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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love a book that's full of queer joy and acknowledges queer history, and We Could Be Heroes fits that billing. Will is a drag queen and rare bookseller in Birmingham, England, and Patrick is a closeted A-list American superhero movie actor who finds himself in need of saving after his coworkers drag him to a gay bar.
Patrick plays Captain Kismet, and the two come together in search of the Omega Issue, the last issue of Captain Kismet's original run. Ellis weaves the contemporary romance in with bits of the past about Captain Kismet's actual creators, their queerness, and how times are both wildly different and the same. Faye (Will's drag mother) gives a speech at a counterprotest when their drag queen story hour is attacked, which made me cry, especially as her character, due to age, links the past to the present.
The couple's major conflict revolves around Patrick's closeted status and fear that he won't get A-list roles if he comes out. Hollywood (with a capital H) has done a great job at propagandizing itself as a liberal bastion. However, it still is true that LGBTQ+ actors (even cis white gay men) get less prestigious roles than their cishet counterparts. Will and Patrick have a delightful cast of characters and found family surrounding them. Ellis doesn't shy away from having these side characters have unlikeable and very human moments. For example, Will has a particularly poignant fight with his best friend Jordan.
At times, Ellis got a little clunky when describing characters' diverse backgrounds or the oppression they faced. As a trans person, I was also curious on a deeper level about Will's relation with gender and drag; Ellis brought up Patrick's masculinity and physical shape in contrast with Will, and the two play with drag as a disguise for Patrick, but no more is done with it.
Having been in a comic book fandom for many years, I found it near impossible to believe that no obsessed Captain Kismet fans had found out anything previously about the Omega Issue and the queer origins of Captain Kismet and his original creators. As a huge Wonder Woman fan, I know so much about the Marstons and how their personal lives informed the foundation of Wonder Woman.
If you're wanting a romance full of queer joy and community, We Could Be Heroes is a great read.
Patrick plays Captain Kismet, and the two come together in search of the Omega Issue, the last issue of Captain Kismet's original run. Ellis weaves the contemporary romance in with bits of the past about Captain Kismet's actual creators, their queerness, and how times are both wildly different and the same. Faye (Will's drag mother) gives a speech at a counterprotest when their drag queen story hour is attacked, which made me cry, especially as her character, due to age, links the past to the present.
The couple's major conflict revolves around Patrick's closeted status and fear that he won't get A-list roles if he comes out. Hollywood (with a capital H) has done a great job at propagandizing itself as a liberal bastion. However, it still is true that LGBTQ+ actors (even cis white gay men) get less prestigious roles than their cishet counterparts. Will and Patrick have a delightful cast of characters and found family surrounding them. Ellis doesn't shy away from having these side characters have unlikeable and very human moments. For example, Will has a particularly poignant fight with his best friend Jordan.
At times, Ellis got a little clunky when describing characters' diverse backgrounds or the oppression they faced. As a trans person, I was also curious on a deeper level about Will's relation with gender and drag; Ellis brought up Patrick's masculinity and physical shape in contrast with Will, and the two play with drag as a disguise for Patrick, but no more is done with it.
Having been in a comic book fandom for many years, I found it near impossible to believe that no obsessed Captain Kismet fans had found out anything previously about the Omega Issue and the queer origins of Captain Kismet and his original creators. As a huge Wonder Woman fan, I know so much about the Marstons and how their personal lives informed the foundation of Wonder Woman.
If you're wanting a romance full of queer joy and community, We Could Be Heroes is a great read.
Mid-tier, 3.5-star read becuase it's entertaining and I enjoyed the overall messaging, but it didn't blow me away despite the likable leads. A big part of it is perhaps that I mistakenly judged a book by its cover and expected something a lot more comedic instead of the heavy themes it covers. I enjoyed how Ellis has characters handle the situations they're in, it's just not what I was expecting.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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:
Complicated
A ultimately sweet love story but I would have loved to have seen more of the mid-20th century narrative.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was a charming book in many ways, but could have been tightened up a bit. At first, I gave the book 2,75 stars, but that could be because I was in a in a "picky-a*hole-mood." There were some good things here. So. I rounded my rating up to 3 stars. After all, I read it all, and to me, right now, that's not too bad. Btw it could be a good idea to check out the content warnings before diving into this book.
** I read an advance reader copy of this book that I won through a Goodreads giveaway. **
This book had some parts that were hard to read. Not because of the writing or the story or the characters but because of what is STILL affecting LGBTQA+ individuals today in the world. It was a meet-cute story with a serious backdrop. It was a coming out story with a twist. It was beautiful and I can't wait to see what else this author comes out with!
This book had some parts that were hard to read. Not because of the writing or the story or the characters but because of what is STILL affecting LGBTQA+ individuals today in the world. It was a meet-cute story with a serious backdrop. It was a coming out story with a twist. It was beautiful and I can't wait to see what else this author comes out with!
Made me guffaw and well up in equal measure (often at the same time). Great fun.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
I am giving this a 3.5 for a rating. I really enjoyed the premise of the book, loved all the characters and their personalities and their individual stories but for me I didn't really feel the chemistry between the MMCs and I did feel at times the writing was a little choppy.
When it came to the MMCs I liked them separately and together I get what the author was doing but I just didn't feel the connection between the two of them. I felt more chemistry and emotion between Will and his best Drag Queen friend. Which was a joke in the book as well but in my opinion that means the chemistry between the two love interests needs to be even more prevalent and stronger and the only time, I felt any real and deep chemistry between them was when they made up and what happened at the premier and epilogue.
Like I mentioned I really did enjoy the premise and the storyline outside the relationship like Patrick coming to terms with his situation, Will and the drag queens and standing up for their bar and drag queen story time were what kept me really interested in the book. I especially enjoyed the back story of the writers of the Captain Kismet and the issues they were facing having to stay in the closet for safety and how much as we would like to think times have changed, they really haven't progressed as far as we would like to think. Those flashbacks were both entertaining and heartbreaking at the same time.
This book is about Patrick who is a rising action star and is the leading man in one of the biggest superhero franchises Captain Kismet. He is in the middle of filming the seemingly endless reshoots of the 2nd movie when he dragged to a drag queen bar one night with some of his coworkers to blow off some steam. There he meets Grace Anatomy who helps him get out of the bar when things get a little out of hand. Grace Anatomy is the drag persona for Will who works in a 2nd hand bookshop who never thought he would be the one to save a movie star from some handiest customers. But that action led to the start of a curious friendship between the two men who are from different worlds. But as they get to each other Will starts to wonder who Patrick really is behind the mask he wears because he is starting to get the feeling that there is more going on... but that would be crazy because superheroes don't date drag queens... Do they??
I received an ARC Copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
When it came to the MMCs I liked them separately and together I get what the author was doing but I just didn't feel the connection between the two of them. I felt more chemistry and emotion between Will and his best Drag Queen friend. Which was a joke in the book as well but in my opinion that means the chemistry between the two love interests needs to be even more prevalent and stronger and the only time, I felt any real and deep chemistry between them was when they made up and what happened at the premier and epilogue.
Like I mentioned I really did enjoy the premise and the storyline outside the relationship like Patrick coming to terms with his situation, Will and the drag queens and standing up for their bar and drag queen story time were what kept me really interested in the book. I especially enjoyed the back story of the writers of the Captain Kismet and the issues they were facing having to stay in the closet for safety and how much as we would like to think times have changed, they really haven't progressed as far as we would like to think. Those flashbacks were both entertaining and heartbreaking at the same time.
This book is about Patrick who is a rising action star and is the leading man in one of the biggest superhero franchises Captain Kismet. He is in the middle of filming the seemingly endless reshoots of the 2nd movie when he dragged to a drag queen bar one night with some of his coworkers to blow off some steam. There he meets Grace Anatomy who helps him get out of the bar when things get a little out of hand. Grace Anatomy is the drag persona for Will who works in a 2nd hand bookshop who never thought he would be the one to save a movie star from some handiest customers. But that action led to the start of a curious friendship between the two men who are from different worlds. But as they get to each other Will starts to wonder who Patrick really is behind the mask he wears because he is starting to get the feeling that there is more going on... but that would be crazy because superheroes don't date drag queens... Do they??
I received an ARC Copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.