Member Reviews

Cool for the Summer is a story about sefl-discovery we are following Lara as she finally has caught the eye of the guy she has been crushing on for the last three years of high school. But she can't help but think of Jasmine, the girl she had a perfect summer with. Then Jasmine shows up at her school. Now Lara's feels are confusing, she has finally got the guy she wants so why can she stop thinking about the girl from summer?
Lara as a lead character has so much to teach us. That we can change our minds about who we are or who we want. That a person is not lock in place with your sexuality that it will and can change at any stage in life. I loved the bisexual rep in this book, it felt real and not use as a plot point. This book is a more character-driven book, romantic, friends, family, and oneself.
I enjoyed this read as it shows how people can change and grow when meeting people and who we are as people aren't set in stone that we do change. I do have to say that this felt like this book waved in the way that at times it felt younger YA, to jumped to older YA. I know I'm not the target age group but I do review a lot of YA and it felt like to different age groups of YA mashed together. Dahlia Adler writing is a gem! My favorite part of this book was the alternating timelines of the “Then” and “Now” parts. I am someone who loves having flashbacks in books that are character-driven because I like to see how, when, where these feelings start from and how things unfold from there.
This book is summer, it's warm, dramatic, fun, going on a journal with Lara will help lose yourself and take your mind off of everything, and relax. This has powerful bi rep, learning to accept yourself and follow your heart.

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I was destined to love this book! It's one of my favourite covers of the year, and a bi-awakening romance inspired by a Demi Lovato song. It's allll the bright, delicious, teenage fizzy feelings of wonder and crush that summer romances are (and the thrill of long-term high-school pining finally coming to be)! It's also way more fashionable and bookish and sweet than I thought it would be. And the Demi Lovato song scene reallllly shines! ♥

Cool for the Summer 10000% easily made my Best of 2021 list!

What is it about? Lara's had eyes for exactly one person throughout high school, and he has suddenly started talking to her this year. Not just talking, but fully flirting! Which is everything she’s always wanted. Except she’s just come back from a romantic, strangely perfect once-in-a-lifetime summer with a girl named Jasmine who she met while away on vacation. Then Jasmine herself suddenly walks through the front doors of Lara’s school! Lara’s finally got the guy she’s always wanted, so why can’t she stop thinking about the girl? (I loved that the story starts right there, at the moment this happens! I immediately pictured it as a TV show scene. It felt iconic! Timeless! The quintessential queer teenage nightmare dressed like a daydream.)

Why is it the best? Cool for the Summer has all the stylish summer vibes and bubbly teenage crush emotions you expect and hope for when looking at the cover. The novel is made of the sun-filled boundless freedom and self-discovery of your favorite high school summer holiday. Adler gives us the not-knowing which person Lara will end up with in the end, and the push-and-pull of not knowing who you want her to end up with in the end! And as a bonus, the two girls are super bookish, sharing recommendations of their favorite reads —Lara even works at a bookstore! (It's also very sexy, and does not shy away from the kind of steam you'd expect between the two teenage girls having a thrilling, magical summer fling and being alone most of the time.) 10/10 could not recommend more!

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Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler is a YA queer contemporary romance. We're following our main character, Lara, who has always had a crush on football star, Chase. Now, it's her senior year of high school and Chase has never paid Lara any mind... until now. The only problem is, Lara is conflicted after her summer romance with Jasmine. And, she's even more conflicted once Jasmine walks through the doors of her high school. This kicks off a story that is equal parts angst and fluff, with just the right amount of miscommunication to make it stressful!

Honestly, I loved everything about this story. I was expecting it to be a light, cute read. But, it was so much more than that. It's told in dual timelines, so we get to live Lara's romance with Jasmine over the summer, as well as see them in the current timeline trying to navigate how they want their relationship to be and what their expectations are of one another. I just think this perfectly encapsulates a high school romance where you're both still trying to figure stuff out. I also really liked the flashback chapters where we see Lara and Jasmine get together - there's a lot of character development and emotions that I loved seeing.

This isn't a super complicated or heavy story. It's a perfect light, quick read that will tug at your heartstrings and make you swoon. Would 10/10 recommend!

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What a amazing book! I feel in love with this one. The story is spectacular, all the characters are super vivid. I recommend with my heart.

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Thank you NetGalley for an early copy for an honest review.
Cool for the Summer was my most anticipated book of 2021 and I really enjoyed it. I thought this book was the perfect read for the summer. I enjoyed the issues this book had such as sexuality and friendship. The main character is bisexual and enjoyed that as well as I identify as bisexual and love seeing myself represented in books. Cool for the Summer was a fun YA romance and would love to see it adapted for a movie.

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I DNF" ed this one!! I went through the first half not liking any of the characters. I kept checking how far into it I was and seeing the percentage go up and being shocked that no character grew on me. Some of the writing choices... were questionable, and I was not enjoying the read at all, so I decided to put it down. I love the cover, and I really appreciate some of the things discussed, but it just wasn't for me.

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Super fun YA that takes you through everyone’s fantasy of becoming popular and having the hottest guy in school, but asks what if what you want instead is the hottest girl in school?

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5 Stars (I received an e-arc from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review)

First of all this cover is so cute and a perfect representation for the story, honestly one of the best portrayal’s for a bisexual teen. Lara is excited about her long time crush Chase is showing an interest in her, but then Jasmine who she was in involved during the summer is now attending her school. And yes Demi Lovato’s song not only refers to the title, but also has an important influence over the story. I loved to see Lara clearly having feelings towards both characters even though she hasn’t yet come out and kind of comes to terms with her sexuality. As well I get some Jewish representation from Jasmine, albeit a little stereotypical (a bit of a rich girl but also a free spirit). One aspects of the story that I struggled with was Lara’s friend group, they were a bit controlling (not intentionally I think) and always telling her what they think she is like. Throughout the story she does get closer with on of the girls she wasn’t with previously. One of the cutest aspects is her close relationship with her mother, who actually works for Jasmine’s dad (and how the two met). The ending was definitely something I was worried about and how it would be dealt with. But I was very satisfied with how it was handled and I want to get my hands on a physical copy of this book.

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I really enjoyed reading this fun contemporary book and i especially liked the author’s writing style. I’m looking forward to reading more books by this author

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COOL FOR THE SUMMER by Dahlia Adler
(I read an ARC of the book.)

NUTSHELL: A girl spends a summer falling in love with a second girl, only to return to a school where she finally get the boy she has been crushing on forever...and where the second girl shows up out of the blue.


REMINDS ME OF: Every girl-gets-the-dream-guy-but-realizes-wants-her-neighbor plot ever... mixed with the song by Demi Lovato of the same title.


PLUS SIDE:
+ Very quick read, and interesting enough that the pace seems to move quickly over all.
+ The dialogue was interesting and fun and seemed real enough to not pull me out of it.
+ All the characters were a perfect puzzle piece that helped pull the narrative together, even down to the sleuth friend who figures out what is going on between the main couples before they even do.
+ Some really funny asides and one-liners!
+ Just-steamy-enough descriptions of various scenes of hooking up, including LGBTQ+ ones!

NEGATIVE SIDE:
- The CONSTANT miscommunication was a little frusturating, but I can see it actually occuring in this situation.

FAVORITE WORDS:

["Chase is going to die," Kiki confirms. Impending death is her greatest compliment, and I smile even wider.]

[Well, I guess The Guy has arrived.]

["But just because you're telling a good story doesn't mean it's the right story. And I think it's really important to tell the right story."]

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This book is a great coming-of-age story that shows someone discovering who they truly are. I loved reading it and watching the main character learn more about herself and her identity over the course of the story, and it's easily one of my favorite YA books of this year.

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Loved this summer contemporary romance. This book was a delight. The audiobook was excellent. Loved the representation.

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4.75/5 stars

I loved this book so much. I don't even have good words for how much I loved it, it just...was everything.

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My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½⭐️ (4.5 stars)

OMG, you guys-

I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK! Like, literally, SO MUCH.

Look, I may be biased because I am also a bi-Jewish girl, and so definitely saw myself in the leads and related to them immensely. But what’s wrong with that?! I’ve hardly have ever felt as seen in a book as I did while reading this one.

Both Lara and Jasmine were very easy to root for. My heart went out to both of them! I have definitely been where each of them were at different points in my life, and so it was impossible not to be hit with all those emotions again as I read this novel.

I found the struggles Lara faces in this book to be deeply relatable coming from someone who is also bi, and didn’t fully realize my queerness for a long time, and even when I did, struggled with identifying as queer myself for many years because I also liked boys as well as girls and consequently, wasn’t sure where I fit. This internal grappling is something I think the novel captures very well.

It’s hard not to gush about this book because I’m wracking my brain as I write this, but I can’t think of a single other novel that has tackled all that before (I’m sure others have, but I just haven’t had the chance to read them!), so I really appreciate what Adler did here?

Queer people who can also “fit” into the heteronormative mold are still valid and still queer. And that may seem obvious with hindsight, but as a queer teen, I really struggled to accept that for myself. So I really admire that this novel puts girls like that at the helm of its story.

Overall, this book is exactly what it advertises itself as: a cute, sweet, indulgent sapphic romance. While I felt a lot of emotions while reading it, the book itself is not super heavy. I’m so glad I read it in the summer because it really is the perfect summer read. I highly recommend it if you’re in the mood for something easy, breezy, and nostalgic.

My only note is that I would have liked for the background characters to be slightly more fleshed out for this novel to be absolutely perfect – specifically Lara’s friends. I feel like that was a little bit of a missed opportunity! Meanwhile, I understand why Chase’s character felt one dimension, and I think that made sense given where the story took Lara and his relationship.

The only other comment I’ll make is to address this: I’ve seen lots of people say things like miscommunication and love triangles are overdone in romance novels – two literary devices this book makes heavy use of. And usually, I’d agree, but in this situation, I’d say: 1) miscommunication is super realistic in a scenario like this, and 2) straight love triangles are definitely super overdone, but I’d argue that I’ve almost never seen a bi love triangle done like this before. The idea of which excited me to no end. And the execution? Perfection. *chef’s kiss*

Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book. All thoughts are my own.

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Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler was a great YA story about high school, relationships, emotions, uncertainty, and finding one’s self. Will definitely read more by this author. #NetGalley

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Grease inspired rom com with a twist of personal discovery. I quite liked the story line and characters, it was definitely more on the YA side with a few cliches but also got quite steamy. Interesting read!

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4.5 bumped up to 5/5⭐ for Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler. Thank you so much to Wednesday Books and MacMillan Audio for audio & digital egalleys for review. I am going to preface this review by saying that this was a total emotional/heart read for me that lived up to my eager anticipation. Thus, I may not have read this book with the most critical of eyes and recommend checking out other reviews as well! Overall, I freaking loved this book!! Our main character Lara wormed her way into my heart immediately and I was thrilled to have a bi(curious) MC!! The romance definitely had me shipping characters so hard, and is based around a love triangle that I thought was pretty good. The way this was told in a dual storyline was a fantastic choice and very effective! I could tell pretty early on which character Lara would end up choosing, but that in no way took away from the story experience for me. I thought it was quite valuable in the overall experience of Lara falling for a girl and questioning her sexuality. Her relationship with Jasmine had its messiness, miscommunication, and angst, but I do feel it represents the complexity and reality of teen relationships between two people who are still figuring out themselves and growing up. Mind you, it is dramatized for effect in the book but it didn't personally take me out of the story. In terms of diversity, there are a variety of characters representing different sexualities, genders, ethnicities, and experiences on-page. However, reading other people's reviews, there are varying opinions as to the depth and nuance of these representations. Definitely check out own-voices reviews if you would like to learn more. If you're looking for something fun to read next summer (or even now if you're wanting an escape from the cooler weather) I'd highly recommend checking out this Grease inspired story!

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I've only read one of Dahlia Adler's books before, and thoroughly enjoyed it, and this was the same.
This book is an easy-going summer read.
Lara's story is a cute romcom where she's torn between a girl and a guy. She's confident in her self and her sexuality, which is always wonderful to read.
I'd definitely read this again!

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I absolutely ADORED this book, Cool For the Summer by Dahlia Adler. It’s got bi/bi questioning representation, a love triangle, high school/summer love, and is honestly just a super cute, fun and real read! My favorite quick summer queer romance read this far!

This is the kind of book and representation I know that I would’ve appreciated growing up, and that I’m so grateful that today’s teens and young adults have access to. Representation is so important and books that work to show happy love stories while also working to dispel certain stereotypes about bisexuality in this case, are even more so.

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I was so grateful to be able to read an early copy of this title. It is so rare to find a GOOD WELL-WRITTEN LGBT teen romance! I was drawn to this story from the very beginning and I genuinely enjoyed my time reading it. I smiled so much and felt myself getting those little butterflies in my tummy when something cute happened! This was my first book by Dahlia Adler, but will not be my last. I have already picked up a physical copy of this book for my shelf! 4 stars!

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