Out Loud: A Sapphic romcom

by Kaitlyn Concilio

Anna is broke, freshly single, and one bad month away from moving back in with her parents. So when she finds a perfect garage apartment at a price she can almost afford, she signs the lease before she can talk herself out of it.

The catch: Emily, her landlord, talks to herself. Constantly. Through walls that are thinner than either of them realized.

Anna tells herself she'll tune it out. Instead, she starts listening – to Emily's pep talks and panic spirals, her terrible dates and Tuesday meetings, the way her voice goes quiet on the nights she's convinced she's too much for anyone.

It's not eavesdropping if you can't help it. It's not falling for someone if they don't know you're there. It's not a problem until it is.

A story about two women, thin walls, and learning to be heard.

Genres: Lesbian

176 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 24, 2026

About the author

Kait was raised by seagulls on a thin strip of land between the Sea of Infinity and the Ocean of Tomorrow. She’s never ever seen a chalupa up close but would like to, one day. She currently spends most of her time writing satire on LinkedIn and waiting for someone to notice (they haven’t, yet).

Reviews

[Fran Sappharc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great start. I had a stupid grin on my face when the food order was finally sent! (You need to read the book, not to find out what I’m talking about in a non spoilery way, but because this is a lovely book that deserves to be read!)
Oh my…… When Emily lets Anna knows she sees her…. It’s perfect in the way this book is perfect!
I loved this book. I read it in one sitting. Sitting with a grin on my face for most of it, apart from the time I needed the main to just take the leap!! Then my face was slightly tense!

[Kexx · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insular book, a play for two. Close to being a novella, but flowed well if a little introspective with no action. A quiet read and introduced me to Samoa which gave it an extra star!

[Jackie Dailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

sweet

This was a sweet story about finding your person.
It’s funny. Cute and entertaining
I would recommend
A new author to me so I’m off to see what else she has written

[Anna Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book was exactly what I needed right now. It's about two neurodivergent people who try to deal with the mess we call live in their own way. One feeling like she's too much while the other feels like she's not enough and the realization that both might be exactly what they're supposed to be. I enjoyed it a lot and will keep an eye open for Concilio's future works. I just hope that, next time, an illustrator will do the book cover for her.
Maybe, at some point, the story of Anna and Emily might continue?
Also, I've never seen a better author pic and about the author text as in this one.

[Laurie Schmid · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG. I have never highlighted so many passages before. I overwhelming loved this story. It will float around in my head and in my heart for a long while.

They both work from home. One is a project manager. The other is a graphic designer. Emily needs help with her mortgage. Anna needs an affordable place to stay after a bad breakup. The above the garage apartment is perfect. Except the walls - the sound fidelity is the same as if there was an open window between the two living spaces. "Walls made of good intentions and acoustic negligees."

Both women have some flavors of being neurodiverse. They have coping mechanisms, some healthier than others. This story was hilarious and sweet and touching. Oh, how I wish this author had many more books I could devour.

"Too much. Not enough. Two women on either side of a wall, each convinced they were the wrong amount of person."

"...you start cutting away the parts that take up space, because maybe if you're smaller they'll see you. Maybe if you need less they'll have room for what's left."

Bi or pansexual. Humor. Dating disaster. Forced proximity. Friendship. Misfit/socially awkward. Self-discovery. Slow-burn. Starting over. Heat level: sweet. Not even a kiss at the end.

[C. Jacoby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so cute! I picked it up during my local book crawl to support another sapphic San Diego Indie author, and the story was adorable. Anna and Emily gave me just the right amount of giddy butterflies at the end to make up for the torturous yearning (compliment btw). LOVED the "Love is Blind" nod to their budding relationship and I just KNOW there will be no more depressing food orders in their future. (Unless the Peterson account keeps it's shit up lol)

My ONLY complaint is that in the physical copy I have there are no page numbers and I'm a BIG need-to-knower of how far I've read lol. Aside from that, I thought this was a very cute and rom-commy debut novel. Im looking forward to whatever Kaitlyn writes next!

[Issy Waldrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and adorable, it really nails the comedy aspect right from the start, and keeps it up the entire way through, even when it gets heavy at times and left me emotional. It's a fun read, very much a story about being authentic to yourself, as well as the story of two women finally finding the one who just fits with them. There is a lot of focus on neurodivergence, and while the thin walls issue could be problematic, it is handled well (and well, it is the who premise of the story). Fair warning that it does end rather abruptly - I would have liked to see an epilogue for them, a snippet of their life together after finally taking that first step, but still enjoyable nonetheless.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started out warm and funny but the second half .. ugh I can’t even, without going into a whole rant. It would have been 3.5, likely even 4 stars with a healthier second half. It’s disappointing bc the mh issues and characters were relatable, even the unhealthy attachment and coping mechs were relatable, but the mc was very clearly not healed enough for this.

Huge cringes for me: the premature love bomb, the fucking ex’s shirt, making herself sick with obsessing, repeat ow/om - and using that for the in person trigger (that happened wayyy later than it should have).

I’m heading back to unrealistic fantasy reads