The last Pride event I went to in June was a panel of authors at my favorite Connecticut bookstore, RJ Julia Booksellers. The panel consisted of Chip Pons and Marie Rutkoski and was hosted by Troix Jackson. They discussed their coming out stories and tropes their books contained, ones they might explore in the future and ones they hope to see more of in non-straight novels. Troix moderated well and the authors were thoughtful and funny, making me a fan.
I preordered a copy of Chip’s “Winging It With You” because it sounded like a gay rom-com with an “Amazing Race” vibe, which is totally up my alley. During the pandemic my partner and I binged a few shows, one of which was “The Amazing Race” and I always root for the contestants who fall somewhere on the rainbow spectrum. When Chip himself lovingly described his book as cheesy, I knew I made the right choice.
“Winging It With You” is the story of Asher, a newly dumped and soon-to-be contestant on the fictional reality show “The Epic Trek” but only if he’s able to find a co-contestant and fake boyfriend on his flight from Boston to Los Angeles. Enter a cute meet with Theo, the hot pilot whose calendar just opened up because he’s been grounded and on a forced leave from work. The rest of the book is a slow burn romance that is just as predictable as it is sweet with a few laughs thrown in. I fell more and more in love with these characters as they fell more in love with each other while navigating the globe and competed to win a million dollars.
If you want a love story that’s also a good time, this is the book. “Winging it With You” is light, airy and the perfect summertime read, in my gay opinion.
