Blog Tour – Becoming Ted

Title: Becoming Ted

Author: Matt Cain

Genre: General Fiction/ LGBTQIA+

Goodreads Rating: 4.41

My Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Source: ARC

Synopsis:

A charming, joyful and surprising story about love, friendship and learning to be true to yourself, Becoming Ted will steal your heart.

Ted Ainsworth has always worked at his family’s ice-cream business in the quiet Lancashire town of St Luke’s-on-Sea.

But the truth is, he’s never wanted to work for the family firm – he doesn’t even like ice-cream, though he’s never told his parents that. When Ted’s husband suddenly leaves him, the bottom falls out of his world.

But what if this could be an opportunity to put what he wants first? This could be the chance to finally follow his secret dream: something Ted has never told anyone…

My Review:

I’d like to thank Joe Thomas from Headline for inviting me to take part in the blog tour and for sending me a proof copy. I was a huge fan of Matt Cain’s book, The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle, and could not wait to read his latest creation.

I have to say that Matt Cain has done it again and created a character that is so loveable that you can’t help but be invested in his journey. At the start of the book Ted is in somewhat of a crisis and struggling to find his way. He has a lot to carry on his shoulders, with helping his parents run the family business and adapting to a new way of life. Luckily he has the lovely Denise guiding him along the way. The friendship between these two characters was honestly beautiful, The encouragement and respect they have for each other proves to defy all odds and it’s clear from the start, just how much their friendship means.

It was pure joy to see Ted go from his vanilla lifestyle, where he’s is putting everyone else but himself first, to a knickerbocker glory sundae with all the trimmings, finally embracing who he is meant to be. The stories about his childhood made the journey feel all the more special, you could see how much he had suppressed for fear of letting people down or not being good enough. Seeing his personality shine and taking brave and bold steps towards his future, warmed my heart and brought tears to my eyes.

Another special ability Matt Cain has is to bring the secondary characters into the story and let them steal a small piece of your heart. Whether it’s Stanley and his words of encouragement to Ted or Oskar and his troubling past, trying to find his place in the world, there is a lot of heart to be found.

This book will resonate with so many people, whether you are LGBTQ+ or not there is so much to take away from Matt’s wise words. We are transported to a whole new POV and some of it is very hard hitting, Oskar’s story in particular. I’d like to think we have all had moments in our lives where we’ve felt lost or unsure of what to do next and this book tells you that you’re not alone. It’s never to late to follow that dream or change your life, with a bit of self belief and confidence we can do anything. If it does all go bottoms up then there’s always the back up plan…ice cream!

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