We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian is a friends-to-lovers historical romance set in the 1950s that was easy to read but poignant to experience. The novel follows Nick Russo, a gruff and scrappy Brooklyn-born reporter for the city newspaper, and Andy Fleming, the son of the owner of said newspaper set to take over the family business in short order.

The pining in this? Top notch. Fans of mutual pining will have a lot to love. Though I wasn’t particularly in the mood to read about homophobia - and this novel does have quite a bit of it, though it is challenged - I appreciated the balance between realistic concerns of the time and opting to focus on queer joy. I breezed through this in a day and found it satisfying and memorable, if not overly complex.

As a slightly relevant aside, my life as a reader, reviewer, and book advocate will be made so much better the day publishing stops comparing every queer romance featuring gay and bisexual men to Casey McQuiston’s Red, White, and Royal Blue. The comp is borderline absurd for this novel in particular, as this is a historical romance that deals with heavier themes and has minimal romcom vibes.

That aside, fans of queer historical romance who like a lot of pining with their friends to lovers should definitely pick this one up. Cat Sebastian hasn’t let me down yet with a book and We Could Be So Good continues the winning streak.

Thank you to Avon and Edelweiss for an advance review copy. All opinions are my own.