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. 

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. 

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. 

Really enjoyed this sweet story of two men just trying to be themselves in a time when that wasn’t easy. The found family they make is heartwarming. The historical details are well done. 

A sweet, light, but slightly predictable queer romcom. It was a fun romp and a lovely palette cleanser between more serious books. I loved that this book was a coming out story without explicitly being a coming out story. This book lacked the “good” conflict for me - I’m used to having that big third act breakup that brings our love birds back together for good, so I was searching for that big moment a bit. That being said, this book does a beautiful job covering queer history and what it was like to be a closeted professional gay man in 1950’s-1960’s NYC. I enjoyed the historical references, and also found the main characters’ discussions about sexuality, race, politics, and class enlightening and thoughtful. Overall a unique and fun look at a gay romcom.

It's still early in the year, but I've got the feeling this is going to be my favorite book of 2024. This story just hit all the right notes for me. It's a perfect blend of so many of the tropes I adore: friends to lovers, roommates to lovers, workplace romance, mutual pining. The execution of the mix was so well done, too: the way their emotional proximity kept growing, how the closer they got the more they felt they had to hide while getting more and more open with each other. How they see certain things about each other so clearly, almost more so than they see certain things about themselves, but get hopelessly tangled with others until they get just the right nudge. How they both make each other not only happier, but better.

The characters are so alive on the page—not just Andy and Nick, but everyone who surrounds them. There was that cool feeling that the main leads were carving this bubble for themselves that was just for them two in many ways, but they wouldn't be able to do it if they weren't surrounded by other people along the way. People like Emily and her friends, but also people like Andy's father or Nick's big complicated family, despite the tumultuous relationships they had, and people like their coworkers, and all the other queer people in New York whose lives touched those only tangentially—through glances exchanged in the streets or articles in the newspapers. I'm an absolute sucker for deeply character-driven stories like this, and so many of Andy's and Nick's experiences and feelings resonated with me so much, too. From Andy's very obvious ADHD to Nick's struggled habit of concealing big parts of his identity, there was always something that made me go, "Yeah, been there."

There was also this very clear sense of place and historical period that I enjoyed a lot. So many scenes and locations were so vividly depicted that I almost felt I was watching a movie, and I'm not a super visual reader. Due to the realities of that time, there is a strong impact of period-appropriate homophobia, but in spite of it, there's a lot of queer joy and thriving to offset the angst, even if it has to happen under wraps. Especially since the wraps are coming down, what with all those small subplots about the articles or the increasing number of queer books reviewed by Nick's colleague—some of them even non-tragic.

If I had to nitpick, I could perhaps note how there were a few instances of the prose not being quite clear, or how maybe in a few places the intersections of character arcs and external plot evens could be tightened up. But I'm not in the mood to nitpick at all—I just loved the entire experience.  Honestly, I could go on and on about so many aspects of the story because it gave me All The Feels. Ultimately, it's a beautiful slice of life with so much heart, and I think I'll re-read it someday, even though there are so many books and so little time.