Queerly Beloved
Ratings6
Average rating3.8
15
Ratings6
Average rating3.8
A people-pleasing baker tries to find her place as a bridesmaid-for-hire. Will she finally find her happily ever after—and her own voice? “A delightful debut, perfect for any person who’s ever created their own place to belong.”—Casey McQuiston, bestselling author of Red, White & Royal Blue and One Last Stop FINALIST FOR THE LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Book Riot Amy, a semicloseted queer baker and bartender in mid-2010s Oklahoma, has spent a lifetime putting other people’s needs before her own. Until, that is, she’s fired from her job at a Christian bakery and turns her one-off gig subbing in for a bridesmaid into a full-time business, thanks to her baking talents, crafting skills, and years watching rom-coms and Say Yes to the Dress. Between her new gig and meeting Charley, the attractive engineer who’s just moved to Tulsa, suddenly Amy’s found something—and someone—she actually wants. Her tight-knit group of chosen family is thrilled that Amy is becoming her authentic self. But when her deep desire to please kicks into overdrive, Amy’s precarious balancing act strains her relationships to the breaking point, and she must decide what it looks like to be true to herself—and if she has the courage to try.
Reviews with the most likes.
How could I resist a baking book?? This book does a lot of things right. I was obsessed with gay bar. My favorite thing though is how the unreliable narrator is handled. I didn't feel lied to. It was more like the narrator was lying to herself because she was wrapped up in infatuation. One star removed since the ending feels a bit too convenient and pat.
Susie Dumond brings lots of humor to Queerly Beloved. There are many funny wedding incidents. Dumond brings historical significance to this story through the fight for marriage equality. This is one story that made me want to eat cake.
I received an ARC of this book and I am writing a review without prejudice and voluntarily.
Check out the rest of my review at Phoebe's Randoms. Link in bio.
I wanted to like this so much more than I did, but it's a great idea that doesn't quite live up to its promise. The story is pretty broadly drawn, and a lot of it lives in the narration rather than the actions or dialogue, so the characters don't feel as lived in as they could be. Selfishly, the hijinks and wacky missed connections take a bit to get going - there is more rom than com here, and I love crazy circumstances that lead to plot development. Essentially, there are two stories: Amy starts a business of her own (fine), and Amy comes out to herself and falls in love in the process (lovely, more sweet than funny) that both struggle to come together. Tulsa is also a character here; the author sells us on its charms and reminds us that coming out and being queer in the South is a different experience. I like what this book represents, but sadly I didn't love the book itself.
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