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A review by elysareadsitall
Queerly Beloved by Susie Dumond
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-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
4.0
"Queerly Beloved" is much more than a romance, but it's all about love in its many forms. Amy is a lesbian who works closeted at a Christian bakery by day and out and proud at a queer bar at night. Her journey leads her to a new, slightly strange career that makes her question how she acts in straight spaces.
The book dives deep into the fight for marriage rights in Oklahoma in 2015. I like that the author explored so many sides and opinions about it. At times, it unfortunately made the main character seem wishy washy because she was easily swayed to whichever argument she was currently hearing. That's not entirely surprising because the book is about her learning to be her authentic self and stop molding herself to others. It just made it hard to connect with the MC sometimes.
In the second half of the book, the romance is firmly in the backseat, and I was okay with the book leaning more contemporary fiction. However, I thought Charley's explanation was thin and Amy's forgiveness too easy.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The found family is fantastic. The feelings of growing up queer in a red state are explored in detail with multiple perspectives. The settings were captured perfectly, too, which made the novel feel very grounded. Check this out if you're looking for a complicated story with meaty characters.
The book dives deep into the fight for marriage rights in Oklahoma in 2015. I like that the author explored so many sides and opinions about it. At times, it unfortunately made the main character seem wishy washy because she was easily swayed to whichever argument she was currently hearing. That's not entirely surprising because the book is about her learning to be her authentic self and stop molding herself to others. It just made it hard to connect with the MC sometimes.
In the second half of the book, the romance is firmly in the backseat, and I was okay with the book leaning more contemporary fiction. However, I thought Charley's explanation was thin and Amy's forgiveness too easy.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The found family is fantastic. The feelings of growing up queer in a red state are explored in detail with multiple perspectives. The settings were captured perfectly, too, which made the novel feel very grounded. Check this out if you're looking for a complicated story with meaty characters.