This book offers an atmospheric small-town setting and a unique premise centered on saving a queer bookshop. While the wintery backdrop and emotional elements provide some charm, the story's execution falls short in key areas. The romance between Quinn and Noah lacks chemistry, and character development feels superficial, making it difficult to connect with their struggles. Secondary plots, such as family issues and Hollywood fame, are intriguing but don't fully deliver. This was a great debut!

Quinn wants to save his bookshop, the last thing he needs is to fall in love…

Hay-on-Wye’s only queer bookshop is always a hive of activity. So when it’s threatened with closure, its owner Quinn Oxford is determined to do whatever it takes to save his beloved shop.

That is until romantic novelist Noah Sage arrives in town. Gorgeous, brooding and clearly unhappy to be there, Noah is the distraction Quinn doesn’t need. Noah has a history with Hay and it’s one he’d rather not face. But when the snow leaves him stranded, he’s left with no choice.

Hay is a small town, meaning Quinn can’t help but bump into Noah wherever he goes. And as the two grow closer together, is it possible that Noah’s feelings towards Hay will thaw? Can Quinn have a real-life romance and save his beloved bookshop? Or will he need a Christmas miracle…

This book was so cute! It was festive and warmed your insides! I love reading queer romance as a queer girlie myself and honestly this one had me giggling and kicking my feet! Now I will say I have read a plot similar to this but I just had such an enjoyable time reading the book!

I’m mad cause I’m outrageously close to booking a trip to Hay-on-Wye.
Yes this book did make me fall in love with a silly little book town that I’ve never been too - it’s literally my dream to just be around bookshops 24/7 and I’m actually not sure I’ll be able to resist for much longer!
Okay and while this was a lovely book, it was super emotional too! I was really feeling all that Quinn was going through with potentially losing the shop, it wasn’t all fun and games in the snowy book town! But oh damn Noah can save my soul anytime.
There was so much packed into this book. What appears as a fun queer Christmas romance book, actually touches on so much and deals with a lot of important topics in a beautiful way. Extremely heartfelt and just a wonderful read!

This is a cute, queer Christmas book that you can read quickly and with little concentration. Which is exactly what I needed - I listened to it whilst putting up the decorations and it was perfect for that.

It just wasn't one I'd have kept picking up if I hadn't listened to it all in one afternoon. The two main characters seem to have no real chemistry or character devlepment and the book itself picks up so many different big topics that it doesn't have time to do much of any meaning with any of them.

Not all readers need to see that, but I wished this had been more focused.

Also, I love a spicy book but when your book isn't really that, a very graphic scene in the last chapter is just a bit weird.

3.5/5

I loved the found family in this story, and how all the queer community came together to help Quinn, especially his best friend. The romance was a little bit too slow burn for my liking, but ended out being cute. Quinn's step father deserved everything he got, and I'm glad Noah and his Mom got things sorted out. I wish I had Quinn's bookshop around where I lived, as I would go all the time!

I have never read anything by this author, but I will definitely be looking out for this author! The pace was great and I was hooked from just a few pages in! This would be a great addition to any library!

This book was so much fun! I loved Quinn & Noah and it was so cute! This also is my second holiday read and the second one that features Hah-on-Wey and their winter festival!

Quinn runs a LGBTQA+ book store in a small town and his stepfather is trying to evict him. At Christmas time! This is definitely a Hallmark-esque set-up and I loved how everyone came together and tried to fight for him, though it doesn't play out exactly like a Hallmark movie. He has never really stood up for himself or told others what he thinks/feels and people have abused that before, but it was great watching him find his voice throughout this story. I loved him so so much and he was wonderful!

Noah is a famous romance author...and he hates the small town where he grew up where Quinn's story is. Only...there is something there with Quinn. Noah was so fun and he has a more complicated backstory than I was expecting. I loved him too and all of the side characters and just everything! I really loved how everything ended up and how things turned out. This book was amazing and I cannot wait for more from this author!

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for a copy of this book

This was a nice little palette cleanser to ease me from spooky reads into the upcoming festive period.

I loved the setting of it being in Hay-On-Wye, the small village at Christmas and a lovely sense of community came across, making it feel so cosy.

However, you probably shouldn’t enjoy the village and its surrounding characters more than your main ones.

Unfortunately, I found absolutely no chemistry between Quinn and Noah. Quinn decided every so often when he wanted to get a back bone, but most of the time just buried his head, not talking to anyone and letting his friend Ivy do all the work.
Noah, I had absolutely no idea what his personality was except he had hang ups about his mother and wanted to stay in London.

I will say overall it was enjoyable enough, again I loved the community and how they all were quick to back saving the book shop.

I would definitely like to see what else the author brings out and give another try.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.
3/5 ⭐

3.75 stars

Thank you, OneMoreChapter and HarperCollins, for sending me an early copy of Look Up, Handsome by Jack Strange. 🌟

This book was a lovely treat to ease into the Christmas spirit. I adored how Strange set the story in Hay-on-Wye, the famous “town of books” in Wales. It’s a dream destination for book lovers, and even though I’ve never been there, the author transported me straight into its charming streets. 📚✨

The story follows Quinn, the owner of Kings & Queens, Hay’s only LGBTQ+ bookshop. He’s facing eviction from the shop, which also happens to be his sanctuary. His stepdad, who owns the building, has ignored Quinn’s pleas, leaving him just one week—until Christmas Day—to leave. Determined not to give up, Quinn, along with his fabulous friend Ivy, the supportive community of Hay, and countless admirers of his work, hatches a desperate plan to save the shop.

Enter Noah Sage, a bestselling author and Quinn’s longtime crush. Their paths keep crossing, and Noah offers to help save the shop, but he’s battling demons of his own. Their romance is the slowest of burns—so slow that they only truly come together at the end. It’s sweet, sometimes melancholic, and occasionally frustrating, but worth it.

The festive atmosphere, vibrant community, and heartwarming secondary characters were definite highlights for me. And the cherry on top? In the acknowledgments, I learned that Kings & Queens is a real bookshop, and there’s even a real-life version of Quinn! How fascinating is that? Now I want to visit Hay-on-Wye just to see it all for myself. 🏳️‍🌈✨

Look Up, Handsome is a small town story about the owner of a book shop trying to save it from closing over the holidays. It evolves family drama, famous authors, people rallying together for a good cause and, of course, finding love in unlikely ways, If you are looking for an easy to read, holiday romcom with queer romance then give this book a read.

However, not what I'd suggest if you are looking for something with more depth. I think the setting of this story is interesting and has potential but I found it lacking. I couldn't fully connect to the main characters and Quiin isn't very likeable at times. The fact he wouldn't even settle for a lower paying job or work for anyone else just because he'd rather keep his life style was especially off putting.

In sum, this book has flaws but I still think it is a good holiday read that fits the hallmark movie sort of vibe and can be easily be read over a weekend. It's also, from my understanding, a debut novel which always make me feel softer about it.

Such a fantastic story. Got everything you need. Funny, romantic, heartwarming.
The characters are brought to life in this heartwarming cozy novel. Just feels like a hallmark movie which I absolutely love!

this is an adorable holiday romcom! I adored the opposites attract, small town, cozy snowed in vibes of this story. Quinn and Noah have such a sweet evolving relationship. I love how they grow into such a sweet, tender, loving couple while snowed in the adorable small town. I especially loved the other characters of the story and how pasts are rehashed, communicated, and understood now in the present.

overall this is the coziest holiday romcom and I thoroughly enjoyed it! thank you for the arc :)

im so sorry i really felt like i couldn't give this a fair crack. the line about noah's eyes looking like the welsh hills on like page two. it was too much.

I think that this book would work better as a Hallmark rom-com, than as a book. 

The idea is really cute and there are parts that I enjoyed (especially in a first half of the book), but overall it's just mediocre. 
It's a debut, so I know that I shouldn't expect too much, and that's why the rating is not lower.

But what exactly annoyed me in this book? Well, mostly the main character, Quinn. Quinn is an owner of a queer bookshop in a little town in Wales, and he's got a personality of a wet blanket. He lets everyone do whatever they want and ignores his problems, especially the big problem that is his stepfather evicting him from the bookshop. And we are supposed to feel sad for him when he didn't even tell his mother that he doesn't want to leave the bookshop... Even after he vows to finally try to fight for it, he mostly relies on his friend Ivy to organize everything. And his attitude towards his love interest Noah is so weird, he wants this perfect man that he imagined and doesn't accept his traumas. I won't spoil anything, but let's just say that his behaviour at the end was very irrational for me. As for Noah, he only talks about his past, we know almost nothing about his current life in London, but he keeps insisting that he has to go back there. Why? No idea.
The other characters are shadows, they appear when Quinn needs them and then disappear.
All except for Hermione, Noah's mother and ex film star. Her side plot is probably the most interesting part of the book. 

There are also a lot of plot inaccuracies, like Noah says he stays in the town because of the snow, but later we find out that he came to spend Christmas with his mother. Did he change his mind? The snow keeps appearing and disappearing and Noah's still there, so I don't get it. Quinn and Noah's age also doesn't work with the Hermione's scandal. 
And I could keep going, but I will stop at saying that the ending didn't work for me.

Overall I think that this book is far too long, it could work better as 200 page or like I said as a Christmas film.

I’ve always wanted to visit Hay-on -Wye, Wales’ iconic book town but haven’t yet had the chance so I was utterly charmed by the way Jack Strange really took me there.
It’s such a nice change of pace to see a Welsh protagonist and a story set completely in Wales. There definitely aren’t enough! (In fact, I can’t remember another off the top of my head.)
The setting of LOOK UP, HANDSOME – both the quiet, small-town atmosphere of Hay-on-Wye itself and the gloriously queer bookshop Quinn runs, Kings & Queens, specifically – completely steals the show. Which isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy the characters, the romance, or the drama around whether or not Quinn would be able to save the shop – I absolutely did! – but the feeling of place and community that Strange manages to inject into this novel was what really set it apart for me.
LOOK UP, HANDSOME ticks so many boxes: it’s a sweet seasonal read (wait til you find out some of these Welsh Christmas traditions!), there’s a bookshop that I think every book lover is going to wish they could visit, a great cast of side characters to create that real sense of ‘world’, and a nice little slow-burn romance.
I think I might’ve liked a little more development on the romance, and maybe a little tightening up of the pacing in a couple of spots, but this is a great read for romance lovers, and one that give you something a little bit different from the usual holiday romance.

I unfortunately struggled to connect to the characters in this. The romance didn’t click and it was set up a little too formulaically. I also did not appreciate the slight cheating trope- that plot line absolutely did not need to be included as it didn’t further the plot at all and just made me feel icky. The some of the side characters were really interesting, but they weren’t delved into enough, others I didn’t like at all. Overall there were just too many different plotlines and it needed to be fleshed out more for me.

A sweet and wholesome Christmas romance, Look Up, Handsome is just the book for you if you enjoy queer romance and love books.
Quinn is trying to fight losing his queer bookshop in Hay-on-Wye: he is under threat of eviction due to plans for a tourist centre in the property of his store. When successful author Noah finds himself snowed in in Hay-on-Wye after attending the book festival, providing a distraction Quinn doesn’t really need.
This was a cute romance, and I liked chaos goblin Quinn despite getting annoyed at him for putting on blinders when it came to tricky real-life situations. Ignoring eviction notices in the hope that the situation will resolve itself felt naïve.
The whole novel was pretty closed-door, angsty over a small touch, so the explicit scene at the end felt somewhat mismatched to the tone that had been set throughout. I don’t mind a spicy read – but I felt I got blindsided by that particular scene.
Overall an enjoyable read – and if anything, it’s made me want to visit Hay-on-Wye, which is apparently a real town renowned for its bookshops!

I really wanted to like this book. I love the charming small town at Christmas. It has interesting, quirky characters. But it also just made me sad.

Quinn is desperately trying to save his bookstore from being shut down, and there is a bit of mystery and romance. But it is very problematic romance for me, and really, I just found the book sad overall despite its happy ending.

If you enjoy angst and small town Christmas, you could like this book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.

The first couple of chapters were really fun, funny situations during a book-event, cosy situations in Quinn’s bookshop Kings and Queens. But after a while the book dreaded on me, the situations were not so fun anymore and I found Quinn very annoying. He sometimes felt like a little child, ignoring important stuff, and not thinking about the consequences and always feeling that he was the victim. Get your act together and grow up I thought quite often.

The story about Noah was different, a successful author coping with his fears. But why did you take your boyfriend with you man? The chemistry between Quinn and Noah was not really existent.

Ivy and Daniel were both likeable characters, although Ivy sometimes seemed like a battery-operated bunny with all she did. Hermione, being Noah’s mother, took up a lot of room and her story was put down very nicely.

The story became better with the last couple of chapters and the two epilogues, although I did not see the explicit scene coming and found it not really fitting seeing that there had only been a kiss here and there.
All in all the most fun was that I learned that the village Hay-on-Wye really exists and that it really is a town full of bookshops.

This book is perfect for this time of year. Now that Halloween is behind us I thought I would get into the festive spirit and this was perfect. Set in a small village in Wales it has the small town vibes, community spirit, love and all the festivities that go with it. It’s an MM novel and follows a small book shop owner who is at risk of losing everything. His is the first LGBTQ book shop in Hay so it’s heartwarming to see everyone coming together to save it.

A fun, lighthearted read. I really enjoyed it. The author went into such detailing setting the perfect scenes with his spot on descriptions. He really has a knack for painting the perfect picture for the reader. I’ve added hay on wye to my places to visit!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this and review it.