I adored this audiobook. It's laugh-out-loud funny, endearing, heartbreaking, uplifting, inspirational and beautifully written with characters I dare you not to fall in love with. Bonnie Solomon has done a fabulous job with this book, and her narration makes it even more amazing. She brings these sensational characters to life. 

Pearly Gates is a dead drag queen working in waste management in the afterlife, but wants more in her life after death. She convinces a spirit guide to take an unscheduled holiday while she takes his place looking after three souls. Hannah is a widow having a hard time moving on, Sam is battling cancer and not coping with it, and Danielle is a trans woman who is struggling to accept her true self.

Pearly jumps headfirst into her new role as a guide while trying to stop herself from being recycled by making sure her boss thinks she is still at work. She comes up with an ingenious way of keeping up appearances at her job while helping her charges to live their best lives.  

This book is beautiful and was a pleasure to read/listen to. I cannot wait to read more from Bonnie. Highly recommend. 

A drag queen from the afterlife poses as a spirit guide in order to get out of her awful job - but ends up with way more than she bargained for, including a gorgeous found family.

Disclaimer: I received an early copy of the audiobook of Pearly Gates by Bonnie Solomon via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Those that know me, know that I am a big fan of the art of drag - and also that I am a sucker for queer found family stories. So when this appeared on my radar, I just knew I had to read it! Luckily, Bonnie Solomon gave me that opportunity and honestly: this book did not disappoint!

As mentioned, I listened to this as an audiobook and I definitely feel that that's the route to take. There are a lot of drag colloquialisms that come across best when listened to (like Yassss queen - which comes across different on page than via audio), and I feel that Bonnie, who didn't just write the book but also narrated it, gave it the exact right amount of inflection, without taking it over the top.

Now, as to the story: it is a tale as old as time. A drag queen in the afterlife who is stuck in a deadend job decides to stage a minor con by tricking an actual spirit guide into allowing her to become a spirit guide, so that she can get out of hear deadend job. Instead, she learns a bunch about herself and ends up, unkowingly, creating a gorgeous community of beautiful queer and vulnerable people. Bonnie handles this narrative with grace and a lot of love.

There's so much humor to be found within the pages of this book, and I often found myself chuckling when Pearly cooked up another ridiculous scheme or expressed herself in her draggy larger-than-life way. But not only that, there's also a lot of heart in this book. While the tone is mostly lighthearted, this book deals with a lot of heavy themes, including (but not exclusively) transitioning, gender dysphoria, death and dying from terminal disease and grief, and Bonnie does so beautifully- you can tell that she's done the work to create authentic and loving LGBTQ representation: the entire cast of characters of Pearly Gates is queer and they are all so achingly real, that you can't help but fall in love with them.

I'm a huge fan of Pearly Gates and if you enjoy uplifting queer stories with a dash of magic that'll tug at your heartstrings, please do yourself a favor and pick up Pearly Gates. You won't be disappoined. Periodt.

(4.5 stars bumped up to 5)

Can not in good conscience recommend this book to anyone, especially not (gender)queer people. Cozy queer fantasy with found family had me very excited but it quickly turned into a hot mess. Your regular TERF #1’s magical school reference in the year 2025 is bad enough as is, but this lovely quote made me question whether I needed my ears checked: "there was that dream she had of Voldemort going down on her in the Forbidden Forest”.

(DNF @ 25%)

This book had such a unique story. I absolutely love the way the world was built and the author did an amazing job of keeping this book fresh and exciting.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Heartfelt, hilarious, and utterly unforgettable.

I loved this book. Pearly Gates is the kind of character that sticks with you — bold, snarky, hurting, and hopeful. The story blends cozy fantasy with deep emotional resonance, and it had me laughing one minute and tearing up the next.

I listened to the audiobook, and having Bonnie Solomon narrate her own book brought everything to life in the best way. Her performance made Pearly feel so real — the humor, the attitude, the heartbreak — all of it hit harder because she knows these characters inside and out. It made the whole experience feel personal and alive.

This book is full of queer joy, messy love, second chances, and unexpected healing. If you like your fantasy character-driven, funny, and full of soul, Pearly Gates delivers. I already want to re-listen.

1000 stars. I thought I was settling in for a romance—and while it absolutely isn’t one, I’m not even mad. I laughed, I cried, I squawked, I bawked, I enjoyed every second. I want more Pearly. I want to follow her exploits forever. Will there be a sequel? Please let there be a sequel.
The story follows Pearly Gates, a deceased drag queen who’s landed the worst gig in the afterlife—cosmic sanitation worker. When her soulmate dumps her for being “emotionally unevolved,” Pearly seizes the chance to illegally take over a burnt-out spirit guide’s caseload to prove she’s worthy of love and redemption. Her mission drops her into Thunderbolt Books & Coffee, a cozy small-town café with a ghost problem and a community in need of a little magic. Along the way, she meddles, mentors, and maybe even matures—until a twist involving her reincarnated ex forces her to choose between sabotage and true growth.
The writing is sharp and snappy with a distinct voice that never falters. Each character feels like their own full technicolor self, and the tone somehow balances laugh-out-loud irreverence with real emotional resonance.
Tropes like found family, second chances, and redemption arcs get a heartfelt and high-glam treatment here, and it works. This is not a love story, but it is absolutely a story about love—in all its tangled, transformative forms.
Pearly’s arc? Incredible. She goes from hot mess to hot shit in a way that’s both hilarious and deeply moving. And the audiobook? Top notch. The narrator brings Pearly to life with flair, nuance, and heart—truly enhancing the entire experience.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for a chance to review an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely one of my favorite cast of characters! A heartbroken spirit who drives a pink trash truck as a cosmic hazmat worker gets dumped for not progressing in her afterlife journey after centuries of being with the same soulmate. At a bar she decides to do a little job swap with a burnt out spirit guide and take over his charges on earth. Enter one of the sweetest dysfunctional journeys of heartbreak, love, and growth!

I will say, it's always a little weird when your name is the same as a frequently mentioned character, especially when her story has parallels with your own life. But I absolutely fell in love with how Bonnie Solomon wove so many different characters and their individual journeys into one. Absolutely a wonderful read!

Thank you NetGalley and Bonsol Press for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review!

I haven’t read anything like this before and I absolutely loved it! If you enjoy cozy fantasy authors like TJ Klune, Rebecca Thorne, & Travis Baldree this one is for you!!

In short summary: an afterlife drag queen named Pearly Gates who is assigned to cosmic sanitation work is crushed when her soulmate and love of her life Thunder breaks up with her and severs their bond. Pearly decides to covertly try her hand at spirit guiding with the ultimate goal of winning Thunder back by showing him that she does indeed have purpose in the afterlife.

I was drawn in immediately from the beginning and while the premise may seem a little silly, this book had so much heart and was so cozy and fulfilling. My first thought was "I hope there will be more in this series"!! I really enjoyed the audio version and loved it so much I immediately got it on kindle also.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Pearly Gates, a soul, is feeling stuck after getting dumped by her partner. She sneaks away from a job she hates and cons her way into the role of Spirit Guide to a collection of humans.

This is the portion I mostly enjoyed. PG brings her charges together in a “found family” way. The crew rallies to save a cafe after their ghost friend accidentally destroys it.

I think that all of the side characters, including PG’s partner and her human charges, lack development, though. It makes the save the cafe hijinks fall a little flat.

Imagine if The Good Place got glam, had brunch with Legends & Lattes, and everyone unapologetically wore sequins — that’s Pearly Gates. Bonnie Solomon delivers a delightful queer fantasy that feels like a warm hug and a drag show rolled into one.

Our heroine finds herself stuck at the titular "Pearly Gates" — but don’t worry, this isn’t your grandma’s afterlife. It’s got celestial coffee shops, mildly chaotic angels, and more glitter than a Pride float. There’s found family, sweet queer romance, and just the right amount of chaos magic to keep things spicy.

The heart of the story? Healing. And not just the magical kind. There’s grief, growth, and the deep joy of choosing your people — and your afterlife wardrobe.

My goodness this was a cute and heartfelt story! The audio was well narrated as well. The characters were well fleshed out and complex - not always 100% likable, but watching them grow and learn throughout the book was so much fun. What a cool premise for a book as well!

This book was read very well by the narrator who happened to be the author. Having a genderfluid character at the center and a found family comprised of so many genders and sexualities was refreshing to read. The ending was what you expect, which makes it good for a lighthearted read. There is a lot you could reflect on from the world Solomon builds and it could easily be expanded to tell other characters' stories.

I'm so glad I went into this book blindly (skimmed through the synopsis) because this book delivered in every sense of the word! It made cry and laugh. It had such a heartwarming feel to it, the positive messages, the concept of afterlife, drag queen , and how we're all connected. I genuinely never thought a cosy fantasy will make me feel the way this book did. As a reader who loves to switch genres up a bit every now and then I thoroughly enjoyed this!

This book was a delight! It creates a great world of the afterlife mixed in with real world stories for a wonderful tale of friendship, community, queerness, found family, and love. I loved how it gives life to queer stories from Hannah freaking out about her first time being intimate with not a man, to Danielle's journey through her own gender expression. It was light and fun with a few moments that can really hit the soul - I felt as if I was brought into the community in Thunderbolt Books & Coffee. The audio was smooth and an easy read as well. 4.5 stars.

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0 Stars

Kudos to the author for not only writing a phenomenal story but doing a wonderful job as the narrator of their own audiobook. This thoughtful and fun take on the afterlife was exactly what I needed, making me laugh and cry in equal measure.
Pearly is a deeply flawed character who at the start of the story is doing all the wrong things for all the wrong reasons. Seeing her grow and develop as she helped her charges made for a rewarding story arc that felt genuine.
The only part of the story that I didn't love was surrounding "dumb Pearly". While I can appreciate the necessity of the character I wish they had used just about any other knick name for them. What I think was meant as a quick throw away joke instead felt mean spirited which was greatly at odds with how thoughtful the rest of the story strove to be.
Overall this was a beautiful book that was able to balance humour and heart and tackle some heavier topics while it was at it.

I loved the character, Pearly Gates. She is witty, self-aware, and always trying very hard to be helpful, even if it means bending the rules. Ruby is also a great character and the found-family vibe is great. Pearly Gates is a bit of Dead Like Me and a but of Under the Whispering Door - - and very much its own thing as well.

Pearly Gates is a heartwearming story about defying societys expectations, finding your place in the world and fresh starts in life.

The concept/world building of souls being reincarnated over and over again while also having a presence in a spirit world was really interesting. I really enjoyed learning more and more about the rules of this world.

The characters are very cute and relateable If a little flat at times. It was really cute to see them grow though.

The flashbacks to pearlys prior lifes were really cool.

What I didn't like were for one the constant pop culture references and secondly how easy the conclusion of the final conflict felt. I know this is supposed to be a slightly fluffy book but it still felt a little weird that everyone was really mad at pearly and BAM they aren't any longer.

Overall I'd definitely recommend this one though - nice, heartwearming palette cleanser

Really fun book - had me engaged from beginning to end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Pearly Gates by Bonnie Solomon is a cute premise and delightful listening. Pearly Gates a real chaotic Fav!!

This novel is one that embraces the joys of drag, life long friends, LGBTQIA+ identity, and change throughout lifetimes. When I initially previewed this novel and heard about it, I did not expect to have such an emotional attachment to Pearly and the other characters within this novel.

While Pearly makes mistakes in this novel and loses her soulmate Thunder, I found her spirit to do what she thought was right, even unconventional and against the societal norms of the position she was in, was one of beauty and resonation with me. Pearly fears what life holds, even though she is in the afterlife, yet something in her tells her that she must find her own purpose. She becomes a "temporary" guide and little by little we see that she is growing and embracing change.

I cannot recommend this novel enough if you would like Y2K, a splash of Chappell Roan, and to see pure LGBTQIA+ joy. While it is uplifting and beautiful, you may find that it is also deeply emotional and leads you as a reader to navigate the world and the frequent changes around yourself a bit different -- the Pearly way <3

A special thank you to Bonnie Solomon, Bonsol Press, and Netgalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review