Setting: LA and NYC
Rep: bisexual Jewish MC; multiple queer and POC side characters

This was cute! I enjoyed the two timelines (this is kind of a Sliding Doors situation) and I liked both love interests, Adam and Elly. I also enjoyed Natalya as a protagonist and I loved the sapphic Jewish rep!

This story is about Rubi and her way to complete the « Recipe» aka the plan her parents made when she was a kid. This « Recipe » is her way to success (according to her parents) and starts with getting accepted to university. Somehow she gets waitlisted and her perfect « Recipe » is missing its most important ingredient. Trying to manage her failure, Rubi tries out for a baking contest. The thing is, she can’t bake anything that is not a part of her parents’ bakery so she has to hide the fact that she got rejected plus that she got into a baking contest. From there, she navigates between what she really wants and what could make her achieve the American dream.

I did not particularly like this book because of how predictable it was. For me, and it’s a bit harsh, it was just another book about how teens feel controlled by their parents and have a difficult time choosing what they want to do. The author did not twist the story to make it more unique.

When taking the time to analyze the characters, they fell flat for me. There was the main character, living all of the normal and basic emotions any teen lives, the best friend who encourages her to follow her heart and even a mean girl that is mean for no real reason.

Since it was not the most memorable read, I personally would not recommend it, but if this is the kind of story that gets you going, why not read it? I do feel like the cover matches the vibes of reading on the beach…

Another cute and enjoyable book by Dahlia Adler, which is not surprising to me since I love all her books! I liked both timelines and am very torn on which I want to have actually happened more. I liked that we could really choose for ourselves what actually happened!

The cutest sapphic romance I have read in a while. I was expecting that ofcourse but I got so much more also because this story was not only swoony, it was also emotional and wholesome.

I try to stay away from books with multiple narratives for a single character like this before, so I was a little nervous going into it. But I was surprised by the story and really enjoyed Natalya’s summer perspective in both New York and Los Angeles. I found it really easy to follow along with both narratives

I loved this book. The representation, the sliding doors feel made it so special. I can’t wait for the next book by this author.

This book was on my radar right away after the stunning release of Home Field Advantage last year, so imagine my surprise when I opened up my inbox to find an ARC waiting for me! I had to set everything else I was reading aside to dive right into this, and I'm so glad I did.

Going Bicoastal is the story of of teenager Natalya Fox, who has less than 24 hours to decide on a path that could determine her entire future: will she stay in New York City with her father, finding random summer gigs in the relative safety of a place she's known her entire life, or will she fly to Los Angeles to spend the break with a mother she barely knows, working in her office as an intern and braving the mysteries that come along with a new city across the country? One option has the beautiful redhead she's been quietly crushing on for months, the other has a random boy she'll have to share a desk with at the office. Since she can't choose, both of these options play out in alternating timelines, showing what happens based off of that one initial decision...

This absolutely lived up to its promise as a sweet, cozy summer rom-com! Natalya is a delightful lead character that provides amazing Jewish representation; she keeps Kosher, follows Shabbat dinners with family and friends, and her beliefs are treated with respect by those around her. The handling of the different beliefs existent in Judaism was lovely! Natalya, in general, is absolutely the disaster bisexual that we all love and adore in queer YA and I adored her. This book does a great job of handling that struggle that so many teens go through in trying to find themselves separate from their parents - what to do with their futures, balancing their interests with their career choices, how far to go from home... All handled wonderfully. Both love interests are delightful, Elly in New York and Adam in Los Angeles. I found myself vaguely more pro-Adam, but by the end of the story, you genuinely love both of these characters. (It was also GREAT to see references to some characters from Home Field Advantage!)

This was another wonderful Dahlia Adler read and I'm so happy to have gotten to preview it early!

What a delight!

I’ve never read a book with multiple narratives for a single character like this before, so I was a tad nervous going into it. But I was pleasantly surprised by this story and really enjoyed Natalya’s summers in both New York and Los Angeles. I found it really easy to follow along with both narratives (the chapter titles helped a lot) and root for both romances to succeed (I’m bisexual, don’t ask me to choose a favorite!).

As an incredibly indecisive libra, I immediately felt a kinship with Natalya and her struggle with making a decision on where to spend her summer. She’s fearful of making the wrong choice and letting down each of her parents for different reasons, which resonated with me and likely will with a lot of readers. It’s my constant dream to not have to make a choice and have all the options, so this book really played out that fantasy for me!

I’m not Jewish, so I can’t speak to the representation but I really enjoyed how heavily Natalya’s Jewish identity was present in this book. And likewise, the queer rep was very present and well done, in my opinion. I love that Natalya found a tight-knit group of queer friends on both coasts. Plus, it’s nice to read a story not centered on the angsty side of being queer.

I don’t feel like the point of this story is to choose which romantic partner, Adam or Elly, is better for Natalya so I won’t pick one. I do like how both partners brought joy into her life and helped her discover what she wants to do with her future after her senior year of high school. I found her experience of not being sure which career path is right for her relatable, and I’m sure a lot of other young adult readers will as well.

All in all, I loved this book and can’t wait to buy a copy on pub day. I flew through it in a couple of days and predict it’ll be on my top reads for 2023.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Bicoastal is a delightful novel that isn’t just a fun sliding doors-style romcom, but a book that provides a beautiful representation of a bisexual teen. In both scenarios, we get to watch Natalya navigate her relationships with her parents as her love stories unfold with equal amounts of enthusiasm and charm. I only wish a book like this existed when I was a queer kid trying to figure myself out.

This book was really cute and something I’ve never seen before. The 2 different storylines of what if we’re really well done. You got to see Adam vs Elly. And how different their relationships were, how they progressed, their hopes and dreams. I also really enjoyed that you got different perspectives of Nats family. You got to know her mom and dad separately.

At first I was really confused, I thought the chapter was repeating itself or one part of it was cut replaced and not removed until I realized the 2 different what ifs.

One thing I didn’t like is there really wasn’t any twists, suspense, conflict. No situations where you’re like okay what’s going to happen now. It was pretty much smooth sailing throughout.

I did appreciate the ending though and the choice from the reader. I think this book is really good for younger readers. Being my age I did find it a bit young. (im mid 20s) I would recommend it to someone maybe 12-18?

But if you like really happy endings, easy, fast paced reads then this is for you.

This book was the bisexual romance my teenage heart wanted (needed).

This is a brilliant, sweet, sweeping and warm romance that while I may be a touch too old for, is perfect for its target audience. It was heartfelt, young and fantastic. I really loved the dual storytelling, it intrigued me how it was going to end - how do you tie up two stories in a good way and Adler managed!

Why one romance when you can have two? A lovely treat and I cannot wait to hold a physical copy!

This book is hard to rate, mainly because I had never watched Sliding Doors and wasn't familiar with the tropes before diving in. Overall, I really like Dahlia Adler's writing style, the pacing is quick, the characters engaging, and the storytelling is fun.

However, I deeply struggled to connect with either romance for most of the book because of the dual timelines. It felt a bit like whiplash every time we jumped from NYC to LA or back again.

My favorite parts of the story are Natayla's relationship's with her family. In both timelines, her parental relationship plays a major role in the story and I deeply appreciated that. It was so comforting to read the way Natalya struggled to connect with her mom and how they navigated forging connections together.

Overall, not a book I'd read a second time but a book I'll recommend. and I look forward to Dahlia Adler's next book, as always she is one of my go-to always-read authors.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC.

I'm grateful for the bisexual rep and I think it's important, but this story was just really basic. There wasn't anything that unique about it and after about 25% I didn't really care to continue reading.

The premise is great. I started out enjoying. I personally found the first transition jarring and I’m realizing two weeks later that I didn’t have a desire to resume reading. I made it to 27%.

We have more adults and younger children visiting our libraries, so likely won’t purchase. I don’t think this would translate well to their age groups. It’s solidly at Middle school/high school. (Of course, very important! Keep going, Ms. Adler.)

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

3 ⭐️

I think I'm out of the audience range to enjoy YA. It sounded fun and I love seeing bisexual represention but it was just ok for me. Very cute romcom but not my favorite book ever

This was cute! I absolutely love the cover, and knew from the synopsis I had to read it. I love romcoms and this was no exception. Natayla was such an interesting main character and the book was funny, it made me laugh multiple times, The wlw romance was beautiful and I loved the two characters.

Bisexual culture is being jealous of Natalya’s relationship in both timelines.

Dahlia Adler truly never misses. Being Jewish and bisexual, I honestly couldn’t have asked for more in a book. The way that Natalya was so confident and proud of her identities just made me so happy inside.

I will admit it took some getting used to since this is my first time reading a book like this, but once I got the supporting casts down, it was enjoyable to read. Also the Easter eggs from her other books? Absolutely iconic.

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn't sure how I felt about the dual timeline at first but I actually really enjoyed it. It has two very cute love stories. I'm glad that no matter which route she chose she still ended up where she was supposed to.

I received an arc through netgalley.

What I was looking for was a cute, fun queer YA romance to get me through a migraine, and this DEFINITELY delivered. It's almost like a choose your own adventure game, or two books for the price of one, it's such a great format.

Essentially the MC has to decide between spending the summer at home with her dad in New York, or with her mother in LA, and from that point on, the story splits up in two alternate storylines: one where she decided to stay in New York, and one where she decided to travel to LA.

In the New York storyline, a sapphic romance unfolds with the cute punk girl the MC keeps meeting in the city, and in the LA storyline, a romance with the boy who's her fellow intern at her mum's job develops. I personally had a preference for the sapphic storyline, just because I loved Elly so so much, but both were very cute!

The LA storyline revolves in large part around food, and the NY storyline is largely focused on music: two of my favourite things to read about in one story! It was great to read about all the delicious-sounding Shabbos meals, to read all of the discussions about music, and mostly to see the MC crawl out of her shell in different ways and make new friends.

I adored this book. I loved the concept of the alternating chapters of each love interest. It encapsulated the bi experience in such a beautiful way, because both Adam and Elly were so good for Natalya and I never rooted for one over the other.

I also really enjoyed the relationships between Natalya and her parents. I thought they were very relatable for children of divorced parents who live a distance from each other. It makes it so hard to maintain a solid connection when one is on the other side of the country.

This is my third Dahlia Adler read, and I have loved them all. Can’t wait for more from this author. Highly recommend!

Thank you to St. Martin’s, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I am completely obsessed with this book, especially the sapphic romance timeline.

"Going Bicoastal" is a queer "Sliding Doors" YA romcom (or for the younger generation "Look Both Ways" with Lili Reinhart, which was inspired by the former) where Natalya Fox has to decide between a summer in NYC with her dad or LA with her estranged mom. The book splits into two parallel timelines; one featuring the redheaded girl she's crushed on forever, and the other, a guy she never expected to like.

First off, the Jewish representation was PERFECT!! There were beautiful Shabbat dinners, the main character kept Kosher and there was no discrimination or hostility towards Judaism, adding so much heart to the story. It was really important for understanding who Natalya is as a person–an openly Jewish and bisexual teenager, but she also loves to draw, has incredible friends and chooses to experience adventure for once in her life. There is so much queer joy too which makes me swoon. The side characters were diverse, lovable and there was not one person I hated which is truly a miracle.

This book is incredibly fast-paced and perfect for getting anyone out of a reading slump; I mean, you get two love stories in one. What is better than that??? (Okay, you're right, two wlw ones). And while I was definitely rooting for Elly more than Adam, both love interests were great. I would happily date Elly myself because she was the better option and I stand by it–major Peyton Sawyer vibes all around. The alternating timelines never become confusing to the reader and the best part is that you get to choose the ending you want. Which I happily did.

Also, as someone who LOVED "Cool for the Summer," I was so excited to see Jasmine and Lara make an appearance. My babies are still happy and thriving!!!

PICK UP THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW. PLEASE.