This was super cute. It wasn't overly deep, just a nice fluffy boy-next-door sort of forbidden friends to lovers romance. It was shorter than I expected, but I actually really like the length. It felt complete without getting repetitive or introducing unnecessary conflict.

The toddler Sage was babysitting was adorable and a very realistic small kid. Speaking from experience, his actions and reactions were spot on. I also loved seeing their relationship evolve as she grew used to caring for him and learned to love him.

Artistic but scattered Ryland made an excellent foil for extremely driven and science-minded Sage. They worked really well together and they had a lot of chemistry. I really enjoyed all of their interactions.

I always love books that incorporate art and/or science, as those are some of my main interests, and they were done well here. Both Ryland and Sage were very believable as knowledgeable in their respective fields.

The characters were distinct and didn't blur together at all, and it was good to have other people interacting with Sage and Ryland so the book didn't focus solely on them.

The audiobook narrator did a great job bringing the characters to life and giving them distinct voices. I enjoyed listening.

*Thanks to NetGalley and HarperTeen for providing an early copy for review.

DNF at 25%. The characters felt one-dimensional, and I wasn’t looking forward to watching the main character fall for a love interest that came across as shallow and unfocused.

This was a fun, YA romcom. I really enjoyed the setting. My favourite scenes were definitely when they were exploring Amsterdam.
I really liked the character arc of Sage, realising that she can let go a little and live her life, as a young person should.
Diederek was super cute and allowed Sage to reflect on how she had been treating Wren.
Ryland was lovely, and I found his art tastes to be modern and amusing, I loved the idea of printed t-shirts.
It was a really fun, quick read.

Ugh, I bloody love a good slow burn romance and this book certainly delivered. It had me on the edge of my seat, and absolutely rooting for our main protagonists. It is the perfect YA, coming of age romance that will leave you swooning.

This book was really fun. I constantly am discovering new books in this genre that I would not have normally gone for by browsing on netgalley and I’m very glad I found this one.

HOLY COW talk about a slow burn romance. This book was super cozy. I liked it. It was cute and you could read it as a stand alone or with British Hot Boyfriend. It is one of those books you need on your shelf as a pallet cleanser after a heavy read.

The quickly distracted Sage is off to intern in Amsterdam before college. Theres a bit of science and then there is a touch of art as two characters meet and intertwine. Theres some hot and cold. Making this slow burn but with it being a quick read you the reader are ok with how it all unfolds. Get ready for this cute book.

In short:
Did I like it? Sure did.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely
Would I read more by this author? Yes, this is book 2 for me.

Fun and flirty YA romance set in Amsterdam. Sage knows exactly what she wants in life (to join the medical field and work to cure cancer), and will not let anything stand in her way. After impressing her mentor, Dr. Reese, the previous summer, Sage is given the golden opportunity to intern with her again this summer, and to present at a conference before even entering college. Dr. Reese flies her over and all she has to do is watch a three year old all summer. What could go wrong? Of course things become much more complicated when Dr. Reese's handsome older son, Ryland comes in to the picture. He's a go with the flow artist type, the exact opposite of Sage's structured personality. Love was never in the cards for Sage, but it might be just what she needs.

I enjoyed this romance all the way through. Sage is extremely driven. You know she can do whatever she puts her mind to. Ryland also has plans, but doesn't know how to avoid distractions. So of course he can help her loosen up and she can help him batten down. Opposites do attract after all. They make for a very sweet young couple, fun to read about. Loved the setting as well, and the descriptions of the various art throughout. Sage's relationship with her sister was a nice little side story too. Shed a few tears when reading about her connection with her father. Would recommend.

This is a slow burn, opposites attract, coming-of-age romance that was really fun. Smart meets art in Amsterdam which was such a great backdrop. This was perfect for summer reading.

Cute teenager romcom when Sage gets to go to Amsterdam to work with her mentor, she’s not expecting to fall for her older son. Sage is set on becoming a researcher to cure cancer and the boys she falls for is very much the opposite of her but the opposites attract?

Hot Dutch Daydream by Kristy Boyce is every bit as cute and addictive as I hoped it would be. However, I appreciated that it’s not just a story about romance—the main character has other goals and relationships outside of that.

Perfectly Planned Summer

Sage Cunningham has her summer perfectly planned out. She wants to distinguish herself in the medical field when she enters college in the fall. In order to do that, she’s spending the summer in Amsterdam, staying with her mentor, Dr. Reese, helping in her lab, and preparing for an upcoming medical conference. It’s not all perks, though—in exchange for room and board, she needs to nanny for Dr. Reese’s toddler, Deidrick.

Major problem #1: Sage knows nothing about taking care of kids. Before she’s able to reckon with this, major problem #2 appears: Dr. Reese’s teenage son, Ryland, who was supposed to be gone all summer. Ryland is Sage’s exact opposite, spending all his time out with friends instead of focusing on his passion, which is art.

It appears that an opposite is exactly what they both need. Sage needs help taking care of Deirdrick, and Ryland needs someone to help him stay on task. But if Ryland isn’t hanging out with a new girl every day, the only person he has to spend time with… is Sage herself.

Sage cannot afford to be distracted during the precious little free time she has. Dr. Reese also forbade Ryland and Sage from dating, so giving into her silly feelings would risk everything she’s worked so hard for. And yet, every day, she finds herself falling for him harder and harder…

Unexplored dynamics

One aspect of the book that I loved and rarely see represented in YA novels was Sage’s relationship with Deidrick. As a former nanny, I felt Sage’s frustration as she struggled to click with the little guy, and it warmed my heart when she eventually (inevitably) got attached to him.

Sage’s family dynamic also fascinated me. After her father’s death from cancer, Sage feels internal pressure to pursue a career in medicine. Her die-hard commitment makes sense given her trauma and grief. However, her older sister, who had a baby in high school, feels frustrated that Sage isn’t around to spend time with her daughter. Boyce walks a fine line here, but she is able to balance both girls’ complicated emotions about their dad and each other.

And Ryland… Ryland was dreamy. He and Sage had electric chemistry that kept me glued to the page. Ultimately, they kept me invested in the story. All the other elements were great, but I stayed for the romance.

If you’re looking to be transported to Amsterdam in a sweet, sweeping romance, then pick up Hot Dutch Daydream—it won’t disappoint.

This book was just not for me, it was a little juvenile for my taste, the first conversation they have is her being upset because he is back at his house? I understand it’s not convenient for her but it was still his house before it was her, it just didn’t click for me.

Hot Dutch Daydream by Kristy Boyce held such a great premise. A recent high school graduate embarks on a study abroad/au pair match with her mentor and she meets the boy of her dreams. The only glitch, they're banned from dating. While I love "at all costs, we must be together" romances of any age group, I found Hot Dutch Daydream to be a little too sweet for my liking. The chemistry between them wasn't as reactive as I'd expected from the STEM gal and the artsy guy. Other than an attraction because they were living under the same roof and told not to date by his mother and her mentor, what did they have? At times, I felt the story dragged with the navel-gazing. There were sweet moments of Sage sharing her experiences with her mom, sibling, and best friend, but there were more moments when Sage was pretty awkward about her feelings toward Ryland. And Ryland made way more sacrifices than the burgeoning (secret) relationship deserved. While we do get a happily ever after, these complete opposites leave a lot to the imagination as to how they would survive once they were out of their families lives.

This was a fun YA read that's perfect for summer! The characters were great. Overall, I would recommend it!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

What a lovely story this is. I really enjoyed reading this book and seeing the friendships between Ryland and Sage blossom into love. The two characters are cute and quirky, with strong believes. Sage is determined to do a good job and impress Dr. Reese while au paring for her and doing some work for the lab. Two big jobs.
Ryland is an artist with a reputation for being unreliable and flighty. I loved their chemistry and their banter. The ending was also sweet.

You will get exactly what you expect from this YA book, a sweet, easy read romance.
Young love, (albeit a little too insta love for my liking with not enough tension build up) the main characters are 18 so it defiantly fits the YA category and the writing style also this age range.
Some of the elements didn't match up to me, like the rate of career progression and high ambition, mixed with the low level of relationship maturity. Im not saying young people can't be ambitious and it bought out some amazing traits for the character but some of the things these 18 year old characters achieve professionally felt somewhat unrealistic.
To me the characters actions professionally, felt more adult but the romance was defiantly a sweet and juvenile YA, this leaves the character arcs a little jumbled. This isn't helped by a mother controlling the characters interactions in a forbidden romance, making it feel more like they are children.
That said, it was so easy to read in one sitting and a beautiful setting for the story.
I loved that Amsterdam and its culture was bought into the spotlight in this book.
Overall a nice clean and light romance read, recommended to those who enjoy travel and true YA.
Thank you for providing me with a copy to review

A book I did not finish.

I think this just simply wasn’t for me. The characters were boring and the premise seemed a little unrealistic.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC I’m exchange for my honest review.

I picked up this book because I loved Hot British Boyfriend so much, but this one didn't stand out to me quite the same.

This book is great for those trying to scratch that travel bug itch. Similar to HBB, we get to see parts of Europe from someone living there for a few months. This was also fun because Ryland grew up in Europe so he had more insight into things.

Sage was a fun character to get to know. She was a STEM girl through and through and had absolutely not planned on Ryland or romance. It was nice to see her walls break down for him, while keeping up with her true passions in science.

This wasn't a bad book. I just wasn't enthralled by it. It all felt pretty average to me.

Thank you to HarperCollins for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Hot Dutch Daydream caught my attention immediately because I love books set in places other than where I live (the US). I enjoyed the Amsterdam setting and thought that Boyce did a great job in crafting the setting for this YA novel. I was not aware until afterwards that this was a book following a previous work (Hot British Boyfriend), but I was able to read and enjoy this book without having read the previous work.

The story was very sweet and cute, perfect for a YA romance and I think the appeal would be perfect for the YA age group. The characters/story are introduced as being an "enemies to lovers" trope, but in my opinions there was not quite enough zest for "enemies" and I found it bordering on insta-love, which isn't quite my thing. That being said, it was an easy, light read and one that I would recommend to those looking for something not so heavy and a bit of fun.

Hot Dutch Daydream is a companion novel to Hot British Boyfriend - there are some characters that overlap, but you do not need to read HBB to enjoy this fun Dutch adventure!

In HDD Sage gets the opportunity to work with her mentor for the summer in exchange for nannying her young son. She is a go getter who is laser focused on her future - she has goals to make herself known before she even starts her undergrad. But Sage did not know about her mentor's old son - Ryland - as he was supposed to be backpacking for the summer. SURPRISE - that didn't end up happening and now he's home and becomes a bit of a distraction for Sage.

It was really fun to watch both Sage and Ryland grow immensely throughout the book. This is definitely a slow burn romance where they become friends first and Ryland sets himself up to be a great boyfriend. He is supportive, encouraging, and challenges Sage to look beyond just her academic goals. But he's not alone as Sage helps him focus on his art like no one else before.

I really enjoyed this book - from the super sweet romance, the Amsterdam setting, and even the side characters, I was hooked from the first chapter.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through Netgalley!

Hot dutch daydream is the type of book that you read in one sitting, this book was just perfect I absolutely adored Sage and Ryland. They had the perfect opposites attract, slow-burn romance. I always love a good travel romance; this one was one of the best. Ryland was such a fun character I love how goofy he was and how he and Sage balanced each other out. overall this book was so cute and I cant wait to read more from Boyce.