Thank you NetGalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Be Straight with Me is a short memoir, that is apparently written in verse. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Kate Rudd.

This was an usual piece. Since I listened to it, I didn't pick up on the poem part. Rudd didn't seem to read it to any particular beat or pattern. It seemed more like a bunch of slightly conjoined thoughts.

If you're interested in learning about someone's college experience, while in an unusual relationship check it out. It wasn't my cup of tea personally though.

Depending on your lens, there are a few ways you could describe this book:

1) College students Emily and Max transform their mutual animosity into deep friendship, and then passionate desire, settling into sometimes cold indifference and sometimes fiery anger. Calling to mind Sally Rooney’s fictional “Normal People”, variations of this on-again/off-again cycle (interspersed with other relationships and casual encounters) continue until the two eventually move on and fall out of touch. “It’s a sweet, pleasant surprise,” Emily thinks, upon receiving from him a bouquet of sunflowers, “Yet here we are still, almost five years later, chasing after the ghost of an apocalyptic horse, trying to bring it back to life just so we can continue beating it to death."

2) A memoire in which Emily reduces her young life to a series of boyfriends, focusing primarily on the painful journey of falling in love with her gay best friend, Max, and losing him as both a friend and lover when things ultimately don’t work out. Told in the first/second person (I/you), you could call it a pained love letter to "the one that got away".

3) Emily reflects on all of her failed relationships, including her failure to resist her gay best friend’s romantic and sexual advances, and later her failed attempt to make permanent his “straight” relationship with her. She sums it up best when she cheekily tells Max and his latest boyfriend about her unruly hair, “Some things you just can’t force straight, am I right?”

4) An exploration of love and intimacy, of the lines we insist must differentiate friendship from sex and romance, and of the expectations and restrictions we impose when putting ourselves and others into gender and sexuality boxes.

Also, I really like Kate Rudd’s narration here; her voice feels well-suited to the mood and style of this piece.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was different to other memoirs I have read and unfortunately I just didn’t care much for the story which made me find myself waiting for it to finish.

I found the audio narration quite slow - I ended up listening on 2x speed, which was better, but I find when speeding up this much it can become a bit jumpy.

I’m sure plenty of other people will love this but unfortunately not for me this time.

Why did I feel like sobbing the whole time I listened to this audiobook? I can’t decide whether it was because it was so relatable and well written or because it’s that time of the month. Probably both.

Anyway, this is my first audiobook and I finished it in one day because it was breezy, then it was heavy, and then I just kept wanting more. It made me miss being in love with all of its ups and downs and twists and turns.

I wasn’t too thrilled with the narrator’s vocal choice for Max. I wish I would’ve read it rather than listened. I think I would have found it even more beautifully haunting.
Now I think I’ll go sit on the steps of my back deck, in the darkness of the woods, spliff in hand, and continue absorbing the echos of the prose that made me feel all the feels.

Thank you to Emily Dalton, Kate Rudd, Andrews McMeel Audio, and #NetGallery for an audioARC of #BeStraightwithMe in exchange for an honest review. Review will be posted on NetGallery, Goodreads, and Facebook.

I enjoyed listening to Dalton's story of her friendship and relationship with her best friend who is gay. It was interesting to see how their relationship started and progressed through college and after.

The narrator of this book was a little monotone at times and I found myself rewinding because I wasn't paying attention.

The sections of reflections didn't always flow well with the story, but I did like hearing more about the authors life.

This was an enjoyable memoir, but not my favorite of all time.

While listening to the audiobook I continuously asked myself what is the point of this book? Now, I finished the book and I’m still wondering what the purpose was.

This memoir was not very good and it felt like there was no lesson or purpose. I understand what the purpose was meant to be but it was not obvious enough nor was it really expanded on. I do not think the story told is deserving of its own book. It is not interesting and it felt like a waste of time.

I love a memoir so that is how this book first caught my attention. This, coupled with the fact that I have been wanting to integrate more poetry into my reading and with this story being told in verse… I was in! Max and Emily become friends while in college. But, in no time at all, they become more than friends but Max is gay, and Emily is straight. Emily says of Max, “I let you into my life, but I didn’t realize how much space you would take up.” They end up falling in love with each other and the story is about how they navigate a relationship that is not so black and white. The narration of this book is well done, and the feeling of despair, hope and love come across so clearly.

I have recently felt that ig poetry was getting exceeding crap about healing and heartbreaks but Dalton takes to another level. I love her way of telling story in form of poetry which works perfectly for me.

I strongly recommend this gorgeous memoir in form of story

Be Straight with Me is an honest, raw, and complicated love story.

Emily and Max meet at university and develop a close friendship. Max is gay and openly dating men, but gradually realizes he has feelings for Emily, and they begin a fraught relationship that continues through college, career moves, and beyond.

Dalton's memoir in verse is immediately engrossing. She develops such a keen portrait of Max: he is loving, playful, wild, and impulsive. Emily is refreshing in both her naivete and her fearlessness in exploring her own sexuality and longing. She is able to embrace the spectrum of Max's sexuality without judgment. Her openness in accepting Max wholly and unconditionally made this such a rare and captivating love story. I found myself consistently rooting for these two, both as individuals and as a couple.

The audiobook is just a few hours long, and well-worth the listen. Emily Dalton's evocative prose was a delight. Can't wait to read more from her.

Thanks to NetGalley for supplying the audiobook.

this was an interesting one, Emily is straight and Max is gay but they end up falling for each other. Their relationship is not at all straight forward for obvious reasons. It made me a little sad for Emily but by the ending I can tell she is growing and perhaps in a better place

thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

"some of the most beautiful things in life come from mistakes."

when i read in the synopsis that this book was about a girl being in a relationship with her gay best friend, i told myself i couldn't pass on this one. in be straight with me, emily dalton leads us into her life with this memoir packed with strong emotions, full of love and heartbreak. the author was pretty straightforward regarding her life experiences and everything that happened in the relationship, which added a level of entertainment to the story. the fact that her feelings were poured out to the public and her sadness was shared with the reader made me appreciate this story in a great way. i recommend this to those who enjoy reading stories that deal with loneliness and breakups.

book review • Be Straight With Me by Emily E. Dalton (1/5 ⭐️)

thank you to @andrewsmcmeel & @netgalley for this alc!

Be Straight With Me is a memoir in verse about a young straight white woman’s relationship with her gay best friend, which is somewhere between friendship and love. the book is written solely from the pov of the straight woman.

boy, did I hate this book. I was very sceptical from the start because I expected that, the author being the straight person in this relationship, she wouldn’t have much to say about why this relationship was the way it was. I was right. I really didn’t like the author, neither did I like the gay man she was in a weird relationship with. I think they’re both toxic, trying to have something with each other but at the same time not wanting to commit to one another, and both of them just in general wanting different things but still holding on to each other. when she said she wanted to keep the guy straight, I threw up a little in my mouth. when she said she would “let him do the gay thing”, I wanted to throw my phone across the room. I think the author is an incredibly jealous person who thought that the reason she couldn’t keep this guy is because he was gay, and not the fact that maybe he just didn’t want to be with her in the end. when they’re having a threesome she loves it when both people focus only on her, but as soon as they turn away to make out with each other she storms out of the room. toxic much? I think so.

this story should have been told from the guy’s pov; it was not her place to tell his coming out story and to speculate on his sexuality, when he could have told his own story and actually made some meaningful contributions instead of the author’s empty guesses that only had to do with her insecurities as a young woman. I didn’t gain a single thing by listening to this and honestly I don’t think anyone will, so I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I don’t have a lot of experience reading stories told in verse, so i was curious how it would flow and how I would like it. I found it much more compelling than I had expected. I enjoyed the book but there are two things that nag at me. 1. Are we still labeling people’s sexuality? 2. Is the story compelling enough to create a whole book? It was beautifully written, just not a piece I’ll keep thinking aBout after finishing it.

This memoir-collection of poems was just beautiful. I didn't know exactly what to expect but it was better than anything I could imagine. It's a beautiful story that follows her gay best friend and herself on a journey to discover one another. All the emotions were so real and relatable that anyone could feel this story with their own. It's a complex love story between Max and Emily that breaks your heart while you fall in love.

The audiobook was amazing at perfect speed to keep you entertained and also hook to the story. I love the narrator.

This novel in verse recounts Dalton's complicated college love, with memories of her youth interspersed throughout. Dalton's poetic storytelling invokes deep empathy--inviting the reader into her story in a visceral way. I was deeply invested in her (as the "protagonist") and also in her relationship with Max, to whom she writes. This memoir is best read in one sitting. It will leave you reflecting on friendship, love, sexuality, and that tender gap between youth and adulthood.

Thank you to Netgalley for the audiobook.

Where to start, this is my first memoir and I can tell you it didn't disappoint.
Emily's writing me feel this love and sadness at the same time, there is this desperate feeling between them and is so confusing that made them do stupid things and at the end each of them have to find a way to each other without hurting. It's just so emotional because you get to see a difficult situation turn into something beautiful and disastrous.
I really recommend this book if so beautifully written and the audio is so great.

A different kind of love story, told with honesty and openness. Emily & Max share a friendship and a love affair despite their differences. I had to listen to this entire audiobook at once. What a lovely story. I feel like Emily and I are good friends having coffee whilst she tells me her story and she touches my heart.

3.5

Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me an opportunity to read this early.

This was a super interesting story and you like slice of life memoirs I really feel like this will be your cup of tea!

What I liked:
- I loved how unique to story was. I have never experienced a relationship exactly like this or heard of anyone else who has so it was great to read about something so interesting.

- I loved the way it was was written as if it was a diary entry to a specific person. It was as if she was recapping the love story to the person that was in it with her. I loved that.

What I didn’t like:

-I like my memoirs (especially ones about relationships) to feel like fiction. And something about the writing made me always feel like I was reading a memoir. I’m not sure of that makes sense. Essentially, this felt like a friend telling me a story about their past boyfriend. And awesome and very interesting story. But still, it lacked that vibe that sucked me into it.

Overall, this is a very interesting story and even if you can’t relate to the events going on it I guarantee you can relate to the emotions going on in it.

It´s often hard for me to rate or review a memoir because it´s the author's personal story.
Overall this book kept me interested and I wanted to find out if this unconventional love story has a happy ending.
Without spoiling it, I will say that I kept thinking about the book after I was done listening.
It was an honest and heartfelt book that I would recommend to anyone interested in LGBTQ love stories and/or memoirs.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrew McMeel Publishing for providing me a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book has a great theme and the narration helped sell the story.. i felt like I was witnessing it all. Would’ve loved more to the story