I had high hopes from this novel. The blurb sounded very intriguing. Unfortunately I found the characters and plot to be forgettable. Perhaps it is my age, but I found many of the characters shallow and many of the problems and conflicts could have easily been resolved with clearer communication... or just communication in general. Our main character thought it wise to ignore his freinds on multiple occasions just to avoid facing conflcit.
I also was not very invested in the relationship between Dylan and Jordan. It seemed way too instalovey for my liking. By the halfway mark I no longer cared for the mystery of Jordans power. Maybe if the story had focused more on that rather than high school drama I would have enjoyed this story more.
Dispite myself not enjoying this read, I am positive there are many that would enjoy it. Sadly I just feel like I could not connect with any of the characters which in turn took me away from the plot.

what a solid debut! i loved the action and watching the main charecter on his journey. Sadly i was hoping for more romance, but alas. I'm so happy to see disney finally publishing queer stories!

This book really did not portray teenagers accurately at all, much less gay teens. It portrayed them very one-sidedly and did not interest me in their relationship at all. The premise seemed SO AMAZING yet was not implemented well or captivatingly at all. It felt dry and uninteresting and did not make me want to continue. Whoever made the cover, however, has an amazing art style. DNF at 25%.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm giving this three stars because I think it's a great and important book for teens. It's got a queer protagonist with supportive best friends, a gay main relationship, and a plot that deals with superheroes, secret powers, and corporate conspiracies (ie Evil Science) -- so it's both important and fun! It talks a lot about gay issues, and I think can be an important support to teenagers, while still having some great mass entertainment appeal.

Unfortunately, it wasn't really for me for two reasons. The first is that its general narrative tone is a sort of ditzy randomness -- which I think fits for the genre and demographic, I remember being like that in highschool along with my mostly-queer friendsgroup, haha! But it definitely reads young (which again, not a bad thing, it's a YA story!). The other reason is that the character actions kept losing me. It lost me first when <spoiler>the protagonist Dylan decides to find Jordan again by stalking him, and Jordan responds by kidnapping Dylan</spoiler> and then it got me again with Dylan's cute friendships and awkward flirting -- and lost me again when <spoiler>Dylan basically had to beg Jordan to use his powers to save his best friend from drowning under ice, even though Jordan had been telling Dylan, a total stranger, all about his powers and showing them off and everything already</spoiler>. The book continued with this sort of push and pull -- there's plenty to draw one in, but for me at least, a few things kept pushing me away as well.

I'd definitely recommend picking this up for the teen in your life!

2/5

I was very excited about this book, I’m always looking for more sci-fi with queer protagonists, but sadly this novel didn’t work for me.

The initial idea was interesting and I liked the characters, but apart from that, I don’t really have anything very positive to say. The pacing was very awkward, dragging through scenes that were unnecessary and completely forgettable. It took so long to get to the exciting moments that once they were happening, I didn’t care anymore. This book was way too long for how little plot there was.

The romance didn’t satisfy me either, as it happened so fast and for no reason, giving us weird interactions and dialogues. The stakes were so high for the characters, they found themselves facing great danger, and all the narrator did during those scenes was comment on how cute his boyfriend is.

Add to that the fact that I couldn’t possibly suspend my disbelief enough to appreciate this book. Sci-fi-y stuff happens without any explanation, and doesn’t really get resolved. It’s just a bunch of events happening one after the other and not making any sense. The writing wasn’t my cup of tea either, I thought it wasn’t really flowing and it was sometimes hard to see who was talking, especially in the first half.

Last, I gotta say I really don’t enjoy the closeted homophobe trope, and the way these characters are used in 90% of the cases I’ve come across, including in this book. I don’t like reading about a shitty character who’s presented as a villain from the start, and have them suddenly come out and be forgiven. I feel like I’ve read this story a hundred times before and it’s time now to write something different. It feels kind of outdated to me.

I’m honestly gutted about this, I wanted to enjoy this novel because it looked like a lot of fun and was very promising. I can only hope that it’ll find its audience. It wasn’t for me, but might be enjoyed by young teenagers or readers who aren’t bothered by illogical plot progressions. It’s always nice to see more queer protagonists represented in YA science fiction though!!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for this eARC!

This was such a fun read! My favorite thing about it was how much of a genuine teen boy Dylan sounded like. I also loved all the friendships & secondary characters in here. A light, hopeful book with a healthy dose of adventure.

Am always grateful to read anything queer, especially YA and especially when there’s some kind of romance. Definitely recommend this one for anyone who loves those things.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel.

Hesitant between 3.5 and 3.75 stars.
All in all, this is a really cute queer YA sci-fi/fantasy novel. Although the way this is written wasn't the best (in my opinion; a bit too simple), if you are able to get past that, it's still pretty solid. I feel if I had read this book when I was in high school, I would've loved it more with the Pokemon references and the science elements. Also, I need to mention that this book cover is beautiful.

I wanted to love this one but I just couldn’t.

The relationship is cute and fun but I felt like we barely got any sort of background on Jordan. Like yes he has superpowers and is in trouble, but other than that the author just threw a few basic ‘from Arizona’ or ‘likes the outdoors’.

The whole time the romance felt completely 2D over invested teenage relationship lacking any real substance, but then the characters would turn around and talk about being soulmates. They dated for less than 6 months, it just didn’t make me root for them.

The superpower aspect made no sense to me. It was very formulaic. Child of geniuses gets involved in an accident from their company, becomes orphaned, gets superpowers and is now being hunted down by an evil technology company with a futuristic name and silver cars. It felt like a self insert fanfiction in the Marvel Universe.

The side characters were interesting enough, but if there’s one thing I can’t stand in books it’s a bully-turned-friend arc with no real reason or apology. Like someone can’t torment you for years and then get to be your bestie just because their life is also difficult and they cried in front of you once. I almost DNF’d when stuff like that started happening.

All in all, it just felt like the book could’ve used a better editor and more time spent on fleshing out the plot instead of just throwing a blanket over the holes.

I think at this point I'm growing out of YA contemporaries and urban fantasy. The past few that I have read have all been misses. It's not to say that they're bad but they didn't appeal to me. I think this is the case with this book.

The premise was really cool and I loved the general idea and how it was set up, but I wasn't a big fan of the mystery. It felt like everything just went to well. The mystery didn't come in to play in a major way until about half way through the book and felt like it could've used a bit more build up and instances where things went wrong.

I also didn't enjoy the writing very much, as I've seen other people say, it was very tell instead of show.

I did enjoy the characters, although the main character occasionally pissed me off. The romance wasn't super interesting but it worked.

Overall, it works but it's not anything I would pick up on my own. Maybe for someone a bit younger.

3.5 rounded up to 4

The Temperature of Me and You is a YA Contemporary romance and a science fiction story merged into one.

Dylan is your average, lower end of the totem pole in high school, a bit geeky boy whose been unlucky in the finding a boyfriend. Cue Jordan, the new boy in town who happens to be very attractive and totally interested in Dylan. Small problem, Jordan literally runs hotter than normal humans and can shoot fireballs from his hand. That doesn't stop Dylan from wanting to get to know him. But when some of Jordan's powers start affecting Dylan, will meeting Jordan become the worst thing to ever happen to him.

This had all the classic stapled for a YA contemporary. Two best friends forever gals for our leading queer boy, the mean bully girl who is hiding a secret of her own that causes her to lash out, teenage fights and make-ups, and trying not to fail chemistry. There's the first love and all the awkward moments that accompany it. Now wait! Take all that and throw in a science experiment gone wrong. Boys too hot to touch, explosive melt downs, corporate conspiracies and you've got what makes The Temperature of Me and You unique.

I enjoyed it, I really did, but I really really really wish we had Jordan's point of view. 25% in and all I knew about him was that he was attractive and could create fire from his hands because of an accident. It was hard to connect with him and hard to root for the main character to be with someone who remains such a mystery the entire time, nor is someone particularly charming. Also, the ending felt rushed in a way , I had ten minutes left and assumed I was about to be hit with a cliffhanger but then it managed to get tied up in a Happy For Now bow.

The Temperature of Me and You is filled with friendship, paint by numbers and romance that is sweet with kisses , coffee dates, hikes, and ice skating which usually ended up in smoke ... literally. Overall, a solid debut novel and I look forward to more books by Brian Zepka.

Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

2.5/5

This was a hot ass mess. Pun intended. I might lower my rating bc this became such a damn chore to read.

The Temperature of Me & You is about two young boys navigating high school, crushes and fire powers. Unfortunately for Dylan, Jordan seems interesting until he explodes his ice cream cup can then literally burns Dylan within minutes of meeting. Dylan needs to know what happened, but he doesn't know how to contact Jordan. The two eventually connect again and they try to figure out how Jordan's power works.

I really wanted to like this but when we start out by lightly stalking a love interest, the red flags go up. I could not deal with Dylan. He just seemed so disconnected from reality. As the book goes on, the plans he hatch just got increasingly more ridiculous. I really considered DNFing this book because I was so annoyed/irritated. I don't know if this was a product of the writing, the characters, the plot or a combination of all three. there's also a Harry Potter reference in this and like I hate seeing those in books written by white cishet authors, but seeing it in a queer books that publishing in 2022?? You should know better.

I did really like Dylan's friendship with Kirsten and Perry. I loved those two girls. I loved how much they were there for Dylan and each other. Easily the best part of the book for me. I also loved the sapphic character who came in later even though she's done some pretty awful things.

All in all, this didn't work for me, but I would read the author's next book and see if it was just this book in particular.

Rep: white gay male MC, achillean male love interest, white lesbian female side character in a WLW relationship.

CWs: Underage alcohol consumption, bullying, fire/fire injury, homophobia/homomisia, kidnapping/attempted kidnapping, medical trauma/scientific experimentation without consent. Moderate: Car accident, death of parents, vomit. Harry Potter reference.

To be completely honest and get it out of the way: the cover is gorgeous and was what first captivated my attention.

The story itself has the innocence of a first love wrapped with the element (pun intended) of sci-fi, something I haven't seen on many shelves. Following Dylan's journey of balancing the world around him while navigating his first relationship and newfound powers was fun and interesting.

Zepka does a great job of bringing his characters to life. I found myself cringing often at something either Dylan or his friends do/say, but this is a story of 16 year-olds, they are destined to do some cringe-worthy things. This is where I think Zepka hit the mark. As opposed to shows, movies, and other books that make kids act as fully grown adults who know everything, Zepka makes his characters real. The characters are what makes this book, more specifically, the love (platonic or not) the characters have for each other that radiates off the page is what makes this book.

The story itself felt drawn out at times, however, once the plot started going and information became revealed, it was easy to get into. Overall, I would recommend this book to teens looking for something they can relate to. As a result of the characters and story Zepka creates in The Temperature of Me and You, this was a wonderful debut novel.

The cover of this book is so gay and the premise is very intriguing, so naturally I really wanted to love it. And while there were some parts I really enjoyed, I had some major issues that impacted my overall perception of the book.

The Temperature of Me and You follows Dylan, an ordinary gay guy in high school who meets Jordan — the new kid in town... who happens to be extremely hot. Both aesthetically and physically hot to the touch. As Dylan grapples with his crush on Jordan and the two get closer, Dylan soon learns that their bond is more dangerous than it seems.

See? It sounds interesting! We need more queer sci-fi and the concept is really cool. I thought it was interesting how chemistry was worked into the novel, though at times the integration felt clunky. In terms of romance, it was definitely insta-love, which I know a lot of people don't like. Personally, I don't mind it if it's done right. I thought it was okay in this book and didn't mind the instant crush on Jordan, but I would have liked a lot more build up from the I-have-a-crush-on-you stage to the we-are-emotionally-connected stage. It all happened at once and and it got tiring because it felt so overdone since the same feelings were repeated, rather than developed. Same goes with the character arcs: they were underdeveloped and skipped the process of improvement.

Pacing can make or break a book. The Temperature of Me and You didn't have horribly slow pacing, but it definitely could have been cut down. A lot of the first half of the book felt repetitive and as the speed picked up in the 75%ish mark, we lost some of Dylan's thought process, which confused me at times.

My biggest issue was the way mental health was addressed. There was a character who was likely suicidal, and I say likely because the topic wasn't addressed directly. In fact, while it was obvious something was going on, the character just said things were "hard" for them, or at one point that the MC was "almost suicidal" (that is a direct quote; don't ask me how that makes any sense, I don't even know). None of it was directly talked about and the part where one character reaches out to another felt incredibly forced, like they felt obligated to. It wasn't genuine, though on the surface they said they were concerned. Not talking directly about a topic that needs addressing just increases the stigma around it, especially when mental health and suicide prevention is involved. It was very disappointing as someone who suffers from mental health disorders to see the topic handled so poorly. The book would have been better to have not included that subplot at all.

Overall, the book wasn't diverse enough. I didn't notice any POC in the novel, certainly not any main characters or prominent side characters. There also weren't any other LGBTQ+ identities besides gay and lesbian. Though the word "lesbian" wasn't even used, and that's a whole other discussion.

I did think this was a fun book. The "manifestations," or powers, were really fascinating to read about and it wasn't overly difficult to get through. The romance is cute and the plot is not really dark or heavy at all. I just wish there was more representation, development of characters, and an actually productive discussion of mental health (or none at all).

Content Warnings: poor talk of suicide, death of parents (pre-book), mentioned car crash, homophobia, fires, talk of death

2.5 stars

Unfortunately, this is one of those situations in which the cover is way snazzier than the contents.

Dylan, the main character of this queer YA romance, at first seems like he will be an endearing fellow whom readers will want to root for, and Jordan, his love interest, initially presents in the same way. During these characters' meet cute, particles of Blizzard - instead of sparks - fly. It's clear there's something really unusual about Jordan, and this makes him (briefly) intriguing. Readers and Dylan soon learn that Jordan runs hot: literally. There's a back story and way too much detail about this in the book, so interested readers can learn more than they ever expected or needed to know there. While there is potential for a unique and engaging love story here, instead, the pacing is SO slow that - at least in my case - it becomes tough to stay engaged or really focused on that central mission.

This is a fun concept, but the execution requires refinement. It takes way too long to get the main points across, and in the process, the REAL magic dissipates quite a bit. I'll look forward to more fresh ideas from this author, but I'll hope that both the author and editors refine much more in the future.

I loved the cover , was intrigued after reading the blurb and so wanted to enjoy this book, but I had a difficult time getting into it . I kept getting distracted , skipped pages, got bored , even stopped for a while and continued few days later . It just didn't kept my attention. The pacing is very slow .



I just reviewed The Temperature of Me and You by Brian Zepka. #TheTemperatureofMeandYou #NetGalley

Big thank you to Netgalley and Disney Publishing for an advanced digital copy of this book! I really wanted to love this book; I liked it, but I didn’t love it. The premise was interesting at first, but then I felt that it became uninteresting/over complicated when the powers were expanded on. By the end of the book, you realize that there was a lot of unnecessary fluff, and that the book could’ve been a lot shorter and more succinct while still having the same outcome. I also felt that while the relationship was cute and I loved the queer representation, the instant love was unrealistic in my opinion. For a debut novel, this is a good start, and I would be interested to see how Zepka’s writing would improve in the future.

I really appreciate the opportunity to read this book so thank you Netgalley for offering it to me. I really tried with this book, but ultimately could not finish it. It is very rare I put down a book and don't finish it (I've only not finished 2 books this year out of over 230), but this one was just so hard to get into. I read 30% of the book and wasn't invested in any of the characters. Well, I was intrigued by Jordan, but not enough to keep reading. Dylan seems like a typical 16yo and the two best friends are decent side characters. It's the plot pacing that is the issue. It starts off fine, with the way Dylan and Jordan meet. But the second time they meet is a bit ridiculous and is rushed so much. This seems like a super important moment and the author totally glossed over it quickly. I had so many questions. And I get that Dylan is freaked out and it's from his perspective, but it still wasn't written in a way that conveyed that and was slow enough to allow the reader to absorb the information.

And I know that by receiving the book from Netgalley I'm not giving the final edited version, but the paragraph layout made it hard to follow who was talking and was frustrating to read. It isn't the reason I put the book down, but it was distracting.

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney Publishing for an advanced copy of this to review! It has all the elements that I love in my stories. Romance, superpowers, great friendships. Usually, this is a winning combination. However, parts of this book fell a little flat for me.

After a bit of a slow start, the book does start to pick up pace wise about halfway through. There are some great action sequences included, and I will admit that Dylan and Jordan have some good chemistry. It is a bit on the instant love side, which isn't my favorite trope. But given Jordan's life situation, it does make sense.

Overall, the plot feels a bit all over the place. The pacing for most of the book feels off, stretching out scenes that don't need to be and skipping some important information. Some of the world building could have been done a bit better. I think this is partly becuase there is focus on details throughout that weren't important to the structure of the world. I'm left with so many questions and not a lot of answers.

At times, it does seem like Dylan and Jordan are moving a bit quickly in their relationship. However, it does make sense in the context of the overall story. They are teenagers, after all. Some teenagers like to move quickly. Most of the characters in the book also felt a little underdeveloped, especially the side characters. They felt one dimensional and I just wanted more from them.

All in all, while I loved the idea behind the story, the writing didn't quite live up to my expectations. But, if you're looking for a gay superhero romance, you'll definitely find it in this book! If you like things like The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune, you will still enjoy this story.

A gay love story that gave me Stranger Things vibes.

I'm not generally a big sci fi fan, but this was a very enjoyable read! Dylan meets Jordan, the hot new guy in town, who turns out to also have fiery super powers. There's something for everyone: romance, friendship, action, and mystery.