Cool for the Summer

This was great! I read it less then a day. Now I have Daya's The Difference on repeat,

a 3 star book, but a 4 star read. exactly what i needed right now. short, simple, straightforward. very predictable, but i've never complained about eating some vanilla ice cream. the one thing about this book i question though, as a non YA reader, is how surprisingly horny this one was. it didn't go full smut like some adult romances do, but it teetered into areas that i was surprised to see it go.

03.03.2024 — 31.03.2024

3.5/5

I'm gonna begin by saying I enter college, which is why I took so long to finish the book. I almost have no time to read anymore.

Now, to the review.

I was pretty pleased with it.
At first I was worried the endgame would be the man (like it happens on perfect on paper) and I had to look for spoilers to put myself at ease.

Though I wished through the book they would show us more about the queer relationship that the straight one.

Many people mentioned it was a bit weird how sudden Chase became obsessed with Larissa. It was, a bit, but they explained Larissa had this big change, so I can understand it.

At some point, I loved how Chase treated Larissa and they showed Jasmine as having no feeling for Larissa so I thought it would be okay for Chase to get the girl.

(I'm having my bi discovering too ajjej)

He did, though.

When Jasmine explained everything, it made things clear and I began rooting for her again. But, if we see Larissa perspective, Jasmine wasn't showing or doing anything to prove her feelings. Like I said before I even thought Jasmine had no feeling at all.

I think the author did a good job with that.

Honorific mention for Kiki, I like her, she's a good friend (side eye to Shannon.)

I just really wished there were more moments with Jasmine and Larissa but it seems sapphic books aren't build like that.

Overall, it was a quick, easy and entertaining read.
I would recommend it as to have something to enjoy reading.

This is a sweet teen romcom. I have a weird fondness for YA books from the POV of Popular Girls so I enjoyed that aspect of it, and understood how that played into the love triangle. I also thought Lara questioning her sexuality and temporarily deciding she's straight because her experience didn't perfectly line up with some of her queer peers is something that felt realistic and that I think will be valuable for a lot of teens (and beyond) to read. (Also brief but explicit canon aro-ace representation which again, is validating to see.)

Ultimately it did feel a bit like the main romance here was between Lara and her own self-discovery as opposed to between Lara and Chase or Lara and Jasmine, but honestly that's fine with me. I think a lot of teen readers will be cool with this.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was one of my most anticipated 2021 reads and it delivered!! Also, the cover is stunning and it really reflects the soul of the book.

Lara has been obsessed with Chase Harding for YEARS and after a summer that changes everything, he finally start noticing her and flirting with her too. Lara's life couldn't be more perfect then, she has amazing friends, a fun job and the boy of her dreams. Except that in the summer, she met a wonderful girl, Jasmine, that makes her question everything about herself. And when Jasmine walks through her high school doors declaring that she will stay permanently, Lara is faced with a choice: she either needs to be honest with herself or completely forget the best summer of her life.

I LOVED Lara and Jasmine, and all the other characters too. Usually in books when you have a group of friends, their only personality trait seem to be “the best friends of the main character”. In this case, they were all well-rounded, with their own interests and their own stories. I also really appreciated how diverse they all were.

I loved the cheerful and humorous atmosphere and the writing was so descriptive and fluid that I felt like I was in the story with all the characters.

Dahlia Adler's writing is fun, romantic and reflective and her distinctive voice made this one a very special book.

I highly recommend this to any YA lovers, especially those who are still looking to find themselves.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an early copy.

4.5 ⭐️SAD that I waited so long to write a review because my thoughts are no longer fresh, however I liked this sooo much! It hurt my heart to read, but in a good way? I thought the characters were great and loved their relationship. A lot of readers have complained that the main conflict is lack of communication, which I usually hate as well, but I feel like it makes complete sense here. Lara is struggling with compulsory heterosexuality and doesn't even know if she's queer – she's not talking about her feelings because she doesn't even know what they are! Anyway, this was a nice quick summer read and I highly recommend it.Blog Twitter Instagram Facebook Ko-fi