I absolutely loved this! The dual timeline idea is so creative, and I found myself rooting for both love interests. The author did a great job at making both outcomes equally desirable and good for Natalya! I loved the sapphic Jewish rep as well. This is going to be such a great summer book, and I can’t wait to recommend it when it comes out!

DNF. Although this book had an interesting premise, I found the narrative style of repeating chapters but changing the location repetitive. I'm sure readers will enjoy Adler's characters and the perspective of a young, bisexual girl, but unfortunately this book was not for me.

Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler is a cute summer romance novel that explores the challenges of long-distance relationships. As a reader, I particularly enjoyed the book's Jewish representation and the choose your own adventure ending. Additionally, as a fan of Adler's previous works, such as Homefield Advantage, I appreciated the callback to her earlier book.

However, while the book had its strengths, I found myself struggling to connect with the characters. I found them to be somewhat flat and underdeveloped, which made it challenging to become invested in their journey. In fact, I considered not finishing the book multiple times.

Despite my issues with the characters, I still found Going Bicoastal to be an enjoyable summer read. The story is light and fun, and the Jewish representation and choose your own adventure ending add an extra layer of interest. Overall, if you're looking for a cute summer romance, this book might be worth picking up.

I loved this Sliding Doors retelling from the POV of a bisexual teen—both stories were equally compelling to me, which is a tough feat with a project like this! I was rooting for both romances and both internal character arcs. What a joy to see Adler's work evolve over the years, and what a delight to read this fun, authentic story!

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I would give Dahlia my first born at this point. Anything she writes is gold and I obsess over it. She's an auto buy, auto request- what Dahlia writes, I want it. Going Bicoastal was no different. It has that signature heartfelt charm and sweet romance that I've come to know. I got sucked in from page one and couldn't put it down until I finished. It was engrossing and I loved every minute. It made me feel seen and understood. Dahlia- another winner!

Do you want a meet cute sapphic romance with music and concerts? Or do you want a rivals to lovers hetero romance with tacos and food trucks?

Either way, the choice is yours in this incredible YA romance from Dahlia Adler! Natalya is faced with the choice to go visit her mom in LA for the summer or stay in NYC with her dad. Follow along with how both options play out and pick how you want it to end.

Plot: 4/5
So this story has two alternate plot lines based on the choice that Natalya makes. They both follow the same beats and progress at the same pace. I think this whole concept is really clever even though it caused me a lot of stress once I picked a side and had to still go through the other side lol

Characters: 4/5

I loved how we got to see Natalya flourish under each situation and how she had the same kinds of growth on either side of the story. I felt her awkwardness on a spiritual level so that was painful and fun at the same time. I loved seeing the important of her religion, even as a casual practitioner, and how both love interests support her in that.
If you present me with two options; dislike to lovers OR instaloveish/friends to lovers. I will ALWAYS choose dislike to lovers, even if that means I’m rooting for a man.
Adam Rose is hilariously adorable and I loved him for Natalya.
The romance with Elly felt a little too much like infatuation and instalove for me. It really wasn’t, I just like a little tension at the start lmao.

Writing: 4.5/5

The writing style is witty and relatable. I love how Adler balanced the stories. She broke the story up into perfect parts. It takes a special kind of skill to be able to write the two plot line equally IMO

Overall: 4/5

i loved the choose your own adventure vibes. it had no conflict so it the best feel good book. Such a great lesson of no matter the journey, you get the same result.

I could not get into this book. It was a Do Not Finish for me. Personally, I felt that this book was too teenage angsty for me and couldn’t get past it. It was just a little juvenile, even for a YA book.

Natalya Fox has a big choice to make: stay home in New York City for the summer, with her mathematician professor dad and familiar group of friends, or go to LA to stay with her pretty much estranged mom and intern at her mom's company. Natalya is scared of change, but she knows she should fix things with her mom. Unable to decide, her story plays out SLIDING DOORS style: alternating chapters show us her life in NYC and then in LA.

This is an amazing story with tons of bisexual and Jewish rep -- it so awesome to see this book out in the world! It totally cements that I'll read anything Dahlia Adler will write. Once you get into the two timelines, the story flows nearly effortlessly. We see Natalya in LA with her mom, where she meets Adam, a fellow intern struggling to get by. Or she's in NY with her dad, her group of friends, and Elly--the redheaded girl she's long lusted after. Both Adam and Elly are excellent love interests, so we really get two romances in one. Both timelines allow us to see sweet Natalya finding her way and exploring her Jewish identity.

While the two timelines idea could be gimmicky, it's really cute overall and works well here. I loved the Jewish and bisexual representation. This is a fast read with a wonderful cast that will make you smile.

I liked it a lot and thought it was funny and sweet. I enjoyed it a lot. I am grateful I got to read it!

Going Bicoastal is really cute and sweet and I think teen readers will totally connect with Natalya and everything she is going through. The stage of life where you're ending high school and have an eye toward the future is such an interesting time to explore!

This was the first time I've read a sliding doors style novel and I don't think it is for me. The two alternative storylines are both very good, but ultimately left me wanting more. I wish I could have delved into each one fully. I think the back and forth kept me from getting completely invested in either plotline. I liked both Adam and Elly. I liked the settings of LA and NYC. I did at times have a hard time following the extensive friend group in each setting.

Things I loved about this book: Tally growing her relationship with each of her divorced parents. I thought this was done extremely well! My favorite aspect of the book was the Jewish representation. I loved how prevalent Shabbat dinners were. I loved that different types of Jews (in terms of observance level) were highlighted. I loved that somewhat obscure Jewish references were included - for example the varying ways to prep gefilte fish! I think this book really shined when it showcased Jewish life.

Although this isn't my favorite of Dahlia Adler's books (I've now read 4 of her books and Home Field Advantage reigns supreme), I will absolutely continue to read whatever she writes!

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy,

3.5 Stars

This was such a cute book, perfect for when you want something full of lightheartedness and fun, without too much conflict or drama...it felt like a breezy, cheerful beach read! I loved the bi rep that included dating both a boy and a girl. I love all the great friendships with lots of LGBTQ+ rep. There are also some complicated family dynamics, and some nice relationship building within families, along with well-written Jewish rep. This is the perfect book for when I just want to escape into a happy world for awhile.

DNF. I got to 57% before I just could not keep going. Everything was resolved and she had already gotten with both of her love interests in both of her different realities, and I saw no reason to go on. I had no interest in going on either, none of the characters were particularly interesting. Honestly, I much preferred Adam over Elly. I feel like he was more developed than she was. But I really liked the bi rep. Everyone else seemed to have loved this book, did I miss something? I much preferred the author’s other book, Cool for the Summer.

4/5⭐️

This book was super cute and the split storyline was a really fun concept. I loved the Jewish and bi rep in this book! I wish there had been a bit more character development of Natalya considering it was a coming of age YA. However, I did enjoy seeing her figure out what she’d like to peruse as a career and in college. I remember that time in my life feeling similarly uncertain and overwhelming. Overall another enjoyable YA from Dahlia Adler! I will continue picking up her books as long as she keeps publishing them!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Absolutely adorable bi romcom and the perfect book for the summer -- complete with a "choose your own adventure" style ending where you, the reader, can choose who Natalya really spent her summer with! I read both, but I'll admit I (view spoiler).

This book follows Natalya Fox, a bisexual Jewish girl living in New York City with her math genius dad and is immediately faced with a huge decision to make: will she spend the summer in her home city, with her dad, hopeful to finally face her fears and make a move on The Redhead, the girl she's in love with and bumps into in the city from time to time; or to go to Los Angeles with her distant mother, intern at her marketing firm, and get out of her comfort zone for a change.

Going Bicoastal alternates back and forth, chapter to chapter between a reality in which Natalya chose to stay in NYC and she falls for The Redhead (Elly, she learn) and a reality in which she chose to get out for the summer, try something new, and went to Los Angeles to stay with her mom where she falls for her fellow intern, Adam.

I loved the way that there were a lot of details throughout the story that stayed the same regardless of where Natalya spent her summer -- her mother's love life, Natalya discovering her passion for graphic design, and Natalya sharing Shabbat meals with her love interest. These things are worked into the story in different ways, but it's interesting to see the things that don't change with Natalya's choice.

This story didn't necessarily have a lot of conflict (there was some very minor drama in one of the realities, but it didn't really involve Natalya directly), it was more like a very slice-of-life view of one girl's summer romance. For people that really like their stories to feel like they had a resolution and the loose ends were all tied up, that might make this book feel like it's missing something and the ending isn't complete -- I disagree. I think that for a fluffy book to get into the summer mood, this book is absolutely perfect and the ending (whichever you choose) felt right for the story.

It was adorable and it made me want to move Cool for the Summer up on my TBR immediately because I saw that two of the side characters that make a little cameo in one of the side stories are from that book.

Natalya has two options for the summer before her senior year. Spend the summer at home in New York with her Dad or spend two months getting reacquainted with her Mom in LA. Told in alternating timelines Natalya discovers there is more than one way to find happily ever after.

What I enjoyed most about this book was that while some things were vastly different, there were a few things that were brought up in both timelines and handled almost exactly the same way. I love that she came to the same decision about her future in both timelines. And of course I loved the characters and food and music references. I was especially fond of Elly’s character in part because she’s a writer and a red head (like me!) and in part because of who she’s based on. However I really loved all of the food discussion with Adam, especially the respect he & his friends had for her food restrictions in respect to her being Jewish, as well as details on Shabbat dinners, which I knew next to nothing about before reading this. There really wasn’t a lot that I didn’t like, just a couple spots more near the first half of the book that were almost word for word copies of what happened in the alternate timeline. I was worried that would happen more and it only happened, maybe twice? Overall this was a really fun read that I flew through and I can’t wait to dig into more of Dahlia’s work.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author via Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, & Wednesday Books

While I appreciated the representation and initially the duality of the story, nothing felt final. This was essentially two separate stories with two different conclusions - what actually happened? Finally, maybe it’s because this was YA and that may not be for me, but this felt surface level and not at all in-depth. I found myself bored and not invested in the characters and their immaturity (again, it’s YA and they’re teenagers so this may be a me thing and not the book).

The summer before her senior year of high school Natalya has a big decision to make: go to LA to intern at her estranged mom’s corporate job or stay in NYC where she is comfortable with her dad and friends. In this Sliding Doors esque alternating timelines YA romance, Natalya finds adventure and love in LA with her standoffish co-intern and in NYC with her long time elusive crush while attempting to repair her relationship with her mom and figure out what she wants to do with her life.

This was such a cute story and I loved the wide variety of representation which felt not at all forced. I also loved the primer on Jewish culture and traditions which I haven’t seen often especially in YA books. There were a few times I got confused by where I was at in each timeline but that’s only because I was reading while tired. Dahlia made it very easy to distinguish timelines by using Natalya’s LA and NYC nicknames (Nat and Tal respectively).

I preferred the LA timeline slightly more because Natalya felt more slightly comfortable and secure in her relationship with Adam. Plus I loved reading about all of the different food the chefs were making over the bands Elly loved. I expected the ending to be a little different but I thought the choose your own ending was cute.

Thanks Wednesday Books and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. I loved everything about Going Bicoastal! Ever wonder what would have happened if you’d made a different choice? With Natalya we get to find out! She has to choose between a summer at home with her dad or a summer in LA with her absent mother. Luckily for readers we get to see what happens with both summers! In New York Tal will finally talk to the redhead, Elly, that she’s been dreaming about for a year. She’ll meet new friends, have adventures, start a new relationship, and have some good food! In LA, Nat, will get to know her frustrating co-intern Adam, who may be less d-baggy then he seems. She’ll reconnect with her mom, meet new friends, start a new relationship, have adventures, and eat some amazing food. Both of Natalya’s summers dragged me in and hooked me! I loved both Elly and Adam and the way Natalya got all funny and awkward with them upon their first meetings! I loved the sass between her and Adam and the yearning between her and Elly! Plus all her friends, both new and old sound amazing! Going Bicoastal is sweet, charming, and absolutely swoon worthy! I can’t wait to read it again!

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. As I've mentioned in other reviews, I've read maybe all of Adler's standalone novels and follow her on socials for years. Going BiCoastal is one of my favorite books of Adler's in recent years.

Natalya Fox is a 17 year old rising senior with divorced parents. She primarily lives with her dad, Professor Ezra Fox, a math professor at Columbia University. Her mom moved to L.A. a few years ago for a great marketing director career. Natalya is supposed to spend the summer with her mom in L A. However, her parents gave her the choice to make to stay in NYC or L.A. I'm not sure what custody arrangement would allow that, but I'm not a child of divorce.

Nat, or Tally, cannot seem to decide what to do. As she weighs the pros and cons with her best friend Camila in the park, we then get a story split in 2 realities. Door A, she stays in NYC, babysits, finally meets her crush known as The Redhead at first, then by Elly. Door B, she goes to L.A. to be with her mom and take a marketing internship at her mom's firm along with their other intern Adam. Since the main character is bi, we get two different love interests- Elly and Adam. Is it wrong to say I kind of wish she was in a throuple? Adam is a tough nut to crack for reasons. I loved Tally's NYC friends in particular and meeting familiar characters from other books recently. In both versions, Tally bonds with her mom over books, and her love for art translated into a possible graphic design career.

Both love stories were compelling. It would be hard to pick who I would want Elly to end up with as both love interests benefitted from knowing Tally and her friends. [And Tally with their friends] On that note, there were a lot of side characters. I liked her NYC friends, both old and new, only because I felt they were less 1 dimensional. I'm not sure if that was an intentional choice or if the author had a preferred version. The only reason I took off a star was that there wasn't really a clear answer or resolution. The reader ultimately decides which door Tally picked. Also, the fact that she liked raisins, sorry but EW. I cannot with raisins, but that is my Gen X bias talking.

Bonus points for Jewish rep and LGBTQ rep. 4/5☆ 6/13/23