Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - We Could Be So Good

Oh my heart. Cat Sebastion writes these perfect romances that have real stakes and conflict, but aren't too stressful for the reader. As if I know everything will be ok because the main couple genuinely love each other. This is sweet and emotional, and grabbed my heart.

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unsuccessfulbookclub's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

A total swoon fest. I just want to wrap Andy and Nick up keep them safe forever and ever.

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blewballoon's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective tense 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

5.0

5 stars for how delighted I was throughout this book. It's so much fluffier than I expected! That being said, it's not without depth, and the sweetness feels earned. I adored the characters. I dunno, this book was like a warm hug from someone you didn't expect to hug you.

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relin's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

A lovely, baseball adjacent romance novel between two newspaper queers. While there are tense parts, Andy and Nick work to be together and have a satisfying happily ever after!

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yourbookishbff's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I adore Nick and Andy, Cat Sebastian writing mid-century New York, every single side character, painfully awkward flirting, and even that silly orange cat. This is often described as cozy and low-angst, and that's true for the character interactions - this is flawlessly executed friends-to-lovers, where the characters have deep-seated respected and care for each other, so we always know they will be kind, even when they're dummies. I would note, though, that the external conflict and the periphery of the story is stressy - this is 1950s New York, so it's obviously hostile to queer men, and the threat of the police lurking throughout this entire story had me on edge for a large part of the plot.
This is for those who love slice-of-life trope lasagna (Can we make that a thing? It's no haphazard trope soup, but a rich and layered dish of all of my very favorite tropes?). If you love friends-to-lovers, caretaking, hurt-him-and-I'll-hurt-you, let-me-make-you-soup, roommates-to-more, etc., this is swoony and delicious.

Also - I LOVED the bi-awakening we see on page. It is one of the most familiar and affirming I've seen in romance recently, and it gave me lots of fuzzy feelings.

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smokeandwires's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Thanks to Avon Books for the free copy of this book.

- I sat down to write my review of WE COULD BE SO GOOD and all that came out was 😍😍😍😍 *pterodactyl screeching* 🥲🥲🥲🥲 So that’s what I’m rolling with, consider this my official review.

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mood_reading_maya's review against another edition

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emotional funny informative inspiring 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

4.0

Nick Russo x Andy Fleming forever. These two! 🥰 I don’t know if I’d go so far as to call Andy a himbo, but he’s just a little clueless and forgetful but also so sweet and willing to be emotionally vulnerable. The care is everywhere: in meals shared, in Yankee games attended, in lighting each other’s cigarettes, in stolen quiet moments down in the newspaper morgue files, in carefully worded long distance phone calls, and so much more. This story highlights the challenges of being queer in the late 1950s. What a wonderful and emotional love story. Read with your eyeballs for maximum enjoyment (the narration is just OK).

This is the bar I’m setting for the sake of comparison when it comes to M/M romance written by a woman. There’s something telling about the level of thoughtfulness and intentionality behind We Could Be So Good. It never felt fetishized (but I’m a straight cis woman, my opinion is moot) as some popular contemporary M/M novels written by female romance authors can be. Honestly, it made me pause to reflect that my reading has not been as inclusive as I’d like it to be. A good check on my own blind spot.

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