This book was a delight. The characters are some of my absolute favorites. Cyril Avery (not a real Avery) is gay, but he unfortunately grows up in Ireland when it's illegal (an actual crime) to be gay.

Maybe I'm just bad at history that isn't American (probably, unfortunately) but I had no idea that priests were almost royalty and being gay was illegal in Ireland. This book follows Cyril and a cast of other amazing characters through his life as he comes to terms with his identity.

Cyril is the adopted son of Charles and Maude Avery, who are extremely detached parents but still good providers. Cyril realizes he's gay very young, and starts his life fighting it until he realizes he has to be himself if he ever wants to be happy at all.

The character development is outstanding. The writing is witty but touching. This book was a slow burn for me... it took me awhile to believe the hype. My only complaint about this book is that it felt a bit unbalanced. I would have liked less time at the beginning of Cyril's life and more towards the middle and the end. I think the beginning was a bit slow... although maybe it was intentional for character and story development.

This book eventually did live up to the hype surrounding it. I would definitely recommend it - it's one of my favorites this year.