incredibly self-indulgent fanart of We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian. Nick and Andy I love you.

we could be so good 📰🚬

books I’ve read in 2023 📖 no. 068

We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian

“I love you…and I want to be with you, and that’s all there is to it. The rest is details. The rest is…administrative.”

Type Map for We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian

A portrait of Nick Russo + Andy Fleming done in colors inspired by the book cover. I adore this book so much, it’s one of my favorites of the year. 🥰

Bookomatica on Insta

Etsy Shop

Andy is me

i'm reading we could be so good by cat sebastian and oh man it has been a hot minute since i read a romance novel that i liked this much. screaming into my hands over these fucking dorks and their pining

This is how prototyping is going so far. We have made a little guy. Also, should I share some of the quotes from our meetings?

Queer reads: Cat Sebastian

Continuing my queer books you should read, for day 23, I bring you Cat Sebastian. 

Cat Sebastian writes historical romances, set in the 18th century, the 19th century, and the 20th century. I prefer her books set in the 20th century, by far. (I’ve read her other books, and I have a soft spot for The Queer Principals of Kit Webb, but I found the other ones... forgettable. Like, I read them all, and can’t remember the plots. So, uh, not my favorite.)

But these ones. These ones are excellent. 

The three Cabot books take place in the 1958 (I think?), 1960, and 1973 set in the US. They follow a person from the politically famous Cabot family (think the Kennedys), and three queer members who don’t quite fit into the family. Tommy Cabot Was Here and Peter Cabot Gets Lost are novellas that are more about the vibes than the plot, but I love everything about them. Daniel Cabot Puts Down Roots is a longer novel, and is also heavy on the vibes, light on the plot. But they’re so sweet, and so soft, and the writing is so good. (also, A+ on the spicy scenes). 

We Could Be So Good takes place in New York in 1959, and shows slice of life in the queer world before Stonewall. The two main characters are Nick and Andy, and they’re idiots for each other. I love them so much. I read this book when it popped up on my kindle at 10 PM the day before it was released (thank you time zones) and stayed up till 3 AM reading it. 

The Page & Sommers books are set in the UK post WWII, and are murder mysteries. Agatha Christie, but make it gay, according to Cat Sebastian’s website. Aside from the murder, it’s also sweet and soft, and James and Leo are also idiots about each other. 

If you haven’t read any Cat Sebastian, or you’ve only read the regency books, check these out. They’re so good. 

We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian Nick Russo has worked his way from a rough Brooklyn neighborhood to one of the city's biggest newspapers. But the late 1950s are a hostile time for gay men, and Nick knows that he can't let anyone into his life. He just never counted on meeting someone as impossible to say no to as Andy. View the full summary and rep info on wordpress or check it out for free from the Queer Liberation Library!

Review: We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Genre(s): Romance, period drama (The setting is 1950s New York)

Tropes: Friends to lovers, slow burn, found family

Rep: Gay Italian-American MC, bisexual and autistic love interest (It’s never directly stated that Andy is autistic, but it is made very, very clear that he is)

My Thoughts: This book, you guys. I love it so, so much. It was such a gentle, comforting read, like a cup of hot cocoa on a cold morning, and so very domestic.

The main thing I liked about this book was the domesticity of the relationship between Nick and Andy. I loved seeing them just exist together, cooking, shopping, having dinner parties with their friends, and even adopting a stray cat, and from the moment Andy moved into Nick’s apartment, it truly felt like the two of them were married, but didn’t know it yet. They do know it by halfway mark, however, despite living in a time period where they can’t get married, or even be public about their relationship without risking legal action, but by the end of the novel, all of their friends know that they’re together, and they’ve even built up a network of queer people at work. I also really liked exploring the complex relationships that Nick and Andy had with their families, with Andy being fiercely proud of his mother’s work, even though she was never there for him when she was alive, and his improving relationship with his father, who wasn’t much better in terms of parenting, but he’s one of the first to know, and accept that fact that Andy is in love with Nick, and he bonds with Andy much more as an adult. Meanwhile, Nick is firmly in the closet to everyone in his family, except for his cop brother, who very much does not approve of his sexuality, mainly because it puts his career at risk. He agrees to keep Nick’s sexuality, and his relationship with Andy a secret, but it is made very clear that he would prefer for Nick to be with a woman, if only because of his career as a cop being at risk.

Another thing I really liked was the handling of Andy’s relationship with his ex fiancée, Emily. Despite their relationship not working out, she remains very present in Nick and Andy’s lives, and there’s never any animosity between them. She, Nick, and Andy become genuine friends, and she’s arguably the most supportive of their relationship in their circle of friends.

Overall, this was a great read, and I would highly recommend it. If domestic gay fluff is what you’re into, this one is for you

new cat sebastian book so that’s my personality for the next month sorted

For now he reaches for Nick's hand.

Cat Sebastian, from We Could Be So Good

I had vacation and tooth surgery and thus a lot of time to be lazy! <3 A chunk of it I spent listening to the narrations of some creepypasta series. Though, honestly, I'm not sure they can be called that? They're more episodic paranormal stories. Yes, there's monsters running around and dangerous, maybe scary stuff going on, but they're also incredibly wholesome and soo sweet and very queer! So if you're into that, go look for the stories written by @02321 on r/nosleep and Youtube! My Name's Skyler, I'm a Freelance P.I. narrated by Baron Landred (the title on r/nosleep is I Work as a P.I and a Government Agent approached me to help with a case) and I Deliver Mail to Cryptids narrated by Animas. (And also a bunch of stories more set in the same universe of the Silver King.)

Now back to our regular books! We have 4 princes, 2 kings and 1 queen this month!

Banshee Blues (Nina Blazon): I'm in the editing process of my latest novel, which I'm writing in German, so I felt I should read a German, non-translated book for once. This was the only one in my pile but it is from my favourite German author, so all was well. I have a lot to thank her for. The first novel read from her was Der Dunkle Kuss der Sterne (The Stars' Dark Kiss) and that was the first time I liked first-person viewpoint! Her next book had split POV and different tenses and I had to admit it was done well. Banshee Blues was not quite up to par with her previous works but it went a few new directions than usual which was nice as well. It tried very hard to lead you astray with what's going on and who is evil and who isn't. And while I liked how things turned out between the two leads it would have been monumental to have them stay platonic.

The Fallen King's Penitent Soldier (Tales of the High Court 5) (Megan Derr): Sigh, it's been a ride. I had a good time with the whole series. I love the worldbuilding, really. But it is alright to end it here, while it's still good, you know. In a way, these five stories are all built very similar: Being kidnapped by bad guys, running from the bad guys or running after the bad guys for the first half and afterwards waiting to let other people sort it out. There's probably a limited amount of iterations you can go through while still be interesting. But for these five volumes it was fun! As for book 5 by itself, I think it's a good thing it comes so late in the series. Because it really takes its time. There's a lot introspection going on for the two protagonists which is okay because they go through a lot but it's also very long and sometimes not much else happens. I liked the two of them, I liked how religion was handled, I liked how it went full circle back to Allen's story. I liked the series. Good times. :)

Prince & Knight (Daniel Haack & Stevie Lewis): I wanted this for the pretty pictures. But apparently the universe didn't want me to? I ordered this last year already, but the package went on an odyssee through several cities without ever arriving at my home. I ordered it again this year and … the same thing happened?! 8D The odyssee was shorter this time, mind you, but … why again?! I tried a third time and ordered it for pick up at a local bookstore and that finally worked. Geez! It's a children's picture book so the story is as basic as it goes. Is it goo for children? I wouldn't know. The dragon doesn't die and it's very sweet and very pretty.

In all seinen Farben (Boy Queen) (George Lester): I had some exhausting weeks at work and thought I could use something inspirational. Something about finding your own way and shine. Which happens in this book but there's also a lot of drama going on and I was not prepared for the rock-bottom-hit in the beginning. xD I mean, it was written in the blurb but I've owned the book for a year why should I reread the blurb … I know nothing about drag or make-up or anything in that direction (I did watch like 15 minutes of the drag show at Comic Con Stuttgart last year but that hardly counts), so it was charming and interesting to read about.

We Could Be so Good (Cat Sebastian): I have to apologise to everyone on the waitlist for this at my library because I could have read it faster but … once I realised what sort of direction the 70% drama might take I had a tough time reading on. They were so happy and it was nice and I just did not want to suffer! I did assume, since the book goes out of its way to address how all queer books published during the mid of the last century would have to end badly (and the protagonist outright refusing to read them therefore), it would probably take a turn for a happy ending. That was the only hope that kept me going. If I had known any of the author's other work I maybe wouldn't have worried so much, because it's written in her bio already that she'll only write happy endings?! Well … So for anyone else fearing the drama of a book set in 1959: No queer person was harmed in this book! (Nothing major anyway.) I like the book, though! Enjoyed reading it. Nick and Andy are both sweet. But that fear did something to me, took me a while to recover. :'D

Prince & Assasssin (Perilous Courts 1) (Tavia Lark): I needed something simple for my fragile heart and it seems gay fantasy is my comfort read now in the same way my mom reads stuff named like "The Little Bakery at XYZ Street". And what should I tell you, yeah, there're men who are tenderly and not so tenderly intimate with each other, yeah yeah, but there's also giant talking cats! Giant talking cats! Also, I really like the author's writing style. It's so smooth! I started reading and didn't want to put it down anymore because it read so smoothly! The book itself was so much better than I had expected (which was basically nothing). It won't blow you off your feet but it's pretty enjoyable and surprisingly wholesome. Also the worldbuilding felt just right. I'm looking forward to reading the next volumes soon!

King of Immortal Tithe (Darkmourn 2) (Ben Alderson): Did I buy the expensive hardcover just because I like the illustration more than the one of the paperback? Why hello, that's me. So this is the second fae book I read this year. It's apparently a universal truth now that fae men are the most beautiful and well endowed beings on earth and beyond. Not that I mind, you do you, but why does fae anatomy work the same as humans' actually? Anyway, this is a stand-alone in a series of stories all set within the same universe. I like that concept. Hunting for pieces of lore is fun. Arlo is a feisty character so following him was enjoyable. The switch from enemy to lovers was kinda sudden like … I can see why but personally it still felt sudden. Also Faenir calling Arlo constantly Darling was not my taste but you know, if it's just that, I can overlook it. The twist at the end had me barking out evil laughter (which means approval). I did hold back reading the final chapter until I read the first volume as not to spoil any more! (While they are stand-alones the previous story is referenced in this one.)

Lord of Eternal Night (Darkmourn 1) (Ben Alderson): "He was so tall and his hands were so large and his length was so great and so thick my fingers couldn't touch reaching around it. He was not just a man, he was a god!" I laughed. That's not a literal quote, but a good summary. Yeah. I laughed. And while praising one guy he was also dissing his former lover, the baker's son, for not being as large. Not the poor lad's fault, no need to get mean! Should have known at that point already who was the true evil mastermind. :'P. But in all fairness, there is a little more going on in the story. And well, these books know very well what kind of fantasy they're catering. There's a short guy, a little crafty and feisty, not too weak, and the very tall, very beautiful guy who everyone says is evil, but turns out he isn't so evil, he just has a tragic past, he also falls very hard for the protagonist and oops, maybe he does have some capacity for evil. I did like how the story subverted who's good and who's bad like three times. Otherwise, it's not really complex. But I'm kinda into the ending.

Alpha of Mortal Flesh (Darkmourn 3) (Ben Alderson): The third installment in the series, they've been getting more elaborate with each volume. So instead of the 2 and 3 half characters we had in the first one, there's actually a whole cast in here with motivations and backstories. That was nice. The writing style, however, is still as … trying as hard as in the beginning. It's not bad, mind you, I commend it for trying to use the full range of the English language, but there's a lot of words, making everything longer than needed, and sometimes their choice is really weird. Example: "My tongue broke free. It slithered from the confines of my mouth." But it's just a normal human tongue licking something eagerly yet still very normally! And, they're indie books, yeah, but I do wish all three books would have gone through another round of editing. The unnecessary repetitions and errors made me suffer a little. And while I got a little bored and impatient at the end I do like the story and what it's trying to do. Just that it was trying too hard in some aspects of the writing and not hard enough in others.

That's it for July! Apparently, August will be library month again. My TBR bookshelf disapproves but duh. Let's go and have fun. :P

"But if you really want to know what about you made me consider whether I like men, and we're going to pretend that the fact that you're my best friend has nothing to do with it, then it's this spot here." He touches the dip in Nick's clavicle.

"That?" He'd been ready to hear about his shoulders or his arms, or even his ass. Those are the things that get mentioned. He's not exactly unaware of his own charms.

"Every time you loosen your tie or unbutton your shirt, I can't look away. I love that spot." He reaches up and kisses it. "I couldn't be in the same room as that spot without eventually considering whether I might be at least a little queer. And then when I moved in here, I saw it every day, because you don't understand shirts, and now I'm committed to lewdness and homosexuality. And probably communism. We'll find out, I guess."

MORE PAGE & SOMMERS!!!!!!! AND MORE WE COULD BE SO GOOD UNIVERSE!!!!!!!

a side effect of reading we could be so good by cat sebastian right after watching the 2021 remake of west side story (by which i literally mean i finished the movie, went "hey you know what else is set in 1950s new york city," and went to find the copy my sister got me for christmas to heal myself emotionally from the sad ending of that film) is that i'm weirdly attached to the idea of josh andrés rivera as nick russo and mike faist as andy fleming in a film adaptation