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I found this book very boring. It's described as being a romcom but the love interest has only been it for maybe 5% of what I did read. It also stereotypes the gay male characters as the "gay best friends" and stereotypes the love interest as a lesbian who has short hair and wears suits. and gives the message that someone NEEDS come out in order to be considered valid in the LGBTQ+ community. The book mentions that it takes place in 2013 but then references things that weren't common then (introducing yourself using pronouns). The one plus side to the physical copy of the book is that it has a recipe for cupcakes at the back.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Outing
Moderate: Cancer, Sexual content, Toxic friendship
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’ll admit that I’m not the biggest romance reader, but I’m trying to mix it in occasionally. I work as a chef and the fact that this book is so focused on food was a big draw I convincing me to give it a try!
I’m not sure where exactly to start this particular review because this book was quite a bit different than I imagined. I expected a fluffy queer romance, but the romance was a very small part of the actual plot. The majority of the book is focused on Amy’s semi-closetedness and her struggles with being authentic to herself and to the larger queer community. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, just not what I was expecting.
As for the romance, it felt a bit generic. I mean there were parts of it that were cute, but we never learn much about Charley, the love interest. Also, so many of their interactions are awkward that you start to wonder where the chemistry is. Eventually, it does have that sweet ending though. Also, kind of annoyed that the very few sex scenes included were brief and fade to black. I don’t want smut necessarily, but it felt a little YA in terms of sex.
I will say there was also quite a disconnect in the timeline versus the dialogue. This book is supposed to be set in 2013 before gay marriage was legalized in the USA…but a lot of the dialogue reads as very now. For example, all of the characters introduce themselves with pronouns which I’m all for…but I don’t remember anyone doing that prior to a year or two ago. In fact, I still barely here it today.
That being said, I did find myself laughing at several points throughout the book. There were some generally funny points.
I also love how much food and food description was a part of this book! The cakes and pastries sounded genuinely amazing and a couple recipes were included at the end of the book! I’m looking forward to trying them.
And I did love the diversity of representation in this book even if it wasn’t quite as diverse as it could’ve been. I know that’s confusing. Let me explain. The author did a great job with LGBTQIA diversity as ther are characters of varying sexualities and genders throughout this book. That said, it wasn’t very racially or ethnically diverse. I suppose we can attribute some of that to the story being set in Oklahoma…but it’s a weak excuse. After making such an effort to be inclusive, I wish she’d gone just a bit further.
Was this the best queer romance I’ve ever read? No. Is it an entertaining enough, light read? Yes. I think it would be good for a day by the pool or beach.
I’m not sure where exactly to start this particular review because this book was quite a bit different than I imagined. I expected a fluffy queer romance, but the romance was a very small part of the actual plot. The majority of the book is focused on Amy’s semi-closetedness and her struggles with being authentic to herself and to the larger queer community. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, just not what I was expecting.
As for the romance, it felt a bit generic. I mean there were parts of it that were cute, but we never learn much about Charley, the love interest. Also, so many of their interactions are awkward that you start to wonder where the chemistry is. Eventually, it does have that sweet ending though. Also, kind of annoyed that the very few sex scenes included were brief and fade to black. I don’t want smut necessarily, but it felt a little YA in terms of sex.
I will say there was also quite a disconnect in the timeline versus the dialogue. This book is supposed to be set in 2013 before gay marriage was legalized in the USA…but a lot of the dialogue reads as very now. For example, all of the characters introduce themselves with pronouns which I’m all for…but I don’t remember anyone doing that prior to a year or two ago. In fact, I still barely here it today.
That being said, I did find myself laughing at several points throughout the book. There were some generally funny points.
I also love how much food and food description was a part of this book! The cakes and pastries sounded genuinely amazing and a couple recipes were included at the end of the book! I’m looking forward to trying them.
And I did love the diversity of representation in this book even if it wasn’t quite as diverse as it could’ve been. I know that’s confusing. Let me explain. The author did a great job with LGBTQIA diversity as ther are characters of varying sexualities and genders throughout this book. That said, it wasn’t very racially or ethnically diverse. I suppose we can attribute some of that to the story being set in Oklahoma…but it’s a weak excuse. After making such an effort to be inclusive, I wish she’d gone just a bit further.
Was this the best queer romance I’ve ever read? No. Is it an entertaining enough, light read? Yes. I think it would be good for a day by the pool or beach.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Outing
Minor: Sexual content
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The short review: I’m bored. I’m so bored and I don’t care, and I didn’t like the message, and also, I’m bored.
The longer review, broken down into the biggest issues I had with the book:
The messaging: I’m happy the MC (Amy) figured out how to be authentically herself at work, in a way that benefited her business and helped her feel better about herself, but the journey to get there was a bit sanctimonious and pressure-y. The MC spends a lot of page space on internal monologues explaining that she’s not being authentic/honest/“faithful to the queer community” by not being out at work or super loud and proud with her (homophobic) extended family. The resulting narrative implied that it’s imperative for queer people to be out, and that they’re doing something wrong if they aren’t. Sure, there was some caveats for not outing yourself in unsafe situations, but other than that, the book seemed pretty adamant that queer people should be OUT. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge advocate for queer representation, think people should be able to be out, and celebrate when people do come out — but coming out is never something queer people owe others (not straight people, and not even other queer people). If you believe coming out isn’t an obligation, but a choice, this book will likely rub you the wrong way.
The romance: The relationship happened very off-page — readers don’t actually get to read many interactions between the MC and the LI (Charley). Plus, the LI traveled a lot which almost seemed to be a very convenient way to not write as much of them together. When they were together, there was NO chemistry. I thought the LI was a very flat, boring character; I can’t tell you a single thing about her likes and dislikes, outside of her job. Honestly, one of the brides the MC works for/befriends (Regi) is a more developed character than the LI. I wasn’t invested enough in the relationship, so when they had their big moment in the end, it felt very rushed and unnatural and insta-lovey. There wasn’t the foundation to justify the ease with which they made up, or how far they jumped in the relationship (spoiler: jumping from not even defining the relationship before the break up, to exchanging “I love you” after the makeup ).
The writing: The author is definitely a “teller” not a “shower”. There were SO MANY PARTS where the author gave a couple sentence (or even couple paragraph) summary of a scene instead of writing it out — sometimes even writing a sentence summarizing one sentence of dialogue in a conversation, rather than writing out the dialogue. As a result, I felt really detached from the ongoings in the book and wasn’t emotionally invested. Also, I skimmed. A lot.
The “drama”: At 60% of the way through this book, there was basically no drama happening. Early on (like page 40) she gets fired from her job, and then pretty quickly starts the bridesmaid business. And then there’s approximately 200 pages of her just building the business and living her life. It was not an interesting 200 pages. And then, kind of out of the blue, a bunch of things go wrong — her best friend gets mad at her (for reasons I didn’t feel the previous 200 pages supported) and the relationship with the LI implodes. Plus, the whole time, the MC is whining to the reader about feeling like she’s lying to brides because she’s not coming out to them, and worried that she’s a people pleaser because she’s doing whatever she can to make the brides happy (…even though that’s literally what they’re paying her for: to make their events go smoothly and help them be happy).
Queer rep: lesbian MC, sapphic main pairing, background mlm relationships & gay men, background non-binary character, background other lesbian & gay characters
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, Outing, Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m always on the lookout for more contemporary sapphic romances, especially set in the southern United States, so I was VERY excited to get my hands on an arc of Queerly Beloved. And that’s where the excitement ended. This book had great story concepts, but needed some serious editing - there were so many different storylines. Is it about someone hiding their queer identity at work? Or a professional bridesmaid? Or a sapphic romance? Or a coming of age story? It was trying to do too much and ended up succeeding at none of it. The side characters were all severely underdeveloped and seemed to rely on queer stereotypes. Also this should not be marketed as a romance, it’s barely a part of the storyline and has the most forced HEA of all time. So many content warnings for homophobia. Last thing - while I love the frequent use of pronouns in the book, that would not have been normal in 2013.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Outing
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism, Infidelity
funny
lighthearted
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Outing
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
Thank you so much to NetGalley, Susie Dumond & Dial Press Trade Paperback for an advance copy of this!
This will be published on May 3rd, 2022.
Taken place in the mid 2010s in Tulsa, OK where being part of the LGBTQIA+ is frown upon and Amy a baker has to remain closeted at her employer. She works at the local bakery called the Daily Bread where she goes by Amelia. While working one day a new customer comes in and turns her world upside down. She meets Charley and they hit it off immediately. After getting fired from her baking job due to the homophobic owners finding out her secret, Amy is left in a tailspin trying to figure out her next move. During her cousin's wedding, one of the guests asked Amy to be a fill in bridesmaid at her wedding. The light bulb went off on what her next job should be. Amy became a bridesmaid superwoman catering to the needs of brides on their day.
It felt that things were being thrown in for the sake of throwing in.
Examples:
Underage teen sneaking into a bar? check
Equality rally? check
Sex toys? check
Amy Amy Amy, I am also conflicted in how I feel about her. I absolutely loved her heart & loved how she gave 10000% into everything she does. I loved her hustle and she never gave up. I also was surprised at how fast Amy fell for Charley. They did not spend that much time together before she was head over heels. I think I am so used to main characters being more perfect & Amy was far from perfect.
I am not sure how I am supposed to feel about Charley. I'll be honest throughout most of this book, I did not like Charley. I understood where she was coming from at the end but being mysterious and wishy washy just wasn't my jam.
I did love the other relationships throughout this book. I love how close to her friends and how they have become her chosen family. I love how close to her mom she was. I also resonated with her fight with her friend. That felt the most realy in this book. I felt their pain.
I would still recommend this book as I enjoyed the different representation. Plus it really made me hungry for cupcakes and pretty much any baked goods.
For those wondering the steam is level is almost at a closed door level.
One of my favorite quotes from the book is: "Good intentions don't excuse bad behavior. But letting that anger fester doesn't fix anything; it just poisons you."
Also just out of pure irony that I had two books in a row that referenced "My Best Friend's Wedding." No complaints from me as its one of the greatest rom coms.
This will be published on May 3rd, 2022.
Taken place in the mid 2010s in Tulsa, OK where being part of the LGBTQIA+ is frown upon and Amy a baker has to remain closeted at her employer. She works at the local bakery called the Daily Bread where she goes by Amelia. While working one day a new customer comes in and turns her world upside down. She meets Charley and they hit it off immediately. After getting fired from her baking job due to the homophobic owners finding out her secret, Amy is left in a tailspin trying to figure out her next move. During her cousin's wedding, one of the guests asked Amy to be a fill in bridesmaid at her wedding. The light bulb went off on what her next job should be. Amy became a bridesmaid superwoman catering to the needs of brides on their day.
It felt that things were being thrown in for the sake of throwing in.
Examples:
Underage teen sneaking into a bar? check
Equality rally? check
Sex toys? check
Amy Amy Amy, I am also conflicted in how I feel about her. I absolutely loved her heart & loved how she gave 10000% into everything she does. I loved her hustle and she never gave up. I also was surprised at how fast Amy fell for Charley. They did not spend that much time together before she was head over heels. I think I am so used to main characters being more perfect & Amy was far from perfect.
I am not sure how I am supposed to feel about Charley. I'll be honest throughout most of this book, I did not like Charley. I understood where she was coming from at the end but being mysterious and wishy washy just wasn't my jam.
I did love the other relationships throughout this book. I love how close to her friends and how they have become her chosen family. I love how close to her mom she was. I also resonated with her fight with her friend. That felt the most realy in this book. I felt their pain.
I would still recommend this book as I enjoyed the different representation. Plus it really made me hungry for cupcakes and pretty much any baked goods.
For those wondering the steam is level is almost at a closed door level.
One of my favorite quotes from the book is: "Good intentions don't excuse bad behavior. But letting that anger fester doesn't fix anything; it just poisons you."
Also just out of pure irony that I had two books in a row that referenced "My Best Friend's Wedding." No complaints from me as its one of the greatest rom coms.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Outing
Minor: Cancer
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I received a copy of this from NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group.
TW: Homophobia, lesbophobia, outing, Toxic relationships, sexual content, religious bigotry.
So here's the good news with this book. It takes place in a time period when a lot of gays were on the edge of their seats about whether or not gay marriage would be legalized (the story takes place in 2013) and I think (based on my memories of the time) it portrays that time period well. Being out and proud about it was becoming more and more prevalent at the time and I think that this story portrays that well, especially since it takes place in Oklahoma, which is generally super conservative (thanks bible belt). Do I wish that there was less homophobia? Yes, but I also understand why it's in the book. It adds nuance to the story that in the post-2015 we sometimes forget about. I also really enjoyed Amy's business venture with being a bridesmaid. I think throughout the story she really took the lemons life gave her and ran with it and that was very much appreciated.
Now here's what I didn't like. I didn't like the love interest at all. After that first meeting (which was adorbs as heck), Charley's characterization fell flat to me. I think that could have been remedied by having dual POVs or seeing more of their (Amy and Charley's) conversations on the page together. I think that if this is going to be marketed as a romance, there should be significantly more romance in it. It felts like there was like 10% of the book focused on the relationship between Amy and Charley and it should have been more.
TW: Homophobia, lesbophobia, outing, Toxic relationships, sexual content, religious bigotry.
So here's the good news with this book. It takes place in a time period when a lot of gays were on the edge of their seats about whether or not gay marriage would be legalized (the story takes place in 2013) and I think (based on my memories of the time) it portrays that time period well. Being out and proud about it was becoming more and more prevalent at the time and I think that this story portrays that well, especially since it takes place in Oklahoma, which is generally super conservative (thanks bible belt). Do I wish that there was less homophobia? Yes, but I also understand why it's in the book. It adds nuance to the story that in the post-2015 we sometimes forget about. I also really enjoyed Amy's business venture with being a bridesmaid. I think throughout the story she really took the lemons life gave her and ran with it and that was very much appreciated.
Now here's what I didn't like. I didn't like the love interest at all. After that first meeting (which was adorbs as heck), Charley's characterization fell flat to me. I think that could have been remedied by having dual POVs or seeing more of their (Amy and Charley's) conversations on the page together. I think that if this is going to be marketed as a romance, there should be significantly more romance in it. It felts like there was like 10% of the book focused on the relationship between Amy and Charley and it should have been more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, Outing, Alcohol
Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, Sexual content, Religious bigotry
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
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:
Yes
Thanks to The Dial Press for the free advance copy of this book.
- QUEERLY BELOVED is a joy. It's a romcom with a delightfully screwball premise that also digs deep into some really hard, complicated feelings around queerness, assimilation, found family and more.
- I didn't live in the Midwest, but I remember having so many of these exact conversations and arguments in the pre-marriage equality days. It's cathartic to see so much of these tangled thoughts hashed out here.
- I love Amy and Charley. They're wonderful complements to each other, and it's fantastic to see a sapphic pairing that isn't two femmes.
- It's also lovely to see a queer story set somewhere that isn't traditionally thought of as gay-friendly, and showing that there is still vibrant queer life there, and not everyone is desperate to escape to a bigger city.
- QUEERLY BELOVED is a joy. It's a romcom with a delightfully screwball premise that also digs deep into some really hard, complicated feelings around queerness, assimilation, found family and more.
- I didn't live in the Midwest, but I remember having so many of these exact conversations and arguments in the pre-marriage equality days. It's cathartic to see so much of these tangled thoughts hashed out here.
- I love Amy and Charley. They're wonderful complements to each other, and it's fantastic to see a sapphic pairing that isn't two femmes.
- It's also lovely to see a queer story set somewhere that isn't traditionally thought of as gay-friendly, and showing that there is still vibrant queer life there, and not everyone is desperate to escape to a bigger city.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Cursing, Homophobia, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Outing, Alcohol
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Fatphobia