A fiery first love beginning in a Dairy Queen… it pulled me in from the start and didn’t let go.

This book was so cute and funny and I absolutely adored the characters! I dove right and as I read the first chapter, I realized that it truly reminded me of high school and the feelings I had: the utter need to fit in somewhere, be myself.

Overall, Zepka’s storytelling is very similar to that of TJ Klune’s in “Extraordinaries” so I truly enjoyed it for that part alone, but IT’S ANOTHER QUEER SCI-FI and y’all know I DIE for those so I truly adored this book because of that as well. Someone I really appreciated was Zepka’s characters: they’re relatable teenagers. Aside from the whole superpowers thing, they’re messy, they make mistakes and they do their best.

Beyond that, the story itself was full of banter, funny, witty and so, so full of friendship. Something a lot of YA novels lack is a strong group of friends with a discovery of more along the way and that’s what this book had. It was full of friendship, a first love, and so many feelings! I think this book really cheered me up and made me smile during a couple days when I was struggling.

I adored this queer romance so much. I really loved the direction this book went and commend the author of the representation that is in this book. Thank you for the e-galley!

Thank you NetGalley for a chance to read this ARC. I overall enjoyed this book, but I did have some issues with it. It started off extremely slow. I really wasn’t a fan of them having superpowers, but that’s just me. Also, I did feel like the ending was a little rushed.

I loved the queer rep in this book so much! If this is Brian Zepka's first book, I can't wait to see what he releases next and hope the wait won't be too long.

Brian Zepka has a wonderful YA debut with this novel. It's very contemporary at its core, following Dylan on his average life through his average school and suddenly getting thrown into very unusual situations. I enjoyed this one quite a bit and am excited to see what else Brian has in store as an author.

There's a journey that Dylan goes on in this where he finds himself in anyways I don't think he really knew he was lost. For the first half of the book he's very much in his own head and not really feeling like he has anything going for him. That quickly changes when he meets Jordan, a fiery (literally) love interest, and things start to change for Dylan.

Dylan's journey is the core of this book, not the fantasy elements or boyfriend who can shoot fire, or the scientist hunting them down. These are all present and help push the story along, but it's the self discovery Dylan makes that really make this compelling. The ending gets a neat little bow and I am honestly okay with how neat it ends up.

I enjoyed the pure YA elements of this book, and without too much spoiler, I mean it has those moments that just only happen in YA books/TV/movies but are fun and interesting to see. It never crosses into the nonsense that some teen books can easily fall into, which was nice to see.

There's a fantasy element to this book because Jordan has "super powers". Some of these elements felt very unconvincing because I wasn't sold on the world building. There are elements to both the powers and the general story that I felt like were not fully developed and could have used a finer touch. However, most of my criticism on this front comes from reading this as a review copy and not simply reading it for fun. These elements don't ruin any of the enjoyment of the story, but a critical eye will have a lot of questions.

I will say the romance wasn't was hot and burning as I expected going into this. Jordan is not on screen very often, and the story mainly focuses around Dylan and Dylan alone,. It works, it's just not the YA romance I was expecting to get.

There is a lot of good in this story as well. It deals with coming out as queer and finding acceptance in others, and ourself, when someone does that. It portrays certain characters in a grey light and doesn't give them an immediate redemption. I think Brian was juggling a lot of balls with this novel and kept most of them aloft.

Thank you to Disney publishing and Netgalley for an advanced copy.

I didn't need to know anything about this book other than queer romance and super powers for me to request it.

I think felt a little too old reading this, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. This is perfect for the target audience. Brian Zepka knew exactly who he was writing for.

Although I am a lot older than our main character, I related a lot to his social anxiety. I had really big problems with that when I was in high school, and it was nice to see that represented.

The pacing was uneven and I wish I got to know Dylan and Jordan more. I don't know if I will ever reread it, but I definitely don't regret reading it once.

Overall, 3.5/5

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of The Temperature of Me and You.
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Starting off this review begging people recommend me sapphic YA Superhero/powers books because I've read so many stellar MLM books and while they're great, I'm dying for the opportunity to self-project into these. I'd be willing to trade a bit of the monopoly WLW currently have on contemporary witch romances for a slice of whatever this is because I'm addicted.

Anywho, The Temperature of Me and You is as wonderful as it sounds like it'll be. Queer social anxious high schooler falls for mysterious person with super powers is becoming one of my favourite subgenres and The Temperature of Me and You is up there among the best of them. I do wish we got a little less science talk because this was never going to feel 100% plausible and I don't think the book needed to devote this much time to pretending it is but other than that, this was wonderful.

this book did read a bit young for me with some of the references, but i guess it makes sense for the intended audience. i did enjoy dylan and jordan’s story for the most part, but i wish that their powers were explained a bit more and that the pacing was more even. i don’t feel like i have a full grasp on any character’s motivations honestly but i chalked that up to them being teens who are just figuring out the world as they go. overall though the sci-fi elements were good when they were good, and the relationships were handled in interesting ways.

Overall, I found The Temperature of Me and You to be a cute queer romance and coming of age that involves superpowers. It felt incomplete and unpolished at times, but I enjoyed the book well enough. I don't think I would pick it up again, but I think that YA readers might like the premise.

The Temperature of Me and You by Brian Zepka is a cute queer contemporary that takes on the superhero trope with two boys looking for something more in life at the center.

Dylan spends his time slogging through school and working at the local dairy queen, and dreaming of the day he finally finds the right guy for him. Enter Jordan, the totally dateable new kid who just so happens to have a big secret. As Jordan and Dylan get closer, and Dylan finds out the secret to why Jordan runs a 110 temp constantly and how he can set fires using just his hands, the stakes rise considerably. Dylan has to figure out if love is worth the risk and how to make sure it's safeguarded.

I really enjoyed the concept of this book. It really does read like your average superhero story, with a boy accidentally gaining powers and trying to get them under control before he hurts someone. Dylan is a likable character, with funny lines and banter throughout the story. His relationship with his two best friends was sweet, and I loved how they stayed supportive throughout the book.

The story did move a bit slow in some parts and fast in others. I missed a bit of the build-up for Jordan and Dylan and the emotional connection. I absolutely do not mind how quickly they got together because hey. It really does be like that sometimes. Just felt like there was something missing in the middle there. By the end of the book, it really did feel like reading a superhero origin story, and I struggled to really connect with the characters.

Overall, it's a sweet and quick read with a bit of mystery thrown in for good measure.

First off - this cover is absolutely gorgeous.

The concept behind this book was really appealing to me. I love the supernatural aspects of it but I felt like elements of it came together a little too well for me to withhold my disbelief. It wrapped up way too nicely for how messy it got and I struggled with the pacing.

The friendship between Dylan, Perry and Kirsten was probably my favorite part of the book. They had a banter that felt really authentic. You could tell they had built these relationships over years. I loved that they did paint by number paintings.

A lot of the characters felt a little underdeveloped for me and as a result I struggled to understand their motivations.

Dylan as a character confused me as well. I struggled to understand his motivations a lot of the time. He felt very reactionary throughout a lot of the book. I think Jordan is even more of a mystery to me. Maybe that was intentional because I don’t feel like Dylan knew much about him either.
He disappears throughout good chunks of this book and when he does return there is little explanation. The relationship between the two boys was cute but it didn’t feel earned. It was too forced and quick. 

SPOILERS BELOW
A few other general things that bothered/confused me…
- I wish the powers were more fully explained. How do they work? Why did they work different for Jordan vs Dylan? There also just seemed to be a lack of consistency in when the powers worked and how they worked.
- The whole Savanna storyline could have been cut in my opinion. The bully to friend trope is overdone and I don’t think is done particularly well here. I really thought she was only in this so she could help get them access to HydroPro in the end but Dylan’s father started working there. So she felt like a disposable character.
- The GSA idea was interesting but also felt like it could have been cut. It added nothing new to the plot for me and I was always confused by how Darlene was acting towards Dylan.
- Kirsten holding a press conference as a high schooler that everyone listened to and believed felt way too convenient.
- The lack of security at HydroPro was shocking. Also the Pete reveal seemed to come out of nowhere.
- I didn’t understand why Jordan left halfway through the book. He acted like he was doing it to protect Dylan but I felt like it put Dylan in more danger because he was alone in the town with the bad guys now.

I am so grateful I received this ARC!

The cover of this book is beautiful, and it drew me in more than anything. I'm usually a sucker for teen LGBTQIA+ relationship books, so I was beyond excited when I found out I would be reading this early.
I enjoyed this story very much, and it was very intriguing most of the time. However, some of the things that happened in this book were unrealistic, and the characters were a bit dry. I get very attached to books that have unique and lovable characters, and this book just fell a little short in that aspect.
Overall, I really enjoyed The Temperature of Me and You, but I don't see myself thinking a lot about it in the future. Again, I am very thankful that I was given the opportunity to read this.

The Temperature of Me and You by Brian Zepka

MY RATING: 4/5 Stars

An LGBTQIA+ / super natural coming of age story about first love. Daniel meets the new kid in town, Jordan, while working at the local Dairy Queen and they become fast friends turned lovers. Jordan has a twisted past and secrets that test them and threatens to tear them apart. This is the debut novel by author Brian Zepka and I'm interested in checking out any of his future titles. I recommend to anyone who loved Adam Silvera, Becky Alvertalli or 'Love, Victor'

Check out The Temperature of Me and You by Brian Zepka wherever you buy books!

✦ Goodreads ➜ https://bit.ly/3kfMHeS
✦ Amazon ➜ https://amzn.to/30aY3d7
✦ B&N ➜ https://bit.ly/300azwg

TAGS: fiction, romance, science fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, young adult, YA, coming-of-age, first-love, friends-to-lovers, LGBTQIA+

*Thanks to NetGalley, Disney Books & Brian Zepka for providing a free eARC in exchange for my honest review #TheTemperatureofMeandYou #NetGalley @NetGalley #DisneyBooks @disneybooks #BrianZepka @brianzepka

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Worldwide Publishing for the ARC of The Temperature of Me and You. I really enjoyed the first forty percent or so but the further I got into this book, the less it made sense and the more underdeveloped it seemed. I think the queer themes in this book were on point. Reading about a queer character with enthusiastically supportive parents was refreshing. It was the sci-fi/fantasy part of the story that was underwhelming for me. Queer characters with magical powers is directly in my wheelhouse but the progression of events made if difficult for me to suspend disbelief. Numerous people witnessed Dylan doing unexplainable things and yet he wasn't ever reported for his strange behavior and he didn't have to flee the state like Jordan did on multiple occasions. Dylan also learned how to do certain things with his powers that he shouldn't have any means of learning how to do. Jordan's powers didn't work the same way that Jordan's did so how did Dylan learn how to control himself in certain situations?

3.5 stars

The Temperature of Me and You is a story about two teens with super-powers but not superheroes. I enjoyed that the story focused on the life of Dylan and Jordan rather than the normal cookie cutter "person gets powers and becomes a hero" story.

The characters were enjoyable but I never really fell in love or was super captivated by any one in particular. The story is really cool, and I think the cast of characters either needed to be trimmed or better developed for it to come together into a five-star book.

The story contains your classic YA tropes of "popular mean girl is actually hurting and needs a friend", "mc keeps a secret from friends and then reveals it to them in an emotional way", and "love interest changes mc's outlook on life". It's a bit cliché but it's cute enough to get away with.

Overall, an enjoyable and fun read.

I wanted to love this one, but unfortunately it fell flat for me. It was almost a DNF for me, but I was convinced it would pull through in the end. But by then I still didn't feel like I really know much about the characters, and all the side characters felt a little 2 dimensional.

The story both felt like it was too slow and then suddenly too fast, where things seemed to happen for no real reason, and some of the side plots just felt unnecessary. I was getting close to the end and was confused since the climax of the story hadn't happened yet and then it was just over so quickly and did not leave me satisfied with the few answers it gave. We also never find out just how Jordan passed his powers onto Dylan, it happens, and while Dylan is confused by it, an explanation is never given.

The whole concept of this book couldn't been great, and I'm so sad that, to me, it just didn't work.

This was a colossal waste of my time. The believability factor of this book was 0, and I'm not referring to the fire power thing. How is it possible that a teenager could legitimately hold a press conference and people would show up? Also it was never explained how Dylan contracted Jordan's powers, which was infuriating. The side plot about the GSA was pointless. I'm actually struggling to think of one thing about this book that felt full and well developed.

Oh well.

I tried so hard to like this book. I really, REALLY tried. But there isn’t a single thing I could tell you about the characters that distinctively sets them apart from each other. Everyone’s personalities seemed run together. The writing style was also hard to overlook and made it even more difficult for me to push through the first several chapters.

I was excited to see my request to read this book was approved by NetGalley and the publisher. However it turned out to be a major letdown.

This book was really great. The main relationship was very interesting and the plot had me on the edge of my seat. I had to see how it would end.

When I tell you I was Surprised how much I enjoyed reading this it was totally unexpected. I actually with into this not really knowing what the synopsis was, but just going off the cover. I’m so glad that I got the opportunity to read this beforehand. The chemistry between Dylan and Jordan was so well written, for me. You really fall in love with Dylan in all that he’s going through. This is so good that I am definitely getting a physical copy, because I have to own this myself. January can’t come soon enough and I am now looking forward to more from this author because he blew my mind.