Such a smart concept. Having two romances in a book was such a gift and you cannot help but root for the characters and how self discovery went hand in hand with romance.

This book had a really interesting concept, but I was rooting for the fact she didn’t end up with any, but it didn’t happen. I thoroughly enjoyed it tho.

I’ll be honest. This book’s title and cover is what got me interested at first, before I even read the summary or the structure. I’m so happy I read it because it was a lot of fun!

Natalya has to decide if she goes to LA for the summer with her mom or stay in New York with her dad. She chooses… well, both. There is a split narrative so we get a dual POV, but Natalya is providing both sides of it. We see the story unfold in alternating chapters, one of her in LA and one of her in NY.

The whole idea of a book with two concurrent storylines and a choose-your-own ending was very smart. It kept it from being a love triangle where Natalya would have to choose one of them. And for a book about being bi, I love that the tough choice wasn’t there for her… but it was there for me! The reader! I cheated and read both, which I feel is the true bisexual ending. Why not both!

I always feel safe in Adler’s narratives, and this time, I found myself captivated by the alternating storylines. Two books for the price of one!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

Natalya Fox, a bi-sexual Jewish girl, has a big decision to make. Spend the summer with her dad, a math professor, in NYC in hopes of getting to know the pretty red-head girl she has a crush on! Or head to L.A. to get reacquainted with her mom and intern at her firm? In her latest release Dahlia Adler gives us twofer one story in Going Bicoastal. In lieu of an actual choice, we join Natalya as she explores both possible paths. The chapters alternate between NYC and L.A. in a very low stakes feel good summer of self-growth.

In L.A. Natalya interns at her mother’s advertising firm and is forced to share a desk with a guy who comes off as unapproachable. Despite this uncomfortableness and her mother’s lack of attention, Natalya decides to take this opportunity to put herself out there and finds a wonderful new group of friends in the queer and foodie corners of L.A. That guy she original didn’t like… Turns out he was just what she was looking for after all! In NYC she mucks up her courage to go for the girl and works on repairing her relationship with her mother from afar by having book club meetings.

The back and forth of living the same story in two different "universes" took me a minute to get the hang of but this was a solid read and will recommend.

3.5 stars. I loved the concept of the choose your own adventure model with this book! Super cute and a fun read. What made it less than great I think ultimately was that the two relationships weren’t equal. It seemed more one sided than in terms of which relationship she should be with.

This was cute!

This book plays out in alternating adventures, but I felt more connected to the one with her leaving to California where she meets the boy with dark mysterious eyes…I liked how it ended ♥️

After reading this book, I can say that Dahlia Adler has become a new favourite author. This book captivated me from the very start. I loved the characters and the plot.

DNF at 30%

This book seemed like it was a favorite for so many, but unfortunately it wasn’t for me. I found the alternating life between chapters so confusing and repetitive in some cases. The writing was really well done for what I did read, but ultimately this just wasn’t my kind of book.

I did enjoy the characters! I thought they were very easy to connect with, but they weren’t enough to make me continue reading. I hope that I’ll pick this back up in the future because I really don’t like DNFing. Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

DNF. Usually love Dahlia alders books but this one didn’t connect and I’ve had this arc for almost a year so I think it’s time to say goodbye.

Thank you Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the eARC of Going Bicoastal! All opinions in this review are my own.

I have loved everything that I've read so far by Dahlia Adler and Going Bicoastal is no exception! While it did take me a few chapters to get used to switching between the stories, I like how it shows both outcomes of Natalya's summer decision. At first, I favored the New York storyline but the LA one grew on me by the end.

I love how realistic and honest Adler's characters are. They are relatable and I appreciate the diverness among them. I like how in both storylines, Natalya grows as a person and tries new things. Despite the choices of where to spend her summer seeming vastly different in the beginning of the book, Natalya is still able to learn the same things about herself by the end of both stories.

This was just okay for me. I think the characters were delightful, but the parallel choose-your-own adventure-ish formatting, while fun, I think just resulted in a weaker story.

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.

DNF at 20%. The alternating life experiences was SUPER confusing. I picked this book up in June, took me a long time to figure out what was happening. Put it down and tried again recently. Still super confusing, unfortunately. Maybe if it was more clear in the chapter title?

I preordered Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler and got a personalized autograph, and luckily I loved the book (I rarely preorder because I’m worried I won’t enjoy)! This book is about how there’s more than one way to find happiness. It’s about Natalya, who has to decide whether to stay in NYC with her dad or visit her mom in L.A. for the summer. What follows is two stories, depicting how each decision might play out for Natalya. In the NYC timeline, she dates Elly, checks out the music scene, and does some babysitting. In L.A., she has an internship with her mom’s marketing company, meets Adam, and enjoys the food scene. Both timelines have great Jewish rep, and there is even an orthodox character in NYC. I loved the Shabbat dinner scene where Elly tries to pass around her phone! Plus, the characters from Cool For The Summer are part of Elly’s friend group!⁣ I did wonder if there was a mistake when something was mentioned in the NY timeline that actually occurred in L.A., but overall I loved this one.

This book was so cute! I really enjoyed it. I thought the concept was interesting and well-executed. The characters were fun to read about and felt real, although I don't feel like I got to know anyone but Natalya that deeply, which is fine. I liked hearing about New York and LA (though I feel like I heard more about places in NYC than LA, but I live in New York so many I just noticed it more). Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for this ARC!

I received an ARC from St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own!

This is the story of Natalya Fox has about a day to decide how she will spend her summer. She can stay in NY with her dad and hopefully muster up the courage to talk with the cute redhead girl working at the coffee shop. Or head to LA and spend the summer with her estranged mom and hopefully repair their relationship. She can't decide so the summers play out in alternating timelines. Will there be one that feels more like real life? Or will she continue to have these alternative timeline experiences.

I liked the idea. I really enjoyed the Jewish representation. There are not enough cultures in YA stories. I thought this story also brought up important topics about young adults trying to figure out what they want to do in the future. I know that many young adults struggle to figure out what they want to do. This is a great way to help them realize that it is normal not to know what you want to do and that it is okay to explore many options.

Content: little bit of swearing, sexual innuendo

Read if you enjoy:
Jewish Rep
LGBTQ+ Rep
Alternating Timelines
LA/NY stories
Romance

I did not have time to download and read this book before it was archived, so I'm unable to leave a review.

Going Bicoastal has a good plot and interesting characters. However, the author's writing style wasn't my favourite. But overall, I would recommend!

What a rollercoaster of emotions! This book seamlessly blends romance, humor, and genuine emotional depth. The story is told via dual timelines, exploring both possible futures during a fateful summer. I really enjoyed the two potential timelines, so vastly different, but so rich in story telling and self discovery. Adler never fails to deliver amazing stories!

Sincere thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.