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ARC received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Minor quibble out of the way, first of all - this is not a rom-com. It's definitely a com, and a laugh-out-loud funny one at that, but rom it is not. Sure, there's some rom in it, but if you're expecting a narrative arc rooted in rom as well as com, then I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. I was expecting that, so I was a little disappointed on that front, but the rest of it more than made up for that.
Still, this book warmed the cockles of my November-shrivelled heart in ways I didn't expect. On the surface, it's the story of Ally, dumped by her long-term girlfriend and forced to move back in with her dad, her whole life exploded into irredeemable shrapnel from the force of her girlfriend's tragic betrayal, and her attempts to both better herself and prove to her ex that she's doing so. At its heart, though, it's the story of Ally learning who she is outside of her relationship, and rebuilding herself as a whole entire person without leaning on someone else.
One of the strongest things in this book, in my very subjective opinion, was how flawed everyone is. Every character feels real in a way that made me want to instantly befriend them all (and also shake some sense into most of them, except for Sophie and Charlie, who are perfect and I would die for them.) Ally makes some abysmal decisions, and, as the book goes on, it becomes clear that her ex is not, in fact, an evil tyrant who dumped Ally for no reason. We learn this along with Ally, and it felt very authentic to see the truth of the situation come into view at the same time she does. I'm always a fan of books where the protagonist is allowed to be messy and to make mistakes, and to do deeply questionable things; I don't believe a character should be forced to be likeable at all times. Real people aren't. Ally was still a deeply sympathetic character, even when she was being a real idiot, and that's the mark of great writing; I never stopped rooting for her.
It also just so happens to be absolutely hilarious. Some of the one-liners, particularly Jeremy's, made me snort in a deeply unattractive way. Malcolm is perhaps the greatest cat in literature of all time, and I don't say that lightly, as someone who has read an actually quite embarrassing amount of books just because they mention a cat in the blurb. You can tell this book was written by a cat owner, and I mean that as a the highest compliment. This book has been marketed as something of an adult version of the Georgia Nicholson series by the late and great Louise Rennison, and although I don't think it has quite the same feral, manic energy as that series does, it does share the tendency to make you laugh like a lunatic, and also a fantastic cat.
Really, although it's not an established genre, this is a queer friendship comedy and a bit of a love letter to the communities formed by queer people everywhere, to the chosen families we create for ourselves. A hom-com? I've got nothing.
Minor quibble out of the way, first of all - this is not a rom-com. It's definitely a com, and a laugh-out-loud funny one at that, but rom it is not. Sure, there's some rom in it, but if you're expecting a narrative arc rooted in rom as well as com, then I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. I was expecting that, so I was a little disappointed on that front, but the rest of it more than made up for that.
Still, this book warmed the cockles of my November-shrivelled heart in ways I didn't expect. On the surface, it's the story of Ally, dumped by her long-term girlfriend and forced to move back in with her dad, her whole life exploded into irredeemable shrapnel from the force of her girlfriend's tragic betrayal, and her attempts to both better herself and prove to her ex that she's doing so. At its heart, though, it's the story of Ally learning who she is outside of her relationship, and rebuilding herself as a whole entire person without leaning on someone else.
One of the strongest things in this book, in my very subjective opinion, was how flawed everyone is. Every character feels real in a way that made me want to instantly befriend them all (and also shake some sense into most of them, except for Sophie and Charlie, who are perfect and I would die for them.) Ally makes some abysmal decisions, and, as the book goes on, it becomes clear that her ex is not, in fact, an evil tyrant who dumped Ally for no reason. We learn this along with Ally, and it felt very authentic to see the truth of the situation come into view at the same time she does. I'm always a fan of books where the protagonist is allowed to be messy and to make mistakes, and to do deeply questionable things; I don't believe a character should be forced to be likeable at all times. Real people aren't. Ally was still a deeply sympathetic character, even when she was being a real idiot, and that's the mark of great writing; I never stopped rooting for her.
It also just so happens to be absolutely hilarious. Some of the one-liners, particularly Jeremy's, made me snort in a deeply unattractive way. Malcolm is perhaps the greatest cat in literature of all time, and I don't say that lightly, as someone who has read an actually quite embarrassing amount of books just because they mention a cat in the blurb. You can tell this book was written by a cat owner, and I mean that as a the highest compliment. This book has been marketed as something of an adult version of the Georgia Nicholson series by the late and great Louise Rennison, and although I don't think it has quite the same feral, manic energy as that series does, it does share the tendency to make you laugh like a lunatic, and also a fantastic cat.
Really, although it's not an established genre, this is a queer friendship comedy and a bit of a love letter to the communities formed by queer people everywhere, to the chosen families we create for ourselves. A hom-com? I've got nothing.