Review: "Only Hope" by Ruby Landers

A Fantastic Romance & Introduction to a New (to me) Author

One thing I love about attending queer literature events is getting to hear about authors that, for one reason or another, had not been on my radar before. I always leave these events with so many new authors to check out. The same happened this past February at ReadOUT. In conversation after conversation, I kept hearing people rave about Ruby Landers and her Grace Notes series. So, when I saw that Ruby was accepting ARC applications for her newest release, Only Hope, I jumped at the chance to read this age gap, friends to lover, small town romance.

Alison Hartmann is a woman trying to hide away from her past in the tourist town of Gold Hill. The wife of a former mafia lawyer who has had the sordid details of her life shown to the entire country, she believes that the best course of action is to spend the rest of her days in solitude. Her plans are suddenly interrupted, though, when the light-hearted and outgoing Hope Sullivan bounds into her life. For Hope, who also escaped to Gold Hill to rebuild her life years ago, life in this small town is about forging deep bonds with a community of people who love and care for you. As Hope works to bring Alison out of her shell and show her that she doesn’t need to recuse herself from a fulfilling social life, the two women soon find themselves deeply attracted to one another. The only thing standing in their way is the risk that taking the next step may ruin their friendship and the friendships of those around them forever.

Only Hope is a book infused with the theme of the importance of queer friendship throughout and it works so very well. A large part of the story really leans into both the good and sometimes frustrating aspects of queer found family. For starters, there’s the healing power of finding your tribe. We see it a little bit when we hear about how Hope came to Gold Hill, but it’s Alison’s story where this concept shines through. Alison arrives to Gold Hill as a heartbroken and traumatized woman hiding behind seemingly insurmountable walls. Hope is the perfect woman to break through those walls with her cheery “golden retriever” energy that just screams “we’re going to be friends whether you like it or not”. Through meeting Hope and the rest of her friend group, Alison begins to heal and find a new purpose to her life. At the same time, we also see the messy drama that can happen in queer friend groups, with unrequited crushes galore. Luckily, this felt less like stupid high school drama and more like realistic issues that can emerge when friend love morphs into something different. Lastly, there’s the resilience that queer friend groups have that keep them together even at their most dramatic moments. Each one of these themes shine through in the story brilliantly and makes for a very relatable and enjoyable read.

When it comes to the romantic plot between Alison and Hope, Ruby Landers does a great job with the sexual and emotional tension between them. She makes sure that from the very beginning there is this deliciously palpable attraction between these two women. As initial attraction turns into friendship, Ruby is able to keep the tension there at a simmer that alternates between gentle and roiling as these women dance around their feelings. Even in moments where the tension dissipates to a degree, it’s still there and keeps you glued to the page. Also, I loved how the tension was a great mix of sexual and emotional tension. Yes, these two women want to fuck each other’s brains out but can’t for reasons that feel very real. But Ruby also layers in this great emotional tension between the women as they feel themselves growing closer on a deeper, more romantic level.

Of course, the trick with a story about friends turning into lovers is making the thing that keeps them from taking the next step in their relationship feel both realistic and grounded in the story and the characters. Luckily, Ruby again excels in this department. Alison and Hope’s friendship feels so meaningful to both of them, as does their relationships to everyone else in their friend group. Additionally, the pain from their previous relationships is clearly shown to still be there, haunting them in many ways. All of this works to really sell the dilemma facing these two women and add to the tension between them.

The last thing I want to highlight about Only Hope is how well the conversations between all of the characters, especially Alison and Hope, were written. Almost every single conversation was so complex and multi-layered. There was so much going on in every single conversation, both in the words themselves and their implications, that gave a deeper sense of the characters, their hidden wants and needs, and the things holding them back. Not only do they reveal more about the character, but these conversations really do a great job of moving the plot along in meaningful ways. It’s as if each one is perfectly slotted right where it needs to go and none feel superfluous in any way.

Only Hope is a great romance that is filled with plenty of sexual and romantic tension, emotionally hard-hitting moments, great dialogue, and great characters with realistic needs, wants, and fears. It really does sell the concept of two friends attracted to one another yet unable to take that next step. It also does a great job celebrating the good, the messy, and the great about queer found family. I wasn’t a massive fan of some of the mafia elements and their roles in the final act, but this didn’t detract from my enjoyment of this book very much at all. I would still recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good and steamy friends to lovers story with plenty of feels. It also makes me excited to go back and read more of Ruby Landers’ books, something I always want when I read an author for the first time. If you haven’t read any of her work yet, Only Hope is a great place to start.