I usually like YA, but this one wasn’t a favorite. I just couldn’t connect with the main character. The language was also somewhat off putting, like everything (or everyone maybe) was an exaggerated stereotype. Maybe this just isn’t the type of YA book that adults would enjoy but teens would, or maybe it was just a miss for me.

Cool for the Summer is a YA book that follows Lara, a high school senior, who finally catches the eye of the guy she swooned over for years. But after an amazing summer in the Outer Banks, she's grown to learn truths about herself which will effect how she handles Chase's affections.

The story is told between alternating timelines, then and now as the reader learns that Lara fondness is for Jasmine. The story explores the challenges of gay youth and discovering ones sexuality.

I found this book to easy going considering the subject matter. It all fell into place a little to nicely with only a bit a High School drama. Cool for the Summer is an quick read.

I simply adored this book, and can't wait to pre-order a copy to add to my high school classroom library and recommend it to all of my students.

Adler's style is very reminiscent of Becky Albertalli, in that they both craft loveable but realistic characters who could be your next door neighbor, best friend, or sibling.

The thing I love most about this book is that, like most high school kids, Larissa is simply trying to figure out who she is, and that centers mostly around her feelings for the star quarterback - and the girl with whom she spent a magical summer. The story alternates between "Then" (summer) and "Now" (fall), which really gives the reader insight to Larissa's character.

In this world, it is so important for teens to see themselves reflected in literature and this is another fantastic title in the LQBTQIA space.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a free EGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this fun YA romance!

Cool for the Summer is the story of Lara, who has had a crush on a boy, Chase, for several years, but over the summer, she falls for a girl named Jasmine. When she gets back to school, Chase finally starts talking to her and asks her out, but when Jasmine also shows up at Lara's school, Lara isn't as sure what she wants anymore. In many ways, this is a classic love triangle story, but with a refreshing bisexual twist.

Overall, it's a fun read. I really enjoyed Lara's character, and I also loved that the story was told in alternating timelines, so the reader can watch Lara's relationship with Jasmine develop in the past while also watching Lara's relationship with Chase develop in the present. The writing style works well for the story being told, and I would classify this book as a breezy beach read. The main drawback to the book is that there isn't a lot of depth to any of the characters besides Lara and Jasmine. Chase's character feels especially superficial, and I had a hard time believing that Lara could really be choosing between someone as basic as Chase and someone as interesting as Jasmine. I also didn't particularly like Lara's friends, who also seemed to be basically caricatures of people rather than real people.

Definitely not a bad book, but I would have liked a little more depth.

I loved this romance story about realizing that you're not straight without putting a label on what you are. This book didn't have to have every element fleshed out (we don't get to see how the general kids at school react to the kiss), but I think that added to the light, summery feel of this novel. I also loved the breakup scene, very mature, definitely a good example for teens to have.

I didn't love but also didn't hate this book. Larissa is a teen in high school struggling to choose between Chase, the popular jock she's always had a crush on, or her summer hook-up, Jasmine. I appreciate that the author explored a bisexual love triangle and wish more books did. For being a book that people might mean a lot to people, I had some troubles with how other things were described or included in the book, from the non-binary character and other POC. I felt like they were mentioned just for the sake of having "diversity" in the book and there was no real substance to them. Other than that, the story was fun and cute.

There's so much to love about Cool for the Summer from the witty banter to the chemistry between Lara and Jasmine. But most of all I loved the way that this books centers that romance blossoms best when we can be ourselves. There's so much of Lara thinking of who she should be and fixating on who she "should" be with as part of that, then when she finally stops holding back her personality she finds herself with a whole lot to love—both romantically and platonically.

Cool for the Summer is a breath of fresh air that made me smile, flip frantically forward for kissing, and made me yearn for long summer days.

When Lara returns to school after a summer spent out of town, everything seems to be perfect: she has a great group of friends, her new hair cut is really working for her, and the guy she’s been in love with forever finally wants to date her. But she can’t stop thinking about the summer and the girl she spent it with. When that girl suddenly shows up as a new student, Lara has to navigate her conflicting feelings and decide if she wants to take the easy route and with the guy, or take a risk and get what she really wants.

This is a book that fell a little bit short for me but I would absolutely recommend to high school age girls. I would have gotten a lot more out of it then, I think. I do feel like there were a lot of "token" queer people or people of color just for the sake of saying "oh this character is nonbinary" or "this character is asian!" Which is better than not having any representation, but it still seemed really contrived. The writing was easy to understand but not very special in any way. I did honestly find myself cringing at times. But I do appreciate what this story did and I think it dealt with the main character questioning her sexuality and coming out very well.

Larissa Bogdan has been crushing on Chase Harding since grade school, and everyone knows it. However, Chase has never shown any interest until the first day of senior year, when he starts flirting with her, which eventually leads to a relationship. Larissa’s dreams are finally coming true and Chase is as wonderful as she always imagined. Yet, Larissa is not as happy as she thought she would be.

When asked why he suddenly showed interest in Larissa, Chase said she was different, more confident, no longer in the shadow of Shannon, one of Larissa’s best friends and the Queen Bee of the school. The reason for the change is that an unplanned summer in the Outer Banks led to Larissa making new friends, especially Jasmine Killary, who encouraged her and enabled her to explore who she was and what she wanted in life. It was a magical summer and Larissa parted never expecting to see Jasmine again.

Larissa was incredibly surprised to see Jasmine at school the first day, as she was supposed to be in Asheville, NC, not in the suburbs of New York City. Larissa is also worried that Jasmine will reveal what happened over the summer and ruin things with Chase, especially as Jasmine becomes part of the friend group. There is tension between them, but Larissa cannot stop thinking about Jasmine.

Will things work out with Chase? What will happen with Jasmine? What will Larissa’s friends think if they find out? How long can she keep the summer secret, especially with a friend (Kiki) who is an amateur investigator? Why did Jasmine move to Stratford? Senior year is going to quite interesting and eventful.

“Cool for the Summer” was an enjoyable book. The characters are interesting, well-developed and diverse. The author deals with various sexual identities in a respectful manner, and uses the characters effectively to educate and explain identities that people may not be familiar with or really understand. I would definitely recommend this book.

Cool for the Summer is about Lara, a high school student who finally starts to get attention from her long time crush ... at the end of a summer that she spent (possibly) falling for another girl.

I love the writing style, and thought the book was fun and sweet. It covers a lot of the difficulties of growing up and is definitely one to give to teenagers looking for a good coming of age story!

I wasn't totally convinced by some of the characters - Chase in particular fell a bit flat for me, which meant the love triangle element didn't quite get there. However, it was still a fun read!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

With major "But I'm a Cheerleader!" vibes this book, shows the popular girl questioning her sexuality. Lara's been crushing on her high school's quarterback since they were kids, but when he finally shows interest, she realizes that she might be more into a girl from her past...

This story is told in alternating timelines between present day (senior years) and the summer before. I think the dual timelines works super well in this book, and is a really great way to see the conflicting emotions of our main character and her interest in Jasmine develop. As a straight woman, perhaps I shouldn't comment on the "accuracy" of the feelings of the MC and her experience coming out, but if there are complaints, I'd like to remind people that everyone's story is their own, and just because it doesn't match up with one reader's experience, it doesn't mean it's not a valid experience. I think the the overall plot of this book is where it shines.

However, I didn't love the character of Lara. She was overly annoying in the way that many teenagers are annoying--immature, vapid, too into herself. When she complained about spending the summer at a beach mansion for free in the first few pages, it left a bad taste in my mouth that was hard to get rid of. By halfway, I was starting to enjoy the book more, and found more depth to Lana's character, but she wasn't always the easiest to like with her top of the food chain social status. Despite being immature, Lara was super smooth with the lines, and I don't know anyone that smooth at 17. So it was an odd mash-up of feeling very young but also very experienced. It felt like an adult writing a teenager.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. It's a nice, frothy summer YA read.

Thanks to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4 stars - 7/10

I just want to start off with that this cover is just absolutely amazing. Please give whoever designed this cover more covers to design because they are fantastic at making them. Now onto the book. I loved the concept so much, as a bi person myself, the idea of being stuck between two people of different genders is a story I find myself in quite a lot. It was really nice to see myself in this book.

~ 2.5 stars ~

the blurb had me excited but reading it was not so exciting, probably why i felt like i was taking too long to finish a contemporary book.

i really liked Lara's character arc. teens questioning their sexuality is definitely a theme to be explored in YA. her confusion, internal struggle and self-discovery is sure to resonate among young readers.

but the writing and characters felt bland. i wasn't invested in either of the love interests. Chase's interest in Lara felt abrupt. her relationship with Jasmine could be explored better (given the dual timeline in the book) rather than centering it around dull miscommunication.

there were also a couple of scenes and phrases that felt uncomfortable to read, eg: the "non-binary" joke, the way Lara describes Chase or even some of the conversations Lara and her friend group had. it seemed like the diverse characters were just there for brownie points, the mentions of their ethnicities having no relevance to the story. diversity really felt superficial in the book. i don't mind stereotype characters as long as they are fun to read or have depth but the characters here were plainly stereotyped and not in the enjoyable sense.

overall, Cool for the Summer is a short fun read which will impact readers, but it was not for me.

thank you Netgalley and Wednesday Books for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cool for the Summer follows Larissa Bogdan, who's starting her senior year of high school a new, more confident person after spending her summer in the Outer Banks. Just as her biggest dream starts to fall into place -- the boy she's had a crush on for six years is flirting with her! -- Jasmine, the girl Lara had a summer fling with, walks into the school as the new transfer student.

There was a lot to enjoy about this book. Lara's emotional journey, Jasmine, the whole ending! I definitely had a good time reading it.

The one thing that did make the whole experience a bit difficult, though, was how much of the book was just Lara thinking. While that is, in many ways, the general nature of books, I found myself wanting her to interact more with her friends or her mom, or even with side characters who were named only once or twice. I wanted more conversations, more honesty. Although the bulk of the conflict is built on miscommunication, it seemed like Lara was kept from communicating with literally anyone, in any capacity that went beyond surface-level. I craved that genuine relationship in the present. In the scenes from the past, too, while we did get some lovely moments between Lara and Jasmine, a lot of the nitty gritty development of their relationship -- their actual conversations, their small moments where they were honest with each other -- felt often shoved to the wayside in favor of scenes showing the two of them figuring out how to sneak illicit moments. I loved those scenes, but I simply wanted more.

Even so, this is one of those books that feels really important. We follow a main character who is discovering herself, and who doesn't have all the answers by the end. The message is, ultimately, that you can (and should!) keep growing; that there's nothing wrong with not knowing everything, and that the journey, the discovery, is just as important as where you end up.

SUCH a huge thank you to St. Martin's Press & NetGalley for gifting me an e-arc of one of my absolute new favorite books ever.

Where to begin? How about the simplest, but truly the longest-lasting impression for me: the writing. Some of these sections, I read over & over again... the way Dahlia describes bisexuality confusion; being achingly in love with someone and unsure if those feelings are reciprocated... are so real, & honest. So true to the age while not being melodramatic or understated.

And can we talk about the STEAM? There's a ton of steam & sexual tension in this book - more so, then any other YA i've read in the past two years... and I LOVE THAT! It shows that teens are sexual beings, in a very non-weird, or overly-overt way.


I haven't quite felt this way about a YA romance author or book since Rachel Lynn Solomon's Today Tonight Tomorrow — (not necessarily that the book are the same; but in terms of how ATTACHED to the love story and characters I became. And ps: the casual Jewish rep, of course.)

It goes without saying that I'm SO excited for this to be published MAY 11th and I will be shouting about it until then!

I loved this story of discovering yourself and your sexuality. The romantic tension set up by the love triangle was believable and engaging, and our narrator was deeply sympathetic and understandable. The supporting cast, too, was diverse and lovable, and I found myself as engaged in the friendships as the romances. Seeing a girl accept her desires and her new self, and go after what she wants, was deeply satisfying and inspiring. I loved this book!

I had some issues with some parts of the book but overall a cute story that explores identity and feels exactly like summer.

I was already a fan of Adler's work, but this might be her best yet. Smart and sexy, with a main character whose voice, vulnerability, and humor bring the story to life.

I loved this story of self discovery and sexuality. Larissa has always had a crush on Chase and when he begins to like her too, she should be thrilled. Instead, she can't get her mind off of Jasmine, a girl she met over the summer. It was fun watching Lara' realize how much she had actually fallen for Jasmine and to read about their relationship in flashbacks to the summer. I also greatly appreciated that both girls are Jewish and from differing backgrounds.