I really enjoyed this book and it was hard to put down! I love the way the characters are written and how we get to see all their flaws (also the queer rep was amazing!)!
Thank to NetGalley for the ARC, I can't wait to see what other readers think when the book comes out :)

a canadian historical queer "fantasy" novel, what a combo. A historical novel set in Canada amidst WWII situation. the love triangle between Kit, Rebekah and Landon would keep you on your seat. the two brothers have distinct ways to show their love and interests on Rebekah. the story has some fantasy elements to it, like mermaids/selkie.

A stunning debut!

Canadian, LGBTQIA+, historical references coupled with Sci Fi and Fantasy, and a touch of magic!

This is a masterclass in writing a unique story with various elements that were done in just the right amounts and married with complex characters and engaging plotting.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved the premise of this book . I have never read a book like this before . I couldn't put it down. I loved the characters.

I’ve already bought this book for so many friends. It’s not often we get a book that looks at queer history in Canada so I just ate this up and could not stop talking about it. It feels like the rare instance of the perfect book coming out at the perfect time for society. I hope this book wins all the awards, it is just perfection. No notes.

I absolutely loved this book!! I couldn’t put it down.
I just loved all the characters. I highly recommend this book.

This book gave me the creeps but I really liked it. It was unexpected in a lot of ways. I loved the way the author wrote the characters. There was a bit of an eerieness to the families past but it unfolded in a very interesting way.

This book is a gem! It perfectly blends Can-lit historical fiction with a rural setting, a queer love story, and a touch of the supernatural. Set partly in Halifax, it captivated me from start to finish with its multi-dimensional characters and engaging plot. I couldn't put it down and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great read!

A queer, Canadian coming of age story; what's not to love? I truly have no notes. I was completely engrossed in the story and loved every minute of it.

A fabulous debut novel, the first of what I hope is many more to come from this author. The plot and pacing were well done. I found the beginning a little slow, but it quickly picked up. Kit and Rebekah were such memorable characters, and I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with them. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the chance to read this title.

* Thank you Netgalley for this copy *

This was a beautifully told sapphic romance/historical fiction. I loved the magician realism woven into the story

I came across the opportunity to read this book through Netgalley. I read the description and saw that the categories were LGBTQIAP+, Sci Fi and Fantasy, and I was intrigued. This novel is one-of-a-kind in my books. I’ve read nothing like it. It dips into a couple of different genres and does it well. It’s all about love, war, growing up, heartache, family, and more. The imagery within and the voices of the characters were a wonderful combination. I highly recommend!

#happyreading #debutnovel #randomhousecanada #netgalley #loghanpaylor #lovestory #historicalfiction #queerness #queercharacters #nonbinary #family #love #farmlife #war #vivid #powerful #engrossing

God I really enjoyed this book. 11/10

The pacing was really good and there wasn’t really a Plot but the different small arcs throughout were all really good. The tension, suspense, heartbreak, romance, and joy — all of it was palpable. I felt every emotion that Rebekah and Chris felt. When they cried, I cried; when they had soft, emotional, romantic moments, I melted. The writing made everything feel so visceral. I loved the writing style and its vibrant and deep descriptions. It really painted the happenings of the book in my head with great ease.

There was a number of queer characters throughout the book, and it was heartbreaking how they either hid their queerness or refused to even pursue queer romantic or sexual relationships for fear of persecution. The book was, for the most part, accurate for the time it was set in.

I enjoyed both Kit/Chris and Rebekah’s POVs. As a queer trans person, following them as they grew and found themselves— Kit as he became Chris, Rebekah as she came to terms with her identity and feelings over both Landon and Chris— felt validating. I really connected with both of them and their struggles as queer people growing up and living in and trying to fit in in a world that isn’t exactly as accepting as they’d like it to be.

I hated Landon. Absolutely loathed. There was rarely a moment I liked him after the first chapter or so. He was very selfish and callous towards both Chris and Rebekah. There were many times I wanted to reach into the pages and shake him. There was no attempt at redemption for him and that felt so true to real life. Also I didn’t think he deserved forgiveness for just how shitty he’d been to Chris.

The ending was satisfying. With the epilogue, all the loose threads were tied up, or continued on in an uplifting way that felt like a good spot to end.

Absolutely going to read this book again.

I wish I could like this book more, but I'm just happy to be done with it.

It is a debut novel, so maybe it is a matter for the writer to find their footing, but I find the book to be too infantile even when it is touching serious topics. Based mostly on romance, I faced difficulty going through all of its configurations. I am a queer folk from a big city, so maybe can't relate to described struggles of Kit, but their story resembles some weird outdated textbook not many people I know could learn much from. Too many things here have been written already and tho idea for the novel felt fantastic when I signed up for it, in my opinion, it wasn't utilized well.

At some point writing is losing the intimacy and depicted events feel like an unnecessary blockbuster mash. I wish it would remain smaller in scale and more mature when the author hits the right notes on delicacy in human connections.

The Cure for Drowning is such a beautiful and heart wrenching story. I was immediately drawn in by Kit, and found myself very invested in their outcome. I love this coming-of-age novel about personal growth and development, love and loss, hatred and acceptance.
The story alternates between Kit and Rebekah's POV's starting in 1931 and finishing in 1953. Rebekah's life was not without its own struggles and triumphs. Living in Canada with a German last name during WWII wasn't easy, and she had to deal with her own situations of hatred and acceptance for that and other reasons I will not mention so as not to spoil the book.
I cannot recommend this novel enough. It is a truly wonderful debut by the talented Queer Trans Author, Lohgan Paylor. I literally cannot wait to read what they write next!

I am a bit torn about this review.

This was a well-written story, very easy to get lost in and to root for (most of) the characters. I loved seeing the trans narrative in a novel set in WWII, it made for a storyline that stands out a bit in a timeframe that has been novelized endlessly.

On the other hand, from the description I kept expecting a bit more of a magical or fantasy element to come into play which never materialized, so personally disappointed by that. And the <spoiler> I got pregnant unexpectedly during the war </spoiler> trope was just so aggravating, it has been done so many times.

So overall, I enjoyed this read but I had a slightly different expectation than what I was met with.

I adored the creepiness of the opening chapter and its magical realism. I had hoped the voices or selfies or whatever they were would have played a larger part throughout, although when they showed up later, it was quite effective. I was worried when Rebekah throws up after becoming pregnant because I thought she would be ignorant of what it meant, so it was refreshing that she knew but was in denial. I found both Rebekah and Kit very sympathetic characters and narrators, and it really hurt when a character I really liked died but the other one survived. Landon made a very compelling foil to Kit. I really liked how Kit’s pronouns changed throughout with little fanfare.

A very lovely book. Beautiful writing, engaging characters, heartbreaking plot.

I enjoyed the haunting mix of history, Canadiana, queerness and magical realism.

Rounding up to five stars. This was an excellent debut and a great example of the kind of litfic I love (i.e., queer, mostly likable people working their way through the challenges of life, and a hint of magical realism). It was also so quintessentially CanLit in a familiar and comforting way. I was worried it might be a slog and instead I blew through it in just a couple of days.

I think the blurb is a bit misleading. Luckily, while I guess there is technically a love triangle - it's doesn't weigh on the story the way that I feared it would. Kit's trans narrative is so smoothly and carefully weaved into the story in a way that makes sense for someone who would not have had access to the language and resources we have today around gender identity and I thought the subtle magic served as a lovely device to add depth to that part of the story.

Also, I feel like I have read sooo many novels set during WW2 and tend to shy away from them these days as a result, but I thought this was a fresh take and perspective that touched on some nuances around war that I have not seen before.

While there is an underlying central relationship story with a HEA, I'd be inclined to classify this as litfic vs romance. Either way, it was a great read and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Thanks to Net Galley for an e-Arc!

This was great! If you like queer historical fiction, mythology, fantasy, and romance, this is the one for you! However, the fantasy elements are barely there, so it's mostly a historical fiction queer romance. Bonus, it takes place, mostly, in Canada!

TLDR: Two queer kids fall in love in the late 1930's on a farm in Ontario and stuff happens. The story follows them over a span of about 20 years and how being queer during the war in Canada may have looked like. Also, one of them might be a changeling or a descendant of a selkie. Expect some death (I mean it's set during WWII) some mild homophobia, and oppressive gender roles.

Our MC is Kit, Kathleen, who is the epitome of a tom boy living on a farm in rural Canada. She hates dresses and loves horses. She also might be a changeling due to the fact that she almost drowned in a river when she was young and her mother did some dark magic ritual stuff to bring her back. Plus she also hears the voices of water spirits, which is how she almost drowned in the first place. Throughout the story, we see her become more herself and less of who everyone expects her to be. Kit is the middle child, with one older and one younger brother. The older one is also pursuing Rebekah, which poses some family conflict as you would expect.

Our second MC is Rebekah: A big town girl with a German born father who had to move to the country when things in the city were becoming a struggle due to Germany's part in WWII. She meets Kit as a boy, but is not put off when she realizes Kit is a girl. They develop a friendship and so much more.

Neither of our characters are given an explicit orientation in the story, however Kit is very much trans and probably non-binary. They use all sorts of pronouns and are romantically and sexually interested in multiple genders. Rebekah is a cis-female, but has romantic/sexual attraction to male, female, and enby presenting characters.

If you are wondering, all sex scenes (of which there are very few) are fade to black. Just a few details so you know what's going to happen, and then it leaves it up to your own imagination.

It's a beautifully written, sometimes heartbreaking story about love, family, and figuring out oneself.