Book Review: We Could Be So Good
Author: We Could Be So Good
Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Avon Books
Publish Date: June 6, 2023
Format: Paperback
★★★★☆
This book is perfect for those that like: Co-Workers-to-Friends-to-Roommates-to-Lovers, Pining, Angst, Sobbing Over Soup
You might not like this book if you aren’t into: Storylines That Mention Abuse/Assault or Homophobia
Favorite Line: “You’re going to wear a Red Sox cap and we’re going to get murdered - literally murdered, Andy - on the way from the subway to the stadium.” ~ Nick Russo
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The Book
Nick Russo has worked his way from a rough Brooklyn neighborhood to a reporting job at one of the city's biggest newspapers. But the late 1950s are a hostile time for gay men, and Nick knows that he can't let anyone into his life. He just never counted on meeting someone as impossible to say no to as Andy.
Andy Fleming's newspaper-tycoon father wants him to take over the family business. Andy, though, has no intention of running the paper. He's barely able to run his life--he's never paid a bill on time, routinely gets lost on the way to work, and would rather gouge out his own eyes than deal with office politics. Andy agrees to work for a year in the newsroom, knowing he'll make an ass of himself and hate every second of it.
Except, Nick Russo keeps rescuing Andy: showing him the ropes, tracking down his keys, freeing his tie when it gets stuck in the ancient filing cabinets. Their unlikely friendship soon sharpens into feelings they can't deny. But what feels possible in secret--this fragile, tender thing between them--seems doomed in the light of day. Now Nick and Andy have to decide if, for the first time, they're willing to fight.
my thoughts
WE COULD BE SO GOOD was one of those books that I was not ready for at all. I *thought* I was ready. I thought I knew what the book would be about. I mean, the author posted several graphics that pulled out all the tropes - best friends-to-lovers, pining, hate watching the Yankees (as a Texas Rangers fan, I am 1000% on board with this), hurt/comfort - all of it laid out right there for the reader to know what they were getting into.
And they were all true! Those tropes are absolutely in there!
But what wasn’t in there was how this story unfolded in ways I wasn’t expecting. How Nick and Andy’s relationship is not exactly linear. And once I let go of those expectations and just experienced these two falling in love, well, my friends, what happened was me CHOKE SOBBING AT 2 AM OVER A BOWL OF GD SOUP.
This book is absolutely one of those that you have to trust the author to guide you through all of the queerphobia, anxiety, fear, rejection, pining, self-hatred, and questioning because it’s through all of that that you get to witness two beautiful souls not only find each other and fall in love but also repair the other relationships in their lives. And I’m sorry to bring up soup again at this point, but I’m telling you that when that moment comes, and you realized WHO he was on the phone with and WHY and how it pertains to soup…like, I’m tearing up all over again.
If you are into stories with serious pining and angst, then this book is for you.
more about the Author
Cat Sebastian writes queer historical romance. Her books have received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist, and she’s been featured in the Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, and Jezebel.
Before writing, Cat was a lawyer and a teacher and did a variety of other jobs she liked much less than she enjoys writing happy endings for queer people. She was born in New Jersey and lived in New York and Arizona before settling down in a swampy part of the South. When she isn’t writing, she’s probably reading, having one-sided conversations with her dog, or doing the crossword puzzle.
The best way to keep up with Cat’s projects is to subscribe to her newsletter. You can email Cat at CatSebastianWrites [at] gmail [dot] com, visit her on Twitter, or check out her Instagram.