I've never read a bad Dahlia Adler book, and this one continues the trend. An instant classic that everyone should pick up!

the characters were kind of cringy as teenagers are, but it was okay. some characters didn't feel that realistic

3.5/5

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's press for the eArc!

This was my first Dahlia Adler book, and I don't think it will be my last. This was a cute read and overall I ended up enjoying it very much.

I really enjoyed the dynamic between Evie and the other characters in the book, and the way she is essentially creating her own little found family at this boarding school to make up for the loss of the people she thought were most important to her. I thought each character had dynamic personalities that set them apart well, and the banter was fun between them all. I also thought that Evie's journey of self-discovery was well-written in the aspect of how messy it was. It was realistic, and there were still things left unsaid but that is part of life. Evie figuring out that her just being herself has always been enough was a beautiful concept.

I have a few small things that made me give this 3.5 stars overall. I felt that the beginning of the book was very rushed and jumped right into the story without a background on what, exactly, was happening. It also felt a bit unrealistic at the beginning with how the faculty treated the situation, and also how some of the characters acted. I didn't really enjoy the way Evie handled the Lucas/Heather situation, I think it would have really helped Evie's character arc to have told Heather the truth, especially considering how she handled not knowing the truth from her own best friend at the beginning of the story. I think I also wanted a bit more from the actual moment that Evie and Salem got together. Her speech, and his response, felt a bit anticlimactic after spending most of the book ITCHING for the moment that they got together.

Overall though, this was a great book. It took me through Evie's journey of emotions beautifully and wove a really compelling story about self-discovery and love.

Dahlia Adler’s Come As You Are is an irresistibly charming and insightful coming-of-age novel that is as much about self-discovery as it is about learning to accept and love the messy, complicated parts of life. From the moment we meet Everett "Evie" Riley, we're pulled into her whirlwind of new beginnings and heartbreak, and Adler’s skillful writing makes it impossible not to root for her every step of the way.

Evie arrives at Camden Academy with the goal of starting over—leaving behind a toxic ex, a betrayal by her sister, and the wreckage of a broken friendship. But when she's mistakenly placed in an all-boys dorm, it’s clear her new beginning will be anything but typical. In fact, it quickly turns into something much more interesting, as she forms an unlikely bond with Salem Grayson, a brooding and complex dorm mate who challenges her in ways she didn’t expect.

What truly sets Come As You Are apart is its exploration of identity and healing. Evie’s journey isn’t about fitting into a preconceived mold of what’s "cool" or "good," but about embracing who she is, flaws and all. The tension between Evie’s desire to reinvent herself and the pull of her past makes for a story that is both heart-wrenching and empowering. The real magic comes in her realization that she doesn’t have to change for anyone—especially not for someone who doesn't appreciate her fully.

Adler’s characters are rich and multifaceted. Salem, in particular, is the perfect foil to Evie—gruff on the outside but full of vulnerability underneath. The dynamic between the two of them evolves naturally, and their evolving relationship is as much about friendship as it is about romantic chemistry. The way Adler writes about their emotional growth, from awkward beginnings to a deeper connection, feels genuine and rewarding.

Come As You Are is a thoughtful exploration of the complexities of relationships, self-worth, and the idea that happiness doesn’t come from being someone else—it comes from being unapologetically yourself. Dahlia Adler has crafted a book that is both funny and deeply meaningful, leaving readers with a lasting sense of hope and empowerment. Whether you're a fan of romance, coming-of-age tales, or just excellent character-driven stories, this one is a must-read.

it's unusual for one book to make me both laugh out loud and to ugly cry, but this one definitely did. When Evie starts at Camden Academy (fancy enough to have both a fireplace and a clawfoot bathtub), she's fleeing from a mess of her personal life, only to find herself living in a boys dorm.

Too often the side characters in YA novels are stock figures, and I really appreciated how specific these ones were. I really enjoyed Evie's dorm mate Matt, who would normally be dismissed as a dumb jock. Instead, his sexual experience is matched with a genuine kindness and interest in others, as well as a fierce advocacy that all sex be protected and consensual. At some points in the book, I wanted to follow him out of the room, sure he would surprise me. Similarly with Queen Bee Isabel - she is clearly a character who contains multitudes, both on and off the page. This is a novel full of people who felt incredibly unique and real and when the book ended, I was sad not to get to spend time with them.

One thing I will say is that book ended without a lot of closure, specifically in the plotlines of female friendships. There are amends that aren't made between friends or sisters. While this is true to life, I wish we had gotten to see them find their equilibrium in the relationships and the book had lived a little more with Evie while she changed her perspective on how to relate to the women in her life.

While this book is a YA novel, I would recommend it to older teenagers, due to a lot of emotionally sophisticated content. Anyone who loves Lynn Painter's teen novels or Sarah Dessen will really enjoy.

This is an interesting book. It starts off really slow. Like, so slow I'm not sure why the story starts in Chapter 1 and not closer to Chapter 4. In fact, I got to Chapter 4 and searched for some key words to make sure I wasn't having a fast one pulled on me. Then I started reading around Chapter 12 and read all the way through. And it was great! It was cute, it was engaging, it was quick paced. It was everything the first few chapters should've been to draw me in. Now, here's the thing. The rest of the book was so good, I actually went back and read the rest. BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT. The point is that I never should've been tempted to jump ahead because the first bit wasn't drawing me in.

It has such a cute cover. It has such a cute premise: good girl wants to go bad. It has such a great cast of characters. Adler's writing is so perfect for YA with snappy prose, tone, and style. It just needs a more engaging opening for me.

Because of how I read the book, I really didn't care about Evie's sister or hometown drama. It ends resolved with the friend but not with the sister. The ending just kind of ends. Her parents, her romance, her hometown friend, her new school friends, all wrapped up, save the Lucas/Heather thing. But not the sister. So it felt so incomplete.

The romance was so cute, so slow, so swoony, and then so fast once they got together. A little too fast, but whatever. At least it was wrapped up. I really loved the pacing of the romance and the slow way she came to her feelings, and I'm also a huge sucker for a slow burn building up all the tension.

The cast of characters was fun, diverse, and a little unrealistic but I'm still here for it.

This was a fun, fast read, despite how I read it. Actually, in spite of how I read it, I still finished it in a day. I'd recommend skimming the first three chapters, but I'd still recommend it. In fact, the back half was so good, I'm really bitter about how it started. This should've been a five star read dammit! The banter and dialogue alone would've given it 5 stars! Instead, I can't in good conscious give it more than 4, and I kinda feel like the beginning dragging so much makes it more of a 3. So I'll give it 3.5 and round up.

One issue I had though, is the whole book, Evie is worried about being used by someone to get close to a guy, and then in the end, Isabel still got close to her to get close to Sabrina?!? And Evie is just fine with it???

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC!!

This was my first Dahlia Adler book, but it will most definitely not be my last. I had such a fun time! It was full of humour and chaos and I’m always a fan of a boarding school setting.

The author did a great job with the main character Evie. She was relatable, witty and a big ball of sunshine. I just adored her energy so much! She is by no means perfect. I mean I think she could have handled the situation with Heather a bit better than she did, but that’s my only complaint. Otherwise, I liked her as a protagonist.

This book is very much a journey of self-discovery, but I loved the romance as well. The dynamic between Evie and Salem was the best! Whenever they were together, we would get to see another side to Evie. She was snarky and confident and it matched perfectly with Salem’s sarcasm. Their banter was one of my favourite parts of the book. The romance is very much a slow-burn, but once they got together, those two were just the cutest.

The supporting characters were equally amazing. They all brought something different to the story, but Matt and Sabrina were probably my favourites. They just had the best dynamic with Salem and Evie. I definitely wanted to join their friend group and honestly the school too.

Overall, this was exactly what I needed after a heavy fantasy read.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I don't read a lot of YA these days but I always make an exception to read Adler's books and I was not disappointed. The plot was fun, relatively light, and easy to read. I liked the two main characters and the side characters felt developed enough for the story. Overall, worth the read!

From one younger sister to another, this is a must read. I laughed out loud at the antics and banter between Evie and her new friends, Sabrina and Salem. A refreshing coming-of-age story where the main character didn’t have to lose herself to find herself. That becoming a bad girl doesn’t mean you have to give up on being a good girl too enforcing the notion that you are enough just as you are. Following Evie, finding her voice, sense of self, and forgiveness was a pleasure I didn’t know I needed. I couldn’t put the book down.

I adored Going Bicoastal and consider it one of my favorite books ever so I was really looking forward to this book. Look at the cover art! It looks so dreamy! However, this one just did not live up to my expectations and I fully accept that that is on me for setting them so high. There was just SO much going on and I could not suspend my disbelief that ALL of that was happening. As someone who works with teenagers, these teenagers did not feel realistic. (To be fair, I do not work at a boarding school so maybe they act that way at those…or maybe not.) It was interesting enough that I wanted to keep going and I enjoyed the read overall but I would not go back for a reread like I plan to do with other works by Dahlia Adler. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

“Come As You Are” was such a good story. I loved Evie and Salem and their adventures. I loved Matt and how darn well rounded he was. My favorite thing about the story? Salem’s twin is Sabrina. There is no way I could have hated this book after I read that.

Anyway, the characters are amazing, the story is believable, and the book was cute and funny as hell.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for a temporary e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I will not be giving feedback for this book as I could not get past the first couple chapters. It felt like I was just dropped into the story with little to no explanation. Because of this I will not be finishing the book.

Come As You are was fun and very readable, I loved the boarding school setting and the melodramatic nature of the plot. Evie and Salem were pretty cute and I liked the grumpy sunshine vibes going on. There were some really great lessons to be learned and I liked that the plot wasn't neatly resolved, it felt realistic to the situation. The buildup of Evie and Salem's relationship felt a bit rushed- very 0 to 100, and I thought the book could have been a little longer.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

• opposites attract YA romance
• cool boarding school setting
• youth exploration

While I found the characters to be somewhat annoying at times (hey, what teenager isn't? 🤣), I did like the self-discovery of them. There are definitely hijinks and laugh-out-loud moments, too. Overall though, it was just okay for me!

🗣 Thank you to netgalley and St Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for the opportunity to read and review this book via gifted eARC! All opinions are honest and my own.

I had a ton of fun with this book! It was a cute easy read with some serious 90's vibes (my favourite)
I loved Evie, she was just so fun and I loved seeing her character grow.
Salem was the cutest, and had me swooning towards the end!
I actually wish this book was longer, it felt a little rushed, but I still loved the story despite that!
Thanks to netgalley for allowing me to read this!

Adler's newest is adorable, inclusive, and fun. The characters were relatable and realistic, the drama was not too melodramatic, and the relationships were built well. I really enjoyed it.

2.5 ⭐️

There is a bit of an info dump at the begging as the author attempts to provide Everett’s back story and introduce numerous new characters at once. The prose is definitely targeted to a YA audience, nevertheless it is a quick, light, cute story with an interesting cast of characters. Overall, the characters are not very dynamic, but they do manage to better accept who they are throughout the story.

Also, the romance is between the MMC and MFC, GoodReads has this categorized as LGBT & Queer, which is not accurate and also somewhat ironic given the plot… (though there is LGBT representation in the secondary characters)
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💛YA romance
🖤Grumpy x sunshine
💛Boarding school
🖤MFC 15/16 x MMC 15/16
💛Single POV
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Thank you St. Martin’s Press | Wednesday Books & NetGalley for this complimentary ARC - all thoughts are my own! 📚
Publishers release date 5/27/2025

I like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing a read.

I feel like there is just a ton of info dumping in this story and no cohesive flow. You can understand that a girl was mistaken for being a boy (based on her name) and ends up in a boy's dorm. While trying to navigate the social life, she ends up becoming friends with the gothic / punk / idk kid who apparently is known as our token bad-boy. He lives in the dorm above hers.

There is just a lot being said that is nonsense and doesn't really help move the story-along or keep the story on some sort of path for the reader. It was frustrating, because I could see the promise and the 90's teen rom-com vibes of a good girl wanting to be bad and a bad boy wanting to be good. But. The story was just not moving at a pace or at times trying to have you follow along with the pace that it set.

Easy, quick YA romance. The characters are endearing and their emotional struggles felt real to me. This is single POV, and I did feel like my understanding of the MMC's emotions were not as complete as they could. Additionally, I was surprised by the level of, for lack of a better word, "mature" content in this - not sexual content, but discussions about sex, and cursing, which are all very realistic for teenagers, but felt slightly older than the writing seemed to be targeting.

Dahlia Adler's books can be hit or miss for me, but I liked this one! I had to suspend my belief for the major plot point—a boarding school accidentally assigning Evie to a boy's dorm and then allowing her to live in that dorm because the other dorms were full—but, once I got over that, I enjoyed the rest of the book, plus it almost made me feel a bit nostalgic for my co-ed dorms in college. Some of the supporting characters were absolutely delightful, and, despite the fairly serious issues that Evie is dealing with, I found myself laughing out loud at parts. Some of the subject matter felt quite mature for a book about sophomores in high school, but the drama did feel very high school, so I think it generally worked. There were a few plot lines and characters that I struggled with, and I didn't always agree with Evie's decisions, but I suppose that was the point. Still, the romance, as well as some of Evie's friendships and experiences, made for an enjoyable read. 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.