Review: We Could Be So Good By Cat Sebastian

Review: We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Genre(s): Romance, period drama (The setting is 1950s New York)

Tropes: Friends to lovers, slow burn, found family

Rep: Gay Italian-American MC, bisexual and autistic love interest (It’s never directly stated that Andy is autistic, but it is made very, very clear that he is)

My Thoughts: This book, you guys. I love it so, so much. It was such a gentle, comforting read, like a cup of hot cocoa on a cold morning, and so very domestic.

The main thing I liked about this book was the domesticity of the relationship between Nick and Andy. I loved seeing them just exist together, cooking, shopping, having dinner parties with their friends, and even adopting a stray cat, and from the moment Andy moved into Nick’s apartment, it truly felt like the two of them were married, but didn’t know it yet. They do know it by halfway mark, however, despite living in a time period where they can’t get married, or even be public about their relationship without risking legal action, but by the end of the novel, all of their friends know that they’re together, and they’ve even built up a network of queer people at work. I also really liked exploring the complex relationships that Nick and Andy had with their families, with Andy being fiercely proud of his mother’s work, even though she was never there for him when she was alive, and his improving relationship with his father, who wasn’t much better in terms of parenting, but he’s one of the first to know, and accept that fact that Andy is in love with Nick, and he bonds with Andy much more as an adult. Meanwhile, Nick is firmly in the closet to everyone in his family, except for his cop brother, who very much does not approve of his sexuality, mainly because it puts his career at risk. He agrees to keep Nick’s sexuality, and his relationship with Andy a secret, but it is made very clear that he would prefer for Nick to be with a woman, if only because of his career as a cop being at risk.

Another thing I really liked was the handling of Andy’s relationship with his ex fiancée, Emily. Despite their relationship not working out, she remains very present in Nick and Andy’s lives, and there’s never any animosity between them. She, Nick, and Andy become genuine friends, and she’s arguably the most supportive of their relationship in their circle of friends.

Overall, this was a great read, and I would highly recommend it. If domestic gay fluff is what you’re into, this one is for you

When writing The Tengu And The Angel, I’d just finished watching Nana, and I was a huge Hachi x Nana shipper, but rather than writing a fanfiction, I wanted to write something original. I wanted to do a realistic story about young adult life, but with a gay happy ending, which is why the MCs, Kunio and Nathaniel became a couple lol.

As for Night Of The Blue Moon, I wanted to do an adult magical girl story, because I know that tons of people are still dreaming about becoming magical girls in their 20s (You don’t have to hide, I’m one of you!) and when I started thinking about a magic system, I decided to go with one based on something I know well, and care about, hence the Greek mythology theme. The MCs get their powers from the titans.

#QueerPrompts January 18: What influenced your story? 📝

In case it's not obvious, Nix is based a lot on me. He's a hopeless romantic, klutz, breaks technology, likes drawing and making things, and ends up with his dream guy. That said, the events came to me while listening to music.

REBLOG if you have amazing, talented WRITER friends.

Because I certainly do, and I love every single one of them and their work.

Just realised that I have to kill one of my most favorite darlings because it derails the entire rest of the chapter. Aaaaand now I have to rewrite several scenes. Why is writing a first draft so hard? Ughhhhhh

Nothing shuts down a bougie conversation like "well, when I was homeless—" Nothing. It's one and done. They are fucking taken out. The conversation is dead. Done.

”Why are your descriptions so vivid?” Because I have aphantasia. No seriously, up until I was 20, I didn’t know that it isn’t normal to not be able to visualise things in your mind. The reason I go out of my way to make my descriptions as vivid as possible is because I can’t see shit in my mind, and I always assumed that other people couldn’t either