Review: Look Up, Handsome by Jack Strange*

*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: Look Up, Handsome
Author: Jack Strange
Genre: LGBTQIA+ Romance

Trigger warnings:  References to the death of a parent

Rating: ★★

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️ (Fade to Black)   

Quinn wants to save his bookshop, the last thing he needs is to fall in love…

Hay-on-Wye’s only queer bookshop is always a hive of activity. So when it’s threatened with closure, its owner Quinn Oxford is determined to do whatever it takes to save his beloved shop.

That is until romantic novelist Noah Sage arrives in town. Gorgeous, brooding and clearly unhappy to be there, Noah is the distraction Quinn doesn’t need. Noah has a history with Hay and it’s one he’d rather not face. But when the snow leaves him stranded, he’s left with no choice.

Hay is a small town, meaning Quinn can’t help but bump into Noah wherever he goes. And as the two grow closer together, is it possible that Noah’s feelings towards Hay will thaw? Can Quinn have a real-life romance and save his beloved bookshop? Or will he need a Christmas miracle

Look Up, Handsome is a gay festive romance from author Jack Strange.

I want to preface this review by saying I wanted to love this book. A queer romance, set in the bookish town of Hay-on-Wye and at Christmas felt right up my street. But unfortunately, the writing and delivery of the narrative fell very flat for me.

One of the major shortfalls of this novel is the fact that despite being a romance targeted at adult readers, the narrative reads as very juvenile and cringy at times. This is not helped by the fact that Quinn felt like a very immature protagonist, with more of a teenage crush than something you’d expect to see in an adult. For example, we see him say “They had kissed! Virtually!” when he signs off an email to Noah with a kiss and Noah’s response features the same. I don’t know any mature adult who would think let alone say this. This is just one of the qualities of the writing which made the story had to connect with, alongside the fact that the narrative was generally quite disjointed.

The romance between Quinn and Noah is slow burn to the point where it started to get a bit tedious. It did have its occasional nice moments but they had barely any chemistry and I ultimately didn’t find myself rooting for them. I also didn’t get the grumpy x sunshine vibe that was apparently featured.

Don’t get me wrong, there are positives to the story. Through the backdrop of the bookshop and the support it provides the LGBTQIA+ community we get to explore a range of important topics such as exploring your sexuality and how to support your child when they come out as trans. The book is also a big champion of queer literature which is fantastic and the small-town setting was nice.

I also liked Hermionie’s story but it felt like it should have been a separate book in itself rather than tied into the main narrative of this story.

Overall, Look Up Handsome is probably better marketed to a Young Adult audience who don’t mind the cringy juvenile elements but may benefit from the way it champions important LGBTQIA+ topics.