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Reviews tagging 'Grief'

We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian

20 reviews

kal517's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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

4.0

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katelynnelawson's review against another edition

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informative slow-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

4.5

Nick and Andy have been best friends since Andy started working at his father's paper, where Nick is a reporter. When Andy's engagement ends, he moves in with Nick so as not to be alone. Immediately, the two are forced to consider that their connection is more than that of friendship.

While Nick is as openly gay as a man could be in the 50's, Andy (who is bisexual) has always ignored that part of himself, knowing what he ultimately wanted was a family. Over the course of the novel, Andy comes to realize all the things a family can mean, and Nick, who has only been able to experience his sexuality furtively and read novels where gay men met tragic ends, realizes he can have a happily ever after. Against the backdrop of the Village in the 1950's and the newsroom of a progressive paper, Nick and Andy realize their connection is worth taking risks and planting roots.
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callidoralblack's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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20sidedbi's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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imstephtacular's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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amris's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-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? Yes

5.0

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quinnyquinnquinn's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring medium-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? Yes

5.0

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purplepenning's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.25

Everyone he knows is trying to assemble some kind of life from the spare parts they have lying around…

I usually prefer my rom on the com side, but this was as good a character-driven rom-dram as I've ever read. It doesn't hurt that you get to fan cast your favorite classic Hollywood stars in all their 1950s NYC glory. 🙂 We Could Be So Good is a mostly slice-of-life story that captures the complications, the tension, the hope, and joy of carving out a queer space and establishing a found family in an environment that is passively and sometimes brutally, actively hostile. I don't want to spoil it for you, but it ends up being…
a gentler story than I had anticipated and I might have enjoyed it more if I had known that going in
. Yes, there are oppressive laws and family issues and mistrust and corruption, but there are also flowers and dopey cats and baseball games and Italian cooking and hearth and home sweetness. For the relationship itself, you'll find grumpy-sunshine, friends-to-lovers, pining and yearning, caretaking, healthy acceptance of differences, and mostly beautiful communication with some realistic miscommunication that doesn't get tropey or lazy. 

 He can feed the goddamn ducks and he can kiss his boyfriend. He can believe that the future they have is worth more than his fear, and he can do what it takes to make that future as safe and happy as possible. 💜
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analenegrace's review against another edition

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

2.75

I'm a pretty big Cat Sebastian fan so I was excited to read seemingly her first set in the 20th century. I enjoyed Andy and Nick's story and enjoyed Sebastian's use of historical references and clear research, as explained in her author's note, to make their story feel real. 

My greatest criticism is that it could have been a little longer for the audience to really get to see Nick and Andy's friendship grow, I just wanted to understand them a little more. 

This book was much more closed door than I believe any of her others ones are so I find this shift very interesting for her. 
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wilybooklover's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

5.0

I'm calling it now, even though it's only June; this is my favourite book of the year. My heart is so full after reading this book. Every page was utter perfection. The dynamics actually remind me a lot of Cat Sebastian's 60s-set novella Peter Cabot Gets Lost, which is a big favourite of mine. I don't know how she does it, but she never misses. 

This quietly introspective story, about prickly, closed-off journalist Nick and ADHD-coded bisexual disaster Andy, is so soft and tender and heartwarming. These two characters are just so sweet and kind to each other, and I love how the book just carves out a little space for them to be that way even though the world at large doesn't. A good 70% of this story was just cute little domestic scenes like making each other soup, bringing home flowers, caretaking, and rescuing dumb cats, which I adored. Loved the workplace 'work spouse' dynamics too.

The insight into what it could look like to be queer in the 50s was really interesting, especially Andy's discovery of his queer self and how Nick feels when he finds a community of queer people where he can open up and finally feels safe to be himself (in an age where there was a very real fear of being found out even by a neighbour). Nick's whole journey to self-acceptance was lovely to read. It was also interesting to see the contrast between the casual acceptance of Andy's father and Nick knowing he could never truly come out to most of his family. I loved the 1950s New York setting and all the little historical and political details sprinkled in.

I really enjoyed the narrative structure choices made in this book as well. It was dual POV, but large chunks were written solely from either Nick's or Andy's POV, which really amped up the tension without losing that whole 'these two idiots don't realise they feel the same way!' kind of vibe that I always love about this author's books. 

And of course, it wouldn't be a Cat Sebastian book without lots of discussion on class and inequality with 'eat the rich' vibes. 
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