"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.

I wanted to really like this book, but I struggled with it. The description was very promising, the title quite clever, and I was excited to read it - it gave me Love & Other Disasters vibes (which I really liked). Queerly Beloved's being billed predominantly as a romance, but I think that it's not really the focus of the book at all - it seems as more of a secondary storyline. The focus is more on Amy's personal and professional development, which I would have appreciated more if I knew that I shouldn't have kept waiting for more of the romantic storyline to come to the forefront. It also felt like it dragged a little bit too, as if there was a lot more padding to bolster the plot than strictly necessary - it probably could have been 25-30% shorter and would have been much more digestible for it. I also had to keep reminding myself that this was taking place in a much less progressive time and place - which I inexplicably had a hard time understanding why this really was necessary. On the plus side, Amy was extremely relatable and authentic, and her friends and family were great additions to support the overall story. I think the book would have been more powerful on it own, without trying to force it as a romance, unless the romance angle being more refined and advanced.

Thanks for Random House for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. Looking forward to seeing what this author comes up with next, despite my lack of enthusiasm with this one.

this was one of the most touching and funny books I'd read in a while. The bulk of the story is set in 2013 and follows a lesbian woman as she navigates life in a small Oklahoma town where she is both closeted and out depending on the social / professional setting. She is surrounded but a great cast of friends and family and each of them play an integral part to her journey. I found the book to be fast paced and fun while sometimes covering topics that were sad or heartbreaking and frustrating. The author did a beautiful job of creating a safe place for the reader to identify with the characters and to open up to how we don't always know what is just under the surface. I am so happy to have read this book and love the journey as well as the hea.

*SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD!*
This book was fine. As you can tell from my read dates, it was a bit of a slog, and I can't entirely put my finger on why. Overall the story was fine, but I guess a bit boring? Not a lot happens. Or rather, a lot of stuff happens, but nothing that is substantial or meaningful to the storyline. Like, you could cut out huge chunks of the book, get the same ending, and not feel like you missed anything.

I didn't like the MC, Amy. She felt selfish and I really didn't empathize with her at all throughout the book. The LI, Charley, is pretty one dimensional (short haired masc lesbian who wears suits) and I just didn't buy the love story. Even their meet-cute in Amy's homophobic bakery didn't feel cute and flirty, it felt kind of forced? And then Amy was dropping the L bomb and I think they'd been on 3 dates and she didn't understand why Charley needed space? Also, Charley worked in the oil and gas industry, and it felt like the author was trying really hard to show that not everyone who works in that industry is evil, but, sorry, they mostly are. Or, if they're not, it's mostly greenwashing to make it look like the evil extractive industry isn't really that bad (but they are). Perhaps this was not the book for me personally, as I want to see all oil and gas operations shut the hell down.

The side characters were also really one dimensional. Like, Damian is a personal trainer and his partner is a bartender. And that's all I know about them. There was just nothing there.

Overall, I guess the story was fine. I feel really bad being critical of a debut queer author, but this book just did not at all do it for me, and it honestly felt like a chore to read (esp when there are a bunch of other books that I am really excited to get to!). One other review I saw said that the author did a lot of telling and no showing, which is something I've had a hard time wrapping my head around with other books that this has been said about, but I totally agree with it for this one. There was just no feeling; it was a bunch of words on pages, and I'm not sure what could be done to change that?

This is a truly delicious delight of a book!
Amy, the main character is so relatable in her journey. I appreciated that this book was more so a coming out type of story versus other wonderful stories where the main character has already been out.
I also appreciate the author's writing style, its smart and quirky. I felt myself smiling at the pages with the funny banter of friends. I would have liked more of the romance element though, more courting and more drawn out details of the couple. But other than that this book left me wanting some yummy wedding cake. This read came at a perfect moment in my life. My cousin is getting married so all the wedding lingo was just perfect!
Plus this cover is just so adorable. I would def read another book by Susie Dumond!

Queerly Beloved is a delight! It’s super gay, full of amazing friendships, a cute romance, and tons of baked goods!

I really enjoyed this book and following Amy on her journey of discovering what she wants to do with her life. Her life turns upside down when the bakery that’s employed her for a few years discovers she’s gay and fires her. Her road to being who she fully is and not doing things just to make other people comfortable is wonderful and inspiring.

I wish everyone would read this, queer or not, to better understand what it’s like to feel different and unsafe and excluded, and then on the flip side to feel welcome and whole when you find your people. I’m cisgendered and straight, but reading this made me better understand Amy’s life and struggles, the fears of people turning away from her for who she is, and the happiness when small steps are taken towards equality.

I did think that this was going to be more like a romance or romcom, but it’s more of a self-discovery or coming of age kind of story with a bit of romance thrown in. Amy and Charley are really cute and I couldn’t help but root for them, but they’re dates are few and far between, and the book is more about Amy’s jobs. Just putting that out there in case anyone thinks it’s a full on romance.

Definitely worth a read and it will make you want to eat all the cupcakes!

*Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

While I am thankful for the opportunity to try this book through an ARC, I couldn't get through Queerly Beloved - it really just dragged for me and didn't keep my attention, despite its super cute premise. DNF at 26%.

Read this book if you like: books about bakers, LGBTQ books, 2010 ish timelines, queer representation

Amy is a semicloseted queer baker and bartender in mid-2010s Oklahoma. She has spent a lifetime putting other people’s needs before her own. Suddenly she’s been fired from her job at a Christian bakery and turns to a strange job, a paid bridesmaid for weddings. Before losing her job she meets Charley, an attractive engineer who’s just moved to Tulsa. They go on a series of dates.

I liked this book. It was funny. I loved the fact that Amy had to get a crazy job like fake bridesmaid. I loved the baking aspect of the book and the recipe at the end. I loved that it showed the importance of finding family when your blood family doesn't accept you for who you are. I do feel it was lacking a bit in the development of Charlie and Amy's relationship. I didn't love Amy at first but she grew on me. The book wasn't really relationship forward like you would expect. I was hoping for more of that. It did a lot of focusing on the times before gay marriage was allowed. I'm bisexual so I really appreciate that. It paints an accurate picture of the times. I really enjoyed it!

This comes out May 3rd! Thank you to NetGalley, the author Susie Dumond, and Random House Publishers for my gifted copy. ❤

Okay, first things first. The cover of this book is sheer perfection and the title is precious. I really enjoyed the book. I don't want to give too much away, but Dumond managed to pack a surprising amount of plot into this book. That's partially because we only get to see Amy's perspective on things. I really related to some of Amy's struggles with ingrained people-pleasing southern femininity. We get so see a lot of growth from Amy in a way that feels real. I love the sense of place and community Dumond created in the book. I'm looking forward to seeing what Dumond comes up with next, given this absolutely delightful debut.

First of all this cover is adorable. Second of all this was a fun one. When Amy a semi-closeted baker gets fired from the Christian bakery it’s time to reassess, just as Charley moves into town and into her life.
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This is a story about no long pleasing everyone else but finding out what truly makes yourself happy.
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Thank you #NetGalley and #Dial for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review .

I found the premise of Queerly Beloved very intriguing: a semi-closeted queer woman, working at a Christian bakery in conservative Oklahoma in the days before marriage equality, takes on a side gig of being a bridesmaid-for-hire after getting outed at her job and fired. Although the concept is thought-provoking, I found the execution to be a little uneven.

What I liked:
- A sobering look at what life and love were like in the days before gay marriage was legal. As pleased as I am that we have finally reached a place where more people believe that love is love, and there is greater, if not total acceptance, it still saddens me to think that less than twenty years ago the queer community had to stand on the outside looking in as others were allowed to be legally bound to each other, and had to consider their surroundings before showing affection in public.
- Watching Amy on her journey of personal growth. Throughout most of the book she manages to be both a people-pleaser and self-centered, so it's interesting to watch her move somewhere in the middle by the end of the book.
- Amy's friends. Although most of them are fairly one-dimensional, I do love a story of found family.
- The epilogue. I love epilogues in general, but am disappointed when they take place like two weeks after the rest of the story. In this book, we get a nice long time gap, and are able to see Amy and her extended found family and get updates on their lives and loves.
- The cupcake recipe at the end. Don't miss it!

What I didn't:
- The love interest, Charley, is a completely one-dimensional character. By the end of the book we know not a bit more about her than when she and Amy first met - she's an engineer from Texas who moved to Tulsa to work in the oil and gas industry. That's it.
- This is packaged as a rom-com, but there isn't a whole lot of romance to be found. We have some insta-love (at least on Amy's part) and then there is a very long period of time when her relationship with Charley is pushed to the side. And then it comes back at the very end and everything wraps up with a happily-ever-after bow on top. It would more properly be categorized as women's or LGBTQ fiction.
- The slow pace of the first half of the book. There were a lot of weddings and that was kind of interesting but at one point I just wondered where the story was going. However, the last part of the book was beautiful and made me cry. So kudos for that.
- Overall, I think it could have used another round or two of editing. Like I said, I love the concept, I just wish the execution had been a bit cleaner.

This book also comes with some content warnings: homophobia, outing, infidelity, a reference to conversion therapy, familial estrangement, references to a parent's battle with cancer.

Thank you to NetGalley and The Dial Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Queerly Beloved is a tender hearted read that focuses on one woman finding herself and being true to who she is. The romance takes a bit of a backseat in this love story, so I think if you know that going in, you can enjoy this book for what it is, which is more of a “coming of age as a grown up.” story. The food and baking elements were also a plus - I really enjoyed that! I’ll be eager to hear more about this one when it releases this week.

I love the adorable rom com cover on this book, and the cute concept of a baker-turned-bridesmaid-for-hire. The tone was darker and plot heavier than I expected from the cover and description. The romance was sweet but superficial during the first quarter of the book, so I was surprised that the first love scene occurred so early. Ultimately, this book was not for me. DNF at 25%.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book drew me in but once I started reading it, I just couldn’t get into it at all.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

I was drawn to this book about a queer aspiring baker who has to stay closeted while working for a conservative Christian bakery. When she gets fired, she then decides to become a bridesmaid-for-hire. We follow Amy as she begins a new relationship, and the internal struggle she feels because she wants to be open with her relationship, but still fears judgement from others in 2013 Tulsa.

I thought the idea behind this book was interesting, and something different from other rom-coms I’ve read. Unfortunately, I had a really hard time getting into the book. It was boring, and I didn’t connect with or root for any of the characters.

Thank you Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy. This book publishes May 3, 2022..

I don't know if this is just because I've had so many queer romances set around food lately, but I really liked this one.

I really enjoyed this book! Watching Amy find a way to combine her passion for all things wedding with the fact that, as a queer woman in 2013 Oklahoma, she's not afforded that right for herself was fantastic. I enjoyed the side characters, her queer family, and seeing the role they played in helping Amy figure out how to be true to herself without ever again needing to pretend she isn't exactly who she's meant to be. 4 star read! Can't wait for this author's next book!

Be still my heart i am in love! This book was so gosh darn cute I couldn't handle it! I love baking and I love lesbians (or just sapphics in general) and this book had it all. There was definitely some deeper part of this story but this is one where the ending just made my heart feel so full I was in tears. I can not wait for a physical copy and to make all of my friends read this.

This book had a lot of good components, but just didn't completely work out for me. It felt like Amy and Charley had insta-love and then that love story took a back seat while these characters found themselves quite separately. Then it tied up with a bow at the end.

Some of the story components also felt a little forced. I love a queer romance, but I think it's a tricky thing for the author to find the balance between having these characters defined by being queer only or having that be one aspect of their full personality. I think that balance was a little off here.

I think a lot of readers will really love this book! It has great food scenes, found family. and finding oneself. But it just wasn't a good overall fit for me.

Amy loves her job, but in order to keep it she can't be out as a lesbian in conservative Tulsa, Oklahoma. Set in the early 2010's where gay rights aren't nationally recognized, her boss finds out and fires her because of her '"religious beliefs." Down on her luck she meets Charley who is new to town and instantly feels a connection to each other, but when someones feelings are more passionate then the other, they take a break. Not to mention Amys' BFF gets engaged throwing a riff in their relationship. Can Amy mend fences with her best friend as well as her crush while starting a new business, without being partially in the closet.

I was really excited for this book, but it just wasn't for me. We were promised a love story about baking and weddings, but I felt like we didn't really get a ton of romance, or baking, and the wedding aspect is about her being a bridesmaid for hire which also somehow turned into wedding event planner? The plot was just a bit all over the place. Everything felt like it was just touched on and we didn't get much depth. I feel like if we could have gotten rid of one or two conflicts it could have left more room for a fuller romance arc, or more about her coming out to the community and her business adventures. For instance her fight with her best friend goes from 0-100 in 2 pages and then they don"t see each other for most of the book and then all of a sudden it needs to be wrapped up and she barely gets an apology out before he is just like 'ok I forgive you!' Same with the romance. Amy meets Charley they go on a few dates, then she says she loves you, then they break up and for the majority of the book we don't see Charley again, then it needs to be wrapped up so all of a sudden they are forgiven and they live happily ever after. If you're looking for a light romance definitely check this book out, but if you were hoping for something more substantial this might not be it.

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 5/3