Set in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the mid 2000s, this queer romance delves into important topics like gay rights and same sex marriage and I absolutely adored every minute!! Amy is a semi-closeted gay woman trying to earn a living in her very Red state. When she meets Charley the attraction is instantaneous. Unfortunately, homophobia in her small town threatens to tear them apart and Amy has to decide how she'll reconcile her new profession as a bridesmaid for hire with her political convictions that everyone deserves to have the right to marry. Full of heart and great depth, this book was so much more than your average 'rom-com.' Perfect for fans of Bridesmaid for hire or Count your lucky. I can't wait to read more by this author and am grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copy!

In all honesty, I had a difficult time with this book. Content-wise it had much promise but I feel that the story did not come together in a fluid way. I really wanted to like the story but it just sort of fell flat for me.

I did appreciate the amazing LGBTQIA representation that the author brought into the book but didn’t feel any sparks.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this eARC in return for my honest opinion. I feel this one had promise but didn’t deliver.
2.5 ⭐️ on this one.

This book is way too long/rambling in parts, and desperately needed more editing, but I loved it anyway. The cover screams rom-com, but it’s really a quarter-life crisis story about a Oklahoma lesbian finding her joy, and learning to live authentically. There’s a love interest, but it takes a backseat for most of the book. I’m many ways, the main relationship arc is about friendship, not romance.

Amy was such a sympathetic character, a people pleasing femme who loves baking wedding cakes, watching Say Yes to the Dress, and all things romance…but struggles with how to be her queer self among all the trappings of straight culture that she’s surrounded with. It’s not quite a coming out story, because Amy is out and has a supportive Mom and chosen family; it’s more about making peace with being out in a hostile social environment. And finding your work path. I thought her personal growth arc was interesting and unique. And it was fun reading a lighthearted queer story set in Tulsa.

In her debut novel, Susie Dumond delivers a great quick read.
Even though this wasn't exactly my favorite, I see promise in her writing style and look forward to giving it another try.

I was looking forward to the book, but unfortunately I didn't love it as much as I hoped to. I thought it would have a bit more of a romcom feel, which it was lacking and I felt would help the story. It just didn't hold my attention as I would have hoped. Thank you to Netgalley and Dial Press for the ARC.

This book was not for me. It was not the romcom I was expecting. I unfortunately DNF'd after a few chapters.

I really, really wanted to like this book. It had the set up that I always look for - queer, romance, baker - so I was all in. However, unfortunately, this book missed so many marks.

First - the setting. If the MC hadn't mentioned that it was 2013, I don't think I would have totally realized that. I mean, it talked about gay marriage being illegal but it also had extensive pronoun awareness which really wasn't something in 2013.

The romance - or lack there of. I mean, yes there was sex and a burgeoning relationship but it wasn't the focus. This was really a coming into yourself book for the MC, Amy, than a romance. I don't think Charley was really fleshed out, honestly. I couldn't connect. I could barely connect with Amy, if I'm honest. And I was a struggling queer in the 2010s!

It just felt as if it relied a lot on stereotypes and really could have been categorized as general queer fiction more than anything else.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing an arc of this book in change of an honest review.

DNF. This has a great concept, but not enough to keep me invested. I like the idea of a queer baker in the 2010s finding love, especially given the complex politics of the time, but there was nothing there to really *sell* it. There’s pretty much just Insta love that I didn’t buy, and characterization that feels really inconsistent. I feel bad, but I can’t bring myself to read further.

I was super excited to read this one, however it did fall a bit flat for me. I appreciated the story focusing on Amy’s growth, but I wish it had a bit more focus on the romance-because I went in thinking it was a romcom. Another thing that fell flat for me was the insta-love aspect of the romance. I love tension and build up for my romances and this didn’t deliver. There were a few situations that were unnecessary to the plot, but overall I appreciated the intentions the author had with this story.

2.5 stars ⭐️⭐️💫

Synopsis: After being outed and fired from her job at a bakery, semi-closeted baker Amy creates her own bridesmaid-for-hire business. While trying to get over her ex, Amy works to balance a blossoming relationship with newcomer Charley, her friendships, and her business while remaining true to her queer identity.

Review: This book is really thoughtful and mindful in how it portrays Amy’s story as a closeted queer person in Oklahoma before gay marriage was legalized. While the romance in the book is more of a subplot, Queerly Beloved follows Amy’s journey as she tries to balance her career in the wedding industry while concealing her frustrations at the marriage inequalities suffered by her fellow queer friends.

While this book has the found family trope, some of my big dislikes were the frequent miscommunication between Amy and Charley, the insta-love, and a lack of overall depth for any of the characters. Though this book is more of a contemporary fiction than a contemporary romance, it was still an engaging read even if the pacing was slow at times.

Thanks to @NetGalley and @TheDialPress for the ARC!

Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this novel!

There is a lot happening in Queerly Beloved, a wonderful LGBTQIA+ novel that is part romance, part "girl finds herself", part celebration of found family and showing up for yourself. There were so many things I loved about this book, but it didn't feel like it all came together towards the end.

In my head, I thought this was a romance, and while there is definitely a HEA, it felt the romance wasn't front and center, but a vehicle for Amy, our fun and cheery main character, to figure out what she wants and how to be herself. And that's not a complaint, just a recognition of expectations that weren't met. Amy is difficult to pin down (which I'm pretty sure is the point) and her story goes kind of all over the place as she tries to figure it all out. I had a hard time figuring out her romance though, and at times wished I got Charley's point of view, especially in the early part of their relationship. At times I worried the story was meandering and trying to deal with too much as we saw discrimination, family issues, employment setbacks, relationships destroyed and rebuilt, as well as weddings, showers, and a flash mob. There is a lot here! I don't know that all of it needed to be!

I will say that I really appreciated that this book was set pre-Obergefell in Oklahoma, it made all of the things happening to make sense and it was important to see that this novel was both contemporary, but also almost historical, while not feeling dated.

In the end, I wanted more romance, possibly more weddings, and more Red Ruby. And I will tell you one thing, I hope the Red Ruby bar exists somewhere and I eventually have a chance to go there because that place sounded amazing.

Queerly Beloved was a charming romance. It was lovely to get to know Amy, Charley, and their friends. The LGBTQIA community was well represented. Amy's idea of starting a business for hiring bridesmaids was interesting. However, it could have been edited more, as well as recommended to anyone seeking insightful information about being gay or lesbian. It was great how the ending turned out, and I am sure that everyone who reads this book will feel the same way.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the the ARC of this book. This was an honest review.

I liked this book both more and less than I thought I would. The romance truly is underwhelming and uninteresting and I found myself really annoyed not only with the main characters choices but also with the inconsistency other character. It was, however, so interesting to spend time considering this work, set in 2013, a work of historical fiction. I also just disagree with a lot of the arguments about marriage and marriage equality posed throughout. However, I did find myself really invested in Amy's personal growth and success, even if l ultimately disagree with the conclusions she came to. Overall, the romance lacked both centrality and chemistry, but I enjoyed the ride.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dial for this ARC

CW: homophobia Christian rejection

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for allowing me to read this ARC!

Content Warning: homophobia, misogyny, forced outing.


The only thing Amy Fariner loves more than baking is weddings. Working at a Christian bakery has forced Amy to become straight-passing "Amelia," and while she secretly dreams of being able to be her genuine self at work, she is afraid of what might happen should her coworkers or ultrareligious boss discover she's a lesbian. It's also 2013, and Amy is caught up in the conflict of loving weddings while being unable to marry once she finds the woman of her dreams. And it looks like she might've met that woman: Charley, an engineer who works in oil and gas, shows up at the bakery, and Amy is instantly smitten. When things do end up going wrong at Amy's baking job, she turns to the world of professional bridesmaids. But in order to make a life for herself -- one that she truly, really wants -- Amy has to decide: is it worth hiding herself in order to make others happy?

Going into this, I expected it to be more on the romcom side of things, but what I ended up finding here was something quite different. Instead, this is more focused on Amy's life, her ups and downs, and in particular, her struggle in trying to both find out her authentic self and who exactly she wants to be in this world. There is a romance, with Charley, who meets Amy by chance at the bakery she ends up being fired from (no spoilers here: it's in the summary). Sadly, the romance isn't quite as dreamy or steamy as I'd hoped for; Charley lacks much character outside of being a whip-smart, butch engineer, and I think that she could've benefited from deeper development of her personality and, perhaps, some flaws to make her more interesting.

The rest of the cast comes off as strangely stereotypical, especially Amy's two best friends, Damien and Joel. They're a couple, and in fact, it's hard to really tell them apart -- and they serve the role of "gay best friend" with a lack of heart that left me feeling a bit confused. It's always odd to find stereotypes like these in books about gay people written by gay people, but regardless, I wished that the two of them could have grown beyond their ill-fitting roles. I liked that Joel ends up challenging Amy and speaking up for himself, and I very much enjoyed the way that things turned out between the three of them and how their dynamics ended up developing, but I still felt as if there could've been so much more to them beyond going to pride with pink, sparkly capes, watching HGTV, and providing "sassy" remarks.

Speaking honestly, though, I actually ended up not minding that the centering of the story was more on Amy and her self-discovery, rather than the romantic aspects of her (slightly tumultuous) relationship with Charley. It was slightly refreshing to see how Amy needed time to work on herself and come to terms with some of the issues in her life before fully diving into the romantic dream of happily-ever-after with Charley. I also liked that Amy was, at first, reluctant to address her problems, something that strikes me as being authentic and also relatable. Then, when she finally did have the "aha!" moment of realizing where she'd gone wrong, and the things that perhaps she needed to work on fixing for herself and for those in her life, it was satisfying to go through the journey with her.

I do have a couple more nitpicks here, so I'll just go ahead and get them out of the way. These things mostly have to do with preference; I have no doubt that some of the issues that stopped me from fully loving this novel will pose no problem for other readers. Firstly, I think that this book takes on a little too much, and even with its 400 pages (which even seemed too long), it isn't able to fully or completely tackle all of the issues it wants to discuss. For example, there's a few meaningful conversations about what gay marriage equality means for the LGBT+ community, and how everyone in the community has different feelings towards it (whether or not it's another heteronormative trap, what it means for the future of equality rights, how it impacts things that straight people take for granted, like visitation rights at the hospital), but I'm not sure Dumond ever reaches any conclusions about it or gives these discussions the spotlight they really need. I think it's wonderful that she wanted to bring up all these topics, but I think it would've helped the book's pacing and tone if she'd cut some of it down.

Another problem I had was the (in my opinion) overusage of the term "queer." Sometimes the word was used when it would've been easier, and more poignant, to be specific: lesbian, gay, transgender, nonbinary, whatever it might've been. Although it's now a commonly used term and, for many, in no way offensive, it's a word that I think we should be use sparingly and with remembering how not so long ago, it was a slur, used to make LGBT+ people feel like outsiders, feel hated, afraid. Not everyone is comfortable with that term, and we'd do one another a favor if we thought of that before using it. It particularly made me cringe when characters used it in reference to older members of the LGBT+ community. I also thought it seemed a little strange and out-of-place when characters introduced themselves with their pronouns. I don't remember this being common in 2013; even now, people don't do it much in public spaces (LGBT or otherwise). We certainly should, and we should do our best to make others comfortable and use their pronouns of choice, but things like that made this book feel distinctly as if it were happening in 2022.

All in all, I think that, for me, this book was firmly average. Lots of people will probably enjoy it, and I think it's fantastic to see a self-discovery journey that doesn't focus entirely on romance, but some of the issues were too pressing for me to become totally immersed. Dumond's writing is simplistic, pleasant to read, but often told us what was happening instead of actually allowing us to experience it.

Recommended if you love weddings, discussions of religious homophobia and the ways we can use religion positively, and happy endings!

Disappointed to say I did not enjoy this book, or even finish it. I found the plot to be slow and the dialogue lacking.

I was initially really excited about the premise of this book. The idea of a queer baker in conservative Oklahoma becoming a bridesmaid for hire sounded like such a fun and thought provoking adventure. But the romantic plot was honestly boring. The love interest was a little typical and underdeveloped. The conversations about queer rights and love were a little stereotypical and surface level. The pace was really slow and I only found myself drawn to read out of obligation rather than interest.

Good concept that had a lot of potential but would need a lot of editing and enhancing.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for an ARC of this book!

3.5/5 stars - rounded up!

Queerly Beloved follows Amy, a baker and bartender that lives in Oklahoma. Most mornings you will find her at a very Conservatively Christian bakery, but little do her co-workers know - at night Amy's bartending at the local gay bar. Amy is a queer woman, but she'd rather keep that to herself at the risk of making other uncomfortable, One day while working at the bakery, a charming, seemingly queer, engineer walks into her bakery and Amy asks her on a date!

This book focused less on the romance and more on Amy's character development. Which, honestly i enjoyed. Amy is a chronic people-pleaser. After getting a gig as a fill-in bridesmaid for a complete stranger - what luck! - we find her struggling to balance her time with Charlie and doing the things she knows how to do best. I think showing her emotional development was an interesting move and it kept me invested in the storyline more than the romance did, it reminds me a lot of the plot of Nina Lacour books, which i think is what hooked me. There is discourse on gay rights, as this takes place in the mid-2010s, which was a nice add. It mostly focuses on heteronormative practices and gay marriage.

All -in-all, if you're looking for a die-hard romance, I would not recommend this book. BUT if you're looking for a book where a queer woman learns how to be and care for herself, with a side of romance and comedy - i think you'll enjoy this book. I'm still cracking up about the penis cake incident.

2.5 stars rounded up

This was okay but I never really connected with the MC, Amy. I felt like her personality was all over the place and never flushed out. Also her LI, Charley, was kinda bland to me. I also would've never known this was based in 2013 because I thought it was within the last few years. This also doesn't feel like a romance since it was more about Amy's journey.

Queerly Beloved follows the life of Amy as she attempts to make her way in life. Amy works multiple jobs to pay rent while living in two world, one where she can be herself and the other where she must conform. Amy’s journey to finding herself and what career suits her is a long and twisty path filled with fantastic characters. The story also includes several laughs as Amy starts a side-gig where is a rent-a-bridesmaid. The constant underlying theme to the story is loving who you love when the government/ the law does not support it. Amy also has an on again off again romance with an important person in big oil. This romance is filled with miscommunications, lies, and an overwhelming sense of acceptance.

I adored Queerly Beloved. The writing was sharp and witty and the characters were absolutely charming.

Amy lives in Oklahoma and works at the hottest bakery in Tulsa. Baking is Amy’s passion and she adores her job. The only issue is that Amy is gay and her boss and coworkers would not accept her… so Amy is closeted while at work. Amy lives in fear of her bosses finding out and firing her. Then a new girl, Charley moves to Tulsa and Amy is smitten. Suddenly Amy’s worst nightmare happens, her boss finds out and as expected, fires her. Amy starts a business as a “professional bridesmaid” for straight couples at their weddings. Amy’s new business is booming and her new romance is blossoming. But why does Amy still feel like an imposter? Gay marriage was still illegal in Oklahoma and she finds it hard to love, love while also being personally discriminated against. As Amy struggles to find a balance, she may just lose everything with Charley.

"A people-pleasing bridesmaid-for-hire falls for the crushable new lesbian in town"?? Yes please!!

This was super cute read. It felt more like a coming-out / self-discovery story than a romance in full. Not that that's a bad thing by any means, but the romance felt more like a background plot and it's heavily marketing as romance/romcom so it feels worth mentioning. From word I've seen about it so far, I think a lot of people assumed it would be much more lighthearted all around. There's some heavier themes to it regarding the times prior to the legalization of gay marriage. Readers need to be prepared for that. It's a bit slow, but definitely worth pushing through.

I personally enjoyed it overall and would like to see more from this author.