Vicky Romeo Plus Joolz

This cheeky debut novel by Ely Percy is the first of a trilogy of their queer works set in the heart of Glasgow. It observes Glasgow from an unapologetically pink-tinged angle. If you have a soft spot for the dramatic, f/f romance, local storytelling and appreciate a good chuckle – this is the book for you. Vicky Romeo Plus Joolz owns its history with a relish that spills over into an exuberantly camp parody.

It’s a plucky, on-the-nose, heart-mending comedy about a bunch of queer folks trying to find their way and going about life where not a single queer person dies. The novel’s focal point is a gay bar, a world that most folk aren’t exposed to – but this is Vicky Romeo’s ordinary world. Ely captures a perfect snapshot of this locum, of what it was like to be Scottish, working-class, queer and figuring shit out in that period of queer history.