Holy nonbinary merfolk! I picked this book up because I was fascinated by the premise and wanted to both read it for myself and preview it for consideration in my school library. This was a fun story but I will admit that I am not sure I am the target audience for it -- though I knew that when I picked it up. I am not a mermaid person *shrug.* However, I do think it has value for the right audience and I do think there are readers out there who will adore this.

<i>Out of the Blue</i> is the story of Crest, a mer person who is engaging in their Journey month, a 30-day period where all mer take a human form and live on land with the goal of performing one good deed for humans. Immediately upon washing on shore, Crest meets Sean, a lifeguard with a broken heart. Cue the start of the main plot of the novel: Crest and Sean fake dating with the goal of winning Sean's ex-boyfriend back and fulfilling Crests quest to complete their good deed. Of course, it's a fake dating plot...so we all know where this goes. The story takes place over the 30 days of the journey with the tension of the inevitable concluding quandary: what will happen to Sean and Crest's love after the 30 days? Will Crest choose to return to the ocean or will they stay on land in human form?

Things I liked:
1.) I loved the gender and sexuality diversity. Everyone in this story is gay and it's lovely. Crest is nonbinary because all mer are nonbinary, though Crest does take on a different body and the name Ross while living on land.
2.) The sex positivity is refreshing to see in a YA novel. This book allows its characters to be the horny teenagers they are without shame.
3.) I loved the ending. Without spoiling anything, I genuinely didn't know what choice Crest/Ross would make, and I felt the true heartbreak of their living in two beautiful worlds and having to ultimately pick one.
4.) I did love how the book handles Crest being seen in their mer form, by pretending it's a silly new social media trend. This was particularly genius and felt like a brilliant strategy on behalf of the characters.

Things I didn't like:
1.) The plot felt all over the place. I almost DNF'd this in the first half because it was a slog. Not necessarily because it moved too slow, but more because it moved too fast and too many things were happening without adequate emotional buildup.
2.) I didn't care for the worldbuilding. It felt forced. The mer slang and mer names just didn't do it for me, I guess.
3.) The story relies on the miscommunication trope at one point and I'm just worn out on that in romance novels lately.
4.) I wouldn't be friends with either of these characters in real life. Not because I would dislike them, but just because we have nothing in common. That doesn't matter in most genres, but it does matter to me in romance.

Overall, I can pinpoint exactly which students I would recommend this to. So I'm glad I read it and can help the right readers find a fun merfolk tale that offers something unique in the LGBTQ category. It wasn't for me, though.

You know the feeling when you’re sitting poolside, sipping a mimosa, feeling perfectly refreshed in the summertime? I don’t — because I hate the outdoors, can’t drink juice, and have chronic anxiety — but I like to think it feels similar to reading this book.

I didn’t expect a cover involving merfolk to lead into a fake dating situation, but Jason June is prolific at taking expectations and turning them upside down. At any given point when I felt like I knew how Sean and Crest (excuse me, Ross) were navigating the romance trope, June added something new to the narrative to keep me asking, “Okay but what if?”. I think that’s rare for a romcom, and I appreciated it.

Out of the Blue has a lot going for it, but the biggest highlight for me was Sean, who was the first true body-positive protagonist featured in the books I’ve read. You don’t see a lot of chubby guys on the cover of romcoms, queer or otherwise, but Sean’s body type isn’t just included, it’s celebrated.

I think this is a book for romcom lovers in general, as Sean’s personality is built on them, and he makes a number of genre-referential jokes. And for those looking for more representation in their reads, Jason June is at the forefront of inclusion and celebration, in my opinion.

Also it’s fun. I expected to tolerate the whole merfolk theme, but damn it was a good time.

Thanks to NetGalley, HarperTeen and Jason June for allowing me to preview Out of the Blue.

I was captivated by this YA romance world and the representation of Sean, our gay MC who brings body-positive representation to the book, and Ross, our nonbinary love interest from the sea. For those who enjoy YA fantasy and romance, along with the fake dating trope, this book would be one for you. The questioning of the world's gender construct was especially captivating and very simplistic. All of the characters weren't perfect, which made them especially more complex and likable. The writing at times took me out of the story, with phrases or dialogue that just seemed to stand out and not in the best way.
If you are able to get past that, this story is very heartwarming and brings to the world a much-needed diversity of characters in the YA genre.

ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

On the one hand, this was a cute YA fantasy romance, with mermaids, dealing with first heartbreaks, and with very sweet messages about the great wide world of gender and about body positivity. On the other hand, I found it kind of hard to connect with the romance amid what I found to be kind of distracting interruptions of clearly deeply thought-out, very specific world-building details about mer bodies and lives and practices and "scaling". At times it seemed more like the start to some epic fantasy series about mermaids than a land-based fish-out-of-water romance.

I absolutely adored this dual POV, YA opposites attract, fake dating romance! A queer reimagining of the movie Splash, sees a young mer, Crest, sent on a month long journey to help a human on land before deciding whether he wants to stay a human or return to the sea. Cue, Sean, a recently dumped lifeguard who discovers Crest's (aka Ross's) body washed up on the beach. Sean tries to help Ross out and Ross decides Sean is the perfect human to help for his quest.

What follows is Ross and Sean fake dating in an attempt to make Sean's ex jealous. Sean is a rom-com loving aspiring movie director and he and his friend Kavya show Ross around LA. Eventually the sparks fly and things turn more real between Ross and Sean when Sean accidentally discovers Ross's secret but the fact that Ross's time on land is limited puts a wrench in any HEA between the two.

I couldn't help cheering for these main characters. I loved the friendship, body positivity, nonbinary rep and emphasis on healthy relationships where both partners are treated well and valued. Highly recommended, especially for fans of If you change your mind or And they lived. Much thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I love the non-binary rep here, and it works so well! To have a merperson, who is used to having no genders in their society, come into our society and question gender as a construct? Perfect!

However, I wasn't on board with the writing. It was fine, but there were some phrases that just stood out, where I couldn't quite believe that it was something these characters would say.

Also, this is a fake dating trope, which I love, but fake dating to get an ex back, which I don't love. If that sounds good to you, you should definitely check out this book!

And I can't not mention the body positive rep! Sean is described as having a stomach that spills out over his shorts, thick thighs and is a certified cub according to his best friend. I love how he is shown to have a completely normal teenage life, with hobbies, swimming at a competitive level, and a boyfriend/being seen as attractive by Crest/Ross.

3.5/5 (the .5 is honestly for the representation)
Out of the Blue started really strong for me, i actually loved the story for about the first 70% it was a solid 4-5. Sadly all of the character development really gets thrown away and the characters go from likeable to obnoxious real quick.
I loved the story that could have been here. There was so much potential for this to become a solid reread for me but the characters just make out of pocket decisions that really unravels the entirety of the first 70% I liked.
This book really has amazing representation though. We get a larger (chubby) gay MC through Sean and some well needed nonbinary representation through Ross.

All in all I thought the the book was okay-good and I recommend it to people who want a different kind of YA queer book. This one stands out from a lot of the other ones we have out there.

ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Out of the Blue by Jason June is a sweet (?) story of a young man using another for his own gains..... Yep. That's the book. Both Sean and Crest seek to use the other for their own agendas, but in typical fashion they end up falling for one another.

It's a cute story, and will probably go over well with most readers. It didn't quite catch my attention -- maybe it was that it's still set in a high school setting, but falls for the high-school-tv-show issue of the kids acting in adult ways, or maybe it was the constant movie-focused explanations of situations. I get that Sean is into movies and wants to direct, but it got a little... overwhelming. I wanted to shake him sometimes.

Again, this is a cute story, and absolutely fits the bill for "convenient fake-relationship turns into a real feelings". I'll certainly include it in reader suggestions.

I absolutely loved the way gender was represented in this book. It was explained so simply and gave a perspective cisgender people will hopefully take to heart. The characters were so lovable, and the book was heartwarming. Not every rom com has to have the same type of happily ever after.

I loved this so much. I was so excited to get an arc, non-binary MC, merpeople, and fake dating trope. It had all of that and more. June really allowed the characters to have real complicated emotions around the stories plot. The characters weren't perfect and made mistakes but you still loved and understood their motivations. They were just messy teenagers. I really liked the side plot about Kavya's mum, it added such a needed interesting perspective. I will say this doesn't have a happy ending in the usual way of rom-coms. Its not an unhappy ending but just thought I should warn people.

I was reading an uncorrected proof and there was definitely a couple of awkward or long sentences. Potentially this has been fixed for the final copy but if not it seems like they are mainly at the start. Also, on a character level, the long sentences were mainly on Sean's chapters and he's a overthiner so run on sentences add to that characterisation. As a New Zealander I struggled with the Pacifica name of Crests homeworld. Pasifika are the people of the Pacific Islands so it was a little jarring to see such a similar word in the fantasy context. This probably won't be a problem with American audiences but might need to be changed when it gets published in NZ/Australia. I don't think it was offensive, though I am a white New Zealander so have no say on that, it just took me out of the world everytime I read it.

100% reccommend for anyone who finds the blurb appealing. It lived up to and surpassed my expectations.

I think this might be a weird review for me, let's get into it.

Out of the Blue is a really cheesy but exciting read about a mer(persons) journey to land before become an adult. Crest(Ross) tries to help out newly dumped Shaun as a ticket to get home since their terms are to "help a human selflessly to return to the Blue." Shaun is a lover of rom-coms so of course the story has almost every trope and cliche you can think of. I wouldn't say this makes it good or bad in either direction, it's just cheesy and tropey and that's that. It gives it charm but can be a bit overwhelming.

Love love love the body rep, the cover art is gorgeous and Shaun's body-type is similar to mine so I love seeing that kind of representation on a romance book. It's queer, tender, and heartfelt and I think, overall, it's a fun romantic story about love, sacrifice, and friendship. Kavya's character is interesting. She tells Shaun at one point that she doesn't deserve to be cast as the sidekick but June does nothing to make her seem like she's not. Her side-plot with her mother could have had much more depth to it but it didn't, it mostly was a plot device for Ross at the end more than anything. Also her sexual innuendos were...a lot...

I was delighted by the merfolks ways of looking at gender and relationships. It really mirrors a lot of modern queer culture in an accessible way, and I love that even though Ross was given a masculine-presenting body, they made it their mission to find clothes that make them feel good.

Now here's where my review turns a bit weird. The ending...
I will keep this spoiler free but I need to address it. The ending was sweet, touching, and heartfelt. It also read VERY similarly to a story I have read before that is not published yet but had been on the internet in a different format via fanfiction. I will not be going into detail of what it is or who it is by out of respect for privacy and for the fact that this is only an opinion/speculation. I was surprised reading at the end because I was CONVINCED I had read this before, and then realized I kind of have. It's left a weird feeling about the book overall for me. Am I saying they plagiarized? Not at all, that would be unkind to their hard-work and I admit that many mermaid stories have the same tropes. It may be a case of great minds thinking alike and that is what I will leave it at.

In any case, I will rate fairly on the story regardless of my feelings about the ending and I think this is a solid and enchanting tale that will win over readers with it's own special kind of magic.

Sean was just dumped for another guy and soon after, Ross washes up on the shore. When the two pair up to make Sean’s ex-boyfriend jealous by fake dating, Ross discovers that fake feelings can start to turn into real feelings. But Ross is also keeping a secret from everyone, he’s mer.

Non-binary, gay and merpeople? Sign me up, and sign me up fast! Filled with the classic rom-com tropes, June quickly unfolds two loveable and joyful characters who develop phenomenally throughout the book. Both Sean and Ross are painted with faults and flaws along with a long list of positivity. This is a quick and short read and great for people who love the fake dating trope!

I really wanted to love this book. The premise was exciting and unlike anything I’ve read before. And I liked the first three quarters. Sure, some of the dialogue was cringey and there were some moments where I couldn’t suspend my disbelief (and they weren’t fantasy-related), but I liked Sean and Crest/Ross and their relationship development. The last quarter though… it’s messy. So many moments I thought were out of character; they gave me whiplash. I think the author tried to cram too much drama into too few pages and it didn’t work.

This was a creative and heartwarming story. Crest is part of a thriving community of merfolk in the sea. Now a teen, he is set to start his journey on land -- temporarily taking human form and tasked with learning what it is like to be human and to identify one human to help. If Crest succeeds within a month, they can return to the sea as a leader in his community. If not, they are stuck on land forever. When Crest comes on land, he quickly encounters Sean, a lifeguard, high school student, member of the swim team, and subject of a recent heartbreak after his boyfriend broke up with him to start dating one of Sean's teammates. As part of his mission, Crest agrees to help Sean by pretending to date to make the ex-boyfriend jealous. His time with Sean makes Crest reconsider some of his most strongly held views about humans and his future.

This was a great book -- well developed characters and a compelling story.

Highly recommended!

Taking in gender and body dysmorphia in a book about mermaids while championing self love is a lot for one book but June does it.

Crest (Ross in human form) is a merperson who must go on their Journey, a coming of age quest where a mer must help a human. They meet Sean, recently dumped and brokenhearted, and decide to help him get his ex back.

Now, I'm not the biggest fan of the fake dating trope, but this was a pretty cute story with a non traditional ending that I loved (I'm ignoring the epilogue). The representation was amazing in this book, though sometimes it felt forced. The characters were all over the place for me though. Sean is great. Well rounded and his character arc seems real and I was cheering for him. Crest is holier-than-thou, which gets really grating at times, especially when they act EXACTLY like a normal human teen. They do have some cute moments, but their actions in the second half of the book are not it. Kavya is essentially the manic pixie dream girl of the novel and it was just a bit much. I love her mothers though! It's a weird book, in that my initial reaction is that it's a light and fluffy LGBTQ romance, but there's a lot of cheating and so much horniness. The lust levels almost made the romance disappear, because it seemed like most of the attraction was purely physical. It's fade to black, but still very lusty.

💭My review🐻
So I really wanted to love this book, But I'm not into rom-coms ,I thought id give it a chance because I love mermaid stories and the cover looked interesting. It turned out to be an interesting read but it wasn't for me. Things that I really liked in the book were the acceptance and the normalcy of labels, gay relationships and curvy characters. I also liked all the details and backstory of Pacifica. But it was just an okay read for me. It was kinda annoying how many times they mentioned rom coms. It just wasn't for me.

This was hella cute.

The cover does a great job of conveying the overall vibes of this rom-com, merpeople novel. It was definitely very predictable but that's part of why I enjoyed it. Perfect for a long train ride or a sunny afternoon!

Before becoming a full-fledged merperson, they have to take a Journey on land and help a human. Crest is not excited to be on their Journey. After all, humans are the ones responsible for the pollution of the planet. But if they don’t complete their Journey, they risk being stuck on land forever.

Meanwhile, Sean has recently been dumped. Completely devastated, his summer plans are ruined. But when Crest washes up on land nearby where Sean is a lifeguard, it might just be an act of fate. If Crest can help Sean get his boyfriend back, they can get back to the ocean. And Sean will be happy with his ex. However, fake dating only works if you don’t develop feelings for each other.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperTeen for an advanced copy of Out of the Blue to review! I enjoyed Jason June’s debut YA from last year, Jay’s Gay Agenda, so I was excited for what this one had in store. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a mixed bag for me.

What I appreciated about this book was the mythology and the lore June put behind merpeople. It was an overall different approach, and I think it worked well for this particular story. Making merpeople nonbinary is brilliant, and I loved the idea of them having to help humans on land before becoming a full member of their society. Such an overall fun concept that I haven’t seen done before.

For the most part, the characters were well-writtne, too. Sean and Crest/Ross were the best narrators for this story, and each of their voices were distinct. I do wish some of the side characters had been more developed, especially Miguel. That storyline felt a bit rushed to me, and I wanted it to be explored more.

The pacing is what really took me out of this story. It felt like the first half dragged a bit too much, while the second half was too fast. Cutting out some of the unecessary plot elements would have helped to make the pacing feel more even. Some of the dialogue also felt…off to me. Not necessarily with Crest, because that made sense. But with some of the other characters. Also, the plot twists felt a bit convenient for me.

Despite that, I do think the story itself is entertaining enough and will make a great summer read!

This book has likable characters who work hard not to "fit the mold." Non-binary made sense for Ross, as merpeople understand gender construct differently. Loved Ross' outfit choices and the learning to walk in heels scene.

SPOILERS: The ending was a little bit lacking; if the two main characters were not going to get together, at least allow for help from the future. It was hard not to root for Sean to leave his life on land, as his experiences with his family were far and few. Not becoming a mer-person because you want to become a state swimmer, seems illogical.