One of my favorite things about romance is how in-depth it can be when exploring the human psyche. Without a murderer to be found, a space craft to be repaired or rescued, a great quest to complete, or a mystery to be solved, we are left with a deep, intense exploration of the emotions that make us all human. Not that these other genres don't also offer this, but not without distractions.

Sonia Palermo's "Hot Girl Summer" was one of those books that takes that deep dive into the psyche of its main character and explores the corners of her mind with unabashed honesty. This book, at least for me, was less about the love interest or the steam (which was lovely, BTW), but about Sophia, whose life seems to be a mess. And not just external messiness, but internal as well. She's so many of us who know that behaving a certain way has consequences, but we can't bring ourselves to stop. Spending time with superficial people, allowing oneself to be treated poorly because it's the evil we know... these are all evils in the world that many of us are all too familiar with. Add to that the stresses and reality of everyday life (jobs, misunderstandings between friends, etc.) and you have an identifiable chaos that makes Sophia understandable, loveable, and sometimes incorrigible, all at the same time.

The romance itself, between Sophia and Danny, felt organic and had a reality to it that not every romance author pulls off. We see the sparks fly between them, at first sparks of annoyance and conflict, but they eventually change to sparks of attraction. I liked Danny, though was equal parts frustrated with him at points throughout the book. That was part of the charm, though. He came off as human, and that adds all the more depth to the story and romance.

Overall, I really enjoyed this read. There were a few spots that felt slower than others, but (for me at least) it didn't affect the reading. At no point was I pulled out of the story, and the heartwarming HEA was enough to leave one feeling content by the end of the narrative. I definitely think this was a solid debut novel, and I can't wait to read more from the author as she continues to write.

This book was so relatable. the characters felt like someone you would want in your life and to be friends with. The situations were so real and not far fetched. it made the book extremely enjoyable to read. For a debut it was stellar, I would have never know it was the authors debut without reading a little more info after finishing.

**Thank you NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for a copy of this ARC. This is my honest review.**

Perhaps this is a reader problem, than an author problem, but I didn't really enjoy this story. I should preface that when I read the synopsis for this, I didn't do enough research on the author and found that this book's focus was a whole lot spicier than I came in expecting. Whilst I don't mind a fair amount of spice in a book if it fits well with the plotline, for me, I didn't find Hot Girl Summer was executed well enough for my liking.

I didn't like Sophia. I found myself questioning her reactions far too much, especially from the beginning. Even if some of them were a defense mechanism, it didn't build her up favourably in my mind. I felt her voice was much younger than 26, and struggled to place her within my mind as I read. Perhaps because I've never been a party girl, or cared much for that scene, I couldn't relate to anything she did and found her rather erratic, especially with the back and forth of her reactions and her contradictory thoughts about men. I did try to, and there were some small moments where I grew hopeful that I was warming up to her, but the pacing and use of several side characters made for a bit of a messy read. I was also rather impartial to Danny. I didn't see him as cocky or a jerk when Sophia did, and I didn't find him appealing when she was completely in love with him. I didn't hate nor love him, and quite often I struggled with their feelings and reactions being believable enough.

I think one of the biggest issues I had with this novel was how many side storylines that occurred. A few of them had really heavy topics that I could appreciate the effort the author put in with initial information, but again, it seemed too choppy jumping back and forth between them, and nothing helped build them up. I hoped that they would either stop taking the forefront or become something the author focused on to warrant their placement in this world. There was a lot of telling of emotions rather than letting the reader experience it, and I struggled with the point of there being so many heavy topics that I lost track of what the book was really about.

This is a spicier read. I was surprised by some scenes, whilst others made me wonder why they were written. Again, I will point out that I don't opt for spicier reads, and try to choose romances more driven by plot than romance in this genre - which is sometimes hard to filter through when the synopsis reads as something sweeter than spicy.

I think this book just wasn't for me and will be liked by others who can relate to this type of world that I've never had a part in so that's why it fell beyond my level of understanding.

Hot Girl Summer follows Sophia who is sick of men messing around, One day she meets Danny and falls for him. And realizes the only way she can fall for him is to move on from her past and reclaim her power.

Honestly, what in the world did I just read? Like I know what the story was supposed to be about. But, it was really bad. It felt all over the place, the characters did not seem relatable. I am so sad because this sounded like a good idea for a story. But I did not like this one at all. I don't think I would suggest this.

There are a few vague references to elements of this book that some may consider spoilers. So read at your own discretion.

I find giving star ratings for books like this very difficult as some elements I enjoyed and other elements left me wanting. So how are you supposed to balance that out in a simplified 1 -5 system?

I think this story has the potential to be a brilliantly fleshed out, exploring self-image, self-love and romance.

There is a large cast of additional characters, however, these characters are where my first issue begins. For starters, there’s possibly too many side characters?
I kept finding myself slightly lost trying to follow along with the inter-personal drama within our lead female character (Sophia’s) friendship group. I also frequently wondered if and how some of the side narrative was actually contributing to the plot.
For example at the end of the book I didn’t see the relevance of even including the Ryan and Chrissy characters.

My main issue however was how unlikeable I found these characters in the opening sequence of the book. It certainly didn’t help when starting this read. Two key moments that stood out to me in relation to this are:

1 - April (Sophia’s friend) shared a nude image she is sent, by a man, with her friends. It seems as though she’s consensually/happily received this image, so I have no qualms there. However, the person who has sent that photograph has not consented to having their image shown around to her friends. I don’t know if it’s just me (perhaps people do this and I just had no idea) but that made me immediately feel some animosity towards the entire friendship group. It felt like a bit of a double standard. Imagine if it were a woman’s nude photograph being shared around.

(The double standard between genders remained a theme to me throughout the book. As Sophia spoke about not wanting to be shamed for having casual sex or sleeping with multiple people. However she would then judge men who behaved in that exact way.)

2 – The meet cute between Sophia and Danny.
This I think is the root of a lot of my issues with Sophia as a character. This of course may not be everyone's opinion, however, I think Danny was completely in the right when he said she was behaving childishly. If I saw anyone in a bar go after someone like Sophia goes after Danny for taking a bad photograph I would genuinely be shocked. Particularly because, as Danny says ‘There are over one hundred people...’ in the bar for her to ask. If he was that bad at it, you would just pick someone else.
And whilst Danny is not the most polite to her during this interaction, she speaks about him afterwards as if he is the worst person she’s ever met. Remaining so irate about something that she started and could have been completely avoided did read as childish to me. It didn’t feel realistic to how someone would behave in that situation and it put me off her character.

I think I also had a lot of issues with character consistency and clarity. Having such a large cast of characters requires them all to be very clearly defined as individuals, and to each have an important role in the narrative. Some seemed to blur together for me personally, and others felt like they could be cut out entirely with no impact on the story. In terms of inconsistencies one example I noted was when Sophie thinks, ‘I usually keep my thoughts to myself’. Which for me was a direct contradiction to how she has been introduce to us.

I also found it difficult to understand Sophia’s immaturity. The more we learn about her the more we learn what she’s been through. I would personally think that as a result of all that she’s experienced, she would have had to grow-up very quickly.

The books structure had way too many ups and downs in my opinion. Rather than a 3 or even 4 act structure, it felt as though there were about 15 peaks and troughs. With so many issues coming up throughout, resolutions felt rushed and ultimately disappointing.

For example, I was really connecting with Sophia about her anxieties when it came to men in bars and clubs – owing to her previous experiences. I felt her anxiety in that environment and really appreciated the author discussing that topic and successfully exploring that side of Sophia’s personality. However when Sophia discussed her traumatic experience with Danny it seemed to be swept up neatly into one sentence and then brushed off, Sophia seeming completely unaffected by it. It was not mentioned again until their first kiss much later.
(I did enjoy that topic being brought back and felt that it was very well approached during their first kiss. The fact that it was a narrative tool abandoned earlier on however meant that I was surprised that it was brought up again at all.)

The subject was then replaced by a different trauma point for Sophia. It felt as though there were almost too many topics represented/discussed, meaning some did not get the recognition and time that they deserve.

The discussion and representation of food/eating disorders was excellent. You could feel how much Sophia cared for her sister. I think the book would be stronger for me personally if the author focussed on this particular aspect of Sophia’s life above all her other issues. It’s clearly the strongest narrative thread throughout the novel and contributed the most to Sophia’s successful characterisation. Better to have one topic represented with the emotion and sensitivity it deserves than to cast a wider net and only touch on much larger topics than there is time for.

I found the final third of the book to be the most enjoyable to me as the narrative began to focus in on our main characters who’s love story, up until this point, had felt rather sidelined. This is where I felt the biggest development of their relationship and individual characters.
Whilst the final act conflict felt a bit flat and rushed to me (due to my previous comments on the structure) I do think this was the most successful portion of the book. I wanted more of that!

Overall it wasn’t my favourite read but I do think that if you were to peel back some of the layers of other characters and narrative points that feel as though they aren’t necessarily adding to the narrative. You’d find the sturdy bones of a fantastic story.

One quote that really stuck with me was from Sophia,

‘… feelings are sacred, and they don’t come around often enough for me to give them away freely...’

I hope my feedback was structured in a helpful way. This is not meant to be aggressive to the author, only to give my honest feedback on how I experienced the story.

I loved this book! The first few pages were a bit slow (for my personal liking) but two chapters in when I read the "Enjoy your drink, Princess." I was HOOKED. This was the perfect rom-com I needed to get myself out of a bit of a reading slump. I cannot wait for this title to be released, I'm excited!

it's the perfect "I don't even know your name" vs "you gave me a fake name" trope. amazing.

4⭐️

Would recommend if you like:
✅ a yoga-loving main character, Sophia, taking a chance on love to shed her "party girl" image
✅ a musician, Danny, who is crazy about Sophia but can't do anything about it
✅ slow burn
✅ spiiiiiiice 🌶🌶

The things I loved about the book: the spice and chemistry between Sophia and Danny was stellar and I was living for all of it. I would definitely consider this book a slow burn and loved the banter back and forth. It felt refreshing to identify with a woman who is single and trying to have fun going out while also being safe because people can be creepy and you never know what someone's intentions are. This was a very real feeling and experience that I think many women can relate to. The closeness of Sophia's family was really sweet and I could feel her struggle to be there for her teenage sister while trying to navigate her twenties, job, friends, and guys.

The things I didn't like as much: within the first few chapters there were so many characters introduced that I had a hard time trying to piece together who was who and how they related to Sophia and the plot. When/if they showed up later in the book I had a better time remembering who was who, but a little confusing to start. I also felt that any arguments Sophia was having with friends would start and then it was solved in like 1.5 pages and everyone would be totally fine. Maybe I'm more judgmental than her, but I wouldn't easily forgive a girl who dated my ex, was rude to my face, and ignored me completely.

Check author's note for content warning such as eating disorders and sexual content.

<I> Thank you so much to Net Galley and Xpresso Book Tours for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review! </I>

arc received by netgalley.

ok, so, 3 stars.

i'm in the minority here, evidently, based on the reviews on goodreads. it just wasn't up to my taste.

i liked that the heroine wasn't afraid of being hyperfeminine, or not necessarily that but i guess being fond of things that pick me girls are afraid of liking. i also liked the fact that she was really one for the environment. the heroine was, for the lack of better words, refreshing to see in contemporary romance novels.

i was indifferent to the hero. usually, i either am borderline obsessed with a romance book hero, or am plotting his murder if ever he comes to life. but in this book, i didn't really care much for danny.

one thing that didn't appeal to me the most was the pop culture references and the use of genz terminology, which is honestly just aave. as a younger reader, it's expected for me to like the references, but it had the opposite effect on me. idk for sure, but this book just wasn't my cup of tea.

Thank you to NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for an advanced copy of this novel

This is a modern day love story! It’s extremely relatable from my perspective as a single, twenty something year old trying to find love and friendship in this digital age. The characters were all pretty likeable but I do wish some of them had a bit more depth. I found myself waiting for the main twist or turn, or big event in this story but I don’t feel like this happened?

What I did appreciate was a trigger warning right at the start of the book, explaining what content this book covers (eating disorders, mental health, sexual content, sexual assault) I think this is great and all books should have this!

If you’re looking for a quick, easy and spicy read, I think you’ll enjoy this!

O-M-G
This. book. was. so. good! Sonia Palermo is now one of my favorite authors!

This book follows the story of Sophia. Sophia is a girl who loves the bar, hookups, and friends. While at the bar one day, she sees a handsome guy named Danny. Tention starts to grow between Sophia and Danny. She wanted to be over hookups and start a real connection with Danny. Sophia tries to forget the past and make a "new" life with Danny. She faces so many obstacles during this time.

Hot Girl Summer by Sonia Palermo comes out on March 14, 2022! Preorder it now!

Wow. Not even sure where to start with this one. This was the absolute perfect combination of wittiness, angst and overall hilarious banter.

The sarcastic banter between Sophia and Danny starts from chapter one and continues through to the epilogue. It was such a nice light easy read, while at the same time being heavy in self discovery and appreciating one’s self worth.

While being a contemporary romance it has the perfect combination of romance and Sophia’s self growth.

Normally I find slow burns drag and I loose interest and that was not the case to say the least. I felt so seen this whole book right down to the pizza with mushrooms olives and pineapple which is literally my go to 😂.

This book is one of my fav romances I’ve read as of late and I won’t stop talking about it for months to come I’m sure.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Hot girl summer is the perfect beach read. The main character, Sophia, originally sees herself as nothing more than a party girl, but this book shows how her life changes when she learns her worth and discovers what she really wants. Hot Girl Summer brings together music, love, self worth, mental illness and friendship. Definitely worth the read!