DNF at 35%.

This story felt flat and awkward for me, with a lot of “telling instead of showing”. The writing didn’t keep me engaged and I felt no attachment to the characters. I was sad as I highly anticipated this book, but it just didn’t do it for me.

When two recently broken up teenagers run away together in the middle of a mountain storm, everyone wants to know why. But to find out the real answers we have to go to the source.
This book follows Zyla and Kai's relationship, from the first sparks of a summer romance they were both determined not to act on, to the day they disappear together up a mountain, and everything in between that brought them there.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were developed so beautifully and really felt like actual teenagers and three dimensional people with flaws and fears but also strengths and gifts. The dynamic between them was fun, while also tugging at my heartstrings, and the ups and downs of their relationship made for a well-paced plot that stayed interesting for the whole story. As an adult it might be easy to say some things felt overdramatic and blown out of proportion, but I remember things feeling exactly like that as a teenager. It was so great to read a book with that kind of perspective didn't feel like it was minimizing the characters' feelings. It felt honest and loving, and I really enjoyed rooting for this couple and seeing how everything unfolded.
Thank you Penguin Teen for an ARC for review!

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.

This is the YA romance book of the summer! It is fun, charming, and meaningful. Both Zyla and Kai were extremely likeable characters, and their friends and family were wonderful supplements to their story. The time jumps and different points of view were like a breath of fresh air, and seeing the same story told from many perspectives kept me on my toes. The pacing was great, I never felt like the story was taking too long to get where it needed to go which makes it the perfect beach read. While Zyla and Kai’s romance was the main plot, there were also many smaller storylines that added flair throughout the text like the budding relationship between their respective best friends. Forest also brought up very important conversations about destigmatizing mental health care in the Black community, especially for young Black men. This book was very similar in structure to The Sun is Also A Star, so fans of Nicola Yoon will love Zyla and Kai! This is a new favorite YA romance of mine– I highly recommend it for young adult readers!

Full review will be up closer to the release date. Two teens fall in love and run away together. It’s a star-crossed lovers kind of romance.

This book was such a gem. I’m a big fan of Kristina Forest work. I’ve read both of her previous novels and loved it. This one doesn’t disappoint. The main characters Zyla and Kai romance was swoon worthy. I loved the chemistry between them. Also, Jamal was one of my favorite characters as well.

This is great fun summer romance. I would definitely recommend. Also it would make a fun Rom Com for Netflix’s.

I really enjoyed Kristina Forest’s previous novels, and I was so excited for her next book, especially after reading the premise! A couple goes missing, despite them breaking up months ago; doesn’t that intrigue you? Zyla & Kai told the tale of a sweet romance — how it started, where it went wrong, and how it can go right again.

After a public confrontation with his girlfriend (or rather, ex since he thought they had broken up), Kai is relegated to the games section at the amusement park where he works. There, he meets Zyla, a girl whom he can’t deny his attraction to, even when she turns him down. Zyla is a love cynic and just wants to keep her head down until she gets into Parsons Paris. However, she also can’t deny her interest in Kai, and before long, they get together. Meanwhile, in the present, Zyla and Kai have gone missing on their senior trip, and no one knows why, especially since they broke up two months ago.

The juxtaposition of the past and the present chapters was really interesting; in the present, we know that Zyla and Kai have broken up and slowly piece together why, and in the past, we get to see their relationship develop and the cracks along the way. No one knows why they would go missing on their senior trip because everyone knows they broke up. Even the protagonists’ best friends Beatrice and Jamal don’t have the full story — which is what the past chapters unravel. The present chapters are full of half-truths and rumors, while the past chapters reveal the truth of Zyla and Kai’s love story from their own perspectives.

I will say that the summary makes the past and the present perspectives are evenly balanced; however, I found that the story focused far more on the past and how their relationship progresses. Honestly, I was a bit more interested in the “mystery” of their disappearance and found some of the past chapters to be a bit superfluous, so it was a bit disappointing that the mystery wasn’t actually a main point. This book is a love story, though, so really, this made more sense.

I really liked the characters! Kai is a hopeless romantic, who’s had nine girlfriends, each one of which he thought would be the one. Even when his aunt and uncle suggest that he take a brief break from dating for his senior year, he can’t help but fall in love with Zyla from the start. Meanwhile, Zyla is a realist and shuns love after her parents’ messy divorce and her mother’s subsequent string of flings. She can’t deny her attraction to Kai, though, even she sometimes expects her story to go the same way as her mother’s.

Both protagonists have their separate issues to work through, and they both help each other through their worries. Kai’s parents died in an accident nine years ago, and every year around that time, he falls into a depression, which his aunt and uncle, as well as his therapist, help him work through. This year, Zyla also supports him and reassures him that she will be there or will give him space, depending on what he wants. Zyla herself has a rocky relationship with her mother because she often feels that she puts her romantic relationships before her children. She also holds her father at an arm’s length, not trusting him after he cheated on her mother.

I also really liked Jamal, Kai’s best friend, and Beatrice, Zyla’s best friend, both of whom support their best friend in times of trouble. They hate each other within 10 minutes of meeting each other, and their bickering added some humor to the book.

The romance was very sweet, and it was interesting to read about it from start to finish. As I said before, Zyla and Kai clearly hold so much love for each other throughout their entire relationship, but sometimes life comes in the way. Of course, they’re teenagers and their love isn’t without its issues; they’re so enamored with each other that it came in the way of their school and work lives, which of course both of their guardians take issue with.

Zyla & Kai examines how a relationship comes to be and how it falls apart. Watching the romance unfold was so cute, and I really liked the characters. If you’re looking for a book with a sweet romance with Black leads, you should check out Zyla & Kai!