4 stars

A beautiful second chance (queer) love story, a hometown home coming, & an ode to deep, enduring friendships & family. This book is beautiful & bittersweet & adorable & so so good.

[What I liked:]

•The language is gorgeous. At turns poetic, but with plenty of snarky dialogue. It’s wistful when it needs to be, awkward when that fits the scene, understated yet somehow bold. The writing is just excellent.

•The characters are great. I got attached immediately. Lin is effing awesome. Fin is so cute & powerful & vulnerable. O is cool & a big softie & deserves everything. Crow & Fay & Midge & Rose are amazing family members. Al is a solid dude. Agh. Great character development, unique character voices, & they were all enjoyable to read about.

•This is epic slow burn. I mean the fire has been there forever, but it was so satisfying watching them figure things out, learn to trust each other & their feelings, & get better at communicating.

•I loved how this book is just as much about family as it is about romantic love. It’s so pure & meaningful. Like as messed up as some things are, there’s always a home to go back to. All the feels!


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•I want a sequel & there isn’t one. That is my only complaint or criticism.

CW: external homophobia, substance abuse, terminal illness

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]