This second book in the Royals & Romance series involves the second heir of Christmas stuck in an enemies-t0-lovers type situation with the would-be king of St Patrick’s Day. Someone from St Patrick’s Day is stealing magic from Christmas, but there are more mysteries afoot than anyone realizes.
When I read The Nightmare Before Kissmas, the first book in the series, I wasn’t sure if I was going to continue. I wasn’t entirely enamored by the story, though a big part of that was the way the audio was narrated. Then a couple weeks back, I was bored, and none of the books on my TBR were currently available to listen to on Libby. My Spotify hours were out for the month, and I was all caught up on my podcasts. So I did what any sane person would do and dove into Libby’s “available now” list. After some filters to get to the type of book I wanted, Go Luck Yourself ended up on the first page of hits. I previewed it, loved the narrator, and decided to go all in. It helped that I’ve read another Sara Raasch book in a different series and loved it.
Long story short, this one was phenomenal! And frankly, an antidote to the bad taste that Heated Rivalry (the book – still haven’t seen the show) put in my mouth. You know how my review of HR said that it was straight-coded? This one is not. This is purely queer-coded. The difference? Even though this has extremely strong dom/sub dynamics, the sub is never seen as powerless, weak, or controlled. He’s given a full personality and agency and preferences. The dom is not an asshole that just likes to be mean, either. Furthermore, the question of sexuality never came up. Kris, the narrator, has always had crushes that were rooted in his idea of a happily ever after. We only know the gender of ONE of those crushes, and there’s no discussion of his sexuality at all. He meets Lachlan. He finds Lachlan attractive. The fact that Lachlan is male never comes into it. THIS is queer fiction on a different level.
(Note: I’m not saying there is no room for stories where closets and questioning and sexuality worries come into play! I’m only saying that they aren’t necessary simply because a book involves a gay relationship. Many straight-coded queer books seem to think that addressing the sexuality in the room is a necessary part of a queer romance, like the fact that it’s gay is more important than anything else, like the relationship itself…)
This book was phenomenal. Yeah, it’s spicy and the spiciness was good, but mostly, it was a story about the ways dysfunctional family can really fuck you up, and the things you do to protect yourself, which may end up hurting people you come to love. It’s about learning how to disconnect from toxic situations, and stand up for yourself, and believe in yourself. It’s about fighting for what you believe in, and shucking off the beliefs that were pressed on you unwillingly as a child to find what you actually believe in and who you actually are. It’s self-realization, and love, and family (found or otherwise), and the ways in which we express ourselves for the world.
Performance: This audiobook was read by Dylan Reilly Fitzpatrick, who did an absolutely amazing job. 10 of 10 stars, would recommend!!
The Zen Leaf 