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sarahabein.bsky.social · @sarahabein.bsky.social@bridge.neodb.net

Rated I Loved You More: A Novel 10/10

Briefly, I debated between <i>The Price of Salt</i> by Patricia Highsmith and this book for my favorite read this year, but what gave <i>I Loved You More</i> its edge was my visceral reaction to it. This book fucked me up in the best way, right when I needed it. While Highsmith keeps a certain amount of narrative distance from the love, lust, loneliness, and longing, Spanbauer dives right in. Mercilessly.<br><br>The Goodreads plot description doesn't really do the book justice. The friendship between these two men — Ben, more-or-less gay; Hank, more-or-less straight — is intense and beautiful. For a time, they drift apart, and their reunion is full of its own complications. Because it's partially set in 1980s New York, illness and caregiving play a central part of the story as well. <br><br>I cannot recommend this book enough.<br><br>(See the rest of my Top 10 Favorites from 2015 at <a href="http://glorifiedloveletters.blogspot.com/2015/12/glorified-love-letters-top-10-favorite.html">Glorified Love Letters</a>.)

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Published 2026-08-18 23:02 UTC · bridged from Atmosphere