If you’re looking for the most heartwarming, sweet YA romance look no further. Right Where I Left You was sooooo good! You know that feeling after you finish a good book and your heart just feels so full like it’s going to burst - that good heaviness. This will give that to you. The way the author discussed queerness, social anxiety, and friendships just hit me right in my feels. I related a lot with our main character Isaac. This book just feels like a safe space.

I loved this book with all my heart. It’s a beautiful coming-of-age story with the side of angst-filled friends-to-lovers romance. It takes place during one of my favorite times - the summer after senior year. It’s always the perfect time for characters to experience big changes. And that’s just the case for our main character Isaac and his best friend Diego.

Queerness
When it comes to the topic of queer identity, this book felt like a safe space, like being enveloped in a warm, protective hug. The statements about queerness, identity, and community were so affirming. This book isn't about revelations and coming out. Isaac is gay. Diego is bisexual. And both have been out for years. Rather, this book focuses on being able to celebrate your identity and being surrounded by love from your queer and ally community. Digeo's friends are also wonderfully diverse in their sexual, gender, and racial/cultural identities, but it didn't feel like the author was ticking off a diversity checklist. It felt right because the side characters felt like real characters too.

Social Anxiety
I probably related to Isaac the most when it came to his social anxiety. The author captured my type of social anxiety so well that it made me both seen and frustrated too. The way Isaac clings to his one best friend and refuses to let people in. He's not hostile, but he's just so uncomfortable with hanging out with people he doesn't know well. There is this scene where he goes to visit Diego's house, a place that feels like a second home to him, but when he gets there he sees that Diego's gamer friends are there. And that makes him freak out inside. This place that has always been home suddenly feels like a foreign place because of the people there. It takes a while for Isaac to open his heart to Diego's friends but when we see it, it's really a moment of such growth for Isaac. I hope to have that for myself one day too.

Romance
Isaac is obsessed with a fictional pair, Charm & Reverb, from a comic book (I can't remember if it's a comic book or show) called Disaster Academy. He ships these two male leads and loves to read fanfiction about them. There's a lot of speculation about whether the DA writers will turn the characters' relationship romantic. And in this book, there are chapter openers about Charm & Reverb that parallels a bit of what Isaac and Diego are going through in their own relationship. For the most part though, Isaac's obsession with Charm & Reverb seems to just serve as a way to bring some fandom culture into the story, but it does play an important part towards the end of the book. And I thought that was a fun twist.

Diego and Isaac's relationship was written so well. These two are so incredibly close to one another. They are really sweet and loving to each other, but as tensions start to simmer between them the author brought out the all the built-up emotions, jealousies, and insecurities to make their fight feel authentic. The way the author writes about the deep love and comfort they feel towards the other is made me feel so soft and mushy inside. Sometimes friends-to-lovers romances is just really unrequited love that drags on and on. But this isn't the case, perhaps because we are in Isaac's head. This was just a great friends-to-lovers romance that seemed to unfold naturally. Finishing high school is a big change to their friendship and it's the catalyst to bring things to the surface.

Overall, I loved this a whole lot and highly recommend.

This was a really sweet story about best friends who don't realize that the love they have for each other is more than just for friendship. Obviously there is a lot of teenage angst in this book, and as per usual the drama could have been avoided if they'd just had a few really deep and open conversations with each other, but I did enjoy the story. There were a lot of really interesting characters and I wish I got to learn even more about each of them and what made them different and special. Overall I enjoyed this book but I'd say it's a 3.5 rounded up to 4.

This novel told a story the world needs to hear with a representation the world needed to hear in the moment.

I hate the love triangle trope so this was a complete miss for me. If you like love triangle you make like this. If not run.

If you love a quick YA queer romance that doesn't only focus on the romance itself, but also on real -life struggles, this is the book for you!

Before heading off to college, Isaac is bound and determined to make this the best summer ever with his best friend Diego. But after he runs into his high school crush Davi, all his plans change in an instant and the summer turns into something unexpected.

Right Where I Left You is a coming of age queer YA novel. I enjoyed the character growth of Isaac and really appreciated the diversity of the cast of characters. When I read books, I want to learn from and experience different cultures and people. This book gave me a window into what it means to be a queer Afro-Lantix teen trying to find their way in the world. I did expect more romance in the story and did have a hard time keeping up with the comic and gaming fandom written into the story. At times, it felt like these overpowered the other story lines.


Thanks to Penguin Teen for the advanced copy and Penguin Random House Audio for the ALC.

This book is for comic lovers and anyone who can appreciate how deep you can fall into a fandom and how it feels to see yourself in the characters and the yearning to see yourself represented. The characters were vibrant and funny and flawed, but striving to be seen and loved. I adored Isaac and Diego and their friendship bond really jumped off the page immediately.

I was not excepting the fandom elements going in, but with coming of age storyline combined with that friends-t0-lovers woven in, I was able to enjoy it.

There are fun, flirty summer contemporaries... and then there is Right Where I Left You, a mastery of the best friends-to-lovers trope between two queer teens of color wrapped up in a perfectly nerdy and touching coming-of-age story.

**Thank you Penguin Teen for an ARC of this book for an honest review**

Set in the summer after high school Isaac Martin wants it to be the best summer yet and that means spending as much time as possible with his best friend Diego before Isaac leaves for college and Diego pursues his gaming dreams. But when Isaac messes up their chance to get to Legends Con, he tries to find a way to make it up to Diego while juggling time and feelings for a new crush. Their friendship will face more turmoil than ever but will they be able to overcome it together?

"The thing about apologies is, you can't force the other person to listen, no matter how bad you want them to. You can only gather the words, hold them in your heart, and hope the person on the other end will meet you halfway to hear them. Once you've hurt someone, wanting to fix things is the easiest part."

What I adored about this story:
- Smooth pacing
- SUCH a comfort read. I wish this story had existed when I was a teen. So. Much. YES!
- The best-friends-to-lovers aspect of the story is the long game and not the main driver of the plot and I gotta say... it's PERFECT as is. So just wait for it, it's worth it!
- For a single POV I never got tired of Isaac's perspective. His depth of feelings was so apparent.
- THE FEELS! Mistakes are made, hardship is felt, and so is love.
- The family dynamics. This story felt as much about Isaac and his relationship with his family as much as his friends. The gem that is Isaac's love for his grandfather is so touching!
- Isaac's social anxiety was described so well. The author gave us a chance to really feel it without blanketing the feeling with just the word "anxiety". So cool.

"Normal is finding the place where you belong. Sometimes, you find it early. Sometimes, it happens late. In the middle of the of the afternoon, in the unforgiving summer heat, I know this: Finding your normal is the best feeling ever."

The story was a smidge longer than I expected for a contemporary but every page had its purpose. I'm so glad it was the length it was so I didn't have to leave these characters sooner!

5 stars--high rec for fans of Felix Ever After. I sense a re-read in my future.

I absolutely loved this book, Julian winters is a captivating writer to the YA audience. I can’t wait to read more of his work!

I have adored Julian’s books in the past and this one was no exception! Cute and funny and relatable, all while having really important conversations about representation and inclusion and the importance of being seen! Would highly suggest to any YA contemporary fans looking for a geeky, friends-to-lovers romcom! Absolutely perfect for summer time!

Thank you to Penguin Teen for providing me with an e-ARC of Right Where I Left You in exchange for an honest review!

It's the bisexual rep that made this book for me.

I absolutely adored Right Where I Left You; I saw an author (I cannot find the receipt to this & can't remember who said it!) describe Julian Winters' books as a warm hug & yes, yes! I agree, 100%. The characters are so soft & sweet, the relationships are so good, & there's so much geekery in this one!

Right Where I Left You is such a wonderful story with so much to offer! It is a queer and nerdy coming-of-age story with slow burn m/m friends-to-lovers romance mixed in! The characters from this book were amazing and the diverse representation across the board is a major plus. If you're looking for a good book to make you feel warm and fuzzy inside this is definitely it!

FRIENDS TO LOVERS, holla! What an absolutely perfect summery read. I loved the characters. I loved the pacing. I loved the tropes. I loved everything about this book!

I really loved this friends to lovers romance. This book was adorable. I am excited to recommend as a Must Read YA contemporary for 2022.

Issac is planning an epic summer with his friend Diego before they head off to college in the fall. He decided to get tickets to Legend Con and go to his ever pride event. But along the way he bumps into crush Davi and things take an unexpected turn and now him and Diego are fighting.

This is a really sweet, queer coming of age, own voices, friends to lovers story. How friendship is messy and who you think you love isn’t really who you want to be with. That person who’s been your friend all along, could be the answer you needed.

This is my first Winter’s book and I love how fresh voiced his story was. He made me feel like I was back in high school feeling the highs and lows of loving someone. It explores friendship and family and second chances.

This was kind of... everything to me?

Right Where I Left You is one of the most authentic novels I've read in a while, and I related SO heavily to the main character, Isaac, who struggles with severe social anxiety throughout the book. I felt that so much of who he was is exactly who I was in high school, and I haven't read another book that comes so close to that experience.

This book features one of the most lovable love triangles I've ever read from a YA book (I mean seriously it's SO hard to make a love triangle lovable lol) as all 3 of the characters were so well fleshed out and so authentically real to high school. These boys are all so different, yet meld with Isaac so well. The plot was well done, and that combined with the characters motivations throughout the book serve a wonderful story.

My only complaint is that it felt a bit cartoonish of a portrayal of teenagers at times. Video game and online geekdom is not only the basis of the plot, but is intertwined with the characters throughout the story. At times this portrayal of geek culture felt very cringe, and I think some of the teenage dramatics were a bit unrealistic. If you can handle pop culture references (some real, some fake) in exchange for a wonderful story that ties up SO nicely at the end, you'll probably really enjoy this novel as well.

From the first paragraph, I knew this book would be a good one. I immersed myself into the book from the first chapter and I cannot say enough good things about this book! Honestly amazing! The writing is incredible and the plot is just one to die for. I am absolutely obsessed with this book. My favorite part would have to be the character development throughout the book. Character development is something I look forward to and this book did not disappoint.

If you are looking for a book that will have you smiling from ear to ear over the pure joy and happiness displayed in a book, this one is the on for you!

This story follows with Isaac just completing his last year in high school and he wants to make this last summer with his best friend, Diego epic. Isaac and Diego make a plan to attend Legends Con and their first ever Teen PRIDE. As Isaac is on his way to get the tickets for the comic convention, he runs into his old crush and gets distracted which results in him flushing all his perfect summer plans down the drain. With Isaac plans ruined, how will this summer turn out now?

Listen!!!!! I haven't smiled this hard over a YA book in a minute! It made me remember how I felt over my first love and how wanted to spend every waking moment with them! All throughout the book I found myself rooting for their best friends to lovers romance and them being true to who they are and what they want out of life. And baby!! The representation, the culture, the joy, the spacing, the love. Just everything!!! Julian did an amazing job with this book!

This book blew me away. I was anticipating it being good but wow. I laughed and cried while reading and I haven't done that is a long time. I think Winters did an absolutely wonder with this one. Finding love in an old crush and with it being lgbt just makes it so much more heart wrenching because you want to see them win.i love a friends to lovers trope and this was perfect. The cover is amazing, the writing is amazing, and I just loved everything about it. Definitely going my "comfort read" shelf!