3.5 starts - enjoyed this a lot! COOL FOR THE SUMMER is a Grease-inspired YA romance that follows a questioning queer teen. After her summer fling shows up to school the fall of her senior year, our MC has to juggle her feelings for the girl she had “the summer of a lifetime” with and the guy who she’s crushed on for forever (who just might finally like her back).

The good: I love how this story was told in two timelines. We got to see consistent flashbacks to the summer, while still working forward in the main fall timeline. I also thought this was great queer questioning rep: the mc doesn’t decide on a label at the end of the book, but her feelings and romantic experiences are still validated.

Despite liking this book a lot, I definitely wish I connected with the characters more. The side characters we do meet were likable and interesting, but could have been more flushed out. I connected to the main character and the love interest more in the flashbacks, and was really disappointed by their lack of communication in the present day timeline. The characters were valid because they were teenagers and it was understandable for them to be confused when navigating a new (queer) identity. However, books with conflicts that solely center around miscommunication aren’t my cup of tea - especially because the misunderstandings in this book often came from the pair assuming the worst in one another.

Though the central conflict was frustrating for me, I still rooted for Larissa and Jasmine. Their relationship in the flashbacks was so sweet and honest and the kind of quintessential YA love story sapphics don’t get enough of. I was pleased with the ending, and I thought all conflict was wrapped up thoroughly. Overall, this was an enjoyable read and I wish i could have read this questioning/queer rep when I was a teen!

I probably would have loved this as a teen. As an adult, less than love., but still appreciate. It's Gossip Girl level privileged characters told from the point of view of Dan if he was a queer girl. I appreciate the diverse cast and all of the various flavors of queer. I'll happily recommend this to people. It just isn't really my style at this point.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thank you to St. Martins Press for providing me this arc via Netgalley!
Once again tricked by a cute cover. There was nothing in this book. Jasmine was self centered and shallow, Chase was boring as fuck and there was no chemistry between either couple. This book was short, but could have been even shorter. 50 pages would have been enough to unfold the whole plot.

I received this book as an ARC and I really enjoyed it. I like the structure of the story, how it was non linear. It went back and forth between Lara's summer in OBX and her current life in New York. There was a good amount of representation in this book but at times it felt a little presentational rather than substantial. Ethnicity wise at least.

What I really liked about this book was the accuracy of not really knowing how you identify and the struggles of figuring that out. It painted a nice picture of Lara's journey through her self discovery.

What I didn't like was Shan's character. I thought she was an awful friend and it bothered me a lot.

I didn't expect it to even be the slightest bit spicy but it was at times. Low key shocked.

Overall I give it 3.5 stars rounded up to four stars. When the book officially comes out I recommend picking it up, it was a quick read and it was fun and sweet.

This book is a quick delight! It is fun and young and cute. I appreciated how nuanced the explorations of sexuality are, and the mother/daughter relationships are really heartwarming. It's got the overwrought drama and high stakes of the teen years.

Cool for the Summer follows Lara, a girl who finally got the boy of her dreams. However, a memory of the summer confuses her, even more so when the girl from her memories comes to her school.
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This was such a delightful book! This is also the only time a love triangle can be done right that I have seen so far. Lara was a real person with flaws and everything, as were her friends, which was nice because that does not always happen.
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I thought the relationships were good, and the way the dynamic worked was written well. My absolute favorite part would be the graphic novel references!
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Overall, I recommend this for a fun quick summer read.
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TWs- divorce, abandonment, sexual content
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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

After spending all of high school trying to capture the attention of her football player crush, Chase, Larissa finally has him where she wants him. After a summer away, he is flirting back and things seem to be falling into place. Until the girl she spent the summer with mysteriously transfers into Larissa's school. Jasmine is effortlessly cool, and Larissa can't stop thinking about her. So what does that mean for her sexuality?

This was a great book, and an instant addition to my list for YA recommendations. There was no bad guy, there was a great representation of questioning your sexuality, and there was bi representation. I tried to think of another YA novel I had read with a bi protagonist, and I couldn't. This one hit the marks in so many ways, and I loved it.

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

This book was high school nostalgia wrapped up in a present with a neat bow. However, I loved how it was from a popular girl’s point of view, instead of the typical non-popular character’s viewpoint.
I enjoyed reading the main character’s thoughts and going along the journey with her because it reminded me of my previous high school crushes. The mystery of her and the new girl’s relationship was intriguing as well. The end wasn’t surprising because I pretty much guessed it at the beginning of the story. Even though I guessed it, I still appreciated the way that the author allowed the main character to think through her feelings rather than just jump into labeling herself.

I started reading this and the whole book was just so juvenile. I couldn;t connect with any of the characters and the writing was just not coherent. The cover is also lacking. This deserves a rebrand maybe for a younger age group? Maybe not as I didn't finish and dont know the age rating or full subject matter LMAO

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

After spending the summer learning everything about the mysterious Jasmine, Larissa must go back to her life of comfortable friendships, pining over Chase Harding, and working on the weekends. But only when everything starts to shift into her version of the Perfect Senior Year does she realize it might not be what she wants anymore.

At the risk of making this review too personal, I would like to say that, as a 23 year old woman, I don’t often read contemporary novels about high schoolers. The main reason I was interested in this novel is because I never had a book like this when I was coming to understand my own sexuality as a teenager. And, oh man, do I wish I had. There was a line in the novel along the lines of “if being bi means always knowing, well that isn’t me,” that really struck a chord with me. Much like Lara, I assumed that if I hadn’t always known I was interested in women that I must, by default, be straight. And don’t get me wrong, there are definitely people out there who have always known, but everyone has a different story. Lara’s journey to understanding that all queer experiences are unique and vary per person was really impactful. That moment in the novel was validating in all the right ways, and I love knowing that there are teens who will read this book and feel a weight lift from their chests.

I find a lot of media created for high schoolers tends to be quite out of touch and overdramatized, but I thought this novel had a very realistic vibe-- nothing felt too outlandish. I especially liked the way the author examined and discussed Lara’s friendships. So many main characters have these incredibly perfect best friends, but life isn’t always like that. Sometimes you’re friends with people because that’s what’s easy and that’s what you’ve always done-- it doesn’t mean you don’t love them, it’s just a different kind of love born from sticking together for so long. I think almost anyone who grew up in a small-ish town can understand and relate to that in a few ways.

I have seen a few other reviews discussing this, so I know I’m not alone in being a little put off by it, but there were a few little things that I think came off wrong. Mainly the “maybe white, maybe latina” description of a person and the “non-binary-friend” moment. I understand that they were intended to be a casual, nonchalant kind of thing, but unfortunately it didn’t totally come across well.

Overall, I thought this book was really cute and a nice quick read. I love the surge of LGBTQ books in the past year or so and I’m really happy I got the opportunity to check this one out. I wish I’d had a novel like this when I was in high school.

5/5 - Thank you so much to St Martin’s Publishing for a chance to read this book and give an honest review!

I am just, IN LOVE. This book was Sarah Dessen levels of magic for me. Larissa and Jasmine are everything. The setting is so perfect and visual, and even the side characters come to life on the page like you wouldn’t believe. I connected with all of them. You would think this book would be predictable as it kind of starts at the end/middle but, nothing about the characters choices or the plot left me feeling anything but frantic to find out what happens next. Just go read this book.

Great read from Dahlia Adler! Loved the characters, great story, would recommend for YA and crossover readers

Really e joyed this one! I flew through it!
This is a terrific book. I like how the writer deals with the confusing feelings of the characters and the peer pressures of high school. It's done in a sensitive yet realistic way. The book is also entertaining and fun. Enjoyed it. Its very well written!

Lara spent a surprise summer in Outer Banks with her mom, her mom's boss, and his daughter, Jasmine, who became close friends with her. Then school starts and Lara comes back to reality rocking a new haircut and a totally different aura around her. Everyone seems to notice, even Chase, who Lara has had a crush on since forever. Then Jasmine from summer walks in the school doors and everything goes upside down.

Lara is popular at school, has the best friends, and now even Chase, the quarterback of the football team and long-time crush. She has everything but memories of Jasmine keep showing up now that she sees her every day. Why is this happening to her?

Star Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.5)

This book was a nice read but also touching as we follow Lara and her journey of figuring out herself and her heart. The confusion she felt must have been real and it was this aspect that I find in this book very true to the real world.

I wasn't the biggest fan of Chase and his sudden interest in Lara. His love towards Lara seemed shallow to me because Chase was only looking on the outside of her but then again, that's what a lot of people do right?

I loved how the book alternates perspectives between Lara's past summer and the present. Overall, Cool for the Summer was a fun, quick read. Lara's mom's acceptance of her and her relationship with Jasmine as it develops was also a great emotional touch.

Chase Harding has been Lara's crush for years. When Chase starts to notice Lara after a life-changing summer, Lara should be thrilled, but Jasmine, who made her summer perfect and may own a piece of her heart, won't stop haunting Lara. Probably because the girl in question just moved to Lara's hometown for the school year and keeps reminding Lara of all she's missing from a summer that she can't forget. Will Lara get the guy or will the girl that got away change all her dreams?

First off, I liked this. The dual timeline of "Then" vs "Now" was great. I liked the contrast between summer Lara and present Lara and the storylines that intersected. Additionally, Lara's journey of self-discovery was done pretty well. Nothing was magically solved. Lara's just trying to figure out who she is. Is she straight or something else? Is she just the girl who's liked Chase Harding for ages?

My main problem is Chase Harding. All the other characters in Lara's orbit had more personality, felt almost multidimensional, and while most of them were based on typical character tropes, the author made them feel unique. Chase is just an All-American football player, the golden boy of the town. He's also a great big brother (although we never see his little sister who's 3 years younger than him, which unless her birthday disqualifies her or she got held back, she should be a freshman because Chase and Lara are seniors), and he's into Lara. I'm just a little disappointed that a book with a ton of nuanced characters let one of the main love interest be under-developed. He has the above three interests, and although he gives a reason for suddenly liking Lara after years of her not-so-subtle crushing, it felt flat.

Lara's friend group on the other hand, had personality. Kiki was my favorite of the friend group. (I kind of hope Kiki gets her own book...). Gia was fun! Shannon annoyed me. The summer friends were also cool. Jasmine was great in the "Then" chapters and an enigma in the "Now" chapters. Lara may have been a little annoying at times, but overall she was a solid main character and narrator.

In conclusion, this book is pretty great and deals with some tough topics (biphobia, sexuality, etc.). It's about Lara's unforgettable summer and what she's going to do after it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press / Wednesday Books for this e-ARC. I really appreciate the opportunity to read this story.

This had a lot of a promise, but it fell short, The characters and the plot all just felt a bit underdeveloped, and the drama keeping the main couple apart was so, so contrived. But it was a cute, quick read.

This book.... omg this book was SO real! This was the closest portrayal to my own bi experience that I've ever encountered. The story was so beautifully done!

I enjoyed that this explores the fear of admitting things to yourself just as much as to others. I loved that this shut down so many stereotypes too. Most of the stories that have a bi MC have major stereotypes (not being able to choose, being a sex crazed person, eventually deciding what sex you REALLY like, or that you've always known you were bi) and it was so refreshing that I didn't encounter that in this book. I loved watching Lara discover her own truths.

This is one of those books that I'm going to have to own in every format.

Thank you to NetGalley for this e-arc.

Cool For The Summer fell a little flat for me. I didn’t feel emotionally connected to any of the characters.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Cool for the Summer in exchange for an honest review.

This is one of the biggest "is this good or am I just a rep starved queer" moments I've had as a reviewer (and there have been several) and I'm honestly still not sure where I stand. From the beginning of the story, I didn't really like our MC, any of her friends (except Kiki. Give me a whole book about Kiki please), or her two love interests. I was all ready to give this a "good in concept, bad in execution" because of what seemed like a disjointed pace and a few diversity checklist vibes I got from a lot of the character descriptions (I'll specifically note here that in her own review, Adler highlights aroace rep as a secondary plot thing when the aroace character is only mentioned a handful of times. The approach to enby rep also felt a little more heavy handed than natural representation normally feels) but I also found myself inexplicably tearing up when this ended so... I'm a sucker, okay?

This is cheesy and overdramatic and will make you want to shake all the characters but I'm a sucker so I loved it anyways.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
This book was overall engaging, but I did not feel like I could connect to some of the side characters because they seemed shallow and underdeveloped. I did not like Chase or Shannon much though Larissa was overall a pretty ok character, except for one time where she commented on a nonbinary character ("what do you call it when someone's neither a girlfriend nor boyfriend? a nonbinaryfriend?") that annoyed me. It also annoyed me that everyone's race was specified ("she was white or latina or both") because it felt like just yelling out, SEE! HERE IS DIVERSITY! Which annoyed me. All in all, I did enjoy this book for the most part, and I liked seeing Larissa's journey. Overall this was a pretty fun read. 3.5/5.