We Could Be So Good

Midcentury NYC #1

by Cat Sebastian

Nick Russo has worked his way from a rough Brooklyn neighbourhood to a reporter at one of the city’s biggest newspapers. But the late 1950s are a hostile time for gay men, and Nick knows that he can’t let anyone into his life. He just never counted on Andy.

Andy Fleming’s newspaper-tycoon father wants him to take over the family business. But Andy has no intention of running the paper, he’s barely able to run his life. Instead, he agrees to work for a year in the newsroom, knowing he’ll hate every moment.

But Andy finds an ally in Nick. And soon, as Nick shows Andy the ropes, helping him when things go wrong, an unlikely friendship develops. But when their relationship sharpens into deeper feelings both must decide if they’re prepared to fight for what they really want.

Genres: Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical, LGBT, Queer, Fiction, Historical Romance

377 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 6, 2023

About the author

Cat Sebastian has written sixteen queer historical romances. Cat’s books have received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist.

Before writing, Cat was a lawyer and a teacher and did a variety of other jobs she liked much less than she enjoys writing happy endings for queer people. She was born in New Jersey and lived in New York and Arizona before settling down in a swampy part of south. When she isn’t writing, she’s probably reading, having one-sided conversations with her dog, or doing the crossword puzzle.

The best way to keep up with Cat’s projects is to subscribe to her newsletter.

Reviews

[lila · Rating 4 out of 5]

january 2024 reread: the picture of nick & andy slow dancing all by themselves, completely wrapped in each other’s warmth & embrace & love lives rent free in my head

✼ ⸺⸺⸺ ✿ ⸺⸺⸺ ✼

hi *taps mic* yes, it’s me, hi. i’m a little in love with this book.

“i want this with you. i want everything with you. and i need you to know that. i don’t know how we’ll make it work, but i want it anyway.”

have i mentioned before how weak i am for soft romance? the quiet, gentle, steadfast love never fails to get me. it’s no less real than the burning, passionate love, and yet it’s given less importance. i love it when i have flutters in my stomach because of the relationship. butterflies, like i have a crush (and i do. i have a crush on this book). nick and andy shared that type of love. they were the epitome of idiots/friends to lovers with so many sprinkles of ✨domestic scenes✨ i ate it up. pure comfort material in my eyes. the angst/mutual pining/tension/yearning was perfection. and the sweetness literally bled from the pages. i played cornelia street in my head the entire time i was reading this, it suited the vibes so beautifully.

this was just so romantic at its core. all the little moments between nick and andy were shown in a way that could make me connect with them so well and feel their romance. i’ll always be in love with grumpy/sunshine dynamics, so it’s no wonder i enjoyed this so much. the way andy brought flowers for nick and noticed that nick was so pleased because of it so he kept bringing them. the way nick took care of andy even as he grumbled cause he knew he couldn’t help it. the cat. the way neither of them could stop staring at each other and then looking away and blushing (aw). the littlest moments of affection had me helplessly engulfed in the warmth of their love. every little moment of /oh/ had me clenching my fist and made my heart beat just a bit faster. andy was the most indecisive person ever but he was so sure about nick as soon as he realized his feelings for him and that made me sigh. they ruin me / every / time.

the familial relationships + the found family have my heart. they made my heart clench and feel so much. it was just so realistic and relatable at that time for parents to react a certain way to their children’s romantic preferences and i felt like the homophobia during that time was not sugarcoated but also not overly emphasized on. the balance was there.

probably the only niggle i had was how andy was described sometimes, because he didn’t know how to handle things and generally needed help with figuring things out (like organizing, finding directions, etc.) which led me to believe he was possibly on the autism spectrum. but it wasn’t really elaborated on, which left me confused.

i’m definitely gonna be reading more books by this author soon. i’m in love with their writing style, even if it’s not for everyone — third person, present tense.

[chai (thelibrairie on tiktok) ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cat Sebastian, I was not familiar with your game.

This was an intensely emotional ride. Reading romantic queer stories set in the past (the 1950s in this case) always gets to me. I’m reminded that queer people have loved and grieved and fought and survived through a world that never ceased to want us dead. I wanted to reach into the page and give both Rick and Andy a hug.

[Emna · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sometimes a book just hits different—and this one did exactly that. From the very first page, it swept me up, and I honestly loved every single thing about it. No complaints—just pure love for this book. It’s been weeks since a book made me feel this alive, and that alone says everything.

Nick has my whole heart. He’s the kind of character who lingers long after you’ve closed the book, and I know I’ll be carrying him with me for a long time. I laughed with them, I cried with them, and the ending tied it all together in the most satisfying way.

I’m endlessly grateful to my lovely ♡Anita♡ for putting this story in my hands, because it reminded me why I adore reading in the first place. In a stretch of time when nothing else seemed to work for me, this book came along and gave me exactly what I needed: emotions, connection, and pure joy.

Unforgettable. Beautiful. Everything I wanted and more.

[Ali L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nick, a journalist who tries very hard to be boring but fails, has just started working with Andy, the guy who throws the Lean Cuisine box into the trash and then retrieves it seven times to check the instructions. Nick is a closeted gay man because America in the late 1950s wasn’t that great, and Andy is engaged to a swell gal from the office. When she abruptly dumps him for a British cardiologist (a tale as old as time), Andy burrows himself into Nick like an adorable parasite. This, like a lot of things, alarms Nick, but he takes it in stride and we witness two friends stare at each other until they kiss. This book has a subplot involving police corruption, because it takes place in reality. If you enjoy found families and men fumbling into love, you’re in luck. Remember the time you offered to blow your friend and he takes offense and it became a whole, like, thing? Andy does.

3/11/25 reread:
it’s still like sinking into a warm bath, if warm baths were awkward young men falling in love with each other over bowls of soup.

[Hannah B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m torn between wanting to CRY (😭) and wanting to make a joke about showing you where to bury the lede (😏)



It’s a book about falling in love and being in love and staying in love through it all. It’s about good people finding good love that they really really deserve. And Jesus Christ I’m too soft for all of it (😭) and so are they (😭) but also that CAT (😭) and the friendships (😭) and the familial relationships (😭) it’s too much!! The emotions are too much!!



It was just so soft I really can’t think straight. Somehow the most romantic thing about this, one of the most romantic books I’ve ever read, was when they continued to both get tomatoes and pickles on their sandwiches!! Despite Nick not liking tomatoes and Andy not liking pickle, they kept doing it so they could make the other’s sandwich better. And the daffodils. And eating a commemorative chicken salad sandwich. (I just really love sandwiches okay??)



This book will make you cry in the most wholesome way.



⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 🌶️🌶️*/5

*There was more telling than showing, but there was explicit sex with a few details on page. There were a few scenes and worked for the book.



The only thing I didn’t like was the third-person present narrative style. I especially despise it via audiobook, so I did read it physically which basically fixed the issue. I know I’m gonna reread this, so maybe I’ll give the audio another shot? Idk but I’ll report back.


I have a jukebox Spotify playlist that already featured some of the songs in the book: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Vo...



Let me tell you listening to You Send Me repeatedly (when it was mentioned in the book) and then for At Last to come on during the last pages of the last chapter and then Dream during the epilogue??? Yeah that felt extremely personal.



As for Taylor Swift songs, this gave big Sweet Nothing, Timeless, and Cornelia Street energy. (They literally walked Cornelia Street together to go to a bakery 😭😭😭)



I received a finished copy from the publisher in collaboration with @bibliolifestyle. Reviewing the book was optional. All opinions are honest and my own.

[Astra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fell in love with this stunning story. The writing is amazing and very captivating. You get to learn a lot about each character and the personality put into them, and I also think the author did a very good job with giving us a look into their thoughts. Andy and Nick are just so precious. I have to go find more books by this author, I know I have a few on my tbr. But I am certainly starting my new year of reading off right with this book! ✨

[Celine Ong · Rating 5 out of 5]

i want to get drunk on this book i don't know how else to explain it

[moonlight ☾ [semi-hiatus] · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andy swallows. “I like this,” he whispers, because he can’t say any of the other honest things.
Nick lets out a soft exhale, a sound like he’s giving up, giving in. He lets go of Andy’s hand and holds his hips instead, and Andy wraps his arms around Nick’s neck.

kinda ashamed i didn’t read this sooner bc i LOVED it. 😭 but, then again, i am a mood reader so it was probably the best decision i waited lol. anyways, i loved both mcs, Nick and Andy. i loved the side characters, specifically Sal, Andy’s dad, Emily, Linda and Jeanne. i loved the setting and atmosphere of the story. i loved the writing, how the romance was developed by building the friendship between Nick and Andy first before becoming romantic later on (which just felt so natural imo). the pining in the beginning was so good bc the pay off once they finally acknowledged whatever was happening between them was worth the wait.

this had a little bit of angst, story-wise, bc of the time period it’s set in, but Nick and Andy’s relationship was mainly sweet and romantic and i loved every moment—and interaction—they had with one another. the domestic, small moments!!! those had me squealing and giggling bc i love it when the mcs are affectionate with each other, like when they’re cuddling or when one is cooking and the other is hugging them from behind. 🥹🤍

[~Nicole~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know, when I started this book I was sure it was gonna be an absolute 5 stars no questions asked kind of book , because Cat Sebastian, of course. But apparently these days I don’t have patience nor disposition for fluffy , light and easy books anymore. I’ve read too much of them and though I don’t particularly like angsty books I do prefer a bit of rawness in my reads. And I thought : historical,1950, reporters, straight guy/guy guy -all these would make exactly the kind of read I love : a little serious, a little raw and a lot realistic. Don’t get me wrong the book is AMAZING, because again, Cat Sebastian, but for me it felt too light , too long and, at first, too good to be true. And then I realized that it’s not necessarily unrealistic because yes, it was 1950 and yes homosexuality was illegal but let’s be serious, this was New York not a small town in the Bible belt, and they were reporters, (artists)not surrounded by ..let’s say “macho” constructor workers and most importantly,one of them was filthy rich with an open minded and supportive father so yeah, in these circumstances it was a little bit more likely for two gay guys to live happily ever after surrounded by a bunch of other queer friends. I still found the book a bit too light and a bit too long and boring at times and I also felt that Nick read much older than his 25 (though I wasn’t bothered by it, I love older MC and it suited his character and personality).
The writing is one that it won’t be to everybody’s liking:third person present tense. Some say it felt detached and thus hard to connect with the characters but I personally like this writing style and I found myself liking it more and more every time I encountered it.
I loved both characters, I loved how mature they were , how they communicated and I loved that Andy ,except for a bit of “gay panic” was mostly quick to asimílate his bisexuality. I also loved Andy’s scatterbrained antics and his wholesome goodness . And Nick with his kindness and calm personality. 😍😍 They were simply amazing together. The side characters were awesome and the setting was excellent (the ‘50s atmosphere too, though I wish it were even better evoked, I wanted to feel that period a bit stronger)
All in all this was a fabulous book , so good and so wholesome just like all the other books by this author.

PD . Dear author, I’m still waiting for the third book in Page and Sommers series . Please tell me you are gonna write more about Leo and James because I love them to death.

[Anita Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was masterful in so many ways, none of which was surprising coming from Sebastian, but it still knocked me on my ass anyway. What I’m trying to wrap my head around is how this was, in a way, a deeply quiet novel—so much of the heart of it rests in the little daily routines that make up a life, that made up Nick and Andy’s devastatingly wonderful romance—but at the same time, there was so much *happening*—corrupt police! the business of newspapers! the landscape of NYC in the 50s; the evolving and terrifying nature of being queer in the late 50s—and Sebastian somehow weaves it together so (seemingly) effortlessly.

The writing in here was just so stunning that it was hard for me to wrap my head around, and as someone who has written a book that was at least semi-sentimental about soup, I obviously loved this one being fully sentimental about soup. (And sandwiches! And flowers! Fuck.)

[buket · Rating 4 out of 5]

~~~~
when you’re unlucky with your reading choices that your friend recommends something to fix that🥹 sweetest person on earth seriously‼️ when lila says you will enjoy this, i trust her fully‼️🩷💋

[Teru · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐ because I genuinely enjoyed myself for the most part, but it wasn’t the kind of story I thought I was picking up.

I should keep this short because the rating is probably disappointing to a lot of people, seeing as it’s such a well-loved book. And I think most of my issues stem from my current mood, coupled with my not being the right target audience for this kind of story.

We Could Be So Good is a mid-century historical romance about Nick and Andy, working for the same newspaper, and the journey from being friends to forming the kind of relationship that seems to overcome everything life throws at them. Friends-to-lovers is far from my favorite dynamic, I admit to liking at least some animosity (or worse, indifference) between the MCs at the beginning, and at least some explosions in the chemistry department.

But for the first two-thirds, I really liked reading about them and their progress. Unfortunately, it’s written in dual POV, and it took me about three pages to deem Nick my favorite, so that translated into a slight disappointment every time the switch to Andy’s POV was coming - but that’s clearly just my preference.

When I got to the last part of the book, my interest started to seriously wane because I realized I was reading a slow-paced, slice-of-life type of story. And I like those when in the proper mood (for example, Run Wild), but not when I don’t know that’s what I’m picking up. I kept waiting for at least some angst, some kind of conflict, something that would have me glued to the pages. Because by then, Nick and Andy’s relationship was clearly such a sure thing, it wasn’t enough to keep my attention.

As for a few particular internal issues they both had (Nick’s intense fear of exposure, Andy’s crippling self-doubt and abandonment issues), those seemed to disappear by the end of the book - and most people probably see it as a development, but as my first thought was “Wait, when did that happen??” I saw that more as a change, and wasn’t really satisfied with it.

There were a few plot points I really liked and was curious to see where they’ll go - Nick’s family dynamics, the newspaper, the cops - but they all ended up being...non-issues that fizzled out with no fanfare.

So, We Could Be So Good is definitely the case of me being the problem, because otherwise it’s a sweet, low-angst story full of heartfelt emotions, very romantic and swoony. And in the words of angry axolotl - it’s cute, but cute doesn’t cut it for me.

(Thanks for spontaneously joining me for the second half! I know it didn’t really work out for either of us, but at least we had fun right xD 🖤)

Now, regarding You Should Be So Lucky - what do you think? Objectively, is it similarly cozy and a quiet story that wouldn’t provide enough conflict, or is there more that could pull me in? The premise sounds more up my alley, but I don’t think I trust myself right now 🙈

[Marieke (mariekes_mesmerizing_books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much, Nick and Andy, for fixing my reading slump! Actual rating 4.5 stars.

I saw so many friends raving about this one, and you were all right! This book is a gem!

We Could Be So Good is a surprisingly well-written book, alternately told from Nick’s point of view, a news reporter at a newspaper, and Andy’s, the son of the newspaper’s owner, and gives insight into the lives of queer people in the late fifties. The hiding, the illegality, but secretly so many queer couples living together at the same time.

I started reading this book when I didn’t like a few books I read or didn’t like them as much as I wanted to. Reading slump!!! My mind told me, but I didn’t want to give in. So I read and read and quickly became immersed in Nick and Andy’s story. Both men were fully fleshed-out characters to root for. I felt their connection from the moment they met and smiled so many times at their interactions. Slowly, they realize that they’re more than just friends and their love story is a sweet and romantic one.

I’d compare the atmosphere in We Could Be So Good to that in Lavender House. Both books look at the struggles queer people faced back then, but in the end, breathe out so much love. And that’s what I sometimes need in a book!

I can’t wait to read more by Cat Sebastian!

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[Marci · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very sweet & gentle romance between two guys that I thought were so endearing. The back half let me down. I found I was very into the beginning of the book (the pining!!!) and then when I reached a certain point, it became a tiresome read for me. Maybe it was just too much nothing happening. But once again, I love these characters!!! I think I needed a stronger central storyline - that’s my main gripe!!! It is a lot of inner monologue from both guys about how very perfect and sweet and hot the other guy is. Which yes, I agree!!! Andy and Nick: excellent men. Hotties. Top tier. But the book is long and I’m gonna need some balance if there’s gonna be so much sweetness and descriptions of beautiful arms. Which again, I do love sweetness!!! But in the end, I felt like there wasn’t much else to chew on besides the sweet and nobody likes a stomach ache. And this isn’t to say there aren’t other storylines, there are!!! But to me they unfortunately didn’t feel very fleshed out and I just wanted to grab on to something here (besides Nick’s beautiful hairy arms).

[erraticdemon · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

I loved this book so much. It balanced a mostly vibes and very soft romance with just enough historical accuracy to give it an edge. It is also an incredibly timely book considering it's about the news and queer people existing and finding their communities in the 1950s and while a lot has changed for the better we are also regressing so it was nice to read something so sweet and happy and hopeful despite all the things working against them.

As for the romance, the caretaking was an absolute delight with the grumpy one, Nick, being so soft for the sunshine one, Andy, and making him soup and keeping track of his keys and doing anything at all Andy needed him to. It is god tier domestic slowburn.

And yet again Cat gave me urban planning as a treat because it had just enough dumping on Robert Moses and all the crap he did to the city to entertain me but mostly focused on the neighborhoods and people of mid-century new york.

Overall, a delightful and compelling book.

Note: the comps in the blurb are total nonsense so ignore them if a comparison to "Colleen Hoover" is a bad thing to you lol

I received an ARC copy of this book from the author in exchange for nothing - I am reviewing it of my own volition. All opinions are my own.

[Lance · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars. Combining the exact kind of queer sensibility and tenderness I love in romance with a historical NYC setting, We Could Be So Good was my first novel from Cat Sebastian and certainly won't be my last.

[Sunny Lu · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s so many gay historical fiction romances that like feature anti communism as an aspect of the setting and plot and yet none of them feature characters who are fr communists and im kind of tired of that

[Vini · Rating 5 out of 5]

simply, i feel like this book ran me over with a car, burned me alive, and pushed me repeatedly down a flight of stairs FIVE STARS WOULD DO IT AGAIN

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

In a way, it was what I hoped it would be: a very slow and soft and quiet romance.
The author knows how to write those and excels at creating complex yet lovable characters. Both Andy and Nick felt real and well-developed from the start and I liked them a lot, I rooted for them, I felt for them. Of course, they did have their struggles, but they worked through them like the adults they were without behaving like 12-year-olds, which is quite rare in a romance at this point.
So that part of the story was very well done.

But this book also has almost 400 pages. So you either have to fill them with a nice balance of romance and plot, or you really have to make the characters and their problems so interesting and the pacing so flawless that it won’t get repetitive and boring at some point. And since this had basically no plot only romance as the development of Andy and Nicks’s relationship from work acquaintances to friends to roommates to best friends to lovers was the main point, the characters had to carry the story on their own. And that didn’t always work imo.

I read the second book in this series (You Should Be So Lucky) first, and it’s very similar to this one, so I automatically started to compare the two. Which made it very obvious to me that my issue with this one was the pacing. You Should Be So Lucky flows nicely, even though it also has little to no plot (besides the romance) and mainly focuses on the relationship between the two main characters, which also developed very slowly. This one however had so much inner monologue, going on for pages at times, that it got so annoying to me, I started skipping whole pages. It was just too much and felt disruptive to the story.

And the thing is, there was a really interesting side plot at first. Of course, it took a backseat to their budding relationship, but it was there and would’ve worked so well. But then it kind of went nowhere in the end. Yes, I get that Nick did what he did out of love and I liked that a lot, but it kind of made everything concerning this side plot feel like a waste of time.. Like why did I have to read about all that if we’re just dropping it in the end? That could have been handled better and to the advantage of the story.

All of that might sound kind of negative, but it was still a super sweet and soft story overall, which was exactly what I wanted.


___
I just need something soft and sweet rn after Blood Over Bright Haven. Like it was amazing but I’m also still traumatised by it 😭

[NicoleR.M.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

* re-reading October 2025
This book still felt like a warm bath on a stormy, cold autumn day in October*

*Original review*
This book made me smile and laugh out loud, it made me feel warm and fuzzy and it made me tear up. What more can I ask for in a book?! I highlighted almost the entire book and I can’t seem to stop wanting to share all the amazing quotes it hides inside. For now I will just hide away and embrace all these feelings I am feeling right now.

So, yes, I guess I owe a review for some time now. I just finished the audio, however, so I thought it was about time I would try to find the words to describe how I feel about this book. Which is A LOT!
First of all, the audio was okay-ish I guess. I wasn't sure the narration of Joel Leslie would work for me, but I desperately wanted to re-read and since my time was limited, the audio seemed the right solution. It was just okay. The story itself? I might love it even more after reading it again. There's so much I want to say about how much I love it, but I don't think I am able to find the right words to explain it properly. I only wished for another narrator. Joel Leslie and I used to go well, but lately we don't gel that well anymore. I don't like the way he portrays women, he makes them all sound like they are well in their 80's when most of them are young and vivid. Here I also didn't like how he made Andy and Nick sound like they came from the British countryside instead of them living in Brooklyn, NYC. Even when Andy comes from a money background, he should not sound like this. With one of the characters named Nick Russo, I really would have loved for this book to be narrated by Nick J. Russo. That would have been something! And besides that, Nick J. Russo is fast becoming one of my favorite narrators - he performs a book instead of just reading it. But alas, that didn't happen and so I had to endure Joel Leslie in my ears instead. It wasn't really bad, but if this book hadn't been on my Best Of The Year list, I might not have finished listening to it.

Now on to Nick's and Andy's story. There's something about Cat Sebastian's writing that I really love. I love how she subtly includes historical facts about living in NYC in that particular era without overloading her readers with everything she knows and learned through research. It all feels so natural, as if she went back in time herself and tells everything from her own experience.

So what wasn't to love about this beautiful, sweet, charming, heartwarming and heartbreaking book? There were funny times, there was a lot of love between friends and new found friends, between family. Between Nick and Andy. Nick is a city reporter who works for the newspaper Andy is going to inherit from his father. From the moment they meet, Nick is smitten with him. And so was I. I loved how clumsy Andy could be, it added so much to the sweetness of his character. I loved how naive he was at the beginning, and how he learned throughout the book. About himself, about city life, about Nick and riding subways. Mostly about himself. When his fiancée breaks up with him, it slowly occurs to him he isn't as devastated about it as he expected to be. And that's all because of Nick, who offers him a place to stay and who takes care of him like a real friend.
From there on it gets harder for Nick to hide his real feelings for Andy. But with them being so close to each other every day, both at work and at home, Andy also finds himself attracted to Nick in a way he never even considered possible. Their lives intertwine more and more without them even really planning to, and it was another reason to love this book so much.

I loved the slow burn, loved how their relationship developed. A tender, caring friendship that eventually evolves into more than that.
I loved how we got peaks into their lives. About Nick's family and his fear for finding out he's queer. About Andy, who lost his mother and who still needs to clean out her apartment. Andy, who is expected to run the newspaper after his father steps back and it scares him to death because he is sure he won't be up to the task.

I loved every minute, every second I spent with these guys. Cat Sebastian did such an exquisite job to write their romance set at the end of the fifties, the language she used to describe the city and society at that time transported me right then and there. Many emotions barreled through me while reading - I laughed and cried, and felt like I was wrapped in a comfy blanket all around. I loved this so much, I'm afraid it takes a proper word juggler to describe exactly what it did to me.
Highly, highly recommended (the book, not the audio unfortunately).

He doesn't know when it happened, but he doesn't feel panicky anymore when he thinks about how Mark and Lilian know about him. Now he doesn't feel exposed so much as oddly and unexpectedly warm, like he downed a cup of hot cocoa or put on a pair of mittens. It's sort of how he felt as a little kid, when everywhere he looked there was an aunt or a cousin. Maybe this is what it's like, having friends, real friends, friends who know him. It's - well, it's a bit much, sometimes, and he's blaming Andy for all of it.

[~✡~Dαni(ela) ♥ ♂♂ love & semi-colons~✡~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

~4.5~

I've avoided reading this book because the 1950s in America, lauded as an era of plenty by the MAGA crowd, were a terrible time for any marginalized group.

Women couldn't hold press credentials or take out loans in their name. Black Americans lived under Jim Crow, with all facilities separate but most definitely not equal. And LGBQT persons had no rights whatsoever to live as their true selves. It was a terrifying time to be gay, to be OTHER.

Cat Sebastian doesn't pretend that New York in 1958/1959 was anything but what it was. Homophobia colors everything in this book. But the focus isn't fear; it's love.

This is a true friends-to-lovers story, and both Nick and Andy have a narrative voice. Nick rescues Andy from a file cabinet (literally), and their lives become so intertwined, they can barely breathe without each other.

I wasn't sure how the author was going to fill nearly 6000 Kindle locations, but I needn't have worried.

- Nick's interactions with his large Catholic family, particularly his older cop brother who saved Nick's ass and will never let him forget it;
- Andy's complicated relationship with his father and late-mother (wonderful people, not-so-wonderful parents);
- the orange cat Nick rescues time and again;
- the daffodils and later sweet peas because they're pretty but simple;
- the coffee runs and cases of wine and Nick cooking lasagna for everyone because he's Italian and that's what you do;
- Sal, Nick's 14-year-old nephew, who's beaten up regularly for not being manly enough and who rolls his eyes at Nick being not at all smooth and a whole lot obvious;
- the three-dimensional secondary characters, including Emily who couldn't break Andy's heart because she never had it, Jeanne, her observant sister, Linda who lives next door and paints nude women, and Mark from the office who's determined to drag Nick into the queer family one way or another;
- the underhanded threats from the police because Nick opened that particular can of worms.

All of it added up to a complex, gorgeous, engaging love story. I laughed. I sighed. I didn't cry, but it was a close call.

Nothing was perfect, but everything was real.

He can't contemplate nuclear death and also go grocery shopping and leave milk on the fire escape for the idiot cat and make sure Andy had clean handkerchiefs. And maybe it's like that with everything else. Maybe the trick is to put fear in its place so it doesn't take over ... He can feed the goddamn ducks and he can kiss his boyfriend. He can believe that the future they have is worth more than his fear.

[Jay H (Hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was everything. Andy and Nick are everything

[Jenna-booklooksbyjenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

the power of a happily ever after in a queer historical romance makes me soooooooooo emotional

[Caz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cat Sebastian’s recent Regency historicals were a bit hit and miss for me, but I’ve really enjoyed the twentieth century historical romances she’s written lately, and now, this new standalone, We Could Be So Good, which is, well, just So. Very. Good. It’s set in New York in 1959, and charts the development of the romance between a hard-working reporter and the son of the owner of the newspaper he works for; the cross-class element is mostly in the background (although far from ignored) and centre stage is given to these two guys working out who they are, who they want to be and how to make that happen. The writing is absolutely beautiful; lyrical and insightful with lots of gentle humour and a wonderful eye for historical detail, and the story is extraordinary in its ordinariness - heartbreaking, uplifting and utterly delightful.

Born into a rough Brooklyn neighborhood, Nick Russo has worked hard to carve out a path for himself and has become a reporter at the Chronicle, one of the biggest newspapers in the city. He enjoys his job and is very good at it; he’s sharp, smart and has a good way with words. He’s also gay, and fully expects to live alone for the rest of his life, because that’s the way it has to be. The world isn’t a friendly place to be for queer people - being found out still carries the threat of a prison sentence – and his sexual experiences have been fast, furtive and fraught with a constant fear of discovery. Nick has spent years hiding in plain sight, making sure that when people look at him, they see a guy in a suit who looks just like every other guy in a suit rather than an actual person.

The book opens with a prologue that is one of the best introductions to characters and situation I’ve ever read. Nick, looking for something in the “morgue” (where years of clippings are stored in a mass of filing cabinets) finds another man there, who has somehow managed to get his tie shut in one of the drawers of one of the cabinets and can’t get it open again. It’s Andy Fleming, the somewhat clueless son of the Chronicle’s publisher, and Nick knows he should resent him – he can’t type, he’s doing a job Nick wanted and has probably never had to work a day in his life – but somehow, he just can’t. Somehow, instead, he’s utterly smitten, and ends up taking Andy under his wing, inviting him out for drinks with the other reporters, letting him tag along when he goes out on stories, making sure he doesn’t lose his keys, and generally looking out for him. They’re your classic grumpy/sunshine pairing - grouchy, lonely Nick and scatterbrained, good-natured Andy – and over the course of the next few months, they become good and almost inseparable friends, so much so that other reporters start seeing them as a single unit - NickandAndy or RussoandFleming. That friendship endures, even after Andy starts dating Emily Warburton, a friend of Nick’s, no matter that watching Andy fall for her is one of the most painful experiences of his life.

As weeks turn into months, Andy proves himself to be a more than capable reporter and is now carrying his weight when they go out on a story. But Nick has always known their professional association is temporary because Andy’s dad wants Andy to start taking over the running of the paper, even though Andy is dreading the thought of being responsible for so many people and something so important. He’s well aware of his shortcomings – he’s absent-minded and lacks confidence – the impossibility of living up to his dad’s expectations and his mother’s ability to sniff out a story (she’s a Pulitzer winner), and worries about being entrusted with his father’s legacy. But… it is what it is. And when he realises that his father’s eagnerness to hand over the reins to him is the result of ill-health rather than a whim, Andy becomes determined to step up to the plate, even though he doesn’t think he’ll ever be ready.

It’s March 1959 when, after Emily calls off their wedding, Andy ends up moving in with Nick for a night or two… and never leaves. Nick can’t quite understand why a guy who could afford to live somewhere much nicer wants to stick around, but he can’t deny that he’s pleased to have Andy there. They can be friends and roommates and Nick won’t let his inconveinent feelings get in the way and screw things up between them. He’s become so accustomed to feeling as though he can never have the sort of life he really wants that he doesn’t recognise the signals Andy is sending his way and Andy, who is slowly working out that while he does like women, he likes men – specifically Nick – as well, isn’t sure how to go about making his interest known.

Thankfully, the author doesn’t leave them in this limbo of world-class pining and awkwardness for too long, and soon, Nick and Andy are falling into an easy and completely adorable domesticity neither thought they could ever have. Nick, who is kind of still waiting for the other shoe to drop, is surprised at the ease with which Andy has not only accepted that he’s queer, but seems able to accept this quiet life they’re building as their due, and they just naturally fall into the blank spaces in each other’s lives as if they were made to be there. The care and support they show each other is simply lovely – making soup when one of them is sick, cuddling on the sofa to watch TV, bringing home flowers kind-of-accidentally-but-not… it’s one of those stories where not much actually happens, but it doesn’t matter because the focus is solidly on the developing relationship between the two leads, their thoughts, their emotions, their dreams and their fears – and their unfolding domestic bliss is the highlight of the story.

Nick and Andy’s romance is at the heart of the book, but there’s also an emphasis on family – found and biological – who show Nick and Andy that they’re loved, no matter what. Nick comes from a big, traditionally-minded Italian family (who continually ask when he’s going to bring a girl home) and struggles with wanting them to know who he really is, and not wanting to risk being cast out, while Andy still feels the loss of his mother and has a distanced relationship with his father; their slow move towards a greater understanding of each other is another of my favourite parts of the book.

The 1950s setting is superbly depicted and I liked the nod to queer fiction (notably The Charioteer) and could almost feel Nick’s pleasure at finally discovering a novel featuring queer characters that didn’t end miserably! While being gay in the 1950s was still illegal, there obviously were people around who managed to make their relationships work, and the author strikes a good balance between showing the sadness and anger of those forced to hide who they were and who they loved and the joy and happiness of two people finding each other and working out how to make a life together.

There’s a sub-plot built around a story about corruption in the NYPD that Nick is working on and which he pursues despite knowing he could become a target of those plainclothes cops who entrap and arrest queer men. I admit that I’d expected this storyline to have been a bit more prominent, but in the end, keeping the focus firmly on Nick and Andy and having them realising that they would have to make certain compromises in order to be together made the most sense.

We Could Be So Good is an absolute treat of a read, and possibly my favourite book by this author. Pick it up and be prepared to fall for Nick and Andy as they fall for each other – I promise you won’t be disappointed.



Note: The publisher’s blurb for this book has to be one of the worst I’ve ever seen. Comparing books to other books is a common marketing device, but making comparisons that make NO SENSE WHATSOEVER is only going to piss off your audience. The first blurb released described We Should Be So Good as “Colleen Hoover meets The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo in this mid-century romdram” “Colleen Hoover“ has since been replaced with “Casey McQuiston”, but it still makes no sense – McQuiston and Sebastian both write queer romances, but any similarity ends there.  As for the Evelyn Hugo reference… no idea.  And don’t get me started on “rom-dram”.

[Moony Eliver · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked my time with this story early on. It had zero tension, but it wasn't a hardship to read. Then somewhere around the last third-ish, the lack of tension turned into sap, and the tired refrain of "I can't even believe I'm letting my guard down and am totally hearteyes about this guy" in dozens of different variations had me skimming and ready to be done. (To be clear, no guards were ever up, despite the narrative insisting that they were.) The characters were sweet, the story was sweet, and there's nothing wrong with sweet in the right dosage but I need balance. Too much toothache and not enough depth of characterization.

I know plenty of readers will find a lot to love here, but book and I weren't a good fit.

[Papie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was such a delight. Set in the late fifties, in Manhattan, we get to witness society going from very traditional to an era where maybe, being different is possible. Maybe it’s okay.

Nick. Gorgeous, Italian Nick, from a loud traditional family, where being queer is terrifying. Andy, beautiful, awkward, lost, Andy. I loved them both so much. We see them meet. Become friends. Best friends. And then maybe? Eventually they fall for each other, and it’s lovely.

I loved the side characters. The historical period, the whole vibes.

It’s slow. Very slow. Maybe too slow. But I’m starting to realize that Cat Sebastian can do no wrong, I’m smitten and will love everything she writes.

Hopefully next we can get Sal, in the late 60s? Pretty please?

[CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well this was just beautiful, excellently narrated by Joel Leslie as usual. It’s a friends to lovers queer romance set in the newspaper world of 1950s New York. Nick and Andy were just so easy to love and root for, as they sloooowly stumble into the cutest, sweetest domestic bliss. At the same time they gradually create a small circle of queer community and friends. The historical setting is wonderfully rendered, as are the secondary characters! The book doesn't ignore the prevalence of homophobia at the time, but the focus is very much on queer joy and creating a home together.

Highly recommended! Also: there is a free holiday epilogue featuring Nick and Andy that Cat Sebastian wrote, with a link to download in her e-newsletter from Dec 2023, but for some reason the I'm getting a 'no URL found message.' Anyone else on her mailing list who can hook me up?? I desperately need more of the two and Christmas queer domestic happiness!

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I finished my first historical romance!
I was hesitant to read a book set in the past, its just not something that interests me at all- but I gotta say I did enjoy reading about the 1950s. It didnt feel too olden, and I thought it was cute when they did things like borrow a nickel to use the payphone. I can't say that I'd read a book set before the 1950's, but who knows. I used to say I'd never read a book set before the 2000s and I just read and enjoyed a 1950s book so never say never.

As for the book itself- it was pretty sweet and fluffy. I would really consider it a "more vibes than plot" kind of book. And I would have liked more plot. I thought the side story about the cops stealing or about the brother would have given a bit more. And felt the epilogue could have wrapped up a bit more of the story. If I had realized going in how low steam/vaguely written the sex scenes were , I would have probably chosen a different book for my first historical. All in all though, I had a good time reading this! Googled and learned a lot about the 1950s haha. I can appreciate Nick's crush on Paul Newman, he is my 1950s crush also now 😂

[chichi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's so hard to coherently review a book I adore, but I'm gonna try anyway.

This is just as lovely as people say. My favorite thing about this reading experience was how truly, deeply romantic it felt. Nick and Andy's slow burn from friends to lovers was just gorgeously done, and the strength of the friendship made the romantic elements shine that much more. They just care about each other so much😭😭 it literally made my heart clench. They were grumpy/sunshine goodness, and I'll forever be trash for that dynamic so ofc I ate it up. The writing was beautiful and unexpectedly funny at times, which was a nice surprise.

This book was also fairly grounded in terms of time and place. As a nerd, I really appreciated all the historical elements and how the realities for queer people in the 1950s was depicted, good and bad. Reminded me of Beverly Jenkins in a way, showing marginalized people finding love and building lives with each other within the discriminatory circumstances of their time period. There was a lovely chosen/found family element in this as well, the steamy scenes were equal parts sexy and fun and intimate, the romantic gestures were so sweet, there was a bit of an ACAB lens that I appreciated ...idk I feel like I could ramble about this book forever.

Easily the best of the 6 Cat Sebastians I've read (can't believe I've read so many, when did that happen?). Thought it might be The Ruin of a Rake, so I'm excited to get to that one and see how it works for me!

[QuietlyKat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything I wanted and everything I have come to expect from Cat Sebastian with lovely characters, thoughtful social commentary and deft writing that captures and evokes the time period very well.

4.5 stars

I borrowed this from the library but will buy it outright as well. If there’s ever an audiobook, I’ll buy that too. This is definitely one I can see going back to over and over as an audiobook.

Edited to add 10 minutes later: There IS an audiobook but to say I’m not a Joel Leslie fan is a huge understatement. He’s a prolific m/m narrator but I just can’t 🤮😭

Edited to add 1 minute after that: I know I loathe Joel Leslie’s narrations but I want the audiobook so bad I thought “just listen to the sample, it could maybe be ok…” I was wrong, so wrong. I can’t even listen for 20 seconds 😅😆🙅🏻‍♀️🙅🏻‍♀️🙅🏻‍♀️🙅🏻‍♀️🙅🏻‍♀️