The Bubble We're In

by Alex Mell-Taylor

When the world grinds to a halt because of a deadly pandemic, two men move in together way too quickly to avoid being alone. Sebastian is a workaholic straining to escape his modest roots. Christian is a trust fund kid who can provide Sebastian with the life he craves. As they struggle to adjust to the new normal, class and political differences begin to poke holes in their uneasy relationship.

Both men soon expand their COVID bubble and their relationship to include a group of strangers they meet on Grindr. Between raucous underground parties and a last-minute vacation to the Bahamas, Sebastian and Christian's newfound bubble seems to thrive, despite challenging conditions. But as troubles on the outside slowly find their way in, the group—and Sebastian and Christian's relationship—threatens to implode. Both men are forced to weigh their options and decide what scares them being together or being apart.

346 pages, Paperback

Published April 18, 2024

About the author

Alex Mell-Taylor is a trans, nonbinary writer who reports out from the digital trenches on pop culture and politics, often with an intersectional, queer bent. Their personal blog has received hundreds of thousands of views and is growing every day. They are the editor and founder of the futurist magazine After the Storm, which has accepted stories from around the world and recently published a “best of” anthology called Storms of the Revolution.

Reviews

[Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creating unique characters, all with a different feel and opinion during these events happing during the COVID pandemic, provided a unique way for the reader to relate to each of them (in my own way at least) during these incredibly turbulent times. The way Alex can paint a picture through this story was truly inspiring. From exploring the city, going to small parties with friends, through exploring your own internal anxieties and fears. The story is written where there is no judgement on any of the characters, however, you still feel for them in such a way where you're rooting for them, or just want to give them a hug as they go through horrible and traumatic events. The realness of emotions, reactions to events, a true "human response" during difficult times. Wonderful read, and looking forward to reading more work by Alex.

[Ziggi Chavez · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s a lot of [brutal] honesty in the flaws of all the characters here, and Alex has done them all a great service in tackling many of the complex flaws of each voice included here-in. Handling so many characters can be complicated, and she does so skillfully, as each character is quite distinct, and fully shaped as emotionally and authentically unique in their experiences. What is truly special is that Alex approaches the sometimes extreme character flaws of certain characters that come from a more privileged life/upbringing in a way that does not come off as overly harsh (even as I was screaming at them in my head, OFTEN). I’m not saying we should be nice to our oppressors or anything, but for the casual reader, I appreciate that the author’s care in crafting this story was done in such a way that perhaps someone who may identify with some of those more problematic archetypes can confront their own inner voice, their own shame cycle, in a way that coaches them through to start to see “the light.” There is so much good representation, but also a lot of heartache to be dealt with, and for some, the pains of the collective trauma from early pandemic times may yet be a bit hard to deal with, but this story definitely touched my heart and felt therapeutic at times. Being that the author is a friend, I was already going to read anything they might publish, but past history aside, Alex is narratively one of the most talented in their craft I have read of late; and as someone who reads over a hundred books per year, that is saying something. I cannot wait to see a hopefully long and successful career in their future!

[Sonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an awesome read! I’m very impacted by the way the author weaved how the feelings and lives of gay millennials were affected by the unprecedented COVID pandemia, the Black Lives Matter issues, all the way to the sad events of January 6, 2021. Throughout the book, the author includes excerpts of the characters’ text conversations, which I find is a very clever way of immersing the reader in the action being depicted. I also love how the author describes in beautiful detail all the places the main characters visit. It’s done in a way that you feel transported to such places, like the park with a waterfall and the green luscious trees.

The author masterfully develops the personalities of young gay millennials and takes us in a journey of how they mature thru their joyful and sad experiences of the times they were living. It is an easy read but with a lot of depth and leaves us readers wondering how we all have been able to overcome such difficult social times, but especially showing the resilency of the younger generations.

[Artemio Rivera]

The author successfully introduces us to the complications of modern relationships by way of all the fictional characters she creates in her book. The interactions of these fictional characters are brought to life with a level of detail that inevitably engages you with this book. The interweaving of real recent events along with the fictional storyline is very well done and showcases the author’s writing talent. I look forward to all future publications from this talented writer.

[Adam Elaroussi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book, almost forgot how much we lived through during the pandemic and it was cathartic (and maybe a little triggering too) to read it through from the characters’ perspective. Everyone will find parts of these characters in themselves and Mell-Taylor does an incredible job of making you fall in and out of love with them from chapter to chapter. Burned through this book because I could not put it down!