Such a fun and refreshing YA! I love all the diversity in this. And having to choose between LA and New York AND two love interests?! I wouldnt know who to choose either lol! The story kept me captivated all the way through. This is going to be the perfect read for summer. Thank you Netgalley for the arc!!

Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler

Sliding Doors is one of my favorite movies, so I can't tell you how excited I was that one of my favorite YA authors wrote a sliding doors, queer, young adult romance where the decision the heroine makes leads her to either the redhead she's been pining for, or a sweet, slightly broody, fellow intern.

This book was OBVIOUSLY a 5 star win for me!

Natalya has to decide whether to stay in NYC for the summer where she lives with her dad, or go to LA and spend the summer doing an internship with her mom, who she is not close to. Like in Sliding Doors (have you seen this movie?! It's amazing), we see what happens to Natalya if she stays or if she goes.

🌮 So many perfect little details cross over between either the NYC or LA reality, but Natalya had a different nickname when she is with her dad (Tal/Tally) vs. with her mom (Nat).
🎵 Perfect pacing and some kind of magic sucked me into every chapter/alternate reality change. You'd think the alternating chapters would be jarring, but they weren't at all and I was equally invested in the NYC and LA plotlines.
🌮 Natalya is fully developed and it feels like *her* in both realities.
🎵 So many loveable characters.
🌮 Low angst and sex positive. I'd say it's upper YA and would really resonate with teenagers gearing up for college, career, and relationship decisions.
🎵 Jewish rep! There's a lot of kosher food in this book and Shabbat dinners! I really loved the inclusion of Jewish culture and traditions.
🌮 I like where this story went between Natalya and her mom in both versions.

Thank you so much Wednesday Books and Netgalley. All opinions are my own!

Dahlia Adler does it again! This is a feel good book and one l think should be on everyone's tbr/radar this summer.

This book follows Natalya Fox through her summer vacation and showcases the different outcomes of how she chooses to spend it. Stay in New York with her dad and possibly run into "red head girl", who she's been crushing on for a year OR visit her mom in LA taking an internship where she will be sitting across from a talented chef she finds very handsome.

This book is perfect for fans of ‘Maybe In Another Life’ by Taylor Jenkins Reid!

Something I loved about this book was that even though Tals love interests were different, her path in both alternate realities led her to the same conclusion (dream-wise). Dahlia Adler provides a diverse group of characters readers will find comfort in!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for an e-arc of this book!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I adored this book and could not put it down. If you like YA romance this book is for you.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Talley has a huge decision to make. Does she want to go to LA for the summer with her mom where there is an internship waiting for her and a cute boy that her mom has told her about or does she want to stay in NYC with her dad and the red headed girl she’s been obsessing over for the past year…

This book is written as if she went to LA and also if she stayed in NYC, kind of like one of those choose your own adventure books. I thought it was a different concept and I enjoyed the different timelines but it sometimes could get confusing about which friends were in which spots since there were so many people involved. I also liked the chemistry between Tally’s different love interests. It was an engaging story and I enjoyed reading it a lot.

I didn't realize this was a dual-timeline book (with a what-if twist), BUT once I figured that out, I genuinely enjoyed every second of Going Bicoastal. Such a good coming of age story with a number of complexities and strong representation that made it impossible to put down! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advance copy.

Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler is a sweet YA rom-com with a unique Sliding Doors twist. Natalya Fox has a big decision to make: spend her summer in NYC with her dad, and maybe finally talk to the girl she's been crushing on, or head to LA to fix her relationship with her estranged mother. Unable to decide, the story plays out in alternating timelines, one where Natalya pursues the girl of her dreams and one where she falls for the unexpected guy.

Adler does a great job of creating a diverse cast of characters, including different religions, sexualities, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The respect shown for these different faiths and traditions adds a strong sense of community to the story. The food descriptions are also mouth-watering, making readers hungry for more.

Adam, a love interest, is funny and adorable. The stalking and pretending to like the same things as Elly, the other love interest, by Natalya could be off-putting to some readers. Additionally, there is no real conflict in the story, which leads to a lack of character development for Natalya. Everything seems to be handed to her, including people offering to buy her artwork without any marketing. Some readers may also feel that the author doesn't fully understand the concept of work-study.

Overall, Going Bicoastal is a light, enjoyable read that will appeal to fans of YA rom-coms. The Sliding Doors twist adds a fun element to the story, and the diverse cast of characters adds depth to the world. However, readers who prefer more conflict and character development may find the story lacking in those areas.

This book is a dual timeline situation. I love a good dual perspective, but I’d never read something that was a ‘what if?’ situation. It was a little challenging for me to keep all our supporting cast straight. I think the author did a great job at showing things can turn out okay in the end. It’s a great concept, and has wonderful Jewish and queer representation. It just didn’t quite hit the mark for me to be 5 star wowed. I did struggle a bit to get through this one.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing the ARC

If you're looking for a cute queer Jewish teen romance novel with a twist, then Going Bicoastal is definitely worth checking out. The book follows the story of Natalya Fox, who must choose between spending the summer in New York City with her dad and the girl of her dreams or going to LA with her estranged mom and the guy she never saw coming.

What's interesting about this book is that it explores two different timelines based on Natalya's decision, and we get to see how her life plays out in both scenarios. It's like a queer “Sliding Doors” YA rom-com, which makes for a really enjoyable read.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a light and fun read. The only downside, in my opinion, was the naming of the chapters. Instead of chapter titles, it would have been cool to see some visual representation of the two different locations, like a picture of palm trees for California and the Statue of Liberty for New York.

Despite this minor issue, I'd still give Going Bicoastal a solid four stars. It's a refreshing and engaging read that offers a unique take on the classic summer romance story. So go ahead and give it a try!

Finished ✔️ Going Coastal by Dahlia Adler and enjoyed it.

4 ⭐️’s
Publish Day: June 13th, 2023
Kindle Unlimited: No

A queer sliding doors YA rom-com in which a girl must choose between summer in NYC with her dad or LA with her estranged mom.
This book shows there is more than one path to happily ever after.
This book was overall enjoyable in more ways than one.
It was beautifully and brilliantly written.
Yes, I’d recommend.

#DeesReading #DeesRecs #DeesBookRecommendations #BookNerds #BookNerdProblems #BookNerdsUnited #BookProblems #BookProblems101 #BookNerds101 #Bookworms #BookwormProblems #BookwormProblems101 #BooksOfFacebook #DeeTheBookReviewer #DeesReadOfTheDay #DeesBookOfTheDay #DeesBookReviewsOfTheDay #BookReviewer #NewToMeAuthor #Dahlia Adler #ReadOfTheDay #BookOfTheDay #GoingCoastal #NetGalley

This is a very cute fun YA romance in which our young bi protagonist has to choose between spending the summer in New York with her dad or trying something new and spending the summer in LA with her mom.

Overall, I really loved and enjoyed the two different storylines for their own reasons. They were both fun and funny which is something I look for in YA romance.

My only complaint was that at first the two storyline did kind of confuse me and at time felt repetitive. There were similar scenes that took place in both storylines which was a little “hey didn’t this happen” at times.

3.75

this book was so much fun. it was also a really short, quick read. i’m honestly team elly - even though i liked the concept of natalya going to la more and thought the plot from her going there was sooo interesting. i usually don’t like the concept of “sliding doors,” but i really enjoyed this and way more than another book i read that had the same concept. i also loved the concept of mixing bisexuality with the whole “sliding doors” concept. it’s so smart to have two paths of different love interests (in this case, a boy and a girl) with a bisexual MC. i didn’t know that this had jewish rep in it, and that was really interesting to read about.

thank you to netgalley/wednesday books for sending me an arc of this book !!

Thank you NetGalley and Dahlia Adler for letting me read this ARC!

My first 5 star read of 2023 and I don’t know how anything will top it. It just gave me all the feels and brownie points for all of the music references that just tugged at my rock-music-loving heart. I love being able to read each story independently, or going back and forth between the two.

I absolutely cannot wait for this to be released so I can add it to my collection!

A unique, fun & light-hearted new YA 'sliding doors' dual timeline romance where Natalya's life (and romantic partners) turn out completely differently depending on whether she chooses to spend the summer in New York or LA. Having enjoyed visiting both places myself, the locations and food imagery brought back memories, making me want to travel and eat some delicious food - maybe don't read whilst hungry.

I did struggle to keep up with the many side friend characters - it was too easy to keep getting the many names mixed up, or forget them entirely - Nat is clearly very popular. Overall this was a delightful, lighter, low-trauma option compared to my recent heavier reads and I wish these diverse YA books existed 20+ years ago!

This was a fun read! I’ve enjoyed all of Adler’s books and this was no different. I loved the dual perspectives and more so that they often mirrored one another. Regardless of the path Natalya chose, she was going to end up making some of the same choices in the end. I do wish we had a bit more resolution at the end in terms of what *actually* happened, but the ambiguity also worked. I appreciated the cultural sprinklings as well; characters all felt very fleshed out.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Going Bicoastal was one of the most unique books I’ve ever read! It’s an awesome YA romance that explores what happens when you make a life changing decision. Natalya, the main character, must decide whether to spend her summer in her home of New York or in LA. Both choices present new opportunities, and as readers, we’re lucky enough to see both scenarios play out!

I loved getting to see Nat in both places, experiencing new things and different romances in each. But what I thought was best was the underlying message that no matter what she chose, everything would have worked out for the best. In both places, she makes friends and strengthens her relationship with her mom. She finds someone she loves and discovers what she wants to do after high school. The message was poignant and lovely, perfect for a world where every choice can feel like it makes or breaks you.

The main character was (clearly) bisexual as well and I loved the positive representation of seeing her pursue both a girl and a boy. It was also refreshing to see how Nat’s Jewish faith played into both storylines!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of Going Bicoastal!
I didn't love this book, but I didn't hate it. I had a hard time connecting with the NYC timeline and didn't really care for the Elly character. I'm not sure why, there was just something too "over the top, trendy, queer girl" about her, it didn't feel organic. The Adam character definitely felt more fleshed out, he had so much more personality, and I found myself rooting more for that storyline to be the happily ever after. I, personally, found the foodie stuff much more interesting than the music stuff, but that's just because I'm a foodie! I liked that in both locations Nat made more of an effort to reconnect with her mom.

This was such a fun read that took me on a roller coaster of emotions. I wanted a throuple to form but remember there is only one person she can choose. The characters are certainly not forgettable. I sincerely adore the main character and her interactions with both parents as well as her love interests.

wow! I absolutely loved this book. It was such a sweet, fun and lighthearted rom-com. I have always been a fan of books with a spin on parallel choices or “choose you own adventure” type stuff so I loved how that played out in this book! I really liked Natalya, the main character. My favorite love interest was Adam, but I liked Elly too. It was so cool getting to see both choices play out, but it got kinda confusing at points if you didn’t pay attention to the chapter titles. The pacing was great- it was a fast read and I was engrossed in the story the whole time. Overall, a great summer read & ya romance you should pick up!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wednesday Publishing for an advanced copy!

This is my first Dahlia Adler book, and now it will be the first of many. I adored this book from the second I started it. For one, the pacing is phenomenal. I was not bored for a minute, but fully invested in both of Natalya's storylines. The premise of this book could have fallen into cliches and predictability, but it didn't. It was so interesting to see how the plot unfolded in both stories, and see Natalya grow and love throughout the summer.

I loved Natalya as a narrator. She felt like a fully fleshed-out teenager. Confident in herself, but still insecure around her crushes; humorous and witty, committed to her friends and family, unsure about the future... It was all so great. Also, I should really emphasize how stellar the Jewish representation was. From the multiple Shabbat scenes (and the importance of Shabbat!), to the Kosher accommodations, and explanations of rituals and customs - it was all so beautiful to see.

This is the perfect summer reading, balancing between the settings of New York and LA wonderfully. Loved it!