Arthur & Teddy

Arthur is 79 - and has just announced to his family that he is gay. His grandson Teddy is also gay - yet not out yet. The story follows them as they navigate coming out and everything that brings with it. For Arthur the response of his children and his friends in the small town they live in. For Teddy working in the same place as his Mum and falling for his office rival This book appealed to me because I loved the sound of the characters and I thought it would be a bit different. Arthur was by far my favourite character. I enjoyed the book, I liked the storyline, there were some surprises thrown in as well. But the ending and epilogue for me felt really rushed. We just jump ahead in time which can often leave us to use our imagination to fill in the blanks which this didn’t. It filled in the blanks but in a fashion that left it feeling a bit forced for me. There are also some other issues raised in the book which I found weren’t explored all that well. The death of Teddy’s father for example. But it’s still a lovely story.

By Ryan Love

Arthur (79) and his wife Madeleine Edwards 15th wedding anniversary 'the happiest , most perfect couple'. Party thrown by their two children, Elizabeth (Lizzie) and Patrick Marsh.
Elizabeth 'their cherished award-winning columnist.... she had had a private word and secured her only son a traiñee reporter role' as he needs to get his life back on track.

Arthur tells children he is gay, 'I couldn't live another day not being who I am...i coundn't go on another day not being not being true to myself. To all of you',  'been blessed with the two of you'. 'Did you stop and think about the granchildren?'Elizabeth say' stay away from me and stay away from my family'.

Patrick and Madaline still love each other, 'it's just a different kind of love' and are now staying with each other jut staying in separate rooms in the same house. so of course 'Madeleine support while he navigated living as an out gay man' The couple have lived in Northbridge, a small town, and have their whole lives.
Parents believe Elizabeth 'will come round in her own time
Arthur point out ' I never wanted to hurt you'.

Eric is also worried about what other would say especially  his friend, don't like he so he tells them straight at a meeting 'what if I was your son or daughter,  or grandchild? Would you kick them out of home'

At car 🚗 boot sale a man attacks them by saying 'Why don't you just pack up and leave. No one your kind round here' 'There are families having a nice day out' no one wants to buy 'that old perverts old junk!' Arthur tell Teddy you can't rise to people like that as it would only end in trouble for yourself.

The famillys close friend Eric's granddaughter takes her own life
'There were rumours about her sexuality... apparently someone at collage was threatening to out her and it escalated'

Teddy your mother will not understand you yet advices Arthur, as he does not want him to go through what he has to put up with. 
So much later onTeddy comes out to family around the Christmas Dinner table. 'Are you annoyed because I dared ti want to share a little bit of my happiness' mother bites back 'your uncle proposes and you have to steal the limelight because you feel left out?'
Teddies explains  'I'm just tired of having to sit there and be myself.... or pretend just be proud of me Teddy asks. His mum throws him out of the house.

Both men talks of how they came ut as being gay on national TV. To speak about the article he was writting and teĺl them Arthur is doing a wing walk to get more donations to support the charity to help out people who are coming out as being gay.

It's Arthur birthday does not want to celebrate until after his wing walk which is of Eric's granddaughter and the money raised will go to a charity that supports people when they are coming out as gay.

Teddy has a important decision to make, he is xcited by all the opportunities at the newspaper 📰 but is it right for him now'.

I liked how each chapter had a different POW, but I felt the chapter length let it down. As such the characterisation was not great, you were not quite knowing enough. But overall it was a quick easy read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me a complementary digital copy of this ebook in exchange for a full, frank and honest review.  All opinions expressed are completely my own.

I enjoyed that this was low stakes and character driven. It was a pretty calming read, despite some of the subjects discussed in this book. It discussed heavy topics in an easy to digest format.

However, this really struggled to keep me interested as the stakes felt a little too low, and I wasn’t that invested in the characters who were naive and had very forced and unnatural dialogue, in my opinion, like they were reading from a script.

This was a great debut, though, and I look forward to what this author produces in the future!

Really fun and interesting debut novel.

Arthur Edwards has been married to Madeleine for fifty years, but he is about to come out as gay to his adult children. How will it go, he’s very nervous.
Teddy (Edward) Marsh, Arthur’s 21 year old grandson, also has the same secret to reveal, but his Grandfather has beaten him to coming out.

What a fun and interesting debut novel.
I loved the relationship Arthur and Teddy had, and enjoyed the highs and lows explored.
A well thought out book I thought, and it certainly held my interest.
Personally I have not had to think about what coming out of the closet would feel like. But through friends I have an appreciation of how difficult it could be.
So, a book about relationships, love, family and friendship.
A good varied bunch of characters complete this feel good tale.
I look forward to reading any future books the author may write.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions of this book are entirely my own.

This was such a beautiful read and show the wonderful bond between grandfather and grandson. Well written and enjoyed

This is a gorgeous book, such a heart-warming story. 79 year old Arthur has been married to Madeline for 50 years or more but is tired of living a lie and, with Madeline's support, tells his adult children that he's gay. Daughter Elizabeth can't cope with the revelation, leaving her parents' house in turmoil. and anger. This obviously upsets Arthur but also his grandson, 21 year old Teddy, who has been trying to muster the courage to come out to his family himself. Teddy tells Arthur he's gay; Arthur promises to support him however he can.

Teddy meets Ben at work; sparks fly and Teddy wonders if it could be something special between them - but Teddy's reluctance to come out means that Ben isnt sure how the relationship is going to progress. Can Teddy muster the courage to tell the world who he really is?

I beamed throughout reading this- the relationship between Arthur and Madeline was wonderful, as was that between Teddy and Arthur. There were some beautifully tender moments and some searing honesty about the importance of being true to yourself. It isn't all plain sailing for Arthur, he has to face some homophobic attitudes - but the support of his family and his belief that he's following the right path help him to continue even when it all seems insurmountable.

Thanks to netgalley for letting me read the ARC, I will recommend this far and wide

I really wanted to love this book which looks at a family where both 80s grandfather and 20s grandson are struggling to come out as gay to their family but ultimately found it rather superficial and gossipy rather than deeply meaningful
The author has a relaxed easy to read prose style and I got through the story quickly but was left with the feeling that at the end I didn’t really know as much about the characters and their motivations as I wanted .It felt like reading a short story in a magazine or watching a day time soap .
Some readers may enjoy this in a novel but I prefer something deeper
It’s great however to have a story with gay male lead characters this felt refreshing and new
I read an early copy on NetGalley uk The book is published in the uk by HQ 13th April 2023. This review will also appear in my book blog Wordpress bionicsarahsbooks

An uplifting tale of a grandfather and grandson who come out as gay at the same time. Arthur & Teddy Are Coming Out is Ryan Love’s debut novel, and it’s a good effort. The narrative does lean on the simplistic side, but the endearing characters and heart-warming conclusion make it enjoyable.

I adored this wonderful novel and fell in love with the character of Arthur. The relationship between Arthur and his grandson Teddy is really touching. This is a hopeful and uplifting novel about love and accepting your true self. The righhts of passage of Arthur and Teddy show that there is still a long way to go in supporting those that are lgbtq+. I really loved reading this warm, funny, emotional, romantic and life affirming novel.

This was a sweet read about a grandfather and grandson who both come out as gay, and are navigating being newly out. The book tackles come big subjects such as not being accepted by family and homophobia throughout. The writing really makes you feel what the characters are feeling and it really is brilliantly written.

Very well-drawn characters. Their emotions, their restlessness was all playing in front of me. Everything was flawless about the book, including the title. A rich, vibrant romance that's a feast for all the senses!

Sometimes you just step into a book and let it wash over you, like you're swimming under a big, sparkling night sky.

This is an important and sensitively written novel. Arthur and Teddy are both gay but as one is the other’s grandfather, their wrestling with coming out takes place at different decades. Arthur suffered the pressure of his time and married a woman and had children. It might be expected that Teddy would have no problems coming out at a much later time but it is not that simple even now. These are the issues the story deals with so well. It becomes compulsive reading as you want to know how both of their lives deals with these issues. It also has welcome conclusion. At the end, the author reveals why he wrote this book and what it means to him personally. It might actually be worth reading that first to deepen the reader.’s appreciation of the story. I strongly recommend this as a good read as well making important points.

I must admit that I had to start this novel a couple of times before I got into it. I'll be perfectly honest, the start of the novel isn't brilliantly written, and I had to get past the clunky narrative style and the reliance on a chunk of inexplicable dialogue before getting into the flow of it. The saving grace for this novel is the storyline, rather than the narrative style. It's a feel-good novel - a good idea, and it's contemporary. It bowls along, in places, but I did find the narrative style irritatingly bad in places - almost childish. Shame, really, because it should and could have been amazing. My thanks to the author, the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC.

An absolutely brilliant written story that just warms your heart. The characters of Arthur and Teddy are both so loveable that they sink straight into your psyche. It’s great to see the different perspectives of coming out as gay from both the older generation and the younger generation both facing their different challenges. This has a good back story too and you won’t be able to stop reading til the end. Three cheers for Arthur and Teddy!

This is a heartwarming novel about two gay family members - a grandfather and grandson - whose coming-out journeys converge, with all the associated joys and obstacles doubling up and echoing each other.

I was immediately intrigued by the concept, as older queer identities are explored much more rarely in any type of media than those of younger characters, and I was certainly rewarded for that. The novel divides its attention fairly evenly between Arthur and his grandson Teddy, alternating between their perspectives with each chapter, and I really enjoyed Arthur's point of view. Most of the highlights of the book, for me, were included in those sections, including some really lovely ruminations on ageing and living life to the full. Arthur felt like the most fully-realised character throughout the book, and his journey to feeling truly comfortable in his new identity as an out gay man was wonderful to read.

By contrast, Teddy's story never quite clicked with me to the same extent. For most of the novel I was particularly dismayed by the apparent lack of chemistry between him and his love interest, although the way this was resolved at the end of the novel cast their entire storyline in a different light and entirely neutralised my negative feelings towards it. I also thought that the intersections and juxtapositions between Arthur and Teddy's stories were great. That said, in Arthur's case it felt like those intersections were simply adding depth and texture to a story that could already stand on its own, whereas with Teddy's, it felt more like the double act was doing a lot more work to prop his side of the story up.

I also found a lot of the dialogue and character interactions quite forced and simplistic, or idealised - there were quite a few times when I wanted to shake my e-reader, because people simply do not talk like that! But on the whole, for a debut novel it was still a decent read.

This book is so wholesome. The characters are beautifully written and the relationships and friendships formed are adorable. It follows a grandfather and a grandson who come out to their family as gay, the grandfather faces judgement after he announces it leaving people to question his family and love for his wife, whereas Teddy deal with an enemies to lovers situation that goes awry. I loved Arthur, he was so funny, such a kind soul and Teddy was so relatable and strong. In terms of pace, it was fast, two main plots with lots of little stories alongside.

thank you to Netgalley and HQ for sending an ebook for review :)

If you’re looking for a quick, easy, and wholesome read, then this is for you!

I read this book in one evening and I adored the cosy, heartfelt vibes that just radiated off of it. The plot was paced really well and all of the characters were well-rounded and had distinctive personalities which is always something I look for. The ending was so wholesome and really warmed my heart, I’d definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for something a little lighter that still has some plot twists to keep it exciting

Every single character in this books brings something special to the story, be it positive or negative.
The concept of couples saving each other from ostracization by marrying is not a new one but is perhaps one that is thankfully less familiar to younger people today although people are still under pressure to conform to outdated societal norms and this book explores that with a touch of humour and a great deal of compassion and empathy.
Arthur is so beautifully described as the absolutely solid grandfatherly figure of expectations who seemingly suddenly tilts his family's world on its axis when he comes out- I really want to meet him and Madeline for tea and cakes at Cora's!
the multiple relationship threads running through the story come together beautifully at the end and the book is a joy to read from start to finish!

Arthur and Teddy. What a duo.

This book is genuinely a hug in book form. Following the lives of Arthur, 79, as he comes out to his family and his grandson Teddy, 22, who is still in the closet.

Written with both Teddy & Arthur as narrators, it's heartwarming to see how their relationships with friends and family grow and develop throughout the book. And while the road to their happiness is rocky, it's full of love, both old and new.

Such a wonderful book.

I quite enjoyed this book, it is a very easy read. It's like a fairytale in fact, nothing grim or gritty, no twists, nothing thought-provoking, no real barriers to happy ever after. Just a tale of ordinary folks trying to live their lives and be happy..

The characters are well drawn, normal, ordinary people and I was interested in what happens to them all. The characters are sufficiently different that you dont get them mixed up and the dialogue, warmth and family relationships ring true. The female characters tend towards being ciphers but the males are well depicted.

I have known a lot of older people and, in my experience, very few are as sprightly and adventurous as the older characters in this book. I think it would ring more true if 5 to 10 years were knocked off their ages as even sprightly people slow down considerably after 75. . I am nowhere near 80 but I cannot imagine that i would be willing at that age to have so much upheaval and excitement in my life.

At the start it's a bit "tell" rather than "show" but once you get used to that you can zip on through. I did feel that it slowed and sagged a bit in the middle and I felt that the description of the Big Day Out (no pun intended) was just padding. It's as if nowadays publishers have a must-be-met target of so many pages.

One thing that surprised me was how quickly Arthur and Madeleine must have got divorced, I thought that even agreed or no fault divorces took at least 6 months.