Blog Tour: Love Somebody by Rachel Roasek (Interview + Giveaway!)

Happy Wednesday and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for LOVE SOMEBODY! I’m so excited because today I have an interview with Rachel Roasek to share with you! This book is truly amazing and I’m so excited to for you to find out more about it, PLUS enter a giveaway for a print copy!

Love Somebody by Rachel Roasek
Published on January 11, 2022 by Farrar Straus and Giroux
Genres: Contemporary, Queer, Romance, YA
Pages: 368
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Author Links: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram, TikTok

A sparkling YA debut rom-com about a popular high-school girl, her ex-boyfriend-turned-best-friend, and the girl they both fall for--perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli or Casey McQuiston.
Sam Dickson is a charismatic actress, ambitious and popular with big plans for her future. Ros Shew is one of the smartest people in school--but she's a loner, and prefers to keep it that way. Then there's Christian Powell, the darling of the high school soccer team. He's not the best with communication, which is why he and Sam broke up after dating for six months; but he makes up for it by being genuine, effusive, and kind, which is why they're still best friends.
When Christian falls for Ros on first sight, their first interaction is a disaster, so he enlists Sam's help to get through to her. Sam, with motives of her own, agrees to coach Christian from the sidelines on how to soften Ros's notorious walls. But as Ros starts to suspect Christian is acting differently, and Sam starts to realize the complexity of her own feelings, their fragile relationships threaten to fall apart.
This fresh romantic comedy from debut author Rachel Roasek is a heartfelt story about falling in love--with a partner, with your friends, or just with yourself--and about how maybe, the bravest thing to do in the face of change is just love somebody.

What would you do if you spent the day with Sam, Christian, and Ros? Where would you go to eat, hang out, relax, etc.?

First, coffee from Sam’s extremely hip favorite spot. Then, Ros could take us all to some museums, since I think she probably knows the best ones. After that, I’m taking Christian’s advice on where to get some dinner. If anyone’s going to know the jankiest-looking restaurant that actually serves the best diner food you’ve ever eaten, it’s that guy.  

If Sam, Christian, and Ros were to hang out with characters from other books, who would they be and why?

I think Sam and Willowdean Dixon from Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy would get along like a house on fire. Both of them are headstrong, slightly rebellious girls and they’d feed off each others’ (projected) confidence. Christian is a more passive guy, and tends to gravitate towards bigger personalities, so he’d probably tag along with them and Will’s boyfriend Bo. As for Ros, there’s a book I absolutely love by Rachel Hartman called Seraphina, and the title character is also really solitary and guarded with her feelings. Weirdly, I think that would make them get along really well, like the kind of friends who sit in the same room and read for hours. 

If there was one fictional place you could travel to for a day, where would it be and why?

MIDDLE EARTH. The Shire, specifically. I’ve been having escapist daydreams about that place since I was fourteen.

If you buried a time capsule with three items inside, what three items would you choose and why?

Screenshots of old texts between me and my partner (for nostalgia), pictures of my pets (for the cute factor), and notebooks from old writing projects that will never see the light of day (for the cringe). 

What was your favorite bit of research you ended up not using?

Thankfully, I think most of the research I did actually ended up getting used! There was a lot I had to look into — adoption and surrogacy, queer marriage legalization in Massachusetts, reading the original Cyrano play, and watching Ros and her dad’s favorite movie, Cinema Paradiso. I did also have to look up how soccer works. I am not knowledgable about The Sports.

What is your favorite quote, scene, or moment from Love Somebody?

Without giving too much away, there’s a scene towards the end between Monty and Christian where Christian makes a comment about how much he hates arguing with people, and Monty stops what he’s doing and says, “Asking for what you want isn’t ‘arguing,’ Christian.” I didn’t even realize what I was doing when I wrote it, but then I read it back and it hit like a punch in the gut. It was what Christian needed to hear, but it was also something I should have been told when I was his age, too. I felt like I was talking to my younger self with that line. 

Enter here for a chance to win a print copy of Love Somebody by Rachel Roasek!

(US Only)

What do you think about Love Somebody? Have you added it to your tbr yet? Let me know in the comments and have a splendiferous day!