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tbrhannah's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
loved the concept of this. big time actor falls in love with a bookseller/drag queen. lots of queer joy. loved the second storyline so much more than the main one & wish there was more of it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Biphobia
majaisabella's review against another edition
This book was abjectly terrible. Aside from having a complete lack of plot, the most boring characters I’ve read in months, and bizarre writing and stylistic choices, it was dull beyond words. I also did not vibe with the casual drug use, horrible, bitchy and uninteresting side characters, and complete lack of atmospheric grounding. SUPPOSEDLY this is set in Birmingham, but all the author does is tell you a street name and occasionally say Brum. As another reviewer said, this book is all tell, no show. It’s only redeeming feature is the queer joy and representation, which was not enough to keep me interested
andshe_reads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
PJ Ellis is an absolute legend, personal opinion of course but all LGBTQIA+ book lovers, if you don't agree after reading this adorable rom-com then who even are you 😉 😀
Patrick was a closeted, American Movie star playing the role of a superhero but he had to give up being his true self in order to pursue his career. Will was an iconic drag queen who sadly doubted himself but lived a true life. After a chance encounter they had the most beautiful chemistry and one or two explosive encounters 😉 Despite their blossoming romance with an NDA as a third wheel can their relationship survive?
Their individual friends were a blessing in disguise as they rooted for them from the sidelines and supported them both when they needed it.
From a personal perspective I could relate to both Patrick and Will. Coming out to your family alone, letalone friends etc is a daunting task and the fear of rejection is real. On the other side of the coin being your authentic self doesn't come plain sailing and although its more accepted these days unfortunately there can still be hate and slander.
I loved the dual timeline, with the introduction of the real authors of Captain Kismet from back in the 40's. I think their role synced really well with the rest of the story and actually gave us readers insight into how things were for those in the LGBTQIA + community years ago.
An absolutely spectacular read and I actually think this is my favourite book of the year so far. I already cannot wait to see what the author writes next.
I cannot thank @instabooktours, @harpernorthuk & @philipellis enough for a spot on the tour & a copy of the book.
Patrick was a closeted, American Movie star playing the role of a superhero but he had to give up being his true self in order to pursue his career. Will was an iconic drag queen who sadly doubted himself but lived a true life. After a chance encounter they had the most beautiful chemistry and one or two explosive encounters 😉 Despite their blossoming romance with an NDA as a third wheel can their relationship survive?
Their individual friends were a blessing in disguise as they rooted for them from the sidelines and supported them both when they needed it.
From a personal perspective I could relate to both Patrick and Will. Coming out to your family alone, letalone friends etc is a daunting task and the fear of rejection is real. On the other side of the coin being your authentic self doesn't come plain sailing and although its more accepted these days unfortunately there can still be hate and slander.
I loved the dual timeline, with the introduction of the real authors of Captain Kismet from back in the 40's. I think their role synced really well with the rest of the story and actually gave us readers insight into how things were for those in the LGBTQIA + community years ago.
An absolutely spectacular read and I actually think this is my favourite book of the year so far. I already cannot wait to see what the author writes next.
I cannot thank @instabooktours, @harpernorthuk & @philipellis enough for a spot on the tour & a copy of the book.
reading_the_evidence's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
4.0
trin's review
2.0
Oh dear. I really enjoyed Ellis' debut, [b:Love & Other Scams|61282539|Love & Other Scams|Philip Ellis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1674145590l/61282539._SY75_.jpg|96626800], but this is...not good. The plot and pacing are all over the place, and the aspects about comics history and rare book dealing and how filming a movie works make literally no sense. Love & Other Scams was about rich people and con artistry and weddings -- topics I know next to nothing about, but it felt like Ellis had a fairly convincing handle on them. Unfortunately, I do know about these subjects and...no. That is not how any of this happens. This novel honestly read like a bad actor AU fanfic ("if you don't have another hit soon, you're going to have to move to Burbank!"...IYKYK). I kept shaking my head to myself as I was reading.
One could forgive some of this if the characters and relationship were stronger, but they also aren't. Patrick and Will's romance is full of big emotional gaps; I don't understand why or when they fell in love with each other. And Will, in particular, is wildly unsympathetic throughout the novel's final third. Suffice it to say, if someone I was dating showed up at my place of work and caused a scene like that, I would dump him forever. Big yikes.
Two stars solely for the sincere appreciation of drag, an aspect of this novel that is sadly underutilized.
One could forgive some of this if the characters and relationship were stronger, but they also aren't. Patrick and Will's romance is full of big emotional gaps; I don't understand why or when they fell in love with each other. And Will, in particular, is wildly unsympathetic throughout the novel's final third. Suffice it to say, if someone I was dating showed up at my place of work and caused a scene like that, I would dump him forever. Big yikes.
Two stars solely for the sincere appreciation of drag, an aspect of this novel that is sadly underutilized.
claires_loveofbooks2020's review against another edition
fast-paced
5.0
I loved this novel. The story was so eye-opening to how disgraceful it was to be yourself if you were LGBTQ+ in 1949 and to some degree how it is still hard to be openly out due to stereotypes in todays world. I thought Will, aka Grace Anatomy, was a brilliant character, they were very well represented, and I loved the drag queen vibes. Patrick was another great character, he couldn't decide if he wanted to be openly out or not due to his actor career. The side characters were so much fun aswell, I liked that we got to know them as the story progressed. Overall, this was a really good story, and I'm so grateful I got the chance to read it.
glavo's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I loved this book. I was expecting just a funny rom-com, but there was so much more to it. Will and Patrick were both so sweet. And this is a great book for anyone who enjoys a found family story. I highly recommend!
sapphic_library's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
WE COULD BE HEROES is an actor romance about patrick, the dreamy a-list actor starring in a superhero movie franchise, and will, a bookseller and part-time drag queen. after a chance encounter, they can't stay away from each other and quickly fall into a relationship—unfortunately, one that comes with an NDA attached. patrick finds himself embedded in the queer community thanks to will and his friends, and starts to realize how much he's missing by hiding who he really is. this is probably one of my favorite reads this year and i can't recommend it enough!
read if you like:
- superhero movies
- steve and bucky 🤭
- found family
- drag queens
thanks to netgalley and putnam for the advanced copy. WE COULD BE HEROES comes out june 4th.
read if you like:
- superhero movies
- steve and bucky 🤭
- found family
- drag queens
thanks to netgalley and putnam for the advanced copy. WE COULD BE HEROES comes out june 4th.
eila's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
A bookseller who moonlights as a drag queen meets a closeted actor who's in town filming a superhero movie.
This could/should have been a sweetly predictable meetcute, but it unfortunately fell flat at every turn. I was so excited by the comfort-blankie-esque premise and instead I got whatever this is.
Reader, I really hated this book. I'm giving it two stars purely because of the queer representation and because it lacked grammatical errors. But like a character quotes, the bar is so low, it's in He'll.
So what went wrong?
What didn't.
Firstly, this is ostensibly set in Birmingham, but it could have been set on the moon or in your back yard: you'd never know the difference. That's because the author manages to miraculously avoid any actual descriptions of just about anything. Whatever happened to show, don't tell? This is all tell, no show. There's zero atmosphere, zero local anything. They walk down A Street to A Bookstore and then go to A Club and/or The Hotel. ... actually, that might be more descriptive than this book.
Secondly, the characters are utterly unlikeable and downright stereotypical. Will and Patrick are both utterly vapid and not just boring but so boring as to be forgettable. There's zero chemistry. They're not even actually into each other, but at least there's some chemsex to ease the way, I guess?
Thirdly, there's no plot. Normally the meetcute or the closeted character coming out are the climactic events, but here even those are so watered down they have no impact.
Fourthly, there's an attempt to shoehorn a side story, set in the past, about the authors of the superhero franchise. This is just jarring and smacks of filler.
And lastly, the insistence on using apostrophes instead of quotation marks for all the dialogue - and this book is nothing but pages of pointless, shallow dialogue strung together.
I'm really sorry, but I can't recommend this book, as I don't even know who the target audience would be. It's so many words, and yet no plot, character growth, or even a scenic backdrop to patch them together. The author needed an outline and to focus on depth, and a good editor to wrangle this into any semblance of storytelling.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
This could/should have been a sweetly predictable meetcute, but it unfortunately fell flat at every turn. I was so excited by the comfort-blankie-esque premise and instead I got whatever this is.
Reader, I really hated this book. I'm giving it two stars purely because of the queer representation and because it lacked grammatical errors. But like a character quotes, the bar is so low, it's in He'll.
So what went wrong?
What didn't.
Firstly, this is ostensibly set in Birmingham, but it could have been set on the moon or in your back yard: you'd never know the difference. That's because the author manages to miraculously avoid any actual descriptions of just about anything. Whatever happened to show, don't tell? This is all tell, no show. There's zero atmosphere, zero local anything. They walk down A Street to A Bookstore and then go to A Club and/or The Hotel. ... actually, that might be more descriptive than this book.
Secondly, the characters are utterly unlikeable and downright stereotypical. Will and Patrick are both utterly vapid and not just boring but so boring as to be forgettable. There's zero chemistry. They're not even actually into each other, but at least there's some chemsex to ease the way, I guess?
Thirdly, there's no plot. Normally the meetcute or the closeted character coming out are the climactic events, but here even those are so watered down they have no impact.
Fourthly, there's an attempt to shoehorn a side story, set in the past, about the authors of the superhero franchise. This is just jarring and smacks of filler.
And lastly, the insistence on using apostrophes instead of quotation marks for all the dialogue - and this book is nothing but pages of pointless, shallow dialogue strung together.
I'm really sorry, but I can't recommend this book, as I don't even know who the target audience would be. It's so many words, and yet no plot, character growth, or even a scenic backdrop to patch them together. The author needed an outline and to focus on depth, and a good editor to wrangle this into any semblance of storytelling.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
andrewtaets's review
4.0
Sort of astonishing we haven’t gotten a traditionally published queer romcom with a superhero actor and a drag queen yet. But this book gave me everything I wanted it to. Compulsively readable.