Queerly Beloved follows the story of Amy, a semi-closeted, baker after she is fired after being outed at work in early 2010s Oklahoma. Amy starts taking jobs as a "professional" bridesmaid to make ends while embracing her love for weddings in a time most of her friends couldn't get married. Amy works to navigate the balance of work, family, community and a blooming relationship.

This navigation was the part of this book the worked the best for me. The navigation of self to find happiness and safety in a place where not everyone cares about you felt well balanced and still kind. The importance of found family was beautifully established. The value on friendships and those created families was emphasized over the romantic and I loved that. On the other side, the main romantic story didn't click as much for me. I am not sure if it was when I read it or if it was the characters themselves, but I could not bring myself to root for Amy to end up with the girl. Still it was a fun read.

- QUEERLY BELOVED is a joy. It's a romcom with a delightfully screwball premise that also digs deep into some really hard, complicated feelings around queerness, assimilation, found family and more.
- I didn't live in the Midwest, but I remember having so many of these exact conversations and arguments in the pre-marriage equality days. It's cathartic to see so much of these tangled thoughts hashed out here.
- I love Amy and Charley. They're wonderful complements to each other, and it's fantastic to see a sapphic pairing that isn't two femmes.
- It's also lovely to see a queer story set somewhere that isn't traditionally thought of as gay-friendly, and showing that there is still vibrant queer life there, and not everyone is desperate to escape to a bigger city.

I really wanted to like this more than I actually did. It's cute enough. I'd compare it to a rom-com but it's not really. There's less focus on the rom and more focus on main character's growth. The romance is pretty blah for my tastes to be honest. But I think that comes from my lack of connection with the main character. I just do not like Amy. It's a personality clash. She does go through a lot. I do think she's a very human character. She's not a "bad" person, she really does genuinely love the people around her. There's a big fight towards the end with her best friend and I was FIRMLY on his side. He was right. Amy was selfish. Everything was somehow a reflection on her life and how undeserving a person she is and how empty the life she lives is. I was so emotionally exhausted reading it. She was NEVER not in her own head. She was always going down a worst case spiral in her mind. The romance was very surface, and I just never invested emotionally in it. Amy goes zero to sixty, but again, only in her own head. She tries SO hard to be who she thinks Charley wants that it ruins any moment of connection between them because it's not real. If I were Charley I would've pulled back too. It was too much! I don't think either of them knows the other well enough to drop the capital L word. I would've liked it way more without that to be honest. Reintroduce yourselves, end on the hint of "we'll try dating again". That I can get behind. ALL THIS SAID THOUGH - She does have a real awakening at the end about why all of this takes place, and why she behaved the way she did. It's addressed, amends are made where needed, etc etc. GROWTH we love to see it. It really does redeem her a bit. This book is also very preachy, which while valid is also an...awkward? weird? choice. It was a bit confusing to be reading arguments/lectures for why same-sex marriage should be legal and accepted when it already is? I know a majority of the book takes place before it was, but it would feel way different if it had been published then vs now. I'm willing to bet that the majority of those who read this is will already believe and support the right to be legally married so it's like you're preaching to the converted on why they already agree with you? You know what I mean? Maybe it just felt clunky. It didn't work for me for whatever reason. On the other hand, it makes complete sense why it would get such focus given the character's new career journey she embarks on. But I don't think this was a waste of time. I don't regret having read it. I think the writing over all was good. It didn't feel like I was forcing myself to slog through. There's real potential and promise. I think others will enjoy this type of story more than I do personally. So I do think there is an audience for it.

fun, charming, queer book less about the romance and more about the friendships and self discovery; well done!

This review will be published on 4/28/2022 on Unabridged-adventures.com


Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for letting me read an e-ARC of Queerly Beloved by Susie Dumond.

I was incredibly excited to read this book, I love to use romance novels as a palate cleanser to all the incredibly long fantasy and sci-fi books I usually read and a queer romance set in the bible belt felt wonderfully close to my experiences living in Missouri. Having said that, this book has been one of my biggest disappointments of the year.

There are so many problems with it that I’m going to have to split this review up into different parts to make sure I cover everything properly.

Genre
First off, this is not a romance. It might be advertised as one but there is no relationship development between Amy and her love interest Charley. They meet in the first chapter and proceed to go on dates every few chapters, instantly fall in love, and that's it. Charley gets no character development and isn’t actually a very big part of Amy’s character development. I honestly think it would be more accurate to shelve this in historical fiction. For those of you that are still considering picking this up in hopes of some steamy scenes, look elsewhere, this is a fade to black book. Normally that wouldn’t be an issue for me but I was hoping to be distracted from the plot for a while.

Characters
We are essentially told who each of the characters are but never really get to see their individuality or personality shine through and those that do stay static throughout the entire book. Amy is introduced as a people-pleasing social chameleon but the main character that we actually get is very anxious and self-absorbed. When one of Amy’s friend calls her out for being selfish, she storms off and that friend eventually apologizes and says they were wrong. They weren’t. Amy spends so much time focused on herself that she comes close to even ruining some of the weddings she’s been hired for.

I still cannot tell Joel and Damian apart, it’s like the author was told that having a gay best friend is too cliche so her fix was to give Amy two gay best friends that are interchangeable. The characters of color exist to be woke in the background so that Amy doesn’t have to, she never confronts her privilege as a straight passing white lesbian while complaining about how hard it is to live in a red state. Charley, the love interest, gets zero character development; we know the same about her at the beginning of the book as we do at the end. She is completely absent for the majority of the book and the relationship between them is incredibly instalovey.

Plot
This plot wasn't terrible. I think the main issue stems from the genre confusion. Romance follows a specific plotline with common beats, the meet-cute, the third-act break-up, the happily ever after, but this book can’t decide whether it’s a romance or not. So instead, it hits some of the right beats at the wrong time and skips others entirely. Amy’s journey from being a baker to being a bridesmaid is a bit of an odd one and at times it’s very clear that something happened because the author needed it to and not because it made any sense. Things between Charley and Amy were so lowkey that I feel like the third act break up happened more between her and the idea of marriage equality than between the two women.

Time Period
Queerly Beloved is set somewhere around 2013-2014 which can be extrapolated from the fact that it is described as mid-2010’s but same-sex marriage has not been federally legalized in the United States (something that is unnecessarily fixated on by almost all characters). I was baffled by the author’s decision to set the book during this period, especially when it is clear that this is a time that the author does not remember fondly. It never really makes sense and gives the book overall a very dated feeling. At times it literally felt like going backward in terms of representation, it so accurately achieved the feel of 2014 bible belt that I was waiting to get queerbaited the whole time.

The Bible belt is still difficult to navigate as a queer person in 2022, attitudes don’t automatically change because the Supreme Court said we could get married. The focus on marriage really reminded me of people that think same-sex marriage is the be-all and end all of queer rights. Amy and her friends spend so much of this book complaining about the lack of marriage equality while doing absolutely nothing to change it which leaves me feeling oddly preached at despite the fact that this is not a major issue anymore. We as a community face so many more issues on the daily than whether or not we can get married that this book ends up feeling tone-deaf and ignorant. Not to say that marriage equality isn't incredibly important, had this book been written in 2015 it would have made sense to focus on this groundbreaking ruling but it's not 2015 and we are facing different issues.

Amy's change of heart about marriage equality doesn't seem to be her realizing that it is just another step in the right direction but her being upset that she isn't immediately getting married and being fully accepted by everyone. Her expectations for everything feel unrealistic. The book seems to condemn the idea of staying closeted to work, Amy blames herself and feels ashamed about how she has to be closeted to work, even other characters tell her that she should come out when she isn't sure how her bosses will react. She compares her situation in a very stereotypically feminine job to that of her butch girlfriend's in a stereotypically masc job and then feels like a coward for not coming out. It is possible that the author is trying to make a comment to the opposite effect but it didn't come across that way.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story is solidly okay. The writing is good, but not great. The dialogue gets a little dicey at times but is really good at others. The plot moves very slowly, dragging in spots, and then rushes the ending.

The diversity of representation here is lovely. Obviously it's weighted more heavily on the queer side of things but the straight characters are diverse, too. Seeing multigenerational queer interactions was a nice touch. I appreciate stories that bring history in an organic way like that.

I imagine the setting is well done, as well. I have no experience living in a red state, especially not one as conservative as Oklahoma, so I can't totally speak to that but it seems pretty accurate from what friends tell me. And the struggles the characters face are ones that queers across the country still face to this day, to varying degrees. The story and setting felt like it was both in the past and very much present day.

The main reason I didn't rate this higher is that Amy is not great as a character. She's annoying and self-centered. Everything is told from her point of view so we only get wrapped up in her neuroses. She's a mess and acts rather young, younger than the rest of the characters who are supposedly her age. That combined with the molasses-like plot made for a weird disconnect. I skimmed parts because I just wanted to keep moving.

What it all boils down to is that I found this to be okay, but not really the story for me.

I wanted to like this book. I adore the Written in the Stars series and was looking forward to this based on the summary. It had too much going on. Was it about Amy and Charley's romance? Was it about Amy being outed at her conservative workplace? Was it about Amy's bridesmaid for hire business?

Amy wasn't likeable because her personality was all over the place. Charley had zero personality. I felt no chemistry between the two of them. Charley came to Amy's work, Amy served her, and insta-love. The book as a whole was a lot of that English class critique of 'telling and not showing'. It was lots of narrative, very little feeling like I was experiencing things with them and no emotional build up. With the conversations about gay marriage and getting the right to marry, when it came up, it felt more lecture-like instead of feeling like nature conversation. Whenever it was brought up, it was part of a speech someone was giving.

The side characters all seemed under-developed and fulfilling different stereotypes.

All in all, it was a book sounded like it had promise but ultimately disappointed.

I love LGBTQA reads, especially when its a rom-com. But seeing that it really was not a rom-com more of Amy finally finding herself as a gay woman in Oklahoma, was even more inspiring. Amy is such a fun character, and I loved her, and all of her friends, and even Charly, who I thought was going to be the ROMANCE, but there wasn't, I had a hard time connecting with their relationship, which is fine, Amy's fun ways compensated for the lack of romance. Aside from everything else, it was more of an inspirational book about a woman in a town that's predominantly Christian, who is a lesbian, finally is able to express that without shame and trying to live her best life and not settling for less.

Thanks Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Pub date 5/3/22,
Genre: romcom
In one sentence: In 2013 Oklahoma, Amy is a queer semicloseted baker and bartender living a quiet life - until engineer Charley shows up and turns her life upside down.

This book is so much more than a romance - I loved following Amy's journey. Her wedding planning/fake bridesmaid business made me laugh really hard. I also liked her found family at queer bar Ruby Red's. There are some darker elements to the story - forced outing, intolerance, and marriage bans - so be aware of that going in, but the overall tone of the story kept me smiling!

If you've enjoyed recent queer food romances like Love and Other Disasters and Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake, I bet you'll enjoy this one!

Thank you to Ballantine Books for providing a NetGalley ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Review posted to Goodreads and Instagram 4/27/22.

I loved reading this book! I love a good romance book and this one was no different. The main character, Amy, was navigating her way through a heteronormative world to fulfill her love of love. I think this book is a great read for anyone and gives great insight into the LGBTQ+ community.

When I saw the cover of this book and read the synopsis I was expecting a light-hearted rom com and was really excited! The book started off wonderfully and I loved getting to know Amy. I also loved the way Amy and Charlie meet and the cake mishap at Amy's cousins wedding had me laughing out loud. From there though the story is more about Amy's glow up and less about the romance. The dynamic between her and Charlie has so much potential but it fell a little flat for me. I also really loved the dynamics Amy has with her friends and there could have been more developed there as well. If you are looking for less romance and more women's fiction, this is a book for you.

I loved this book!! I loved Amy and all of her chosen family. I loved the diversity in community that she had. Mom getting a happy ending was just great too! I really wish the book was a bit spicier.

I thought the author did a good job touching on various parts of queerness. I think Amy’s struggle with this is so real and raw. Its unfortunate that we live in such a heteronormative society where everyone is straight until proven otherwise. Amy also struggled with working in multiple industries that do not support queer people. I love how she was able to take back some of that power in the epilogue and the inclusion of how much growth we still have to do.

Trigger Warnings: Religion, Southern Baptist, homophobia, alcohol, past break-up/cheating, firing, sex toys, sex, racism, alcoholism, past drunk driving/car crash, HIV+, vomit, accidental outing, conversion camp, smoking, cursing

Representation: Lesbian, Black, They/them pronouns, various LGBT+ minor characters, HIV positive characters, Drag

Queerly Beloved is a contemporary romance about Amy, the Christian baker by day and lesbian bartender by night. This balance is the key to Amy’s success at making rent and training to become a great baker. When Amy is fired after she is outed, she turns her accidental bridesmaid gig into a flourishing business. Her success is then halted short when she is broken up with and loses her best friends in one foul swoop.

Aww I loved this book!! I loved Amy and all of her chosen family. I loved the diversity in community that she had, as well as her “rebellious” mother. Mom getting a happy ending was just great too! I really wish not every book needed to have a main character break up with their friends but this one wasn’t as annoying as other stories with similar plots.

I thought the author did a good job touching on various parts of queerness. When you’re queer, you don’t get to just announce it one time then never come out again. We have to constantly come out. I think Amy’s struggle with this is so real and raw. Its unfortunate that we live in such a heteronormative society where everyone is straight until proven otherwise. Amy also struggled with working in multiple industries that do not support queer people. I love how she was able to take back some of that power in the epilogue and the inclusion of how much growth we still have to do.

I got an ARC of this book.

I made it two chapters and I can't imagine continuing. Finding the energy to read is already hard right now (not the fault of this book), so I am just calling it. I won't finish this book and in a few days I will forget I ever tried.

It is trying so, so hard to be a romcom, but it is just coming across awkward and stilted. The number of times the word Christian and Oklahoma are used in chapter one is just surprising. The wedding is awkward and not in a charming or fun way. It was just weird dick jokes and then drinking with strangers. I ended up reading lines out loud to my partner last night to show how stilted everything was and that helped, but it still wasn't enough to want to continue.

Queerly Beloved takes place during the fight for marriage equality and it is a main focus of the story. Amy came out to her family and friends, once. She never figured that coming out could end up being a daily process instead of a one and done. The events that Amy lives through while coming to the realization that she needs to live life as her authentic self is the focus of Queerly Beloved.

This journey takes us through many weddings, fights with friends, and discussions with family about what it means to be gay today and how getting married reflects these circumstances. I had to re-read the synopsis because at first I was thinking I was reviewing a romance by the view of the cover. It does have some romance in it, but the heart of the tale is Amy’s path to self-awareness.

Amy’s growth as a person has to do with more than where she stands as a lesbian in the world. She grows as a friend through her disagreements with her current friends. She finds a career or two during her journey. And she also finds love. (I actually am not a fan of the romance part of the storyline.)

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.

Amy was working in a Christian based bakery called The Daily Bread in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She was working as Amelia because she thought it seemed like a good straight name. She couldn’t be honest at work because the company didn’t want anything to do with gays. She was really great at baking and knew that she would love to own her own bakery someday. Then one day in walks Charley who Amy struck up a conversation with and they clicked. Then just out of the blue Donna Young the owner fired her because someone had ratted her out. So Amy is struggling trying to figure out what to do next because she is also helping with some of her Mom’s recent medical bills, her car breaks down in front of the bakery saved day she got fired. Amy calls her best friends Joel and Damien and they rally around her trying to cheer her up while also bouncing ideas off of each other on jobs!

Amy decides she is going to rent herself out as a bridesmaid to basically keep things under control at weddings so the bride can be carefree. I love how Amy could come to the rescue for lots of people she didn’t even know but yet Amy struggled with the emotions of not be truthful, not coming out to certain people for the fear of their reactions and the way Charley ghosted her. If Charley, Joel and Amy would have been truthful to each other things would have been so different. This was a good story but the emotions were so hard to read because people need to be more understanding and this world might be a better place!

I received this ARC from Netgalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Queerly Beloved 🧁
Author: Susie Dumond
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5

Amy is a lesbian woman who gets into professional bridesmaiding in Tulsa, Oklahoma before the legalization of gay marriage. The story follows her own growth and dealings with the cognitive dissonance of working in a straight industry as a queer woman. (And it’s also a romcom!)

Something I loved:
I appreciated the author’s emphasis on coming out not being a one time thing. Amy had to discover how she wanted to present herself and embrace her identity, and it was not a one-size-fits-all process. Her character and her found family were all so easy to love and root for.

Something I felt “meh” about:
Lots of pieces of the book were clearly just the authors feelings/understanding of queer issues being used as random plot points/pieces of dialogue. I agree with her perspectives - I just wanted it to feel a little less like a lecture at times and more like the cute/nuanced story it was.

That said, we have a lot of anti LGBTQ legislation (especially for the trans community) on the table rn and challenges faced in this book are still very real, despite thankfully being less prevalent than they were in 2013.

Overall, it was a lovely story full of super likable characters, and I’m happy I read it. I will definitely check out Dumond’s next book 🌈🧁

Set in 2013 Oklahoma, Queerly Beloved follows Amy, a queer baker trying to make ends meet, live by her principles, and survive by passing as straight at her job. There she meets Charley, a cute engineer, and the two are set on their romantic path together.

I really liked this book! I will say that it's way more contemporary fiction than romance and I think that's why I liked it so much. Romance isn't always my cup of tea! I liked Amy as a character and enjoyed seeing her growth throughout the book. I also identified with her in trying to navigate relationships, her morals, and building a career. I liked Oklahoma as a setting and that the the plot went into religion and marriage as an institution and what it can mean for the LGBTQIA+ population, especially at that time. I was in college in 2013 but as I was reading the book it really felt like quite a long time ago.

Overall, I definitely recommend this book! Just go into it knowing it's not SUPER romance heavy. Romance is there, but not the main focus. 5/5 stars from me! Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the electronic advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Trigger warning: Homophobia, especially of the religious variety

I want to start off by saying I liked this book, and I liked the romance, but this book was not a romance. This book was a coming-of-gay story about a lesbian in a red state working in a homophobic wedding industry pre-gay marriage legalization. The whole book was about her being gay and trying to reconcile being proud of who she is while working in an industry where she's forced to closet herself for a paycheck. The romance was sprinkled throughout but it was not the primary focus of the story. I would have liked more romance, to be honest. Also there was no steam which is a personal preference and doesn't color my review but it was just one more thing I would have liked more of. I enjoyed the book but it wasn't what I was looking for nor what I was in the headspace for at the time. The message is a very important one but it was A LOT and I think the same message could have been conveyed, maybe even more powerfully, if it was a bit more subtle so the message didn't overwhelm the story. I also just really liked Charley and Amy as a couple and I'm sad we didn't get to experience more of their relationship blossoming. 3.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley, author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

We need more queer romance and this was perfect! Very closed doors, so the perfect intro to queer romance. I love an own voices story, it really allows me to understand the perspective and you can feel the genuineness through the writing. Super cute title and cover always helps :)

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.