This book was really cute. I loved the sliding doors feel of it and how it was bisexual without having to choose. The author's writing style really makes me want to read more!

I absolutely adore every Dahlia Adler book I read, and this one was no different. Both of Natalya's summers felt equally fleshed out and lived in, and at no point did I feel cheated in one timeline of the book by the time that was spent in the other. Instead, they effortlessly compliment each other, and I loved seeing how events played out differently depending on if she was in LA or NYC. While I adored both love stories in this book (this is now an Adam Rose stan account), Nat's relationship with her mom and the care with which it was handled was the real standout of this book for me. I always love the Jewish rep in all of Dahlia's books, and I especially loved getting to see that side of both Los Angeles and New York City in this book.

Ahhhh. This book is so good. I loved the dual timelines and the way each romance was written made me so conflicted on who I wanted Natalya to end up with. Each timeline was distinct and separated by nicknames she went by, Nat and Tal. The original friend group appeared in both, but each event they went through was told in a different way where nothing was repetitive and everything was so well done. Tal and Ellie were so cute and really expanded each others universe. While Adam and Nat’s story was also so sweet and all about growing up and finding their dreams. Both storylines tackled the same topics but in unique and different ways. I am obsessed with this book.

I love the Jewish representation. They featured multiple different ways people express their Jewishness and how unique one’s own relationship with Judiasm is.

And again so happy to see such good queer YA in the world and how much more Jewish representation is focused on their joy and everyday lives.

Thank you St Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for providing me a free and early digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for the eArc for my honest opinion.

Going Bicoastal is a cute YA rom. Tally is trying to figure out herself and what she is wanting to do after her Senior Year, her parents are divorced, one living on each coast. This book starts out with Tally having to make a choice, does she spend the summer in NYC with her dad or in LA with her Mom, who she is no longer close to?

This book a la sliding doors than breaks into two different realities depending on the choice that she has made and switches back and forth from chapter to chapter.

Overall, i enjoyed this book, though i am not the target audience with it being more of a teen audience and i am well into my 30's, I liked Tally and how she grew and created her own found family in each of the scenarios. However, since the book was split 50/50 with each reality i felt like there just wasn't enough of either story or romance to really feel invested in either romance.

3/5 stars.

A queer romance combined with a Choose Your Own Adventure style?!? Count me in! I enjoyed this sweet story and the author pulled you straight into those familiar teenage feelings while also making you fall in love with each character.

This was such a great book about a girl who has to make a choice between the two summers she can have. I have read Adler’s past books and have always enjoyed them and let me say I was not disappointed with this one. I have read a book a long time ago where it was told in an alternative timeline and I didn’t enjoy it but Adler changed that for me. I loved the two different settings which were NYC and LA and seeing how much of a part it was for the book. This book is also not mainly romantic based as the author perfectly balanced it out with Natalya’s coming-of-age story. The pacing was perfect and I loved the overall plot of the story.

The main character in this book is Natalya who has to make a choice of either being with her dad or with her mom in different cities. I love reading her character and exploring her story with her. She was a great, fun character who had such an amazing character. The side characters were well involved with the book and there are two main love interests. At first I wondered how it was going to work out but it all makes sense once you get to the end. We have Adam who meets in LA and Elly in NYC. The characters were well-written and I loved how different they were and not similar. The romance was great and very cute. I couldn’t feel the chemistry but I loved how the characters developed with each other. The tropes are lgbtq+, friends to lovers, slow burn, and rivals to lovers.

The ending was kind of ok for me and could have been better but overall the story was great. So far every book Adler has written has turned out really great and would recommend it to everyone. I did have minor issues with the book but honestly, that is just me.

*this e-arc was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*

A queer Sliding Doors rom-com in which a girl must choose between summer in NYC with her dad (and the girl she's always wanted) or LA with her estranged mom (and the guy she never saw coming).

Confession: I usually hate Sliding Doors-type stories. Something about them, or choose your own adventure, or even anything with mirror universe doubles, makes me extremely anxious. I only read this one because I've loved all Dahlia Adler's other books. And I'm extremely glad I did, because this was great and I actually enjoyed it so much! I don't want to spoil anything, but I think it's helped by the fact that the double timelines and how they wind up are not actually stressful here at all. It's not that the characters don't deal with anything difficult, they do, but, as as it says in the marketing copy, there's more than one path to happily ever ever.

I wound up almost equally invested in both timelines, which was a nice surprise, and in a large part due to the great cast of supporting characters in both, including love interests, friends, and parents. The main character is bi and there's lots of different LGBTQIAP+ rep in her friend groups, and we also get to see the role her Judaism plays in her life - and a ton of delicious-sounding Shabbat dinners, among other mouth-watering food descriptions. Seriously, I wanted both a playlist and a cookbook to go along with this book.

This is a perfect summer read for anyone, but especially for teens (or adults!) who need some reassurance about the fact that their future doesn't necessarily hinge on every small decision and that there are multiple paths in life that can be valid and rewarding and great.

I'm a big Dahlia Adler fan and was so excited to get a copy of Going Bicoastal. I wasn't expecting this to be a Sliding Doors type narrative where two choices branch off from the main narrative and play out. Natalya Fox has to choose between spending the summer where she lives with her Dad in New York or spending the summer in LA with her dad. We readers are lucky as we don't have to choose - we get to see what happens if she stays in New York or goes to L.A. In New York she connects more with her Jewish heritage learning to cook Shabbat dinners, connects with and begins to date the red-headed girl she sees around a lot, and starts connecting more with her Mom over the phone and also planning a career in graphic design. In LA she takes an internship at her Moms company that also leads her to a graphic design goal - as well as her cute fellow intern a guy with a secret desire to go to culinary school. A nice touch is that in both scenarios she gets more in touch with her Jewish heritage, becomes closer to her Mom, and establishes some career goals. I really can't say which romantic storyline I preferred, both stories had lots of chemistry. What I thought might be an annoying gimmick at first turned out to be cute and entertaining.

This book was just so much fun! Going Bicoastal is a Sliding Doors-style romcom that follows Natalya, a bisexual Jewish girl, as she chooses to either stay in New York and finally get the girl of her dreams OR head to LA to stay with her mom for the summer, where she'll eventually meet the guy of her dreams. Both stories had me kicking my feet at the cute parts, crossing my fingers for Nat to repair her relationship with her mom, and staving off a rumbling stomach thanks to all of the delicious food descriptions. All in all, the perfect summer read!

Final rating: 4.5/5 stars, rounded up to 5!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

I was totally hooked by the premise of this book - one character with two alternative story lines? So intriguing! Overall the plots for both scenarios were solid, although I did find myself more interested in one version over the other. What bothered me though was how hard the author was trying to make her characters sound 'cool.' Some of the language was too juvenile even for a YA book, especially for the events that occur throughout the story. It took quite a bit of the enjoyment out of the reading of it for me, and I found myself eye rolling far too many times.

I really enjoyed the representation of the Jewish population in this book. It was a very realistic component to the story and I appreciated how the main character held this as a part of her identity. I also thought the author did a nice job with how Natayla shares being bisexual. She didn't overly fixate on the fact, but let the stories speak for themselves in sharing her feelings, thoughts and experiences.

Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler was such a fun and delightful experience. The parallel timelines was such an interesting take along with the bisexual representation. I loved it and I cannot wait to recommend this to everybody.

Oh, this was a lot of sweet YA romance fun. At a pivotal age for makign decisions about the future, a big choice of where to spend the summer can be followed along both options (ala Sliding Doors, or a way less melancholy and less sci-fi My Real Children) to two different, sweet romances. Both summers/romantic options/outcomes were so excellent I couldn't choose between them; in my mind the big decision of where to go for the summer sprang up alternate universes, Doctor Who style, so both can continue indefinitely in alternate timelines.

Sliding Doors is one of my favorite movies. I'm definitely a person who believes that we have millions of paths to choose from and the tiniest decision can make a big change to your path. But we don't see the map or the tree we just experience the journey. So we might end up in the same spot just from different directions.
So I loved the idea of a queer YA version of this idea.
The main character Natalia is Jewish and bi. And loved how they spoke about Shabbat and how both paths she took she was learning how to cook and spend more time with her family during that time.
Also how she forms a better relationship with her mother since she lives with her father after their divorce. And the career she wanted she seemed to fall into the same type of position but on different paths in different ways.
In her LA path she is into a guy named Adam and in her NY path she finally talks to the red haired girl named Elly.
This was a sweet coming of age story told from two possible paths taken. With romance, lots of food, and family togetherness.

Thank you stmartinspress for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

As a fan of her last book, Home Field Advantage, I've now come to expect a deft touch with teens navigating sexuality when Dahlia's writing, and this is another win for her. The characters and their dilemmas feel authentic and not story-arbitrary, and their happy endings are all the more deserved. Always a fan of Dahlia's!

This story was such a unique concept for me to read! Natalya has to make a choice between staying in NYC with her father, friends and the girl she's been crushing on or going to LA to visit with her mother and strengthen their relationship. Dahlia Adler takes readers on a journey of exploring both options with alternating chapters. I found myself drawn to a particular storyline while reading. Natalya goes through personal growth in each outcome, along with navigating options for her after high school goals. I enjoyed this story overall! I also enjoyed being introduced to the Jewish representation and learning about the traditions! Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

So! This book was such a delight to read!! I absolutely loved both timelines almost equally, something I hadn't expected. My main worry was not being able to tell them apart, or getting confused between them, but that was not an issue at all.

The side characters on both coasts were unique (and there were, as promised, Lara and Jasmine cameos!!). They were surprisingly developed, considering they didn't get a huge amount of page time, since the book is basically split in half. My favorites were probably the parents (loved the little interrogations so much), alllll the friends, and special shoutout to EvanandMateoo<33 (ofc my girl was right).

Now, the similarities. I loved the parallels. I LIVED for the parallels. It felt a bit similar to when the title of a book is used in it, something that makes me so randomly happy for absolutely no reason! There were phrases said, or realizations she made, in both timelines, which really showed, that while the people around her, and the environment, was different, Natalya was still the same person.

On to the love interests! I loved Adam and Elly! Adam and Natalya's relationship started with a bit of enmity, which i always lovee, while Elly and Natalya's was more of a longtime mutual attraction, so also super fun! Both relationships were fleshed out and easy to root for, though they were definitely different so it never felt boring or repetitive.

After this and Cool for the Summer (which i also loved, just not as much!), Dahlia Adler has definitely become one of my instant-add-to-tbr authors!

Also random note: the John Mayer (🤢) hate made me happy<3

Songs i thought of during this book:
'Older' and 'Only Child' by Sasha Alex Sloan (about the divorce and growing up alone, respectively)

4.5 Stars!

One of my most anticipated reads for this year, and it did not disappoint!

It’s a dual timeline story of romance and summer plans and uncertain futures for our lead, Natalya.

One storyline follows Natalya staying in NYC with her father for the summer and going out of her shell to peruse the girl of her dreams.

The other storyline follows Natalya as she heads to LA to live with her estranged mom for the summer and falling for the guy she never saw coming!

Each story is so wonderful and they blend together seamlessly every other chapter. So many parallels and outcomes between the stories that you feel like you got not one, but two incredible summer romances full of self discovery and adventure.

The best part? We even get two HEAs in a choose your own ending style epilogue.

As a late blooming bi, this story made my heart so insanely happy and it was insanely satisfying. I cannot recommend it enough and it’s one I will happily be rereading!!

What's a better summer read than book with a happy ending? A book with TWO happy endings! This was so much fun! I loved both timelines (although it took me a little longer to get into the LA one), and while I was originally apprehensive that they'd both have enough room to feel complete in what's already a relatively short book, they both do.

It was really meaningful to me to see a more observant Jewish main character in a book like this. Shabbat dinners make regular appearances in both timelines, and Natalya keeps kosher. There's also such a variety in observance across the supporting characters who are Jewish, which was also wonderful to see!

CW: divorce, mention of past self-harm

I absolutely loved this book! Dahlia Adler has taken an almost Choose-Your-Own Adventure style approach to this book, without compromising the quality or how enjoyable either path is. GOING BICOASTAL had me hooked from the very beginning and completely surpassed any expectations that I had. It’s undoubtedly a very fun rom-com, but it also has some absolutely incredible character work and relationship building along with that, and this staunch pride in both Natalya’s bisexuality and Jewishness that was so genuine and heartfelt. I will admit, I did have a favourite choice/love interest, but I truly enjoyed seeing Adler explore both options. I completely devoured this book and I could not recommend it enough.

Natalya Fox has a choice. She can stay in New York with her dad, her friends, and the cute redhead she’s been crushing on all year, or go visit her mom in LA with an internship and a cute boy that she doesn’t know yet. And she ultimately decides…both, or at least that’s the story that we get to follow. Natalya’s story unfolds in both NY and LA, with two potential love interests, and with a world of relationship and personal development on both sides. Whichever side she actually picked, the end goal remains largely the same, it’s the journey that changes. It’s a true testament to how well this is written and how fun it is that despite a preference, I never found myself dreading a switch between timelines, but instead excited to see what would happen next.

Despite being a rom-com, GOING BICOASTAL also does some serious heavy lifting in the non-romantic relationship, personal growth, and side character development department. We truly get to see Nat grow as a character, from deepening her relationships with her parents (who also got their own growth in their own ways!) to figuring out her non-romantic future. On both paths, we get a wealth of side characters that I loved seeing Nat interact with (although I do have a particular fondness for the food truck crew).

Although I don’t specifically relate to a lot of aspects of Natalya’s identity (outside of being queer), that didn’t stop the parts of the books that discussed and embraced those facets from being some of my absolute favourite parts. There isn’t ever a question of Nat’s Jewishness or her bisexuality, they’re integral to her character, but they’re still given center stage in her journey, embraced in such a genuinely wonderful way, from learning how to cook Shabbos dinner to the two equivalent love stories with a guy and a girl. Not to mention I really just enjoyed seeing Nat grow and develop as an already strong character.

And of course, I have to talk about the romance. The redhead already in New York and the cute mystery intern that she’d be working with in LA. Both of these romantic paths have such great potential, and I really enjoyed getting to see Nat explore both of them. All that said, I have to admit that I enjoyed her storyline and especially the romance in LA just a little bit more. From my own personal preferences, there was something about getting to see Nat fall from the very beginning instead of acting upon an already established crush that had me that much more on the edge of my seat. In some ways I also thought that LA was the better fit for her overall, but I can see how others might like the NY storyline just as much or more. But I have to say, Adam Rose the man that you are!!

If you’re looking for your next summer read or just your next rom-com in general, this one is an absolutely fantastic choice (my favourite Dahlia Adler book to-date!) And if you haven’t read/planned on reading it already, I would highly recommend adding it to your list!

Thank to you Netgalley and to Dahlia Adler for letting me read this arc. First of all, 5 stars! This book made my queer heart so freaking happy. I figured out that I am bisexual a couple of years ago, and this book just spoke to me. I got very attached to Natalya almost immediately. This book is similar to a choose your own adventure as it has a dual narrative , and I love that so much! The writing is so fun! This is a book that is very hard to put down. My husband had to call me to dinner twice. This is a book I will be recommending to everyone for forever. My only complaint is that I wish it were longer. Seriously, I hope that everyone reads this book!