Hmm this book wasn’t bad but it didn’t live up to my expectations. There’s a lack of relationship build up on both sides (Chase especially) so I did not really root for either relationship. Lara was in love with Chase for years and then suddenly he has interest in her which I know that that can happen but it feels like it just happened for the convenience of a having a love triangle.

I don’t like love triangles but for the sake of this story I do think it works well, especially for teens growing up going through exploring their own sexuality. I think this is important for teens to read this coming of age story!

Theres not much else in the plot aside from the love triangle and Lara does kind of go through a coming of age in finding herself. Lara's friends are also so terrible and I don't really understand why that was added to the story. The cover is so cute and it is a quick read but I just wasn’t that interested in it. 3 stars is me being generous but I do think this was just okay.

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

Cool for the Summer is the cute, Bi/Bi-questioning, summer love story we all want.

This Grease-inspired novel follows Lara, a high school senior who has come back from her summer having had a brilliant time, and ready to face her last year and get the guy she's been dreaming of for the past three years. Cue cute himbo, Chase. He's finally talking to her, and actually wants to go on a date- incredible! So why doesn't it feel that way?

Lara can't stop thinking about the bff she made over the summer, Jasmine- cool, collected, and she'll not be seeing her again any time soon. Except Jasmine just transferred to her school? But she's not talking to Lara? Excuse me?

We find out about Lara and Jasmine's summer with a non-linear past/present timeline that slowly unfurls the beautiful friendship/relationship these girls built.

I really enjoyed seeing Lara come into her own and become confident in herself. I loved Jasmine- she was developed and multi-faceted. I really appreciated her friendships, and that there was no outrageous drama that separated them all.
I know we probably aren't meant to love Chase too much anyway (he could've really been something), but unfortunately his character fell a little flat. Just underdeveloped and lukewarm. It was unclear for a long time why he was suddenly interested in Lara and their relationship development was pretty generic.

I listened to the audiobook for this and loved the narration. The narrator really hit the mark on all of the voices.

Rep: Bi MC, AroAce secondary, gay and non-binary side characters, Russian American Jewish MC, Syrian American Jewish love interest.
Actual rating: 3/5
Recommend?: Y - a worthwhile read for good Bi/questioning rep.

Despite the fact that some parts of this story felt incredibly unbelievable, the feelings were spot on.
The "THEN" sections were amazing but I didn't find myself wanting to be in either timeline more than the other. I adored the characters and the end was glorious.

Growing up, I was into four things: books, summer sports, good grades, and sleep. It's hard to find the ability to relate to this book full of parties with parental consent and support. As such, this book just wasn't for me. I can't help but criticize the parents' choices, pickle chips aside.
I would recommend this read to those interested in purely character driven stories with a self-identifying theme. I can imagine the intended audience would find a lot to value and love.
The narrator's voice fit the tone quite well. She was a perfect choice and exuded privileged teen.
Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the advanced copy and Macmillan Audio for the alc. All thoughts in this review are my own.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Cool for the Summer was all kinds of adorable. I loved everything about it because Lara and Jasmine were just really cute. I also can't forget about Chase, Lara's first love because they were awkwardly adorable in their own way. Even if I felt like their whole relationship felt a bit forced. I just didn't see how one truly like the other romantically. Especially if you see Lara and Jasmine together. It's just completely opposite and at one point - you start to cheer for a specific couple.

Now I'm not a huge fan of love triangles but I actually enjoyed this one. I think Lara diving into her sexuality and realizing that she's bisexual was really great. Definitely different than all the other love triangles I've recently read about.

Summer loving and all the Grease vibes made me smile. Now I feel like I need to sit back with some popcorn and watch that movie instead of working. All I'm going to say is that I loved this book and I'm so happy that I got the chance to dive into this. Maybe now I can finally say that I'm ready for summer and by that I mean I'm ready for summer to come and go so I can have my lovely winter back.

If you've always only been into guys, and then that changes, what is the experience of figuring out your sexuality like? Are you still bisexual if you haven't always known? (the answer is yes, you are still valid) These are the topics that Cool for the Summer tackles through a summery YA romance that would be the perfect beach read. It's fun, thoughtful, sexy, and honest about how confusing the process of recognizing and coming to terms with your sexuality can be. It's the sort of book that might have been really helpful when I was younger so it didn't take me to 30 to figure out I'm not as straight as I thought I was. Is some of the story silly highschool drama? Yeah, it is. But I think this book is doing important work as well.

Lara has spent years crushing on Chase, a sweet, hot football star. This year he's finally noticing her, but she's conflicted. Why? Because she secretly spent the summer hooking up with Jasmine. But it didn't actually mean anything, right? She's getting everything she ever wanted. Until Jasmine shows up at her school as a transfer student.... Lara is caught in a love triangle and must decide who she is and what she wants.

This is quite sexy for a YA book. While there isn't explicit detail the way there would be in an adult novel, there is on-page making out and sex, discussions of sex, etc. And with all of it, consent is centered as important, though there is a (pretty realistic) scene where Lara is consenting, but maybe not as into it as she's trying to tell herself to be. And I think it's useful for young people to learn to recognize when there is that disconnect. There were times I felt uncomfortable with how Lara objectifies and fantasizes about bodies in ways that reinforce traditional ideas of beauty. And that certainly happens, but I wish there had been a little more self-awareness in the text that there could be an issue with that.

I love the inclusivity, with nods to the legitimacy of people on the asexual spectrum and people with non-binary identities. Also, both Lara and Jasmine are Jewish, though Lara isn't really practicing. It's still cool to see that representation. Overall, a really solid book that I would recommend. And the audio narration is done really well! The narrator creates distinct voices for characters, making it pretty easy to figure out who was speaking. I received an advance copy of this book via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was such a sweet and fast-paced story. I really enjoyed the casual closeness between the main two girls and their connections. The audio was fun and quick to listen to, with a great narrator. However, I felt like there was a lot of unnecessary cattiness between characters that were supposed to be friends. While I loved the bi/pan rep, I also felt like the lines between relationships were blurred in ways that seemed detrimental to the story. I liked that Lara got to explore her attraction to all genders and learn about her sexuality through different experiences, but I felt that a lot of the seemingly forced interactions took away from the end result. Still a generally fun read!

When I saw that Natalie Naudus was narrating Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler, I knew I had to try and get a copy! I loved her narration for A Sweet Mess by Jayci Lee, it was one of my favorite audiobooks last year! Natalie was amazing, yet again! She captured the voice of Lara so well with all of the attached drama, maturity, and teenage angst.

Lara returns to her senior year of high school after spending a long summer at the beach. She's suddenly getting the attention of her years' long crush, Chase, the football team star. Enter Jasmine, the girl she spent the whole summer with and developed feelings for, the girl who was supposed to return home to live with her mom (major Grease vibes in this scene). While it seems Lara has everything she wants, she's popular, is dating the star football player, and has a great group of friends, she can't stop thinking of Jasmine. She has two crushes with lots of feelings to process.

Cool for the Summer was a fun and quick read/listen, I'll definitely pick up more from Dahlia Adler (her next one sounds like it's going to be amazing!) I felt young while reading it, and at times, the dialogue reminded me of talking with my younger sisters. It was a great coming of age story and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA.

Things I Loved:
-Great representation
-One of my favorite narrators
-OBX setting
-Flashback timeline
-Main character who works in a bookstore