We Could Be So Good is one of my all time favorite books, and I was therefore a bit nervous that You Should Be So Lucky wouldn’t live up to my high expectations. But luckily it did! This was another marvelous gem by Cat Sebastian! Such a sweet and tender queer historical romance that tugged at my heartstrings.

YSBSL is set in the same universe as WCBSG, but with the reporter Mark Bailey in focus (but there were also some adorable glimpses of Andy and Nick, with Andy being Mark’s boss) who is grieving the loss of his longtime partner. To help Mark get his bearings, Andy assigns him a weekly diary project about Eddie O’Leary, the newest and most hated baseball player in New York.

This is a story about grief and the loneliness when you can’t even talk about your loss, and how to find meaning in that new, hollow, life. It’s also a story about finding yourself and finding hope, of friendship, love and maybe, maybe, daring to find happiness again. I rooted so for Mark and his struggles to come to terms with his new life, his grumpiness and his unexpected tender feelings for Eddy.

“It’s foolish, but Marks is making peace with the fact that everything he feels about Eddy is a little foolish.”

Sweet Eddy stole my heart right away with the way he just kept messing things up, his big mouth and even bigger heart, his naivety and positivity, and how unapologetically he installed himself into Mark’s life. And the respect he showed for Mark’s grief and how he acknowledged Mark’s memories of and relationship with his deceased partner was so wholesome.

This story is a beautiful journey from grief and heartbreak to finding love again, from hiding to accepting who you are, and from fear to hope. It’s also a story with some amazing, heartwarming, supportive characters: Eddy’s mother, Mark’s found family of protective queer friends, the supportive coach, the reporter colleague who lost his wife and gently lets Mark know that the grief is the same.

Even though this book deals with some pretty heavy things, like homophobia, loss of a loved one and grief, mental health issues and so on, it’s nevertheless a fun, sweet and adorable story, full of snarky banter, flippant jokes and hilarious situations. Cat Sebastian has a marvelous way of writing sad stories in a joyful way, and always ending them on positive note, full of hope and with an homage to the brave queer community paving way for the acceptance today (even though there is still a long journey ahead).

All in all, I loved, loved, LOVED this book! 

Rating:
5 stars

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This wonderful novella is set in The Cabots universe, even though there’s no real connection to the Cabot family, and it’s just as amazing as the other books in the series!

In just about 100 pages, Cat Sebastian manages to write a completely addictive story with fleshed out characters to root for. Set in the 1950s it tells the story of Billy and Luke, who are baseball players and teammates. Recently Luke has been injured and gone into hiding, leaving Billy sick of worry. Billy, who has been able to keep his feelings hidden for more than five years, suddenly don’t know what to do when Luke turns up on his porch.

I loved the way the two of them slowly opened up to each other and letting themselves be vulnerable, despite the potential consequences. Cat Sebastian always has such an authentic way in describing the current time period and the fear and homophobia that queer people had to live with. Adorable first time experience, witty banter and pretend dislike to (unsuccessfully) disguise the true feelings. And Billy’s mother was pure gold!

All in all, this was yet another highly enjoyable, adorable and heartwarming queer historical story by Cat Sebastian!

Rating:
5 stars

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This second book in The Cabots series was even more cute and heartwarming than the first! I adored the main character Peter and the grumpy bantering between him and Caleb; the chemistry between them was absolutely sizzling! A truly wonderful enemies-to-lovers queer historical romance!

On surface, Peter Cabot has everything. He comes from a wealthy, political family (quite a lot resembling the Kennedys), is good looking, with a bright future. But in fact, he loathes his father and dreads the life he’s expected to live when he leaves college.

Caleb Murphy on the other hand, has always struggled to make ends meet, has to rely upon charity and is quite bitter and grumpy about the hand he’s been given in life. Especially compared to privileged, spoiled Peter.

But maybe, just maybe, they have more in common than they think? When circumstances make them spend a week together driving from Boston to Los Angeles sparks start to fly…

I love Cat Sebastian’s queer historical stories (We Could Be So Good is one of my favorite books) and this one certainly didn’t disappoint either. Cat Sebastian creates the most wonderful, fleshed out characters, and has a way of writing that just pulls you in. I really appreciated that this second book in the series was a full-length one (even though it was a bit on the short side too), so that the characters had more time to develop and their relationship to slowly go from grumpy dislike to friends to something more.

I also truly appreciate the authenticy in which Cat Sebastian describes the current time period (the 1960s in this case) and the fear and homophobia that queer people had to live with. Lovely first time exploration, learning to trust and being vulnerable. And the importance of being true to yourself!

All in all, this was a highly enjoyable, adorable and heartwarming queer historical story. Highly recommended!

Rating:
4 stars

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Cat Sebastian

What a cute and heartwarming queer historical second chance romance! As always in stories written by Cat Sebastian, this novella had some truly wonderful characters, a swooning romance and the kind of authentic historical queer plot that I’ve come to love and expect from Cat Sebastian. 

I would perhaps have preferred for this to be a full-length novel instead of a novella, so the story and characters could have had some more developments and interactions, but all in all this was a highly enjoyable and wonderful read!

Rating:
4 stars

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This must be one of my favorite historical MM romances ever! Such a sweet and tender, slow burn, friends-to-lovers romance overshadowed by the constant fear of being found out, yet so full of hope and joy. We Could Be So Good is a true gem that I recommend with all my heart!

Set in the 1950s, this wholesome story follows the two young men, Nick Russo and Andy Fleming, who become unlikely friends at their newspaper work, despite all their differences. Nick with his rough Brooklyn background working as a criminal reporter and Andy, being the media mogul heir to take over the running of the entire newspaper. Nick, being sure of who he is and what he wants, but knowing the risks that entails, does all he can to hide his true self and not let anyone into his life. Not until freckled, gorgeous, earnest, clumsy and absolutely clueless Andy comes into his life and turns it upside down. Andy on his side struggles with heavy abandon issues and with finding his direction in life. And that thing about himself he might suspect he does all he can to suppress…

The characters in this book were amazing and so relatable. I immediately rooted for both Nick and Andy, they were so sweet and adorable and so real. I loved that the relationship developed slowly and with hesitation that felt true to the time. The yearning mixed with fear, the wanting mixed with anxiety, the hope mixed with tension was all too understandable considering the severe consequences of being found out, and made this love story even more epic and intense.

I also loved the secondary characters, and the wonderful found family they created, with Emily and her queer friends. Emily was such a wonderful, strong, courageous and fun best friend that always stood by Nick, and even Andy in the end. The way we got to see the creation of a queer community and their pride and support for each other made this book into both an important eye-opening story to tell about how queer love was forbidden, and the injustice in how society treated anyone falling outside the ordinary (especially anyone from the lower classes without good lawyer connections) and a swooning, sweet and emotional love story that took my breath away. It was a painful story about the struggles for the queer community in the past (and sadly still), but also such a hopeful and empowering tale about the power of love, found family and happiness. And the character growth, how Nick’s fear eventually lessens and how Andy grows in confidence and starts to stand up for what he truly wants, was amazing!

All in all, I absolutely loved this book, it really is one of the greatest romances I’ve read! Thank you so much for the recommendation, Nicole (Bookstagram  @nicolereadsmm), without it I might have missed this gem!

Rating:
5 stars

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Cat Sebastian