This was cute and fun. My students are always asking for romance recommendations and this is definitely a solid option.

Similar to the title, this book was “just fine”. It wasn’t anything groundbreaking for me but I was still able to get through it. Great potential, but was just missing something for me personally.

I really wanted to like this book. The synopsis held so much promise, but the book failed to deliver as much as I hoped for from it. I enjoyed it well enough, but with a few tweaks it could have been an even more enjoyable read.

I found Lily very annoying and couldn't handle reading half a book from her POV and also have her in the other half just though someone else's POV. The story couldn't interest me and I decided to DNF this one.

This book would be ideal for teenagers aged 13+, wanting a light and easy read for over the summer. But where I am at currently with my reading preferences, this just didn't hit the mark for me and I'm DNFing at 50%. This was something that I thought about for over a week. If this was 13 year old me, I probably would have enjoyed this and can see how it would be enjoyable.

This book was lovely, such a comfort read even with the issues that the main characters had. Mostly I loved the set of characters. The main character would probably be a bit annoying if you knew her in real life but it was really fun to see her friends rolling their eyes, but going along with her latest scheme. It was clear that they loved her because she was like this not despite it.

I thought it was a very good example of the coping strategy people have where they throw themselves into something so that they don't have to deal with their problems. It really showed exactly why that's a bad idea.

It also showed the strain of being a teen carer. Having to care for her mum while she was only a teenager herself. I hope spreads some awareness of real life teens who are in similar situations.

CN: depression, anxiety, homophobia, ableism, medical emergency

Super cute and fluffy YA book! Very interested for Gemma's story in the next book.

Sometimes you don't have to be the one to fix everything, even if you feel like you should. This is a cute light - hearted summer romance novel, perfect for fans of YA

I enjoyed this quiet ya read. It is a must read. It deals with issues that teens face in a a manner that all readers can relate to.

This book moved way way too slow. Sometimes I like slow paced books but I honestly wasn’t a massive fan of it. I did like the way the characters were built though, they felt three dimensional.

I adored this book and just an easy read. I couldn’t put it down and was really submerged into the story and the character!

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

Lily is expecting her summer to be perfect, but when her boyfriend dumps her after prom, and she's left alone with her inattentive mother, she needs to find something to do. When it's revealed that the town gala needs some more volunteers, and there's no one under the age of 50 on the committee, Lily joins up, along with best friend, Gemma, and Gemma's neighbour, Tom. Lily wants to change it up, adding a regatta for the youngsters, a raft building competition, and making the parade much more inclusive, rather than there only being a Gala Queen. Tom has never really spoken to Lily, and except for her being Gemma's best friend, thought her to be a busybody, and annoying. He's dealing with his sister's diagnosed illness, and would rather spend his summer before sixth form relaxing and going out on the river. Lily won't expect no for an answer though, and it soon becomes obvious that there's an attraction between the two. Will their close proximity lead to romance, or is that too much to ask?

I can't even remember where I first saw this book, but decided to request a copy on NG when it became available. I've hardly ever read any YA books set in Scotland, and loved the setting for this book. Lily and Tom were alright main characters, both with their own flaws and difficulties, but real and exactly what I'd expect for two 16 years olds. The plot line of the town gala and it's many additions - courtesy of Lily's input - was definitely enjoyable, and I loved how it showed a different side of Lily to us. Because of the way her family were, she was basically left to her own devices at all times, and what others might see as her interfering was a coping mechanism for her to keep herself busy. Her mam is depressed, and I understand the way she was, but I sort of hated the way Lily's whole family left her. She's only 16, and is the only one who doesn't know about her mam's mental health history, but is expected to keep her safe while her dad and siblings are living away. Tom, too, has difficulties, as he tends to be ignored a lot in favour of his sister, who they think has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, but it's never been fully diagnosed. Sarah wants to do as much as she can, but her parents really coddle her, and I wish they were a little more understanding of a 15 year old who wants to do things, even if it makes her tired.

The relationships in the both, both romantic and platonic, were wonderful. I liked Tom and Lily together, and seeing their ups and downs as they navigated their relationship was perfect! Gemma was a fantastic friend to them both, and I'm definitely intrigued about her, as she seems like she may have anxiety, or something, and I can't wait to read her book, Gemma's Not Sure.

the things i liked about this book:
-the setting in general
-the conversation about mental health that needs to be talked about.
-the character growth


it was a fun, quick read. enjoyable, but not quite outstanding. a bit predictable, but fun however.

This book was good, it won't be a favourite on my list as I feel like I'm growing out of YA books in a way. But this book was well written and easy to read, it had main characters I felt I could connect too. Even Lily. And the romance aspect was well done. It didn't feel overly forced and I found it nice that even the characters were kind of hesitant about it at first. This book challenges the lack of acknowledgment for queer identities in small villages in the UK and I think that was one of the most important factors of the book. It looks at the pressures of living with a mentally ill parent and a physically ill sibling and the frustrations that can come along side all of that. Overall, this was a nice, light hearted read that allowed me to break up some heavier stuff that I'm reading right now

The description of Lily's Just Fine sounds great. But the storyline and characters left me wanting more. I ended up not finishing it.

Firstly I would like to thank Netgalley for giving me an ARC of this book, in exchange for an Honest Review.

This book is a cute YA romance, told from 2 different perspectives, that is perfect for a Summer read. It includes important topics such as relationships, depression and inclusion and discuses these quite well.

Lily for me was a hard main character to like, the reason for this is she is one of those people that thinks she is better than everyone else, quite judgemental and couldn’t see that other people have there own thing to deal with, not just her. But even then she is still very self centred, and not the best friend or even girlfriend.

The other characters weren't very well developed even though a few of them were mentioned quite a lot throughout the story and because of this it didn’t feel very well rounded.

Also the way the dialogue was didn’t help set the scene. I am from Scotland and throwing in Aye every now and again doesn't make it Scottish…. This book could have been set in like Devon or Cornwall and it would have had the same affect. Another point that made the dialogue awkward was no one says "et al" out loud especially not one that is a teenager, lets be honest until I was in University didn’t even know what that meant.

Overall this was a cute fluffy romance that would be good as a throwaway summer read.

Actual rating: 3.75/5
In this first book, we follow two characters: Lili and Tom. Lili decides to organise an event in her town to occupy her summer. She is followed by her friend Gemma and Tom.
I really like the setting of a small town as well as the friendships between all the characters. The book also treats some important topics like depression or sickness.
However, I wasn't very attached to the characters apart from Sarah.
Last but not least, I enjoyed the sweetness of the ending and I find the cover just stunning!
This book is perfect if you want a cute and fun contemporary / romance for the summer!

Lily and Tom are absolutely perfect for each other. He calms her down while she makes him step out of his comfort zone. I absolutely loved them separately but also as a couple. It felt real and genuine.

This book was also hilarious with a great crew of side characters. I can't wait to read the second book in this series to see what Gemma is up to. Gill Stewart is an author I will 100% be keeping my eyes on!

Although this book has it's heartbreaking parts, it's such a feel good book and I connected with Lilly. I felt like I was going through all of the emotions with her. Amazing book, would highly recommend to all my friends, and anyone!!!

Thought this was a great young adult read with good characters even though I didn’t necessarily like the main character. The storyline was predictable but cute and I would read book 2