Book Review: We Could Be So Good
In her newest romance novel, We Could Be So Good, Cat Sebastian takes an unconventional setting - 1950s New York - and uses it to tell a tender, poignant, queer love story between journalist with humble origins Nick Russo, and Andy Fleming, the son of the newspapers owner, who is himself training to take over for his father one day.
The setting is what wound up putting a fresh spin on expected story and character beats, since the 1950s are such a underexplored time period in the world of historical romance (and yes, it is historical, even if some of our parents were alive then). Even the term “historical romance” for most people probably conjures up vague images of some undefined period in the 1800s, but in setting her story less than 100 years ago, Sebastian roots Nick and Andy’s story at a point in history that feels just familiar enough that it feels topical without a ton of mental gymnastics required to get there.
Nick is a man who is as out as someone could legally be out in the 1950s. That is to say, he’s a man who knows he’s gay, who frequents covert gay bars, and knows exactly how to behave to avoid getting arrested. He knows who he can trust and who he can’t, but at the same time hiding it all is beginning to wear on him. For Andy, the story takes him on a journey where he pushes past what is expected of him, and where he comes out on the other side as a man accepting his bisexuality (though he doesn’t have the term for it). Together, he and Nick spend the novel first slowly falling in love, then slowly trying to figure out just what kind of life is available for them to live together, in love, in a time where even a suspicion of homosexual activity could land them in trouble. Gone are the days of two confirmed bachelors living in a remote country estate together. Instead, this is New York City, where the cops are crooked and might just have it out for the reporter and newspaper that keep trying to report on their crooked activity.
Throughout the novel, Sebastian draws on real examples of 1950s media with queer themes (The Charioteer, Some Like It Hot) to help frame the media landscape Andy and Nick are living through, and also to frame the attitudes of the world around them. Queer people have always existed, have always found a way to find community, and Sebastian paints an honest portrait of what that would have looked like in the late ‘50s. For Nick and Andy, she infuses their budding relationship with plenty of tension, yes, but also a refreshing amount of emotional honesty from the two of them. There isn’t much miscommunication, and she includes a clever twist on the third-act breakup that never quite goes there. It doesn’t need to go there, the world around them is hard enough without making the characters suffer unduly.
And that is really the greatest strength of We Could Be So Good. It is an emotionally honest narrative, filled with a tender romance and a compelling cast of supporting characters inhabiting a world we so rarely get to see in this type of media. It is a reflection of our world as it was - and what it must never go back to. But with this type of love at its core, it is above all else full of hope.
We Could Be So Good hits shelves on June 6. Special thank you to Avon for an advance copy for review purposes.