Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. Happy debut day Brian Zepka!

The Temperature of Me and You - I was immediately drawn to how pretty the cover was, but of course stayed for how engaging the story was!

This book incorporates a queer couple, superpowers, sci-fi, and high schoolers navigating life and love. Since this was my first "superhero" genre book I didn't expect to truly get into the story this much! I think the talk of science also make this book very unique in my opinion. The couple in this story was so cute! Dylan and Jordan's chemistry (no pun intended) was definitely there!

If you're into the themes I listed above, I definitely think you should pick up a copy of The Temperature of Me and You :) Solid debut novel

Thank you to Hyperion and NetGalley for offering me a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Brian Zepka's The Temperature of Me and You — putting aside its strange and slightly wordy title — looks to be a strong competitor in the 2022 LGBTQ+ YA canon. It's been hyped by a lot of my favorite authors, and since it releases tomorrow I finally decided to read it and see what it was about.

I didn't go in expecting a masterpiece from a debut author, so I'm not going to blab on about how it disappointed me or anything, but I think it's fair to say that the hype for this book is a tad overstated. As a speculative fiction romance, it's kind of cute, but the love interests are separated for half the book and we really don't get to know Jordan well. I feel like the sci-fi elements were also a little half-baked, especially considering that they just never addressed how Jordan's powers spread to Dylan. And some dude we don't even know gets arrested (and maybe even sentenced??) for them in the end?

This book probably would have been more enjoyable if it was about half the length it is now. Still, I think Brian Zepka's writing holds promise and I wouldn't give up on him yet. I hope he can pick it up with the next book and write something truly stellar — maybe with a more believable sci-fi plot.

A unique and powerful read that exemplifies how love is like a fire, it brings life but also can burn us.

I got an ARC of this book.

That cover is gorgeous. I just love it so much. I didn’t need to really know anything beyond queer and that cover.

The book is eh to good. I was getting really into the romance. There was an element of danger and intrigue with the corporation. The issue is the danger was never really explored. There was just threats and then it was wrapped up in just a few pages. This could have been the set up for a full series of books and has been the set up for books like the Maximum Ride series. An evil scientist group experimenting on kids, an adult scientist figure who may or may not actually be a good person, budding romance. It has all been done, but it takes a lot more time to really explore that plot than one book. So half of the plot just fell flat for me.

The romance was fun. I really enjoyed the boys getting to know each other. I am a little annoyed that Jordan just explained everything so quickly. I am annoyed just how loose lipped Dylan was. It really is a miracle that they were not caught sooner.

Then there were the fires. There were a bunch of plots around that. Why did he have to burn something down? Why couldn’t he go in water or near the water for safety? It just felt like there were more and more plot holes. Then the circumstantial evidence making a HUGE splash. I am just so annoyed at everything that wasn’t the romance.

The ending was eh. Everything happened so fast and then there was no explanation of what actually happened. There just were so many plot holes that were swept under the rug to then focus on the romance.

So this one really didn’t hit the mark for me. I enjoyed it a great deal, then it would nosedive, then come back. Over and over again. I probably won’t remember this one in a few months.

First, I can give credit to the author for making this story because we need all of the LGBT rep we can get. The only thing I loved about the story were the two main characters. I just wish Fantasy and SiFi wasn’t the hype. Had the book came before so many others like it before, I might’ve vibes with it so much more. I do see myself reading more of Brian Zepka’s work: This book isn’t for the reader that doesn’t read SciFi

Brian Zepka's "The Temperature of Me and You" is an adventurous, heartwarming book that skillfully combines queer ya contemporary romance together with some action-packed sci-fi - a great debut!

I knew I'd be in for a treat from the moment Dylan & Jordan met - an exploding blizzard?! I mean c'mon, what a fun meet cute! I thought the two of them had great chemistry, witty banter is definitely key for me in any romance & there was plenty of that throughout. They were adorable & I really enjoyed getting to see their journey together as the action kicked up, but as much as I loved Dylan & Jordan, the true standout for me was the friendship between Dylan, Kirsten & Perry. It's so important to have supportive friends in your corner, especially during those awkward, unsure phases we all go through as young adults, & Zepka really nailed that dynamic. This read as more of a contemporary coming-of-age/romance than sci-fi, so if you're more of a sci-fi/fantasy reader I'd say adjust your expectations accordingly, but for me, the balance was perfect. I thought this was totally original & unique, brought up a ton of great topics (acceptance of yourself & others, coming out, platonic vs. romantic love, to name a few), & delivered on giving us an exciting sci-fi adventure with queer characters right at the forefront.

I loved this & will definitely be picking up a finished copy, congrats Brian Zepka on your debut! Highly recommend putting this on your radar if it isn't already! & thank you so much Brian Zepka, NetGalley, & Disney Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange for a honest review!

Dylan is the only out gay student at his school in Philadelphia and meandering through his teenage existence along with his two best friends until Jordan walks into the Dairy Queen where Dylan is working one night. But almost as quickly as they meet, strange fires start happening and Jordan happens to run at a body temperature so high that it burns.

I liked this book, but there were definitely some pacing issues that could have been worked out more. At certain times it feels like an analogy for coming out, other times it feels like a coming of age novel, other times it feels like a sci-fi thriller, and all in all, the elements don't come together entirely to make a super compelling whole. Dylan and Jordan have a sweet chemistry and meet cute but they almost instantly fall for each other and there's not more room to grow from there. Dylan's best friends, Kirsten and Perry, are almost interchangeable. There's an entire subplot about a girl who bullies Dylan that seems to be entirely forgiven very quickly... If this sounds like a lot it's because it is, and that's not even getting to all the back and forth about why Jordan runs so hot and what is happening to Dylan the longer that he spends with Jordan.

Overall, I wanted to like this more than I actually did. It has a good basic premise but it gets bogged down in everything else that the story is attempting to do.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Stranger Things meets modern day times, but gay! Spectacular romance featuring Dylan and his sudden feelings for the new guy- who also seems to always run a fever. I loved that the romance didn't totally override the other relationships in the story. Zepka has the perfect balance of plot, conflict, and internal emotional journey.

Thanks to Netgalley and Disney-Hyperion for an early read!

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for a review*

The Temperature of You and Me follows 16 year old Dylan Highmark during the winter which he thought would be full of Dairy Queen shifts, homework, and painting with his 2 best friends. Until he finds himself in love with a boy too hot to handle, literally. Jordan has a constant 110°F fever, and when the two boys start spending more time together, Dylan suddenly feels all sorts of ways, with his own 110°F fever and floating. Jordan wants him to keep his symptoms a secret, but the pressure is too much for Dylan and he pushes for answers. Those answers from Jordan leave Dylan realizing things about first love.

I was pleasantly surprised with this. I had a feeling I was going to enjoy it, maybe a 4 star read, but I was wrong! I love being wrong when it comes to my enjoyment of books.

Dylan is 16 years old, so obviously this book has a few cringe lines and actions that are stupid. But really, if you were Dylan at 16, would you not make those mistakes? You would totally make them, don’t lie to me.

The romance in this is definitely more fast paced than others, since this story takes place over a few months. However, I think it was done well! Sometimes you just have an immediate connection with someone and it blossoms into love quickly. And that’s how it is with Dylan and Jordan.

If you are wanting a cute gay romance with some sci fi elements in the real world, pick up The Temperature of Me and You on January 25th!

Thank you Netgalley and Publishers for an advanced readers copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. This book has a great synopsis but the execution lost me. There were odd actions that bordered on stalkerish/creepy, especially at the beginning. I get they are teens who will make idiotic choices, but somethings didn't add up. Actions kept being thrown into the story and I wished more time had been given to flesh out the magical realism. The secret was so obvious from the beginning and was left mostly surface level by the end. It's unfortunate that such a great cover did not contain a brilliant story to follow it.

I’ve noticed this with more and more YA and new adult queen romances; people just don’t really understand how young people interact. The fantasy aspects of the book were okay, but any time the love interests interacted I just wanted it to be over. I DNF’ed this book but I really have it a valiant effort.

I flew threw through the first half of this book.

I love the characters, the pacing, it's very well thought out and has such great characters.
Dylan is an awesome protagonist. He thinks logically and has the internal conflict I see missing from some superhero plots, where the main character doesn't care about the others' powers, but at least Dylan acknowledges the issues surrounding Jordan and his abilities.The dialogue between Jordan and Dylan was great. After the halfway point, they really tried to make serious conversation about their abilities and their futures.

Things started to mellow out around the 2/3 point, with Dylan trying to understand his abilities and how to define himself without his friends around him. I was glad to see him taking the initiative with Savanna (though I'm still not convinced she was deserving of such easy forgiveness. She and Dylan have such a negative history that it seemed too fast that he forgave her, even with her own issues addressed).
The interactions with Darlene were also odd. I was having trouble understanding her reaction to Dylan at the end of chapter 15 (its describes him slightly floating and then banging into the lockers. Understandably she was freaked out by that, but then she screams and tells him that he's mean? I couldn't process the conversation between them), as well as chapter 17 wen they see each other again. Her reactions towards Dylan were confusing.

Kirsten and Perry were great characters who were well-defined and could stand apart from the main character with their own motives and goals. I think more could have been done with Jordan's aunt and uncle, as they were mostly just passing mentions until the end and did not contribute much to Jordan's backstory..

I think the book wrapped up nicely and even though Dylan was pining for Jordan, he still managed to see himself as a whole character who could do extraordinary things for other people, with or without powers.

A gloriously queer book filled with loving characters and an amazing plot that kept my nose between the pages until the very end. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

Content Warnings: parental death (off-screen) in a car accident, kidnapping, human experimentation, emetophobia, arson, near-drowning, bullying, brief mention of suicidal ideations, gun violence.

What a let-down this book was, and I'm so incredibly bummed to say that. I love a good humans-with-superpowers story, and god knows I'm on the biggest romance reading kick of my entire life, so when this said it was going to be a combination of the two, I got my hopes up.

Unfortunately, this just... isn't executed well? I'm honestly a bit surprised to see so many rave reviews; I can't help but feel like we read different books. I see a lot of talk about the romance being cute, but it was one of my bigger qualms with the book. This novel has the biggest case of insta-love that I've read in a long, long time. These two boys meet once - a disastrous first meeting involving exploding ice cream, which was actually fairly cute and intriguing for a meet cute - but our main character is immediately obsessed. He runs off after the guy and tracks him down, then once they end up separated again, he enlists the help of his two best friends to essentially stalk this boy and find him again. Then upon their second ever meeting, said boy is spilling his secrets to our main character? It just felt so fast and so unrealistic. You'd never trust someone with a secret that has you literally on the run for your life the second time you ever saw them. You just wouldn't.

There was no build-up, is what I'm saying. But like... there was no build-up for anything at all. There are no explanations offered for the accidental superpowers. It's literally just "there was a car wreck and this weird experimental engine exploded and poof, here I am!" I wish there was at least a little bit of an attempted scientific explanation. It just felt like really incomplete sci-fi. You came up with a cool concept, but no way to sell it to us as the reader.

And then later when said superpowers begin to pass on to our main character Dylan, there's also no explanation there. Ever. Even by the end of the book. Why does the effect spread from Jordan to Dylan if it happened to Jordan because of an accident in the first place. That literally makes no sense at all, and the one time it comes up with one of the actual scientists, they just sort of get a shrug in response. The book ends before there's ever any explanation.

The book also just ends tied up in too neat of a bow. You're telling me nobody else from HydroPro decided to come after either Jordan or Dylan? And they both suddenly miraculously learned how to (mostly) control their powers on their own once they found out they weren't actually dying? Dylan's parents never asked more questions about his many weeks of being horrendously ill? None of the kids in his class remembered him using his powers in the middle of a packed party and brought it up again? Parts of this book dragged on for far too long - mundane conversation about cheerleading hierarchy nonsense - when maybe some of that page real estate could have been used for more explanations about what was happening to Jordan and Dylan or more wrap-up at the end.

Also, can we stop with the closeted homophobe trope? It's hurtful. Sure, internalized homophobia exists, but that didn't really seem to be the case here. It just felt like the person was acting out to try to keep people from figuring out about them, not because of any issues they actually had with themselves. And I can't believe that anyone would forgive and become close with someone who bullied them for years in the span of one conversation just because they found out they had something in common. Just another thing that felt like the author had an idea, but no real concept of how to execute it.

All in all, this felt like a really early draft of something that could have been interesting, but just never made it there. I wanted to love it, and there were definitely some parts that I enjoyed, but overall I was mostly just eager for it to be done, unfortunately.

4.5 stars!

Thanks to Hyperion/Netgalley for giving me access to an advance copy of this cutie cute gay YA delight!!!!

Okay, so basically, if you took a little bit of "Stranger Things", made it gay romance, and then also sprinkled some Marvel shit in there, and then something else that is hella cheesy, this book would pop out of that recipe.
Dylan Highmark is basically the only queer kid at his school and his life is pretty ordinary, but he wants to fall in love and be in a relationship. Cue a hot dude coming into Dairy Queen during his shift, and then some weird stuff happens (ice cream exploding). Pretty wacky! But this is the beginning of a beautiful love story.
Or is it really the story of a horrible institutional science experiment gone wrong??
I really enjoyed that there were so many parts to the plot and that the central 5ish characters felt very developed and clear to me. For me, a common issue in YA is feeling unable to connect with the characters, but Dylan's narration had me laughing and snickering OFTEN.
I knocked off half a star because WOW parts of the book are cheesy. And that is not even me being cynical or bitter, there is just an occasional tendency in the book— I think when the author merely attempts to be romantic—of some overwriting and some blatantly adorned language, which to me always felt a bit out of place. Especially since I found much of the romantic relationship to feel very natural. But ultimately this is a minor qualm!
Super cute and if you like YA Romance, gay shit, or superpowers, you will enjoy this book a ton.

*Book Received in Exchange for Honest Opinion/Review*

I saw this cover and new immediately I NEEDED this book and what a delightful, intriguing story it was. The story is filled with teenage drama and angst, young love, hidden dangers, and a really weird special powers. It was a fun journey, filled with plenty of twists and turns and the mysterious powers and evil scientists had me wanting to turn the page and know what happened next.

Dylan was the perfect teenage, I loved how his life went from predictable to chaotic as soon as Jordan enters the picture. And not just because of Jordan's powers but also because that is what young love does, it turns everything upside down. Jordan is a loner but Dylan also doesn't have a large friend circle, so I adored how these two found solace in each other, first as a friendship and then as something more. And while Jordan is shrouded in mystery, Dylan's life seems to be sucked into that mystery. He starts distancing himself from his family and friends as everything starts to unravel.

I liked the powers and how that all played out. It was very much a we aren't trying to save the world type of dynamic but a we just want to live and be left alone dynamic. But I have two issues with the story, first being the unnecessarily mean girl, Savanna, who relentlessly and ruthlessly bullies Dylan. Her entire drama with Dylan completely took away from the main storyline and honestly I didn't feel like she contributed to the story at all until 80% and by then there was no way I was forgiving her for her behavior.

My second issue is that things wrapped up far too quickly. I had several lingering questions left as the story ended. How did Jordan end up this way, how did he escape XXX, is there any transparency on how they go about living their lives? For all the harping Dylan's parents did about his elusive boyfriend, do they ever meet? I have few more regarding Dylan as well but those would be spoilers so basically, things concluded too quickly. If we could have cut out Savanna and added more Jordan backstory/ending...the story would have been nearly perfect.

Trigger Warnings: Drugs, dead parents, fire, arson, accident with ice water, bullying, cyber bullying, discussion of suicide, coming out, gun violence

I really enjoyed this book! Dylan was a typical teen and I felt represented that very well. I wish we could have learned more about Jordan, though. I thought the side characters were a nice addition to the story and I love a closeted queer! I more loved how supportive Dylan’s family was when he came out!

Overall, this was a great book with a great story line! The pacing was good and included a lot of action, which I thoroughly enjoyed! The story is light and fluffy, making it perfect for anyone in hs or who loves YA. And I really love the cover!

Trigger Warnings: Drugs, dead parents, fire, arson, accident with ice water, bullying, cyber bullying, discussion of suicide, coming out, gun violence

Representation: Gay

The Temperature Of Me and You is the story of Dylan and his new mystery boy, Jordan. The boys meet at Dylan’s job and have a quite the flame-y meet cute. Together they work to discover one another’s powers and fight for their love to last a lifetime. Great read for fans of The Extraordinaries!

Aww, I actually really liked this book! I’m not sure why my first impression wasn’t good, but I’m happy to say it was great and I love when I’m wrong about a book!

Dylan was a typical teen and I felt represented that very well. I wish we could have learned more about Jordan, though. I thought the side characters were a nice addition to the story and I love a closeted queer! I more loved how supportive Dylan’s family was when he came out!

Overall, this was a great book with a great story line! The pacing was good and included a lot of action, which I thoroughly enjoyed! The story is light and fluffy, making it perfect for anyone in hs or who loves YA. Personally, as an older reader, I think it makes a better audiobook than ebook. And I really love the cover!

Young adult (YA) novels don’t always have to cater to readers in their teens. I am a firm believer that a YA novel can tackle adult situations and content with heavier emotional weight.
Young adult doesn’t address the reader’s age, but rather the characters. Typically, a YA novel takes place during the years when a character is figuring out who they are and where they fit.
Whereas a New Adult (NA) novel would happen when a character has already figured out their role, but it’s now changing, they have to reevaluate themselves and learn to like who they have become. It’s semantics, but it’s important.

The Temperature of You and Me is a decidedly YA novel.

Dylan is a teenager, in high school, is the only gay kid in his class, works at the local Dairy Queen and he has simply been existing. Afraid to branch out and let other people see who he truly is, Dylan keeps his circle of friends small and enjoys the view from his bedroom window. He has been happy with this particular set up for years, until a super cute boy who is hot to the touch comes in to Dylan’s work for a blizzard. Jordan is cute, from Arizona and he happens to have been in a freak accident that gave him the power to wield fire. He captures Dylan’s attention and accidentally pushes Dylan outside his comfort zone. Now, in order to keep his friends and family safe, Dylan has to step outside his circle and take down the school bully and Hydro Pro Corporation.

This book is an attempt at an LBGTQ+ teen super hero novel. Unfortunately it just misses it’s mark.

There was a lot I really loved about this book. But there was also a lot that didn’t quite work either.

The best best best part of this entire book was the interactions between Dylan and his friends. They were sweet and silly and sarcastic. Honestly, his friendships felt genuine and true to form as far as high school conversation goes. It was fun to take a walk down memory lane and remember the the dopey fights and the innocent ways that my own friends and I would pass time. Perry, Kirsten and Dylan were by far the most interesting part of this book.
I wouldn’t have been upset if it was just a true coming out and coming of age novel that focused solely on this trio.
Related but unrelated- I also loved the character arc for Savannah. I thought her change of heart was sincere and I enjoyed watching Dylan and his friends accept her into their fold.

My biggest problem was Jordan. WHICH IS A PROBLEM. Since he is simultaneously the catalyst, the main character and the love interest. (SMH).
I liked him and Dylan together. It was cute first love between the two of them. The wanting and the timidness was very adorable. Again, sent me down memory lane.
HOWEVER.
You give a guy a super power and you have some explaining to do… Brian Zepka did NOT do any explaining to his audience.
That is where my problem lies.
So I guess my issue is with the author, not with the character. LET ME EXPLAIN:
Jordan was so cryptic about the accident that changed his body chemistry, about how he was dealing with it, how the powers work etc etc etc, that there never felt like there was an actual threat to Dylan. Jordan was afraid of having a relationship with Dylan, but it never seemed like there was a legitimate reason behind his fear.
I just needed SO MUCH MORE from this particular part of the story…
More info on the boy’s powers.
More info on how Dylan got “infected” via Jordan. (spoiler- it wasn’t sex)
More on the “science” of how the boys chemistry got changed.
More on how these changes will affect them in the future!
More on why Hydro Pro is the bad guy, but only because they were experimenting on the boys. More about WHAT the experiments were that were being conducted on Jordan?
More about why were they testing Jordan and Dylan?
More about the entire goal of the experiments and testing!
ALSO, MORE ABOUT WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN TO DYLAN AND JORDAN NOW!?

I did like the reunion for Dylan and Jordan at the end of the book though. It was very cute.

There were a lot of moving parts in this novel. The Temperature of You and Me focused a lot on the boys relationship, Dylan’s sexuality and his relationship with his friends and family. The sci fi/super hero stuff took a backseat, and that was totally okay. But because it was included in the plot in the first place, the sci fi/super hero stuff needed further explanation (hence my lower star rating).

I really wanted to like this book more than I did…. It was a really cool idea, but I think the execution was a bit off if I am being honest.

3 stars

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

The Temperature of Me and You follows teen Dylan Highmark, whose initial interaction with a mysterious and -- literally -- hot boy changes the trajectory of his winter and, ultimately, his life.

This was a cute book. Like, really cute. I loved Dylan, I loved his friends, I loved Jordan. I loved reading about them, seeing them interact, and watching them grow, and I was so glad there was a happy ending.

Plot-wise, I found the premise interesting, although I was definitely thinking it would involve aliens (it doesn't, but that's fine). While many aspects of the plot did still deliver on the premise -- the romance, the life-or-death of it all -- the trajectory of it all felt a little long and somehow both weirdly complex and a bit simple. The ultimate villain of the novel definitely fell flat, which mostly seemed like a result of their general lack of screen time. The red herring, too, was not really gracefully executed, again due to a general lack of screen time. And, when we did find out that the villain was the villain, the purpose of their villainy, including what they were hoping to accomplish, was not really clear. On the one hand, I want to be okay with those shortcomings, since the primary focus of the novel is romance and interpersonal conflicts, but on the other hand, this book was long enough to have given better space to the drivers of the whole boys-on-fire conflict.

Although I was looking for a bit more refinement overall, I do think this is a fun book, and I loved the story and the characters and the rep. I'll certainly be looking forward to what Zepka brings to the table next.