What do you think?
Coltswood
When academician and artist Belinda Coltswood comes face-to-face with a colleague from her younger years, old feelings and painful memories resurface in uncomfortable and potentially transformative ways.
Professor Belinda Coltswood has made a name for herself. As the recent winner of a prestigious art prize, and the object of lingering rumors that nearly ended her career, Coltswood walks a fine line between celebrity and outcast. Though seemingly immune to both censure and accolades, Coltswood’s capacity for cool indifference dissolves in a rip tide of memory when she finds herself face-to-face with a woman from her past. A woman she knew only as Wolf. While the Wolf in her office is hardly the same fierce young AIDS activist Coltswood remembers, this meeting has the potential to alter their lives in radical ways.
Professor Belinda Coltswood has made a name for herself. As the recent winner of a prestigious art prize, and the object of lingering rumors that nearly ended her career, Coltswood walks a fine line between celebrity and outcast. Though seemingly immune to both censure and accolades, Coltswood’s capacity for cool indifference dissolves in a rip tide of memory when she finds herself face-to-face with a woman from her past. A woman she knew only as Wolf. While the Wolf in her office is hardly the same fierce young AIDS activist Coltswood remembers, this meeting has the potential to alter their lives in radical ways.
1 pages, Audio CD
Published March 3, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 17, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 (4.5 stars)
I got this book as a birthday gift after having anticipated it for soo long!! And what can I say?
Just as I hoped, it completely filled me with awe.
The story itself follows two characters, Wolf and Belinda, over several years, staring in the late 80s and ending in the early 2000s. We see the two raise awareness about AIDS but due to different factors.
We see the two eventually bond and fall in love, then break apart and years later reconnect.
I love how the book was written and how the characters were fleshed out, they certainly had their flaws and I remember several times where I felt at least kind of infuriated with Belinda but it just made them feel way more human. And also the concept of interviews and the switching timeline, just added so much value and feels to the story.
Besides that, I adore how the story deals with AIDS and keeps it accurate. I really like how it presents the activists activities during this time and how it sheds light to their narrative which I haven’t read about before.
Overall, I think this book is really amazing!! It gave me the WOW effect I hoped for and certainty met all of my expectations without letting me down. And it also made me fall in love with Bel and Wolf over all the moments we got to witness and especially the end. Gosh I still think about it hehe.
4 very solid stars ⭐️
I got this book as a birthday gift after having anticipated it for soo long!! And what can I say?
Just as I hoped, it completely filled me with awe.
The story itself follows two characters, Wolf and Belinda, over several years, staring in the late 80s and ending in the early 2000s. We see the two raise awareness about AIDS but due to different factors.
We see the two eventually bond and fall in love, then break apart and years later reconnect.
I love how the book was written and how the characters were fleshed out, they certainly had their flaws and I remember several times where I felt at least kind of infuriated with Belinda but it just made them feel way more human. And also the concept of interviews and the switching timeline, just added so much value and feels to the story.
Besides that, I adore how the story deals with AIDS and keeps it accurate. I really like how it presents the activists activities during this time and how it sheds light to their narrative which I haven’t read about before.
Overall, I think this book is really amazing!! It gave me the WOW effect I hoped for and certainty met all of my expectations without letting me down. And it also made me fall in love with Bel and Wolf over all the moments we got to witness and especially the end. Gosh I still think about it hehe.
4 very solid stars ⭐️
March 8, 2026
This was just....wow. What a deeply powerful book. Hard to believe this was a debut novel. I cannot wait to see what else Jules Revel writes.
January 3, 2026
It’s hard to believe this intelligently written, tense, passionate story is Jules Revel’s debut novel. It had me completely captured,sometimes forgetting to breathe. To say I’m impressed is an understatement.
There were many important characters, but the main focus was on Deb Wolf and Belinda Coltswood and their involvement in areas connected to the AIDS epidemic that began in the 1980’s. The AIDS topic was well-done. I do remember those days and feel that this book gave a great perspective of the insiders in the movement, different than I remembered from network news’ reporting.
Over 40 million died of AIDS, and in the true American spirit, there were social uprisings, riots and protests. At the beginning, we learned that our character, Wolf, had been abandoned by her father, worked in a bagel shop and lived in the shop’s loft for ten bucks a week. She was a butch lesbian, a blue collar, hands-on-involved as a protestor who deeply cared, and did things such as bringing meals to the dying victims, helping at the clinic and participating in protests and rallies, etc.
Deb became a photographer and a writer who wrote a book about her experiences that included the AIDS movement.
Belinda Coltswood was from a different world than Wolf. She was an academician and an artist from a very wealthy family. Some of Bel’s family were financially involved in funding for the research for a vaccine for AIDS, not so much that they cared, but for the financial rewards that could be garnered.
There was a passionate magnet between Bel and Deb, even with their clashes and the AIDS-inspired need for testing and safe sex. The sex was intense but there was no label for whatever the relationship was or wasn’t. An unlikely pairing, they encountered the other, or didn’t. Their storyline was one that I enjoyed following.
The chapters switched back and forth between the 80’s, 90’s and early 2000’s, covering both Wolf and Coltswood, keeping the reader informed and wanting to know more. There were several other important characters that popped in and out during the length of the timeline. The book was very detailed and I really enjoyed how everything played out. Because of the serious nature, I especially enjoyed that this was such a different type of lesbian romance than a lighthearted romcom.
There were many important characters, but the main focus was on Deb Wolf and Belinda Coltswood and their involvement in areas connected to the AIDS epidemic that began in the 1980’s. The AIDS topic was well-done. I do remember those days and feel that this book gave a great perspective of the insiders in the movement, different than I remembered from network news’ reporting.
Over 40 million died of AIDS, and in the true American spirit, there were social uprisings, riots and protests. At the beginning, we learned that our character, Wolf, had been abandoned by her father, worked in a bagel shop and lived in the shop’s loft for ten bucks a week. She was a butch lesbian, a blue collar, hands-on-involved as a protestor who deeply cared, and did things such as bringing meals to the dying victims, helping at the clinic and participating in protests and rallies, etc.
Deb became a photographer and a writer who wrote a book about her experiences that included the AIDS movement.
Belinda Coltswood was from a different world than Wolf. She was an academician and an artist from a very wealthy family. Some of Bel’s family were financially involved in funding for the research for a vaccine for AIDS, not so much that they cared, but for the financial rewards that could be garnered.
There was a passionate magnet between Bel and Deb, even with their clashes and the AIDS-inspired need for testing and safe sex. The sex was intense but there was no label for whatever the relationship was or wasn’t. An unlikely pairing, they encountered the other, or didn’t. Their storyline was one that I enjoyed following.
The chapters switched back and forth between the 80’s, 90’s and early 2000’s, covering both Wolf and Coltswood, keeping the reader informed and wanting to know more. There were several other important characters that popped in and out during the length of the timeline. The book was very detailed and I really enjoyed how everything played out. Because of the serious nature, I especially enjoyed that this was such a different type of lesbian romance than a lighthearted romcom.
August 30, 2026
Good story, but a little heavier than the usual romance... great back story about the lesbian involvement when the Aids epidemic started!
March 7, 2026
For Coltswood to land as a powerful, fully realized historical romance, especially one rooted in the emotional and political gravity of the AIDS epidemic, Jules Revel must exercise an unusual degree of precision. This is not simply a love story set against history; it is a story in which history actively shapes character, conflict, and consequence. That raises the bar. The romance cannot feel ornamental, and the history cannot feel like a backdrop. Both must be structurally fused. Revel demonstrates she understands every bit of this, making her newest release a remarkable piece of writing.
Belinda Coltswood is a central figure in Coltswood, and readers meet her in a place she never expected to be: teaching art at a university in Iowa. Though she has many regrets, she has never regretted sparing her lover, Deb Wolf, an AIDS activist, from jail. When Belinda and Deb, who prefers to be called Wolf, first meet, Belinda is no activist. Quite the opposite, in fact. She lives an indulgent life surrounded by high-end art, trips to Europe, and family money. She is also a closeted lesbian, largely untouched by the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. That, however, changes when her husband, Whitney Hall, dies from the disease. Though their marriage functions more like a partnership, it has always worked well. He also comes from wealth, where appearances and propriety matter above all else. Their arrangement allows them both the freedom to be themselves, sheltered yet quietly authentic. Only those closest to them know the truth. They love each other deeply, but as best friends, not lovers. When Whitney dies, Belinda is devastated, and her life is never the same.
When her financial advisor suggests she meet with an AIDS activist group, she intends only to donate money. However, seeing people protesting in the streets hits too close to home. She is deeply affected and begins to offer more than just money. She becomes a presence at protests, often as an observer on the sidelines. It is from this vantage point that she is nearly caught in a police raid, but Wolf intervenes, pulling her to safety and leaving her emotionally undone in the process. That encounter opens her world to a new sense of purpose and belonging, prompting her to deepen her involvement in AIDS awareness and research. What begins as something personal becomes even more so, as her connection to Wolf introduces her to a kind of love she realizes she has never truly known.
When Belinda and Wolf stumble upon a pharmaceutical scam in the early 1990s tied to Belinda’s family, Belinda is threatened, and the cost is far greater than anything her uncle could impose. She is left with nothing but the hope that Wolf will move on and forget her. When they meet again in Iowa nearly ten years later, Belinda quickly realizes that time and distance have not erased Wolf’s memory. Wolf is determined to uncover the truth, despite Belinda’s emotional walls and carefully constructed indifference. She is persistent, steadily pushing against Belinda’s defenses until they crack, forcing them both to confront the past.
Revel structures this story with exceptional care, delivering a historical romance that feels both deeply personal and emotionally expansive. This is not simply a love story set during the AIDS epidemic. Instead, Revel weaves the romance and the history together so tightly that one cannot exist without the other. For readers, the emotional journey and the historical weight build side by side, leading to something that feels both powerful and earned.
One of the novel’s greatest strengths is its use of dual timelines and perspectives. Told through both Belinda and Wolf’s voices across different moments in their shared history, the story moves between the AIDS crisis and their reunion in 2002 with clarity and purpose. These timelines do more than provide backstory. They actively shape one another, so that each revelation deepens the reader’s understanding of both past and present. This structure is reinforced by the distinctiveness of each voice, with Belinda and Wolf shaped by their own histories and emotional experiences. Readers see not only how they understand each other, but also how they sometimes misread one another. That tension keeps the narrative engaging as the truth gradually comes into focus, creating a story that feels cohesive, intentional, and emotionally grounded.
Belinda’s defining choice to walk away in order to protect Wolf is central to the story. Revel ensures that this decision carries real weight. It is not treated as a single moment of sacrifice, but as something that echoes throughout the narrative. By tying this choice to her family’s involvement in pharmaceutical fraud during the AIDS epidemic, Revel raises the stakes even further. For readers, the conflict becomes not just about love lost, but about guilt, responsibility, and what it means to make things right.
The romance itself unfolds with care and restraint. Ten years of separation are not brushed aside. Instead, Revel allows that time to show in the tension between Belinda and Wolf. Their interactions are layered with hesitation, misunderstanding, and unspoken emotion. Much of what matters exists beneath the surface. This makes the eventual revelations feel powerful because they are not rushed or simplified. Readers experience not just a reunion, but the difficult work of rebuilding trust.
Revel also uses literary elements in ways that feel natural and meaningful. Motifs like art and legacy deepen the story rather than distract from it. Belinda’s role as an artist, in particular, becomes a quiet way of expressing what she cannot say outright. At the same time, the portrayal of the AIDS epidemic remains grounded and specific. The activism, the loss, and the urgency of that time are vividly present, giving the story both emotional and historical weight.
All of this comes together in an ending that feels honest and meaningful. Revel does not rely on easy answers. Instead, she allows the characters to fully confront the past. Belinda’s reasons are laid bare, Wolf’s anger is acknowledged, and forgiveness emerges as something chosen, not assumed. That choice gives the ending its emotional power.
Final remarks…
In the end, Revel creates a novel that transcends the usual conventions of historical romance. Coltswood becomes both a remembrance and a reclamation of a love that endures. It is a story shaped by time, history, sacrifice, and truth, leaving readers with an emotional experience that lingers well beyond the final page.
Strengths…
Strong story development
Well-developed characters
Emotionally connective themes
Integration of history
Narrative balance
Impactful ending
Belinda Coltswood is a central figure in Coltswood, and readers meet her in a place she never expected to be: teaching art at a university in Iowa. Though she has many regrets, she has never regretted sparing her lover, Deb Wolf, an AIDS activist, from jail. When Belinda and Deb, who prefers to be called Wolf, first meet, Belinda is no activist. Quite the opposite, in fact. She lives an indulgent life surrounded by high-end art, trips to Europe, and family money. She is also a closeted lesbian, largely untouched by the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. That, however, changes when her husband, Whitney Hall, dies from the disease. Though their marriage functions more like a partnership, it has always worked well. He also comes from wealth, where appearances and propriety matter above all else. Their arrangement allows them both the freedom to be themselves, sheltered yet quietly authentic. Only those closest to them know the truth. They love each other deeply, but as best friends, not lovers. When Whitney dies, Belinda is devastated, and her life is never the same.
When her financial advisor suggests she meet with an AIDS activist group, she intends only to donate money. However, seeing people protesting in the streets hits too close to home. She is deeply affected and begins to offer more than just money. She becomes a presence at protests, often as an observer on the sidelines. It is from this vantage point that she is nearly caught in a police raid, but Wolf intervenes, pulling her to safety and leaving her emotionally undone in the process. That encounter opens her world to a new sense of purpose and belonging, prompting her to deepen her involvement in AIDS awareness and research. What begins as something personal becomes even more so, as her connection to Wolf introduces her to a kind of love she realizes she has never truly known.
When Belinda and Wolf stumble upon a pharmaceutical scam in the early 1990s tied to Belinda’s family, Belinda is threatened, and the cost is far greater than anything her uncle could impose. She is left with nothing but the hope that Wolf will move on and forget her. When they meet again in Iowa nearly ten years later, Belinda quickly realizes that time and distance have not erased Wolf’s memory. Wolf is determined to uncover the truth, despite Belinda’s emotional walls and carefully constructed indifference. She is persistent, steadily pushing against Belinda’s defenses until they crack, forcing them both to confront the past.
Revel structures this story with exceptional care, delivering a historical romance that feels both deeply personal and emotionally expansive. This is not simply a love story set during the AIDS epidemic. Instead, Revel weaves the romance and the history together so tightly that one cannot exist without the other. For readers, the emotional journey and the historical weight build side by side, leading to something that feels both powerful and earned.
One of the novel’s greatest strengths is its use of dual timelines and perspectives. Told through both Belinda and Wolf’s voices across different moments in their shared history, the story moves between the AIDS crisis and their reunion in 2002 with clarity and purpose. These timelines do more than provide backstory. They actively shape one another, so that each revelation deepens the reader’s understanding of both past and present. This structure is reinforced by the distinctiveness of each voice, with Belinda and Wolf shaped by their own histories and emotional experiences. Readers see not only how they understand each other, but also how they sometimes misread one another. That tension keeps the narrative engaging as the truth gradually comes into focus, creating a story that feels cohesive, intentional, and emotionally grounded.
Belinda’s defining choice to walk away in order to protect Wolf is central to the story. Revel ensures that this decision carries real weight. It is not treated as a single moment of sacrifice, but as something that echoes throughout the narrative. By tying this choice to her family’s involvement in pharmaceutical fraud during the AIDS epidemic, Revel raises the stakes even further. For readers, the conflict becomes not just about love lost, but about guilt, responsibility, and what it means to make things right.
The romance itself unfolds with care and restraint. Ten years of separation are not brushed aside. Instead, Revel allows that time to show in the tension between Belinda and Wolf. Their interactions are layered with hesitation, misunderstanding, and unspoken emotion. Much of what matters exists beneath the surface. This makes the eventual revelations feel powerful because they are not rushed or simplified. Readers experience not just a reunion, but the difficult work of rebuilding trust.
Revel also uses literary elements in ways that feel natural and meaningful. Motifs like art and legacy deepen the story rather than distract from it. Belinda’s role as an artist, in particular, becomes a quiet way of expressing what she cannot say outright. At the same time, the portrayal of the AIDS epidemic remains grounded and specific. The activism, the loss, and the urgency of that time are vividly present, giving the story both emotional and historical weight.
All of this comes together in an ending that feels honest and meaningful. Revel does not rely on easy answers. Instead, she allows the characters to fully confront the past. Belinda’s reasons are laid bare, Wolf’s anger is acknowledged, and forgiveness emerges as something chosen, not assumed. That choice gives the ending its emotional power.
Final remarks…
In the end, Revel creates a novel that transcends the usual conventions of historical romance. Coltswood becomes both a remembrance and a reclamation of a love that endures. It is a story shaped by time, history, sacrifice, and truth, leaving readers with an emotional experience that lingers well beyond the final page.
Strengths…
Strong story development
Well-developed characters
Emotionally connective themes
Integration of history
Narrative balance
Impactful ending
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Intense, steamy, heart wrenching historical romance flanked by the AIDS crisis
If you're the type to binge read lesfic I strongly suggest you do the opposite for this book and take it in gradually; it's intense and bound to provoke emotional responses so letting those emotions rise crest and fall, and the content sink in, between reading sessions will be less overwhelming. If you've read about or witnessed/participated in the AIDS movement and protests from the 80's and 90's, Coltswood provides another perspective that's valuable and immersive. You may need tissues handy for the tears that will come up at points in the story. Main characters Wolf and Belinda have an electric push/pull rapport every time they cross paths, both of them good at 'stirring the pot' to put it politely; sh1t disturbers if you will. Having not read the synopsis ahead of diving into the book I found the first chapter intriguing and wanted to know about these characters and their history. Chapters move between 2002, the late 1980's into the 1990's with the month and year indicated under each chapter title; those good at keeping track of the story's timeline will find them helpful. There is an age gap between Wolf and Belinda although it's less than a decade; that aside the backgrounds and worlds they come from could not be more different and not just in terms of socio-economic class. Their diverse life experiences are fascinating reading although some readers may be impatient to learn more about them (their individual and shared history) sooner; their stories unfurl at their own pace with Belinda's ice queen energy clashing against Wolf's open yet cautious nature. The safe sex scenes are steamy and they get creative within those constraints; it makes for hot reading. While there is plenty of drama and angst, some humor creeps in as well to take some of the edge off. I wasn't thrilled with the ending although I understand its purpose and will read author Jules Revel's future publications if there are any.
If Coltswood is your first book on the topic take it as an invitation to read more from other perspectives of those who were there in whatever capacity and others who've researched and provide receipts for their work.
This is not light fluffy beach reading by any means, but history deserving to be told from the female perspective; it doesn't cover all aspects of the events or time period but no work ever could. While aspects of the story are fictional it feels real enough to the heart, mind and spirit while reading.
If you're the type to binge read lesfic I strongly suggest you do the opposite for this book and take it in gradually; it's intense and bound to provoke emotional responses so letting those emotions rise crest and fall, and the content sink in, between reading sessions will be less overwhelming. If you've read about or witnessed/participated in the AIDS movement and protests from the 80's and 90's, Coltswood provides another perspective that's valuable and immersive. You may need tissues handy for the tears that will come up at points in the story. Main characters Wolf and Belinda have an electric push/pull rapport every time they cross paths, both of them good at 'stirring the pot' to put it politely; sh1t disturbers if you will. Having not read the synopsis ahead of diving into the book I found the first chapter intriguing and wanted to know about these characters and their history. Chapters move between 2002, the late 1980's into the 1990's with the month and year indicated under each chapter title; those good at keeping track of the story's timeline will find them helpful. There is an age gap between Wolf and Belinda although it's less than a decade; that aside the backgrounds and worlds they come from could not be more different and not just in terms of socio-economic class. Their diverse life experiences are fascinating reading although some readers may be impatient to learn more about them (their individual and shared history) sooner; their stories unfurl at their own pace with Belinda's ice queen energy clashing against Wolf's open yet cautious nature. The safe sex scenes are steamy and they get creative within those constraints; it makes for hot reading. While there is plenty of drama and angst, some humor creeps in as well to take some of the edge off. I wasn't thrilled with the ending although I understand its purpose and will read author Jules Revel's future publications if there are any.
If Coltswood is your first book on the topic take it as an invitation to read more from other perspectives of those who were there in whatever capacity and others who've researched and provide receipts for their work.
This is not light fluffy beach reading by any means, but history deserving to be told from the female perspective; it doesn't cover all aspects of the events or time period but no work ever could. While aspects of the story are fictional it feels real enough to the heart, mind and spirit while reading.
July 31, 2026
Coltswood is Jules Revel's debut novel, and it's the kind of book that makes you double-check the author bio, because there is nothing tentative or first-timer about it. The story centers on two women: Belinda "Bel" Coltswood, a wealthy artist and professor whose career has been shadowed by old rumors even as it's crowned by a major art prize, and Deb "Wolf", a journalist sent to interview her. The two have history — a lot of it — and the moment they come face-to-face again in Bel's office, that carefully maintained cool of Bel's starts to crack.
Revel structures the book across three timelines: the 1980s, when we see Wolf's wild, colorful coming-of-age in New York; the 1990s, when Wolf and Bel first meet amid the fire and grief of AIDS activism; and the present day, eight years after their paths last crossed, when this interview forces them back into each other's orbit. It's a rich-girl-poor-girl story with an age gap layered on top, but Revel never lets it collapse into trope — both women are given real inner lives, real flaws, and real courage.
My thoughts:
I loved this. I loved Bel and Wolf both, and I loved how differently their heroism showed up — Bel's was quieter, more private, forged in loss; Wolf's was loud and public and furious, the kind that gets you arrested at a die-in. The AIDS activism thread was the part that really got me, honestly, because it's not something I knew much about going in, and Revel handles it with so much care and specificity that it never feels like a history lesson — it feels lived-in.
The three-timeline structure could have felt gimmicky in less capable hands, but it worked beautifully here, letting the past and present talk to each other instead of just alternating. And the writing itself has real depth — some of the scenes are genuinely raw, unflinching in a way that earns your trust rather than shocking for its own sake.
For a debut, this is remarkable. Revel is clearly a natural storyteller — I was hooked from page one and didn't want to put it down. I liked it enough that I've already gone ahead and ordered the audiobook, narrated by Abby Craden, so I can experience it all over again, fresh, at some point down the line.
I'll be watching for whatever Revel writes next, whatever genre she decides to wander into.
5 Stars
Revel structures the book across three timelines: the 1980s, when we see Wolf's wild, colorful coming-of-age in New York; the 1990s, when Wolf and Bel first meet amid the fire and grief of AIDS activism; and the present day, eight years after their paths last crossed, when this interview forces them back into each other's orbit. It's a rich-girl-poor-girl story with an age gap layered on top, but Revel never lets it collapse into trope — both women are given real inner lives, real flaws, and real courage.
My thoughts:
I loved this. I loved Bel and Wolf both, and I loved how differently their heroism showed up — Bel's was quieter, more private, forged in loss; Wolf's was loud and public and furious, the kind that gets you arrested at a die-in. The AIDS activism thread was the part that really got me, honestly, because it's not something I knew much about going in, and Revel handles it with so much care and specificity that it never feels like a history lesson — it feels lived-in.
The three-timeline structure could have felt gimmicky in less capable hands, but it worked beautifully here, letting the past and present talk to each other instead of just alternating. And the writing itself has real depth — some of the scenes are genuinely raw, unflinching in a way that earns your trust rather than shocking for its own sake.
For a debut, this is remarkable. Revel is clearly a natural storyteller — I was hooked from page one and didn't want to put it down. I liked it enough that I've already gone ahead and ordered the audiobook, narrated by Abby Craden, so I can experience it all over again, fresh, at some point down the line.
I'll be watching for whatever Revel writes next, whatever genre she decides to wander into.
5 Stars
March 5, 2026
Rating: 4.25
I had an inclination about what to expect from this book upon reading the synopsis before its release. I didn't know the author. But book cover won me over. PLUS, it's Bywater Books, so quality authors are a given. Another exciting thing was finding out that legendary Abby Craden would be at the helm in breathing life to its characters and the story. SOLD!! So when it finally came out, I did it in one go!
First off, congrats to Jules Revel's debut effort with quality writing and storytelling. A classical feel. The classic style is not as commonly used but for this subject matter, it's a no-brainer. As I was immersed in the story and journey of the MCs, it gave me this very familiar reaction. I couldn't help but drew parallels between Revel's purposeful prose and that of the legendary sapphic-writing author's, known for this style of writing - Marianne K. Martin.
Yep, Revel's ability to wring in the political, social disparities, activism, historical reminders about the ugliness of bigotry, the grief of fear and loss, classism - topics that Martin excels at in weaving them into thought-provoking sapphic-loving stories that end in hope - when crafting her story narrative is quite engaging. She doesn't try to persuade, impress or entertain the reader but rather, inform the reader especially when a heavy topic is involved. AIDS. AIDS in the 80s wreaked havoc in all its causality and aftermath. Death was a frequent visitor to the LGBTQ+ community. Heartache was a relief. So for Revel to use it as the backdrop to Coltswood's life and love journey and told it with purpose, grace and in the light is no small feat. There's a fine line between preachiness and nuanced, after all.
Well done, Jules Revel! And Abby Craden, the consummate professional, did it again.
I had an inclination about what to expect from this book upon reading the synopsis before its release. I didn't know the author. But book cover won me over. PLUS, it's Bywater Books, so quality authors are a given. Another exciting thing was finding out that legendary Abby Craden would be at the helm in breathing life to its characters and the story. SOLD!! So when it finally came out, I did it in one go!
First off, congrats to Jules Revel's debut effort with quality writing and storytelling. A classical feel. The classic style is not as commonly used but for this subject matter, it's a no-brainer. As I was immersed in the story and journey of the MCs, it gave me this very familiar reaction. I couldn't help but drew parallels between Revel's purposeful prose and that of the legendary sapphic-writing author's, known for this style of writing - Marianne K. Martin.
Yep, Revel's ability to wring in the political, social disparities, activism, historical reminders about the ugliness of bigotry, the grief of fear and loss, classism - topics that Martin excels at in weaving them into thought-provoking sapphic-loving stories that end in hope - when crafting her story narrative is quite engaging. She doesn't try to persuade, impress or entertain the reader but rather, inform the reader especially when a heavy topic is involved. AIDS. AIDS in the 80s wreaked havoc in all its causality and aftermath. Death was a frequent visitor to the LGBTQ+ community. Heartache was a relief. So for Revel to use it as the backdrop to Coltswood's life and love journey and told it with purpose, grace and in the light is no small feat. There's a fine line between preachiness and nuanced, after all.
Well done, Jules Revel! And Abby Craden, the consummate professional, did it again.
September 17, 2026
As a person whose formative years as a queer person was in the early nineties this book took me right back to those times. An accurate retelling of the times we lived through. As a person watching with horror at what is happening to the hard fought for freedoms that so many sacrificed so much for the book is a call to action. A vital reminder that the community can do hard things.
This story is very well written the non linear timeline drawing us in as we confront the journeys of Belinda and Wolf that kept me interested from beginning to end.
This story is very well written the non linear timeline drawing us in as we confront the journeys of Belinda and Wolf that kept me interested from beginning to end.
March 16, 2026
Outstanding debut novel that offers a powerful glimpse into the fear, loss, deep courage and astute strategy that characterized the experiences of AIDS patients and activists in the 90s. The novel illustrates how in the thick of profound tragedy multiplied by broadscale societal inaction, these activist spaces could foster connection, integrity, joy, love and self-sacrifice, transforming the lives of those involved in myriad ways.
September 16, 2026
Coltswood handles devastating moments with a restraint that makes it hit harder, not softer. Jules Revel writes about the AIDS crisis and the characters caught in it without ever reaching for shock. The grief and fear come through in what's implied, in the quiet moments between people and the characters' thoughts, rather than in graphic detail. I came away feeling like I'd sat with these characters through something real, without the book ever exploiting their pain. Highly recommended.
September 6, 2026
Wow. Such a heavy read. Nicely done. The slow burn was truly slow burn. In fact it was soooo slow burn it felt like squeezing water so completely from a wet cloth till it dries. And then when the love scenes finally comes it fades almost to black. I felt unfulfilled.
I had also hoped for a better ending. Although it was OK I didn't feel it ended ended
I had also hoped for a better ending. Although it was OK I didn't feel it ended ended
April 22, 2026
This was a carefully crafted beautifully executed troubling story of loss, pain, struggle, suffering,loss, activism, art, and love.
I need to listen to it again in a slower manner due to an imposed deadline. I will revel in Revel.
I need to listen to it again in a slower manner due to an imposed deadline. I will revel in Revel.
March 10, 2026
Such a lovely book. I just finished listening to it and it stays with you
May 5, 2026
This is a complicated, powerful story, embedded in history. It’s a worthwhile, but not always gentle, read. Kudos to Jules Revel for the story and to Abby Craden for the narration.
June 28, 2026
Can’t believe it’s a debut. Visceral.
August 12, 2026
Majestic for a debut novel
September 8, 2026
4.5, just wanted one more chapter at the end, but great read
July 18, 2026
This was the "steamy" option for Hawaii Queer Book Club July 2026. I listened to the audiobook because it wasn't at my library. It was hard to follow at first and I had to listen to a few consecutive chapters while knitting before I was able to understand the timeline jumps.
I'm a nurse and former HIV/AIDS educator, so I appreciated Revel writing LGTBQIA+ history into a book likely to have readers too young to remember the AIDS epidemic. Thanks to science and sex education, nurses today rarely see a patient who is HIV+. As silly as "the glove scene" was to me, I VERY much applaude the safe sex the author made an effort to spice up.
I would recommend this to your nerdy lesbian friends, and if they choose the audiobook, help them with a little summary before they start.
I'm a nurse and former HIV/AIDS educator, so I appreciated Revel writing LGTBQIA+ history into a book likely to have readers too young to remember the AIDS epidemic. Thanks to science and sex education, nurses today rarely see a patient who is HIV+. As silly as "the glove scene" was to me, I VERY much applaude the safe sex the author made an effort to spice up.
I would recommend this to your nerdy lesbian friends, and if they choose the audiobook, help them with a little summary before they start.
January 16, 2026
March 4:
The audiobook narrated by Abby Craden made this book even better, her voice heightened the struggle to the next level.
This was a very special book that gave some insight into the depressing times in the 1980s and 1990s due to the AIDS pandemic, told via following Wolf and Bel and their experiences from 1987 until 2002. The story is moving back and forth in timelines and that makes it slowly possible to get an understanding how the pandemic affected their lives and we also get a chance to follow their unconventional love story. The story is complex and sometimes hard to read, so different from a standard mainstream book, but I highly recommend a read.
In 1987 Deb Wolf, not even an adult legally, is left with nothing when her dad bolts. She is temporarily saved by Danny and her job at a diner where she also can sleep but when he is admitted to the hospital, AIDS, that is all changed. She sleeps on trains and tries to find casual hook-ups just to get a night of sleep in a bed. She meets Cait and is rescued with a job offer at the Mission that help people during the AIDS pandemic. In parallel Belinda Coltswood lives in luxury married to Whit, not a real marriage since they are both gay, but they love each other. One day Whit is getting ill and she loses him to AIDS and her life is forever changed.
They meet via the Mission that Bel is funding, Bel asks Wolf to be her driver and date for her brother’s birthday party, they get wasted together, talk and start forming a bond despite coming from such different backgrounds. Bel is offering Wolf a job opportunity in Boston where they start their version of a relationship. So different from what they have experienced in the past and very special but in the end Belinda leaves.
Wolf contacts Bel in 2002 to reconnect after their fall-out almost a decade earlier. Bel is now Professor Belinda Coltswood, teaching art at a university and Wolf is a journalist that want to write a book about New York in the ’80s and ’90s, about the work they were doing back then. Once they start talking and discuss their past even more things are revealed, everything in their lives were affected by what they experienced back then.
I received a free ARC from Bywater Books and leave an honest review voluntarily.
The audiobook narrated by Abby Craden made this book even better, her voice heightened the struggle to the next level.
This was a very special book that gave some insight into the depressing times in the 1980s and 1990s due to the AIDS pandemic, told via following Wolf and Bel and their experiences from 1987 until 2002. The story is moving back and forth in timelines and that makes it slowly possible to get an understanding how the pandemic affected their lives and we also get a chance to follow their unconventional love story. The story is complex and sometimes hard to read, so different from a standard mainstream book, but I highly recommend a read.
In 1987 Deb Wolf, not even an adult legally, is left with nothing when her dad bolts. She is temporarily saved by Danny and her job at a diner where she also can sleep but when he is admitted to the hospital, AIDS, that is all changed. She sleeps on trains and tries to find casual hook-ups just to get a night of sleep in a bed. She meets Cait and is rescued with a job offer at the Mission that help people during the AIDS pandemic. In parallel Belinda Coltswood lives in luxury married to Whit, not a real marriage since they are both gay, but they love each other. One day Whit is getting ill and she loses him to AIDS and her life is forever changed.
They meet via the Mission that Bel is funding, Bel asks Wolf to be her driver and date for her brother’s birthday party, they get wasted together, talk and start forming a bond despite coming from such different backgrounds. Bel is offering Wolf a job opportunity in Boston where they start their version of a relationship. So different from what they have experienced in the past and very special but in the end Belinda leaves.
Wolf contacts Bel in 2002 to reconnect after their fall-out almost a decade earlier. Bel is now Professor Belinda Coltswood, teaching art at a university and Wolf is a journalist that want to write a book about New York in the ’80s and ’90s, about the work they were doing back then. Once they start talking and discuss their past even more things are revealed, everything in their lives were affected by what they experienced back then.
I received a free ARC from Bywater Books and leave an honest review voluntarily.
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