As soon as I saw the cover for this title, I knew I needed to read it! Float by Kate Marchant is such a cute, addicting YA novel. Similar to Waverly, I'm not ready to let go of summer just yet so I read this in September and had an absolute blast. I thought the pace/tone was just right, the writing was beautiful and I enjoyed getting invested in the characters and wondering how things would turn out for each and every one of them in the end. This book just reiterated that coming-of-age stories will always be one of my go-to's!

Thank you to Wattpad Books and NetGalley for this ebook.

Float is the story of Alaska based Waverly, who is travelling to Florida to visit her aunt for the summer. Struggling with her parents divorce, a lack of direction, and a feeling of not belonging, Waverly is looking forward to a fresh start. She soon finds a job, friends, and a potential love interest in (and not to mention much needed swimming lessons from) her neighbor Blake, and Waverly may find herself wishing that her Florida visit wasn't only for the summer.

I really needed a good YA novel in my life, and Float was a fantastic fit that quickly moved up my tbr list. Waverly is a great main character in Float, and for this being a relatively lighthearted read I found her to have a good amount of depth with everything she struggles with in her life in Alaska. She finds a group that helps give her a sense of belonging, and her aunt provides the family love that she needs. Her romance with Blake is sweet, innocent, and age appropriate, and it added a nice touch to the story. Float is the kind of story I look for in a YA novel and I really enjoyed reading this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Wattpad Books for this ARC; this is my honest and voluntary review.

I really liked this one! I always love summer themed YA fiction and this was supposed to have the vibe of a Sarah Dessen/Jenny Hahn book. I absolutely love anything by Jenny Hahn. To All the Boys is my life so I definitely knew I wanted to pick this one up!

The premise states
Description
A heartfelt summer read for fans of Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han about holding on and letting go.

Waverly Lyons has been caught in the middle of her parents’ divorce for as long as she can remember. This summer, the battle rages over who she’ll spend her vacation with, and when Waverly’s options are shot down, it’s bye-bye Fairbanks, Alaska and hello Holden, Florida to stay with her aunt..

This is a cute fish out of water story with a romantic element as well! it’s about that time in your life when anything is possible. I really enjoyed the way it was written. It would make a cute Netflix movie and I hope to read more by this author in the future.

Float by Kate Marchant was a great light, summer read about a girl coming into her own and figuring out what she wants over the course of a summer spent out of her normal environment. I thought the romance was cute, and I loved the friendships between all the different characters. It gave me tons of cozy, found family vibes. The only downside for me was I sometimes found it a little difficult to understand why characters did certain things - maybe it's just me, but I felt like sometimes they made leaps in their thinking that weren't logical to me. Other than that though, this book made me smile a lot, and was the perfect breezy read to help me cling onto the last days of summer for as long as possible. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC!

It’s safe to say that I love reading books on Wattpad, and Float is one I have read multiple times on that app. When I saw it on NetGalley and was accepted to read the ARC, I was so excited. Reading Float felt very nostalgic, and it reminded me why I had read it so many times before. It’s so nice to see how the author’s writing had improved and how well the story was told.

‘”Sorry,” he called, “I just thought you should know that he likes you too.”‘

When Waverly goes to Florida for Summer to stay with her aunt, she does not expect it to change her life. But soon Waverly lets it slip to the cute boy-next-door that she can’t swim, which is a problem as she is now living by the beach. Blake then offers to teach her, leading to them lying to the rest of their friends as Waverly doesn’t want anyone to know about her inability to swim. This book has everything you would expect a YA romance to have and it is the perfect summer read. Float also deals with relationships with parents, as Blake has a rocky one with his step-mother, and Waverly is in Florida because neither of her parents want her on their research trips.

‘I think it was pretty romantic. You. Me. Mood lighting from the storm. These awful pajamas. Jesse. What more could I ask for?’

Waverly gets pulled into Blake’s friendship group, working with Lena and his ex-girlfriend Alissa. I loved that this wasn’t your typical romance where the ex-girlfriend can’t get over their ex, and vice versa. It was such a fun read and I loved watching Waverly and Blake’s relationship go from a kind of hatred to friendship to maybe something more. I definitely recommend this for those that love Morgan Matson’s and Sarah Dessen’s books as it is a very enjoyable read!

This was a charming YA Novel and the perfect summer read. The main characters were likable and relatable. However, at times I felt that the relationship between Waverly and Blake wasn't as natural as it could be and it felt a little rushed. But I read it in one sitting, and I enjoyed it again, after reading it years ago on wattpad as a teenager. The story was cute and not unnecessarily dramatic. But sometimes the story didn't feel fully developed and I felt like the author didn't go deep enough, but just scratched the surface of the story and the characters and emotions. I also would have liked more of a natural character development for Alyssa, because in the beginning she read like a carbon copy of any dramatic friend in pop culture, and at the end of the book she was very different and you didn't get to see much of that change on the page.
Still, if you're looking fo a lighthearted read for in between, you can pick up this book and won't be disappointed.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m going to have to be honest, this is actually the second time I’ve read this book. The first time was when I was in high school and stumbled upon it on Wattpad. This was back before it was even a paid story and after reading Float, I became a frequent visitor to Kate Marchant’s Wattpad profile. Float is not even my favorite of her books and I am still patiently waiting for her other novel, Whistleblower, to be published. That is mostly irrelevant though so lets jump right into the review.

SUMMARY

Seventeen-year-old Waverly Lyons is from Alaska. She doesn’t do sun. But after her divorced parents can’t agree on who gets to have her for the summer, Waverly gets shipped off to Holden, Florida, to spend a couple months with her aunt, Rachel. There’s one minor hiccup: Blake Hamilton, Rachel’s seventeen-year-old neighbor. He’s athletic, outgoing, arrogant, tan, and pretty much Waverly’s exact opposite. She’s eager to avoid him at all costs, hoping to fit in with the other kids in Holden without drawing too much attention to herself. But when Blake discovers that Waverly has been hiding the rather embarrassing secret that she can’t swim, he does the unthinkable: He offers to teach her.

REVIEW

In my opinion, this book is the perfect summer beach read. I actually read this book on my family’s beach vacation this year and it fit the vibe perfectly. Marchant has created this perfect world full of imperfect relatable characters with enough personality to make almost anyone feel heard. As someone who grew up twenty minutes away from the closest beach, I was truly surprised when I really found myself relating to Waverly in ways that really mattered. Float manages to cover struggles that many teenagers face on a daily bases in a lighthearted manner that keeps you hooked from the beginning.

At times I felt that Waverly and Blake’s relationship was moving too fast but you get that when you have books like this where the character are given a time limit together. Waverly is only staying the summer in Florida so, while I did find it a little unrealistic, I understand why Marchant made that decision.

CONCLUSION

Like I stated in the beginning of this review, I am a huge fan of Kate Marchant’s work and this book did not change my mind. Float is brilliant and I can’t wait for the world to be able to read it. I ended up rating this book 4 out of 5 stars. Float is set to be released on February 22nd, 2022 so make sure to go out and get yourself a copy!

Float is Marchant’s debut novel and honestly, it couldn’t have come at a better time. Lately, I have been longing for a sweet and age appropriate new YA novel, and almost everything I pick up has been either too mature or completely toxic (see my post on Punk 57) for a YA audience.

Float was SO unbelievably refreshing. This was a cute, quirky and innocent read. I loved the world Marchant created in small town Florida; there has been a trend towards dark and disturbing teenage novels (think 13 Reasons Why) and it was nice to read about a welcoming and caring group of teens; don’t get me wrong, there were still raging house parties, bitchy moments between girls, underage drinking, realistic teenage language (plenty of fucks were uttered haha), sneaking out and breaking rules, but the friendships and romantic relationships were sweet and age appropriate.

Waverly and Blake were adorable; a perfect teen appropriate version of one of my favourite romance tropes, enemies to lovers. Marchant captured the excitement and magic of a first time summer love perfectly. One day I want my daughter to have a summer of self discovery like Waverly had.

Honestly, I just really enjoyed this book. It made me feel warm and mushy and I really hope that this isn’t the last we heard from this rag tag group of friends - I would LOVE to read about Alissa and Jesse, for example!

Fans of Jenny Han (TATBILB and TSITP) will absolutely love this book. It is currently in the production phase and being turned into a movie (I do have questions as to why they cast a 33 year old as the 17 year old teenage heartthrob Blake... but 🤷🏼‍♀️).

This body-positive story is everything I needed. Full of characters who you will love to meet and a story that is both emotional and gripping at the same time.

Thank you Netgalley and Wattpad Books for allowing me to read and review this book.

I thought FLOAT was very reminiscent to Sarah Dessen, Kasie West, and Morgan Matson books. This is a quintessential summer book.

You have Waverly, who is dealing with being in the middle of her parents divorce and then going from Alaska to Florida to spend time with her Aunt. While in Alaska she didn't have very many friends, read a lot, and didn't do very much except school stuff. But then in Florida she is introduced to hot boy next door and his inner circle of friends. Realizing how short summer is, she has to deal with the act of letting go and what she would do for love.

I gotta be honest, the summary drew me in but that cover needs to be changed. It's way too simple and looks like a lot of the other "animated people" YA covers out there.

I like Waverly and her new friends and dealing with the divorce. That hit home for me, being in the middle of her parents BS.

The story was quick, cute, and a fluffy summer read with a dash of heart thrown in.

3 stars

'Float' is a novel about 17-year-old Waverly from Alaska who comes to visit her aunt living near the Atlantic Ocean. Waverly wants this holiday to be her new start, she wants to reinvent herself among new people in a completely new place. Back in Alaska she went to a private school and she didn't really have any friends, she was mostly doing her homework and reading books or following her academically successful and very much divorced parents. Now she has to face a really pissed off and unfortunately also really handsome neighbour Blake and the lack of swimming skills. But hey, she makes great friends with Alissa, Lena and her twin brother Jesse, and... it also turns out that Blake is not so bad after all. I really liked reading this book, I read it almost at one go, and I simply love all the books with surfing in them. If there were more funny / LOL scenes or dialogues I would totally give it a five star review. Thank you Wattpad and NetGalley for allowing me to read it as an advanced copy way before the publication date!

This was a charming YA! I found the setting really well written and I thought the characters were cute. I would recommend this to fans of Sarah Dessen.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read FLOAT on Wattpad when it first came out and I absolutely loved it. I can still remember getting excited over the updates, it was easily one of my favorite books on the platform. It only makes sense that I still love it in its absolute final draft! Blake is to this day one of my favorite book boyfriends and Waverly is such a great protagonist. The book was funny, emotional, and all of the things. I love love love it! Thanks to Wattpad Books for giving me the opportunity to read the final version! :)

Thank you so much Wattpad Books and NetGalley for this wonderful ebook!

Float by Kate Marchant has to be one of the greatest YA novels I've read all month!
SO FREAKING GOOD!
Kate has a way with words which just captures you and keeps you hooked till you've read the entire thing.
Freaking devoured this book!
Float is a young adult novel with spectacular writing and pace. Kate did an amazing job with this book and I loved it. The characters I couldn't help but fall in love with! The writing was freaking on point!
I thought this book was refreshing and there were plenty of times that I had that stupid smile on my face because of how lovey the characters were. Amazing story!

Five Star Book All Day Long!

Thank you again for the opportunity to read this novel!

What a delightful book. The main character gets a change of scenery Anna change your perspective. I absolutely loved this story.