-jerker moments. I can’t get over how much the exploration of grief, perseverance, and piecing yourself back together affected me. This concept doesn’t only apply to Mark, but Eddie, as well, and even Eddie’s team. How do you keep going when you’ve suddenly lost parts of yourself so integral to who you are? Or, when it seems like no matter how hard you try, you just keep striking out? (literally)

Books on grief are almost always guaranteed to hit me hard, but there’s an added layer here that makes it even more affecting. Mark is grieving his partner of several years, William, and their relationship was kept secret to protect William’s career. To know how deeply you have to love someone to conceal such a huge part of yourself and know that you would’ve done even worse just to have a second longer with them. To not know if they ever would’ve given everything else up to be honest about their relationship with you. To even live in a world that forces both of you to make these awful sacrifices. As if it’s not already utterly devastating to mourn someone so important to you, to have to do it all alone because nobody even knew about your relationship just leaves me at a loss for words. This doesn’t shy away from the weird ways grief can manifest itself and Eddie is SO understanding and lovely about it that it made my heart hurt. Mark deserves nothing less. 

So basically…there were a lot of tears. Yet through it all, it still felt like a warm hug. There’s just something about how queer people and queer love are portrayed with so much care and compassion, especially considering the time period. And it’s not a Cat Sebastian book if I don’t abuse the highlighter. Why is she so good with words!! The power that the word “ours” alone can hold. The fact that such a simple concept can be so profound.

It’s impossible not to see how masterfully Sebastian writes romance. With electric tension and beautiful, organic development between captivating characters that blossoms into the sweetest, loveliest, most domestic relationship, it’s an absolute pleasure to read.

Oh and how can I forget to mention the way they bond over books, specifically queer books!! The importance of queer literature and representation Got Me in We Could Be So Good too, but here it’s even more salient to Mark and Eddie’s relationship. They frequently bond over books, and I’ve never been so jealous of anything in my life.

(I also can’t believe this recent development in which queer romance writers have managed to make me weepy over professional sports for the first time in my life…what is happening) 

Huge thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.