Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler (@missdahlelama) is about a girl who’s finally attracted the attention of the guy she’s crushed on for years, only to have her feelings thrown into upheaval by the unexpected arrival of her female summer fling.

This is a fun story for all those fans of teen drama, first loves, and learning more about ones self. It runs along two time lines as the love of past summer days meets the current situation back at school where the summer love interest has suddenly transferred.
The characters act just right, the dialogue fits the age group very well, the feelings are more than understandable, and the scenes are very easy to connect with. It's a lovely read, which pulls along nicely and plays with the emotions well. Oh, and it puts a whole new twist on the ideas behind love triangles. A fun LGBTQ+ YA read !

I felt young while reading it, the book made for a great buddy read/ listen with my 16yo daughter. It was a great coming of age story and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA.

I Loved the emphasis placed diversity representation.
The audiobook narrated by @natalienaudus was fabulous.

Thank you @Netgalley for the eALC all opinions expressed are my own.

This book is officially my favorite LGBTQ YA book! I fell in love with protagonists Larissa and Jasmine: Larissa's mom works for Jasmine's dad and both girls end up spending a summer together. Things happen, they get to know each other, they experiment, and then it's time to resume their respective lives and go back to high school. Larissa has been crushing on QB Chase Harding. Turns out that Chase is showing interest back, like whouaww.. But the excitement is short-lived when Larissa catches glance of Jasmine at her school and this causes Larissa to questions herself; what are those feelings she is feeling? Why is Jasmine avoiding her? Was their summer meaningless to her? A fun love triangle that I fully enjoyed following. I was rather impressed by the maturity of the reflections and conversation among teenagers and teenagers with their parents. the lack of labeling, and the not obnoxious sex scenes. There was just one sex scene and it was steaming hot, and the scene made so much sense. A very smart book without LGBTQ stereotypes, what a joy!

The audio version was top notch. The narrator Natalie Naudus was exquisite; her voice was velvety smooth, with lots of intonations and so pleasant to listen to! I will definitely listen more of her work.

Thank you Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for this audio advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Cool for the Summer is everything I’ve been looking for in LGBT lit, and does an especially great job with bi representation. This book is fluffy fun and a GREAT summer read. 10/10 going to want to grab it for your beach pile reads this summer!

I thought this was a really cute book, but it was a little on the younger YA side for me. It was a bit cheesy and predictable, but it kept me interested. I liked the characters in this book, and I thought the love triangle worked out well. I loved seeing Lara discover her sexuality and getting to date her long time crush. I think this book is great for teenagers who are starting to discover themselves and learning about their sexuality. I think this book would be a great beach read. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good YA read.

Yay!! This book was so cute. This was my first book by DaDahlia Adler. It’s such a light read sweet read. I loved Lara and Jasmine. They were so cute together.

I debated whether or not to give it four stars; it probably deserves only three, but I enjoyed this infuriating LGBTQ f/f romance. Lara and Jasmine fell in love over the course of a summer in the Outer Banks.

Lara was there because her mom works for Jasmine's dad and when the summer ended, the relationship did as well. or did it? On the first day of school Lara is blindsided when she sees Jasmine is now enrolled in her own school. You see, Jasmine is the first girl Lara has ever loved, before that Lara had been obsessed with the school's male football star. Things become complicated when the football star finally starts paying attention to Lara.

Lara is not sure whether Jasmine wants to resume their relationship or not and is looking at her for cues. This leads to obvious misunderstandings that are infuriating. I know that miscommunication is a trope in the romance genre, but this was especially infuriating.

I received both a digital ARC and and an audiobook ARC for this one so I was able to indulge in my favorite reading experience: immersion reading. Natalie Naudus does a good job bringing the story to life.

Audiobook provided by NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for an honest review.

Lara has had a crush on Chase since like FOREVER, and everyone at school knows about it. She even has a senior year bucket list of dream milestones she wants to happen... that all involve Chase. He's popular, he's handsome, he's the star of their school's football team. And up until Lara comes back from summer break for her senior year, he hasn't paid her much attention. Until now, but there's a catch. Lara spent her summer in an unexpected romance with a girl. A girl who stopped talking to her as soon as she left. A girl who also just happened to be the unexpected new kid at Lara's high school while Chase is asking her out.

Lara's dreams are coming true, she has an amazing job, the boy of her dreams, a close group of friends, so why isn't she happy? Why does she keep thinking about the events of the summer? The narrative flips back and forth between present day and that summer and Natalie Naudus does a good job with the audiobook narration.

This is a fun, quick read. While Chase being interested in Lara is SUPER sudden and goes from date to boyfriend before you can blink which seemed forced, Lara's process to come to terms with her sexuality is important. Lara never thought she was anything but straight, until that summer, and even after that summer she brushes it off as nothing and definitely not an indicator of her sexuality. Until she has to finally address it and acknowledge that she is bi.

There is a range of gender and sexual preference representations in the side characters, though some of it felt more like checking off options on a list rather than being an organic representation. I wished that Lara's friends where more developed than they were as well.

Overall Adler finds a good balance between allowing COOL FOR THE SUMMER to be both a light and fun beach read and also a YA book with an important message. There was a lot of hype about this so I was hoping for more, that doesn't make this a bad book, I enjoyed reading it. I just wish it had gone one step further, had gone a little deeper.

The narrator was enjoyable and did a great job reading and immersing me into the story

The story is told in a past and present narrative which was a really great representation of how the characters had grown into the present timeline. In the story we follow Lara, a high school senior as she tries to figure out life and what she wants out of it. The summer ends and Lara is ecstatic her crush,Chase is noticing her. At least at first but then Lara can't seem to get Jasmine and all the time they spent together in the summer off her mind. Jasmine then unexpectedly switches to Lara's school and Lara tried to navigate through all her feelings of wanting to be happy with her friends and the boy of her dreams, but she just can't forget Jasmine.

I really enjoyed this book and the idea behind self discovery. I think it was a great YA read for youth that are confused and questioning their own identity and trying to figure out their sexuality. Overall this book was an inspirational, hopeful, heartwarming, cute read.

Larissa has been daydreaming about Chase since she first laid eyes on him. He’s the star football player, a loving big brother, and all-around golden boy. She would do anything to be the girl on his arm. First day of their senior year and suddenly all her dreams are coming true. She’s got the guy! He wants her! Why is she not more excited?

The summer before her senior year, Larissa’s mother takes them to the Outer Banks for her job. While there she meets the daughter of her mother’s boss. Jasmine is carefree, talented, and gorgeous. She invites Larissa to parties, takes her along to photo shoots, and kisses her out of the blue when she gets excited. Larissa likes boys, right? I mean…Chase! But when Jasmine kisses her, it was electric. Things between the two don’t stop at kissing until the summer ends. Right?

What happens when Jasmine shows up to school on the first day?

This is a great coming of age story about a teen girl trying to understand who she is, who she loves, and how to navigate possible judgements from her ride or die group of friends. I loved this book. The characters were well written. I liked the genuine writing style.

The narrator of the audiobook did a great job with expression and making the listener feel the angst and love.

4 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Wednesday Books for sharing a copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

I finished this book in less than 48 hours that's much I enjoyed it.

Cool for the Summer tells the story of a girl who has been in love with a boy for as long as she can remember, but he doesn't give her the time of day. Everything changes when she goes away for the summer with her mom for her mom's job and meets her summer fling. Who happens to be a girl.

The story flips between the summer and her senior year, when the boy she's had a crush on forever asks her out. She's torn between the fling, who just so happens to show up to her senior year and the IT boy that she has loved forever.

The story is honest and portrays this struggle while still giving off beachy read vibes like the amazing cover. My only con with this book is that her friends are vague and feel underdeveloped. I wanted our main character to have more of a support system.

The narration of this book was really engaging and relaxing. Her voice drew me into the story even more. Overall, this is a quick but really enjoyable read.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the copy.

I LOVED the narrator for this audiobook. She really brought the story to life, and her voice was very soothing. I , finished this entire audiobook in about a day, thats how hooked I was.

As for the book, I really loved this read. Cool For The Summer is a sapphic Grease, or a sapphic Only Mostly Devastated with a role reversal, whichever you prefer.

The main character is a bi girl, who finds herself caught in between two loves: her long-time crush, the captain of the football team, and her memorable summer fling, who walks through the doors of her school on the first day of her senior year.

This book does a wonderful job portraying identity crisis. The main character doesn't spend an excessive amount of time worrying about her sexuality, it's more about the draw she feels to both love interests. The main character has never considered that she may be bi, and after having a summer fling with her mother's boss's daughter, she just may have to face her identity head on. The author does a wonderful job portraying this struggle without making the book angsty and killing the fun overall vibes the book holds.

Overall, this book is a super enjoyable, quick read perfect for fans of sex-positive romances, Grease, and all things sapphic. Highly recommend!

I think the premise and the story is good and if I was reading it I would have preserved but unfortunately the narrator annoyed me. The voices she put on for the characters made me want to cringe so I just couldn't finish it.

This will be the perfect summer read! With it's addictive writing style, a relatable main character this was a awesome book!
This was cute and funny! Dahila did a good job addressing bisexuality and people discovering themselves and growing.

The narrator for this book was book! She really did it justice and made me feel like I was there. This was a pretty good book, I feel like it was missing something but it could be the start of a great series. Some of the characters could have been described better, but that just leads me back to it being the potential beginning of a series. All in all, it is a good YA book and I’m sure lots of teens (as well as adults!) will love this one!

Cool for the Summer is what you want any summer romance to be. Confusion, attraction, confidence, and friendships. The character and relationship development between Lara and her two love interests is stellar. The push and pull of Lara trying to take what she's always wanted while having it not be quite enough for her allows for an emotional journey of self-growth.

This was an enjoyable read, but it didn't quite have the punch I needed to make it have an emotional impact. While I liked the dual timwline that flashed between the summer and present day, i didn't really feel the connection between either couple. And because this story is largely focused only on the couple it was a bit of a letdown. I also wasn't the biggest fan if Lara's friends. I felt like they weren't present enough for me to really get to know, and what we did see of them was very surface level and kinda blah. Overall an okay read and I would highly recommend the audiobook for a fun summertime escapism story.

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

Thank you so much to NetGalley and McMillan Audio for the audio ARC of this book!

COOL FOR THE SUMMER by Dahlia Adler is a story of self-discovery and acceptance told through the eyes of a girl who realizes maybe the person she is, isn't the person she's supposed to be.

Larissa is excited to start her senior year. She's got a new look and new confidence, and when her longtime crush flirts with her on her first day back, she just knows that senior year is going to be HER year. That is until she sees Jasmine walk through the doors of her school. It all comes rushing back - the summer spent in the Outerbanks, tanning and swimming, and most of all, Jasmine. Larissa had been determined to put the summer of confusing feelings and fooling around behind her, but seeing Jasmine in person again makes that impossible. She has a choice to make: a senior year with Chase Harding, football star and guy of her dreams, or facing the summer and sorting through the feelings she'd hoped to leave behind with the beach.

The good: I cannot stress how much I wish I'd had a book like this when I was in high school. Larissa's denial and insistence that she likes guys so she must be straight is a tale as old as time. When we're raised in a comphet society with expectations, and especially when a girl has an attraction to boys, it's so easy to deny other feelings. Larissa really struggles with this and it felt very real to me. She worries about her mom, her friends, her boyfriend and how she's supposed to tell all of them, and how they'll react, especially since she's never shown interest in girls before.

I also really appreciated Larissa's hesitance to label herself. She knows she likes guys and she knows she likes this girl and that's it. I think it's really easy to slap a label on something and call it bi or lesbian but I think it's a good message to say there's no rush. There's no pressure. Learn yourself and what you want and it'll come to you.

The narration is well done here, and Natalie Naudus does such a great job with the voices and bringing everyone to life. She was a great choice for this book.

The not-so-good: The relationship with Chase felt a little sudden, and I think it's just because we didn't see him before the first day of school. All we know about him is he's hot and Larissa has had a crush on him since she was a kid and everyone knows it. So for her to get to the first day of school and this guy that's ignored her all the time is suddenly super into her feels a little forced. It's explained a bit later but I think it lacked depth so that I didn't really care too much other than the fact that Chase was a super nice guy. Others have mentioned the ethnicity of some of the characters felt a bit thrown in for diversity's sake and there's a comment about a non-binary character that I know did not sit right with some. It's not intended to be mean, it's just a very odd comment to make (basically they wonder what one would call a non-binary partner instead of boyfriend or girlfriend when a partner is...right there).

That said, even with the not so good I really loved this book. It's got a really great message for girls and I'm so excited that teens these days have books like this to help see themselves and their own struggles. Definitely recommend to anyone looking for a sweet, quick YA romance full of self discovery.

I really enjoyed Cool For The Summer, it was a super quick and engaging read. The way the characters handled their situations seemed real and genuine. The self discovery and journey was bumpy and complicated and I feel will be relatable to many people. Overall this book was a sincere, sexy and gratifying read and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I definitely recommend checking this one out!

A delightful and honest exploration of queerness, love, and high school. This book made my little bi heart explode and the vibes were off the charts! Highly recommended for fans of YA romance. You'll want to listen to Demi Lovato's Cool For the Summer and Taylor Swift's Betty on repeat for days after!

Okay, this was a great read! It was cute and funny and did a good job addressing bisexuality and people discovering themselves and growing. It's pretty short so there aren't any slow parts and the back and forth timeline was a nice way of showing us everything that happened over the summer and now.

Lara has crushed on Chase as long as she can remember. When she comes back from summer break with new hair and a new attitude, she finally gets his attention. Things seem to be going well until her summer fling Jasmine shows up at her school and Lara has to reconcile her feelings for both crushes. I liked that Lara wasn't sure at first if she was bisexual or not and we saw how she compared her experiences with others. No one's story is the same and Lara needed time to sort through her feelings and recognize that it's okay to love a girl.

Lara has a few friends that identify as LGBTQ and I liked all the rep in the story. Lara was worried that her mom and friends might not accept her, but she also was surrounded by diverse people to help her out. Another thing I appreciated was the normalization of female masturbation. I don't see that talked about in many YA books and I thought it was great of the author to show that it's not a big deal or a huge taboo.

The audiobook is well narrated and this was a fast and fun story. As summer comes up, check out this cool book!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the copy.