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.

I was kindly given an E-Arc of this book by the publisher for review

This is a cute YA romance, great for people who are getting into the genre.

What originally drew me in to reading this was it being set in Amsterdam. Quite often you don’t really read romances that aren’t set in the main big cities so it’s great to read a book set somewhere different and a place that I’ve travelled to myself!

I really liked how the romance grew and found this to be an easy read which is always great for a romance book as it’s easy and fast to read.

I didn’t know originally that this was a standalone in a series already so you don’t have to have read the first book before this, you can read this separately.

This is a perfect, fun, boy/girl romance. Great for a long weekend or beach read.
It is easy to escape in this book with the only emotional response being happy at being along for the ride.
If you’re in the mood for romantic escapism without a lot of hard issues, this is the book for you.
Enjoy!

this book was soooo amazing! i think everyone needs to try to read this book! it was so fun. the characters are so lovely and amazing and beautifully written. thank you so much netgalley!!!!!

I did not expect to love this so much, this was an adorable YA, coming of age love story that had me grinning like a complete idiot. I loved the main character, Sage. She is headstrong, motivated and bright. It was easy to connect with and root for her in her adventure. The writing flowed well and the romance was a very well done slow burn that again, I was pleasantly surprised by. I recommend this to anyone who wants a fun, sweet romance novel.

Thanks to Harper Collins for letting me enjoy this arc in exchange for my honest review!

Hot Dutch Daydream is a cute follow up to Kristy Boyce's novel Hot British Boyfriend. Sage Cunningham is faced with a dilemma, she wants to be taken seriously as an academic, but also needs to learn how to make time for fun. Here enters Ryand, her mentors son, who has been deemed off-limits by her mentor and herself. Will she focus solely on her job and research while in Amsterdam, or will she see what Ryland has to offer her?

“I keep the curtains closed, not just in my bedroom but in every other part of my life too. It’s scary to have someone look into your depths and see everything that’s private about you. I trust almost no one to do that. But I think Ryland might be the exception.”

I haven’t read a YA romance in a while and I forgot how much I love them. This was the perfect book to rekindle that love. Sage and Ryland were so stinking adorable! Smart meets art, opposites attract! Sage was completely relatable to me with her logical brain and pushing romance aside in order to remove distractions in order to achieve her goals. Ryland was the handsome free spirit she needed. This was written very well and the slow burn was good! This was the perfect comfy spring read I needed. Totally recommend if you’re looking for something cute to read. I would totally read other works from this author. I might just check out the first book in the series now!

ARC was kindly provided by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Such a cute YA romance. Sage is a serious, research focused, neutral-colored-clothing-only kind of girl. Ryland is a spontaneous artsy flirt. Add in some forced proximity, off-limits, and a bargain and you get Hot Dutch Daydream. If you like fluffy YA romances, you will love this book.

The only thing I disliked about this book was that they were 17. Sages internship felt like it would have made more sense if she were about to enter graduate school rather than having just finished high school. And the push for Ryland to be making money off of his art would've made more sense if he were an adult and not a teenager.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an eARC

This was really enjoyable, though nothing special. The thing I enjoyed most were all the Dutch remarks and mentions, since I am a Dutchie myself. All in all it was an entertaining story, and I can definitely recommend it if you're looking for a light read.

Super fun YA opposites attract rom-com. Sage travels to Amsterdam to spend the summer between high school & college babysitting in exchange for admittance to a medical research conference with her idol, a very successful researcher. She has her entire future mapped out for herself, and it doesn’t include dating or romance of any kind. What she didn’t account for in her meticulous planning was her idol’s artist son, who is everything Sage is not…whimsical, fun, impulsive.

This one obviously is not as spicy as most of my normal romance reads, but it was still super fun. I could see my own marriage reflected in this story (at least the opposites attract part as my better half will always be more artistic & free spirited chill when compared to me).

Thank you NetGalley & the publisher for the e-ARC of this romp through first love. All opinions are my own.