This debut novel is a true gen that had me hooked from page one. It was described to me as a Welsh take on Pride, but it offered so much more than that. Dawson brings a proudly queer perspective to the story, and her writing shines with joy and authenticity. The historical details are beautifully researched - I found myself captivated by the miners' strikes and the inspiring solidarity between the working class and LGBTQ groups, both struggling under Thatcher's government.

If anything, I would have loved to see more of Eluned's ties with her family and her community as the plot unfolded. Her journey with internalized homophobia felt only lightly touched on, and the chemistry between her and June didn't quite spark for me. But these are small things, really, because I loved every page of this book.

Wonderfully queer, and wonderfully Welsh. A complete must read for anyone who enjoyed the film Pride.

Neon Roses is a poignant and powerful exploration of sexuality, set around the miners' strikes of the 1980s, it tells the story of the impact that the LGBTQ+ community had on the Welsh mining community.

This was written wonderfully, the author captures both the era perfectly, but also the challenges faced with accepting your sexuality as a lesbian.

If you loved the film Pride, you'll love this!

So much to enjoy in this book, the enthusiastic music appreciation, the joy of waiting for albums to come out and listening to them, the nostalgia of that was delightful. The Welshness, through the characters and also the unapologetic way that Welsh idioms, language and words are scattered throughout. The UK politics through the 1980's, from the Miner's Strike, to the HIV/Aids epidemic to Section 28, to lesbian squats as an alternative way to live and be outside of the system and heteronormativity. At its heart is a young Welsh woman growing up and coming out after meeting a lesbian through the Lesbian and Gays support the miner's. I really enjoyed that she is a larger woman, enjoys her food and celebrates her body, which is a delight. Recommended.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found Neon Roses really readable, and it would make a great holiday read! The main character is the daughter of a Welsh miner who realises she likes girls when a lesbian from Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners turns up in her small Valleys town. I really liked the parts that I've seen represented in the film Pride, and seeing that way of life from a Welsh girl's perspective. My interest did wane a little as the book progressed and there were a few things I wasn't convinced by, but overall I did enjoy.

I loved this immersive read. It’s so well researched - it takes you straight to the 80s and creates a world where queerness isn’t really that big a deal. Would really recommend it!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.

"Neon Roses" by Rachel Dawson presents a balanced blend of romance and drama. The narrative unfolds smoothly, with well-drawn characters navigating life's complexities. While the writing is competent, it lacks the distinctive flair to stand out in a crowded genre.

I really liked the depictions of the miners strikes in Wales. As someone from the North East with familial ties to the mining industry up here it was great to see someone tackle the social and political issues of the time in such an honest and heartfelt way. It felt realistic and raw, and I could really believe Eluned as a fully fleshed out individual. I liked the way the politics of the time directly linked into Eluned's self discovery of their queerness. Uniting under a common enemy. It also puts a spotlight on both how far we've come in terms of self expression and acceptance but also how little we've come too. Conservatives never change.

For a debut I thought the writing was really well done, and well constructed. The whole story feels like a labour of love, and has a lot of heart and soul. Well worth a read.

A fantastic read that was well written with a banging story line and well developed characters. It was so steamy which I also loved.

A beautifully written book, full of queer joy, resilience, strength and love! The Welsh setting felt well-researched and authentic, and the characters were well-written. An enjoyable read..

This is a NetGalley advanced review copy.

This was everything I wanted in a political "historical fiction" (is it historical fiction to be set in the 80s?).
Many books looking at the lives of LGBTQ+ have a tendency to see the middle class and above lives, but this book takes a closer look at the lives of the working class queers under Thatcher's Britain.

If you liked the movie Pride, but wanted less bright colours and Bill Nighy, this books shows the determination, heart, and grit of LGSM (Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners).

Sometimes when an author is clearly writing from a a strong political viewpoint, their fiction can start to resemble an intro to socialism. However, this was absolutely not the case in Neon Roses, Dawson mastered the political landscape and characterisation so well, it was too easy to sink into 1980s Wales (despite being from the North West of England).

Strongly recommended this Pride season, or any season

This us a stunning debut novel, I was hooked from the first page. It was touted to me as Pride from the Welsh perspective but it was so much more. Proudly queer, Dawson's novel is unashamedly joyful and feels so well written and researched. I loved every page and can't wait to see more from her.

Rachel Dawson's novel is an absorbing and eventually uplifting story of some very hard times. It's a book that acknowledges dark things, but refuses to despair, a story that showcases the need for solidarity, for friendship and always, for finding hope and a way forward.

It's 1984 and in the Valleys of South Wales a young woman, Eluned, is committed to supporting the miners' strike. In this she and her community are lined up against the cruel Thatcher government and its supporters in the media and the police (the latter personified by the unpleasant Graham, boyfriend of Eluned's little sister, Mabli). It was a very polarising time which as a teenager (not in a mining area) I remember well, I saved up pocket money to donate and I still have my Cole Not dole stickers in my scrapbook.

As the only person in her family with a wage (she works as an assistant in a show shop) Eluned plays a key role, although it is a precarious one (who has money for shoes during the strike?) and as the months roll on, we see things tighten for the miners, with the eventual end of the strike and, in prospect, the end of the coal industry and of whole communities like Eluned's. But a time of change is also a time of opportunities and new horizons and the solidarity of the strike has introduced Eluned to members of LGSM - Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners - who have been fundraising and organising. In turn, that leads her to explore her own sexuality, and when she sees her way to a job in a big Cardiff store, to form new relationships.

I was struck by the portrayal of Eluned. Dawson avoids cliche - Eluned isn't a naive young girl astonished to learn the ways of the world, so much as a smart and curious person discovering who she is and what she wants. Resourceful and compassionate, there is a real warmth to the character, with her love of music, her kindness to her landlady in Cardiff (a fascinating lady who surely deserves a novel of her own) and above all, her desire to experience the world - which makes her the reader's eyes and ears in Dawson's depiction of LGBQT culture in Cardiff and in London and, eventually, Manchester. That depiction is done with a great sense of vibrancy, not dwelling on the darker things - Section 28, AIDS/ HIV - although they are acknowledged, but stressing the power of resistance and the potential of human connection.

I always hesitate to use "coming of age novel" as a description of a book, because it seems to stick a label on a process that properly is nuanced and drawn out, but I'll mutter it here in passing and then hurry on to stress that this is a subtle book. Yes, at times Eluned gets in over her head - both for good and bad: at lone stage she takes up with a woman who is controlling and manipulative, but she soon gets out of that and it's beautiful watching her relationship with June quicken and deepen.

The book captures the 80s atmosphere well, I think, both through incidental things - like the copious smoking - and the fundamentals of politics and economics (the opposition to Thatcher and her lackeys features but also, Eluned is fairly easily able to get that shop job - retail hadn't been gutted by online sales). The only detail that I could spot that didn't work was the reference to a videographer at a wedding in 1973. It's good on atmosphere, evoking both the Valleys towns and June's London squat, and it doesn't try to tie everything up, leaving things on a note of hope and mutual support but definitely unresolved.

This is one I'd recommend strongly. (And finally, no this is not "Pride - The Novel" - not goes deeper that that - though if you have seen that film there will inevitably be some crossover events and themes.

I loved Neon Roses. It was so lovely to read a book about the joy of being queer and discovering who you are, rather than another sad book about coming out.

I was given an ARC from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
I have never read an LGBTQ+ book before, not because I'm homophobic but because I've been too intimidated too! So starting with this book seemed like the best start, as it was set, not only in the UK, but about the miners strike which was/is a big deal where I currently live!
So it was to have that familiarity and connection with the story before reading it fully!
I think that overall though the main reason why I loved this story was because of how human the story felt instead of like a teenage corny love story, for example.
The main characters didn't feel corny the writer clearly knew how to write realistic conversations better than a lot of the earlier books I've read and that made me want to continue on.
I don't want to spoil too much so I'll just leave with this; if you want to read an LGBTQ+ book for the first time, this is the perfect book to start your journey!

If you've seen the film "Pride" you will see instant similarities. A group, Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, comes down from London, to Eluned's South Wales mining village during the 1984 Miners' Strike.

Her Dad has been on strike and her boyfriend Lloyd too. Her sister's boyfriend is on "the other side" being a member of the police. Loyalties are tested in this close community.

Eluned is instantly attracted to activist June, which leads to her changing her life.

This was a troubled time politically with mass unemployment in the country, which particularly impacted the traditional industries. Dawson evokes the period well with details about music and fashion (two of Eluned's interests) and the polarisation that affected mining communities during this time. I remember those times well coming from Wales.

Eluned must break free from this environment to find her true identity. She has to make mistakes to find what that is

A great cast of characters. This would be a good on screen.

This book is so beautifully written! I loved the queer joy and story of resilience! This book was set locally to me so it was so easy to picture and felt so well researched. Definitely a new favourite book of mine

I was excited for this, so when I tired to read it weeks ago, and couldn’t get into it, I figured it was because I’m a mood reader and it wasn’t the right time!
But I tried again and still struggled, so on the third try, I pushed through it.
Am I wishing I didn’t? Kinda, but there are some parts that I liked (mainly towards the end) and would have missed if I DNF’d.

It’s set in the 80’s at the time of Thatchers Britain and the Miners strikes and centres around Eluned as she deals with the struggles of life, a boyfriend set on marriage and a rocky relationship with her sister. Then when fundraising group LGSM arrive in Wales and Eluned meets June, everything’s about to get even more complicated.

As I said, some parts were good (the strikes, when Eluned moves to Cardiff), but I really didn’t connect with the story or the main character. I found her selfish and really unlikeable.
I was more interested in her sister Mabli.
All I can say is I found it lacking!

One side note. The character being called June (Pride Month) I can’t decide whether it’s clever & cute or corny and lazy(?) Oh, well!

A highlight of the book? The education in 80’s music! Not much of an education for me as I adore 80’s music, but I did enjoy the references, although I was surprised that it never mentioned The Specials Ghost Town, as, from my understanding, that song is about Thatcher’s Britain!

Another thing that annoyed me was no glossary! I LOVE it’s written in English with a Welsh lilt, but I wish it had a glossary to explain what some of the welsh words meant and how to pronounce them!

Anyway, thank you, NetGalley & John Murray Press, for the arc in return for an honest review.

It's 1984 in the valleys of South Wales, and Eluned is tired of her boyfriend, her job and her life. In the midst of the miners' strike, having fun is a distant memory, as all her wages need to go to support her family. Even worse, her sister Mabli is sleeping with the enemy, being wined and dined by one of the policemen who oppress the miners on the pickets. When LGSM (Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners) turn up in Eluned's village, her attraction to lesbian June makes her realise why she has never quite fit in with her community's expectations - but can she really leave her whole life behind? This accomplished novel vividly evokes a range of settings across Britain in the mid-1980s, from rural Wales to Cardiff to London to Manchester. It has all the verisimilitude of Louise Kennedy's Trespasses but, for me, much more originality and heart. As a historian of this period, I loved how effortlessly Rachel Dawson brought queer communities and protest movements to life, weaving in detail without over-explaining or overloading. I know much less about the specifics of her South Wales setting, but I felt that was also beautifully done; Dawson refuses to pander to the reader by explaining the 'Wenglish' that many of her characters use, but I never felt lost. There's a depth to Neon Roses that is absent from most twentieth-century historical fiction.

My only question is: why didn't I love it more, as it literally ticks all my boxes? This is probably a me problem rather than a book problem, but I never quite warmed to Eluned as much as I wanted to, despite the homophobia and hardship she faces, and the solidarity she shows. (So great to read a book that understands that identifying as a lesbian, especially in the 1980s, is about more than who you sleep with). On a macro level, she never seemed to truly experience any vulnerability, although I can appreciate that Dawson puts her in many situations where she's positioned as vulnerable; something about what was happening to Eluned on the outside and what was happening in her head didn't quite connect. On a micro level, I wondered if this wasn't helped by the slightly detached prose, which keeps us at a fair distance from Eluned (Dawson continually uses 'Eluned' when 'she' would have done, and this jolted me outside of her consciousness. I wanted to fall in love with Eluned and June, and I just didn't. Nevertheless, a brilliant debut.

Set in the 1980s and featuring an 80s soundtrack in the background (think The Cure and Depeche Mode). This coming-of-age novel follows Eluned, who, after the Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners group come to visit her small town, begins to question her sexuality.

I have mixed feelings about the novel. On the one hand, I enjoyed the anti-Thatcher sentiment, the view into the LGBTQ+ community in the 80s UK, the history that surrounds that and the working class representation. On the other hand, I didn’t find the characters that well-fleshed out and they often left me wanting more from them. The novel also had an abrupt ending - perhaps if it was longer and didn’t leave off where it did, it would have gotten a higher rating.