I'll Be Gone For Christmas
By Georgia K. Boone
Publication date: Oct 06, 2024
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F/F Farm Christmas Tech biz San Francisco A fun chicken sidekick Black MC Ew, some of your straight romance dripped on my gayReview
Maybe this book came to me at just the right time. I can certainly identify with feeling slightly more than whelmed (though in my case, it was entirely self-inflicted). I set up this website at the tail end of an absolute torrent of romance novel reading, and once I got it ready I just sort of ... lost the ability to read for awhile. Burnout happens on any single or combination of topics, hobbies, or it can just slam into you generally.
Thus, it was nice to pick up a book where the two mains (Clover and Bee), for reasons of their own, needed a bit of a breather and just ... got it. Via a new app, Vacate (which sounds incredible in fiction but I would never trust in real life), the two essentially house-swap for a month (Clover to SF, Bee to Ohio) around the holidays, not realizing they're also a little bit Freaky Friday-ing into the other's life as well.
I loved all of the characters we actually got to meet in this book, even if the sheer number was at times slightly more than my tiny brain could handle (this is a known failing of mine, and again why I don't read high fantasy). Though I admit I first expected the two mains to wind up with each other, I actually more enjoyed following them on their separate paths.
Even if Bee is depressingly straight, her whirlwind romance and general love blitzkrieg through the small Ohio town brought a gravitas without being too depressing, which can sometimes happen when a romance novelist tries to pile on the pathos.
I also want to especially note the active diversity of characters, which is still not super common even in gay fiction. I always love the feeling of effortless inclusion, and it comes through in the writing as well as the scene work (I desparately want to join the pack of SF queers that Clover falls in with).
And it's a Christmas(-adjacent) story to boot! I know it's the season, but I always like coming out of a Christmas book without feeling smothered by Santa's beard.
A hearty highly recommended to anyone who could use a little break.
This review is for an advanced reader copy of the book, provided by the publisher
Synopsis
Bee Tyler needs a break. In the bustling San Francisco tech community, no one ever seems to stand still--especially her perfect sister and business partner, Beth. So when her best friend suggests a getaway on the wildly popular house-swap app, Vacate, Bee decides a countryside retreat might be exactly what she needs.
Clover Mills has had a year. Between losing her mother and making the complicated decision to leave her fiancé, sticking around the idyllic Christmas obsessed town of Salem, Ohio, just doesn't feel right. So when she hears about Vacate, she jumps at the chance to spend the holidays in the unfamiliar city of San Francisco.
Soon enough, Bee is living in Clover's cozy Salem cottage, and Clover is living in Bee's sleek San Francisco apartment. As Clover can't seem to stop running into Bee's frustratingly gorgeous sister, Beth, and Bee finds herself spending more and more time with Clover's ultra charming ex-fiancé, Knox, the two women realize that this Christmas they may find just what they were looking for and more...