I absolutely LOVED this book!! Yes, some of the characters were not as sharply written as they could be. But so much of it I could so see!! Even though high school was many, many years ago, I remember theater!!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

Long Story Short

Serena Kaylor

Publication: July 26, 2022

This apparently is a debut book…and WOW-I am impressed. This had a perfect blend of finding yourself as well as finding your people. I could totally see this as a movie! Just thinking back on so many scenes is making me break out into a big grin. Beatrice is a teenage genius who gets early acceptance into Berkeley but her parents have reservations because of her lack of socialization skills. While the book never stated, I would almost say Bea is on the low end of the autistic spectrum. Her test to them to prove she is ready to go off to college is to send her away for the summer to a Shakespeare camp with theatre kids. AHHH! There is so much about this book I absolutely adored. It is wonderfully character driven and each person is so fleshed out. Once again, I find myself smiling remembering different scenes…this book is a true gem!
4.5 Stars

WOW. I honestly had so much fun with this book. I can't remember the last time I got so attached to YA characters like this. Serena Kaylor's debut is so full of heart and I found myself rooting for these characters so easily. Bea is so easy to love, she's messy and funny and her growth is amazing. I really loved the slow-burn romance in this, and my former theater kid self was in LOVE with the theater camp setting. I think this story really found its stride about halfway through, and I FLEW through the last 40%. There is truly no better YA storytelling than Teens and Assorted Shennanigans, and that's exactly what this was. It was fun, sparkly, unapologetic, and didn't take itself too seriously, while still hitting some really important points about growing up and learning that change is okay. I seriously loved this so much.

Beatrice Quinn is quite special. She finished high school before she was sixteen and is ready to make her Oxford dreams come true, except her parents don't think she has had enough "normal" adolescent experiences. The one way they will consider allowing Beatrice to study in another country is if she completes a list that her parents create of typical teen experiences. They decide that she will attend a prestigious Shakespeare camp for six weeks to prove that she can handle having typical experiences that are outside of her comfort zone. Beatrice prepares for her trip to not work out well, but she comes to find that she is far more typical than she thought. With a small group of friends, Beatrice realizes that hard work and hard relaxation are not something that you can fit into a mathematical equation, and she actually likes life that way. A wonderfully sweet and engaging story for anyone who has ever felt a bit out of place.

I loved this book for it's humor and for the supportive friends! Of course, there are the not-so-nice interactions too. We can't go through life without conflict, right? Parts of the book are purely ridiculous which makes it very funny! If you are looking for a light-hearted, unpredictable book with a little romance, this one will do the trick for you.

I found the start of this book a bit slow, and had some difficulty sitting down and motivating myself to read it. However, at about 150 pages in the pace picked up and definitely held my attention. I would highly recommend my student's who like contemporary novels. I wouldn't necessarily teach this book but it will definitely have a place in my classroom library.

This is the most perfect, fluffy read for teens and younger ya readers to just get sucked into. It's so much fun and speaking from a former introverted teen experience is very relatable.

15 years ago, bea was me. I'm sure a lot of readers are gonna feel connected to her personality. She doesn't wanna people, she doesn't wanna socialize and she just wants to read and learn things. Her parents won't let her attend the school of her dreams unless she attends a summer camp and checks off certain challenges they've set for her like hugging 3 people and flirting for no reason.

This was a very fast paced and cute read and I loved the Shakespeare theme.

This one was fun. Is it my favorite YA rom com? No, but it was a fun read and had a lot of heart. I appreciated the character Bea SO much. It was nice to see her character development be for her own volition rather than for the main love interest. In fact, though I liked the love interest well enough, this book was all about Bea and her growth. I loved how much she grew over the course of these 300ish pages. The friendships she made along the way were especially fun and some of the side characters were my favorite pieces of this story.

I was a bit nervous to read this as I am with any story that takes a classic and intends to subvert it somehow. Not because classics shouldn't be subverted(they totally should) but often these feel contrived. However, I didn't feel that way about Long Story Short and I liked the nuances in it that the author included. This was a great book and the characters especially were well thought out. I wish a bit more thought was put into certain aspects (like comments made by characters about weight and also with how truly terrible Nikhil was in the first quarter), but overall, this was an awesome read!

I've never watched Hallmark movies, but I imagine this is how people who enjoy those probably feel. The story was entirely predictable, everything you would expect to happen does, and the characters are definitely a little stereotypical...but you sit there and devour it, and you totally love it anyway!

Socially awkward homeschool girl + Shakespeare summer camp + Romeo and Juliet = Sign. Me. Up.

The cast of characters were endearing, and even though everything felt a little too expected, it was hard not to find yourself connecting with the characters and rooting for their success.

The Shakespearean quote-off competition was so much fun - with all the fantastic quotes and accents, I bet that this one will probably be great in audiobook, too!

I am so blown away by this book! The romance, angsty and immaculate, character development, so moving, and the whole premise was executed beautifully! READ IT WHEN IT COMES OUT!!!

Long Story Short surprised me. Bea is a refreshing type of character that you don't really see in YA. I loved the way the enemies to lovers trope was executed and I loved Nikhil. Seeing Bea develop friendships and teenage experiences was really beautiful, especially as someone who's struggled with social anxiety.

This was really cute (and perhaps uh, too relatable on some fronts), but felt kind of long (maybe a pacing issue? maybe because of who the main character was? Not sure).

I haven't been reading a lot of YA lately, but I felt like this was a nice balance between the "realistic/issues" YA and what I like to call the "sunshine and rainbows/cute" YA.

Also I think there was a lot of stuff about Oxford that was .. not quite it? Not that I spent my late teens taking online courses, hiding and being obsessed with the idea of going to Oxbridge. Umm.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I am faithfully continuing my quest of reading every book that is even tangentially related to Much Ado About Nothing.

I saw a character named Beatrice going to Shakespeare camp and I immediately hit that want to read button.

Overall, it was a relatively fun story. We get to see Beatrice learn to make friends and have fun, there’s lots of Shakespeare references thrown in there, and I will admit that some of the romance scenes were quite good. The romantic tension was definitely up there. Unfortunately, I think much of the story was too simple, and the pacing was off.

Let’s talk pacing first. For one, the exposition just took way too long. Long enough that I was surprised when I went back to check that it was actually only three chapters. Nonetheless, I am a firm believer that the plot in a book like this needs to get rolling fast, and the scenes of Beatrice arguing with her parents and expressing her discomfort about going to camp didn’t really do much for me as the reader. After all, she is going to camp eventually, it’s much better for her to express displeasure and discomfort about it after she’s already there in order to get that message across. Then, even though it appeared that the romance was supposed to be a big part of the book, it didn’t really become prominent until the second half, which just made it a bit awkward. For the entire first half I was thinking, “wait, I thought this was supposed to have romance.”

But I think my biggest issue was the fact that it was so simple. Everything was stereotyped and overdramatic; I never felt any emotional nuance. The main character felt like an “awkward smart girl who doesn’t know how to interact with anyone” stereotype rather than a plausible person. Beatrice’s whole thing is that she loves statistics and wants to go to Oxford, but I feel like I never actually understood her deeper feelings behind these things. Beatrice never shows any true passion for statistics on page, it’s more like she wants to study it because that’s what the smart, uptight girl stereotype decrees. She mentions wanting to get away from California. Is it because it’s too casual and not academic enough for her? Is it to get away from her parents? Is it to get away from the struggles she’s had in the past? I don’t know.

While the plot might be unrealistic, I am willing to suspend my disbelief for the purposes of the story, especially since it is Shakespeare-adjacent, and Shakespeare comedies tend to be incredibly unrealistic and over-the-top. However, I still need the characters to feel like people who could exist rather than just stereotypes in a 2000s teen movie. I would still recommend the book if it sounds interesting to you, just don’t expect too much from it.

As my P.S. complaint, why oh why when you have a Shakespeare book and a main character named Beatrice would you write a character named Ben who isn’t her love interest? Like, literally just give him any other name. I thought it was an incredibly weird choice.

“Long story short, it was a bad time. Long story short, I survived.” This Taylor Swift song is Beatrice Quinn song. Thank you to Net Gallery, Wednesday Books, and St Martins Press for the advance e-copy of Long Story Short by Serena Kaylor! After finishing this INCREDIBLE coming of age book I am making it my mission to preorder so I have my own copy in hand. Enemies to lovers story with great friendships, and fun teen camp moments. Perfect book for theater fans and any Shakespeare lover. I enjoyed Beatrice and her new friends so much and the friendship experiences they shared it was fun reading about. I LOVED Nik! This book was such a good coming of age with YA romance. Long Story Short gave me all the feels, nice fast paced book that is easy to get into and love. As someone who is awkward like Beatrice, I understood her anxiety and just loved everything about this character. Can’t wait to see what Serena writes next, they definitely have a supporter in me!

Long Story Short, Serena Kaylor. St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books, publishing date set for July 26, 2022

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advance e-copy!

This book was exactly what I needed this week: a fun, cutesy young adult romance that gives me butterflies. Long Story Short stars Beatrice (“Bea”) Quinn, a socially awkward, homeschooled genius who dreams of Oxford. When she gets her acceptance letter and reveals it to her parents during dinner, they’re hesitant to let her go across the world alone for the first time ever.

In order to convince them to let her go, Bea agrees to an experiment: attend a Shakespearean summer camp and complete a series of tasks to ensure she has a true teenager experience.

Bea, as a character, was very cynical and very stubborn, but she begins to break out of her shell without changing herself completely. She did change for the better, but she also didn’t lose any of her spunk, which is something I loved.

I also loved the relationship she had between the other characters, even the ones who started out as enemies. Mia and Nolan are some of the best book friends you could ask for, and I love how open Mia was with her queerness. Seeing that representation added to my love for this book.

The tension between Nik and Bea was some of the best fluff romance I’ve read in a while. Literally up until the last moment, the tension was still there until it all came together in a nice (and amazingly shocking) way. Enemies-to-lovers is one of my favorite tropes, and Kaylor does it in a charming and academic way.

Reading this reminds me of the endearing awkwardness of teenage-dom I endured seemingly forever ago, but it also made me reflect on how I, myself, have changed after exposing myself to new opportunities. This book is a great model of positive change.

It’s a quick but fun read, fit for anyone who is looking for a cute read with friendship, new experiences, and a coming-of-age theme.

Thank you again to NetGalley and St Martin’s for the e-ARC!

Long Story Short by Serena Kaylor: 5 out of 5 stars

I read this in one sitting. I blew through the story so faced, I kinda wish I had a little more. I want more Beatrice, Nik, and Nolan, especially of Beatrice and Nik once they were together. I would have loved to see them as a couple more, but nonetheless, this cute romance was exactly what the doctor ordered. It was light, cute, and easy to read. I think my favorite part was the "bet". I love me a good challenge between heroine and love interest.

Did this book have some faults? Sure. Will I recommend it? Of course!

I will definitely be reaching for more of this author's books in the future. I can't wait to see what she puts out next.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me an ebook for an honestly review!

Like I said in my update, I’m pleasantly surprised by this book. The characters were much more fleshed out and deep than I usually get from a fun YA rom-com. And the plot was just lots of fun. There were some mildly predictable moments, but mostly I just enjoyed the Shakespeare and theatre stuff. It was just delightful. 💜💜📚

Okay wowwww!! This book was so cute!! I loved most of it so much!

My only things were that some parts were predictable, the language in parts just felt unnecessary given that majority of the book was clean, and this like never happens in real life 😂 Having been the homeschooled girl who is intelligent (albeit not exactly SUPER awkward) at camp, I know this just does not happen. Majority of people are not drawn to you. Although this is fiction, so I acknowledge that.

That being said, I wish this wasn’t fiction! It was sooo cute and fun to read! The storyline was interesting and engaging. I felt like it had a perfect mixture of dialogue and descriptions throughout.

Beatrice (Bea, Mouse): I really liked her! I appreciated how the author portrayed her, smart, and yes awkward, but not like she was incapable of socializing. She had to go through the learning curve, but she wasn’t stuck in being nonsocial. (I do find it weird how her parents viewed her and her social skills, by making her go to a camp to “become a teenager” though). I really liked her character development throughout the story. I felt like we didn’t get enough of her thoughts on Nik, but I did love her and Nik with the little we did get.

Mia: I LOVED Mia! She reminds me of someone I know who is like a bubbly life of the party person, but she is also capable of being a stable, great friend. That being said, I felt like her immediate acceptance of Beatrice was sweet, but unrealistic.

Nik: please… PLEASE… I already have enough book boyfriends!! But MAN!! Nik is perfect. I loved him. His Shakespeare love quotes…. I would pass away if someone did that to me. Especially if I thought that person hated me.

Nolan: Fun, funny, and all-around great friend.

Overall, it was a light, fun, great read that I would definitely recommend!! I will definitely be reading future works from this author!


⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
3.5/5 stars!

This was a cute highschool romance with the classic awkward girl - popular guy / enemies to lovers trope. Bea was likeable and I found myself rooting for her. Bea's parents were a frustrating pain and I couldn't understand how they had so little faith in their own daughter. Regardless, I enjoyed watching Bea come into her own. Nik was a bit of an underwhelming love interest. There was nothing about him that stood out and the chemistry didn't jump off the page. However, the enemies to lovers banter was fun.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC.
Expected Publication Date: July 26, 2022.

Thank you, Wednesday Books, for allowing me to read Long Story Short early!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Kaylor's debut. I adore books (and other media) set in summer camps. The premise of Long Story Short was fairly captivating and the book successfully won me over!