After a couple of years without publishing a book, ‘The Thing about Tilly’ is G. Benson’s first release as an indy author. As usual, she didn’t disappoint and delivered a poignant and compelling story of love and friendship.

Tilly and Evie have been friends since college and since then, they’ve been in each other lives. That is, with the exception of those times when Tilly disappears with little more than a note or postcard to come back eventually as if nothing happened. When Evie unexpectedly gets pregnant, both women will have to make critical decisions that will affect their lives and their relationship.

This is a slow-burn, wlw angst-ridden romance book that revolves around three college friends now in their thirties: Tilly, Evie and Sean. Tilly and Evie have a close and intimate friendship borderline with romance but none of them know or want to take a leap of faith towards a romantic involvement. Even though I’m not normally a fan of angsty stories based on lack of communication I thought that it worked quite well here.

The book is written from the point of view of the three friends which isn’t common in romance, though this isn’t a traditional one at all. Sean acts as a buffer, confidant, and mediator between the leads, and his pov works well to provide a much-needed perspective and distance in the story.

This is a very varied LGBTQ+ cast and I admit I had issues identifying the gender and sexual orientations of some of them but that tells more about me than the book. The story is also very ethnic and cultural diverse so kudos to the author for being so inclusive. I remember reading for the first time a non-binary character in Benson’s ‘Who’ d have thought’, my favourite novel by this author.

This book is a love story within a bigger friendship and family web of connections. It’s not a traditional, formulaic romance but provides the same final satisfaction to the reader. At the same time, it delves deep into human behaviour, fears, and consequences of actions. This is another winner by Ms. Benson and, hopefully, we won’t have to wait so much for her next book. 5 stars.

ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.