Look Up, Handsome

by Jack Strange

Synopsis:

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…

Jack Strange’s Look Up, Handsome is a cute Christmas romance set in Hay-on-Wye, based around the fact that one of the romantic leads (Quinn) owns Hay’s only queer bookshop… which is under threat of eviction, without much chance of being able to set up anew. The other romantic lead is Noah, a romance writer who grew up in Hay, came back for a book-signing at a festival, and got stuck due to snow.

The two predictably flirt and seem close to forming a relationship, in and around efforts from Quinn and his friend Ivy to save the shop, but then it becomes clear that Noah actually has a partner already, which obviously complicates things greatly. (There’s no actual cheating by the letter of the law, so to speak, but it comes very close and the intent is there: if Quinn hadn’t put the brakes on, I don’t think Noah as written would’ve done so. So bear that in mind.)

There’s also a bunch of other relationships in the book which help make it feel alive: Quinn’s friendship with Ivy; Ivy’s fling with another character; Quinn’s relationship with his mother, step-father and sort-of cousin; Quinn’s work for Noah’s mother (an Oscar-winning actress hit by scandal), when he becomes her ghostwriter; Quinn’s vague knowledge of his assistant in the shop, Daniel Craig (who ends up in a relationship with a guy called James Bond)… and there’s Hay itself, written with love and an eye to Welshness (there are some Mari Lwyds!) that was appreciated by this reader. I didn’t actually love Hay an enormous amount myself on a brief visit, but this book made me want to go back and give it another shot — maybe in less miserable weather.

I think there could’ve been a bit more attention to the villain of the piece, though; he comes across as very one-dimensional, and it makes him feel like a pantomime villain. I think it’s realistic that he doesn’t come round and change his mind, to be clear, but it felt weird that he had no redeeming qualities in the present. There are some faint hints of supportiveness in the past, but… I think it would’ve felt more rounded if he’d been a little pained by what he’s doing, rather than being a clean-cut out-and-out villain.

Overall, it’s basically one of those small-town romances where everyone comes together, there’s a clear bad guy, and yes, there’s a happy-ever-after in the end. It felt more well-rounded and more grounded in a real location than I expected, though, and ultimately I enjoyed it quite a bit. It’s probably somewhere between three stars and four, but I’m rounding up because I enjoyed the Welshness and the fact that it’s centered around a queer bookshop. Shout out to places like Portal Bookshop (York) and The Bookish Type (Leeds) for being great places for queer people to get books and community.

Rating: 4/5