This is not a genre I normally read, but I love Meg Macy’s cozy mysteries, so when she offered me the opportunity to review it, I couldn’t say no.
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE
LGBTQ+ Romance
1st in Series
Setting – Michigan
Publisher : Grainger Press
Publication date : June 1, 2025
Print length : 360 pages
ISBN-10 : 0998180998
ISBN-13 : 978-0998180991
Kindle ASIN : B0F924KF64
Longtime friends Jack Riley and Juliette (aka Jules) Baxter are now partners in a new breakfast café, but they are surprised to be confronted by a wave of homophobia in a town known for its inclusive and diverse LGBTQA+ community.
Their romantic lives are just as uncertain. Jack, a gay former actor and fashion model, has failed at committed relationships due to his unsavory past – until he meets Reese Baxter, his partner’s handsome, closeted cousin. Jules juggles several polyamorous relationships due to major trust issues, until she’s drawn to an intriguing artist. However his jealousy of her bestie Jack is getting out of hand.
Is the vandalism against their café from conservative hate groups, or is it a focused personal attack?
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Ann Arbor has been known for supporting the LGBTQA+ community, so Jack Riley and his friend Juliette (Jules) Baxter are surprised when their new breakfast café is vandalized.
Jack had a rough upbringing, and moved around in the foster care system, time in juvie, and lived on a farm and on the streets, making his way however he could. He found work as an off-off-Broadway actor and fashion model, but he didn’t find true joy until he found culinary school, and he and Jules became best friends. Jules’ family is supportive enough to invest money to help them open the cafe, but uncomfortable with her several polyamorous relationships. She has been burned and questions her ability to find the right man. She does start seeing someone new, but there are some huge red flags. Jack is heavy into the gay dating apps for his hookups, but Jules thinks her cousin, Reese is the perfect man for him. She just needs to convince them both.
Ms. Macy has created a diverse cast of characters for this story, encompassing a wide range of the LGBTQA+ spectrum. Jack has a traumatic, heartbreaking past with just a few bright moments. I liked Jack, aside from the f-bombs he drops in almost every sentence. Thanks to a couple of good people who were put in his path, the man who has emerged from that life is a caring individual, and that only grows when he meets Reese. Reese has been afraid to come out as gay, knowing his parents will freak out. He feels torn between two worlds and exhausted keeping up the pretense of being straight. He keeps his head down, focusing on work, a true workaholic. Jules is still struggling after a romantic betrayal, so has been in non-monogamous relationships because the ethical part involves absolute honesty, but they are a lot of work. These characters all have depth, backstories, and room for growth.
Most of this story takes place at Jack and Jules Here Comes the Sun cafe, complete with a beautiful mural painted by their friend, Blake. After the outside wall is vandalized, a mural is added there too, but it didn’t stop the vandal/s. The restaurant is popular and busy, but has the normal growing pains of a new business with a surprising side of homophobia. The author endeavors to make the vandalism and other activities into a mystery, and there is some suspense during the events, but the guilty are very evident from the start. I believe she was trying to draw on her cozy roots when it wasn’t necessary.
All You Need Is Love allows readers to follow the characters on their journeys to find their place in the world as they look for love, sometimes in the wrong places. It’s an LGBTQA+ romance with all the drama and emotions that go into relationships today. No matter how you identify, the ending has a heartwarming message for everyone.
*Warning – This book contains explicit language and graphic adult scenes.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to the author for providing me with an ARC.
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About the Author
National bestselling author Meg Macy is a reader first and foremost. She’s always found comfort, adventure, and connection in books—which might explain why she now writes stories that offer all three. Best known for her Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear Mystery series (Kensington), several Christmas romance novellas with rescue pets, and as one-half of D.E. Ireland, the Agatha Award-nominated duo behind the Eliza Doolittle and Professor Higgins mysteries, Meg has long embraced the cozy end of fiction.
Now, she’s rewriting the rules with a new direction: LGBTQA+ romantic suspense with spice, intrigue, and plenty of emotional payoff. M/M or M/F, traditional or trailblazing, her stories are comfort reads with a twist. Unique? Yep. Meg loves breaking the rules. She lives with her writing companion, Mr. Whiskers the cat, and prefers pages to parties any day.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” “As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.” I am also an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.” These funds are often used for gift cards and other giveaways.
with her Berry Basket series, and 
with her Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear series. The two Michigan authors have patient husbands, brilliant daughters, and share a love of tea, books, and history.
Escape with D.E. Ireland
– 
and 
– write the Eliza Doolittle & Henry Higgins cozy mystery series set in 1913 England. In addition, they each pen a contemporary mystery series; coincidentally both series were acquired by Kensington. It seems these two friends are fated to do everything in tandem. Having so many books to write and promote in the course of a year is exciting, but it can also be stressful and tiring. So where do they escape to when they need a break? It’s complicated.
When she needs a break – and a vanilla latte – she heads for the village coffee house. There is something about the combination of espresso, the aroma of pastry and coffee beans, and the cozy environs that help Sharon solve any plotting problems. Sometimes, she brings a book to the coffee house, yet another way to escape from the constant pressure of deadlines. While Sharon enjoys reading a wide variety of genres, she prefers mysteries, (especially Louise Penny), sci-fi and dystopian YA, and urban fantasy. As a former history major, she also reads history for both research and pleasure.
, was a finalist for Best Historical of 2014.
and 
written under the pen names 
and 
. Of course, they are already plotting out the fourth book in the 
along with writing the next installment of their cozies. No wonder they need a vacation.
or the movie 
, you know these characters and can jump into this series anywhere. Of course, I believe you should start at the beginning 🙂
