Cover Story
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Publisher Description
A THEM BEST LGBTQ+ BOOK OF 2025
From the author of Under the Rainbow, a hilarious, emotional love story about an anxious publicist who's tasked with keeping an extremely gay starlet in the closet—but ends up falling for her instead.
It's 2005, and Ali is a publicist for Hollywood's biggest stars. Part of her job entails keeping gay celebrities in the closet—which is pretty ironic, since she's a lesbian. When Ali is assigned a new gay client, Cara Bisset, who's breaking onto the scene with a (hetero) romantic blockbuster, keeping Cara's sexuality under wraps becomes Ali's biggest challenge yet.
Cara is unruly and unpredictable, and hates that she has to hide her identity. After a series of increasingly close calls, Ali is sent on the worldwide promotional tour for the movie to help keep Cara in line. Instead, she finds herself drawn to Cara's confidence and bravery. For the past year, Ali has been mired in grief after losing her partner in a freak accident. But with Cara, Ali's fears about the world subside, and she begins to question the Hollywood closeting system she’s helped perpetuate.
As Cara's fame continues to rise, both Ali and Cara have to decide which is more important: maintaining the status quo, or risking it all for another chance at love.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Pop culture and sapphic romance collide in a world still ruled by tabloid exposés of queer celebrities, in this endearing rom-com from Laskey (So Happy for You). It's the mid-aughts, and the frantic pace of Ali's demanding job as a Hollywood publicist helps provide a distraction from her grief over the death of her partner, Natalie. Enter Cara Bisset, a hot young actor whose new romantic comedy it's Ali's job to promote while keeping Cara's lesbianism out of the gossip blogs. Sparks soon fly between the two, and Ali finds that it's not just the paparazzi she needs to keep at bay—it's her own incendiary attraction to Cara that needs restraining. When things come to a breaking point and Cara's career hangs in the balance, the women must decide whether to keep their relationship in the shadows or step into the limelight. Lively banter and electric flirting between the distinct and well-developed leads delight. Excerpts from fictional blogs provide fun background, but the novel is somewhat overloaded with period references and pop culture touchpoints that slow the plot's momentum. Still, fans of Amy Spalding's For Her Consideration will find a lot to like.
