Happy pub day to MELT WITH YOU 🍦 and a huge thank you to @penguinteen for partnering with me on this video and sending me a free copy of this adorable book!

#MeltWithYou is about two girls, stuck on a summer road trip together in an ice cream truck, forced to confront their messy past … 😩 Fallon is type A to her core, follows the rules, and does things her way. Chloe is easy-breezy, type B, go with the flow. This makes for a messy road trip when they are forced to work on there mom’s ice cream truck together 🍦 what could possibly go wrong?!?!

Narrator: a lot goes wrong

⬇️ Please see the first reason why you need this book ⬇️

THIS IS A TAYLOR SWIFT SONG in book format. All of the angry, yearning- kissing & crying & screaming in the rain vibes you get from an epic Taylor song you find in this book. The emotions are so true to that feeling-everything-for-the-first-time feeling u only have as a teen.

The buy link to this book is in my bio & I can’t recommend it more 🥰 @jl_dugan will forever be an auto-read author of mine!

Who is excited to read this one??

This was cute! It wasn’t groundbreaking or anything but it was cute. And I would recommend it on my list for queer summer books to read over the school break. I enjoyed the story and the characters. Contemporary normally isn’t my jam but this was cute.

There were a lot of cute and fun things about this book. Like the set up for the situation they were in was great however I found the main characters too frustrating and I'm not a fan of the "bad at communicating" trope.

This book is the perfect summer read. Maybe it's because I'm incredibly nostalgic for my teenage years, or maybe because this book perfectly captures what it's like to be a teen exploring ones sexuality, but Melt With You made me want to grab ice cream, go to the beach and read until my back is sunburnt to a crisp. Loved it!

WHY DID I LISTEN TO MELT WITH YOU BY JENNIFER DUGAN?
Jennifer Dugan is an author that I have never read but definitely wanted to pick up. Particularly with Pride Month just around the corner. I went with audio for Melt With You given the Volumes app is going away (pour one out) and I had to get through my ALCs (advance listening copies). The concept of Melt With You also was one that I found super appealing — particularly as the main characters are from Upstate New York also known as my home and they take a cross country road trip in an ice cream truck. I knew I had to read this book one way or another.

I enjoyed Melt With You so much that I want to check out the other books Jennifer Dugan has written. This was a great sapphic YA book.

WHAT’S THE STORY HERE?
Once upon a time, Fallon and Chloe were best friends. Chloe is a year older than Fallon. Also, their moms are best friends. One night though, Fallon loses her v card to Chloe and through a series of miscommunications, the friendship falls apart. Also, Chloe has gone away to college. Now, Chloe is back in town and expecting to work at the ice cream truck that their moms own for the summer.

Also, Fallon is working the ice cream truck too — she has to pay her friend back for an upcoming trip. It turns out the moms are working with some investors and they have to take the ice cream truck to a food truck event in Texas. And so, Fallon and Chloe drive the truck to Texas with some mishaps along the way — also they have to work through being angry with each other and actually communicating.

HOW DID I LIKE MELT WITH YOU?
I enjoyed Melt With You so much that I want to check out the other books Jennifer Dugan has written. Fallon really has to work through her feelings and go through some character growth. I love that. Also, I loved the road trip feature — particularly the part where they are at a shady campground and have to deal with a huge issue. Oh and there’s the one bed trope here too. I do not pick up a ton of sapphic books and I feel like this was a great intro to reading more. If you’re looking to pick up a really good contemporary young adult book in general, I think you can’t go wrong with Melt With You.


HOW’S THE NARRATION?
The audiobook of Melt With You is narrated by Jeremy Carlise Parker. It is 8 hours and 46 minutes unabridged. I did listen to this book sped up because I am feeling the pressure of getting through the books on Volumes. The audiobook was easy to get into and listen to while driving or while doing chores or data entry type tasks at my work. I thought the narrator was perfect for the story. Parker’s voice is easy to listen to, perfect for the character of Fallon.

I really enjoyed the idea of this book, but I wish that the dynamic between Fallon and Chloe had been pushed a little further. I would still recommend picking this up if you are in the mood for something cute and quick to read.

There was nothing wrong with this book... it just read way more like a straight romance to me. Miscommunication is one of my least favourite tropes of all time, so that's on me, but there was something about Chloe's character that was just SO ANNOYING. I know the purpose of love stories like this is to make you feel good, but just once I would like to read a story where it didn't work out, where the main characters decided they'd be better apart, which felt like the case with this one for me.

Ever wanted to take a sapphic tension-filled roadtrip with your entirely, completely, platonic ex-bestfriend? There’s no need, you can just read it instead of putting yourself through that. The premise and the characters were cute but I’m just not the biggest fan of the miscommunication trope. So if you’re not either, this is not the one for you. Both of the girls make a lot of assumptions about the other that kind of have grounds but could easily have been solved if they actually talked to each other. I always find these ones hard to believe since they’re supposedly such good friends beforehand, which would make me assume they’ve had practice knowing how to talk to each other. Other than the use of the trope I thought it was okay. For me, this was a 3/5.

If you like messy pasts, second chances, or want to crave ice cream more than anything, this is the one for you.

I received a digital copy of this book free from Penguin Young Readers Group and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Jennifer Dugan's books are always AMAZING, but this one was just *chef's kiss*!!! thank you so much for letting me read an early copy!

It was a cute story. A whole friends to lovers to enemies to lovers roller coaster that you didn’t know you just got on. It was cute and I was rooting for them the entire time, but boy did it annoy me that they wouldn’t just talk it out like normal human beings should lol. But even if I was frustrated at them, doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the road trip this story went on with them either.

Grab yourself some ice cream because this one goes perfectly with a sweet treat served cold. You may need a bit to cool off from the tension between these two main characters, Fallon + Chloe.

What I loved most about this book was Fallon's inner monologue and how it gave the readers such insight into the emotions along the way as two ex-best friends who stopped talking after a summer hookup are forced to work together at their parents' ice cream truck. I am all for sapphic love stories, and this one is served with plenty of angst and miscommunication that seems so fitting for a young adult title. To me this book is so important to have available for teens, to show that feelings are important, and part of growing up is learning how to talk about them.

As always I'm a sucker for a summer love story, and I have to say my recent reads have me wanting to jump in the car and go on a road trip!

A super cute summer road trip rom-com about two former best friends whose relationship suffered a breakdown after a casual hookup. What’s more to love? The whole thing is set in an ice cream truck!

Melt with you is a rom-com with a road trip story involved and it was so much fun! There were some cute and loving moments balanced with the laugh-out-loud moments, keeping you on your toes. I knew this story was good and the characters were written well when I found myself getting mad at the main characters for their communication breakdowns and their silly personal hold-ups. I really was rooting for them the entire time!

When I first accepted this book, I thought I would enjoy it more. I love ice cream, I love coming of age stories, etc. but this one just fell a little flat for me. Unfortunately it was a DNF.

Part if this may be due to it geared toward a YA audience, when I am not YA. I really enjoy YA books still, but not this one so much.

It felt a little forced whenever Fallon would refer to the reader. Saying "I bet you're wondering, etc..." I'm not a huge fan of when the entire story is based off of miscommunication or just total lack of communication. However, again, this is a YA book. I definitely didn't communicate well when I was a teen.

Thank you G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers for the DRC.

Best friends to hookup to enemies to??? on a road trip in the ice cream truck their mothers own.

Per usual, this was another super cute book by Jennifer Dugan.

I’m always partial to super books with an ice cream theme due to me working at as ice cream shop in my teenager years.

The cover art was stunning (again, per usual) and the story was adorable. I loved the supportive friends and the summer adventure.

Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐️

“It’s just sometimes you don’t understand that you’ve lost something, or that you’re in that one final second before it all goes to shit, until far, far too late.”

Fallon and Chloe used to be best friends, but last summer they hooked up right before Chloe left for college, and after a series of misunderstandings they are now not speaking to one another. A year later, Chloe’s back home from school, and Fallon is doing everything in her power to avoid her--which is especially difficult because their moms own a business together, a gourmet ice cream truck where both girls work. When their moms have the opportunity to make a presentation to some venture capitalists in Texas, it's up to Fallon to work a series of food truck festivals across the country. But she can't do it alone, and Chloe is the only one available to help.

When I got the opportunity to read this ARC, I jumped at the chance! Starting two bisexual leading ladies, Dugan created such a fun story following a complicated relationship from the perspective of Fallon who hilariously break the fourth-wall. Honestly one downside for me was how heavily this novel relied on miscommunication, one of my least favorite troupes, although the assumptions and pettiness between the two girls is very realistic of teenage relationships! This is a hilariously cute friends to lovers to enemies to friends to lovers!! (Say that three times fast!) I definitely recommend reading this one with a pint or two of ice cream!!

I recommend this one to anyone looking for a simple and sweet LGBTQ+ romance, fans of Alices Oseman or Casey McQuiston, and lovers of sweet treats and adorable puns!!

I 1000% did NOT want to write this review. If you go right now and look at my reviews for Jennifer Dugan’s other books, you will see me GUSHING over them. Especially Verona Comics. But this one, just didn’t feel like any of the other books she had. And I just didn’t enjoy it.


Fallon and Chloe were besties…. Until they did the unthinkable and hooked up. Now it’s a year later and Fallon wants nothing to do with Chloe. Unfortunately her mom and Chloe’s are besties that run a business together that they both work in. But now that they are trying to get their ice cream into other places, things are getting serious. Fallon and Chloe’s moms have to fly out to convince the board to help back them, while Chloe and Fallon take on the two biggest festivals they have for the year. Can they make up during their time together? Or will Fallon continue to give her the cold shoulder? (Lol sorry! I couldn’t resist)


Ok so the number one thing about this book that I didn’t like was the fact that the trope for it is the miscommunication trope. And y’all know how that makes me lose cone-trol. (Sorry, I had to lmao) Throughout the ENTIRE book I kept yelling at her to just say something already. It really make sense not to actually. Especially considering the lengths she went to to cut her hours, etc. Instead of doing that, she should have had the decency to come and tell her why. And she made the comment during the book, “I don’t want to have to tell her” and that just pissed me all the way off. That was the coward’s way of handling this. But because of this, it made me dislike her the entire book. I even contemplated DNF-ing it, but because I wanted to know what actually happened, I kept reading.


The plot itself was ok. I liked the hijinks they got up to while on the road trip. I even looked up some of them to see if they were real. And with all the cool things they got to see and do, I thought it would bring them closer. But no. She stayed mad at her until like 65/70%. And of course, by then it’s time for the third act break-up, so it seemed like nothing happened between them. And this is a contemporary romance book ya know?


Being a character driven reader made this book hard to swallow. Although I was rooting for Chloe, I couldn’t stand being in Fallon’s head. At a few points I wanted Chloe to just give up because she deserved better. It just seemed like Fallon was so selfish and all about herself. She was so set on Chloe doing wrong that she never considered she could have been in the wrong also. It just really rubbed me the wrong way. I wished so badly that this a multi POV because I needed a break from Fallon’s bad attitude. Like y’all know that people who dislike everything is exhausting. Well that is definitely her. And then on top of being selfish and exhausting, she’s also petty. She was like mega-annoying. Basically what I’m saying is Fallon was a drip (lmfao last one I promise) and Chloe and the ice cream saved this for me.


To say I was disappointed was an understatement. I just knew I was going to have the most fun writing this pun filled review, but for the most part I was dreading it. I didn’t want to give one of my favorites a low rating, but then I thought about it. That’s how you know it’s true. I am being 1000% honest.

Real rating was 2.5

I thought this was so cute! Jennifer Dugan put so much effort into the characters, the writing, and it really just gives you a feeling of sweetness and happiness! I love the contemporary friendship and the atmosphere!

** spoiler alert ** I was highly anticipating this book and for the most part it did not let me down! The premise was cute and I enjoyed all of the ice cream puns. I also really enjoyed the use of the romance tropes (forced proximity, mutual pining, one bed...etc). This book wasn't particularly memorable in terms of theme, but it was a fun read and I would definitely recommend it!

Jen Dugan has done it again. This one had me smiling from ear to ear the entire time. This gives big vibes and I think it's going to be a hit with the bookstall community.