You raise a very good point about the differing expectations. If a work has a downer ending for a good reason, I can respect that; but I feel like too many works are downers because the creator thinks that's somehow "deeper" or "more realistic" [see: Joss Whedon; "Children of Earth"] without any more organic purpose, and that trend really frustrates me. I suspect I would have been left quite unsatisfied by the ending of this book — and I'm absolutely with you regarding the frustration of queer characters never getting a happy ending. More happy narratives, please! (heh)