Thanks so much to Net Galley, Source Books Bloom Books and Tinx for the ARC of Hotter in the Hamptons. I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy this. I love a good rom com, but I was worried this would be a little too young for me. It turned out to be a cute story of friendship, romance and the ups and downs of life. The writing was a bit colloquial but fast paced and thus easy to read. As a once famous influencer, Lola finds herself cancelled thanks to a story written by the well known journalist Aly Ray Carter. Soon she finds herself out of a job and no plans for the summer. She accepts an invitation with her best friend to the Hamptons. She thought she would spend a relaxing healing summer with her best friend laying by the pool but finds herself in a uniquely awkward situation. In an enemies to lovers story, Hotter in the Hamptons would be a great beach read or sunshine novel!

Tinx's writing delivers an entertaining and fun experience, ideal for readers who enjoy romance with some humor and a gorgeous setting, and is a delightful summer read,

Overall, this book was an entertaining enough read, but it was hard to connect with the main character Lola. However, she did show some growth toward the end so that brought it back around some.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloom Books for an advanced copy of this ebook to read. All opinions are my own.

Hotter in the Hamptons is quickly paced, and could be a fun beach read. In the end, Lola is a pretty likable character but it took the whole book for me to feel that way. This book gave me a small glimpse into how shallow being an influencer can be, and how you really need to know yourself before diving into a serious relationship.

I wanted to love this book but the botox references and negativity towards wrinkles just wasn’t something I had a desire to continue reading in a book. This is likely meant to create a character and I do believe the reader is meant to feel this way, but I personally hate botox and have had prior trauma with it, so I need to skip on this book as it is not for me. Tearing women down is not something I want in a book right now.

I did enjoy the writing style, and I do think this book could get better, but botox and wrinkles trash talk in 2025 made me angry.

Thank you for the opportunity to leave honest feedback! I received an eARC of this book.

Hotter in the Hamptons is fast-paced, easy-to-read, queer/sapphic summer fling. Set in both New York City and the Hamptons, in shows us the life of Lola, A NYC fashion influencer whose life goes down hill fast after making an off-handed comment while a little intoxicated. Aly Ray Carter, a culture critic, makes matters whose and Lola seeks freedom/space in the Hamptons with her Gay bestie, Ryan. Whose is the next door neighbor, none other than ARC. This has enemies to lovers trope, self discovery & self- growth.

I found this book enjoyable overall but do find it to have some harmful lesbian/bisexual stereotypes. I also learned the author is not queer nor sapphic so that doesn’t really sit right with me but this in my opinion an accurate portrayal of a sapphic situationship.

Overall, I would recommend this to someone looking for a quick read that has both the beach and influencer lifestyle.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bloom Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

THIS WAS AMAZING!!!! Such an incredible switch up from our ever loving happy ending romance novels! This also had a happy ending, just with herself and everyone is going to love it. Can’t wait for everyone to get their hands on this!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Bloom for the ARC of Hotter in the Hamptons: A Novel by Tinx!

This book follows Lola, a recently cancelled influencer spending the summer in the Hamptons while juggling career drama, friendships, and a supposed enemies-to-lovers romance. On paper, it sounds like my kind of messy, but in reality? I was found wanting.

Sadly, I just didn't feel invested in any of Lola’s relationships. I love an enemies-to-lovers trope SO much, but her situationship with Aly? They meet, acknowledge they’re both hot, she writes a hit piece on her, a few weeks pass, and suddenly, they’re hooking up? Where’s the tension? Where is the banter and slowly developing feelings for one another? This made me question the queer stereotypes (aka love-bombing homosexual relationship). Also, Lola was a trash friend to Ryan, and I really wanted to see more growth in that friendship. Honestly, I didn’t like any of the characters.

On the bright side, I did like the queer rep, and I actually really liked the ending. It wasn’t some unrealistic, tied-up-in-a-bow HEA, and I respected that. The Hamptons setting was also super fun—I’ve never been, so it was cool to live vicariously through the book. Plus, it was an easy read, and I can totally see this being a good one to toss in your beach bag if you just want something light and messy to breeze through.

Overall, not a favorite, but if you’re into drama-filled, low-stakes summer reads, it might be worth a shot!

I was initially intrigued by the premise of this book, particularly the influencer situation Lola found herself in, as it’s such a relevant and relatable topic in today’s world. However, as the story unfolded, I found myself increasingly frustrated, especially with how LGBTQIA+ themes were handled. The book leaned heavily into stereotypes that felt shallow and uninformed, which was both off-putting and disappointing. I truly hope these elements were written from a place of genuine experience rather than being used as a convenient plot device or a way to appeal to trends. If this book is going to be part of a series, I hope future installments move away from these tropes and offer more thoughtful representation. What also pains me is that these stereotypes are coming from a straight women, so that is especially harmful.

While there were moments of growth for Lola by the end, the journey felt rushed and lacked emotional depth. Her reliance on validation from her followers was frustrating to read about, and while I appreciated her eventual realization that she needed to stand on her own, it felt like therapy or deeper introspection was missing from her arc.

Another major issue for me was the storyline involving Aly writing such a cruel article about Lola, only for them to end up dating. While I generally enjoy the enemies-to-lovers trope, this dynamic felt forced and uncomfortable in this context. It didn’t resonate emotionally and left me feeling disconnected from their relationship.

The spice level was decent, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to redeem the overall experience for me. I give this book 3 🌶️ out of 5 but sincerely hope future works in this series are more mindful in their portrayal of LGBTQIA+ characters and themes.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloom Books for the ARC.

I almost feel like the blurb was misleading. It felt like I was watching a show that had too many commercial breaks, what was up with so many ad placements?! I didn't connect with Lola at all, like in any way. I thought this would be an interesting read but unfortunately it wasn't for me.

title: Hotter in the Hamptons

author: Tinx

publisher: Bloom Books

publication date: May 6, 2025

pages: 336

peppers: 3 (on this scale)

warnings: cancel culture, binge drinking, vomit mentioned (in past)

summary: When social media influencer/content creator Lola makes a thoughtless comment that loses her thousands of followers, her media team convinces her to let Aly Ray Carter, an up-and-coming journalist interview her to publicize her side of the story. Unfortunately, ARC writes a scathing review that not only completes Lola's cancelation into obscurity but also convinces her boyfriend of five years to take a break. So when Lola's best friend Ryan suggests that they live together in a sublet in the Hamptons for the summer, Lola has nothing to lose. By total coincidence, ARC lives in the house next door.

tropes (this is NOT a romance novel):

gay for you
gay best friend
starting over
being canceled
finding myself
enemies to lovers
meeting the ex

what I liked:

Lola's journey to love herself and find herself seems valid/believable
glimpses into influencer lifestyle
friendships

what I didn’t like: 

while I understand that an influencer would use lots of brand names, parts of the novel felt like product placement. Plus, there were too many names for me to keep up.


overall rating: 4 (of 5 stars)

This book was great. Overall it had great plot, I enjoyed the storyline the book had to offer, it lived to the name, it was hot. I enjoyed every second of it and enjoyed the book in all its glory

I really enjoyed the writing in Hotter in the Hamptons! The story follows Lola, a messy but ultimately relatable protagonist navigating love, career, and self-discovery. While I found her frustrating at times—especially her lack of drive in both work and relationships—I understood that she needed to go through that phase to truly find herself.

Both of her relationships had toxic elements, and I was relieved that she didn’t end up with either of them. She was really going through it! Instead, her personal growth took center stage, which made for a satisfying conclusion.

I also loved the influencer world aspect—the setting felt well-developed and realistic. And bless Ryan, because I have no idea how he put up with Lola’s chaos!

In the end, what I appreciated most was the book’s message: it’s never too late to figure out who you are and reinvent yourself. Lola’s journey felt authentic, and I was happy to see her finally take control of her own life.

I’d give this book a 3.5/5⭐️ but I do think that if you like Tinx (as I do!) you will enjoy this book.

This had the potential to be good, instead it read like an advertisement of sponsored brands that Tinx was being paid to promote. It was mind numbingly superficial and the label name dropping became tiresome very quickly.

Lola totally doesn’t act like a 30 year old woman. She’s childish, completely self-absorbed, and flighty. This book was very difficult to read at times bc I found Lola very shallow and unlikable & her gay best friend, Ryan, was so cliché. There were no characters that I liked actually.

I don’t know much about the author other than they’re an influencer, but a lot of the book felt incredibly stereotypical towards the LGBTQIA+ community. I’m not sure if they are in that community or if they just used it for the narrative and marketing purposes, but it just felt ick to me, especially the fact that Lola seemed to find the thought of being bisexual (or labeled as such) to be so reprehensible.

Little things irritated me as well, like
writing that you can’t dive gracefully with large breasts, or having Lola make french toast as if it were a difficult meal to make. The paragraph describing what designer sunglasses everyone was wearing in the car was so unnecessary and shallow that I wanted to toss my phone in irritation. Completely unnecessary. More time should have been spent on the characters so they weren’t cookie cutouts of stereotypes but instead Tinx felt it necessary to mention Aly’s Tom Ford sunglasses 5 times…

If you’re a teen or a fellow influencer you might enjoy this book. There’s really not much to it other than designer labels and spice; Lola doesn’t really have a satisfying character arc. If you want to read something substantial and not something that comes across as brand name fan fiction, skip this one.

1 star

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley and Sourcebooks Bloom Books,  however this review is completely my own unbiased personal opinion, left of my own volition.

I wanted to like this but the main character was kind of insufferable. I get sexuality is a tough thing to navigate but this was hard to get through.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC of this book.

It seems that everything is not hotter in the Hamptons. *sigh*

If this book was written by an author that could delve into the issues here with grace and depth, it would be an interesting examination of an influencer, Lola, whose life was precariously titled toward mediocrity and subsequently fell like a stack of Jenga tiles when her ticket to cancellation was punched and ratcheted into overdrive by Aly Carter’s expose. However, Tinx does not have the skill to make this book with all of it’s inherent complexities truly take off. Instead, her prose is superficial and curated like an Instagram post full of glossy fashion and the finest of everything revealing nothing of substance.

It seems that the “blandification” Aly Carter speaks about here has overtaken this book as well.

Lola’s style is bland.

Lola’s significant other at the beginning of the book, Justin, is bland.

Lola’s relationships with her team is bland.

Lola’s snobbery is bland.

Lola’s discussion of her sexuality is bland (and off-putting as well).

Lola’s sex life is bland. Yes, there’s a lot of spice in this book, but it’s bland at best and tedious at worst. It’s like Tinx thought that the spicier the book, the better; however, she’s not good at writing more than a bland spicy scene. Yawn.

Lola’s drinking and partying is bland.

Lola’s best friend, Ryan, is bland adjacent because he offers more insight into her than anyone else, but he’s relegated to a non-essential worker here because he’s barely on the page.

Lola’s plans for her life are bland.

Lola’s love-story is bland.

Everything turned to beige as I continued to read hoping that things would turn around. They did not. More often than not, I was annoyed with the superficial and oftentimes troubling discussions of sexuality. Tell me you aren’t adept at taking on this topic without telling me you aren’t adept at taking on this topic. Honestly, did this book have any sensitivity readers? It needed them.

In short, Lola’s life is bland, and even with a renewed effort to get back to “herself” toward the end of the book, I couldn’t be bothered to care. Her carefully curated life was still bland. Bless her heart.

Thank you so much to Bloom and NetGalley for this ARC!

Hotter in the Hamptons was simultaneously a delight and a wild ride. It was clever, a thought-provoking critique of so much of modern American pop culture. For the first several chapters, I was kind of annoyed by all of the label and brand name drops, the way she just floated through life without thinking much beyond the surface. It took me a minute and then it clicked - duh, that’s Lola’s problem. I thought it was especially interesting that it was written by someone who got their start in content creation. It felt like the reader got a look behind the curtain of the reality of that lifestyle.

I saw so much of my 20-something self in Lola. She was both endearing and maddening. Honestly, she was probably so endearing and maddening because of how much I related to from my younger years. There were so many times I wanted to shake her for being an idiot, and then the next page I’d just want to hold her hand and tell her she would find her footing eventually. I got frustrated feeling like she “should” know better for many things, but that was the whole point - there was so much she didn’t know about herself, let alone navigating life. Also, the story takes place over the course of only a few months, when her entire world has been upturned. Lola felt *real*. I resonated with every time she was dealing harsh criticism that was completely justified - and she knew it.

I felt like both Justin and Aly were written so well. Each had a specific role to play in Lola’s journey, and they were both just as flawed and complex as Lola. In so many books with romance, characters fulfill tropes. They’re either the good guy or the bad guy. The villain or Prince Charming. None of the characters in Hotter in the Hamptons can be easily categorized. Except for maybe Ryan - he was just the best.

I was so proud of Lola by the end. The fact that she chose herself over anyone else, for the first time, was such great character growth. I felt like I was watching my little sister figure herself out. I loved that the ending was open ended, with Lola stepping into the next chapter of her life with hope and passion.

The exploration of sexual orientation and all that comes with it (first times, outing, insecurity, labeling) felt genuine. I haven’t experienced what Lola went through personally, but it all felt like viable struggles someone questioning their sexuality would have. The spice was spicing - both ways.

My ONLY complaint about this book? The long chapters! I hate long chapters. That is totally a personal preference thing, and it didn’t ruin my experience with the book, it’s just one of those pet peeves.

I liked the cover of this one, and thought it would be a fun summer read! Unfortunately, I found it ultimately hard to finish. The writing style was a bit lack luster and hard to get into. I didn't feel any connection to the main character, and that was the biggest hurdle of all. I appreciate the opportunity to read this, but overall not really something I enjoyed.

This was a really fun read! I really enjoyed the carefree, summer energy. I think readers will love binging this novel by the pool!

I don't usually like to review books that I didn't enjoy, but with Hotter In The Hamptons, it's not that I disliked it and more that this book dealt me increasing levels of psychic damage the longer it went on.
At first I thought that this book was just something that wouldn't be for me, that I had no interest in reading from the POV of an out of touch wealthy fashion influencer whose every other word was 'chic'. But, I wanted to give this book a chance.

Summary:
- Lola is just Tinx. Literally. Down to the design school she went to
- Every character is a total stereotype in the most UNIRONIC way
- Aside from their assigned stereotypes, every character is essentially the same person
- Lola's complete refusal to call herself anything other than straight as if it's the end of the freaking world
- Everything about this book trivializes the experience of being a queer person

At about 30% into the book I decided to look up the author, Tinx, who I'd never heard of before. She's a fashion influencer, who went to Parsons to study fashion journalism & in 2022 she was cancelled. Sound familiar? The main character, Lola, a fashion influencer who studied fashion at Parsons & then got cancelled. At first I thought that it would be interesting to read about how it is to be cancelled and come back from it, to really change and grow from the experience. Boy, was I wrong. Lola (AKA fictional Tinx) does not change or grow from her experience at all. She frequently expresses and demands sympathy for the fact that she was cancelled for "stupid" reasons that aren't a big deal. Is that the attitude that Tinx holds about her experience in real life? I sure hope not. The things she said about other women were vile. She calls herself "Tiktoks big sister" but fatshames women on twitter? Right. I sincerely hope she was more introspective than her characters.

When Aly was introduced and described as a 'heartbreaker' who 'tends to pull straight girls' it was really the first thing that set off my alarm bells. That is famously something that SO many people assume about gay women. For so many queer people it is a reality that when someone finds out you're gay, they assume you're attracted to them or that you're going to try to "turn them gay". And then this was DOUBLED DOWN by Aly not only having been with a straight girl, but also having her whole romance with Lola be made to revolve around the fact that Lola considers herself to be straight. What makes this even more frustrating to me is that this "information" (AKA blatantly homophobic rumor) is relayed to Lola by her best friend Ryan, who is the most stereotypical gay best friend character I've seen outside of an early 2000s romcom. And I don't even think the author realized that she was writing such stereotypical characters, because they are ALL like that (Aly the lesbian that goes after straight women, Ryan the sassy fashionable gay best friend, Justin the boyfriend who doesn't pay attention to or understand his girlfriend, Lola the clueless rich girl who never takes the blame, Colette the jealous ex gf who tries to break them up).

Aside from each character's assigned stereotype, they are all the same person. And they're all freaking awful. Every single one of them is selfish, immature and genuinely frustrating to read about. "Oh you got cancelled? You didn't think about how it would affect ME first? whatever let's get married or break up! who cares?" "Oh you just got outed and aren't even sure of your sexuality yet? and your ex who dumped you after you didn't want to get panic married is back? uhhhh let's break up" "What boyfriend? You didn't tell me that! Well okay yeah you did but what about MY fling with our hot neighbor that ruined my life?"

Throughout her summer fling with Aly, Lola struggles with her attraction to her. She repeatedly says how she's straight, straight straight straight. Couldn't possibly be bisexual. She's just always had sexual fantasies about women, watched lesbian porn, is dating a woman and frequently fooling around with her. But before Aly she only dated men so she's straight. Obviously, everyone's journey with their sexuality is different. As a bisexual woman, I know first hand that finding a label that suits you can be incredibly personal and difficult, particularly when you're attracted to more than one gender. But Lola's complete denial of the possibility of her being bisexual, to the point of melting down over it like a toddler, it's just feels as "bisexual" is a bad word to her. She has gay friends, so many in fact that she claimed to forget that queer language isn't hers to use when she was cancelled for it. But she can't consider that she might be bi? Is gay or straight the only acceptable option? Bisexual is NOT a bad word.

My last issue with this book is that it completely trivializes what it is to be queer. Queerness to this book is a phase, a summer fling. It comes SO close to hitting the nail on the head when Aly literally brings this topic up to Lola while they're fighting. She tells Lola "Some of us don’t have the luxury of just liking who we like. It’s who we are. It impacts our rights.” To which Lola responds "Please don't yell at me." and the concept is just. Never brought back up? It's so frustrating to seeing it come so close to being handled properly and then just dropped.

After their argument about Lola being straight, they spend some time apart, then Lola rides her bike to see Aly, Aly reads her a piece she wrote basically saying that she's in love with Lola, they get it on the pool & then pretty much immediately break up after that and never get back together. That's it, the end. Happily never after.