I wanted to love this book SO badly! Everything about it sounds heartwarming and so sweet, but this book fell a bit short for me.

I think a big issue is that the book is marketed as a rom-com. I went into the book expecting exactly that, and I was disappointed when I didn't get a lot of romance or comedy. The characters are well-written, and it is a very character-driven story. It just seemed lacking because I wanted more romance and more development in the relationship!

I'm not a huge fan (okay- not a fan AT ALL) of insta-love, and this book had too much of that trope for my liking. Had it not been marketed as a rom-com, I know I would have enjoyed it more!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book is an incredibly character driven story centering around Amy in Oklahoma in 2013 and 2014. Amy goes by Amelia when she works at a very religiously conservative bakery. She is Amy to her friends and family, she is openly out in certain circles and is proud to be a lesbian in the Bible Belt.

She is outed from her job at the bakery and in a desperate attempt to make ends meet she decides to become a professional bridesmaid. She handles everything and anything the brides needs to have done and she gets paid well to do it. She feels happy making money but she’s unsatisfied not being completely out to her clients.

Amy spends a lot of this book feeling guilt for not being out in her professional life. She has a hard time rectifying her love of weddings and the love they entail for the happy couples when she knows that the people in the queer community can’t be legally married. There’s a lot of shame from her (and sometimes her friends) for openly supporting straight weddings which adds a lot of weight to her conscience.

Throughout all of this Amy meets Charley, a hot lesbian who just moved from Texas. They are polar opposites: Amy being a sweet feminine baker and Charley being a more masculine engineer. Sparks fly almost instantaneously between the two and it’s easy to tell that Amy has fallen very hard.

Here’s my issue with their relationship: it’s hard to fall for a love interest when they aren’t in the story very much. Charley pops up periodically but they go for weeks at a time without speaking or seeing each other. More often than not things end on a weird note and I just didn’t feel the over powering chemistry between these two. Amy definitely felt more interested and invested than Charley ever did. Charley just showed up when it was convenient and easy and never put in the extra work, that doesn’t work for me.

I want time to fall in love with characters and this book just didn’t give me the time to really let me love them as a couple. Amy was delightful but I never felt like I got to know anything about Charley. What are her hobbies? Who are her friends? What are her dreams and aspirations in life? I never got to know anything besides her job and that she has 4 siblings. I need more from a romantic interest than this book gave me.

This book has a lot of great information for people starting out their journey trying to become more educated in LGBTQ+ rights. There’s a lot of talk about rights, privileges, and queer people in general and it spend a lot of time discussing issues that are unique to the queer community. Because of this, sometimes it felt like I was reading a manual instead of a badass love story between lesbians finding their way together in a place that doesn’t make them feel wanted or accepted.

I think this book will have a huge impact on young queer kids as they are coming out and trying to rectify their past beliefs with who they are now. I think it shows the power of found family and how people can find happiness if they choose to be their authentic selves. However I wouldn’t necessarily brand this as a romance novel.

I enjoyed this book. The plot was easy to follow and the characters were well developed. I would recommend this book and author to others.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for the ARC & opportunity to read this book.

It didn't work for me. DNF at 40%. This really needed to be advertised as fiction. Hardly any romance...the love interest is not mentioned/forgotten for chapters upon chapters. I hate to say it but it was also quite boring. I do very much appreciate the message the author was trying to convey, but I just feel like the way the book was marketed (as a romcom) was detrimental. Had I gone into this book knowing what to expect (NOT a romcom), I probably would have enjoyed it more.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this book with semi-high expectations, as the premise sounded fun and like an interesting setup. And it was. However, the characters besides Amy were fairly two dimensional, and that made it difficult to get invested in the story overall.
An example of this are Amy’s friends, Joel and Damian, who were relegated to the encouraging best friend role for most of the story. When there was conflict between them and Amy, my investment was on behalf of Amy, when these two characters were literally main characters for the 70% of the book before then.

There were also points where I felt like the writing was doing a lot of telling rather than showing, which also made it difficult to get into the story.

Overall, these two complaints were not enough to make me dislike the book, but instead have an incredibly neutral opinion.

It’s great to read queer romance, especially set in the more conservative towns in America. Ilove the queer chosen family aspect, it was very relatable to my own queer experience. I also loved the gay bar as a gathering place feel. I remember going to my local gay bar when gay marriage was passed like they did in the book. But the story felt a little predictable, and took a bit to get into. There were also a lot of scenes that felt like a debate instead of dialogue or queer theory lecture instead of plot. A lot of those topics are familiar to me, though, so I can see how it would be more beneficial for someone who isn’t a progressive queer person to hear the ideas. Overall, it was a decent weekend read and would be a good beach read.

Posted on GoodReads

There were a lot of things I liked about this book. I love the representation, I loved that it showed lgbt characters in the the mid west or south of the American (because those are places that don't usually accept anything different--such as different ethnicities or sexual orientation), and I ending up really liking that this didn't take place in what would be today (2022) but in the mid 2010's. That was an aspect I didn't think I'd care for but I liked it. I loved the family aspect and the authenticity the characters beliefs or way of life was. I think this an eye opening book and I hope people really enjoy it.

I think the mismarketing of this book will ultimately be its biggest downfall, as the cover and description make it seem super romcom-y, but the book isn't really like that. it deals with hard hitting topics many older queers will find painfully relatable, about being queer before marriage inequality in a conservative place, which is a much heavier plot that what I was expecting based off the cover and synopsis. I also think the characters beside the main character weren't given much depth, and reminded me of stereotypical, 1 dimensional caricatures with little interesting background/personality traits. I think the romance lacked depth. Overall this needs to be marketed as women's fiction--I think more people will enjoy it that way and it will find the right audience.

Special thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc of this book.

Ok so i went into this expecting a romcom but it is definitely not that. The romance is there but it definitely takes a back seat to personal growth and acceptance, friendship, and what it was like to be queer before marriage equality in the Bible Belt. I struggled with Amy. She was a people pleaser but also extremely self-centered. The only part of the book that felt truly romcom was the epilogue.

DNF.

I’m always excited to find a sapphic romance, but I just couldn’t get into this. It seems cute enough, though the characters all struck me as a bit stereotypical. Much too insta-love for my taste, and definitely felt like it was trying to be too serious despite being advertised as a rom-com.

Thank you for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had high expectations for this book, and I was extremely disappointed. The romance lacked chemistry. Charley was your stereotypical suave, butch lesbian. Which I’m not complaining about, but she had no storyline or development whatsoever. The gay side characters were just your typical GBFs. They were too stereotypical. And our main character’s storyline just didn’t feel relatable. It felt as though she was forcing the commentary, yet it wasn’t even well done. Yes, there needs to be books written about those who have experienced homophobia, especially before gay marriage was legalized. Those stories do need to be uplifted. But this just lacked for me. This book needs a million trigger warnings for church trauma and homophobia. This book needs to be reworked. It also needs to stop being advertised as a fun, queer romcom, when I just felt awkward and depressed the whole book. I would’ve much rather read a queer romcom than whatever this was.

Thought this was going to be more romancey. Characters were all over the place or very under-developed and shallow. Promising idea but the executions was not there for me.

⭐️.25 stars (rounded down to 1)

The cover was so cute and super interesting premise, but that’s where my liking ended. This book was a HUGE let down. I would categorize it more as women’s fiction than romance. The book did not give 2013 until the author said it, so that says a lot. The romance was unbelievable, Lacked chemistry and was insta-lovey. Chock full of stereotypes and thrown in identities, and just way too long. The author attempted to tackle some important convos surrounding being queer in Tulsa and the institution of marriage as a queer person but the discussion was poorly executed.

Thanks to NetGalley and RandomHouse for sharing this book with me in exchange for my honest review!

This one just missed the mark for me. It did have some romance, some personal growth, some commentary on important issues but fell flat at all those. I don't judge a likability of a book but the characters but I had a hard time connecting with any of these characters. Mostly the editing and pacing of this book felt off - the reader wouldn't have known it was 2014 until midway through the book, and if legalizing gay marriage was a central part of the specific state policy status of that should have been introduced before nearly the end. Time skipped around at random for what scenes to include, or which to brush over. For example ending a section with Amy having to kiss a stranger while playing straight was a great lead into another chapter but the author skips over it and we don't get to feel Amy's anxiety about that, instead focusing a hurt ankle from dancing on the bar. Also not super important but the throwaway line about "Did Betty White die" was ill-timed.

I think this author has crafted a good plot and has something to say with their unique perspective, I just wish this story was a little more refined.

This was a lovely read - it aimed right for my heart and hit true.

The mid 2010’s vibes were immaculate and I was absolutely loving her friends and the found family she’s acquired. The heavy Christian tones really hit home in a way that made me have to put the book down for a second.

I think my main issue is that this book is being heavily marketed as a romcom and it absolutely reads more as a contemporary with romance subplot. This is completely fine but readers are being told one thing and receiving another which can affect their experience.

I am going to see if I can bake my own cupcakes and preorder my own copy of this so it can join my shelf !

I received an e-arc copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Solid 3 star rating. I'm glad I read this book, but not sure there was anything overly groundbreaking with it either. The premise is our MC Amy is a gay young adult living in ultra-conservative Oklahoma. She is trying to live independently by working two jobs, one as a baker in a Christian-owned bakery and the other at a gay bar. She meets a cute lesbian, Charley, at work at the bakery and they start to become friendly with one another. Shortly after meeting Charley, Amy gets fired from the bakery because the owner finds out she is gay. Oh, also this takes place in 2013 I believe, so some equality laws haven't been passed yet. She then attends a friend's wedding, and while there comes to the rescue with a caketasrophe and saves the groom's cake (this scene is funny). This leads her to coming up with the idea of being a bridesmaid for hire, and she starts a fledgling business, where she is hired to help brides on their special day as an "undercover" bridesmaid to assist and keep the bride calm.

The book is cute, and there is a lot going on--friendship, dating, gay culture, found family, strong friendships. But the conflicts seemed a little soft, and it felt like if people actually talked to each other then things wouldn't have been so "tense". Amy's best friend doesn't speak to her for months due to a mild disagreement. For the length of their friendship, this seemed Doubtful. Charley seems kind of hot and cold as a love interest and though I like them together they didn't really seem like a OTP. Amy as a main character is nice and all, but also a bit emotionally immature for her age.

I loved the idea of some of the settings (Ruby Red's bar sounds amazing!) and most of the characters were well developed. The writing is fine--not too flowery, not underdeveloped, but straightforward. There just was a lot going on in this book and I feel like it would have been stronger if maybe a little more editing had been done. If you are looking for a F/F romance with a lot of weddings and bachelorette duties, this is a solid one. I recommend it but also don't think it will be overly memorable in years to come.

“I learned what I’m capable of, and I learned that I deserve better, even if I’m still figuring out what that looks like. I shouldn’t have to hide or change myself to make other people more comfortable.” // “Being gay in Oklahoma, staying gay in Oklahoma, is a radical act.”

QUEERLY BELOVED is a sweet sapphic romance set in Tulsa, Oklahoma just before marriage equality was legalized. Amy is a baker at a conservative Christian bakery where she pretends to be straight to keep her job, surviving with her second job as a bartender at a queer bar where she’s safe with her accepting found family. She meets Charley, an engineer new to town, and the two start seeing each other. When Amy is fired for being gay, she ends up working as a professional bridesmaid to make ends meet. But attending so many straight weddings when her gay best friends can’t get married is rubbing salt in the wound, and passing as straight for her job yet again makes her question what it might look like for her to risk living as her full, gay-as-fuck self.

What I liked:
- Cute main pairing between two lesbians
- Wrestling with coming out fully in a conservative environment where there are real costs to doing so
- Exploring what the queer community in a red state looked liked ten years ago
- Really tender and loyal queer found family
- Lots of queer bar culture (but were there really five queer bars, including a full lesbian bar, in Tulsa in 2013??)
- We love using gender-neutral pronouns until a person’s gender is known
- Feeling the impact of marriage equality, remembering our queer ancestors, and also seeing how much work we have left to go for our community
- Another addition to the baking gays canon

What didn’t work for me:
- I didn’t find the main pairing very compelling; I think they needed more on-page time together
- On a related note, this felt more like a story about Amy’s personal growth instead a romance
- Characters other than Amy weren’t well-developed and sometimes felt a bit trope-y
- The whole professional bridesmaid business Amy creates felt a bit unrealistic; also, too much of the book was at other people’s weddings I didn’t care about
- Some of the queer culture felt a bit anachronistic, i.e. more progressive than 2013 would have actually been
- It also felt a bit performative; like good effort but the execution didn’t fully land

A bit of a mixed bag overall for me. I’m curious how it’ll land for other people. Thanks to Dial Press for the eARC; this book is out in May.

Content warnings: homophobia; yeah mostly just lots of that

I think I liked this book? I liked the characters, the queer found family aspect, the marriage equality discussions. It just was really slow. I was like uh huh uh huh until like 70% in to the book. It was very Amy did this, then this, then this happened, and then this also happened. It just didn’t suck me in. But I did really like the last 30% of the book.
You might love this. But it was just okay for me. I’m not mad I read it. If you do read this be aware that there’s a lot of religion talk and also homophobic bakery owners.
The release date is 5/3!
This will be posted on my Instagram as well, @katebrownreads

Getting to know Amy and her ebbs / flows throughout this book + the romance we’re very sweet to get to know. A cozy read.

I loved the cover for this book, cute, whimsical and meet-cutey. I really liked the blurb too, it promised a sweet romcom because baking, weddings, bridesmaids duh!!

However, as I got into it, I think my expectations of the story and what I was reading didn’t quite match-up. While there is a sweet romance underneath all of this, the focus is really about Amy and her struggles with having to hide a significant part of herself from others when in “straight” society where she earns a living vs being able to be her full true self only at the lesbian bar where she works part time. Unfortunately, I only came to this realization after I was almost half way into the book and I was not seeing the romance progressing as quickly as it should have. This ended up being a little frustrating as I mentally had to reset myself.

Aside from that, this is a well written story, and since the focus is entirely on Amy you do get a very true sense of the challenges she faces between trying to make ends meet and standing up to what she believes in. I will admit, I kept teetering between anger and sadness as Amy encountered one prejudiced attitude, comment after another and what she was juggling felt all too real. While the book tried to keep it light, it did affect me emotionally. I thought the pacing of the book dropped a tad as Amy goes through the implosion of her relationships and some contemplative bits did sound a bit repetitive. But, the romance picks up pace again towards the end and a few surprises later the conclusion wraps up with a strong finish.
Overall it was a good read, not quite what I expected but interesting nonetheless. 3.75🌟s