Long story short I love/hated this book. I loved Nic, Mia, and Nolan. I hated the main character, Beatrice.


3.5 Stars

FMC Bea - introverted, book nerd, math prodigy, needs friends. Where better to do that than...Shakespeare camp? Encouraged by her parents to attend theater camp the summer before leaving for college at Oxford, she is a fish out of water but gets through it with her wits and her friend Nolan, the son of the camp owners. I love the camp setting, the friendship, the eventual romance, and the camp shenanigans. With her future on the line, she finds herself way out of her comfort zone and participating in things like double dog dares, and Shakespeare quote battles! This was a super fun read that kept a smile on my face all throughout.

I'm a statistician who is still pretty socially awkward, so Beatrice was so relatable for me! Theater camp and forced acting sounds like torture to me, but I loved the quirky cast of characters and experiencing Beatrice's growth. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for early access.

Adorable cover! And I did like the story! It wasn't quite the light, sweet read I was hoping for but it was an interesting view in to Bea growing up and learning a few things. I did find Bea's yo-yo type behavior a bit frustrating at times and I didn't totally love the romantic angle. But the plays and that aspect of the story! It kept many parts lighter while adding drama!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Definitely one of my fave reads this year, fun, relatable, engaging, and overall delightful. Theatre, summer camp, and romance, what could go wrong?

this was a cute fun hate to love theater camp rom com type book and I just ate it up I loved how the Main character went from hating the love interest to liking him to falling for him.. Over all this book I enjoyed a lot and would give this book 4 stars

What a cute summer camp story!! 🥰💗

I read this book really quick! I just couldn’t put it down ☺️ and needed to know what happened next 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Beatrice was a fun, relatable character, & I think many would be able to see themselves in her in some way. Her growth throughout is amazing, & her ability to challenge herself, try new things, & pull herself completely out of her comfort zone was admirable 💕

Not only was there some romance throughout (& it was so cute 🥰), the friendships Beatrice made were ones that reminded me of my own. The few great ones you meet, & hold onto ✨

I really enjoyed this story, & will definitely be looking for more by this author 🥰 I definitely recommend this one!! It is OUT NOW 📖

Thank you @netgalley & @wednesdaybooks for the early copy 💗

A beautiful book with a beautiful storyline and very lovable characters. A spectacular read! I would definitely recommend it to a friend.

Nik. and Bea are delightful and heartwarming and funny and great company! The other campers in this theatre summer camp story by Serena Kaylor are equally worthy of you attention. I think this YA novel about an awkward homeschooled girl who is sent off to camp by her parents is touching and I enjoyed it so much I couldn’t put it down and want to read a book about what happens next. Thank you to #netgalley and #wednesday books for a copy of #longstoryshort to read and review. All opinions are my own.

What a sweet little book! It very much reminded me of Emma Lord's you have a match - in a good way! I loved the characters, the conflicts, they all seemed very realistic for this age group which sometimes can be either painted as too childish or too mature - i think this was the perfect "middle"! I have not read this author before but i will keep my eye out for any future lighthearted YA romcoms coming out :)

It has been over five months since I read this so…bear with me.

Let’s talk about characters. I highly connected with Beatrice. In school, I was deeply connected to school because it felt like that was the one thing I could excel at. Beatrice also doesn’t excel at social situations and hey, hello, THAT’S ME.

But when she tells her parents her plan for the future, they are very worried that she won’t be able to really survive being on her own. So, they make her a deal. If she goes to a theater camp for the summer, they will agree that she can go to the school of her choice, Oxford.

To say Beatrice is scared about camp would be an understatement. She does not deal with kids her age, but now that she is forced to, she’s not sure how to act. Luckily, some girls in her cabin immediately befriend her so she’s not completely lost.

And then there is Nolan. The son of the founders of the camp. He is kind of an asshole, stuck up, and mysterious. But, of course, he’s also handsome AF and popular. To me, he’s a little too mean to her at the start. While these characters don’t fit exactly into the Pride and Prejudice character slots, neither Darcy nor Elizabeth were ever this level of mean to each other and I was not a fan.

That being said, by the end of the book, I needed these two together like I needed air.

Beatrice had never been in a relationship before and it was delightful to watch her learn what it was like for another person her age to care for her. This also goes for the relationships she had with her friends and frenemy. It was wonderful to see her grow as the story went on.

I also LOVED the Shakespeare aspects of the book. Nolan and Beatrice have a Shakespear-Off in the middle of a lake and OMG, it is A DELIGHT. As a prodigy, Beatrice knew everything and as a theater kid, Nolan did too. And this wasn’t even the only Shakespeare competition they had. I don’t even like Shakespeare that much but THIS…I could read this all day,

Because of how much I connected to Beatrice or perhaps because Serena Kaylor made me care so much about her, I cried and cried as I got to the end of the story. Mostly because of CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT and GROWTH. While Beatrice doesn’t do much acting as the camp prepares their main play, when she does, she shines.

I am giving Long Story Short by Serena Kaylor 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was just okay for me. The Shakespeare quote battle was kind of fun but also a little predictable. Also, it seemed like we had absolutely no time to bond with Bea before she ships off to theater camp. Her character seemed like so many others out there who are "not like other girls." The fact that she basically starts to change almost right after arriving at camp also made it seem like her nerdy persona was just a convenient plot device.

It also bothered me that we never get a concrete reason for how mean Shelby is; she's basically a bully, and her brother makes several references to the fact that she's "had a hard time" but with what? It's hard to buy into the fact that someone so driven to succeed in acting would have absolutely no backup plan for the rest of her life, and the wishy-washy explanations given throughout the book only emphasize the fact that Shelby, again, is a bully as a convenient plot device. The fact that she's in the same cabin as Bea but almost never runs into her there or that there aren't any more confrontations in the cabin is mystifying; wouldn't that be the perfect place for the two to engage in some major conflict? Why not utilize that?

Nikhil, Bea keeps telling us, has an amazing British accent, but he talks like an American teenager. I couldn't "hear" his accent at all. It seemed like something else to remind Bea off and on about Oxford.

Some bits of this were fun, but overall it was just a "meh" read for me.

This book was adorable! I enjoyed getting to know Beatrice. I wish my parents forced me to attend a Shakespearean Summer Academy! Getting out of your comfort zone can be difficult for us all and I thought the author did a great job or portraying the anxieties Bea felt throughout her time at the academy. Oxford is a big move and I liked that her experience at the Academy, and the friends she makes, is the path to take to get there for her.

I loved the friendships the most in this one and of course the romance was fun too. I definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a light and fluffy YA Contemporary Romance with all the great Shakespearean references!

When I tried to read this book several months ago, I just couldn't get into it. The protagonist was a little annoying for my tastes—and that is totally on me because I was pretty much exactly like her when I was her age. My bigger issue was that I, personally, don't love when white authors write POC love interests because the depiction of our cultures is just not quite accurate a lot of the time.

Incase you haven’t noticed my blog posts lately, I’ve been seeing quite a few Broadway shows this year (that’s an understatement LOL). It took me a while to get around to reading Long Story Short but I’m so glad it did as it gave me all the best kinds of feels!

Beatrice is a sixteen year old genius who has been home schooled her entire life and currently taking online college level courses. She has neurodiverse tendencies but nothing past that is stated on page, as the author has said she didn’t want to “label” Beatrice. (Side note, Serena Kaylor has tweeted she is autistic and that nobody’s experience is the same. She also mentioned that a lot of Beatrice’s tendencies and habits were mined from her own.)

She applied to Oxford University and when she gets accepted, she realizes she actually has to tell her parents….but they don’t think she’s ready to move to another country and live on her own. To prove she is able to be a normal girl, Beatrice agrees to go to a Shakespearean summer camp across the country and enroll in the acting course.

Bea thinks she can study and know what to expect from other teenagers, but nothing can prepare her for teenagers who are also theatre kids! They are unpredictable. Beatrice is awkward and out of place but trying to fit in, and I love her roommate Mia who immediately takes a liking to Bea and helps her navigate the summer. The play they’re putting on that summer is the classic Romeo & Juliet and Bea wants no part on stage, but her parents said that was a requirement for her, but genius that she is, she still navigates around being on stage.

The characters felt pretty predictable, yet I found myself enjoying that. This was a comforting read. This is your typical coming of age story but with a girl who is even more out of place than normal due to years of home schooling and little social interactions. She has a strict schedule of what to eat and what she wears daily, and camp throws everything upside down. I applaud her for trying new things, often with the encouragement of her new friends. Along the way Bea even finds a guy who challenges her and she might end up having a crush on, which is cute to see. Despite being socially awkward, Bea learns to navigate her way through camp and is often times witty at doing it – but also gets hurt too. This felt real!

You don’t need to know a ton of Shakespeare to enjoy this story. Since their main play they’re working on is Romeo & Juliet, which most people know the basics of, its easy enough to follow along. Other Shakespeare works are mentioned but you don’t need to know much about them to still enjoy this story. But if you do, its an extra bonus!

This was a fun and romantic read! High school theatre students spend a few weeks at a Shakespearean summer camp and the cast of characters are diverse and interesting. Beatrice Quinn ends up there because her parents want her to experience life as a real teenager. She has her heart set on attending Oxford in the fall and her parents will only let her go if she completes a to-do list filled with teenage norms like make a friend. She does make friends and manages to enjoy most of her camp experience!

Who doesn't love drama at summer camp?? This was a great summer read, but the characters were slightly annoying.

I love a good summer camp book and this one didn't disappoint. Beatrice is an interesting character who is driven and a total type A. I love that she has things planned out, but at the same time I wanted her to relax and be a teen.
I think the theater camp was a great for her personal growth. The friendships she made with Mia and Nolan were great. I think they truly helped her character grow. I also enjoyed the relationship between Bea and Nik, especially the dialogue between them.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! I highly recommend this! It was absolutely adorable! Will def be telling my friends all about it.

4ish stars

This was a fun, YA rom-com with an interesting mix of academic and creative competition. The characters were okay, although I feel like some of them could’ve been a more multi-faceted and less cliched. The plot was mostly fun(ny), and overall, it was a good blend of serious and light-hearted. I enjoyed it.