Title: Look Up, Handsome

Author: Jack Strange

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐

Thoughts in 3:
- The ultimate cute cosy Christmas romcom with all the hallmark movie vibes combined with cute small town Wales (Hay-on-Wye), that doesn’t scream Christmas so can be read any time. But also touches on some pretty deep topics and does so much more than tick the “cheesy romcom” box. Honestly this book is what dreams are made of.
- Quinn is everything we strive to be as future booksellers, he loves his beloved shop so much and his interactions with customers and the community that rallies around him just made my heart melt. Love a book about bookshops so much, especially when they touch on just how important indie bookshops are to communities.
- I’m not normally a huge slow burn fan, but Jack made it work so well in this one. We read the story from Quinn’s POV (although I’d love a bonus snippet or novella from Noah’s POV...), and the cheesy romance and character struggles just balanced perfectly to make the slow burn feel just right.

Recommend to:
- Anyone who loves a feel good romance, with well written commentary and exploration of some tougher subjects.
- Anyone who wants to support an up and coming author with his debut novel.
- Anyone looking to expand their reading into more diverse LGBTQ+ characters and content.

Look Up, Handsome is out 26th September! Jack’s next book, 25 Days in Athens is billed for 2025 and I personally cannot wait to get my hands on it!

The new adult vibes are strong in this one. I’m sure others will like it, but it’s not for me. It makes me think of the immortal words from Madonna: “A lot of people are afraid to say what they want. That’s why they don’t get what they want.” I don’t have a lot of patience for characters who don’t stand up for themselves, and instead expect people to read their minds.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

’Tis the season to be jolly! Unless you’re Quinn Oxford that is. Quinn runs his small town’s sole queer bookshop and has done a pretty good job if he says so himself. However, after months of eviction notices, he can’t just ignore them anymore. The local castle is almost done with construction and the building his bookshop is located it will be reclaimed by the castle. Both his fate and the fate of his bookshop are inexplicably intertwined with that of Noah Sage, a popular romance artist that was born in this town. Will there be a Christmas miracle after all?

If you love Hallmark movies, then this is the book for you. Tropes and cliches abound. You have all the classics— city boy vs. small town romance, holiday deadlines to save your shop, among others. The storyline, while very Hallmarky, reads quickly and any conflicts find a swift resolution, so this book maintains its cozy, holiday charm. In my mind, some books try too hard to be different, but not everyone wants that. Some books are enjoyed best when you know everything is going to work out, and you get to just enjoy the ambience and the characters.

The ambience is where this book shines. It makes me want to book an airplane and an Air BnB and settle in for a white Christmas in a small town fully set away from the hustle and bustle of cities and real life. As for the characters, while Quinn definitely gets the most improved medal for his work throughout the book, his best friend, Ivy, is really the driving force behind the entire plot. She is the one that sets everything up and gets it to the finish line. Quinn just follows on her coattails. Quinn’s relationship with Noah burns hot and bright, but the save the bookshop storyline overshadows the relationship and building connections too much for me to really root for them.

Suffice to say, catch me in Wales in a few months for my own holiday getaway.

#netgalley #harpercollinsuk #lookuphandsome

Do you feel comfort in adorable, predictable Christmas movies? Then definitely read this M4M Christmas rom-com set in dreamy Wales. This is the type of book you want to sit in a big warm chair with on a snowy day. It doesn’t get much cozier than this!

A Christmas Queer romance is definitely up my street! This book was just so cute and cosy, it was so easy to get lost in this book.

Cozy Christmas Romance Read.

This book manages to hit on every Christmas and romance book cliche which is not a terrible thing.
During the festive season sometimes all you want is some low stakes Christmas joy where you are 99% certain everything will end up alright.

Oh course that means ticking off the Christmas Carol bingo card of - small town, mean ex, family issues, big money coming after the underdog, unlikely love and community spirit.

The dialogue is a little clunky and some of the characters could benefit from being more fleshed out. But this is a sweet book to while a way a few hours while drinking a hot chocolate.

This was a great read. It was so cute. The book shop we need everywhere. A safe space for queer youth and parents that want to understand more about things they don't know. I loved that part of the community aspect of this book. I loved so many little things about this book.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book is a cutesy small down cozy holiday book that will be enjoyed by those looking for something to read while they sip hot chocolate. Unfortunately that reader would not be me.

Sigh. This sounded right up my Hallmark Christmas movie loving alley, but it missed the mark on some pretty major fronts.

The writing wasn’t great overall. Information was dumped onto me instead of being woven into the story and I was being told most things rather than shown. Now I usually associate this with weak writing but hey, if I’m invested in the plot/characters, I can persevere. Which leads me into the characters and why I did not care about them.

When reading a romance or a romcom I am expecting one thing to shine through and that is chemistry, which is often led by dialogue! And the dialogue at play here was so awkward and stilted I found myself cringing. WHO talks like this? (I’ll answer that : the teen lead of a Disney channel movie from 2010.) Quinn’s voice was juvenile and Noah was written to be the “mysterious deep handsome stranger”… which is a type and not a multidimensional character. I’m gonna be so real, my hate for Noah clouded me the whole book. It was hard to see past the massive ick he gave me. Together these two had no chemistry. At all.

Honestly I’m most disappointed that this could have been great! The concept is fantastic for a cozy holiday novel and the narrative of Hermione reclaiming her story while Quinn fights for his bookshop (and romance) is heartwarming.

Special thanks to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and Netgalley for providing an arc of this book! I am leaving this review voluntarily!

What an absolute gem of a rom-com set in the charming town of Hay-on-Wye.

The story centers around Quinn, the adorably awkward owner of the town’s only queer bookshop. I could gush about this guy for awhile. Quinn’s lovable awkwardness is so relatable, especially if you’ve ever felt out of place or unsure of yourself. (Like me!) His journey to save his beloved store from closure is both heartwarming and inspiring.

The dynamic between Quinn and Noah, a brooding romantic novelist, is pure magic. Their interactions are filled with witty banter and genuine chemistry that will make you smile. And let’s not forget the bookshop, Kings and Queens—it’s the kind of cozy, welcoming place every bookworm dreams of.

Honestly, the bookstore sounds idyllic.

Look Up Handsome, is a sweet Queer holiday romance by Jack Strange. A bookshop owner and a novelist , grump / sunshine, and small town vibe. This was a bit cheesy and cliche at time and I had trouble rooting for the couple. I didn't feel a genuine connection between them, it lacked depth and substance.

Look Up, Handsome by Jack Strange is a sweet and cosy Christmas read, perfect for when you just want to curl up and not think too hard. While there are a few plot holes and tropes that didn’t fully land for me, the festive charm makes it an easy and enjoyable book to relax with. The romance could’ve been a bit stronger, and the one and only sex scene was awkwardly placed, but blissfully over soon. Authors -- not all books need spice. But the overall vibe is sweet and comforting.

If you’re not looking to dig too deep and just want a lighthearted, festive story, this one delivers on that warm holiday feeling. It's the kind of book you can enjoy curled up with a blanket, letting the magical Christmas spirit take over.

Thanks to One More Chapter and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

This was a great queer holiday romance, with an atmospheric setting and plenty of holiday classics. While Noah and Quinn were both beautiful and well-rounded characters, I wanted to story to get moving a little faster than it did, with pacing that was just a little slow. Although it feels very much like a holiday break, relaxing almost. I think this one will be a hit for the holidays and love the concept of a queer bookstore. Just missed the mark for me a bit but I’m sure others will love this!

What a great queer Christmassy romcom… full of strife, tension and lots of feels! Liked all the different subplots and just had me in tears at points. Can tell it’s British at its core so not sure how that will translate for overseas readers, but hopefully it won’t put them off.

If you are looking for a small town, gay, hallmark-y Christmas romance, this a a good option for you! We have a gay bookstore owner threatened with eviction who gains the interest of a local author and together they rally the town to try to save the store. It's a very cute setting.

Personally, the characters and romance were not my favorite, but sometimes I feel that way about contemporary romances (I may be too used to the fantasy men who would burn the world down for their love).

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my review.

A cozy Christmas romcom that would be right at home on Hallmark if they had more gay people on staff. Even the drag queens are fun and nonthreatening. It's all very sweet and my mother would love it.

That may sound like I'm mocking the book, but I'm not. I've watched a lot of Hallmark Christmas movies with my mother and this just has the vibe down perfectly. We have our main character, Quinn, running a gay bookshop in an idyllic small town. We have the handsome Noah, who escaped to London as soon as he could but is returning for a visit.

I roll my eyes at the country-vs-city clash in those movies because they ignore the queer experience of wanting more acceptance and a bigger dating pool than rural areas can provide, but it works here. Quinn's bookshop serves as an oasis for the queer community, and I was invested in his struggle to keep the shop open despite multiple threats of eviction. Quinn is a sloppy wreck, but I was cheering for him.

It's a cute book with a fun cast of supporting characters. If Jack Strange has another book in him, I'll read it as well.

2 stars for the lgbtq inclusion. really wanted to like this one. seemed like it would be like those cheesy gay christmas netflix romcoms I can't help but love, but it was just a mess. too infodumpy, not to mention my worst most hated trope, "one of the main characters is with someone else til they realize they want to cheat on their significant other with the other main character and then they break up and the first main character tells the second, I wanted to kiss you while I was with my significant other 😍😍😍😍". yeah. big fat no thanks from me.

I received an ARC copy of this book under the condition I write a review of my true thoughts on this book. This review hasn't been influenced by the author, the publisher or by NetGalley.

I went into this under the impression that it would be a light read. A nice, fluffy romance that would fulfil my need to detach from the world for a bit. Well, it certainly did the latter, but this has more depth than I gave it credit for. The romance within it is the main plot, but there is so much more to this book. The main character, Quinn is fleshed out, he's the main driving force for this book with his wants and needs. With how the plot of losing his bookstore riddles him with guilt of how he didn't fight against its' closer until it seems too late, and how his future has become uncertain. How he can't grasp how he can get out of this situation, and how it is affecting what he wants his future to be.

There are so many characters that enter and disappear from his life through that plotline alone. How he is let down, saved and yet realises that it is ultimately up to him to do something. And yet, even if they are simply appearing for a few moments, super fans of an author and a TV personality I am looking at your two, they have a point. They matter. They don't feel superfilicious. They add to the plot; to the story. I may not have loved every character, the protagonist of this book needs a good kick in the backside and shame, but I didn't feel as though if they were cut out of the story, the book would feel the same. Would give the reader the same fullness of experience if they weren't there.

And I commend the author for that. It's brilliant little additions to the story through the background characters that make it. If the author had left it at the plot only revolving around the loss of the bookstore and the romance, it would have good. A bit light, but sometimes that's all you need. But the author went further than that. They gave the romantic interest more than a small backstory, and the will-they, won't-they will the main character. Noah is not only full-fleshed out, but he's real. He has a good reason to not know how he can have a relationship with Quinn. How Noah has such a block to remaining in the small village, and how his family plays such a big part in this.

That secondary plot is another example of how the author takes very sensitive topics, and uses them with such care in this book. This pokes and prods at what is assumed, and how the truth is ignored for a good story. And what's even worse, is that no one may care enough to listen because of rumours and what is more salacious. This entire thread got under my skin. It made me uncomfortable, which is more than what I expected from a simple romance. I felt myself shrouded in sadness, and so when the romance returned to the forefront...

It made this book bearable. I didn't put it down when I was hit with the awfulness of misogyny, because I knew it would pick up again. I knew that even though the romance was hard hitting, that it got me in the feels as Noah and Quinn tried to figure out who they were to each other, How they might be together. I knew I had to continue, because I had to find out how it ended for them. Could they overcome what had happened to them? Could they overcome those apparent unbreakable barriers? I had to know.

I'd highly recommend this book. This is more than what the blurb states. It's much more than the fluffy cover. Please don't be put off by either of these. This is a great romantic book, but with so much more. Please read it.

Rated 4 Stars!

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins, and Jack Strange for a galley of this in return for an honest review.

I have to admit, I don't usually soldier on when I'm not enjoying something, but I have DNF'd 4 books this month, and I needed a win! This was a fluffy, easy read, with a relatively inoffensive primary plot-line. Unfortunately, this was also very repetitive, involved an insta-love premise, struggled to find and stick with characterisations, and had some issues in terms of the writing mechanics.

Look Up, Handsome follows Quinn, an independent bookseller operating Hay-on-Wye's only queer bookshop. Threatened with eviction, he is simultaneously trying to save his livelihood, and explore a potential romance with bestselling author Noah Sage. This, to me, was a really strong premise. I was expecting a bold, fun, bookish, romance filled novel on par with Pole Position or We Could be Heroes, both published by HarperCollins imprints, but that is not what I found.

This novel started with an insta-love meeting, seemingly one-sided, and a kooky, frazzled-Brit style series of hiccups. Although a bit twee, this wasn't a bad start! Then we transitioned into the main through-line, saving the shop, and this became so repetitive I am almost gave up! Every day Quinn woke up, insisted he was going to become better at speaking his mind, said one thing in his own defence, yo-yo'd about that being mean, spoke to someone in person or online about the shop, was shocked they cared, flirted with Noah, regretted flirting with Noah, cried, drank, ran into Noah again, went to sleep. Every. Day. I wouldn't have minded so much (probably) if I felt this was developing, but it wasn't. Quinn didn't get better at speaking up for himself, until he suddenly did. He remained shocked people cared even after he'd spoken to BBC news twice. He berated himself for flirting with Noah before An Issue comes up, and berates himself to equal degree after. Their relationship also fails to develop, they go from acquaintance to flirty friends over the space of a few hours, with seemingly no real time together!

Strange also has a bit of an issue with making it clear who is speaking. I have no doubt he knows who it is, but both Quinn and Noah flirt and speak in similar ways, and it isn't always clear who has said which witty line to whom. As the story went on this became more of an issue, and a few times I had to re-read whole pages trying to track the conversation. I think this book could've lost a bit of volume in the middle, tightened the speech up, and been spectacular. As it stands, however, I just could not loose myself in this.

I will say, this does have some compelling moments. Some of the scenes were very emotive. Some of the subplots (of which there were several) were well-conceived. But the negatives here really outweighed the positives for me. 3 stars.

Thank to the publisher, author and #netgalley for the ARC of this book. This was my first book by Jack Strange. This was a very sweet Christmas romcom. It made me want to visit the small town in Wales and experience the towns people and Kings & Queens bookstore. Noah and Quinn’s story was lovely. I wasn’t sure how I would like it as there is the initial attraction between the two but Noah does have a boyfriend. I’m so glad that no cheating actually happened but I was worried! I loved how Noah seemed to fall in love with Quinn before Quinn had a chance to meet him. The two of them has so many lovely meet-cutes and it made this store so romcom Christmas cheesy in all the best ways. I will look for more books by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collin’s Uk/One More Chapter for an early release copy of Look Up, Handsome by Jack Strange.

Look Up, Handsome is a very enjoyable Christmas romance read, I like all of our characters and I absolutely love the community of Hay. The way everyone in this small town knows and supports one another is heart warming to read about. I do feel that the romance is a bit of a side plot as the main plot of the story is Quinn trying to save the bookstore. The romance is a slow burn but I didn’t mind this at all, it gave plenty of time to get to know both main characters and what is going on with them without feeling like the story is dragging on. However, I would say that the romance could have been just a little more fleshed out. I will definitely be reading more from Jack Strange in the future, I really do love the community in here and characters feel well written.