4.5 stars

I had such a good time with this book! Clearly I need to read more romance books that are sapphic twists on reality dating shows.

The story is set in a Love Island-style dating show. It's narrated from the POV of Cas, a total cynic when it comes to love. Cas is on the show to gain popularity and get a promotion at work, and luckily she's watched enough seasons of Hot Summer to know how to play the game. What she doesn't anticipate is having her head turned by another contestant, Ada.

There's a great cast of characters with a fun, supportive dynamic. Cas and Ada have great chemistry, and I was totally rooting for them the whole way through. There is a spot of predictable conflict, and some readers might get frustrated with the choices Cas makes. But I was happy with how everything ultimately resolved.

Would recommend this fun and flirty read, especially for fans of reality dating!

** I received an ARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

If you are a reality tv lover, this is the book for you!

This is my first Elle Everhart book & I have been completely blown away! She did an amazing job keeping me engaged as a reader from the very beginning. Elle does an amazing job bringing light to the toxic workplaces women experience & how often they are expected to sacrifice themselves for "the good of the company" and how easily women are taken advantage of. I also what to mention the amazing LGBTQ representation which I feel like we need more of in the romance space.

The book follows Cas who works for a dating app, Cas is asked to go undercover and participate in a Love Island like dating show competition in order to promote the company she works for in order to secure a promotion. Not only does Cas find the love of her life, but the story also explores amazing friendships that blossomed.

I couldnt recommend this book enough especially with summer approaching! It is the perfect summer/beach read.

4 Stars! Publication Date: 6/25/2024

Cas is growing tired of her job as an Events Coordinator at the dating app, Friday. She’s craving a more steady job where she doesn’t have to deal with drunk and horny people. The opportunity she’s been waiting for finally arrives, but in order to land this promotion her boss is sending her to be on the hit reality dating show “Hot Summer.” If Cas can make it to the finale the promotion is hers. Cas has a plan to make it to the end without falling in love, but then she meets Ada.

Alexa, play “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

If you know me, then you know I absolutely love the reality TV show subgenre of books. I devour them, then demand more, more, MORE! It’s just so good! And this was no exception.

I do think it’s weird and doesn’t make the best of sense to me why sending Cas to compete on a dating show would be the basis of her earning a promotion or not at work. Like, I get it in the sense that the show and the app are business partners and trying to open this new marketing branch or something like that, but I just don’t see how sending Cas on the show and having her be a finalist is contingent on this partnership working out. Especially because Cas has to sign an NDA and be super secretive about her job. She can’t even say she works at Friday or anything. It does create juicy drama when the truth gets revealed eventually, but yeah it was just a little random for me.

But that was basically my only issue with this book. Everything else was so fun! I love this side cast of characters. I mean, Femi??? By far the best character in this entire book. In fact, if the author wrote this exact same book but from Femi’s perspective I would buy five copies.

The antics that these characters would get up to in the summer villa, both in front of and away from the cameras, was also an aspect of this book that would bring so much life and fun to the page. I was sad when the filming part of the show was over, but happy to report that the majority of the book does take place at the villa. The aftermath was satisfying for me and I was happy to see some sapphic smut! I feel like most LGBT books have low spice to them. This one had a low-medium spice, but I did appreciate showing the unsexy parts of sex, like cleaning toys and what not.

This is the perfect summer read for anyone who watches reality dating shows as a guilty pleasure. You are guaranteed a good time with big laughs, heart-warming moments, and loveable characters that you will miss after finishing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the PERFECT book for anyone who is gay and loves watching dating shows <3 So fun!! I’m usually not into books like this, but it definitely caught my attention and held it the entire time!

If you're a fan of the show LOVE ISLAND and also love LGBTQ books then you need to read this one! It's the perfect summer read and kept me engaged the whole way through.

Hot Summer is a reality dating show that pairs singles, Cas watches it every season and loves the contestants and all the bickering that goes on. When her company makes a deal with the production team for the show, she is picked as a contestant. Once on the island that the show is being filmed on, she finds the ones she wants to be aligned with. She particularly is drawn towards Ava. Ava seems to be drawn towards her as well.
With all the goings on during the show, the two women become more interested in each other than anyone else in the show.
I would recommend.

A very cute summery romance! I loved the dynamic between Cas and Ada and how their romance developed. The work promotion aspect was a little fuzzy to me and didn't feel entirely believable, but not so much that it massively detracted from the story. I loved the cast of characters and felt like they were pretty easy to keep track of even though there were a lot of them. Overall an enjoyable read!

I ate this shit up breakfast lunch and dinner. Cannot wait to put the book on my shelf as a trophy and make my condo read it for bookclub.

This book was such a quick fun read! A perfect read it for anyone who loves stories centered around reality TV especially if you are a fan of love island.

One thing I really appreciated about this book was how much I came to care about not only are two main characters but all the side characters as well. I was rooting for Cas and Ada to get together just as much as I was rooting for Femi and Siena to get together!

The build up between Cas and Ada was so well done. The initial connection between the two, the blossoming friendship, and eventually a very spicy romance was fantastic! Although third act break up was pretty predictable from the beginning it was no less heartbreaking to watch it all unfold.

I really enjoyed reading this book and I really feel like I need to watch Love Island now 😅

Thank you to Netgalley the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion! Cas and Ada MADE this a 5 star review! I have been so into Queer media lately and this novel did not disappoint. Every interaction between them was so adorable and made me literally giggle. Watching them fall for each other was a wonderful experience, the eventual happy ending was worth the intense heartache the author made me suffer through. I wasn't expecting the book to have any spicy scenes at all, I loved that it did and that they weren't cringey like some WLW media can be. Even the interactions Cas and Ada had with the supporting characters made me so happy, it was like reading a genuine friendship connection that was made over the course of a summer. And props to the author for making Cas "unlikeable" as a main character, it made her growth journey that much more enjoyable to watch. I can't wait to buy a physical copy of this novel and eventually read more by this author!

An extremely entertaining Sapphic beach read for the reality TV lover! This was such an easy read and I felt like I was literally just watching TV (I love it when it feels like that). All the characters were so well fleshed out and I really liked Femi and Cas's relationship. I think both the MCs, Ada and Cas, were just so swoon-worthy! It was so delightful, I just couldn't stop reading it!

As a former reality TV lover and avid Love Island watcher, I was so excited to read Hot Summer!

Cas Morgan works for the dating app, Friday, and gets picked by her job to go on Hot Summer! Well not all plans go the way you think they will….

Cas and her “lover” castmates were such relatable characters! Also, I really felt like Elle painted a good picture of what the villa was really like. It was just like watching it on TV, only in my head instead.

As soon as they introduced Ada, I knew Cas’ heart was in trouble. How could you not love Ada?

This book is great if you like - LGBTQIA+, reality TV, a little bit of *spice*, and friendship building.

I wobbled between giving this one three or four stars throughout my entire read - but damn if this book didn't make me smile. Not every book has to be a plot heavy masterpiece, sometimes you just need a lighthearted sapphic beach read that tears your heart into a million pieces and then stitches it back together again!

Steamy, lighthearted, and hilarious, this book was the perfect read to get me out of the winter funk. The chemistry between Cas and Ada was immediate, and while the characterization for the rest of the ensemble was light and lacking, Hot Summer more than makes up for it in adorableness.

Don't go into this book expecting Anna Karenina, sure, but if you want a quick and quirky beach read, this one is absolutely worth picking up. Especially if, like me, your guilty pleasure is watching years and years of Bachelor nation.

Would recommend!

Ohhhhh my god! Where do I even start?! 5 stars no question.
This was like a warm hug to my frozen gay little heart.
I am not typically a fan of books written in third person, especially romance novels, but Elle Everhart did it so well I may have to change my stance on that. Every single character in this book was so hard not to fall in love with. Except for you Brad, you know what you did.
Cas and Ada? Immediately moved to my top 3 book girlfriends, my favorite leading ladies of all time. The tension, the spice, the natural chemistry between all of the characters was just lovely. As someone who is a true whore for trashy reality tv, this was sooo fun to read. There were some points where I genuinely forgot I was reading a book and was like "oh I need to go watch the latest episode!" only to be crushed when I remembered I can't actually watch these beautiful people and their messy drama on my tv screen. So unfortunate.
I am beyond excited to see what Elle comes up with in the future, because I'm sure it will be genius.

This one is for Love Island fans everywhere! I enjoyed this cute spin on the well known dating show with a cute take on what being there for the right reasons really means. The characters were fun to love/despise and the drama was very reminiscent of what is seen on TV every summer.
I received a free copy of this book from the publishers, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely fell in love with the characters in this one. It feels like forever since the last time I had such a fun experience reading a book with just completely fun vibes. It was giving summer. It was giving romance. It was giving everything I asked for, really.

The chemistry between Cas and Ada was just so completely there from the moment they met, and I was sucked into their relationship. But it wasn't just their romance that I fell in love with, the book came with such a good set of side characters. I adored the friendship between Cas and Femi, definition of platonic soulmates for real!!

What's even more fun was I found that there were twists I didn't expect! The plot itself was so fun to follow (but that could be partially related to how much of a sucker I am for reality shows lol).

Overall I'd rate this series about a 4.5, because I don't see myself as completely OBSESSED but it's definitely worth reading and I will be recommending it when it is officially released.

Thanks to Elle Everhart, Penguin Group Putnam-G.P. Putnam’s Sons, and NetGalley for this delightful ARC of Hot Summer!

Hot Summer is a queer romcom with a reality dating show (think Love Island) as a backdrop. Cas Morgan is a woman who has been slogging through running dating events for her employer, Friday. She gets the chance to move beyond that and into a more lucrative and work/life balanced position if she goes on the show, Hot Summer, and makes it close to the end. She happens to be very private, not one to be vulnerable due to a very bad breakup four years before. There she meets a cast of characters who will fill your heart with laughter, joy, and irritation. Ada is also a queer woman who is on the show, but her search is to find love.

As you can imagine, somehow word is leaked that she is a plant and that she is only there for the job. She hadn’t shared this with anyone. Hurt feeling, rejection and guilt ensue.

Both main characters (and many secondary characters) are people I would like to know in real life. I think my favorite part of the book is the dialogue between Ada and Cas. It filled with patience, understanding, support, and love and was a gift to read.

This is the second book I have read by Ms. Everhart and she is now solidified as one I will buy the book next time one of hers comes out.

I loved Hot Summer! This is everything I’ve wished for out of straight dating shows in a book! A perfect read for any fans of shows like Love Island who also wish there was more sapphic representation. Cas and Ada are super cute, and I loved all of the other contestants being so supportive of them. This was a super cute read and I would definitely recommend it in the future!

This was a super cute quick read. Thank you NetGalley for this arc. I enjoyed the writing style and the ending was chefs kiss. 😘

—Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the chance to review an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you loved the Wanderlust by Elle Everhart then you’ll love this one even more!
If you love reality tv inspired books but one them to be sapphic then look no further. These women are so strong and so fun. Their love was soo swoonworthy.