Abroad: Book One

This was sweet! I loved how diverse the characters were—racially, culturally, and across the LGBTQ spectrum. The main group was so supportive and protective of each other, and they talked things out and were always cognizant of each other's personal boundaries and needs.

The pacing felt a little off, and this is kinda nitpicky but...I didn't love how often the characters drank and used alcohol as ‘liquid courage.' Like yeah they're in college but it still felt a little excessive.

Very promising debut novel about a group of college students in London. The plot gets moving when Nick, a young Russian-Jewish man who immigrated to the American Midwest as a boy, embarks on his lifelong dream to study in England and becomes involved with the other characters. There is a very slow-burn romance between Nick and Dex, which is complicated by the fact that Nick can't even admit to himself that he is gay. There's also a force of nature in the character of Izzy, who takes Nick under her wing but has her own love life problems to address. There's also Jonny, whose family rejected him when he came out as trans, and Natali, whose family was also less than accepting when she told them she was a lesbian.

Readers looking for a heavy focus on romance may be disappointed, as the Nick/Dex story takes a backseat frequently to other characters' issues. They do get a lovely HFN, but another character is left with a cliffhanger ending. The author mentions in her acknowledgements that she wrote this book while in graduate school, so I don't know how quickly she will release a sequel, but I would definitely seek it out.