The main characters are Ivy & Rynn. Ivy was just dumped by her famous girlfriend and is trying to lay low. She decides the spend the summer working at a camp. What she doesn't know, is her first love, Rynn, is working there the summer too.
There is tension between the two due to the time that has passed. There is also the fact that all the campers have figured out who Ivy is and are always trying to get online to find out what is going on.
I would recommend.

I enjoyed reading this. Though, it seems like I fell into the same problem as a few other reviewers in mistaking it for a different age range as I was genuinely surprised when I realized it was YA. But overall, I really enjoyed this cute little book. I wish we’d gotten to see more of Ivy and Ally pre-breakup. But I feel like everyone can relate to the awful drifting feeling that comes after your first big breakup. Ivy is just super unlucky in the fact that her first big breakup was with a TV star on a beloved sci-fi series. She goes to this camp in hopes of proving her dream of becoming a teacher is something reasonable. There, she runs into her former best friend who she had a horrendous friendship breakup with years ago.

The writing style initially felt a bit juvenile. Then I realized oh, it’s YA. So it’s age appropriate. Honestly? Everyone does act their age. Yes, the main character makes some decisions that are a little frustrating. But she’s 15/16. No one is handling their big breakup in the best way at that age.

It did feel a bit tropey with the enemies to lovers mention. But there is clear chemistry between the main couple from the jump. I did like some of the side characters, espcially the other counselors. And the kids. They did feel like genuine preteens. Which I appriciate as I have read too many kids acting like tiny adults or idealizied perfect angels.

As a former theater kid, there was something sweet about the theater aspect of the camp. I love the rehearsal portions.

I would complain about how quickly the main couple go from I hate you to getting together. But again, they’re teenagers.

Overall, it’s a cute little book, I would say I think the marketing needs to be more clear that the main cast are teenagers as the blurb did come across as being more college-age. It’s also definetly more YA contemporary with a romance subplot.

I will be recommending this to my teen librarian friends.

Sweet concept but fell a bit flat for me. First off I didn't realize this was YA when requesting (that's on me of course) so I'm sure part of why I didn't really enjoy this was simply because I wasn't the intended audience. However even ignoring that, the book's main character Ivy was hard to connect with and I often found myself frustrated rather than rooting for her. I think including a dual POV with Rynn just to have some reprieve from the excessive self-pity that Ivy's narration made this story and offer another perspective, personality, etc. would have helped tremendously. Ivy certainly had the right to a pity party for some of the book but it reached a point where it was just too much and detracted rather than added to her character. I know everything is a big deal when you're that age but when Ivy referred to Rynn not wanting to be Ivy's "secret rebound" as Rynn "breaking up with her," my eyes rolled into the back of my head. The hyperbole of Ivy made her feel more like a caricature of a teenage girl and made what should have been a quick read unfortunately turn into more of a slog.

I thought this was cute for a YA book (somehow I missed that it was YA when I asked for an ARC). Nice quick read (2-2.5hr) that showed good personal growth for the main character Ivy, as well as relationship growth with multiple characters, over the span of a summer camp. It's great to see teens (& the pre-teen campers) have communication challenges, but they overcome their challenges by actually sharing their true feelings instead of keeping them bottled up, and the negative effects that some communication has (such as Ivy with her social blast). Seems spot on for YA level. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity. The only slightly negative critique I have is that the bio mom character is briefly mentioned as a teacher who, in Ivy's eyes, didn't seem to love her enough to fight for her during a divorce. Being YA, I can try to understand this is how the character feels. As a mother, I don't think anything is ever that simple. If the mom was truly that one note, then I'd like to see more examples of it (from Ivy, from her oldest sister, direct communication with her, etc).

This was such a fun book! i absolutely adored every single thing! the characters, the plot, the writing, the cover! it was such a wonderful book! definitely adding this to my collection

i love summer camp romances give me more. mm good food.

and i hate ivy's extremely famous ex. they shouldve TALKED about the cheating thing ivy you can't just forgive her without at least CONFRONTING her. kind of love the drama though

thanks to NetGalley for the eARC

⭐️=3.5 | 😘=2 | 🤬=3 | 13/14+

summary: girl recently dumped by her famous actress ex-girlfriend is a camp counselor and sees a girl she used to be friends with who’s also a counselor and they like fall in love but also it’s mostly about the MC’s growth and recovery from the breakup more than their relationship

thoughts: this is okay? I’d call it more YA Contemporary with a romance subplot than straight up romance, so it wasn’t quite what I expected. the main character got a bit annoying towards the middleish, but overall this is fine? it’s emotional and a little cheesy but overall, like, okay.

Here is my confession…

I really wanted to like this novel, but unfortunately I didn’t. The premise, of “ I Love You S’more,” has a nostalgic feel, and reminds you days gone by. I was hooked by the blurb alone.

With that being said, the novel itself held inconsistency with the ages of the two main characters that I couldn’t get past. I know that sounds trite, but for this particular story the correct age of Ivy and Allyson was important. The story revolves around them and if you can’t be consistent in their ages, then the story will not flow and will seem unrealistic and ridiculous.

There was a great opportunity here, but for me, it was overshadowed by not being clear on the ages, and I didn’t want to have to suspend my disbelief and “ just go with it.”

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

📖📖 Book Review 📖📖 Do you have a nostalgic spot from growing up? Mine was my great-grandmother’s cottage north of Toronto. For Ivy, her childhood camp where she spent her summers is her happy place. And after a very public break-up, she cannot think of a better place to retreat to as the camp musical director. But of course life is not that simple but it sure can be serendipitously sweet when the summer provides a reunion with a first heartbreak- her childhood best friend. I Love You S’more reminds us that sometimes fresh wounds are like salt on old ones but they can also spark the perfect opportunity for healing.

Review will be on Goodreads when the book is on there and will be posted on instagram closer to publication date and on Amazon when published!

A great read that does an excellent job of presenting complex themes of relationships, self-love, divorce, and fame into a young adult friendly story. All the characters are excellently written (although some outside the main few can feel a bit two-dimensional at times) and their relationships with each other cover every type: platonic, romantic, mentor, student, and more. The setting and story were well developed, so much so I find myself wishing to watch a show that doesn’t exist.

I can’t wait to see what Desombre comes up with next!

I wanted to like this one, but I got caught up in too many of the small details. I couldn't get past the inconsistencies with the age of the main character. On the first page Ivy and Allyson are referred to as high school sweethearts, but a few pages later it's middle school sweethearts. It also says Ivy is fifteen years old, but there's talk of college essays and junior year of high school which is typically 16-17. Also, Rynn dumped her in the sixth grade which is typically 11-12 years old, but then says they haven't spoken for five years, and if she's 15 they would have been 10, which is fifth grade. As well, Rynn says she's been a counselor since she was old enough to be, implying multiple years, but if she's also only 15, I've never heard of a camp counselor any younger than 16. 15 is a believeable stretch, but 14 and under I find hard to believe could be a counselor, especially of tweens which are hardly younger than they are. These were a few things noticed in the first 15% that unfortunately made it too hard for me to continue through. Other than some of these small details though, the book shows a lot of promise and could definitely be a cute read for a lot of young adults.

Ivy Raines is at rock bottom--her middle school sweetheart, a teen TV megastar, has just broken up with her. Feeling blindsided, and abandoned for the nth time, she throws all of her eggs into the basket that is summer theater camp. This is familiar ground. Here, she is meant to relive the glory of her tween heyday, but on the other side as a camp counselor. Hopefully, here she can avoid the publicity of her breakup and even test out her desire to pursue a career in teaching. Maybe here she can find herself.

An ex-bestfriend-shaped wrench is thrown into her plans when she discovers that Rynn is also here. Rynn, who also blindsided her all those years ago when she decided she didn't want to be friends anymore. And it get's even worse when they're forced to collaborate when they get assigned as co-directors for the end of summer musical. Bickering and hijinks ensue, and tensions rise, and Ivy, against all odds, discovers that maybe this summer really is just what she needed.

"I Love You S'more" offers a delightful depiction of the highs and lows of tween/teendom, and all the lessons that growing up comes with in an accessible way. Felt like less of a traditional love story, and more like a growing up story.

3.5 rounding up--Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.