A New York Times Notable Book of 2023
A New York Times Books Review Best Romances of 2023 pick • Apple Books' Best Books of the Month • Amazon Best Books of the Month Editor's Pick, Romance • An NPR "Books We Love" • Library Journal Romance Pick of the Month • LibraryReads Hall of Fame: June 2023 • Publishers Weekly Best Romances of 2023
Casey McQuiston meets The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo in this mid-century grumpy/sunshine rom-dram about a scrappy reporter and a newspaper mogul's son "'for Newsies shippers,' [that] absolutely delivers" (Dahlia Adler, Buzzfeed Books).
"A spectacularly talented writer!" —Julia Quinn
Nick Russo has worked his way from a rough Brooklyn neighborhood to a reporting job at one of the city's biggest newspapers. But in this sweeping historical romance, 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 meeting someone as impossible to say no to as Andy.
Andy Fleming's newspaper-tycoon father wants him to take over the family business. Andy, though, has no intention of running the paper. He's barely able to run his life—he's never paid a bill on time, routinely gets lost on the way to work, and would rather gouge out his own eyes than deal with office politics. Andy agrees to work for a year in the newsroom, knowing he'll make an ass of himself and hate every second of it.
Except, in a classic grumpy sunshine story, Nick Russo keeps rescuing Andy: showing him the ropes, tracking down his keys, freeing his tie when it gets stuck in the ancient filing cabinets. Their unlikely friendship soon sharpens into a slow burn of feelings they can't deny. But what feels possible in secret—this fragile, tender forbidden romance between them—seems doomed in the light of day. Now Nick and Andy have to decide if, for the first time, they're willing to fight.