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Boy Friends
Not yet published
Expected 21 May 26A cosy, contemporary queer romance perfect for fans of Alice Oseman and Rainbow Rowell.
Luca has secretly been in love with his best friend Simo for as long as he can remember. But when an anonymous message on the town noticeboard announces that SIMO AND LUCA ARE IN LOVE, the two boys are forced to confront their true feelings for one another.
Luca has secretly been in love with his best friend Simo for as long as he can remember. But when an anonymous message on the town noticeboard announces that SIMO AND LUCA ARE IN LOVE, the two boys are forced to confront their true feelings for one another.
Paperback
Expected publication May 21, 2026
3 people are currently reading
348 people want to read
About the author
Kai Spellmeier
8 books14.7k followersKai Spellmeier studied Literature in Berlin and Edinburgh. He writes unapologetically queer books.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 12, 2025
you’ll love this book if you like:
- sorrowful poets with good hair
- book-shopping as a form of therapy
- Gilmore Girls
- chocolate chip muffins
- boys helplessly in love
- complex family dynamics
you’ll hate this book if you dislike:
- dogs
- the sea
- slow burn romance
- Cate Blanchett or Josh O'Connor
- sorrowful poets with good hair
- book-shopping as a form of therapy
- Gilmore Girls
- chocolate chip muffins
- boys helplessly in love
- complex family dynamics
you’ll hate this book if you dislike:
- dogs
- the sea
- slow burn romance
- Cate Blanchett or Josh O'Connor
December 28, 2025
When you've been using Goodreads for a while, like I have, and reading YA stories, then you’ve probably come across one (or many) of Kai Spellmeier’s reviews. I know I did when I first started using the platform. I devoured his reviews and ended up adding so many of the books he’d read to my TBR—everything from Adam Silvera, Adib Khorram, and Shaun David Hutchinson to Zack Smedley and William Hussey. So when I saw that Kai had written his own book, Boy Friends, I was eager to read it.
I’ll admit, it took me a little while to get into the story. The ARC formatting didn’t work in my favor (those double sentences kept popping up), and the lack of a tense shift during the first flashbacks threw me off a bit. But the more I read, the more I got invested in Luca and Simo’s story. It’s clear that Kai is an avid reader, and it has the feels of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Heartstopper. The bones of Boy Friends are strong: there’s a wonderful relationship between Luca and his very young gay dad, Luca's secret love for Simo, the strained relationship between Simo and his parents, Simo grieving his older brother without talking about it, and the secret message on the notice board.
I did wish for a bit more consistency in some places (Luca never questioned why his dad took his mum’s last name, even though they never married?) and wanted to connect a little more with the side characters (where did Miss M. go for a long time??). I also would have loved spending a bit more time with the boys in certain scenes, rather than cutting them off so quickly. Even though the writing is really beautiful, the cut off scenes made the story sometimes a bit too fragmented for me.
Overall, though, Boy Friends is an adorable and wholesome story, and I loved Kai’s beautiful descriptions of that small coastal town. Those last chapters made me blink and blink until I couldn’t stop the tears. And that ending… I can’t wait to read the second book of this duology that comes out in 2027!
Actual rating somewhere between 3.5 and four stars, but of course rounded up to four.
Thank you Bloomsbury UK and NetGalley, for this great ARC.
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I’ll admit, it took me a little while to get into the story. The ARC formatting didn’t work in my favor (those double sentences kept popping up), and the lack of a tense shift during the first flashbacks threw me off a bit. But the more I read, the more I got invested in Luca and Simo’s story. It’s clear that Kai is an avid reader, and it has the feels of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Heartstopper. The bones of Boy Friends are strong: there’s a wonderful relationship between Luca and his very young gay dad, Luca's secret love for Simo, the strained relationship between Simo and his parents, Simo grieving his older brother without talking about it, and the secret message on the notice board.
I did wish for a bit more consistency in some places (Luca never questioned why his dad took his mum’s last name, even though they never married?) and wanted to connect a little more with the side characters (where did Miss M. go for a long time??). I also would have loved spending a bit more time with the boys in certain scenes, rather than cutting them off so quickly. Even though the writing is really beautiful, the cut off scenes made the story sometimes a bit too fragmented for me.
Overall, though, Boy Friends is an adorable and wholesome story, and I loved Kai’s beautiful descriptions of that small coastal town. Those last chapters made me blink and blink until I couldn’t stop the tears. And that ending… I can’t wait to read the second book of this duology that comes out in 2027!
Actual rating somewhere between 3.5 and four stars, but of course rounded up to four.
Thank you Bloomsbury UK and NetGalley, for this great ARC.
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2026-new-releases
November 5, 2025close enough, welcome back simon vs. the homo sapiens agenda
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Beautiful!
There was no doubt that a book written by Kai would be soulful, cozy and full of beautiful scenes!
Luca and Simo's story has a Heartstopper and Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda vibe - boys having their first crush, coming to terms with themselves and navigating their fears, their friendship and the curveballs of teenage life while struggling with their feelings.
The small town setting is wonderfully done, it feels like a gateway to the past sometimes, with the "everyone knows everyone" Lombard society, the small island where the boys escape to be with their thoughts, the one cafe and one restaurant in the whole town.
Complicated families is another theme, with one twist after the other. I particularly loved Luca's interactions with his father, they are very honest and hilarious.
It's a book full of heart with a dual POV of two boys who hopelessly love each other and you can see it in every interaction!
Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury YA for the ARC!
There was no doubt that a book written by Kai would be soulful, cozy and full of beautiful scenes!
Luca and Simo's story has a Heartstopper and Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda vibe - boys having their first crush, coming to terms with themselves and navigating their fears, their friendship and the curveballs of teenage life while struggling with their feelings.
The small town setting is wonderfully done, it feels like a gateway to the past sometimes, with the "everyone knows everyone" Lombard society, the small island where the boys escape to be with their thoughts, the one cafe and one restaurant in the whole town.
Complicated families is another theme, with one twist after the other. I particularly loved Luca's interactions with his father, they are very honest and hilarious.
It's a book full of heart with a dual POV of two boys who hopelessly love each other and you can see it in every interaction!
Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury YA for the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
First things first: thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury UK for the ARC of Boy Friends. I’m genuinely so grateful I got to read this early, because this book stayed with me in a way YA rarely does anymore.
If you’ve been on Goodreads long enough — like I have — you probably already knew Kai Spellmeier before you knew Boy Friends. His reviews were everywhere when I first started seriously reading YA, and I trusted his taste completely. My TBR owes him a personal debt thanks to authors like Adam Silvera. So when I found out he’d written his own book, this was an instant yes.
You’ll love this book if you enjoy sorrowful poets with good hair, book-shopping as a form of therapy, Gilmore Girls energy, chocolate chip muffins, boys helplessly in love, and complex, slightly messy family dynamics. You’ll hate it if you dislike dogs, the sea, slow-burn romance, or Cate Blanchett or Josh O’Connor — which, frankly, would be alarming.
I’ll be honest: it did take me a little while to fully settle into the story. The ARC formatting didn’t do it many favours, and the early flashbacks threw me slightly. But once I found my footing — once I really met Luca and Simo — I was completely invested.
The bones of this story are incredibly strong. Luca’s relationship with his young, gay dad is tender and refreshing. Luca’s quiet, aching love for Simo feels painfully real. Simo’s strained relationship with his parents, his unspoken grief over his older brother, and the weight of everything he doesn’t say are all handled with so much care. The secret message board is such a simple idea, but it adds an emotional pull that really works.
This is a book that lets feelings breathe. It allows longing to sit in the silence. It allows grief to exist without being rushed or neatly tied up. The small coastal town is described so beautifully that you can almost smell the sea air, and Kai’s love of books is woven into every page. There are echoes of Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Heartstopper, but Boy Friends has its own voice — quieter, sadder, and more poetic.
I did wish for a little more consistency in places and more time with some of the side characters, and there were moments I wanted to stay in scenes longer instead of being pulled away. Occasionally, the story felt slightly fragmented. That said, these are small things in a book that is clearly written with so much heart.
The final chapters absolutely wrecked me. Proper blinking-back-tears, sit-in-silence-afterwards kind of wrecked. And that ending? I already know I’ll be counting down the days until book two, even if 2027 feels cruelly far away.
Boy Friends is a gentle, emotional, beautifully written small-town romance that doesn’t shy away from grief, trauma, or complicated love. It’s soft without being weak, sad without being hopeless, and romantic in a way that feels earned.
Five stars, without hesitation.
If you’ve been on Goodreads long enough — like I have — you probably already knew Kai Spellmeier before you knew Boy Friends. His reviews were everywhere when I first started seriously reading YA, and I trusted his taste completely. My TBR owes him a personal debt thanks to authors like Adam Silvera. So when I found out he’d written his own book, this was an instant yes.
You’ll love this book if you enjoy sorrowful poets with good hair, book-shopping as a form of therapy, Gilmore Girls energy, chocolate chip muffins, boys helplessly in love, and complex, slightly messy family dynamics. You’ll hate it if you dislike dogs, the sea, slow-burn romance, or Cate Blanchett or Josh O’Connor — which, frankly, would be alarming.
I’ll be honest: it did take me a little while to fully settle into the story. The ARC formatting didn’t do it many favours, and the early flashbacks threw me slightly. But once I found my footing — once I really met Luca and Simo — I was completely invested.
The bones of this story are incredibly strong. Luca’s relationship with his young, gay dad is tender and refreshing. Luca’s quiet, aching love for Simo feels painfully real. Simo’s strained relationship with his parents, his unspoken grief over his older brother, and the weight of everything he doesn’t say are all handled with so much care. The secret message board is such a simple idea, but it adds an emotional pull that really works.
This is a book that lets feelings breathe. It allows longing to sit in the silence. It allows grief to exist without being rushed or neatly tied up. The small coastal town is described so beautifully that you can almost smell the sea air, and Kai’s love of books is woven into every page. There are echoes of Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Heartstopper, but Boy Friends has its own voice — quieter, sadder, and more poetic.
I did wish for a little more consistency in places and more time with some of the side characters, and there were moments I wanted to stay in scenes longer instead of being pulled away. Occasionally, the story felt slightly fragmented. That said, these are small things in a book that is clearly written with so much heart.
The final chapters absolutely wrecked me. Proper blinking-back-tears, sit-in-silence-afterwards kind of wrecked. And that ending? I already know I’ll be counting down the days until book two, even if 2027 feels cruelly far away.
Boy Friends is a gentle, emotional, beautifully written small-town romance that doesn’t shy away from grief, trauma, or complicated love. It’s soft without being weak, sad without being hopeless, and romantic in a way that feels earned.
Five stars, without hesitation.
December 10, 2025
4.5/5 stars
Boy Friends is a beautiful story about two boys as they figure out how to go from friends to boyfriends.
At it’s heart, this is a small town romance that focuses on love yet it is unafraid to delve into deeper topics such as grief, and complicated family struggles.
Kai Spellmeier has wonderful prose which is especially shown in his wonderful descriptions of the small town our story is set in, and more importantly shown in his writings on love. He describes love in many different ways, from the experiences of queer love, to the love of a parent to a child, and even the love we’re too scared to admit we harbour.
I didn’t expect to enjoy this book as much as I did!! However, as I began to read through the book, I became enraptured by this story, and truly didn't want to put it down. The main characters were so lovable, and incredibly relatable. They were written very well, and fully fleshed out.
I really enjoyed how Spellmeier explored grief, especially through a younger person’s lens. I haven’t read many novels that explore grief in this way so it felt very refreshing! Truthfully, I didn’t expect this book to make me cry but it did and honestly? Not mad at it all.
Additionally, there was a strained family dynamic for both of the boys, but most especially on Luca's side. This was also an interesting theme throughout the book that I related to (in a completely different way but perhaps that is the beauty of it). I don’t want to say too much about this particular theme as I truly don’t want to spoil anything but I felt it was very well done.
The romance was amazing as well! I loved it!!! It was so cute and so wholesome! As I was getting further into the book, the smile kept creeping up on my face because I was having such a cute time with it!!
I can't write too much about this book as a lot of my thoughts verge on spoilers but trust me when I say this so
Overall, this novel was such an adorable read! The characters, setting and important themes paired with the author’s prose made for an excellent read! I truly believe that this book is perfect for anyone of all ages and I can’t wait for more by this author.
Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury UK for this ARC.
Boy Friends is a beautiful story about two boys as they figure out how to go from friends to boyfriends.
At it’s heart, this is a small town romance that focuses on love yet it is unafraid to delve into deeper topics such as grief, and complicated family struggles.
Kai Spellmeier has wonderful prose which is especially shown in his wonderful descriptions of the small town our story is set in, and more importantly shown in his writings on love. He describes love in many different ways, from the experiences of queer love, to the love of a parent to a child, and even the love we’re too scared to admit we harbour.
I didn’t expect to enjoy this book as much as I did!! However, as I began to read through the book, I became enraptured by this story, and truly didn't want to put it down. The main characters were so lovable, and incredibly relatable. They were written very well, and fully fleshed out.
I really enjoyed how Spellmeier explored grief, especially through a younger person’s lens. I haven’t read many novels that explore grief in this way so it felt very refreshing! Truthfully, I didn’t expect this book to make me cry but it did and honestly? Not mad at it all.
Additionally, there was a strained family dynamic for both of the boys, but most especially on Luca's side. This was also an interesting theme throughout the book that I related to (in a completely different way but perhaps that is the beauty of it). I don’t want to say too much about this particular theme as I truly don’t want to spoil anything but I felt it was very well done.
The romance was amazing as well! I loved it!!! It was so cute and so wholesome! As I was getting further into the book, the smile kept creeping up on my face because I was having such a cute time with it!!
I can't write too much about this book as a lot of my thoughts verge on spoilers but trust me when I say this so
Overall, this novel was such an adorable read! The characters, setting and important themes paired with the author’s prose made for an excellent read! I truly believe that this book is perfect for anyone of all ages and I can’t wait for more by this author.
Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury UK for this ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
OK...
I am probably not the 'target audience;' for this, being some decades past Young Adult, but I came to love this and was almost sorry to binge read the last quarter of the story as I wanted MORE...!
The characters are engaging and believable, though could have done with a little more filling out. I also read the first quarter or so assuming the setting was somewhere in the USA - maybe California - but it then became fairly clear that it is England. I really needed an actual location - I found myself trying to fit 'Lombard' to somewhere I know. It would fit several places in Cornwall or, had it not been made reasonably clear that it is England, could have fitted Tenby in south Wales.
This should appeal to its intended audience, especially those in the LGBTQ+ community, or 'questioning'
I am probably not the 'target audience;' for this, being some decades past Young Adult, but I came to love this and was almost sorry to binge read the last quarter of the story as I wanted MORE...!
The characters are engaging and believable, though could have done with a little more filling out. I also read the first quarter or so assuming the setting was somewhere in the USA - maybe California - but it then became fairly clear that it is England. I really needed an actual location - I found myself trying to fit 'Lombard' to somewhere I know. It would fit several places in Cornwall or, had it not been made reasonably clear that it is England, could have fitted Tenby in south Wales.
This should appeal to its intended audience, especially those in the LGBTQ+ community, or 'questioning'
December 8, 2025
Boyfriends. A small town romance that doesn’t shy away from difficult themes and addresses trauma in poetic and beautiful way. Kai Spellmeier has created an enchanting tale of two best friends and every word weaves a new thread into the tapestry of their love.
I don’t wanna reveal too much but I do hope that Kai Spellmeier releases a sequel. Luca and Simo’s, and all the other characters’ stories are definitely not finished, especially considering the cliffhanger on the last page :).
5/5 stars
I don’t wanna reveal too much but I do hope that Kai Spellmeier releases a sequel. Luca and Simo’s, and all the other characters’ stories are definitely not finished, especially considering the cliffhanger on the last page :).
5/5 stars
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews