I struggled with this book. I was attracted to it as it seemed like a fun summery enemies to lovers story at a theater camp setting - the premise reminded me of my youth!

The story lost me as a lot of the characters acted very stereotypically. I wanted to be patient with this as this is a YA story but the characters were frustrating.

I really ached for Beatrice and how she was treated by her friends and family. I am not sure if this was intentional but the way she was written made it seem like she was neurotypical which made the way she was treated by those around her very frustrating. What I think was intended as her friends and family trying to pull her out of her shell came across as impatience and bullying.

Overall this is a fun and quirky romance and I can see this resonating with a younger audience. I wish it worked for me!

Beatrice Quinn is a homeschooled statistical genius from Berkeley, California who has dreamed of attending a prestigious university (such as Oxford) and discovering / solving new mathematical challenges. Unfortunately, when Beatrice shares the news of her acceptance at a disasterous dinner party, her parents express concern that her social skills will make living away from home, let alone another country, a little difficult. So, in order to prove to her parents she can make it on her own, she agrees to attend the a six-week program at the Connecticut Shakespearean Summer Academy, packed with a checklist of milestones to complete. Unfortunately, teenage interactions don't follow even the simplest equation, so when Beatrice is adopted by an ecclectic duo of theatre nerds and immediately makes an enemy of the son of the camp's founders (does he have to be annoying, talented, and attractive?), she realizes that these six weeks may be more harder to get through than her most difficult calculus class. Beatrice slowly opens up and takes a chance with everything this camp has to offer, but will she realize there's more to life than numbers and books before the final curtain call?

Ok so I found this book a bit slow to get into at first, but when things finally got going I actually stayed up late to read this a few days in a row, which I haven't done for a YA contemporary in a long time. As someone who is perpetually socially awkward, and always thought myself to be behind my fellow peers in terms of life events we deemed "important" as teenagers, I found following Beatrice as she slowly experiences more with the help of her new friends to be incredibly relateable. I can only hope that people like Mia and Nolan would adopt me into their friend group if I was in this position. I loved Beatrice's back and forth with Nik, how everyone else can tell it's flirting except her, and he's constantly trying to get under her skin to elicit a reaction because he knows he will. I will say I didn't particularly love their misunderstanding, but I can appreciate that it's handled in a very age-appropriate way, and when Nik is eventually confronted with it he doesn't try to deny it, just spends so many other times trying to make up for his ego getting the best of him. Beatrice can also be seen trying to cope with her anxiety, and she and her therapist devised a plan for her to recite the names of all the noble gases when she feels herself becoming overwhelmed, which I might steal and use in the future. It was important for Beatrice to learn that even though she comes to camp with a checklist of actions she feels forced to carry out, being a teenager and taking a chance to be a bit reckless for the night, having fun with her friends, feeling more confident and putting herself out there even when it scares her are much more important than any list, and it was really nice to see her character growth. I think anybody who grew up around theatre will appreciate all the Shakespeare references, lines, and accuracy about summer camp for theatre nerds in all departments, but I don't think it's inaccesible for readers who aren't as familiar - the play they're putting on is Romeo and Juliet, which I feel is the most well-known, and many other references are used in the context of a Shakespeare face-off competition. While the ending may have been a bit rushed and over the top, I still absolutely loved my time with this book.

In conclusion, I wasn't expecting this YA book to steal my thespian heart in such a way, but I was a goner for Beatrice's story - her blossoming friendship with Mia and Nolan, her playful rivalry with Nik, and her rough patch around Shelby. I'm sure teens will find something to relate to in Serena Kaylor's debut, and I hope people of all ages can come to appreciate the terror that is summer theatre camp. *Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Wednesday Books, for the early copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Oh. My. God. This was such a beautiful story about dealing with social anxiety, overcoming your fears, making friends, coming into your own and forcing yourself out of your comfort zone. I adored this with all of my heart.

Beatrice Quinn may be doing everything right academically - the advanced level classes, the checklists, and her crisp acceptance letter to Oxford University. However, she seems to be lacking in other areas of her life and her parents aren't willing to send Beatrice to the other side of the world until she proves to them that she has life skills alongside her stringent academic mindset. What better way to bring super smart Beatrice outside of her shell, than a Shakespearean summer camp for acting...Somehow, she finds herself on a plane from California to Connecticut with a checklist of activities she must complete before her parents even seriously consider the idea of her going to Oxford in the fall.

Some of the people she meets are nice, while others are downright nasty. However, armored with her uniform, quick wit, and dry humor Beatrice is determined to survive this summer camp, dodge the gorgeously annoying British son of the camp's founders, and become an active participant in her life to show her parents that she will manage at Oxford.

Cue the romance, cue the clique mean girl, cue the drama and theatrics. This was such a fun and quick summer read!


Thank you to NetGalley, Wednesday Books Publishing, and Serena Kaylor for providing an advance copy of this book for me to enjoy. As always, this book was read and reviewed voluntarily, and the opinions stated above are completely my own.

Homeschooled and introverted Beatrice has just been accepted to Oxford. But her parents are hesitant to let her go since she'd never been out on her own before. They come up with a brilliant idea, a checklist of "normal" teenage things that she has to check off at a Shakespeare camp because what better place to make friends and act like a "normal" teenager than an acting camp? But Bea runs into all kinds of problems trying to check off her list, a lot of which comes at the hands of her enemy (as in enemies-to-lovers), Nik.

I thought I'd love a Shakespeare themed book as a big Shakespeare fan as I am. But I have some words. First of all the first 2/3rds of this book dragged, dragged. I found myself nodding off more often than once. The pacing was not great. It did pick up at the end, but only if you can get through the first 2/3rds. Secondly, what the actual heck is wrong with Bea's parents? I'm not a big fan of books/movies/TV shows where the nerdy girl is made over to be "cool." The worst part about this was that it's forced at the hands of her own parents. That doesn't sit well with me at all. There's the formulaic get Bea into less clothing, take her to a party, get her drunk, and I'm over her the whole time going "why?" She doesn't really want to do any of these things. Then you have the token mean girl. You know, the girl who's mean for absolutely no reason. The romance was okay, except when the love interest goes off the rails for something so tiny. I liked Bea, but I don't like that she was forced to change to fit into a box of what her parents think a normal teenager should be. I was so excited for this book, and I really wanted to like it, but it just left a sour taste in my mouth.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this book, but unfortunately I don't think I can recommend this especially with the message it carries to teens.

4.5/5 stars

Long Story Short is a Young Adult contemporary/ realistic fiction/coming of age/ rom-com.

The narrator is 16 year old Beatrice (1st person POV). Her dream is to go to Oxford that Fall. But her parents do not want to let her go as she was home-schooled and struggles in social situations.

I loved this book! Her parents send her to a Shakespearean summer theater camp. And this setting is amazing! There is a detailed list of teenage milestones, which is hilarious. And Beatrice's roommate Mia is the best!

This book is a girl's journey learning more about herself. I really loved all of the teens at the camp. And seeing everything that Beatrice could accomplish.

There is some romance. But to me the book is more about friendship and a coming of age story.

I really enjoyed this book so much! This is a quick cute read. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes YA.

wait i absolutely adored this book! it was so fun and fresh. I had such a great time reading it!! I highly recommend

Enjoyable in a Shakespearian fun read sort of sense, but there are boundary questions and other stereotypical behaviors that just had me raising my eyebrows the whole time.

This was a really cute coming of age romance. Beatrice has been quite secluded in her life. She avoids social interactions, eats certain food for certain days of the week and is solely focused on attending her dream college. Now that she’s been accepted into her dream school she only has to convince her parents that she is ready to live on her own. They are worried that she needs to get out of her comfort zone so they make her a deal that if she goes to a summer theatre camp and completes a list of teenage milestones they will support her move to college.

Beatrice comes off as quite naive at first, particularly with her snap judgements of others. Her judgments earn her an enemy in Nik on her first day. Thankfully she makes some really great friends as well. There was so much support and understanding from them as Beatrice really learns how to socialize and interact with others. While Bea is a bit resistant in getting out of her comfort zone at first I really liked her level of growth throughout the story. The tension between her and Nik kept things interesting and overall this was a great read.

Long Story Short was such a treat! Wednesday Books constantly delivers on the YA rom com front and this was no exception. Please give me all the theatre camp YA novels!

This follows Beatrice, a homeschooled science prodigy, who gets into Oxford at age 16. To prove she can handle being away and making friends on her own, her parents send her off to theatre camp. A summer of friendship, romance and self-discovery follows. I think what really makes me this work for me is the balance of these three things. Bea’s new friends are wonderful, and constantly make sure she is comfortable while pushing her out of her comfort zone, the romance is enemies to lovers perfection, and Bea’s journey is so relatable and sweet. Also, I love theatre and love a book that shows all the joys of making plays. The flirting based on Shakespeare quotes was truly inspired.

Overall, this was great! I will def recommend it to kiddos looking for a great romance! I look forward to whatever this author writes next.

Unfortunately this one just wasn't my favorite! It was still really, really cute though and i had a blast following the summer camp adventures :)

Long Story Short by Serena Kaylor was a YA Romance loaded with Shakespearean references sure to please young fans of The Bard, The book was addictive enough I read it in two settings. My rating may be skewed because of my age. Though I like YA Romances sometimes, I can't get behind toxic ones most of the time. If I can be honest, Beatrice/B was a toxic person. Just looking at how she viewed and treated people around her, I was not rooting for her to get her happy ending romantically. I did love her friendship with Mia and how quickly Mia put her in check about being glibly derisive about other people's passions. It was strictly B's relationship with Nick that I had a HUGE problem with. She was AWFUL to him. Even if their first interactions together resulted in him saying something hurtful to her, she eviscerated him at each interaction they had until close to the end of the novel. As a parent, someone who said the things B said to Nick if he were my son....well, I would be warning him that he should stay far away from her. B had been hurt in the past, which might explain her defensive attitude towards people, but she also demonstrated very little ability to be flexible or emotionally mature in certain aspects of her life. All in all, I enjoyed the book, but I really struggled with having the lead be such a difficult character to like. I loved all the Shakespeare references, though, AND the idea of a Shakespeare competition!

Long Story Short is an entertaining read with fun dialogue and a bit more unique of a heroine. Much of the humor comes from a fish-out-of-water situation in which our asocial Beatrice must navigate all the ins and outs of a Summer camp. The author gives Beatrice a prickly personality as a start of a character development arc that will include camp activities and coming out of her shell. This is an easy read that you will finish with a smile on your face.

Story: Homeschooled Beatrice is a genius - but her sheltered life worries her parents now that she has been accepted into Cambridge. To prove she will be able to handle life so far away from them, they give her a challenge: spend the Summer at a camp focusing on theater and prove she can handle life outside their home. Can Bea handle the drama of a getaway full of vivacious and flamboyant artistics? And can she fulfill the terms of a parents-required task list that is far out of her comfort zone?

The beating heart of the book is that Bea makes friends immediately with two supportive souls who are both her guides and her anchors. She earns an antagonist in the form of a Broadway hopeful who isn't too happy at how her love interest has become somewhat obsessed with the distinct Bea. And of course, there is the hot leading guy Brit who finds Bea's unique personality rather diverting.

I love that there is so much diversity here: LGBQT, Black, Indian, European, etc. I also greatly enjoyed reading a story where friends are huge support models rather than rivals or backstabbers. That said, both friends did feel more like clichés rather than fully fleshed people. As well, main character Nik's infatuation with Bea doesn't really make sense and we have to take it on faith on why he would be interested in the rude-appearing awkward girl.

That said, the writing is engaging and the story moves well enough. We have a good arc and the author does a fine job of wrapping it all up by the end. Bea isn't forced to really change but learns to also compromise in small ways while still being true to herself. In the end, her friends bring out hidden strengths that make this a winning read. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Awkward girl genius at Shakespeare summer camp? That's a yes from me.

Beatrice Quinn is a genius but struggles with typical teen things like making friends. When she gets into Oxford at only 16 years old her parents are concerned about her moving so gar from them. They make a deak with Beatrice and tell her if she attends Shakespeare camp and completes a list of tasks while she's there then she can go to Oxford. Beatrice reluctantly accepts their proposal and heads off to camp. She has no interest in acting but is determined to go to Oxford.

When Beatrice gets to the camp there's a mean roommate, cute boys and friendly campers. She starts to navigate the camp and comes out of her shell more and more.

I thought this was a really light and fun YA read. Some of the characters felt very cliche and stereotypical but they did develop as the book went on. I loved how Beatrice changed throughout the book and really discovers herself at camp. There were a lot of funny moments and she even finds a love interest. I'd recommend this for an easy beach read and would read more books by this author!

Thank you to netgalley and st. Martin's Press for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book. I found myself trying to find time to sit down and read it even when other things needed my attention more. I rooted for the main character the whole story. I loved the good friends she made and how they accepted her for who she is. I cheered for her when she tried something new. I also enjoyed the ending. Definitely my favorite kind of teen/YA! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

this book was a nice and cute ya read that revolved around some clichés typical of the genre (which is absolutely not a bad thing) but it was nothing special or memorable in my opinion, i do recommend it for fans of ya romances set in summer camps!

Completely adorable YA summer romance! Had me cringing and having butterflies like it was my own first crush. Well-written, the story moves along well, and there are moments I giggled out loud. It really took me back to the teenage years (oh, but not mine - mine were nowhere near this cute). Seriously pick this one up for a feel-good read!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Serena Kaylor, and the publisher for the eARC copy of this book. Homeschooled student Beatrice has one thing on her mind, going to Oxford. She has dreamed of it her whole life and wants to be able to discover new mathematical challenges. The hardest part though is going to be convincing her parents to let her go. Her parents are hesitate because while she is good at math, she is not so good at making friends. The only way her parents will allow her to go to Oxford is if she makes goes to a Shakespeare camp and complete a list of teenage milestones. Soon friendships and hormones begin. Will Beatrice be able to stay focused at the tasks she needs to complete or will Oxford be in trouble?
I really enjoyed, "Long Story Short" and Beatrice! She was a very relatable character and hopefully one teens can see in themselves if they don't feel like they fit in. I will be recommending this book to others!

Very sweet, light summer read. Loved seeing Beatrice get to know herself and the friendships she formed with Mia and Nolan in a theater summer camp setting. Really enjoyed how Bea doesn't have a "label" but is just shown to be on the spectrum and how that is handled was nice to see.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for both the e-arc and audiobook arc.

I absolutely devouredddd this book! I read it all in one sitting and couldn’t get enough of the characters! I loved that the main character Bea provided great neurodivergent representation! She began the book as a shy but driven teenager, but you really see her come into herself throughout the book. This felt like the coming of age book I have been waiting for. It was more than just a romance book; you got to see Bea grow and open herself up to new people and new opportunities. I also loved that the side characters were fully fleshed out and really added to the plot; they didn’t feel like just one dimensional plot devices. As for the romance, Bea and Nik were so cute and I loved their banter and tension. They were definitely giving enemies to lovers vibes. Overall, such a cute, addictive read! It was a perfect YA book! I couldn’t recommend this book enough.
Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!