This book is so fun! It made me wish i was involved with theater in high school. I feel like this was a great book that showed that growing up and finding yourself and who you want to be can be done in many ways. I liked the characters and getting to know them. It held my interest the entire book and was shocked how quick i read it.

I received this as an Arc from Netgalley. This does not effect my review (other than more obligatory plot discussion!)

Beatrice Quinn is accepted into Oxford, but she's been homeschooled and her parents are concerned that she has not lived and learned as a teenager.

So she goes to an acting camp, of all things for an introvert, to prove that she can handle the move. She gets paired with the best roommate a camper could have and the effervescent Nolan-who designs costumes as a part of the camp. She's constantly challenged by Nolan's twin, Shelby, who is so mean no one can dream up how they shared a womb.

There is a not insignificant part of me that resents when genius level brains (especially those tending to the math side of the brilliance) are portrayed this way. There's a bigger part of me that sees a book that has a setting of a camp and feels utter delight because there are some things I will always love. But Bea isn't just socially inept, she's lacking all life experience. She can swim (doggy paddle), she dresses in polos and khakis, can't even pretend to act even though she knows the plays in and out and is smart enough to remember her lines...and you know what I mean?

And then there's this tendency to "fix people" that are introverted. Like at the end, this feeling of triumph that yes "now you have lived,"and that is a moral achievement. What I loved is her friends seeing who she was, what I didn't was the idea she conquered everything she was bad at and in an endearing, frankly socially sophisticated way. Her truths are hard, but well-put, she's assertive. There's a point in the book where she hides away in embarrassment, but rather than having to return on her own and I don't know always explain herself there's a level of radical acceptance that feels too easy, particularly from her love interest-or the guy interested in her? Nik.

To be honest, sure he was a dick at their first meeting. Because would this be suitable YA without it. But after that? I'm not sure he could've been more forgiving, open, or perfect. Meanwhile, she acts like a cornered cat, right down to running and hiding when she sees an escape or is even moderately bested.

Interestingly, I really like this as a book. I mean it's cute, and at times emotional.I was invested in the triumphs. In the romance, I get that Nik is hot and talented, and ultimately really defies our expectations by falling for the hot, funny, smart introvert (see?) who doesn't really believe she could hold that appeal-but his entire character is centered around Beatrice. Don't get me wrong, it kind of makes this lovely, but also, where are his flaws other than his initially shit reaction to Bea, they are no where to be found. If you follow my reviews, you know this will always be a sticking point for me-he's gotta have <i>something</i> or he's pretty uninteresting.

I definitely snort-laughed in surprise more than once, and all in all it was pleasant. But in the end, pleasant isn't enough to be memorable, and in the crowded YA market, there are many other authors I can't miss.

What does it mean to be a teenager? Is there a rule book? If there was one, Beatrice Quinn might have memorized it, and it would come in handy as she finds herself off to a theater camp to prove to her parents she's ready to attend Oxford University - half a world away from her Berkley, California home. As a homeschooled only child, Beatrice has led a sheltered life, but she's ready to take on college. Her therapist parents aren't so sure, so she has a test run at living away from home - and the choice is theater camp with a checklist of must-do activities that are simple tasks like making a friend and hugging someone. But making a friend was easy and they up the ante with things actual teenagers do.

Ther's romance, adventure, and, of course, drama because it's theater camp, duh.

Good read. Some underage drinking but there's a lesson to everything, so it is good for 8th grade and up.

4*, YA. When a solitary, routine-bound homeschooled teenager gets into her dream school (Oxford), her parents decide to send her to theatre camp for the summer so she can prove her ability to socialize before they’ll let her travel abroad for college. (And her parents are therapists! OK, sex therapists, but still. Talk about out of the frying pan, into the fire.) What could possibly go wrong? An entertaining novel packed with the stereotypical theatre-kid characters and some to spare: the characters are a lot of fun to read about. I’m not sure of the significance, if any, of the title. Synopsis: Growing up homeschooled in Berkeley, California, Beatrice Quinn is a statistical genius who has dreamed her whole life of discovering new mathematical challenges at a school like Oxford University. She always thought the hardest part would be getting in, not convincing her parents to let her go. But while math has always made sense to Beatrice, making friends is a problem she hasn’t been able to solve, so her parents are worried about sending her halfway across the world. The compromise: the Connecticut Shakespearean Summer Academy and a detailed list of teenage milestones to check off. She has six weeks to show her parents she can pull off the role of “normal” teenager and won’t spend the rest of her life hiding in a library. (Netgalley, releases July 26)

I really enjoyed this story and thought the Shakespearean summer camp setting was really fun and unique! I thought that the two characters Nic and Nolan were really hard to differentiate between because they both start with N other than that I thought that all of the characters were very interesting in their own regards. The book did lose a star for being a very “slow burn” romance and having the two love interests get together at the very end of the book but over all I really enjoyed the uniqueness of this book!

I LOVED this book! One of my favorite romance tropes is the enemies to lovers, and this one fits the bill. I love the fact that it's a YA read because so many cute romcom books aren't. and this one was adorable! It has a good summer vibe to it, and I found the characters to be loveable. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a cute, easy, ya romcom type book!

I honestly loved this.

Beatrice is perhaps at time overly quirky, and her parents made me SO MAD at the beginning - Beatrice comes off as neurodivergent and they want to force her so far outside her comfort zone it made me deeply uncomfortable.

But - and this should not be considered a spoiler given the genre - it all works out in the end. And we get there in such an adorable and heart warming way, all is forgiven.

Is it cheesy and predictable? Yes. Does it lay it on thick at times and do many of the characters come off as stereotypes? Also yes. But it is done in such a charming way, and with some genuine chemistry, I couldn't help but just love it.

I will say, there is at times a feeling as if Beatrice needs to be "fixed", even as she makes friends who appear to accept her as she is, that may rub some readers the wrong way. If that is something you are sensitive to, it may not be the book for you.

If you enjoy Pride&Prejudice and To All The Boys I Loved Before, this book put me in mind of both of those and I think you'd rather like this.

I really enjoyed this, more than I expected I would.

Beatrice is an incredibly advanced and intelligent, yet socially inept sixteen year old who is going to Oxford in the fall…if she can complete a typical teen list concocted by her parents, to see if she’ll be able to handle the college experience overseas. Which leads her to going to a Shakespeare Acting Camp for the summer.

I usually don’t go for “list” plots, but the idea of Beatrice’s parents creating one for her was unexpected and original. Additionally, some great secondary characters and an enemies to lovers trope sold me.

A nice, quick and cute read.

As an anxious, brunette, bookworm, theatre kid... I'm obsessed. I will be recommending this book to all of my theater friends as well as my rom-com loving friends. It may have been a little clique at some parts, but who doesn't love a clique romance novel every once in a while?

4.5/5 stars rounded down

This is such a cute summer read! It has Shakespeare, summer camp, pranks, dares, and a rivals to lover's romance.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. All of the characters were awesome, especially Beatrice. The banter between Beatrice and Nikhil was amazing and was well done. And the bucket list Beatrice had to do was hilarious, as well as the side characters.

Probably one of my favorite things about this story was how Beatrice is very clearly autistic-coded. She does have some of the common stereotypes that autistic people tend to have. (i.e. super-smart, special interest in math and science, no friends, homeschooled.) I didn’t really mind these tropes because other aspects were very well. The portrayal of social anxiety, strict scheduling, and the thing I found most relatable, only eating certain foods, was well done, as well as so many other little things that I found relatable. Like researching how to make friends, black and white thinking, not knowing when you’re friends with people, and so, so much more. Another thing I enjoyed was how patient everybody was with her coming out of her comfort zone. She was given a list of things that were very, very out of her comfort zone, and her friends were patient, letting her do things at her own pace. Also, even though it’s completely understandable, I am disappointed that she wasn’t given a label. As an autistic teenager, it would have been nice to see a book that explicitly states the main character as autistic.

Beatrice and Nikhil were everything! I loved them. Banter? Check. Tension? Check. Shakespeare Quote competition? Check. Sweet romance? Check. My only problem is that Nikhil took way too long to verbally apologize for saying he didn’t think Beatrice was hot enough to play one of the characters. But overall, it was a sweet summer camp romance.

I loved this book and think it’s the perfect summer read. I am very excited for what Serena Kaylor has planned next.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

Once upon a time, I used to enjoy YA Contemporary hate-to-love stories. They would be cute! I would like when they hated each other and finally realized that they *gasp* weren’t so different after all. It was a formula, for sure, but I liked it.

Those days have long passed. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that…high school kids should not be so rude to each other and have it come out okay. Now, most of my YA contemporary romances of choice star nice characters who get along and have cute friendships. That’s not a dig on this book in particular, because I try to separate my rating of arcs from my personal preference.

The plot of this book was pretty good, mainly because I like summer camp, and I like the antics of theatre kids. There was nothing in particular to write home about, but it was fun enough, typical YA contemporary but in a good way. Beatrice as a character was quite compelling, and for the most part, I liked being in her head for the book. Seeing her slowly become more sure of herself was a heartwarming journey to follow. I also loved Beatrice’s friends! Mia, especially, was given her own time to shine in addition to being a beacon of support for Beatrice’s journey.

When it comes to representation, I can’t exactly speak on it, but there was one mention of war paint that I wasn’t sure about—again, can’t really speak on it though.

I think my main issue with this book was the dynamic between Nik and Beatrice. In classic hate-to-love fashion, there’s an incident pretty early on that antagonizes them from each other, and they spend a good part of the book misunderstanding each other’s intentions and desires. However, I didn’t really feel much chemistry from them, and I wasn’t rooting for or against them at any point. They were just…ok. There’s no indication, other than at the end, that Nik felt anything but annoyance at Beatrice, rather than the unrequited pining that was intended. Nik didn’t really do anything that could be interpreted as care or affection, idk.

I think the book could have done without the romance. That being said, it was still fine, I suppose? Maybe I’ve just grown out of the genre.

3.25/5

This story blew all my expectations out the window.

This book is the perfect cute summer read. It’s a wholesome coming of age story where the main character is pushed out of her comfort zone. Bea (main character) captures your heart. She’s nerdy, awkward, and unintentionally funny. She’s a 16 year old genius who gets into Oxford, but because she was homeschooled for all her life, she doesn’t know how to maintain a relationship with kids her own age. To prove to her parents that she can thrive in Oxford on her own, she agreed to be sent to a Shakespeare theatre camp for one month and complete a list of tasks.

Bea learns there’s more to maintaining relationships then what she researches and reads about. She made incredible friends and memorable experiences. There is a lot of diversity in this book. She also gains an enemy. The prodigy son of famous actors and founders of the camp. The banter between Bea and Nik (her enemy) is to die for! The pacing in this book in terms of the romance is perfect.

The character development... I haven’t read a book where the character transforms as beautifully as Bea did in this book. It was wonderful being able to see her gain confidence in herself throughout the book. She had a revelation at the end of the book where she realized that she had changed more than she thought. She noticed there was more to life than her books and studies. Seeing her branch out and try things she has never done before was beautiful.

This book is about friendship, self-discovery, determination and fun with a mix of drama and unexpected romance. Thanks to NetGalley I was able to get an arc for this wonderful book. Comes out July 26, 2022!

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Growing up homeschooled in Berkeley, California, Beatrice Quinn is a statistical genius who has dreamed her whole life of discovering new mathematical challenges at a school like Oxford University. She always thought the hardest part would be getting in, not convincing her parents to let her go. But while math has always made sense to Beatrice, making friends is a problem she hasn’t been able to solve, so her parents are worried about sending her halfway across the world. Can she survive summer acting camp amongst her peers?

The popular, gorgeous son of the owners is there and they are butting heads. this is a cute coming into themselves. I laughed at the antics of the quirky campers friends. loved reading this..

I genuinely went into this book blindly and had no idea what I was getting into. Hands down one of the best decisions I have ever made because I cannot fathom how Serena Kaylor made me swoon over Shakespeare. This is the type of book I wish I read going through the harsh, embarrassing, and uncomfortable moments of growing up into your teens. I felt like my inner 17 year old had her needs fulfilled by reading this and feeling less isolated. I kid you not every single one of these characters hold a special place in my heart. This is not your typical coming-of-age, summer story - if anything, it was so much more endearing and had me smiling into my pillow at 1AM.

You will root for Bea, want to strangle her, and want to shield her from anything remotely harmful. (I'm not just saying that also because my best friend in the entire world is also named Bea...hehe). The chemistry and colorfulness jumps out at you almost instantly when you begin reading this book.

Do not get me started on the enemies to lovers AND slow burn. We love to see it. WITH THE SHAKESPEARE TWIST? Oh yeah. We love to see it.

Overall, I would give it 4.5/5. Definitely on my list for comfort reads.

Favorite quote: "His voice washed over me, and he was young love embodied. He was secret meetings in a garden. He was yearning and relief and every sticky feeling I've ever had rolled up into one."

math and shakespeare lovers, this one's for you! and wow, is it a fun one! long story short follows beatrice (bea), a statistics enthusiast seeking to attend one of the most prestigious universities in the world. the problem? she's not great at making friends, and has to convince her parents she should be able to attend a university miles away from where her family lives. the solution? she must go to a shakespeare summer camp and prove to her family she will be just fine at college. upon arriving at camp, bea meets a group of friends who quickly take her in (a group of theater kids ... i'm sure you can envision the type), and she embarks on a journey of self discovery, friendship, and love (in all senses of the word). the main couple had me smiling from ear to ear as i read about their story, and believe me, i rarely do this!

i really enjoyed this novel; i think it's a fresh take and example for ya contemporary romance, a genre i've been finding satisfies me less and less as of recent. i see so much of myself in bea; she's a lively character who has so much to offer. the friendships she builds with her peers are so heartfelt and fun to watch develop. and nik, nik was such a wonderful love interest to read about. his dynamic with bea was perfect, and i do believe they are one of my favorite ya contemporary romance couples now. i love a good enemies to lovers, but adding shakespearean elements to this dynamic made it even better than it normally is. this book had me giggling, smiling, and i am positive other readers will love it as much as i did. 4/5 stars!

thank you so much to both netgalley and st. martin's press for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. all thoughts and opinions are my own!

slayed tbh. i live in the bay area, so loved hte setting ofc ofc :) the characters were amazing and very relatable. overall super good, would recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

5⭐️
As a STEM kid and a theatre kid, I can say I’m slightly biased when I say I absolutely loved this book. I devoured it in one day. It kind of felt like Mean Girls meets theatre kids and Shakespeare (???), and I did not know I needed that combination.

Beatrice was such an amazing main character. I just absolutely love her. It was no doubt hard for her to assimilate, not only because she’s not so used to all this interaction and partaking in things like a play, but because theatre kids are a HUGE change from what she’s used to. Mia and Nolan were so fun and supportive, but they also knew when to call Beatrice out, like during her first interaction with Mia. I LOVED them.

I loved that Beatrice did not let Nikhil get over his comment from the beginning of the book because I don’t like when things like that get looked over. While I like that Beatrice gave him grief for it, I also wish he spent more time apologizing. I liked his apology, but the comment was still very out of pocket. Other than that, I loved Nikhil. I’m not sure I’ve read a book with a brown theatre boy and I didn’t realize how much I actually needed that until today.

Would DEFINITELY recommend!!!

~~
The only part with spoilers next!!

I loved that when they did kiss, it wasn’t because of the game. When a kiss comes from a bet like that, it just makes it somewhat uncomfortable and humiliating (in my opinion).

This was a super fun and sweet YA story! There was lots of great dialogue and I enjoyed the sarcastic banter. The romance aspect was very G-rated and ended in a happily ever after that left a smile on my face. This book had a very diverse group of characters which was refreshing to see, no two characters felt the same to me.

I will definitely be checking out Serena Kaylors’ future work!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Long Story Short follows Beatrice, a genius whose homeschooling has meant she hasn't had much room to socialize. When she gets into Oxford at 16, her parents make her a deal - she can attend, but only if she's able to prove to them she's capable of thriving on her own at a summer theater camp.

I really liked this book. I was rooting for Beatrice throughout the book - I loved seeing how she matured and how she grew in all of the relationships she had. The scenes were fun and light-hearted, and the romance is slow-burn but it's worth it. All of the characters had their own personalities (even the side characters) and it made the story feel a lot more thought out.

This was a really fun read, and I can't wait for everyone else to read it too. 4 stars.

🏕🎭 BOOK REVIEW* 🏕🎭

This is a fun, big-hearted summer romcom that was, overall, really enjoyable and I really appreciated the neurodivergent rep.
I love watching Bea's friendship with Mia and Nolan develop, and those two were easily the best part of the book for me.
I liked the summer vibes and all the Shakespeare-related stuff was delightfully witty. The banter and dialouge throughout the book was hilarious, heartwarming, and very clever as well. I enjoyed watching Bea realize that her life could be new and exciting and still hers and still true to her character and interests.
There's alot of good in this book, but there were a couple things that kept me from loving this as much as I might have.
1: Bea's thought process felt pretty repetitive throughout the book, and it kind of got old. I'm not really sure what else I have to add to this complaint, or what I would've preferred in its place, but it's worth noting.
2. Nik and Bea's relationship was weird at times to me. When they were being cute and flirtatiously shouting Shakespeare quotes at each other, it was great, and I wish this kind of dynamic had been more prominent in the story. In reality, Bea and Nik were fighting alot of the book, and there was a weird space in the middle where nothing made sense. Idk. I feel like the author is better at writing friendships than romantic relationships, and the best dynamics and interactions came from Bea and her two friends. I wish Bea and Nik had gotten along better, because it made their romance hard to believe or understand at times.
Long story short, I did enjoy this one, and the last maybe 7 or 8 chapters definitely improved after the weird middle space, but there were a couple things about this book that just felt off to me and kept this from being a 5⭐️ read. However, its hilarious and sweet and perfect for summer, so I do still think there's stuff to enjoy and glean from it!

* thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
"Long Story Short" is available 7•26•22