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When Love Gives You Lemons
In this exuberant and gorgeous YA romance from the critically acclaimed author of And They Lived..., a budding social media influencer sets out to win back his first love at a family wedding in an Italian lemon grove.
Ever since he was a kid, Fielder Lemon’s large, opinionated Italian-American family has lived next to Ricky DeLuca and his large, opinionated Italian-American family. For almost as long, Fielder has known that he wants to marry Ricky one day. And he thought Ricky felt the same way—until Ricky breaks up with Fielder the day after his high school graduation, saying he needs to figure out who he is on his own.
One year later, Fielder is asked to be one of the best men in his cousin's destination wedding on the Amalfi Coast in Italy, but there's a twist: his cousin is marrying Ricky’s sister. Fielder hasn’t talked to or seen Ricky once during the last entire, terrible year, but he hasn’t given up on his first love quite yet—and isn't a wedding in an Italian lemon grove the perfect setting to rekindle their relationship? Except Ricky might have already moved on.
Now, Fielder has less than a week to do the impossible and win back Ricky’s heart while also trying not to ruin his cousin’s wedding. But if there's one thing Fielder knows, it's that when life gives you lemons, take a bite!
Ever since he was a kid, Fielder Lemon’s large, opinionated Italian-American family has lived next to Ricky DeLuca and his large, opinionated Italian-American family. For almost as long, Fielder has known that he wants to marry Ricky one day. And he thought Ricky felt the same way—until Ricky breaks up with Fielder the day after his high school graduation, saying he needs to figure out who he is on his own.
One year later, Fielder is asked to be one of the best men in his cousin's destination wedding on the Amalfi Coast in Italy, but there's a twist: his cousin is marrying Ricky’s sister. Fielder hasn’t talked to or seen Ricky once during the last entire, terrible year, but he hasn’t given up on his first love quite yet—and isn't a wedding in an Italian lemon grove the perfect setting to rekindle their relationship? Except Ricky might have already moved on.
Now, Fielder has less than a week to do the impossible and win back Ricky’s heart while also trying not to ruin his cousin’s wedding. But if there's one thing Fielder knows, it's that when life gives you lemons, take a bite!
Unknown Binding
First published May 13, 2025
33 people are currently reading
6945 people want to read
About the author
Steven Salvatore
5 books562 followersSteven Salvatore is a critically acclaimed author, book coach, and chaos agent whose obsessions include Star Wars, Mariah Carey, boating in the Adirondacks, his loud Italian family, exploring Italy, being Italian (Siciliano, not Italian-American!), and having and dissecting his existential crises (not in that order). As a studied, accomplished composition professor with experience running college writing programs, he’s currently an academic advisor at Manhattanville University, where he also teaches. He has an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. He lives somewhere with his amazing husband Chris.
Steven is represented by Jess Regel at Helm Literary. His books include the critical darling AND THEY LIVED..., CAN'T TAKE THAT AWAY, NO PERFECT PLACES, and his adult romance debut THE BOYFRIEND SUBSCRIPTION
Steven is represented by Jess Regel at Helm Literary. His books include the critical darling AND THEY LIVED..., CAN'T TAKE THAT AWAY, NO PERFECT PLACES, and his adult romance debut THE BOYFRIEND SUBSCRIPTION
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
May 10, 2025
I will never get over this book. I finished it 3 hours ago and all I’ve been thinking about in that time is how much I loved it. Not only were there roms and coms, but there were easter egg side characters from all of Steven Salvatore’s YA books. Also, a himbo with thick thighs. That needs to be highlighted, because we love to see it!
I was lucky enough to get an ARC of When Love Gives You Lemons. Did I finish it before I also got an ALC? Nope. But that gave me the chance to read and listen at the same time. Talk about full mind and eyeball workout. And I didn’t even know that another one of my favorite authors was going to have a cameo in this experience, but there I was with my headphones on and all of a sudden… JASON JUNE IS READING TO ME! What is this life?
There is a line towards the beginning of the book where the MC, Fielder, mentions My Best Friend’s Wedding and while I probably knew this at one point, my lil’ pea brain had forgotten that this book is inspired by it. Not an exact story, because this is gaaaaaaaaay. And the girls, the gays, and the theys that get it, get it. We definitely got this, because my wig was snatched, Booboo. But all I could think is if Steven does me dirty with this ending, I will never… and I mean NEVERRRRRRRR forgive them.
Will I be telling you the ending or spoiling one millisecond of information? Absolutely not! This was peak queer media and I loved every second of it down to the lemon family and their gaggle of giggling aunties.
But I will say that I haven’t read a book in a loooooooong time that made me want to go to said destination after finishing it more that I do now. I’m Sicilian and haven’t wanted to visit my homeland as much as I want to after reading this book. It could be the hot Italian men (but I’m married) and I’m not ashamed to say it (but I love my husband).
Thank you to Bloomsbury YA and Libro.fm for my ALC.
I was lucky enough to get an ARC of When Love Gives You Lemons. Did I finish it before I also got an ALC? Nope. But that gave me the chance to read and listen at the same time. Talk about full mind and eyeball workout. And I didn’t even know that another one of my favorite authors was going to have a cameo in this experience, but there I was with my headphones on and all of a sudden… JASON JUNE IS READING TO ME! What is this life?
There is a line towards the beginning of the book where the MC, Fielder, mentions My Best Friend’s Wedding and while I probably knew this at one point, my lil’ pea brain had forgotten that this book is inspired by it. Not an exact story, because this is gaaaaaaaaay. And the girls, the gays, and the theys that get it, get it. We definitely got this, because my wig was snatched, Booboo. But all I could think is if Steven does me dirty with this ending, I will never… and I mean NEVERRRRRRRR forgive them.
Will I be telling you the ending or spoiling one millisecond of information? Absolutely not! This was peak queer media and I loved every second of it down to the lemon family and their gaggle of giggling aunties.
But I will say that I haven’t read a book in a loooooooong time that made me want to go to said destination after finishing it more that I do now. I’m Sicilian and haven’t wanted to visit my homeland as much as I want to after reading this book. It could be the hot Italian men (but I’m married) and I’m not ashamed to say it (but I love my husband).
Thank you to Bloomsbury YA and Libro.fm for my ALC.
July 4, 2025
Thank you SO MUCH to @bloomsburybooksus for this HIGHLY anticipated ARC to review. Thank you @stevensalvatorebooks for this book and for tolerating my 80000000 messages while reading.
In this exuberant and gorgeous YA romance from the critically acclaimed author of And They Lived..., a budding social media influencer sets out to win back his first love at a family wedding in an Italian lemon grove.
^from the publisher!
Ok so first thing you need to know is that I discovered Steven Salvatore last year. I devoured their books. The backlist. Every single book was a banger. Loved their adult debut. Another banger. My expectations were high for this book and Steven *knocked them out of the park!!!*
Can we talk about this cover!? The love struck eyes. The thick thighs saving lives. Yall. More bodies like this on romance covers please!!!! As a fat girl, seeing bodies that don’t just look like everyone else’s hits different. This would have meant the world to me as a teen.
This is a LOVING homage to rom coms of yore, specifically My Best Friend’s Wedding. I was immediately bought into this story. Rooting for Fielder. Wanting to see him happy and fulfilled.
Zero spoilers but!!!! This book is laugh out loud funny. As in I found myself cracking up immediately. It is *swoony* and oh-so-romantic. It is gay as hell. I LOVE all of the queerness and the calling out of *ahem* some people. I LOVE that it is sex positive and also has room for discussion of not having sex if you aren’t ready.
I was laughing, tearing up, giggling, cheering, squealing, cheesing, and having the best time. This book is not just about love in relationships. It’s about family and friends and finding your passion. It’s about pushing yourself to grow and leaning on your friendships. It’s about realizing you can do hard things *giggle* but really.
I think about And They Lived… at least once per day. This book is even better than my favorite Salvatore novel. I ate this up with a spoon and enjoyed every last lemon filled bite. An enthusiastic Hell yes from me!!!!
In this exuberant and gorgeous YA romance from the critically acclaimed author of And They Lived..., a budding social media influencer sets out to win back his first love at a family wedding in an Italian lemon grove.
^from the publisher!
Ok so first thing you need to know is that I discovered Steven Salvatore last year. I devoured their books. The backlist. Every single book was a banger. Loved their adult debut. Another banger. My expectations were high for this book and Steven *knocked them out of the park!!!*
Can we talk about this cover!? The love struck eyes. The thick thighs saving lives. Yall. More bodies like this on romance covers please!!!! As a fat girl, seeing bodies that don’t just look like everyone else’s hits different. This would have meant the world to me as a teen.
This is a LOVING homage to rom coms of yore, specifically My Best Friend’s Wedding. I was immediately bought into this story. Rooting for Fielder. Wanting to see him happy and fulfilled.
Zero spoilers but!!!! This book is laugh out loud funny. As in I found myself cracking up immediately. It is *swoony* and oh-so-romantic. It is gay as hell. I LOVE all of the queerness and the calling out of *ahem* some people. I LOVE that it is sex positive and also has room for discussion of not having sex if you aren’t ready.
I was laughing, tearing up, giggling, cheering, squealing, cheesing, and having the best time. This book is not just about love in relationships. It’s about family and friends and finding your passion. It’s about pushing yourself to grow and leaning on your friendships. It’s about realizing you can do hard things *giggle* but really.
I think about And They Lived… at least once per day. This book is even better than my favorite Salvatore novel. I ate this up with a spoon and enjoyed every last lemon filled bite. An enthusiastic Hell yes from me!!!!
March 21, 2025
I have mixed feelings about this book, and I hate that I feel this way. I loved Steven Salvatore’s previous YA books—No Perfect Places is one of the most underrated and underread books I’ve ever read—and I adore his vivid writing. I also love that he writes different kinds of YA stories, more uplifting ones and more serious ones. The thing is, though, I think I like the serious ones more.
Ricky’s (the love interest) mom says somewhere in the story, ”Sorry about that. He means well, but he’s a bit much sometimes—”
That’s also how I feel about this book. Don’t get me wrong, the descriptions of the Italian landscape were incredible, the Coven (Fielder’s mom and her sisters) hilarious, with Nonna the icing on the cake, but Fielder was indeed a bit much, sometimes. Add that Ricky and Fielder only started talking at 1/3 of the story and all those fourth wall breaks (where the MC talks to the reader), and I was like: whoa. I felt so overwhelmed.
Ricky’s POV was, thank God, a bit quieter, but I didn’t feel much. I didn’t feel the chemistry between those two boys, I didn’t root for them, I didn’t even particularly like them. And I definitely didn’t like that whole Cam thing.
And now I’m mad at myself for not loving this book as much as I wanted to. I did love all those beautiful descriptions of Amalfi, though, but I can’t rate a book 4 or 5 stars, just because of a gorgeous setting, right? So, please, if you want to read this book, check out other reviews and ignore mine.
Thank you, Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books and NetGalley, for this ARC.
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Ricky’s (the love interest) mom says somewhere in the story, ”Sorry about that. He means well, but he’s a bit much sometimes—”
That’s also how I feel about this book. Don’t get me wrong, the descriptions of the Italian landscape were incredible, the Coven (Fielder’s mom and her sisters) hilarious, with Nonna the icing on the cake, but Fielder was indeed a bit much, sometimes. Add that Ricky and Fielder only started talking at 1/3 of the story and all those fourth wall breaks (where the MC talks to the reader), and I was like: whoa. I felt so overwhelmed.
Ricky’s POV was, thank God, a bit quieter, but I didn’t feel much. I didn’t feel the chemistry between those two boys, I didn’t root for them, I didn’t even particularly like them. And I definitely didn’t like that whole Cam thing.
And now I’m mad at myself for not loving this book as much as I wanted to. I did love all those beautiful descriptions of Amalfi, though, but I can’t rate a book 4 or 5 stars, just because of a gorgeous setting, right? So, please, if you want to read this book, check out other reviews and ignore mine.
Thank you, Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books and NetGalley, for this ARC.
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Want to read
September 21, 2025ahhhhhhhhhhh this looks so cute!
we love the thighs on the guy on the cover too 💖💖
we love the thighs on the guy on the cover too 💖💖
July 14, 2025
I really hate that I didn't like this. The author wanted to make chaotic characters within a chaotic story with a chaotic style of narration and it all just ended up convoluting the story. I also just think I'd have preferred to read the word TikTok rather than seeing it be referred to as 'clock' 700 times. The writing itself left a lot to be desired.It was too heavy handed and a lot of the messaging in the book was so unsubtle that I began to hear *too* much of the author's voice in the story.
I didn't like either of the main characters. Fielder and Ricky felt so underdeveloped and too much of cardboard cutouts for me to enjoy this, and don't even get me started on the poorly done love triangle.
What I did love though were the settings and the descriptions of Italy. Everytime we got a new location it was described so vividly that I could imagine it with ease.
I didn't like either of the main characters. Fielder and Ricky felt so underdeveloped and too much of cardboard cutouts for me to enjoy this, and don't even get me started on the poorly done love triangle.
What I did love though were the settings and the descriptions of Italy. Everytime we got a new location it was described so vividly that I could imagine it with ease.
January 31, 2025
Thank you Bloomsbury and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. Steven Salvatore always writes the sweetest stories! Fielder Lemon had his heartbroken by the boy next door, his best friend, and his first and only love. He spent the next year and then some working on building his following on the Clock app and working on himself so that when he saw Ricky again he could win him back. He just didn’t realize it would be so soon. His cousin is marrying Ricky’s sister, in Italy! His whole family is headed to a romantic destination, what better place to win Ricky back! Only Ricky is not alone. Will Fielder let a this new person stand in his way? Ricky wanted to guard himself from Fielder, he’s the one that left, but Fielder hurt him too. But when the two return to each others orbits he can’t help but notice all the things that always attracted him to Fielder and all the way in which Fielder has grown. Caught between his ex and his current someone he’s more confused then ever. Can Fielder win back Ricky’s love? They’ve both been hurt and are scared. Maybe Italy can give them more then just time with each other. I love a book with a beautiful setting! The villages, the coast, Lemon Grove, and the Blue Grotto all sound absolutely lovely! A swoon worthy setting for a swoon worthy story! I loved both Fielder and Ricky and my heart ached with love, I smiled with them, felt all the warm and fuzzies with them, and just loved them! Of course there is the wonderfully loud, not at all subtle, in your business family that makes the story so enjoyable as well! Topher and Sienna’s love, Matty’s determination to lose his virginity, the Coven’s constant bickering but unconditional love and support of their children. And of course Benny’s hilarity! Humorous, sweet, charming, gut wrenching, and so lovely! Highly recommend reading When Love Gives You Lemons!
May 15, 2025
This was such a sweet read and listen, oh my goodness!
Starting with the first act breakup, we learn that Fielder and Ricky have been together since they were young. As neighbors, their two Italian-American families have become very close. They have always felt destined. So, when Ricky breaks up with Fielder, completely blindsiding him, Fielder spends the following year having zero contact with Ricky.
Now, the families are coming together for a wedding and Fielder and Ricky must come face to face. Fielder has wild notions of winning Ricky back, plotting, and making plans... but Ricky has moved on...
I adored the big family dynamics in this book. There were so many wonderfully bold characters, keeping me chuckling throughout. I thought the setting was perfection. A destination wedding on the Amalfi Coast was a great backdrop. We get to see both Fielder's and Ricky's distinct pov, getting both sides of a story that hurts and heals both of these boys.
I think the narration of this audiobook is fabulous. Both Mitch G Nel and Jason June provide such great voices for these characters, capturing the emotion and humor in every moment.
Starting with the first act breakup, we learn that Fielder and Ricky have been together since they were young. As neighbors, their two Italian-American families have become very close. They have always felt destined. So, when Ricky breaks up with Fielder, completely blindsiding him, Fielder spends the following year having zero contact with Ricky.
Now, the families are coming together for a wedding and Fielder and Ricky must come face to face. Fielder has wild notions of winning Ricky back, plotting, and making plans... but Ricky has moved on...
I adored the big family dynamics in this book. There were so many wonderfully bold characters, keeping me chuckling throughout. I thought the setting was perfection. A destination wedding on the Amalfi Coast was a great backdrop. We get to see both Fielder's and Ricky's distinct pov, getting both sides of a story that hurts and heals both of these boys.
I think the narration of this audiobook is fabulous. Both Mitch G Nel and Jason June provide such great voices for these characters, capturing the emotion and humor in every moment.
May 7, 2025
[I received an arc through the Bloomsbury Creators Circle]
Is it possible to fall in love with the same person over and over again?
I absolutely adored When Love Gives You Lemons by Steven Salvatore. This YA romance is full of so much heart and love and all the cliches/ tropes galore in the very best way. Dual point of view allows us to really get attached to the main characters, Fielder and Ricky, and you can't help but fall in love with them🥰 A second chance romance for childhood soul mates with no third act break up! endlessly entertaining fourth wall breaks, all the Italian pride, loving and nosey family members, good food, strong friendships and a happily ever after.
Is it possible to fall in love with the same person over and over again?
I absolutely adored When Love Gives You Lemons by Steven Salvatore. This YA romance is full of so much heart and love and all the cliches/ tropes galore in the very best way. Dual point of view allows us to really get attached to the main characters, Fielder and Ricky, and you can't help but fall in love with them🥰 A second chance romance for childhood soul mates with no third act break up! endlessly entertaining fourth wall breaks, all the Italian pride, loving and nosey family members, good food, strong friendships and a happily ever after.
May 15, 2025
t felt like a perfect romcom, a lot of times if feels books tend to focus more on the personal journey than the relationship between the characters, and even though Fielder and Ricky didn’t speak for a good part of the book it still grew the relationship wonderfully with real characters with flaws and virtues, when no one is perfect and no one is a villain. The narrators were so good too! That Italian-American New Yorker accent was spot on, reminded me of people I know!
July 24, 2025
4.5⭐️
As much as I wanted to hate this book in the beginning, I couldn't help but to fall in love with it.
At first, the main character seemed shallow, desperate and, quite frankly, insufferable, while his love interest was straight up mean, nonsensical and paradoxical.
However as the story went on, I was floored by the emotional complexity, the inner turmoils and the growth displayed by Ricky and Fielder.
What a refreshing story of messy love, mending and finding yourself.
As much as I wanted to hate this book in the beginning, I couldn't help but to fall in love with it.
At first, the main character seemed shallow, desperate and, quite frankly, insufferable, while his love interest was straight up mean, nonsensical and paradoxical.
However as the story went on, I was floored by the emotional complexity, the inner turmoils and the growth displayed by Ricky and Fielder.
What a refreshing story of messy love, mending and finding yourself.
April 27, 2025
THE SWEETEST STORY. As a baker why am I now wanting to make a sweet little lemon treat to celebrate this beautiful love story. I’m so thankful for the chance to have read this book. Steven is a phenomenal author i can’t wait to read his other work.
May 21, 2025
Next Level Romance & Delicious Angst!
Steven Salvatore is an exceptional writer who knows how to build delicious angst, palpable tension, and steamy romance. When Love Gives You Lemons is an excellent novel. It has all the staples: humor, second-chance romance, and yummy food! This story features Fielder Lemon, our hero, who is making confident strides for his life. He also just happens to be pining over the one who got away, the infamous Ricky DeLuca. As luck would have it, they are bound to reunite when their families start to unite.
Steven Salvatore puts readers THROUGH IT in this story. This story is full of the most accepting humans, and that unconditional family love was beautiful to read. The Lemon family is truly goals when it comes to the amount of love that they give one another. And this was a great component that made me never want to stop reading this story. It was like a My Big Fat Greek Wedding level of family love. Another component to highlight here is the angst. This story starts with Fielder and his prospective former love interest at odds; however, bit by bit, you get to see whether that will stay the same. It drove me crazy because I had to know what was going to happen next. Finally, the romance in this story is sure to be everyone's favorite part. Combining with the angst, the romance is grand and just amazing with an Italy backdrop that readers are going to love.
I cannot do justice to how great this story is and how much of a talented writer Steven Salvatore is. Go read this book and thank me later!!
Steven Salvatore is an exceptional writer who knows how to build delicious angst, palpable tension, and steamy romance. When Love Gives You Lemons is an excellent novel. It has all the staples: humor, second-chance romance, and yummy food! This story features Fielder Lemon, our hero, who is making confident strides for his life. He also just happens to be pining over the one who got away, the infamous Ricky DeLuca. As luck would have it, they are bound to reunite when their families start to unite.
Steven Salvatore puts readers THROUGH IT in this story. This story is full of the most accepting humans, and that unconditional family love was beautiful to read. The Lemon family is truly goals when it comes to the amount of love that they give one another. And this was a great component that made me never want to stop reading this story. It was like a My Big Fat Greek Wedding level of family love. Another component to highlight here is the angst. This story starts with Fielder and his prospective former love interest at odds; however, bit by bit, you get to see whether that will stay the same. It drove me crazy because I had to know what was going to happen next. Finally, the romance in this story is sure to be everyone's favorite part. Combining with the angst, the romance is grand and just amazing with an Italy backdrop that readers are going to love.
I cannot do justice to how great this story is and how much of a talented writer Steven Salvatore is. Go read this book and thank me later!!
May 15, 2025
shoutout to libro.fm for giving me an ALC of this. it was kind of people be cute have good time, and there is something to be said for that, but it was also a truly ridiculous premise (and the bar for that is HIGH in this genre). main characters TALK TO EACH OTHER challenge level: impossible. it was hard for me to root for the characters because i didn’t really like them. beyond the refusal to communicate and other miscommunications that were the cause of the conflict, a lot of the plot points had me like ???. you cannot tell me a POET lost his JOURNAL and never bothered replacing it for a year and a half!! i don’t believe you!! there were a lot of cultural references and phrases that will date this book very quickly but i feel like that’s becoming more and more common in YA.
so i guess i didn’t really care about the characters, but i was intrigued enough by what the heck was going on in the story that i kept listening (even if i had to call if for the day after some characters had their first kiss during I’M JUST KEN) - and i was excited to read a fiction book again, which was sort of my goal in picking this up.
so i guess i didn’t really care about the characters, but i was intrigued enough by what the heck was going on in the story that i kept listening (even if i had to call if for the day after some characters had their first kiss during I’M JUST KEN) - and i was excited to read a fiction book again, which was sort of my goal in picking this up.
July 11, 2025
The story is cute and sweet, but I feel like it got lost in some of the chaotic messiness of the writing. There were a lot of unnecessary and nonsensical fourth wall breaks that were not used in a consistent way. Word choice left something to be desired, over utilizing some words and slang that made it read like a Millennial trying to “be hip” with Gen Z. I also felt some of the storylines were forced and the amount of didactic messages made them all less impactful. I do love that this is lived lens and I think it could serve as a window or mirror book for some teens. It just read way too YA for me and I love YA.
June 6, 2025
4.5/5 ⭐️ rounded up because it’s Pride month! 🏳️🌈
When Love Gives You Lemons was a cute story with cute characters. I loved the queer representation and all of the very important life messages the story was conveying.
When Love Gives You Lemons was a cute story with cute characters. I loved the queer representation and all of the very important life messages the story was conveying.
June 8, 2025
Heavy handed messaging, finger wagging, and a terrible love triangle turn an otherwise interesting premise and great start into a sappy, odd mess.
June 11, 2025
oof this one was a big disappointment for me.
the one shining moment in this is the setting and descriptions of the scenery. the lemon farm sounds gorgeous and that was essentially my only positive.
so I have some legitimate problems with this book that I believe are problematic and then I have some petty issues because I got annoyed and the more I listened the more petty I got.
I suppose I should start with the legitimate issues so that people don't run away and get mad at me for being petty.
The first and foremost is that the author had a prime opportunity to be explicit in the fact that the A of LGBTQIA plus stands for asexual, aromantic, and agender. they did not choose to do that. there is a character in this book who is very queerphobic and who essentially tries to pass herself off as part of the LGBTQIA+ community as an ally and I'm using that term loosely here and there's a big blow up confrontation with this character where they do say that the A is not for ally but that's where it ends. The characters then go on to explain how vital and important showing queer sexual content and having freedom and queer sexuality is and I do agree that banning any sort of queer content or labeling it as explicit when it's just queer love is problematic however I would have loved a side note that being queer is more than sex.
My second problematic moment is when a secondary character has sex for the first time the main character makes a joke that his gay card will be arriving now. now the inference is that you don't get to call yourself gay or queer until you have sex and I don't even want to get into the landmine of that problematic ideology.
now my next issues are less problematic and more structural and plot related. our main character continuously breaks the fourth wall and talks to the reader and I HATED it. I hated it so much. I do not understand what the point of it was but it rips you out of the story. it would have been better if he was making a TikTok video or should I say a clock video cuz that's what they fucking call TikTok in this book which is annoying as hell.
My next issue is that it's been a long time since I've read a romance book where I have not felt any chemistry between the characters. but Fielder and Ricky have zero chemistry. they're supposedly these childhood best friends to childhood lovers or whatever they've been in love since they were kids which is weird but whatever yeah it's none of that comes across on page. they are like wet blankets and it's really hard to root for characters who you have no idea why the hell they want to be together when both of them have issues.
let's talk about Ricky. Ricky is problematic in and of himself. this whole book is about how Ricky dumps Fielder at his graduation because he thinks that Fielder needs to experience his senior year of high school without him and since he's doing an internship across the country that long distance wouldn't work blah blah blah. so Ricky dumps Fielder and then they have sex and then he leaves in the middle of the night without saying goodbye. and then Ricky has the audacity to get mad when Fielder blocks him. so it's a year later and Ricky and Fielder are going to this wedding in Italy for Fielder's cousin and Ricky's sister. and the whole plot is that fielder wants to win Ricky back but Ricky brings a date and it's so messy and so ridiculous. The way that Fielder is made out to be the bad guy when Ricky was the problematic asshole the whole time is wild. Don't even get me started on Ricky's date, Cam who is also a piece of garbage who gets some lame redemption act that belongs in a garbage disposal.
okay I'm moving on to some of my petty problems
what kind of name is Fielder Lemon? who decided that that was a good name for a character? are people named Fielder? My apologies if that's your name but Fielder Lemon sounds ridiculous.
I have seen reviews that people liked the coven as this book calls it of the overbearing Italian mothers I thought they were insufferable. like one of their sons is getting married and she wants to be up his asshole. banana fielder's mom and Ricky's mom are like at each other's throats but in a lovey way whatever that means. it was a hard no for me. maybe I just don't get it and that's probably it but I didn't like it I was over it.
sienna keeping queerphobic Jenny Lee in her wedding party was wild. throw her out the window of the private jet that you chartered.
calling TikTok the clock app when other social media apps are called by their name in this book almost sent me over the edge. there's a fourth wall break where Fielder talks about how TikTok might be banned by the time that we read this and then continues to call it clock for the rest of the book and I don't know why but it annoyed the absolute shit out of me.
I think I'm finding that I don't like books with viral main characters. being social media famous I feel like is not as common of a thing as our contemporary romance books would like us to believe. I feel like if you're going to have a character who's famous on the internet you have to address the privilege and the parasocial relationships that come along with it and this book doesn't really do that at all.
One more petty thing. THIS ONE IS SPOILERY SO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.
there's a scene where they're in these boat things and you have to lay down to get under the bridge and whatever it's supposed to be some fun experience and of course Ricky and Fielder end up together and Fielder talks about how he's not going to record the thing but Ricky encourages him to do so and once they're in their little boat thingy fielder's got his camera or whatever up and then they make out and have some emotional moment and somehow it gets uploaded into fielders clock story. and Ricky's mad about it. like bro you told him to record. also how can you be mad at someone for accidentally uploading something when you're sucking face? it was so weird and I did not understand how TikTok works but you going to tell me that your recording just automatically gets loaded and you don't do anything to it before it gets posted but whatever.
anyway it's safe to say this was not a win for me and is probably my least favorite book by Steven Salvatore. I feel like this book straddles the line of young adult and new adult and it doesn't do it in a good way. I have previously really like Steven Salvatore's YA books and disliked their adult books but this is not a win for me.
gay midsize MC
the one shining moment in this is the setting and descriptions of the scenery. the lemon farm sounds gorgeous and that was essentially my only positive.
so I have some legitimate problems with this book that I believe are problematic and then I have some petty issues because I got annoyed and the more I listened the more petty I got.
I suppose I should start with the legitimate issues so that people don't run away and get mad at me for being petty.
The first and foremost is that the author had a prime opportunity to be explicit in the fact that the A of LGBTQIA plus stands for asexual, aromantic, and agender. they did not choose to do that. there is a character in this book who is very queerphobic and who essentially tries to pass herself off as part of the LGBTQIA+ community as an ally and I'm using that term loosely here and there's a big blow up confrontation with this character where they do say that the A is not for ally but that's where it ends. The characters then go on to explain how vital and important showing queer sexual content and having freedom and queer sexuality is and I do agree that banning any sort of queer content or labeling it as explicit when it's just queer love is problematic however I would have loved a side note that being queer is more than sex.
My second problematic moment is when a secondary character has sex for the first time the main character makes a joke that his gay card will be arriving now. now the inference is that you don't get to call yourself gay or queer until you have sex and I don't even want to get into the landmine of that problematic ideology.
now my next issues are less problematic and more structural and plot related. our main character continuously breaks the fourth wall and talks to the reader and I HATED it. I hated it so much. I do not understand what the point of it was but it rips you out of the story. it would have been better if he was making a TikTok video or should I say a clock video cuz that's what they fucking call TikTok in this book which is annoying as hell.
My next issue is that it's been a long time since I've read a romance book where I have not felt any chemistry between the characters. but Fielder and Ricky have zero chemistry. they're supposedly these childhood best friends to childhood lovers or whatever they've been in love since they were kids which is weird but whatever yeah it's none of that comes across on page. they are like wet blankets and it's really hard to root for characters who you have no idea why the hell they want to be together when both of them have issues.
let's talk about Ricky. Ricky is problematic in and of himself. this whole book is about how Ricky dumps Fielder at his graduation because he thinks that Fielder needs to experience his senior year of high school without him and since he's doing an internship across the country that long distance wouldn't work blah blah blah. so Ricky dumps Fielder and then they have sex and then he leaves in the middle of the night without saying goodbye. and then Ricky has the audacity to get mad when Fielder blocks him. so it's a year later and Ricky and Fielder are going to this wedding in Italy for Fielder's cousin and Ricky's sister. and the whole plot is that fielder wants to win Ricky back but Ricky brings a date and it's so messy and so ridiculous. The way that Fielder is made out to be the bad guy when Ricky was the problematic asshole the whole time is wild. Don't even get me started on Ricky's date, Cam who is also a piece of garbage who gets some lame redemption act that belongs in a garbage disposal.
okay I'm moving on to some of my petty problems
what kind of name is Fielder Lemon? who decided that that was a good name for a character? are people named Fielder? My apologies if that's your name but Fielder Lemon sounds ridiculous.
I have seen reviews that people liked the coven as this book calls it of the overbearing Italian mothers I thought they were insufferable. like one of their sons is getting married and she wants to be up his asshole. banana fielder's mom and Ricky's mom are like at each other's throats but in a lovey way whatever that means. it was a hard no for me. maybe I just don't get it and that's probably it but I didn't like it I was over it.
sienna keeping queerphobic Jenny Lee in her wedding party was wild. throw her out the window of the private jet that you chartered.
calling TikTok the clock app when other social media apps are called by their name in this book almost sent me over the edge. there's a fourth wall break where Fielder talks about how TikTok might be banned by the time that we read this and then continues to call it clock for the rest of the book and I don't know why but it annoyed the absolute shit out of me.
I think I'm finding that I don't like books with viral main characters. being social media famous I feel like is not as common of a thing as our contemporary romance books would like us to believe. I feel like if you're going to have a character who's famous on the internet you have to address the privilege and the parasocial relationships that come along with it and this book doesn't really do that at all.
One more petty thing. THIS ONE IS SPOILERY SO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.
there's a scene where they're in these boat things and you have to lay down to get under the bridge and whatever it's supposed to be some fun experience and of course Ricky and Fielder end up together and Fielder talks about how he's not going to record the thing but Ricky encourages him to do so and once they're in their little boat thingy fielder's got his camera or whatever up and then they make out and have some emotional moment and somehow it gets uploaded into fielders clock story. and Ricky's mad about it. like bro you told him to record. also how can you be mad at someone for accidentally uploading something when you're sucking face? it was so weird and I did not understand how TikTok works but you going to tell me that your recording just automatically gets loaded and you don't do anything to it before it gets posted but whatever.
anyway it's safe to say this was not a win for me and is probably my least favorite book by Steven Salvatore. I feel like this book straddles the line of young adult and new adult and it doesn't do it in a good way. I have previously really like Steven Salvatore's YA books and disliked their adult books but this is not a win for me.
gay midsize MC
March 1, 2025
for as much as i wanted to like this book, quirky title aside, i found little to enjoy
the setting was good, like who wouldn’t want to fall in love in the amalfi coast? but apart from that everything else seemed to irritated me, which might as well be a me problem and not the books fault
i spent the entire time reading this book getting so frustrated, because i really wanted to like it, but it was so not for me
also, i tried reading this on kindle, but the formatting was a fucking mess, so i ended up having to change to my netgalley account, which i don’t mind, but why make the arc kindle appropriate if there’s no way you can read that?
anyway, many thanks to NG, the author steven salvatore, and Bloomsbury for the arc of when love gives you lemons
the setting was good, like who wouldn’t want to fall in love in the amalfi coast? but apart from that everything else seemed to irritated me, which might as well be a me problem and not the books fault
i spent the entire time reading this book getting so frustrated, because i really wanted to like it, but it was so not for me
also, i tried reading this on kindle, but the formatting was a fucking mess, so i ended up having to change to my netgalley account, which i don’t mind, but why make the arc kindle appropriate if there’s no way you can read that?
anyway, many thanks to NG, the author steven salvatore, and Bloomsbury for the arc of when love gives you lemons
April 21, 2025
ARC provided by Goodreads.
Wow, wow, wow. I have so many thoughts about this book. The first 100 pages made me dislike Fielder, I was kind of proud of Ricky for dumping him, actually, and yet as the story progressed, I found myself enjoying his character as soon as we switched to Ricky's POV and I saw what he saw in Fielder.
The way this book is so open about gay relationships, especially with the current state of the U.S, is so inspiring and hopeful. Gay people have preserved for years, no matter what, just by being themselves, and seeing this book where there are MULTIPLE gay characters who are all so different and fleshed out was truly refreshing.
Between the entire character that is Jenni Lee and the climate change portion of this book, there will be people who call it "preachy" and "unrealistic", but to those people, I think you should read it regardless.
Everything is really scary for members of the LGBTQIA community right now, especially in the U.S, so maybe we need to bring back a little bit of shoe horned messages about why conservative buzzwords are so harmful along with our gay joy.
Wow, wow, wow. I have so many thoughts about this book. The first 100 pages made me dislike Fielder, I was kind of proud of Ricky for dumping him, actually, and yet as the story progressed, I found myself enjoying his character as soon as we switched to Ricky's POV and I saw what he saw in Fielder.
The way this book is so open about gay relationships, especially with the current state of the U.S, is so inspiring and hopeful. Gay people have preserved for years, no matter what, just by being themselves, and seeing this book where there are MULTIPLE gay characters who are all so different and fleshed out was truly refreshing.
Between the entire character that is Jenni Lee and the climate change portion of this book, there will be people who call it "preachy" and "unrealistic", but to those people, I think you should read it regardless.
Everything is really scary for members of the LGBTQIA community right now, especially in the U.S, so maybe we need to bring back a little bit of shoe horned messages about why conservative buzzwords are so harmful along with our gay joy.
April 23, 2025
4.5/5 stars
This book was the perfect blend of Luca, My Best Friends Wedding & Heartstopper. So basically a funny, heartwarming gay romcom where you get to escape to the Amalfi coast.
As someone from a big NY family, I could relate to both the Lemons & DeLucas, probably more of the personalities of the Delucas. I loved all of the side characters as they brought a dimension and warmth to the love story.
The book didn’t shy away from tackling some bigger issues especially towards the end like the current political climate. It felt a little of an after thought and maybe not needed but it didn’t take away from the story and just added another layer of perspective.
Personally I wish the characters were older than 18 so it felt a little more relatable/realistic in my mind but also nice to read a story about gay highschool sweethearts.
If you want to escape into a heartwarming, funny, Italian love story go pick this one up next month!
This book was the perfect blend of Luca, My Best Friends Wedding & Heartstopper. So basically a funny, heartwarming gay romcom where you get to escape to the Amalfi coast.
As someone from a big NY family, I could relate to both the Lemons & DeLucas, probably more of the personalities of the Delucas. I loved all of the side characters as they brought a dimension and warmth to the love story.
The book didn’t shy away from tackling some bigger issues especially towards the end like the current political climate. It felt a little of an after thought and maybe not needed but it didn’t take away from the story and just added another layer of perspective.
Personally I wish the characters were older than 18 so it felt a little more relatable/realistic in my mind but also nice to read a story about gay highschool sweethearts.
If you want to escape into a heartwarming, funny, Italian love story go pick this one up next month!
January 31, 2025
If you've read Steven Salvatore before, then you're going to LOVE his new one. And if you haven't read him before, what are you waiting for??!? Fielder and Ricky were best friends before they were boyfriends. But when Ricky graduates high school and leaves for Seattle, dumping Fielder, he is stunned. He's finally gotten mostly back on track when his cousin tells Fielder that he's getting married in three weeks. In Italy. To Ricky's older sister! Fielder comes up with a plan to win back Ricky and he won't let a little thing like Ricky's boyfriend get in the way. This sweet, chaotic romance will have you laughing and sighing with contentment.
Some of this was kind of hard to follow due to the formatting. I'm sure that will all be worked out before publishing, but it did create some confusion for me.
Some of this was kind of hard to follow due to the formatting. I'm sure that will all be worked out before publishing, but it did create some confusion for me.
May 30, 2025
This book is the pinnacle of how love should be and an even better representation of healthy communication.
How I wish to be a relationship with this much maturity, love, and devotion that spans years and years of a pure foundation of friendship that develops into a world-stopping love.
Supporting each other to lift each other up is the EPITOME OF HOW A RELATIONSHIP SHOULD BE. Never having nothing to talk about, never putting your partner on a pedestal, always wanting to be a better version of ourselves.
Per. Fec. Tion.
How I wish to be a relationship with this much maturity, love, and devotion that spans years and years of a pure foundation of friendship that develops into a world-stopping love.
Supporting each other to lift each other up is the EPITOME OF HOW A RELATIONSHIP SHOULD BE. Never having nothing to talk about, never putting your partner on a pedestal, always wanting to be a better version of ourselves.
Per. Fec. Tion.
May 31, 2025
Soooo cute!!! I love Fielder and Ricky and their respective crazy, Italian families. So much pining and stupid teenage hormones! I was annoyed at the beginning with TikTok being referred to as “the clock app/Clock” but I eventually got used to it. It’s definitely a very 2024-25 book with pop culture references dating it, though. Thank you Libro.fm for the ALC!
August 21, 2025
“I hated him, too. For breaking my heart and doing so without warning. For leaving like a coward. For making me feel like I wasn't good enough to keep. But I loved him at the same time. I's funny, the fragile line between love and hate— it's not really a line at all. Hate isn't the absence of love, nor is it the opposite of love.
Hate is love with nowhere to go.”
Hate is love with nowhere to go.”
June 3, 2025
This made my gay Italian-American heart so happy. This YA rom-com was such a beautiful lush and summery adventure. It had the typical YA tropes, but I truly felt the magic of the quintessential Italian family in each page. The descriptions of Italy were breathtaking.
Want to read
December 2, 2025"In this exuberant and gorgeous YA romance, a budding social media influencer sets out to win back his first love at a family wedding in an Italian lemon grove."
Read
June 19, 2025This one is going in my DNF folder. I am no longer able to read contemporary YA fiction because I can’t get past the pop culture references, and that’s ok with me.
October 27, 2025
Fielder Lemon has it all: the fan-following, the food critique role, the influencer status, the bod, the great family.
He also has the worst case of heartache by his long-standing Ex, Ricky DeLuca, who gave him an Irish Goodbye. Ouch.
Now they're both shoved together in the beautiful Amalfi region of Italy for Fielder's brother's wedding to Ricky's sister. Double Ouch!
To make matters worse, Ricky has brought his (GASP) Boyfriend!!
How can Fielder win back Ricky or can he? Is their relationship doomed?
Steven Salvatore gives us a delightful contemporary, gender and sexuality swapped twist on "My Best Friend's Wedding". A delightful cast of characters joins Fielder and Ricky in a "My Big Italian Wedding" way. References and Quotes to the movie are made throughout the book, making adult readers love the nostalgia while reading a story of first-love gone-awry (and potentially reignited). Salvatore gives us the vulnerability, a dash of spice, the sass, and fourth-wall break. His descriptions of Italy and the food (oh my gosh), are definitely lived experiences and he shares those memories through his writing very well and in great detail.
Thank you to Steven Salvatore for giving me another fun read, something I really needed right about now. Looking forward to reading more of your work!
He also has the worst case of heartache by his long-standing Ex, Ricky DeLuca, who gave him an Irish Goodbye. Ouch.
Now they're both shoved together in the beautiful Amalfi region of Italy for Fielder's brother's wedding to Ricky's sister. Double Ouch!
To make matters worse, Ricky has brought his (GASP) Boyfriend!!
How can Fielder win back Ricky or can he? Is their relationship doomed?
Steven Salvatore gives us a delightful contemporary, gender and sexuality swapped twist on "My Best Friend's Wedding". A delightful cast of characters joins Fielder and Ricky in a "My Big Italian Wedding" way. References and Quotes to the movie are made throughout the book, making adult readers love the nostalgia while reading a story of first-love gone-awry (and potentially reignited). Salvatore gives us the vulnerability, a dash of spice, the sass, and fourth-wall break. His descriptions of Italy and the food (oh my gosh), are definitely lived experiences and he shares those memories through his writing very well and in great detail.
Thank you to Steven Salvatore for giving me another fun read, something I really needed right about now. Looking forward to reading more of your work!
October 1, 2025
Rating: 🍋 🍋 🍋 🍋 🍋
Was it perfect? Nothing is, why ask? Was it entirely enjoyable? Absolutely. Was it joyful and amazing? Also absolutely yes.
There’s something magical about someone gay writing about gay character and gay love. I’m not saying other people cannot or should never write about these things, but it is never quite the same because it can’t be. I am also saying we should prioritize these stories more. Own voices isn’t the be all and end all, but it’s still something critical that should be celebrated.
I also hugely enjoyed the editing of the book. Nothing dragged. No typos that I saw. Sentences were seamlessly structured and paragraphs flowed. You don’t realize how awesome this stuff is until it’s missing.
I’m someone who typically struggles with super extroverted chaotic characters (because often they end up martyr-y and everyone babies them), social media references, Disney references, and love triangles. This book had all of them and somehow made me love them. These are my favorite loud, chaotic characters I’ve ever read. I think there’s a genuineness to them I’m often missing entirely, and that made all the difference.
I didn’t realize until after I started reading that this book is very loosely inspired by My Best Friend’s Wedding, and if I didn’t already have enough reasons to pick it up, that would have done it! It also made me wonder about the ending: would Fielder let Ricky be happy with his new love and platonically run off into the sunset with his straight bestie? Would the author do a twist and have the MC end up with his crush? Some unknown third option? I was intrigued! Although given that this is a YA genre romcom I had a pretty solid guess about the ending. However, unlike a lot of people, I LOVED the end of My Best Friend’s Wedding and wouldn’t change a thing (except Kimmy leaving college to be a wife at like 20 and a 28 year old man asking her to do it).
I had so much fun with this book about a young gay Italian man and his very Italian and pretty gay family and friends.
I will confess I laughed so hard with some of the stuff these kids did in the name of romance. It was so over the top in general, but in a way that is genuine to being a teen. Sometimes when you’re around groups of teens it feels tense just because of how hard they’re trying at all times to appear a certain way. Now that I’m old I don’t bother, and it’s much nicer. So I don’t mean the over the top comment as a bad thing - it feels genuine for these characters and it cracked me up they had no clue. It was very sweet yet made me chuckle.
Contains:
—MC with panic attacks
—opposites attract
—exes
—second chance
—sweet himbo disaster gay MC
—breaking the fourth wall
—sometimes queer relationships are less rigid than straight ones, please remember this
—love triangle (Fielder likes Ricky, Cam likes Ricky, Ricky likes Fielder and Cam and can’t choose, but Cam and Fielder do NOT like each other)
—an actual and genuine apology from the person who should be apologizing
Other:
—first person dual POV (the first act is all Fielder, then the second act is back and forth between both Ricky and Fielder)
—cheating: yes, but not between MCs or by MCs
—romantic rival: yes, Ricky has a new boyfriend named Cam.
—break up: yes, but it was before the book began.
—sex: fade to black, but the sex lives of the teen characters are alluded to, and safe/healthy sex is promoted.
—HEA: as much as can be for YA, yes.
Fielder is a two-weeks-shy-of-18 year old cis white gay young man. He’s implied to be of less than average height, he has a stocky/chubby build that he recently turned somewhat more muscular (kind of like a “dad bod” on a young man, if you will). He’s fair and blonde with blue eyes. He’s got clinical anxiety, has panic attacks, and is a self-professed himbo (pretty darn accurate). He’s sweet and loyal, but not the most observant guy in the world. He uses social media to self-soothe negative emotions, and has monetized his food blogger reviews on the clock app. He’s not sure where he’s going with his life yet, and his family and Ricky put a ton of pressure on him for it, leading to Fielder doing what he can to make them all happy with his life and choices.
Ricky is a 19 year old cis white gay young man. He is implied to be of less than average height, and has dark hair, a beard, brownish/hazelish eyes(?) and went from rangy in high school to more muscular and slightly cut now that he’s 19. He works as a woodcutter apprentice, loves writing poetry, dislikes technology, and loves nature. His dream is/was to work with his hands and live off the grid. He struggles with his emotions and and at times makes decisions out of sheer panic, but doesn’t realize this about himself for most of the book. He’s a sweet guy and loves his family and friends deeply, but feels very lost a lot of the time despite knowing what he wants to do with his life.
Ricky’s boyfriend is Cam. He’s a white guy of unknown sexuality, he’s muscular and cut, wears beanies and glasses (he’s from Seattle), and is very sweet and a little anxious. From his past as a fairly ignored child of seven, he has a lot of baggage around being ignored or not being chosen. He’s understandably upset about the chemistry and almost-flirting going on between Fielder and Ricky, and though he asks outright if Ricky still wants to keep dating, he doesn’t get an answer for a long time. He’s a bit passive aggressive at times, but he’s also feeling very u sure of everything and the only person he knows in Italy is Ricky, who is so unsure of everything himself he’s kind of making everything worse. Poor kids.
I understand why Ricky decided to break up with Fielder (mostly panic, trying hard to be a an adult while he’s still a teen, some confusion, but also a desire to be his own person before he finds a serious partner). And I think he was probably right to do so, though his delivery could have used work for sure. I also think it was unfair of him to assume Fielder would be cool with being close friends still when Ricky never asked for that (and actually asked for the opposite, for space to find himself without Fielder in his life), and then get angry when Fielder gave him the space he asked for. And deciding Fielder is the one who broke his heart isn’t cool - he can be broken hearted, but breaking up with someone and not accepting the possibility they may not remain friends with you (especially when you said you wanted a life separate from them and didn’t elaborate) isn’t cool. That’s their choice and you have to be OK with any option eventually. However, he’s also still a kid and kids make iffy choices (heck, adults do too all the time). But I think he was right the first time - they shouldn’t date, at least not for another like 15 years.
I absolutely loved:
—the relationship between Fielder and his cousin Matty. They’re both kind of gay himbos and I was thrilled with their friendship.
—the cover!
—the lemon grove trip (made me very envious! I want to try those lemons).
—the healthy and supportive handling of sex in the book (one completely ftb scene since this is YA, but sex was a topic at times), especially queer sex. We definitely didn’t have books that did that when I was growing up, and we should have.
“Jenni Lee, who became her father’s protégé, leveraged the sympathy vote to win student body president as a high school senior touting a “No Labels” message to bring “all students” together. She claimed to be the “A” in LGBTQIA+, but after Jenni Lee swept the election, she wrote an op-ed in the school newspaper about how “A” meant “abstinent ally” and ended up campaigning the school board to cut funding to the Sexuality and Gender Alliance, get books with any queer or “nonreligious” themes in the school library pulled from circulation, and went so far as to support a nearby school district’s decision to kick a genderqueer student out of their high school musical.”
Oh my god this was so real I almost threw up. Honestly it’s even worse when actually queer people spout this stuff the “no labels” and “LGBTQIA+ and other labels are made up and mean nothing” stuff is always either purposefully or accidentally erasing queer people. Of course the labels are “made up” in that we fought so hard to be able to have the language to communicate how we are queer. Are there people who don’t quite fit into available labels/descriptions? Of course. Are “all labels meaningless”? No. Because then we can no longer discuss meaningfully who we are. Not everyone is the same, but difference isn’t bad. That’s kind of the whole point. These labels are at their core descriptions to talk about who we are. They’re not magic, they describe.
—kind of related to this, Sienna asking Jenni Lee to be a bridesmaid when Sienna’s brother is gay is awful. I know Sienna and Topher will be a cis white married man and woman couple, which is basically the Western ideal, so the “other stuff” with Jenni Lee may be a bit theoretical to her, but that’s still nasty to let that happen even if she believes “we are still family.” And Topher not pushing back on it with a lot of his own family being gay or queer isn’t great either.
“Historically, from gay liberation to the AIDS crisis to Folsom. Our sex is labeled degenerative behavior. And you’d be surprised how often it happens from inside the community, especially in our generation, from people who call themselves blanket ‘queers’ but don’t stand up for actual LGBTQ+ issues. It, like, dilutes the power of individual identity, uses public outrage to distract, and then contributes to the very thing outsiders use to target us.”
I honestly sometimes don’t truly know if other people notice this. I see it more and more. I think it’s not called out as much as it should be in the name of “tolerance.” I’m glad to see it addressed here (albeit it a bit heavy-handedly and without much story nuance, but I’m just glad to see it).
“Everyone loves the gays. Especially soft cinnamon roll gays who just hold hands and do nothing else because that’s what’s acceptable. But when it comes to actual gay life and reality, most outsiders are offended we don’t meet their expectations and weird fantasies. Makes me feel like the only palatable way to be gay is to put a rainbow emoji in my Clock bio but never talk about myself and how my gayness is intrinsically tied to sex. I don’t wanna be shamed for it in the comment section. I’m not ashamed I’ve been having sex since I was fifteen, that it was with somebody I loved. And even if it wasn’t, that’s my journey.”
This is a good thing to say too. While it’s not true for all queer people, for most of us our queerness is tied to sex, and it makes sense because that is what has been criminalized worldwide at one point or another, and queer sex especially is demonized and punished. It’s crappy queerphobic people like Jenni-Lee who keep people in the closet (which is their goal).
“You’re not listening, Fielder.” He was pacing the beach now. “I need to be on my own. We skipped too many steps, and I feel like I don’t have any control now because all I think about is you. Us. I need to think about me.”
“The world is yours, Fielder Lemon.”
“But not ours,” I barely got out.
He shook his head. “No, not now.” He squeezed me so tightly, and the certainty in his voice crushed me more than anything. “Maybe one day.”
“Is this the part where you vow to marry me one day if neither one of us is married by twenty-eight because I’m the love of your life but we just don’t work now?”
“That day, I vowed to prove to Ricky DeLuca that he was so wrong about me lacking direction and definition, and that he just made the biggest mistake of his life.”
[Matty is] a hopeless romantic, not exactly waiting for love to get laid, but for the perfect feeling and ideal scenario. He wants to feel a connection like the one I had with Ricky. Which is sweet. He wants to be swept off his feet, like the main character of a romantic comedy. Meanwhile I’ve spent the better part of the last year “getting over” Ricky by getting under pretty much everyone with a pulse. It’s been a stellar distraction.
I just want to feel wanted.
By Ricky.
The need to not feel alone is overwhelming, like I’m suffocating, unable to breathe, and, wow, I sound dramatic, but as sweat beads my forehead and trickles down the small of my back, I reach for my phone. I want so desperately to text a friend, a reliable make-out buddy from the football team, or hit up Rye on Snapchat, my hot semi-straight neighbor friend who is only “gay” after homecoming, prom afterparties, and summer Thursdays.
No. I can’t.
Matty douses me in cologne until I can’t breathe. He flicks the top three buttons open on my shirt, exposing my collarbone and my few chest hairs.
“How do I look?”
“Like you’re about to bottom.” Matty cheeses.
“If all goes to plan!”
“I love heterosexual love,” Benny says. “There’s not nearly enough of it.”
Matty and I burst out laughing, and Jenni Lee hisses at us.
😆
I don’t know how to not love Ricky, but in this moment, I don’t know how to stand here and love this version of us, either.
“I’ll have you know I make the best third,” Benny says, before adding, “wheel.”
“I’m not going to fight for someone who doesn’t want to fight for me. If Ricky wants me, he can fight for me for once.”
Ma reaches out her hand and takes mine. “You always thought you were running without direction; you made up this story for yourself that you were living a life backwards, but Fielder, you were living. That’s the point, to live a full life. It’s all I ever wanted for you.”
Hands on his hips, brows furrowed, [Benny] says, “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t want anyone to hate me.”
“Girl. You’re gay. Get used to it.”
Was it perfect? Nothing is, why ask? Was it entirely enjoyable? Absolutely. Was it joyful and amazing? Also absolutely yes.
There’s something magical about someone gay writing about gay character and gay love. I’m not saying other people cannot or should never write about these things, but it is never quite the same because it can’t be. I am also saying we should prioritize these stories more. Own voices isn’t the be all and end all, but it’s still something critical that should be celebrated.
I also hugely enjoyed the editing of the book. Nothing dragged. No typos that I saw. Sentences were seamlessly structured and paragraphs flowed. You don’t realize how awesome this stuff is until it’s missing.
I’m someone who typically struggles with super extroverted chaotic characters (because often they end up martyr-y and everyone babies them), social media references, Disney references, and love triangles. This book had all of them and somehow made me love them. These are my favorite loud, chaotic characters I’ve ever read. I think there’s a genuineness to them I’m often missing entirely, and that made all the difference.
I didn’t realize until after I started reading that this book is very loosely inspired by My Best Friend’s Wedding, and if I didn’t already have enough reasons to pick it up, that would have done it! It also made me wonder about the ending: would Fielder let Ricky be happy with his new love and platonically run off into the sunset with his straight bestie? Would the author do a twist and have the MC end up with his crush? Some unknown third option? I was intrigued! Although given that this is a YA genre romcom I had a pretty solid guess about the ending. However, unlike a lot of people, I LOVED the end of My Best Friend’s Wedding and wouldn’t change a thing (except Kimmy leaving college to be a wife at like 20 and a 28 year old man asking her to do it).
I had so much fun with this book about a young gay Italian man and his very Italian and pretty gay family and friends.
I will confess I laughed so hard with some of the stuff these kids did in the name of romance. It was so over the top in general, but in a way that is genuine to being a teen. Sometimes when you’re around groups of teens it feels tense just because of how hard they’re trying at all times to appear a certain way. Now that I’m old I don’t bother, and it’s much nicer. So I don’t mean the over the top comment as a bad thing - it feels genuine for these characters and it cracked me up they had no clue. It was very sweet yet made me chuckle.
Contains:
—MC with panic attacks
—opposites attract
—exes
—second chance
—sweet himbo disaster gay MC
—breaking the fourth wall
—sometimes queer relationships are less rigid than straight ones, please remember this
—love triangle (Fielder likes Ricky, Cam likes Ricky, Ricky likes Fielder and Cam and can’t choose, but Cam and Fielder do NOT like each other)
—an actual and genuine apology from the person who should be apologizing
Other:
—first person dual POV (the first act is all Fielder, then the second act is back and forth between both Ricky and Fielder)
—cheating: yes, but not between MCs or by MCs
—romantic rival: yes, Ricky has a new boyfriend named Cam.
—break up: yes, but it was before the book began.
—sex: fade to black, but the sex lives of the teen characters are alluded to, and safe/healthy sex is promoted.
—HEA: as much as can be for YA, yes.
Fielder is a two-weeks-shy-of-18 year old cis white gay young man. He’s implied to be of less than average height, he has a stocky/chubby build that he recently turned somewhat more muscular (kind of like a “dad bod” on a young man, if you will). He’s fair and blonde with blue eyes. He’s got clinical anxiety, has panic attacks, and is a self-professed himbo (pretty darn accurate). He’s sweet and loyal, but not the most observant guy in the world. He uses social media to self-soothe negative emotions, and has monetized his food blogger reviews on the clock app. He’s not sure where he’s going with his life yet, and his family and Ricky put a ton of pressure on him for it, leading to Fielder doing what he can to make them all happy with his life and choices.
Ricky is a 19 year old cis white gay young man. He is implied to be of less than average height, and has dark hair, a beard, brownish/hazelish eyes(?) and went from rangy in high school to more muscular and slightly cut now that he’s 19. He works as a woodcutter apprentice, loves writing poetry, dislikes technology, and loves nature. His dream is/was to work with his hands and live off the grid. He struggles with his emotions and and at times makes decisions out of sheer panic, but doesn’t realize this about himself for most of the book. He’s a sweet guy and loves his family and friends deeply, but feels very lost a lot of the time despite knowing what he wants to do with his life.
Ricky’s boyfriend is Cam. He’s a white guy of unknown sexuality, he’s muscular and cut, wears beanies and glasses (he’s from Seattle), and is very sweet and a little anxious. From his past as a fairly ignored child of seven, he has a lot of baggage around being ignored or not being chosen. He’s understandably upset about the chemistry and almost-flirting going on between Fielder and Ricky, and though he asks outright if Ricky still wants to keep dating, he doesn’t get an answer for a long time. He’s a bit passive aggressive at times, but he’s also feeling very u sure of everything and the only person he knows in Italy is Ricky, who is so unsure of everything himself he’s kind of making everything worse. Poor kids.
I understand why Ricky decided to break up with Fielder (mostly panic, trying hard to be a an adult while he’s still a teen, some confusion, but also a desire to be his own person before he finds a serious partner). And I think he was probably right to do so, though his delivery could have used work for sure. I also think it was unfair of him to assume Fielder would be cool with being close friends still when Ricky never asked for that (and actually asked for the opposite, for space to find himself without Fielder in his life), and then get angry when Fielder gave him the space he asked for. And deciding Fielder is the one who broke his heart isn’t cool - he can be broken hearted, but breaking up with someone and not accepting the possibility they may not remain friends with you (especially when you said you wanted a life separate from them and didn’t elaborate) isn’t cool. That’s their choice and you have to be OK with any option eventually. However, he’s also still a kid and kids make iffy choices (heck, adults do too all the time). But I think he was right the first time - they shouldn’t date, at least not for another like 15 years.
I absolutely loved:
—the relationship between Fielder and his cousin Matty. They’re both kind of gay himbos and I was thrilled with their friendship.
—the cover!
—the lemon grove trip (made me very envious! I want to try those lemons).
—the healthy and supportive handling of sex in the book (one completely ftb scene since this is YA, but sex was a topic at times), especially queer sex. We definitely didn’t have books that did that when I was growing up, and we should have.
“Jenni Lee, who became her father’s protégé, leveraged the sympathy vote to win student body president as a high school senior touting a “No Labels” message to bring “all students” together. She claimed to be the “A” in LGBTQIA+, but after Jenni Lee swept the election, she wrote an op-ed in the school newspaper about how “A” meant “abstinent ally” and ended up campaigning the school board to cut funding to the Sexuality and Gender Alliance, get books with any queer or “nonreligious” themes in the school library pulled from circulation, and went so far as to support a nearby school district’s decision to kick a genderqueer student out of their high school musical.”
Oh my god this was so real I almost threw up. Honestly it’s even worse when actually queer people spout this stuff the “no labels” and “LGBTQIA+ and other labels are made up and mean nothing” stuff is always either purposefully or accidentally erasing queer people. Of course the labels are “made up” in that we fought so hard to be able to have the language to communicate how we are queer. Are there people who don’t quite fit into available labels/descriptions? Of course. Are “all labels meaningless”? No. Because then we can no longer discuss meaningfully who we are. Not everyone is the same, but difference isn’t bad. That’s kind of the whole point. These labels are at their core descriptions to talk about who we are. They’re not magic, they describe.
—kind of related to this, Sienna asking Jenni Lee to be a bridesmaid when Sienna’s brother is gay is awful. I know Sienna and Topher will be a cis white married man and woman couple, which is basically the Western ideal, so the “other stuff” with Jenni Lee may be a bit theoretical to her, but that’s still nasty to let that happen even if she believes “we are still family.” And Topher not pushing back on it with a lot of his own family being gay or queer isn’t great either.
“Historically, from gay liberation to the AIDS crisis to Folsom. Our sex is labeled degenerative behavior. And you’d be surprised how often it happens from inside the community, especially in our generation, from people who call themselves blanket ‘queers’ but don’t stand up for actual LGBTQ+ issues. It, like, dilutes the power of individual identity, uses public outrage to distract, and then contributes to the very thing outsiders use to target us.”
I honestly sometimes don’t truly know if other people notice this. I see it more and more. I think it’s not called out as much as it should be in the name of “tolerance.” I’m glad to see it addressed here (albeit it a bit heavy-handedly and without much story nuance, but I’m just glad to see it).
“Everyone loves the gays. Especially soft cinnamon roll gays who just hold hands and do nothing else because that’s what’s acceptable. But when it comes to actual gay life and reality, most outsiders are offended we don’t meet their expectations and weird fantasies. Makes me feel like the only palatable way to be gay is to put a rainbow emoji in my Clock bio but never talk about myself and how my gayness is intrinsically tied to sex. I don’t wanna be shamed for it in the comment section. I’m not ashamed I’ve been having sex since I was fifteen, that it was with somebody I loved. And even if it wasn’t, that’s my journey.”
This is a good thing to say too. While it’s not true for all queer people, for most of us our queerness is tied to sex, and it makes sense because that is what has been criminalized worldwide at one point or another, and queer sex especially is demonized and punished. It’s crappy queerphobic people like Jenni-Lee who keep people in the closet (which is their goal).
“You’re not listening, Fielder.” He was pacing the beach now. “I need to be on my own. We skipped too many steps, and I feel like I don’t have any control now because all I think about is you. Us. I need to think about me.”
“The world is yours, Fielder Lemon.”
“But not ours,” I barely got out.
He shook his head. “No, not now.” He squeezed me so tightly, and the certainty in his voice crushed me more than anything. “Maybe one day.”
“Is this the part where you vow to marry me one day if neither one of us is married by twenty-eight because I’m the love of your life but we just don’t work now?”
“That day, I vowed to prove to Ricky DeLuca that he was so wrong about me lacking direction and definition, and that he just made the biggest mistake of his life.”
[Matty is] a hopeless romantic, not exactly waiting for love to get laid, but for the perfect feeling and ideal scenario. He wants to feel a connection like the one I had with Ricky. Which is sweet. He wants to be swept off his feet, like the main character of a romantic comedy. Meanwhile I’ve spent the better part of the last year “getting over” Ricky by getting under pretty much everyone with a pulse. It’s been a stellar distraction.
I just want to feel wanted.
By Ricky.
The need to not feel alone is overwhelming, like I’m suffocating, unable to breathe, and, wow, I sound dramatic, but as sweat beads my forehead and trickles down the small of my back, I reach for my phone. I want so desperately to text a friend, a reliable make-out buddy from the football team, or hit up Rye on Snapchat, my hot semi-straight neighbor friend who is only “gay” after homecoming, prom afterparties, and summer Thursdays.
No. I can’t.
Matty douses me in cologne until I can’t breathe. He flicks the top three buttons open on my shirt, exposing my collarbone and my few chest hairs.
“How do I look?”
“Like you’re about to bottom.” Matty cheeses.
“If all goes to plan!”
“I love heterosexual love,” Benny says. “There’s not nearly enough of it.”
Matty and I burst out laughing, and Jenni Lee hisses at us.
😆
I don’t know how to not love Ricky, but in this moment, I don’t know how to stand here and love this version of us, either.
“I’ll have you know I make the best third,” Benny says, before adding, “wheel.”
“I’m not going to fight for someone who doesn’t want to fight for me. If Ricky wants me, he can fight for me for once.”
Ma reaches out her hand and takes mine. “You always thought you were running without direction; you made up this story for yourself that you were living a life backwards, but Fielder, you were living. That’s the point, to live a full life. It’s all I ever wanted for you.”
Hands on his hips, brows furrowed, [Benny] says, “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t want anyone to hate me.”
“Girl. You’re gay. Get used to it.”
March 6, 2025
***Trigger Warning: Loss of a Parent***
When Love Gives You Lemons follows Fielder, who grew up next door to Ricky. They used to date but Ricky broke up with Fielder to find himself. Now, one year later, Fielder is asked to be one of the best men in his cousin's destination wedding in Italy. Fielder is so excited until he finds out that his cousin is marrying Ricky's sister. Fielder and Ricky have not spoken since their breakup. Fielder thinks this is the perfect time to try and win Ricky back. However, it seems like Ricky has already moved on. But Fielder is determined to win him over.
OBSESSED!!!!!!! (That pretty much sums up how I feel about this book) I might be a little biased because Steven Salvatore is one of my go-to authors. If they write a book, I will read it, and I will be in love with it. I LOVED everything about this book. I think this is going to be my go to summer romance book (Because I will be reading this over and over again)! This was just such a fun read. I love that this book not only focused on romance but also family. The fourth wall breaks in this book were so dang funny. I am not normally a fan of the second-chance romance trope, but this was EVERYTHING. Fielder and Ricky were just so darn cute. ALSO, CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS COVER?? It might be my favorite Steven Salvatore cover ( I promise I love them all). Anyway, I could keep talking about this book, and I know I am not going to stop thinking about it. But I am going to stop talking just say read this book and all of Steven Salvatore's books because they are all so perfect!
Thank you so much, Steven Salvatore and Bloomsbury YA for the ARC of this book. This comes out May 13!
When Love Gives You Lemons follows Fielder, who grew up next door to Ricky. They used to date but Ricky broke up with Fielder to find himself. Now, one year later, Fielder is asked to be one of the best men in his cousin's destination wedding in Italy. Fielder is so excited until he finds out that his cousin is marrying Ricky's sister. Fielder and Ricky have not spoken since their breakup. Fielder thinks this is the perfect time to try and win Ricky back. However, it seems like Ricky has already moved on. But Fielder is determined to win him over.
OBSESSED!!!!!!! (That pretty much sums up how I feel about this book) I might be a little biased because Steven Salvatore is one of my go-to authors. If they write a book, I will read it, and I will be in love with it. I LOVED everything about this book. I think this is going to be my go to summer romance book (Because I will be reading this over and over again)! This was just such a fun read. I love that this book not only focused on romance but also family. The fourth wall breaks in this book were so dang funny. I am not normally a fan of the second-chance romance trope, but this was EVERYTHING. Fielder and Ricky were just so darn cute. ALSO, CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS COVER?? It might be my favorite Steven Salvatore cover ( I promise I love them all). Anyway, I could keep talking about this book, and I know I am not going to stop thinking about it. But I am going to stop talking just say read this book and all of Steven Salvatore's books because they are all so perfect!
Thank you so much, Steven Salvatore and Bloomsbury YA for the ARC of this book. This comes out May 13!
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