A review by tristatereader
Queried Sick by Dallas Smith

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Queried Sick is adorable and you should read it ASAP. That’s it. That’s the review. 

Ok so… in this sweet romance, we’re introduced to Ezra Beaumont and Oliver Wheeler. While his family’s legacy is based on wealth and power, Ezra has no desire to be part of it. He’s spent the last 7 years backpacking his way through Europe solely to avoid his cruel family. When his mom hires a PI and finds Ezra in the arms of another man, he’s completely disowned. At the same time, Covid starts spreading and Ezra makes the decision to leave Europe and return to NYC, where he is able to quarantine and live with his cousin. As luck would have it, his best friend Ryan is also able to secure him a job at his family’s publishing company. Ezra starts to see a light at the end of the tunnel, until he’s introduced to his mentor, Oliver, who seems to want nothing to do with him.

Oliver Wheeler wants nothing to do with Ezra Beaumont. To Oliver, Ezra is an entitled, trust fund kid that his bestie Ryan knows from boarding school. And with the lockdown adding more responsibility and stress to Oliver’s job, the last thing he wants is to have to babysit a spoiled man-child. But how long can stubborn Oliver continue to focus on who he thinks Ezra is, rather than accept the sweet and sensitive peanut butter cup for who he really is?

There were so many things I loved about this book, starting with the autoimmune rep. Oliver has RA and this plays a huge role in this book’s narrative. I empathized so much with his isolation struggles. I also adored Ezra. He obliterated the stereotype of “trust fund kid” as he worked his ass off to prove himself at Coleman Press. And the sparks! These two guys had me giggling constantly throughout this book; the chemistry was chemistrying, y’all! 

My favorite part of this book was watching their romance blossom via epistolary communication (e-mails, texts, adorable video chat movie dates). It was unlike anything I’d ever read and I felt the author absolutely nailed it. 

Just a warning, there is a 3rd act miscommunication-semi-somewhat-kinda-breakup, but I felt it served it’s purpose for the two and their character development 💕

Thank you so much to the author for the gifted copy of this gem of a book!