I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Tw: cursing, sexual content, abandonment, brief mention of self harm

Natalya Fox has twenty-hours to choose between spending to summer in NYC with her dad (and finally go after the girl she's been crushing on forever) or spending it in LA reconnecting with her estranged mom. Why choose if she can have both? Both summers play out in alternating timelines, one in which Natalya stay in NYC and goes after the girl of her dreams and one in which she tries to repair things with her mom and goes for the guy she never saw coming.

I LOVE the concept of this book and alternating timelines! It was such a fun and cute read!

Natalya's character was well-written and definitely relatable and I simply can't choose a favorite timeline! I loved that, no matter the choice she made, she still ended up the best version of herself and it's just so inspiring to know that no matter what you choose, happiness will still find you,

Dahlia Adler's writing is smooth, fun and sooo entertaining. I'm a definitely fan of her and will support her till the end!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an early copy.

Natalya is heading into her last summer of high school before she heads to senior year. She has a tough decision to make. She either stays in NYC with her father, where she lives and where her crush the readhead lives, or head to LA ans spend the summer reconnecting with her mother.

Lucky for us - we get both versions!

I enjoyed getting both versions of "what if". A definitely "path not taken" reminder. Natalya is bi so one version has a female romantic interest and the other a male, and I felt this was well done. I liked that it showed no matter which path you choose, it can be a happy outcome.

This will be a fun summer read!

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Orange Sky Audio for both an ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review!

I loved this book. The characters were all so nuanced and felt like real people. I really enjoyed the alternate timelines and honestly couldn’t pick a favorite because both relationships felt so real. I loved the ending and felt like everything was resolved so well. I definitely recommend this book.

I received a digital ARC from St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I enjoyed this novel. The characters are relatable. This novel is classified as Young Adult, but I think readers of any age will enjoy it. Adler’s writing is smart. The novel does not read like it was written for a younger audience.

Okay, how adorable is this book? Told in alternating storylines, we watch Natalya in both of her options for the summer. Stay home in NY or spend the summer in CA with her mother. Both options have a love interest, and both options have her reconnecting with her mother in differing ways. It's a fun 'what if' told in a unique style that makes this such a fun book.

While I adored Elly and loved the entire sapphic element of staying in New York, my heart was firmly settled in California with Adam. Something about a person going from prickly and distant to having so many layers underneath (as it usually goes) warmed my heart and drew me in. And if you don't spend most of your time in the California timeline hungry, you must have read a different book than I did.

"... she'll probably leave early because she hates clubs and music and loud noise and being around other people. Which, fair."

I loved the rep, the varying options, watching Natalya open up, and her love of life. She's a character to get behind who is so supportive of others that you want her on your team. And she's so funny. "Oh, it will. It's actually right there in the Torah that if you're a lousy cook, you go straight to hell."

This one was a ton of fun, and I always enjoy Adler's books. Definitely recommend this one.

Thank you, St. Martin's, for the advanced copy.

Going Bicoastal is going to be THE romance novel of summer☀️

It was very very sparkly. It gave me the sparkles? Idk sometimes I just get a certain sparkly, instant classic vibe from YA romances and this is one of those times. I want to be this book.

It’s hard to talk about the book experience without spoilers, so I’m putting my full review under the warning! I don’t think the things I reveal would negatively impact your experience though. They might even alleviate some stress 👀

**SPOILERS BELOW**

For those curious, this absolutely IS a delightfully queer romance, but what it isn’t is a love triangle!! It’s almost a choose your own adventure novel, as there are two HEA tracks at the end. I read it all as I loved both the New York and LA romances, but there’s technically the option to only read a singular HEA between either Natalya/Ellie or Natalya/Adam.

Both relationships were simply delightful. Before I knew we were getting both HEAs, I was in PAIN. Genuinely, I don’t think it’s possible for me to choose a favorite. NYC and LA almost felt like main characters, as the relationships seemed to really embody the cities. They were both so different; it really felt like two whole romance novels in one.

New York: I adored the pining between Natalya and Ellie; they were both obsessed for ages before making a move. It was such a great demonstration of having a totally brutal crush that may possibly be mutual…aka the most confusing, butterfly-inducing state of being. The summer camp and cute kid content was also a plus. Nat’s relationship with her dad was lovely, and her virtual book club with her mom really melted my heart. (I was so happy to get the mom content in NYC as well, since it was one of my favorite things about LA.)

Los Angeles: I loved how Nat put herself out there and made friends in LA. It was entirely wholesome. I guess I didn’t really clock the taco truck on the cover when I started reading because I was definitely not prepared for the glorious LA food scene 🤤 I especially loved watching Natalya vocalize her religious dietary restrictions (pork, shellfish). It was so HOT when Adam prepared Shabbat dinner for her and her mom!!! And don’t even get me started on the TOWEL SHOPPING. There’s something so deeply sexy about running errands with someone. *I swoon.*

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5


Thanks so much to the publisher for an eARC via NetGalley. All opinions are honest and my own

natalya is currently being faced with a choice for her summer break: stay with her dad in NYC, with the familiar, or go to LA to be with her estranged mother and take some risks. the story unfolds in two separate timelines: following nat, who chose LA, and tal, who chose NYC.

honestly, i requested this a while ago and forgot the blurb before starting this, so i was pleasantly surprised when i realized this book had two timelines. i think this aspect was so well done, though, so i applaud dahlia adler for that. honestly, i got a bit nervous that the ending would not satisfy me since i was sure there’d be no resolution on what “actually” happened, and i was worried that some of the things nat realized tal wouldn’t, and vice versa. without going into spoilers, i’ll just say that i appreciated how the rest of the book played out :)

i highly recommend this book to YA romance fans, especially if you’ve read and enjoyed the author’s other works!

Going Bicoastal is lively, sprightly, and fun as all get out. Taking a Sliding Doors approach to one teen’s choice between parents, coasts, and summer experiences, it’s warm and fun, the sort of tale that any young reader will truly enjoy.

Seventeen-year-old Natalya – Tal - Fox turns to her best friend, Camila Morales, in an attempt to figure out how to spend her summer vacation. Choice one: she stays at home in New York City with her dad, which will mean being close to everything she knows – and having time to pursue The Redhead, her crush, whom she has not had the courage to approach yet. Choice two: go to Los Angeles and spend time with her mom, with whom she has not been in frequent contact with since Melissa moved to LA for a promotion and Tal refused to uproot herself. There, she has no idea what’s waiting for her, other than adventure and hopefully a closer connection to her mom.

In alternating chapters, the story explores Tal’s two options; in one reality, she stays in New York and with her dad. There, she gets to know The Redhead, whose name is Elly Knight. During her staycation, Tal learns more about New York, broadens her friend base, takes on several volunteer jobs – and gets ever closer to Elly. In the other reality, she flies to Los Angeles and tries to adapt to the west coast. Along the way she attempts to get closer to her mom, takes up an internship at her company, and meets Adam Rose, her infuriating competition at the job. It turns out that Adam has unknown depths, and the two of them have more in common than Tal initially thought. Readers have the chance to watch two different romances, two different summers, and two different versions of Tal’s relationship with her parents bloom, right up to the two-part ending.

Going Bicoastal is one part choose-your-own-adventure novel, one part sweethearted romance. Tal is a likable girl, and both of her romances are sweet as pie. I got attached to both Elly and Adam and I kind of wished Tal didn’t have to choose between them.

Tal’s folks and her relationship with them is wonderfully nuanced. Her dad, Ezra, is math-obsessed and brainy, which means he sometimes comes off as self-absorbed; Melissa, meanwhile, is so wrapped up in her work that making time for Tal has become a secondary priority. The LA chapters do a good job of using Adam to bring Tal and Melissa back close together. While Tal clearly loves both parents, there’s a distance there; as she says early in the book, her parents did not intend to have her, and the resultant battle with each other and over Tal has left them all in strained circumstances. Things do get a little better here over time.

The diversity here is wonderful; Tal is Jewish and bisexual, and the book absolutely makes her faith a true part of her character. Her friends practice different faiths, have different gender identities and sexualities and are of a multitude of different races, but they hum along in one semi-harmonious hive. That’s the glory of real life at its best brought to the page. Going Bicoastal allows its main character to dream wild and free, creating quite the entertaining novel.

This was told in a really fun way, with Natalya's choice to either stay in New York City or go to Los Angeles splitting her life into different stories. I liked both choices a lot, each has a new romance, Tal strengthening her relationship with her mom, and making new friends over the summer.

It's difficult to say which storyline I preferred, since they both were interesting and helped Tal branch out of her bubble. The L.A. one did come with food trucks and delicious sounding food though, so I'd probably pick that one. I'm a sucker for yummy things and trying a new living situation sounds like a good time.

The pacing was a bit slow in parts and around three-quarters in, I started getting a little bored. The ending was intriguing and not how I thought it would go and overall it was a great summer story.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the copy.

Thank you to Wednesday Books via NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

cw // past self-harm (mentioned), divorce

This was my most looked-forward to book of the year, and I can say without question that I was not disappointed. Adler did such an excellent job and had me so invested in both of Nat’s relationships so heavily, I could never even begin to even think of choosing a favorite between Adam and Elly. The amount of pop culture references was just right for a group of 17/18 year olds and I was THRILLED to see Nat having a group of queer friends in NYC, it made me so soft. Nat’s family being so accepting of her bisexuality was so beautiful, and I really enjoyed both her relationship with her dad and their neighbor, Adira, as well as seeing her relationship with her mom grow. What an amazing book.

When a character is faced with an important decision, do you ever wonder what would have happened if they had chosen differently? In Going Bicoastal, Natalya Fox has to choose between staying with her father in NYC (and muster up the courage to speak to the cute red-headed girl working at the cafe) or go to LA to stay with her estranged mom. Told through the sliding doors trope, we can to see how both paths pan out.

This was such a fun queer sliding doors story. I found that I was equally invested in both storylines, and I thought the author did an excellent job portraying the various components to Natalya's identity: a young woman, a bisexual, a child of divorce, a Jew, etc. This book would be very relatable to YA readers, and it does a good job of being "modern" in its language and references without trying too hard to be "woke."

Nat has to decide if she wants to go to LA and visit her Mom or stay in NYC with her Dad. At that point the book splits with each decision. A total Jewish sapphic Sliding Doors book. I really loved this book. Sliding doors is one of my favorite movies. How different choices can affect your life. The whole what if debacle. In the end you get to choose which scenario would be best.

Natalya Fox has to decide if she wants stay with her dad in New York City or go to Los Angeles with her mom for the summer. The book splits into two timelines, one where she stays in NYC and one where she goes down to LA. I thought this book was just vibes, there was no dilemma or development even. Nothing really happens except of course she gets the man and girl of her dreams in each timeline. I wanted a bit more but I’m also not too mad because it was an easy read.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book!

4.5 stars. If you loved reading ‘Choose your own adventure’ books when you were younger, you will love this! The dual timeline was so cool and not something you see very often.

Both stories, her summer in L.A. with her mom and meeting Adam vs. staying in NYC with her dad and meeting Elly, felt so authentic to the character. The Shabbat dinners staying consistent with each version of the timeline, her journey of figuring out what she wants to do with her life, I loved every second of this book. And I love that each love interest gets a mention in the others final chapter!

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Like the concept, but it’s VERY hard to follow on-page. Being jerked back and forth between timelines and having to keep everything straight just didn’t work for me here.

ARC: 4.5 ⭐️ Rounded Up

This gave everything I wanted from bisexual representation in a YA romance. I left feeling like we truly got the best of both worlds with a feel good attitude.

Beautifully done bisexual and Jewish representation in a book? Sign me up every time.

I had such a great time reading this book! Natalya was a fun character to follow and the portrayal of her family dynamics felt incredibly real. The sliding doors concept was done so well allowing us to truly see the outcomes of either decision and I loved that the ending honored the reader's investment in the storylines. What really sold me on this book was the LGBTQIA+ representation and the Jewish representation! I felt like the author showed us the wide breadth of diversity in both communities and I especially love seeing that in a YA title. Another thing I loved about this novel was that the story was really focused on Natalya. Many of the outcomes were the same in both timelines showing her growth as a character in the areas that mattered to her like her relationship with her mom improving and figuring out what she'll go to college for. The only difference was who she was dating and that really allowed her character to shine for me, because her identity wasn't wrapped up in who she was with. Overall, I would highly recommend this book and think it's the perfect YA read for the summer!

4.5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 This was absolutely adorable!

I loved Natalya so much. She's so cute and honestly hilarious, the book had me laughing and giggling throughout both stories. The flirting was super fun, and to my great surprise, I was actually deeply invested in both couples. I was sure I would prefer the NYC plotline over the LA one, because I'm a sucker for a hot mysterious girl crush. But I loved both, honestly, and I really don't think there was an ending that made me happier and giddier than the other.

I was surprised that, despite the fact that "nothing really happens" in the book (something that I know Adler specifically sought out with this novel), I had a lot of fun with it! I'm not big on cozy, slice-of-life stories, and I usually need some kind of emotional turmoil to keep me invested. But I was genuinely really entertained by this, and I'm so glad I picked it up.

On a completely personal note, I still think Home Field Advantage is my preferred Dahlia Adler book. I knew it would be hard to beat, considering it's one of my favourite YA novels out there, and as fun as the slice-of-life, "everything is good and great" energy in Going Bicoastal was, I do prefer some emotional damage in my novels, just to really hit me deep in my soul. But if you're someone who is looking for a book that will make you feel good and at peace, this one is absolutely for you, I 100% recommend it!

Thank you so much, Wednesday Books and NetGalley, for an advance reader copy of this novel. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to Wednesday Books (via NetGalley) for the ARC!

This was SO cute and has firmly cemented Dahlia Adler as one of my favorite YA authors 🥰

It's pitched as a queer <i>Sliding Doors</i> rom-com and it delivers on all fronts. Natalya, our main character, has to decide what to do the summer before her senior year of college: spend it, as usual, in NYC with her friends and her dad and (maybe, finally) talk to the cute red-haired girl she keeps seeing around the city; or do the scary new thing and take a 2-month long internship at her mom's company in LA, when she hasn't spent more than a few days with her mom since she left for the west coast a few years ago.

I knew I was going to love this book when we got two Chapter 3's: that's when the storyline splits and we get the beginnings of Nat's adventures in LA and Tally's adventures in NYC (good thing Natalya has, like, 4 nicknames so it's easy to differentiate her chapter titles!).

One of my favorite things is that, no matter which storyline we follow, Natalya ends up learning some of the same things:
1. She discovers that she wants to do graphic design in both timelines. It's through slightly different means, but she comes to the same conclusion that she'd be able to use something she loves (art) in a career.
2. She's able to rekindle a relationship with her mom. That was one thing she wasn't optimistic about at the beginning of the book. She'd never had much in common with her mother, and the distance made things harder. But both when she's with her mom in person and through phone conversations while Natalya stayed in New York, she and her mom are able to reestablish a relationship that worked best for them.
3. She learns how to cook a Shabbos dinner! Natalya mentions MANY times that she needs to ask her neighbor Adira to teach her how to cook a Shabbos dinner since her mom doesn't observer the Sabbath, and her dad doesn't cook, so they rely on Adira's cooking or takeout. In both timelines, Natalya learns how. In NYC from Adira, like she always wanted to, and in LA from Adam, whose amazing cooking skills allow him to be a quick study once Natalya tells him which dishes are traditionally eaten during a Shabbos meal.

I think my highest praise for this book is that I was equally invested in both the romances (although maybe, possibly, slightly leaning towards Elly a teeny bit 😋). Adam and Elly get equal screentime, and I absolutely LOVED how the ending came together because I had no idea how it was going to happen.
(spoiler ahead) I was really on the edge of my seat during the last chapter and I would have been 100% fine not knowing who was on the other side of the door, but the "choose your own adventure" vibes of the follow-up chapters were so cute and I of course read both of them 🥰

Also: not really a spoiler but I very much enjoyed Jasmine and Lara's cameos in the NYC timeline 😌

Anyway, if you're a fan of contemporary YA romance and you haven't read any of Dahlia Adler's books yet, what are you doing?!?!?

I thought this was brilliant. Her writing has gotten better and better. The Easter eggs in each time line were master level. It was bisexual Jewish rep without falling into stereotypes. You just route for EVERYONE