Catching Feelings by Ana Hartnett Reichardt is a coming of age, contemporary romance, about being an athlete in college.
Andrea Foster is a sophomore in college, she plays for the softball team and isn’t keen on being in the spotlight. No one is more surprised than Andy when she is named not only starting catcher but, team captain of the Adler Lions. The fiery ace pitcher Maya Gonzalez is supposed to be captain, isn’t she? Not Andy! Andy and Maya’s friendship is already on rocky ground, Andy knows that for some reason Maya already dislikes her, she’s sure that being captain is only going to make matters worse.
Everyone says that the captains’ position was Maya’s, but now not only is she not captain but, she’s forced to train with Andrea every day and she is not happy. She has a goal, she wants to be the best pitcher in the league and a softball star that everyone knows. Maya is not about to let Andy get in the way.
But as the year progresses feelings change from bitterness to something more. As games are won and lost, the pair must work together for the team to succeed. Now they just have to discover what these feelings are, while working together for the sake of their team and lead them to the world series.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
My favourite parts were all of it! From start to finish Catching Feelings is such a great read.
The college academic setting was perfectly described, and as the characters moved from place to place, I felt like I was touring the college with them. From the library to the dinner hall, the softball field or the surrounding woods, the author set the scene beautifully.
The Softball games or is it matches? Anyway! While the characters were playing softball, a game I don’t understand, I was there with them! Ana Hartnett Reichardt sets the pace and descriptions so thoroughly that I felt the tension, I celebrated the wins and I got angry when mistakes were made.
The main characters in this book are fabulous! Two new adults trying to find where their place in the world will be, while getting an education and playing a college sport is the perfect framework for character growth. Oh, and how these characters grow.
Andrea is such a strong, kind, dependable person. She has a parent with multiple sclerosis, she has loss of hearing, and she lives with and manages anxiety. Yet she expects no special treatment, she holds herself to a high standard, and sometimes to her own detriment, she deals with all her problems on her own. Andy’s journey during this book is extraordinary because she is so used to being what everyone else needs, she dims her light in order to make things easy on those around her. So, when Maya sees her and turns that light up to a full beam the effect is stunning.
Maya is pure fire. She is not afraid to speak out for what she wants, and she makes the most of every opportunity. Maya is misunderstood, people think because she is quick to call people out on their mistakes and she tells everyone exactly what she thinks, that she is self-serving. Actually, Maya is just passionate about life, she wants to be the best and she wants others to do their best too, but because of her fiery personality people misunderstand her intentions. She is used to some people thinking the worse about her, and it doesn’t seem to bother her apart from when it comes to Andy. She wants Andy to know the true Maya, but she’s not prepared to dim her light for anyone, especially not Andy.
Cons And Heads Up
This book is the second in a series but can be read as a standalone. I haven’t read the first book and it made no difference.
The Conclusion
Catching Feelings is a feel-good coming-of-age romance that will leave you happy and satisfied.
It is full of sweet moments to delight, heart-stopping moments to thrill and steamy moments to make your temperature soar.
Andrea and Maya have to navigate college, competitive sports, and people who want to get in the way of their friendship and eventual romance. This makes for a compelling read that keeps you turning the page and ends up wrapping you in a warm hug.
Excerpt from Catching Feelings by Ana Hartnett Reichardt
I’m a sophomore now, but I’m not really expecting to get the starting catcher position. My role on the team thus far has mostly entailed being a support wherever I’m needed: making sure the field is clean of stray balls after practice, talking up—or down—my teammates, keeping stats for the coaches. I’m basically the Duct Tape of the team. Slap me on most anything, and I can make it better. My job may be ill-defined, but I’m handy as hell. My dad was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when I was eight, so I learned a long time ago to be useful. To be a presence that gives energy instead of takes it. It only took my mom calling me a selfish brat one time when I was nine to solidify that trait in me.
Coach Clayton clears his throat. “All right, ladies, since our meeting had to happen later tonight, study hall is canceled.” The sound of happy sighs fills the Lazy. “We’ve had a good August. Everyone worked hard over the summer and showed up to campus in shape,” he starts, using his “team meeting” voice, low and grumbly. He insists on tucking his Alder U T-shirt into his gym shorts, ballooning his small beer belly into a maroon blob overflowing his waistband. “And we had a strong month of strength and conditioning and solo drills. We want to go ahead and list positions and starters so we can begin specializing solo practices and preparing for October, when we’ll begin team practices and scrimmaging.”
He grabs a blue Expo marker and bites off the cap.
I pop my knuckles in my lap and steal a glance at my teammates. Everyone pretty much knows who’s starting at each position. Kim and I happen to be the only real wild cards fighting for catcher. She sits next to Maya, our fiery ace pitcher, who lounges with one elbow hanging over the back of her chair like she owns the place. Maya’s hips spill over the edges of her seat, her body formed of the kind of curves that no pair of baggy sweats can hide. And who would want to?
I love catching for her. And I truly hate catching for her. She’s a self-centered, entitled hothead with an incredible arm.
And she’s devastatingly attractive. Ugh. I’m staring.
I crushed pretty hard on her last year. We were both freshmen from Atlanta when we joined the team, so we gravitated toward each other, and I felt like she tolerated me more than she did most people. I remember the little grins she used to give me around the clubhouse, crooked, as if she kept half the smile gripped between her teeth. It was cute as heck. I wanted her to let go and give me the whole smile, teeth and all. Instead, she swallowed that grin completely.
I swear, Maya Gonzalez liked me. Until one day she just didn’t anymore. Since then, our interactions freeze in the air between us and shatter into icy shrapnel, and I don’t know why.”
“Kim snickers in her ear about something ridiculous, I’m sure. Those two feed off each other’s intensity, and there’s not much space for anything else when they’re together. Even though Kim is just a freshman, she was heavily recruited by our coaches and is favored to start over me. At least, that’s what I assume. From the way Maya and Kim have been inseparable lately, it’s clear they don’t think I’m starting, either.
With such a talented senior ahead of me last year, I was happy to take the back seat and learn from her, but I’m not sure there is much I could learn from Kim. In fact, I believe I’m the better catcher, but if the coaches think she’s the best pick for the job, I’d be okay with that. I have to trust them.
Get It Online
When you use the links in this review and buy within 24 hours of clicking then we get a small commission that helps us run the site and it costs you nothing extra
Series
Chasing Majors
Catching Feelings
Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 978-1-63679-228-6
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
If you enjoyed Catching Feelings by Ana Hartnett Reichardt then you should also look at
Note: I received a free review copy of Catching Feelings by Ana Hartnett Reichardt. No money was exchanged for this review. When you use our links to buy we get a small commission which supports the running of this site
