Bea is a brilliant sixteen-year-old who enjoys books more than people. She’s been accepted at her dream college, Oxford. After years of homeschooling and online classes, her parents fear she isn’t ready to be on her own, especially in another country. So, they devise the Teenager Experiences Experiment involving a summer theatre camp to determine if she’s ready. Will Bea sink or swim at camp?

Long Story Short is a fun, feel-good story about friendship, stepping out of your comfort zone, and being authentic. I loved all of the characters in this book! Bea and Nik made great enemies and an even better couple. Mia and Nolan show Beatrice how to be a good friend by encouraging her and not letting her get away with being anything but her authentic self.

If you have a choice, choose to listen to Long Story Short. The narrator does an excellent job portraying this group of teenagers and making each sound distinct. This listen made me nostalgic for my summer camp days!

I didn’t expect to enjoy Long Story Short as much as I did! It is a delightful coming-of-age story of an awkward duckling turning into a beautiful, confident swan.

This was an adorable YA about a home-schooled girl, Beatrice, who is ready to break free, follow her dream, and head to college at Oxford. But first her parents make her go to a Shakespearan summer camp in order to work on her social skills. In fact they give her a checklist of things she needed to do in order for them to allow her to move to England.

While this was a slow start, this story really hooked me. I enjoyed following along with Bea’s journey in learning how to be a teenager and engage in social settings for the first time. The side characters were so fun, especially Mia.

The narration was absolutely fantastic! I also caught a few Taylor Swift references.

Recommended if you like:
-summer camp nostalgia
-Shakespeare/theatre
-coming-of-age stories
-anxiety rep

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for my ALC. Long Story Short is out now!

I was expecting more from this one. I still really liked it but I didn't love it. I kept wanting more but it was a little too slow for me in the beginning.

It was an emotional and heartwarming read. The characters and their development throughout the book really captured my heart. Beatrice was so relatable in so many ways that I identified myself in her— how we overthink situations, make assumptions, and respond to certain circumstances. To read about Bea’s growth really gives me hope. There’s a little romance with some fun banter but for the most part, it was more about friendships, coming of age and self acceptance kind of book. This was such a quick and easy listen. The narrator did a superb job translating. This would be a great summer read.

Beatrice is mega smart but lacks social skills and experience as a teenager. She is accepted early to Oxford and has to prove to her parents that she will not be eaten alive there. So, they send her to a theater camp to check of typical teenager experiences....ie. make a friend, share a secret, etc. She meets the rest of the characters Nik, Mia, Nolan and Shelby. They fit the typical teenager stereotypes. She develops a crush on Nic and a rivalry with Shelby. Mia helps her through finding herself and being herself. The story was cute but fell flat with charm and originality. Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of the book.

Thank you to @netgalley and @Stmartinspress for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to @dreamscape_audio for a free download of the audiobook.

Beatrice is a homeschooled prodigy who applied to Oxford University behind her parents back. To her surprise, she got in. Now to convince her parents to let her go. A deal is made that Beatrice has to attend a summer acting camp that will require her to “put her self out there”, complete with a list of tasks she must complete. Armed with a roommate who’s determined to help her and a guy who has taken an interest in her…will she be able to prove to her parents she’s ready to be on her own?

This was a fun read seeing Beatrice open up and get her feet under her. She learns to embrace friendships, dancing like her life depended on it and even the joy of kissing a boy! It will leave you with warm fuzzies and your cheerleader pompoms as you root her on!

4 stars

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #stmartinspress #dreamscapeaudio #ltbreaderteam #longstoryshort #serenakaylor #smpinfluencers

I thought this was an adorable story, about a math genius named Beatrice who is homeschooled, and finds herself out of her element at a theater camp, where she learns about friendship, love, and how to be herself.

Coming-of-age stories are usually one of my favorite themes to read, and I thought this was done so well. I also really enjoyed the audiobook, narrated by Sarah Beth Goer.

*many thanks to Dreamscape Media and netgalley for the gifted copy for review

I thought this was cute but was just missing something. I am not sure if it was because it jumped around a lot and seemed to breeze through a lot of things or because the main character was just not my cup of tea. Overall a cute read but I was ok when it ended.

This audiobook was a great complement to the book! A really enjoyable reading experience, I must say.

Super cute!!! The story made me feel so giddy and the narrator definitely added to the character’s and helped sell the romance! Super recommend!

An adorable ya rom com that is so sweet and cute. Loved the narrators who added to the summer feel. Thank you to Macmillian Audio for the gifted ARC my honest review.

I loved the quirky YA rom-com…I really enjoyed the premise, setting and characters! Very enjoyable. Thank you!

Incase you haven’t noticed my blog posts lately, I’ve been seeing quite a few Broadway shows this year (that’s an understatement LOL). It took me a while to get around to reading Long Story Short but I’m so glad it did as it gave me all the best kinds of feels!

Beatrice is a sixteen year old genius who has been home schooled her entire life and currently taking online college level courses. She has neurodiverse tendencies but nothing past that is stated on page, as the author has said she didn’t want to “label” Beatrice. (Side note, Serena Kaylor has tweeted she is autistic and that nobody’s experience is the same. She also mentioned that a lot of Beatrice’s tendencies and habits were mined from her own.)

She applied to Oxford University and when she gets accepted, she realizes she actually has to tell her parents….but they don’t think she’s ready to move to another country and live on her own. To prove she is able to be a normal girl, Beatrice agrees to go to a Shakespearean summer camp across the country and enroll in the acting course.

Bea thinks she can study and know what to expect from other teenagers, but nothing can prepare her for teenagers who are also theatre kids! They are unpredictable. Beatrice is awkward and out of place but trying to fit in, and I love her roommate Mia who immediately takes a liking to Bea and helps her navigate the summer. The play they’re putting on that summer is the classic Romeo & Juliet and Bea wants no part on stage, but her parents said that was a requirement for her, but genius that she is, she still navigates around being on stage.

The characters felt pretty predictable, yet I found myself enjoying that. This was a comforting read. This is your typical coming of age story but with a girl who is even more out of place than normal due to years of home schooling and little social interactions. She has a strict schedule of what to eat and what she wears daily, and camp throws everything upside down. I applaud her for trying new things, often with the encouragement of her new friends. Along the way Bea even finds a guy who challenges her and she might end up having a crush on, which is cute to see. Despite being socially awkward, Bea learns to navigate her way through camp and is often times witty at doing it – but also gets hurt too. This felt real!

You don’t need to know a ton of Shakespeare to enjoy this story. Since their main play they’re working on is Romeo & Juliet, which most people know the basics of, its easy enough to follow along. Other Shakespeare works are mentioned but you don’t need to know much about them to still enjoy this story. But if you do, its an extra bonus!

being in beatrice’s shoes not too long ago, so i felt for her as she prepared for college. i was so proud of her as she stepped out of her comfort zone and i think she accomplished a lot of growth in such a short time. i listened to the audiobook version of “long story short” and i couldn’t help thinking that beatrice always sounded so tired, and perhaps this was a stylistic choice but it felt like she had spread herself too thin. and nick, who’s british, keeps his british accent while he’s acting. which, again, could’ve been a stylistic choice but it confused the first time he practiced his lines, it confused me.

something that i had a hard time wrapping my head around was how little confidence bea’s parents had in herself. they doubted her from the beginning and assumed she wouldn’t complete her list of tasks, which frustrated me so much. and i couldn’t believe that they actually showed up for her in the end. i almost felt like they didn’t deserve to see how much bea grew in the last summer. having said that, i was a big fan of bea’s bunk-mate, mia. she brought a bundle of energy to the novel that especially excited me! she brought the spark that this novel needed and i wish we could’ve seen more of her

Long Story Short
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance
Format: Audiobook
Date Published: 7/26/22
Author: Serena Kaylor
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Narrator: Sarah Beth Goer
GR: 4.06

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Wednesday Books and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

My Thoughts: The story is narrated by Beatrice from her POV. This was a very cute listen. The author does a fantastic job with the mental health representation and presented it with grace. The narrator does an amazing job with the voices and breathing life into the various characters, especially our MC. Beatrice aka Bea is a highly intelligent teenager that has been very sheltered her entire life due to bully’s. She really comes into her own throughout the story. Nick is domineering and independent, but also grows throughout the story. For being a debut YA novel, I thought this was very good and I will be interested to see other books by Kaylor. I loved the enemies to lovers trope with a little Shakespeare thrown in. The characters were developed well with depth, witty banter, chemistry, and just built well throughout the story. The supporting character Mia was one of my favorites and I can see her also getting a spin off book. The author’s writing style was complex, funny, endearing, and kept me engaged throughout the book. If I could choose only one word for this book, it would be adorable. I highly recommend picking up this audiobook!

Beatrice Quinn is a homeschool statistical genius who dreams of going to Oxford University to continue her studies. Beatrice likes her routine and has trouble making friends, though, so her parents are reluctant to send her. They reach a deal – if Beatrice can attend a summer Shakespeare camp and complete a set of tasks her parents assign to draw her out of her shell, she will be allowed to go to school in Oxford. Beatrice is quickly adopted into the group of friends at the camp but makes an enemy of the attractive British son of the owners of the camp. Will Beatrice learn there is more to life than studying?

This was such a cute YA novel! The characters were all well-developed. I plowed through this lighthearted story, not wanting to put it down. As a math nerd, I would love to see a sequel where we get to see Bea and Nik in Oxford, with some of Bea’s classes thrown in! LOL Sara Beth Goer did a nice job narrating the audiobook.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

I really loved this one!! First of all - that cover 😍 absolutely stunning. But the CHARACTERS. Oh the characters - I loved them so much! I thought this story was great, and I'm so impressed this is a debut novel. I read this as an Audiobook and I thought the narrator did great! This one was really fun.

Read if you enjoy:
• a slow burn
• enemies to lovers
• anxiety rep
• acting camp setting
• great friendships

Thank you Dreamscape Media for this ALC!

To be honest, at first, I was going to pass this by. But I ended up giving it a read and am glad I did. This book was by a debut author, and I love Young Adult Romances, so I decided to give this one a try. I got an eARC, an ARC audiobook, a physical ARC, preorder goodies, and a bag with the cover on it. Thank you, NetGalley, the publishing company, and Serena Kaylor herself.

Homeschooled in California, Beatrice is a genius who has dreamed of going to Oxford University. But making friends is a problem she hasn’t been able to solve, so her parents worry about sending her halfway across the world. They send her to the Connecticut Shakespearean Summer Academy and a detailed list of teenage milestones to check off. She has 6 weeks to show her parents she can be a ‘normal’ teenager. When she’s adopted by a group of theater kids and makes an enemy with the popular British son of the camp founders, she realizes that relationships are trickier than math. Will she realize that there’s more to life than she can find in the pages of a book?

I like the whole learning-to-be-a-normal-teenager thing. I’ve never been homeschooled, so it’s interesting to learn how it is for someone who's been homeschooled all her life.

I also enjoyed the side characters, especially Mia. I would’ve loved to be friends with her. And the scenes were descriptive enough to put me into the book. I loved the character growth of all the characters, especially Shelby. There were no sudden changes, which I liked. The changes were eased into.

I can’t say there’s particularly anything I disliked about the book. I would love to see a short sequel to Bea’s story about what ends up happening after camp.

This is a good, lighthearted romance teen story that doesn’t take itself too seriously. If you like camp romances, Shakespeare, or homeschooler out in real-world first-time romances, this is the book for you.

This book took a while to grab my attention. But once it did, I was very into it! The characters were excellent and the emotions so beautifully written. I didn’t love the narrator and the voices/accents she did for some characters, but still a good read!

Long Story Short is a coming-to-age summer read that is light-hearted, fluffy, and all-around cute. Main character Beatrice, at first I wasn’t a massive fan of, but slowly but surely fell in love with this character. The growth Beatrice shows that there is more to real life than books resonates with me a ton. Plus, the friendship that Bae has formed is a *chef kiss*.

Now let’s talk about the love part of the Story; the minute I realized that this would be an enemy to lovers, I screamed with excitement. Nolan and Bae’s relationship was full of banter, sweetness, and misunderstandings.
It was defiantly a quick, fun; read that I couldn’t put down at all.

Special thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.