imagine trying to build up the courage to come out and your grandad beats you to it... that is what happened to teddy! and to make things worse, his grandad's announcement doesn't exactly go down well in the family.

i found arthurs story very powerful as he has created a family that he adores, with a wife that he loves in his own way. she was so incredibly supportive throughout and i found it hilarious when they were supporting each other to enter the world of dating again! there are people in his life that are less supportive and that small village vibe came across really well.

there were times during the book where teddy was just being a typical teenager, but his relationship with his family was beautiful.

A heartwarming story of love, family, and - as the title suggests - coming out. There was some wonderful characters, and this sensitive topic was handled with appropriate sensitivity, even where the characters' families unfortunately did not respond with maturity or kindness. The ending appeared slightly rushed and disjointed, but overall I enjoyed this very much.

I loved this book. It was heart warming and a real page turner. I loved the characters and I was rooting for them.

This has a sweet premise but unfortunately the novel falls down in its execution. The writing is stilted, the sense of time and place is poor, characters feel stock - both flat and oddly distant even when we’re in their POV - and Teddy in particular comes across obnoxious and entitled when we’re supposed to be on his side. I found myself rooting against him in his work/relationship rivalry, despite the narrative telling me I should feel otherwise. It’s a shame, as we could use more stories about older LGBTQ+ people, and it feels like there could be a good novel buried in here somewhere - it just needed further work to excavate it.

It begins with Arthur who is about to turn 80. He has been married for a long time and has grandchildren.. He decides to come out of the closet. His wife knew that he was gay. Basically they both kind of helped each other out for various reasons to get out of bad situations they decided to marry each other.. They ended up very good friends with an incredible love for each other. They enjoyed each other's company and they felt safe and comfortable with each other so they had children. All these years later he has been thinking about his age and how much time he has left and he has decided that he wants to have some time to be his authentic self for however long he has left.His grandson Teddy is also gay and has been struggling with the idea of coming out. He sees his mother have a difficult time when her father comes out and this makes things harder for him.

The setup is the best part of the book. This is a debut novel that definitely feels like a debut novel.Some of the plotting is a little clumsy with inconsistencies and plot holes For me the character of teddy doesn't make sense.,He's a very flawed 22 yr old person who is trying to figure out his life but there are areas in which he has blinders and has a bit of privilege that he's kind of coasting on and there are ways in which he doesn't make sense that the book isn't helping reconcile them..

It's a very cute book>Part of the appeal is that it is a grandfather and a grandson both coming out of the closet and both coming to terms with themselves However I liked Arthur's part of the book much better than Teddys. I liked it but I didn't love it.Ryan Love does show potential to be someone like a Matt Cain - someone really good at a heartwarming story that has a lot of serious elements in it and can be inspiring.. There's a lot of promise and I would pick up a future book by him

Heartfelt story about a family dealing with the changes from coming out. Arthur is 79 and married with children/grandchildren so his announcement had a massive impact but was really sweet and heartwarming to read

5⭐️

A lighthearted, emotional and raw read which emanates hope and new beginnings about coming out.

Did this coming-of-age contemporary gay romance bring tears to my eyes at 1:30am? Yes it did! I absolutely loved it!

Coming out is very daunting and I’m so lucky that my own ‘coming out’ was fine and everyone was accepting, but this book really demonstrates the difficulties that people have coming out to their loved ones and the homophobia they face.

This addictive and important page turner tugged hard at my heartstrings. Ryan Love has written a phenomenal debut that is funny, emotional and ever so real.

The characters and the plot worked hand in hand in this book and it worked incredibly well. Arthur, 79, was a typical grandfather who cared for his family and decided that he could no longer hide his true self. I felt so anxious for him having only known him for 7 pages. Teddy, 21, was amazing and I feel like I related more to him as we are similar in age. He was scared and had strong reasons to be, but I loved the way he composed himself. I really liked Ben too, but his actions definitely let him down. I loved Teddy and Shakeel’s friendship as it was very special. Ryan Love has a way of making you feel like you are there with the characters throughout and this was very engaging and I felt privileged that I was on a journey with Arthur and Teddy, who had an unbreakable bond.

I have to talk about Madeleine, Arthur’s wife! Despite 50 years of marriage, she embraced Arthur’s wishes and was the epitome of love, support and understanding. My emotions towards Elizabeth fluctuated throughout. I understand that fear took hold of her and that she acted horribly, but I thought this character was important in demonstrating that sometimes people need time to process news.

This book really emphasises that it’s never too late to be you and it sure will be in my top favourites of the year. I would love more from Arthur and Teddy. 😍

A massive thank you to HQ Stories, Netgalley and Ryan Love for this beautiful ARC that I recommend everyone check out! 🥰

💬 (quotes from ARC):
-‘there are still plenty of people out there who will think who you love is a good enough reason to hate you. They shout loudest to make themselves heard.'
-‘He didn't even know why he felt nervous. It wasn't like he was front page news or suddenly had a flashing rainbow sign above his head. He was just Arthur; the same person people had always known.’
-'It's been strange since coming out. I didn't really think about how I would feel after it. You forget that it's not just one moment. It's a moment you have with every single person after that too.'

⚠️ Please check out the trigger warnings! ⚠️

I received a review copy of this, so am hoping some edits have now been made. Quite a sweet story about Arthur who comes out on his 79th birthday, with the support of his wife and his family apart from his daughter, Elizabeth. Teddy is struggling with his sexuality and seeing his mum's reaction to his grandfather coming out, confuses him even more. The book spans a year and much plot happens in that time. The book is very middle class and everyone is perfectly pleasant to each other, lovely to read but a tad unreal at times. The character of Ben brings tension to the narrative, which given he is working class is an interesting choice. I longed for some emotional depth which we get occasionally when Teddy talks of the loss of his father and some of Arthur's internal musings but it all got quite messy around sexuality. I missed the empathy of Matt Cain who has also writes about older gay men. Also they meet marvellous people first time on the apps?! Really???

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A sweet, affirming book about sexuality and family - although the execution and writing style weren't particularly to my liking, I can appreciate the story for what it is.

I was expecting all of the feels from this book and it did not disappoint. At first I thought that the plot was going to be a little to out there to feel believable but it was great and such a delight to follow. There were bits that made me smile and laugh and bits that made me feel sad an emotional.

The book is told from Arthur and Teddy's perspectives, alternating by chapter and it was so lovely to get insight into both of their lived experiences and spot the similarities; despite their age difference. I wish I had a Grandad like Arthur in my life. He was such a fantastic man who was loving and supportive of his entire family.

Overall, this was a cutesy read with lots of happy moments, with some more difficult scenes sprinkled in. In the end it left my heart warmed and my eyes a little teary.

I enjoyed seeing Arthur and Teddy come to terms with their sexuality and become comfortable with their true selves.
I hated how Elizabeth and Eric acted. While I get it can be a shock their behaviour was still disgusting.

I saw what Ben would do coming early on. He was always going to be the guy who does something wrong and mainly out of jealousy about how easy Teddy has it at work.

I do wish Teddy was single and going on his travels without a guy. I just didn't see the chemistry there. A second book seeing Teddy grow would be great.

I loved this - such a unique and beautiful story full of love and life lessons. I got lost in Teddy’s and Arthur’s story’s - fantastic main characters!

This was a fabulous story. It is surprising that discrimination still exists. Everyone should have the right to be who they want to be and not be judged. This story iillustrates the prblem very clearly and the actions taken helped people to change their minbds. May the good work continue. Great read!

This starts slow but does absolutely build into a book where you will cry, laugh and fall in love with the main characters.

Arthur is truly wonderful and Madeleine and Oscar are fantastic parts of his story! The relationship between Arthur and Madeleine is so special and I love that it was so supportive. And I cheered so hard for his ending, honestly.

Teddy’s story took me a little longer to connect to but his fears felt real from early on and it was easy to see why he felt as he did. His friendships were also lovely, but I could happily have had a bit more time with them, and with his sisters (who feel a little neglected but it is a large cast of characters so I understand that!) The relationship with Ben never really got off the ground for me as we don’t get a lot of time with them connecting early on, but we do also see him through Teddy’s eyes and that definitely is supposed to colour our views of him as a character.

Teddy is a little flaky but it’s nice to see him come into his own through the story and know that he spends the book getting a better understanding of who he is too. His ending felt a little convoluted but I couldn’t help but love it.

This whole book is something to make you smile and cry happy tears. I dare you to read it and stay dry eyed! 4.5 stars


CW: homophobic language, discussion of suicide and suicidal thoughts, outing someone, family reacting poorly to coming out, cancer.

Oh god, I loved this book. It's so sweet, funny and moving, with a cast of characters of all ages that I really feel like I got to know well. A really great feel-good read about not being afraid to take risks, even when - especially when - you think it's too late.

This story follows 21 year old Teddy as he finds himself, and the courage to come out after his 79 year old grandfather does the same after 50 years of marriage.
I loved this right from the beginning,it was so easy to get in to. It is Ryan Loves debut novel, and at points you can tell. The dialogue feels somewhat unnatural, but that being said its a super easy read and I couldn't wait to pick it up at any spare moment. There were moments that made me laugh out loud and there were also moments that made my heart hurt. I can't imagine what Arthur and Teddy went through, and to think people still get treated the way they have just blows my mind.
It's not perfect, but I genuinely really enjoyed this heart warming feel good read. If you loved The Switch by Beth O'Leary I definitely think you'd like this too.
4⭐️

Arthur is 79 when he announced to his family that he is gay. Their mixed reactions has fallout. Grandson Teddy has a dilemma because he too is gay and having seen how his mother reacted to Arthur, it worried about her finding out.
A good debut novel. Told by Arthur and Teddy, gives different perspectives. A little clunky in places and the ending was a little rushed. As a light book for the beach, this works well

What a great debut, I was not sure to expect but absolutely loved it, ticked every box.

I will definitely read more by this author.

I really wanted to like this; I thought the concept sounded really sweet and heartwarming, but I found the writing style to be really stilted, particularly the dialogue, and I knew it would be a struggle to force myself to continue reading.

Wow, coming out as gay at 79 means Arthur has shocked his family. His grandson also wants to come out but is afraid after the family's reaction to Arthur. I found this book a bit awkward to read and the story forced.