Greta and Valdin

'Warm, witty and utterly idiosyncratic' ALICE SLATER

Siblings Greta and Valdin have, perhaps, too much in common. They're flatmates, beholden to the same near-unpronounceable surname, and both make questionable choices when it comes to love.

Valdin is still in love with his ex-boyfriend Xabi, who left the country because he thought he was making Valdin sad. Greta is in love with fellow English tutor Holly, who only seems to be using her for admin support. But perhaps all is not lost. Valdin is coming to realize that he might not be so unlovable, and Greta, that she might be worth more than the papers she can mark.

Helping the siblings navigate queerness, multiracial identity, and the tendency of their love interests to either leave the country or not love them back, is the whole Vladisavljevic family: Maori-Russian-Catalonian, and as passionate and loving as they are eccentric and over-emotional.

Rebecca K. Reilly's exploration of love, family, karaoke, and the generational reverberations of colonialism will make you laugh, might make you cry, and will certainly make you fall in love with Greta, Valdin and all of the Vladisavljevics.