Review by Booklist Review
Brooklynite newlywed Rosie quits her job as a canvasser for LGBTQIA+ rights and falls in love with an old upstate home. Because her tech bro husband, Jordan, is in love with her, and has rich parents, the house is theirs after a cutthroat bidding war. Once they move in and reality sets in, though, a bucolic new life in the historic home they paid double for seems more horror story than rom-com. The house is falling down, the locals all seem to hate them, and Rosie gets a job slaughtering chickens (humanely, of course). The couple rents a crumbling outbuilding to Dylan and Lark, tech-averse partners who are part of a larger queer polycule, and Rosie can't deny sparks between her and Dylan. As in their debut, The Very Nice Box (2021), Blackett and Gleichman pair a chipper-seeming story with deep satire and a growing sense of dread. Most of the characters are pretty hard to like, but in a fun way, which adds to the authors' commentary on money, tech, and all the tyranny and hypocrisy therein.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Gleichman and Blackett (The Very Nice Box) satirize homophobia in their clever latest. When Rosie, 30, marries handsome tech lawyer Jordan Prawn, she hopes the partnership will bring her stability. Instead, she grows disillusioned with New York City and her job as a canvasser for an LGBTQ advocacy group. While browsing Zillow, she imagines a new life and convinces Jordan to put an offer on her dream house in Upstate New York. Jordan empties his savings to close the deal, then loses his job at a start-up after its personal assistant device courts controversy when it calls a straight user a "hot dyke," and the company tanks. They rent out their shed to Dylan and Lark, two attractive women who belong to a queer polycule. Rosie becomes fascinated with the new tenants, who enthusiastically help her and Jordan with renovation projects and lead an appealingly unplugged lifestyle (Dylan uses a flip phone and builds furniture by hand). As Rosie's desire for Dylan grows, she begins questioning her life's choices. Blackett and Gleichman expertly build suspense following a bombshell revelation about Dylan's true nature, and Jordan and his business partner's attempts to consult with Dylan and Lark for a new family planning app are irresistibly cringeworthy. This intrigues and unsettles in equal measure. Agent: Faye Bender, Book Group. (May)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Newlywed Rosie is disenchanted with her life in New York City. Inspired by her hours of scrolling Instagram, she convinces her tech-bro husband, Jordan, to purchase a dilapidated house in upstate New York for well above the asking price. But when Jordan suddenly loses his job, they must rent out an outbuilding of the house, which needs all kinds of work. That's when they meet Dylan and Lark, a queer couple who agree to rent the outbuilding and fix it up. It turns out that they are living the life Rosie always dreamed of. As Rosie's infatuation with the couple grows, she begins to see her own life in a new light. Blackett and Gleichman (coauthors of The Very Nice Box) once again join forces to write a bold and satirical novel about modern living. Mia Hutchinson-Shaw shines as the audiobook's narrator, inserting sarcasm and humor where needed as she outlines the novel's message about authenticity vs. the desire for a picture-perfect life. Listeners will laugh out loud but may also find themselves pondering the real effects of social media. VERDICT A clever yet thoughtful look at the insidious power of social media and consumerism.--Elyssa Everling
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A Millennial couple settles down in a ramshackle country house that just might be their dream home--if they can commit to a dream. Rosie and Jordan's fixer-upper in New York's Hudson Valley seems too Instagrammable to be true. Recent transplants from Brooklyn, the newlyweds are eager to partake in the pleasures of country living…as long as they're clean, instant, and aesthetically curated. Rosie and Jordan aren't received with the warm small-town welcome they'd imagined. "I'm sorry, but is everyone in this town gay and poly? Did we miss a memo?" Jordan asks when they're once again socially sidelined. Rosie is an indecisive do-gooder who pins all happiness on the move, and Jordan is a tech bro who's constantly either removing AirPods or rushing to carry out his wife's changing whims. When the move doesn't go according to plan, they decide to rent the house's outbuilding to earn some money. The moldy shack is rebranded as a "shabby chic cottage," and Jordan and Rosie become landlords to Dylan and Lark. The new tenants woodwork and pickle and quilt, effortlessly embodying a life that Rosie mistook for a lifestyle. Dylan and Lark are queer, kind, and endlessly capable. As the couples become more intertwined, Rosie is jostled out of her passivity. The image of Lark and Dylan cobbling together a world of friends and lovers, cold woods and hard work has Rosie spellbound. Does she really want to leave her old life behind, or does she just like the pretty picture? Rosie's thought processes are interesting, but some of the characters around her lack depth. Her husband and mother-in-law are particularly cartoonish, spewing microaggressions in a way that feels over the top. Still, the relationship between Rosie and Dylan is enthralling. Blackett and Gleichman skillfully capture the way a single look from the right person can make you embarrassed about every choice you've ever made. A fast, fun read that invites you to change your life (or at least quit Instagram). Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
