Reviews with content warning for Cancer - Queerly Beloved

I think this was mismarketed as a romcom when really this is more of a contemporary novel with romance as a subplot. I blame the cartoon cover also for steering the rom com agenda. This is supposed to take place in 2013/2014 but in all honesty- I feel like this could have taken place in 2022/2023. What threw me off was the random people saying their pronouns. I vaguely remember people not doing that in 2013/2014- again that’s more of a current 2020’s norm. I also didn’t fully believe in the romance between Amy & Charley. Amy definitely embodies an anxious attachment style while Charley seems more avoidant. A lot of showing, not telling. Maybe if the story didn’t have such long chapters & more clear edits, this might have been better received.

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the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

While this book seemed sometimes ready to tackle radical topics (like how marriage is not the route to queer liberation, or howto reconcile people we love working in unethical industries like oil), it always seemed to end up on a note of maintaining the status quo. As a reader, it sometimes made me wish they hadn't brought the topics up in the first place.

I liked all of the characters, but I would have liked higher stakes between Charley and Amy. Charley's wishy-washy behaviour made it hard for me to get invested, even though they seemed like a nice enough pairing.

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sohma4uesugi's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.5

It was really excellent to have a character make mistakes and be held accountable for her actions. It was so great that her friends and family didn’t sugar coat things, and were honest but kind when she messed up and needed to realize that fact. Actions have consequences, and it can be frustrating when they just don’t apply to book characters as much as it is when they don’t apply to real people. I felt for everyone struggling with the overturn of the marriage ban, and could smile a little when it felt like I knew something before they did, since I know when Oklahoma’s same-sex marriage ban was overturned. I winced like hell on Joel and Dames’ big night, able to see that fight coming from a mile away when Amy just kept putting her foot in things.

Amy annoyed me at times with how much she fussed about her new job and the morality behind it. “Why am I focused on making everyone else happy right now”, as she stood there in her literal job being paid to make things easier and make brides happy. I liked the change of her career path and how the business evolved, but I could have done without the same complaints that read like whining in the same tone in the same places in the same way wedding after wedding.

Charley was a good, flawed, self aware character in real ways. This book reminded me of every victory I celebrated with my fellow LGBTQ+ friends as the marriage bans were overturned state by state. I loved that the epilogue took place years in the future and not just a couple of months. It wrapped things up in a way that felt right and complete without being forced or answering too many questions at the same time. It felt balanced.

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paperbackparker's review against another edition

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-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

4.0

Such a delight!!!

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tlrjhnlwsn's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

5.0

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bookcrushin's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful 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

4.0

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zabeishumanish's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

I rather hated this book. I don’t think that is the book’s fault though. This was sold to me as a romance, and while I think it technically qualifies for the genre, the romance is such a tiny portion of this book. Despite the characters all being mid/late 20’s this is a coming of age book way more than a romance. And a coming of age story filled with uniquely queer trauma I was entirely unprepared to read. The book is well written and interesting cover to cover, but if you are looking for a happy queer romance this isn’t the book for you. There is an incredibly satisfying happily ever after, but the queer trauma it takes to reach that point is a lot.

Sometimes she felt guilty for staying closeted at the bakery, both because she was pretending to be someone she wasn’t and because she was allowing her colleagues’ homophobia to go unchecked. (6)

This book is in a way a love story to Tusla. Tulsa has never been on my radar as a place with lots of cool stuff or somewhere I wanted to visit, but this book genuinely made me want to go. As a southerner along the Arkansas river the depiction of Tulsa’s queer community in the book felt so authentically familiar to me. That sense of small city tight knit southern queer community added a whole other layer to my new Tulsa appreciation. The way Tulsa and the character’s love of Tulsa shines in this book is one of it’s biggest strengths.

She picked apart each outfit in the mirror, trying to guess what kind of girl Charley might like. … Something simple would have to work until she figured out Charley’s type. (65)

The queer trauma in this book is overwhelming. Add to that the interpersonal conflict Amy experiences with her best friend in the book and this book felt like a chore to finish rather than an entertaining pleasure. While everything in this book ends happy Amy and her best friend Joel have a falling out in the book. Not only was that falling out painfully emotional, but felt horribly unrealistic for decade long best friends to literally not talk for months, rather than any kind of conflict resolution. Ultimately just not the read for me.

Amy worked so hard to always be positive and helpful, to make the day a little brighter for everyone she encountered. Joel and Damien were some of the only people around whom she’d felt like she could drop the act. Did that mean the true Amy was negative and draining to her loved ones? (279)

Book is oddly pro-oil/pro-fracking which felt weird for such an otherwise conscious queer book.

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mlindsay27's review against another edition

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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.

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