Super cute YA second chance romance’ish that’s equal coming-of-age (Rom-Dramedy). An ode to young restaurant workers. It’s adorable!! 🥹
“𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒊𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒆?”

I would recommend going into this book blind, or only reading the blurb - as I feel I got more from not knowing how Tommy’s journey would work out.

Erik’s a great YA storyteller, writing humorous and relatable characters just trying to figure themselves out during their senior year with college on the horizon. All the characters and their friendship were great. The growth and development - exceptional!

Especially loved Al and Willa, who now I want to be my queer grandparents! 😂 🥰

𝙇𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙈𝙚 by Erik J. Brown (2023)
Out on May 16th - ★★★★★

This is the second book from Erik J. Brown (𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙇𝙚𝙛𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙).

Thanks to HarperCollins Children’s and NetGalley for a chance to early review this story in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️4,5

This book was just adorable! I think I kind of expected something different but that didn’t take anything away from it.
I loved the representation, the settings and just the whole truth about being a young person trying to figure out their life.

I really liked all of the characters, they never felt flat or boring. I think James was one of my favorites, he reminds me of a friend I had in school who was so loud and crazy but the most fun.
I liked that they all struggled with different things in their lives but also the amazing friendships they all had.
It‘s crazy how my feelings towards Gabe changed. I loved him right from the start when we got to know him through Tommy‘s eyes but while he went through stuff and his pov changed, mine did as well and I love that this book could do this!
(Also Tommy and Gabe watching the movies together, was just beyond adorable!!)

The book turned out so much different than I thought it would but I‘m not mad about it.
I loved every second I spent with these characters and I am very much looking forward for another book by Erik!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc!

It's such a pleasant surprise to go into a book like this almost completely blind, knowing just that it has a beautiful cover and an author already on your TBR shelf (I know, I know - I've had All That's Left In The World in a beautiful Dazzling Bookish edition to read for months now!), and find an absolutely remarkable book.

Intent on getting into one of the top culinary schools in the world, Tommy Dees needs that letter of recommendation from his cruel manager at the Sunset Estates retirement community. And that means jumping through every hoop she's going to put him through to get it while he works as a server, including training the newest hire. There's just one problem - that new hire is Gabe, the boy that was Tommy's gay awakening at summer camp back at the age of ten before he disappeared without a trace one day. Worse, Gabe doesn't seem to remember Tommy at all. Worse worse, Gabe has a boyfriend. The universe just seems intent on getting in Tommy's way as feelings resurface, friendships get complicated, and college acceptance letters start arriving.

Lose You to Find Me is definitely everything that it says on the tin, but it's also so much more than that - and that's a great thing. Tommy is a fun, likable character from the get-go. He knows what he wants to achieve in life, and his grief over the loss of his father palpable in the pages. He's so delightfully opinionated in a way that you can't help but cackle over as you read. His relationships, from the budding romance with Gabe, his "it's complicated" with hockey player Brad, his friendships with Ava and Morgan, the rest of the workers at Sunset Estates, and the residents staying there - they're all so organic and believable and complicated and messy. This book is messy, and that makes it fun, because teenagers are messy, complicated people.
It is genuinely a delight to watch Tommy grow over the course of the story, learning to become less self-centered in his relationships with his friends while also prioritizing himself in his romantic entanglements. He learns to loosen the tight grip he's had on his future since the death of his father and learn to do what's best for himself, while also allowing the people around him to be the flawed individuals that they are, too. And oh wow is everyone around him so flawed. Gabe is a wreck of a human being, rather than a fairytale-esque YA love interest. It's nice to watch how he develops over the course of the book, and to see what happens with his relationship with Tommy. It makes the ending (which I will not spoil here) all the more satisfying and believable.

This is another one that I definitely look forward to snagging for my classroom bookshelves. The lessons contained within are great, and the story itself is a winner.

My queer little heart needed this story. This was so cute I loved the romance of the two characters, I never wanted this story to end.

Kudos to Erik J. Brown for pulling a fast one on me! As an almost 30-sething queer, I've read many coming of age stories, but this one stands above the rest. While romance is definitely a main plotline, I was excited to see the significant time spent on each of the characters really thinking about what they wanted to do with their lives. Each character has a nuanced backstory that fed into the expectations placed on them that they ultimately realize they don't have to follow. The ending had me.skiling and crying happy tears in bed!

Thank you Netgalley, HarperCollins Childrens Books and Erik J. Brown for providing me with an ARC of Lose You to Find Me.

4.5 Stars rounded up - Available 9 May 2023

I really enjoyed this book! Tommy is great as our MC. Such a classic YA MC. He is funny, kind and relatable with a pinch of self-centeredness that honestly just adds to the relatability. His journey through this book is great. I love where we went with Tommy and where we ended up.

This story had me intrigued. I didn't read the blurb or the description of this book before jumping in. I just knew that I had to read this book because I absolutely adored All That's Left in the World and Erick J. Brown is basically an auto-buy author for me now. I wasn't disappointed.

Gabe was a mystery, constantly, until we got closer in and it all started to make sense. The guy has trauma! Don't hate him. Then he has current present day shit to deal with so back off. I think I am saying this most to past me that was reading the first half of this book wondering what Gabe's deal was!?! The Gabe side of this story would sooooooo interesting!

I loved Al and Willa. Over 75's are allowed to be flirty with minors yeah? It is a strange balance here but I was okay with it. As someone that works in Family Violence response, discussion of violence in this book isn't the most nuanced but we also need to remember that most of the characters are kids and there is only so much that can be addressed without getting an adult character into the discussion.

I loved our ending. I truly did get the feels in the end. Would I totally read a 'Here's to Us'-esque sequel? ABSOLUTELY. But if this is where Tommy's story wraps up then I am very happy.

1 Sentence Summary: Tommy Dees wants nothing more than to attend the best culinary school in the country, the same school his dad went to before he died, but he needs a recommendation letter and his manager at the retirement home where he works won’t write one for him unless he completes three tasks, including training the new hire who just happens to be Gabe de la Hoya, aka Tommy’s childhood crush that he hasn’t seen in years.

My Thoughts: This book really took me on a rollercoaster. At the beginning I loved it and would’ve rated it 5 stars; the writing style was great and the story was cute. Then, in the middle, I strongly disliked it, and probably would’ve rated it 3 stars; the characters were annoying me and all the relationships seemed so toxic and I didn’t even want the love interests to end up together. However, at the end, I actually really liked it again, and it became a 4 star read; it didn’t end how I thought it was going to, and I really, REALLY liked the direction that it went.

The cover and the summary makes this seem like it’s going to be a romance, and while yes, there is romance, that wasn’t really the main focus. It was more about finding yourself (hey, maybe the title should’ve tipped me off to that lol).

I loved the cooking aspect, and the retirement home that Tommy worked at felt so real and was well developed and fleshed out. All of the residents had character and I especially loved Al and Willa.

Overall, this was a sweet coming of age/self-discovery YA novel that does not have a traditional romance story and subverts a lot of tropes!

Recommend to: Fans of YA contemporary novels featuring cooking and lgbtq+ representation.

(Warnings: swearing; implied sexual content; underage drinking; finger amputation; mentions of death; mentions of suicide)

This is a fun and cute story. I like Tommy and his conflicts, even if he is a little bit of a hard-head at times.

3.5 rounded up.

Tommy wants to go to the college where his late father started but couldn't finish his studies, so he is doing his best to get a recommendation letter from his stern manager at his part-time job. For this, she will give him some tests, being one of them to train the new hire at the retirement community where they work. However, this happens to be Gabe, Tommy's first crush of when he was still a pre-teen, who disappeared without notice and Tommy never found out what happened to him.

It was a quick read with an interesting development. I wish I had been more able to cheer for the budding romance, but maybe that wasn't where the author's focus was or it was just lackluster. The ending was indeed cute and how I would have chosen it, though. It's just that I feel there was potential for more feels, you know?

As for the story, despite one major plot twist at about 30%, it goes as you would expect. I confess, I feared it wouldn't even do that, that it would be a let-down, but it wasn't. So I got a satisfying conclusion, but a not that satisfying path to there.

I loved the side characters, the friends from school, from work, the people from the retirement community, their stories were nice. As I said, I also liked the main character and his journey. It's heartwarming YA read.


Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

This was so much fun to read!!!!

It had everything I love in a book and then some more!!!

Why you should read it:
- Found family
- will they, won't they (TONS of it)
- amazing friendships
- so much fun!!!

My only complaint is that I would've liked it a lot more if so much of the book wasn't focused *ahem* focused on the elements that didn't even go anywhere (I'm trying to be non-spoilery).

I highly recommend!!!

Actual rating: 4.5

4.5 stars

Tommy has been working at Sunset Estates, a retirement community, in order to gain experience to get into culinary school. Which means he also needs a letter of recommendation from his manager. In order to get it, he has to complete three tasks--including training the new hire.

But it just so happens that the new hire is someone Tommy knew. An old crush from childhood named Gabe. However, it appears that Gabe doesn't remember Tommy. And training him proves difficult when old feelings start to resurface for Tommy. Will he be able to push those aside and finish his tasks to get into culinary school? Or will his feelings overcome him?

Thanks to NetGalley and Balzer + Bray for an advanced copy of Lose You to Find Me by Erik J. Brown to review! My second food themed rom-com in a row--maybe it's a trend for May? Either way, this is a different direction for Erik J. Brown, and I loved it. Once again, he has created great characters with witty banter that you're going to love from the beginning.

Of course, Tommy and Gabe are the highlight of the book. That childhood friends to possible lovers thing is a great trope, even if it appears only one of them remembers. Brown does a good job of creating that romantic tension right from the beginning, punctuating it with a great cast of side characters who are also rooting for them. Plus, using the setting of the restaurants adds to the tension, having to always work together. It really is a fantastic premise for a book.

Not necessarily a fan of the fake that Tommy makes moves when Gabe has a boyfriend, but you know. They're teenagers. It happens. The story overall is pretty character-driven, with some twists that might make you gasp. I also appreciated that not necessarily everything works out the way Tommy wants, and that's okay. It's a great message to have a book for teens, because no matter how much you plan, not everything works out the way you want it to.

All in all, this is another great book to put on your summer TBR if you're looking for another fun rom-com!

Such a sweet and lovely heart-melting read! To be honest, I wasn't expecting much for this one but it was kinda of a good experience. That was lows and dows of course but it was pretty okay

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this in exchange for an honest review. I was initially drawn to this because it was about working at a senior home as a server, which was my job in High school! Upon reading you could tell the author was considerate and respectful with this aspect. I fully enjoyed reading this book- the drama and friendships were completely compelling and just fun! And even though it has romance, I wouldn't market it as such. The truth is the book is as much romance as it is anti-romance. I love that it was real about toxic relationships in teenagers. I would recommend to anyone who likes YA and thoughtful lgbt books.

This book is so cute. It was late and freshen funny. I had such a good time. It has such a lovely cast of characters.

Thanks to Harper Collins and NetGAlley for this ARC!

I had a love-hate relationship with this story.

On one hand, I really enjoy the author's writing style and I liked the basic plot and the characters. Even though he was a side character, James was probably my favorite. On the other hand, however, there were a few things I didn't care for. (Minor spoilers ahead.)

There were several points in the story where we'd get a time skip, which was fine and dandy, but then there would be several paragraphs or even multiple pages filling in the blanks of what happened in the time that was skipped. It was disorienting and I really wish we could have seen it first hand. This also happened with events from the past (like pre-book past) and it messed with the flow a bit.

Another thing I hated was the cheating. The first time it happened, okay, that legit seemed like an accident. But the second? Nope didn't sit right with me. And honestly, the whole cheating bit made both characters a little more unlikeable and I was 100% not rooting for them, which thankfully seemed to be the way to go.

I really felt like we needed more time with Brad. I liked him, but he seemed to get lost in the shuffle and chaos of all the drama. If I'm entirely honest, I feel like Brad served better than our MC. Just saying.

I did love all the "old folks," especially Al, but I got bored during most of the work scenes. They just felt very repetitive and didn't add much to the story.

That said, I overall did enjoy this book! It held my attention and made for an overall quick read. If you're looking for a cute gay RomCom with drama and angst and lots of food, this may be the book for you! I give it 3.75/5 stars.

4 / 5

After I read Erik J. Brown's debut All That's Left in the World last year, he immediately became an auto-buy author for me. I adored that book, so naturally, I had high hopes going into this one. Lose You to Find Me is so much different than Brown's debut, and I think people need to go into it with a blank slate. While this is still similarly an upper YA read, the themes and tones are entirely different. A fun cast of characters, a quirky spin on the foodie romance trope, and packed full of really important themes that I think any reader could benefit from - I had a great time.

Synopsis ⤐
In this, we follow Tommy, an aspiring chef who waits tables in a retirement home restaurant. He's in his final year of high school, coming with it the anxiety and excitement of choosing his college and major. He has his sights set on La Mère, the most prestigious of culinary art schools. The shrewd manager at his job has connections at La Mère, and she strikes him a deal: she'll write him a letter of recommendation to the college, but first, he must jump through all the crazy hoops she has planned for him... starting with training the new hire, Gabe.

The same Gabe that Tommy fell head over heels for as a kid, who then left town abruptly, leaving Tommy with no closure. And now Gabe's back, ten times cuter than before, yet he has no recollection of Tommy or their summer together. Now, Tommy has to juggle reemerging feelings for Gabe, and the circus of tasks that his manager has given him in order to get into his dream school. Nothing he can't handle... right?

My Thoughts ⤐
I really enjoyed the journey in this one, and it feels like an important book for young adults to pick up. This book tackles parental expectations in every form they may take: sexuality, decisions on colleges and careers, and relationships. Even more so: it shines light on how we can often put expectations on ourselves, pursuing things that we think will make our parents proud, even when all they want is for us to be happy and to pursue careers that we will love. Impressing others is not what we should dedicate our lives to.

This book also really expertly handles toxic relationships, and how they might manifest without us realizing it. It's not always loud and violent altercations that make a relationship unhealthy, it can also be the small things with good intentions behind them that are unfair. I do wish certain relationships had some more time to shine, and maybe get some fleshing out; most notably between Tommy and Ava, and Tommy and Brad in the beginning, respectively.

Erik J. Brown cements his spot in with some of my favorite authors, and while Lose You to Find Me isn't an all-time favorite like All That's Left in the World, I still think it accomplished what it wanted to very successfully. I had quite a fun time reading it!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

Tommy Dees in Erik J. Brown’s Lose You to Find Me is trying to figure so many things out. Watching him on that journey, seeing some of the mess & the confusion, will be relatable to the many, many readers who find/found aspects of teen life (& probably life in general) not always straightforward & clear (like everyone? ).

Largely set in a retirement community, the setting of this book is wildly different from Brown’s previous book I read, All That’s Left in the World (a post apocalyptic masterpiece!).

In LYtFM, Tommy is a pro at navigating stations in the cafe & building rapport with the residents & he dreams of following his love of cooking to culinary school.

But then his first childhood crush, also his first great friend, Gabriel de la Hoya, returns, showing up at Sunset Estates & basically complicating Tommy’s romantic life even as Tommy enjoys reigniting their old friendship.

With snarky banter, cute bonding over movies, a whole world of rules for employees at the retirement home to navigate, & many portrayals of strong friendship, this book is a winning YA contemporary with some romance & lots of feelings to navigate.

4⭐️. Out 05/02.

CWs: Previous death of dad. Resident’s flirting with Gabe feels kinda creepy, especially since to me, Gabe doesn’t initially seem totally comfortable with it. A resident is a “buttgrabber.” Tommy plays on Gabe’s last name & makes a joke about his late name being WHORE-a. A secondary character worries she’s pregnant. Reference to racism, abortion, suicide attempt of bullied previous boyfriend; homophobia.

[ID: Jess's white hand holds the ebook in front of a green wall. Above is a colorful print in a dark wood frame; below is a vase of red tulips; to the right is a fiddle leaf fig plant.]

Super fun and cute read for the upcoming summer season! I am a big fan of this author and will read anything by Erik! I recommend this to lovers of romance and happy endings!

This book is a lovely coming of age book about first lives, found family, and realizing that your dreams are allowed to change.

Gabe is Tommy’s first crush from years ago at summer camp but now he is back and working in the same retirement home kitchen with him. Tommy is working on an application to go to the best culinary school, and needs to keep focus on his application. But with Gabe going hot and cold on their relationship, Tommy is feeling more stressed than ever.

Tommy is such a lovable character. He is a little self centered, but honestly so is every teenager I’ve ever met. But the side characters are what really set this book apart. Al and Willa are the elder queer people we all deserve to have in our lives. So much of queer history is lost because we lost most of a generation to the AIDS crisis and also to systemic failure and lack of support. I wish we all could have a supportive gay/lesbian duo to support us. Ava is funny, takes no crap, and is a supportive enough friend to tell Tommy when he is being an idiot. James is a himbo, and honestly I’m a sucker for a good himbo character.

I also loved Tommy figuring himself out with the support of so many people. He has such an amazing found family and they help him discover who he is and what he actually wants. This book is a really cute romance.

A really sweet novel but a little bit unexpected for me. I should’ve guessed how the plot was gonna go from the title alone but I was still hit with a bit of whiplash. Overwhelming good whiplash though! I think the end result was really satisfying and. I’m happy with how it ended. While it wasn’t what I was expecting, still really enjoyable!

I love this book so much, the first book in awhile that I hard a time putting down. I loving watching journey through his last year from high school. Going from what he thought he wanted and realizing what he really wanted. The side characters were great, well, everyone but Vic. Highly recommended read.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for a honest read.