We Could Be So Good

I came here for the vibes, and I really enjoyed my time with this book. It does a fairly good job in capturing the feel of the time period it’s set in, and it’s as cozy as a queer romance set in the late fifties can reasonably be. I feel like I may be in the minority for connecting more with Nick than with Andy, but I liked both characters and the chemistry between them was sweet.

I did feel like there were a few pacing issues — it dragged a bit for me towards the middle, and I felt like we could have spent a little more time with Nick’s writing or the community he was finding at work. But on the whole I really enjoyed the historical details and felt it wrapped up better than I was expecting in the space leftover. I also loved the sense that these are just two people but they can contribute to dragging the world in a little bit brighter a future no matter its kicking and screaming.

4.25 ★

this was just SO good, i really loved it! it's always a gamble when reading about queer stories in the past while being historically accurate because if it was simply another world it's fine, but setting these stories in real life and what actually happened back then it's so much harder and i'm glad this book does it so well

andy is everything to me, i loved most of the characters, but he really is my favourite out of all. the way he thinks and how he approaches everything is amazing and i'm glad to see someone like him in a story like this one

Exactly the warm and lovely story I was looking for.

I loved this. It was a good story taking into account the time frame it was set in. It made me both happy and sad. Part of me wishes the characters get another book but I am aware that won't happen. Neither character deserved what they went through. I love that they can love each other on their own terms.

We Could Be So Good, in Cat Sebastian tradition, is a historical queer novel - set in New York in the late 1950s.

I really liked this book, but not as much as the Kit Webb and Marian Hayes novels. I really can't put my finger on what it actually is, because as a story this one is far stronger, has more depth and the characters feel richer. But as something to be enjoyed, I much prefer the others. Perhaps the struggles of queer folk in the 50s in NY seem a bit too close in time and make it feel way more real.

Either way, I did really enjoy this book. The characters were really nice, especially Andy. I kept comparing this novel to His Girl Friday, and I keep seeing Andy as being played by Cary Grant. We Could Be So Good is really sweet novel.

Re-read October 2023: Having read this book again during a physically and emotionally exhausting week of moving out of the house I lived in for 30 years, I can confirm that We Could Be So Good is a powerful antidote to stress and anxiety. Take when needed, repeat when necessary.

Original review: Every word of this was perfect. I will have a book hangover for weeks. Sebastian's best work to date is a beautiful, funny, hot and sweet romance between grumpy Nick (his colleagues have a running bet on whether he will smile more than twice a week) and sunshine Andy (ADHD-coded golden retriever of a guy whose idea of swearing is “rats” and maybe even “gosh”).

The love story takes place in 1958 New York City, when there is just starting to be some hope for queer people's right to be happy together and resistance against being forced to hide who they are. The surprising reactions of the MCs' family-by-blood, and the joy of family-by-choice make the HEA even more satisfying.

Sebastian had me at the first paragraph, in which Nick's gruff catalogue of Andy's faults demonstrates the feelings he can't admit to himself yet.

Nick Russo could fill the Sunday paper with reasons why he shouldn't be able to stand Andy Fleming. Not only is he the boss's son, but rumor has it he's only slumming it at the New York Chronicle city desk - a job Nick has been hungry for ever since he first held a newspaper in his hands - because his father threatened to cut off his allowance. He can't type. He roots for the Red Sox. He has no idea how to buy subway tokens. He has this stupid habit of biting his nails and then, realizing what he's doing, abruptly stopping and looking around furtively to check if anyone saw him. He blushes approximately five hundred times a day. He has a cluster of tiny freckles at the corner of his mouth shaped like a copy editor's caret and, since Nick can't stop looking at them, those freckles are going to ruin his career.