We Could Be So Good

A Novel

By: Cat Sebastian

Narrated by: Joel Leslie

A New York Times Notable Book of 2023

A New York Times Books Review Best Romances of 2023 pick • Apple Books’ Best Books of the Month • Amazon Best Books of the Month Editor’s Pick, Romance • An NPR “Books We Love” • Library Journal Romance Pick of the Month • LibraryReads Hall of Fame: June 2023 • Publishers Weekly Best Romances of 2023

Casey McQuiston meets The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo in this mid-century grumpy/sunshine rom-dram about a scrappy reporter and a newspaper mogul’s son "‘for Newsies shippers,’ [that] absolutely delivers” (Dahlia Adler, Buzzfeed Books).

“A spectacularly talented writer!”—Julia Quinn

Nick Russo has worked his way from a rough Brooklyn neighborhood to a reporting job at one of the city’s biggest newspapers. But the late 1950s are a hostile time for gay men, and Nick knows that he can’t let anyone into his life. He just never counted on meeting someone as impossible to say no to as Andy.

Andy Fleming’s newspaper-tycoon father wants him to take over the family business. Andy, though, has no intention of running the paper. He’s barely able to run his life—he’s never paid a bill on time, routinely gets lost on the way to work, and would rather gouge out his own eyes than deal with office politics. Andy agrees to work for a year in the newsroom, knowing he’ll make an ass of himself and hate every second of it.

Except, Nick Russo keeps rescuing Andy: showing him the ropes, tracking down his keys, freeing his tie when it gets stuck in the ancient filing cabinets. Their unlikely friendship soon sharpens into feelings they can’t deny. But what feels possible in secret—this fragile, tender thing between them—seems doomed in the light of day. Now Nick and Andy have to decide if, for the first time, they’re willing to fight.

©2023 Cat Sebastian (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

A very pleasant read

This has been somewhat unexpected to me. From the blurb I was afraid the book was going to take a turn for the angst and I lingered for a week on whether to buy this book or leave it for a moment in the future when I was in a better mental place and able to handle the angst.
In the end I decided to take a risk on the audiobook specifically because I though that Joel is reading it and I can probably handle it with him holding my hand.
Surprisingly the angst never quite manifests. The entire book is just as the title says, a careful balance of "life is not as good as it could be, but it's not as bad either and we can work on it together". Joel's talent does help in the rougher spots.
Very, very good.

Joel can make mediocre excellent

I won’t comment on the book itself. It had a ton of potential but the writing really fell flat. Joel, however, kept me engaged regardless of that. He’s just that good of a narrator.

Hidden Gem

Unexpected and thoroughly delightful. The story is engaging, the characters are compelling and the narration is just perfect. Give it a listen. You won’t regret it and you won’t forget it.

Why not? Remember the past.

I just needed to be reminded. I had to reminded how being a victim of the police department in the 90s in New Orleans almost destroyed my life. I had the 50000 to get out of the charge. People need to remember. I liked the book. I fortunately was able to live the same fantasy. (The current Louisiana Republican platform sends us back to the 50s. Read that. )


The book is what it is. I needed it. Hopefully Netflix will pick it up.

Fresh

I loved listening to it and reading it simultaneously. I think it's a really good perspective and narrative. And it's a really really cute story. I giggled a lot and was surprised sometimes at how things came together. I already recommend it to friends.

The terrific heartwarming story

The story takes place in a period that is filled with danger for the main character. The love and acceptance that they were able to find during this time was the backdrop to a beautiful story

Not my favorite

This was a good story and it has a relatively happy ending. But the whole time I was thinking about how much it sucked to be gay back then. & I couldn’t stop worrying that the world seems like it’s headed back in that same direction. So as a form of escapism this missed what I was hoping and looking for.

engaging story, compelling characters

It took me a little bit to get past the narration. My initial impression was that the narrator sounded a bit like Snagglepuss, which I still stand by. But, that's trivial. The story is like dessert after a good dinner. Also, I can't think of a single character that I wasn't rooting for, and that's pretty rare. This is an uplifting read, and even though set almost half a century ago now, it's a welcomed treat.

Love the story, but...

I love this story; in fact I own it in kindle form as well. Cat Sebastian is on the top of her game here, with wonderfully vivid character voices, a really well done setting, and wonderful romance.

The narrator, on the other hand, didn't work for me. At all. He takes this weird overdramatic approach to narration, all exaggerated cadences and overdrawn accents. If you're picky about the quality of audiobook
narration, try a sample of this before you buy.

So beautifully written

Well, now I’m obsessed with Cat Sebastian and anything she’s ever written. You would think that the mid century setting would hamper the story or make it unbearably depressing but it acts as another character and doesn’t take you out of the story itself. It adds so much dimension and character in fact. every gay story doesn’t have to be starcrossed or morbid, which she actually addresses in the book itself. It can be heartbreaking in a good way, saucy, revealing, wrenching and hopeful. Sebastian makes me want to be an author myself. That’s how good she is.