Sage is spending her last summer before going to Johns Hopkins doing her best to improve her research and data analysis skills. She spent part of her senior year working in England with Dr. Reese, who has asked her if she will spend the summer being a nanny for Reese's son, three year old Diederik. In exchange, she will be able to attend an important oncology conference in Germany with her mentor. After her father passed away from lung cancer and her older sister, Wren, had a baby during her senior year in high school, Sage is determined to keep her focus on school and career rather than cluttering up her life with romance. This is hard when Dr. Reese's son, Ryland, comes home for the summer rather than continue on his backpacking trip. Dr. Reese doesn't trust Ryland with Diederick because he is an artist who is often distracted by his work or by his large group of friends. Dr. Reese would also like to see Ryland get "a real job" instead of selling artwork and working occasionally as a food tester. Sage finds Ryland cute but annoying, but he does come in handy when the tempermental Diederik has temper tantrums. Inspired by Sage's dedication to her work and her cutting comments about his own, Ryland asks Sage if she will try to keep him motivated in exchange for more help with his brother. Sage soon is in possession of Ryland's phone so the constant texts from friends don't distract him, and even turns away people at the door. The two work together in Ryland's studio in the evening. Sage is better able to balance her work for Dr. Reese with taking care of Diederik, and even gets out to see the city a bit more with Ryland's help. Ryland makes a lot of progress in completing work to enter a local competition. When Sage starts to fall for Ryland, despite Dr. Reese's express request NOT to get romantically involved, will she be able to extricate herself from the romantic entanglement and concentrate on her scientific work?
Strengths: I adore travel books like the Lost In books by Callaghan or Love & books by Welch, or books like Johnson's 13 Little Blue Envelopes, Jouhanneau's Kisses and Croissants, and Henderson's Flirting in Italian. These are popular with my students as well. Middle school romance usually has fewer problems than Young Adult romances, but this was happy enough that my readers will sigh over Ryland and how sweet he is. The two don't really fight; they just don't quite agree on being a couple for a while. Once they do, they have a good time hanging out in Amsterdam, which is a bonus. The problems they face are easily overcome, and everyone is happy at the end. What's not to like. Details about living in Amsterdam were fun to read, and I really enjoyed Sage's work ethic and her plans for her future. Reading this was a great way to vicariously travel!
Weaknesses: As an adult, I know that Dr. Reese was right the first time, and that Sage should concentrate on her career and forget all about Ryland, but that's not very fun or romantic. People will always let you down. A career might let you down, but at least you don't have to take that personally.
What I really think: This was a very fun, middle grade appropriate romance and and even better travelogue of Amsterdam! This reminded me of the fabulous Simon Pulse Romantic comedies. Hot British Boyfriend has been popular with my students, so I'll definitely be looking forward to Boyce's next title.

This book was, unfortunately, not for me. It wasn't bad it was just.... generic. I liked Rylan and his brother well enough, but I thought the main character Sage was a little annoying. Again, it was just not for me, since I understand why she was written the way she was - I just didn't appreciate it. I did love the setting and I've added a few places I want to visit to my travel list thanks to this book. I am still surprised at how ambivalent I am about it since Hot Dutch Daydream reminded me of a YA Ali Hazelwood.

Clean, post-HS/pre-college coupling that gives you all the feels. The chemistry is definitely there! It’s very well-written and the characters have so much substance at times you forget the ages of the characters. I’d love to read a follow-up to see what happens with the others in their lives. Just an all around great book!

I will not be reading this book because I started book one in the series and couldn't get past the first couple of chapters. There was a lot of teen drama that wasn't entirely appropriate as well as a lot of language. Too much for me to continue. The story itself wasn't even very interesting to me. It was a fast DNF for me. And so because of that the second book is a DNF as well. I don't wish to try it because I assume it will be similar to the first book.

Thanks Netgalley for an ARC copy of Hot Dutch Daydream. An amazing and exciting read filled with all the best things about that age and stage of life where everything is beginning. Sage, age 18, a mini adult, workaholic, and Uber responsible heroine, is destined to meet Ryland, the also 18 fun loving artist. An unlikely but complementary match makes them fast friends and more. Read to learn all the yummy details for yourself. If I were a little younger I'd give this book 5/5 buy at this age it still gets all the feel good fun of 4 solid stars.

very very cute! As said in the description, this book is perfect for fans of Jenna Evans Welch! I loved her books years ago and this book was just as good, cute, and fun! I learned things about Sweden, I loved the characters, they were all unique and endearing. this is such a cute quick read! there was a bit of Insta-Love but given that it’s YA and a short read, i’ll excuse it.

Really enjoyed this one! It was cute! I’ve always had a love for European-Contemporary Romances, and “Hot Dutch Daydream” was one of them!

I’m hoping to post on my Instagram once the release gets closer!

2.5/5 stars! The premise of this book sounded sweet and it was kind of a sweet story. However, it lacked depth. I didn't buy into the characters' chemistry. It kind of worked for a YA romcom and was a quick, simple read.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

If Sage can keep her plans on track, she has it made—a summer in Amsterdam, a prestigious internship, and a bright academic future. And Sage is nothing if not good at keeping her plans on track. But there are complications: first, the internship is a side dish alongside a main of nannying...and second, there's a certain redhead occupying more of Sage's thoughts than she's allowed for, and he's the last person she should be dating.

"Hot Dutch Daydream" is a follow-up to "Hot British Boyfriend," with some overlapping characters and another city to visit. I have an enduring love for YA travel lit, and neither this nor "Hot British Boyfriend" disappointed. Setting-wise, I'm thrilled that this takes place in a less-traveled place—so much American travel YA takes place in England, France, and Italy, with occasional side trips to Spain or Greece or South Korea. Amsterdam is hardly a backwater place (as the book itself notes, it's a major European city), but it's comparatively rare to see American YA set there. (It is now my fervent wish that Boyce will continue this series with books set in even farther-flung places—how about Warsaw, or Lima, or Ulaanbaatar? You have no idea what I would give for a well-written YA novel set in Ulaanbaatar.)

And character-wise: Sage is a completely different character than Ellie (of "Hot British Boyfriend"), which I also love. Ellie grew on me, but Sage is so wonderfully determined and confident from the get-go—in a way that my teenage self would never have been able to relate to, but my adult self applauds. Also, the loss backstory (Sage had a death in the family a few years prior to the book) is painfully on-point.

I have quibbles, because I always have quibbles: first, although the romance is sweet, I wished we could see a bit more of Sage developing platonic friendships. (If I always have quibbles...I always, always want less romance and more platonic friendship in YA.) And second—although this is such a minor thing—it was kind of surprising that Ryland had never been to Berlin and was worried about the cost of a flight. Travel in Europe is a lot easier, and cheaper, than in the US, and while a bus from Amsterdam to Berlin is not the most fun road trip ever, it's certainly doable (about thirty euros, one-way). Ryland doesn't seem like someone to let a mid-length bus trip deter him from seeing a city that has long been friendly to artists.

Someday I'll learn to pace myself when reading light and very entertaining fiction, but that day is not today. An excellent read for a dreary winter day when I'm wishing for summer.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a free review copy through NetGalley.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me the opportunity to read this book. I gave it 4 stars because it wasn’t too steamy/cringey. It was actually a really cute romance. It warmed my heart.

I liked this! I’ve been in such a romcom/romance mood lately, so this was a perfect addition to that. The main characters worked so well together, they were richely developed and I cared about them while reading. The romance was wonderful, and I found myself turning every page quickly to see what happened next.

When your summer internship includes babysitting a baby and helping a cute artist with his work, you know you’re hands are going to be full. Sage Cunningham is determined to achieve her plans of having the perfect summer intern in her mentor’s lab in Amsterdam before she heads off to college, and since she needs to pay for the summer abroad her mentor offers her a job as the babysitter to her three year old son. Sage will babysit during the day but also get to work on research and lab opportunities on her days off and at night. It’s the perfect way to spend her summer... except on her first night sleeping over Dr. Reese’s teenage son Ryland mysteriously shows up when hes suppose to be away on a backpacking trip and wants his room back. Ryland is spontaneous, flirty, and impulsive and he has a huge problem with being distracted, particularly by girls. He notices how single minded and on track Sage is and offers her a compromise : he will help her babysit his little brother if she helps him get rid of all his dating distractions and makes sure he stays focused on getting his artwork done for the art competition. Yet the more time they spend together the more Ryland is wearing down Sage’s walls and the more feelings begin to seep in. Sage has been forbidden from dating Ryland by her mentor who is also his mother as that is a breech of ethics but soon she’ll have to face the decision between what matters most to her: her happiness or her research? This was a super cute rom com and definitely made me want to visit Amsterdam and visit cat related places ( and also snag one of Ryland’s shirts he makes). The romance between Ryland and Sage was cute and sweet and the story was just all around a great time!

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, HarperTeen for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Read 28% of the way into this book but kept starting and stopping and ultimately forgot about it. Figured it was better to review as is. It was written well just not my cup of tea.

I had best of the times reading it. I would highly recommend it the ya romance lovers!! As this an absolute pleasurable full 5 stars read for me

This is a really cute YA romance! I haven’t read hot British boyfriend so this was my first introduction to Sage, Ellie and crew and it makes me want to go back and read it. Ellie is a trip. I’ve never seen a more motivated, work driven 17 year old. It was almost unbelievable, even if we get an insight into why she’s so determined. Ryland is so much fun. I love him and I love how the two of them balance each other out. He brings her out of her work shell and she gets him to focus on his art. I could also just picture the Netherlands setting even if we didn’t get a ton of it. This is a quick fun read.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 20% because this was just so not for me. The dialogue was stilted, the characters seemed more like cyborgs pretending to be teenagers based on how flat they are, and the general premise was just kind of silly. Like, a freshman who hasn't even started classes has the opportunity to present at a.major professional conference?

If you want something fluffy and can totally suspend your disbelief, give this a go. Otherwise I would not recommend.

Hot Dutch Daydream is the second in series where the first book doesn’t have to be read to understand what happens in this story. This book is focused around Sage a determined girl that takes the opportunity to spend her summer before her first year in college away in Amsterdam. While in Amsterdam, Sage is staying with Dr. Reese, a researcher that Sage has been interning for. Sage agreed to babysit Dr. Reese’s rascal son in return to being flown out to Berlin to attend a conference and have the opportunity to help out with her latest research she’s conducting. A curveball is thrown her way when Dr. Reese’s oldest son, Ryland, ends up abandoning his summer plans to stay at home. The two develop a working agreement where Sage helps Ryland to avoid distractions to work on his art and Ryland will help Sage care for his little brother when she needs it.

This story is one where you can feel the growing tension between the characters and you know a forbidden romance will develop. Sage has a difficult time allowing herself to fall for someone when it possibly puts all her work that she has done to find these opportunities in cancer research for herself. The two have a fun and easy going relationship and you can see Sage start to develop a new outlook on her life and how she wants to enter this next chapter of it.

This was an easy read that grabbed my attention and had me hooked. I also enjoyed reading about Ryland’s quirky friend group and how supportive they were of him achieving his dreams in addition to him going after a relationship he wanted and fought for. I recommend this book to people that love an easy going young adult romance. I rate this book a 4/5 stars.

Thank you for NetGalley and HarperTeen for this ARC!

This was a cute Au pair nanny romance. It was pretty interesting to read a story set in Amsterdam since I haven't read very many sets there. The main characters were merely almost perfect for one another. The jealousy from the main heroine was annoying in some way sort of unnecessary since it happens in only two scenes.

I unexpectedly like the third-act breakup. it made sense when. It came to the main character and her figuring out what she wanted instead of just choosing the hero right away just because she was in love with him. The way that the third act breakup came about was rather silly and the fact the mother got mad over the fact the main character had gotten something off the hero's face. Overall, this was such a cozy, simple little read.

I'm a huge fan of summer romances set abroad, but I've never read one set in the Netherlands before. May I just say, this was such a treat! A divine, perfectly escapist, and hilarious academic rivals-to-lovers summer read.

WoW! My first book my Boyce and now I must read Hot British Boyfriend!

Hot Dutch Daydream by Kristy Boyce is a wonderful YA rom-com.
I had the best time reading this.
Kristy Boyce wrote two amazing characters. I mean I was seriously hanging onto her every word.
Sage and Ryland were both relatable, eager and just so much fun.
There was a never a dull moment with these two.
The plot and story were well thought out and the execution was perfection.
A light-hearted, adorable summer rom-com, I think many will enjoy.

This will make for the perfect summer read.
I can't wait for her next books to hit.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperTeen for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.