Thank you Random House Children's publishing as well as Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Summer camps and romance are such a perfect pairing, very much like s'mores! I loved getting to meet Ivy and the complex character she was even with her struggles with a very public romance which she doesn't seem to have any control over. This is definitely a book I would have my younger self read to help understand my own feelings. While this is a cheesy romantic summer teen read, the characters grow through a lot during the summer, I would have loved to see a little more towards the end of the summer? After all the ordeals it was just a little lack luster. Overall a cute and cozy summer read!

title: I Love You S'More

author: Auriane Desombre

publisher: Delacorte Romance

publication date: April 8, 2025

pages: 256

peppers: 1 (on this scale)

warnings: breaking up, cheating on a girlfriend

summary: Ivy is happy to be back working at her childhood summer camp after getting dumped by her long-distance, television-star girlfriend. Unfortunately, what should be her safe space becomes unpleasant when she finds out that her ex-friend Rynn, who friend-dumped Ivy five years earlier, also works at the camp. And what's even worse, the camp director makes them co-direct the summer musical.

tropes:

enemies-to-lovers
famous girlfriend
forced proximity
back to camp

what I liked: great LGBTQ representation without making same-sex couples seem like something that needs to be explained.

what I didn’t like: Ivy is quite brooding and lacking in self-awareness for almost all of the novel, and in the end, all of a sudden, she understands everything.

overall rating: 3 (of 5 stars)

I really don't know what it was, but I just couldn't get through this book. Maybe I'm just not into YA right now (or maybe just not this one), but I was disappointed because I always want to read more sapphic books!

This book brought me back to being a teenager (and in the best ways). The summer camp setting, the rivals to lovers, and the apparent pining made this book a win for me. The characters were lovable, the plot was enjoyable, and the pacing was perfect. This is a super sweet, young adult sapphic summer romance book, and I totally recommend it. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

It was an easy enough read but the rivals to lovers trope isn’t really for me. I stuck with it just to find out why they were rivals in the first place. It wasn’t really worth the work to find out.

It could have been a cute second chance romance. But it wasn’t.

4.5!!!

this was such a sweet and swoony time. YA romance sometimes can feel a little cheesy and predictable but this one had me hanging on every chapter until I finished!

Everything about this, from the camp setting, the teenage angst, the incredibly hilarious side character, to the drama and character arcs, kept me so tuned in and gave me such a fun time.

Thank you to Random House Children’s and Netgalley for this arc!

I really enjoyed the plot of this book and the love story was very sweet. I gave it four stars instead of five because some parts fell short for me, but that might be on me. I found myself skimming through some of the first third or so of the books, because I wanted the characters to stop fighting, so I could finally see them be cute together. Once that happened, it was pretty short-lived before there was more drama. The parts where they got along were SO CUTE and I loved the story of the two main characters. I also really enjoyed the side characters.

I also loved getting to see Ivy recover from her first heartbreak. It was a very good representation of what it’s like to lose your first love - that constant struggle between wanting to let go, but being afraid to.

Overall, this was a very well written book and the sweet scenes with the main characters had me swooning. I just wish we got more of them!

I LOVE YOU S'MORE by Auriane Desombre is an absolutely adorable sapphic rivals-to-lovers YA romance and I had such a good time while reading it. Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Romance for the advanced copy!

I was a huge fan of Auriane Desombre's previous book. Her latest work was an entertaining spin on the YA celebrity/normie romance at summer camp. An extremely quick read due to the author's contemporary writing style. Greatly appreciative of Desombre's focus on the arts and creative teens. Highly enjoyed!

Thank you to Random House Children's | Delacorte Romance and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

This took me back to being a teenager. I loved the summer camp setting and the gluten allergy rep. It was cute but almost more of a contemporary fiction than pure romance. A lot of character growth going on! Overall a great sapphic YA summer read. Makes me want a s’more real bad.

This was a cute story. I liked how former best friends Rynn and Ivy went from unexpected rivals, at a musical theater camp meaningful to both of them, to sort of friends again and then something more, only to have Ivy’s very public breakup with a Hollywood teen star and her unresolved issues derail things. It will take a hard look at herself and a dramatic gesture to save her friendship and create a possibility for something more.

Ivy is determined to make this summer a good one. After being dumped by her TV star girlfriend, all she wants is to enjoy her time as camp counselor at her old theater camp. Unfortunately, the universe has other plans when a ghost from her past joins her as a counselor and shows no remorse for the heartbreak she caused as young teens.
Rynn is bossy and opinionated and assumes that because of her experience as a counselor, the director position of their musical should fall to her. But maybe there's more between them than they originally thought.

This book was cute! Definitely meant for younger readers, I am absolutely not the intended audience. But it is a nice, easy read! Helps navigate breakups and feelings, could definitely see early teen me eating this up!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House for the eARC. Projected publish date: April 8th, 2025

I liked this read and how we follow Ivy’s time in summer camp after a breakup with her celebrity ex. Then the fact Ivy was basically the talk of the whole camp amongst the campers 😂😂. Now I will say that seeing Ivy finally take control of her life was my favorite part along with the marshmallows at the fire pit.

I have pretty much no complaints about this book. The writing was great, the characters loveable, the sprinkles of found family wonderful, and I felt Ivy's inner turmoil to my soul. I really really enjoyed this

I wanted to love this book, but the writing felt way too young for me. I would say this felt on the younger side of YA. Ultimately couldn't finish the story because of the writing but I am sure that this would be an enjoyable book for the right demographic.

Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Romance for a copy of this ARC!

This book was a very enjoyable read. I read it in a few sittings and was hooked after just a short time reading. The story was well paced and the characters were well developed.

3.5 ⭐️ A fun and unique spin on a rivals to lovers romance. I found it a little difficult to get into initially and at times felt it was a little cheesy/predictable. Overall however it was a quick read (once I got into the story) if youre looking for a fun lighthearted and kinda cheesy YA book to chill out and enjoy I definitely recommend checking it out!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

An adorable story for everyone that had a homoerotic friendship breakup in middle school and for the summer camp counselors that are just trying their best not to go grey prematurely (i am both of those)!

I Love You S’more by Auriane Desombre is a delightful and heartwarming romance that will leave you with a smile. With its charming setting, witty dialogue, and lovable characters, Desombre crafts a perfect summer love story about finding yourself and falling in love along the way. A sweet, feel-good read that’s ideal for fans of lighthearted romantic comedies.

After being in a reading slump this cute, queer, YA summer read was the perfect book to take me right out of it.

Ivy Raines needs the comfort of Acorn Hills this year. Still reeling from her public breakup with famous actress and now ex girlfriend, Ally, Ivy is hoping becoming a summer camp counselor and director of the camp's end of the year theater production will prove enough distraction from the outside world. What Ivy doesn’t expect is Rynn, her ex best friend and competition for the director's spot. Navigating early teen hood, middle schoolers and her complicated feelings for Rynn, Ivy is in for a summer of self discovery, friendship and maybe even love.

This was so adorable. First as a girl who always wanted to be a summer camp counselor, I loved the setting. I thought it was an excellent backdrop to the tumultuous feelings our main character Ivy experiences. Second, Ivy frustrated me so much and I loved it. Being a fifteen year old girl isn’t easy and Ivy definitely showed us that. I wanted to shake her and tell her “You’ve got so much life left! One breakup isn’t the end of everything!” But really, if I had my first big heartbreak at Ivy’s age I too would have made a passive aggressive social media post and instantly regretted it. I really appreciate how fleshed out of a character she was. She felt real and relatable.

The side characters really stole the show for me. I need a spin-off book of Ben & Fitz! They were so cute. I need them to get together! The drama between campers Twyla and Vanessa was such a nice addition to the story. I thought it made Ivy more likable and gave her a nice character arc in the end. Also who doesn’t love a bit of drama? Especially middle school drama? I loved to see it. I think my favorite character was definitely Broccoli the dog though. He was such a good boy!

Overall, this was such a cute and quick read. I enjoyed the characters and setting. I enjoyed how it brought me back to my middle school days. I would recommend to anyone who always wanted to be a summer camp counselor, theater nerds, and those who need to get out of a reading slump!

Thank you to Random House Children’s and NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.