*I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity.
Title: Sorry, Bro
Author: Taleen Voskuni
Genre: Romance / LGBTQ+ Fiction
Rating: ★★★★★
When Nar’s non-Armenian boyfriend gets down on one knee and proposes to her in front of a room full of drunk San Francisco tech boys, she realizes it’s time to find someone who shares her idea of romance.
Enter her mother: armed with plenty of mom-guilt and a spreadsheet of Facebook-stalked Armenian men, she convinces Nar to attend Explore Armenia, a month-long series of events in the city. But it’s not the mom-approved playboy doctor or wealthy engineer who catches her eye—it’s Erebuni, a woman as equally immersed in the witchy arts as she is in preserving Armenian identity. Suddenly, with Erebuni as her wingwoman, the events feel like far less of a chore, and much more of an adventure. Who knew cooking up kuftes together could be so . . . sexy?
Erebuni helps Nar see the beauty of their shared culture and makes her feel understood in a way she never has before. But there’s one teeny problem: Nar’s not exactly out as bisexual. The clock is ticking on Nar’s double life, though—the closing event banquet is coming up, and her entire extended family will be there, along with Erebuni. Her worlds will inevitably collide, but Nar is determined to be brave, determined to claim her happiness: proudly Armenian, proudly bisexual, and proudly herself for the first time in her life.
Sorry, Bro tells the story of Nareh, an Armenian American
woman who breaks up with her long-term boyfriend in the opening chapters of the
story and then goes on a journey of self-discovery and ultimately
self-acceptance, exploring both her bisexual identity and her identity as an
Armenian American woman. Giving in to her mother’s insistence that she settles
down with a nice Armenian boy, Nareh attends a local festival called 'Explore
Armenia' with the aim of meeting some of the men on her mother’s approved list.
But instead she meets Erebuni, a young bisexual woman fully in touch with her
Armenian heritage who helps Nareh to explore her identity as both a queer woman
and an Armenian. In Erebuni, Taleen Voskuni has created the love interest of
queer fiction dreams and fellow fans of the friends to lovers trope will
adore watching their friendship blossom into love.
Sorry, Bro explore societal attitudes to bisexuality in a
really powerful way and much of the conflict in the story comes from Nareh being
torn between her blossoming love for Erebuni and the fact that she’s not ‘out’
to her family. The book also features
parental loss and parental alcoholism in a subtle yet powerful way, exploring
how the trauma of loosing a parent in a drink driving accident continues to
have on Nareh's life even years later.
Although Sorry, Bro is at heart a beautiful queer romance,
it isn’t all light-hearted as it also explores Armenian culture in depth and
provides an important political commentary on American attitudes to the Armenian
genocide. The
author’s love of her heritage and culture seeps through the pages of the book
and although I came to Sorry, Bro with very little knowledge of Armenian
culture and history, reading such a beautiful exploration has inspired me to
educate myself further on both Armenian culture and the history of Armenian
Genocide.
I would also like to take a moment to praise the beautiful
cover art and chapter title pages in Sorry, Bro. The cover is minimalist but
captures the story perfectly. Each chapter opens with an Armenian proverb and a
beautifully decorated page. It was a small simple touch but really helped to immerse
us into Armenian culture.
My one criticism of the book would be the title. Whilst I
understand the choice of ‘Sorry, Bro’ as it’s a phrase repeated throughout the
narrative, I felt the book was deserving of a richer title which was more in
tune with the themes of the story. But this is a minor detail that really hasn’t
taken away from the book’s status as a definite five star read.
Taleen Voskuni writes in such a beautiful way and creates characters with such depth and charm that it’s hard to believe this is her debut work. Humour is woven seamlessly into the story and she writes an engaging well-paced narrative which I found easy to devour in one sitting. Whilst I can’t put my finger on how a sequel could take place and where it could fit into Nareh and Erebuni’s love story, I don’t feel ready to part with such wonderful characters so I’d be one of the first to preorder a second book. But whether it’s through a return to Nareh’s world or in a new fictional universe, I can’t wait to read more works from Taleen Voskuni, she is definitely an author to watch.
Have you read Sorry, Bro? What did you think? Or can you recommend any other books with good bisexual representation?
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