Tessa lives for the Carnival! Someday, she wants to inherit the band that her grandfather, dad, and uncle built. Unfortunately, the sales and even their reputation is in trouble. In walks in Brandon. He's one of the more famous local influencers that can help her, but is also Tessa's nemisis.

This book caught me in the first chapter! I love the slice of culture that I learned from this book, and I thought the author did an amazing job making it interesting! Besides the culture, the characters got me hooked in too. Their banter is not annoying and I really do appreciate the slow burn for the romance. The self growth in this was very well put together.

As we go along the story, I can not help but appreciate the well thought out series of events, nothing there was boring, and Tessa's point of view just makes things move interesting too.

For me, there's nothing about this book that I dislike. I even like the very very tiny mystery injected in it.

What more I can say? Read it! And have a bla st!

So let's talk about Tess! Thank you for introducing us to her because she was effervescent. I enjoyed reading about her culture and the enemies to lovers in h.s. can be hit or miss sometimes. I think it was a hit this time!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to review this book.

Book: When The Vibe Is Right
Author: Sarah Dass
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: E-book
Pages: 334

When The Vibe Is Right By Sarah Dass is an enemies-to-lovers, contemporary romance fiction, set during Trinidad's Carnival celebration. This is the story of Tess Crawford, who is aspiring to become a great costume designer and inherit the leadership of Grandeur. But when things start getting worse for Grandeur, she has to deal with Brandon Richards, whom she hates as much as she hates his social media presence. But to save Grandeur, she has to work with Brandon, and spend more time! Will it change something between them as well as for the company for better or worse? Read the book to know more.

It was my first book set in Trinidad and also by the author, and I'm so glad that I read it. The setup and character building were perfect and it intrigued me to know what happens next. The chemistry of Tess and Brandon was fun to read and the troupe of enemies-to-lovers was well explored.

The friendship of Tess with Hazel, her cousin was a highlight for me. The relationship of Tess with Uncle Russel and Aunty Gloria provided some emotional moments in between and were well explored. Tess's longing for her parents and the emotional turmoil were touching!

The book also shows the ups and downs of social media and the life of influencers quite well and shows the layers in it, a perspective that most of us feel rather than the general stereotype of black and white.

The rivalry of Grandeur with Kingston was well explored. The culture of Carnival was something new for me and I am glad I got to know about it from the book, something that I would like to explore more now. I just wish for more emotionally connecting moments in the book, and a little more about Tess's parents' past, their own life, and their time with Grandeur. Also, I felt the need for more time between Tess and Brandon and more chemistry, more romance.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to all those who want to read something new, that could inspire them to explore more of Trinidad's Carnival and a beautiful enemies-to-lovers romance.

This was quite sweet, but I really struggled to connect with any of the characters. I loved the inclusion of Trinidadian culture, with the Carnival costumes especially, it was a lot of fun to read about! I also did enjoy the tropes that we got in this book, although I don't feel that I was particularly invested in how the romance played out because I couldn't get on with the characters. Tess, our main character, is incredibly stubborn and bullheaded to the point of fault, and I just needed her to have some more personality other than that. I also felt that the dialogue was quite stiff at times. However, this was a lot of fun, and it's perfect for summer, and it's definitely not for me to say that other people wouldn't enjoy this as I think there is a lot to be enjoyed, it just wasn't for me.

I cannot get enough of Sara Dass’s writing, and how joyful every book is by her. When The Rhythm is Right was amazing so I knew When The Vibe is Right will be also amazing.

In this new book, we follow Tess who is very into designing costumes and fabrics are her whole personality. She lives for the carnival that happens every year and she is helping her uncle’s business (they design costumes for the Carnival), until she accidentally messes up, get forced to work with her rival (or nemesis, call it what you want) and learns that her Uncle’s business is about to go bankrupt.

The book is set in Trinidad, so you not only learn about their culture but will feel like you are experiencing the joy, the adventure the Carnival season brings,

I really enjoyed reading about Tess overcoming her trauma and what happened to her parents, and how she learns to be kind and more sincere towards her family and the boy she is definitely falling for.

This was a fast paced, delightful and entertaining reading experience, which tackled topics like fear from accidents, fear of future, choosing family and learning to be kind and accept the love given to you.

Thank you for the Arc and allowing me to read this book.
I loved it, it was funny & had some sass to it which was such an enjoyable read!

3.5 Stars

The best part of this book was the Trinidadian culture. I loved getting to travel to Trinidad through this book and spend time learning about the people, the food, Carnival, and everything else. Unfortunately for me, the romance wasn't quite as developed as I'd hoped, and I never really felt an attachment to the protagonist, Tess. Still, this was a fun read, and I enjoyed it overall.

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

Tess, a teenager in Trinidad, fights to save her family's Carnival costume business, eventually turning to her enemy Brandon for help.

I barely finished this. The characters weren't anything special. The plot was predictable. It wasn't quite bad enough for me to not finish it but it also just... wasn't good.

"When the Vibe Is Right" by Sarah Dass is a delightful and heartwarming exploration of love and connection. Dass masterfully creates a world where emotions and relationships come to life, offering readers a journey of self-discovery and romance. The book's relatable characters and authentic portrayal of human interactions make it a joy to read. Dass's skillful storytelling and ability to capture the essence of genuine emotions shine through on every page. "When the Vibe Is Right" is a charming reminder that sometimes, all it takes is the right moment and the right people to create something truly magical.

I really enjoyed this enemies to lovers story. I thought the build-up to tess and Brandon finally getting together was perfect. As a Black American, I don't know much about carnival so I enjoyed the exploration of that and I thought the book being set in Trinidad really livened the story up and added a beautiful element of culture.
All of the characters had such depth and substance to them. I loved that Tess and her Uncle could disagree but the love was still apparent.
All in all I thought this was a beautiful and rich story.

Meh.

The characters feel like they are adults, and yet the book itself isn't written like an adult romance novel would be. The romance was okay at best, and I just never really cared? Or maybe I just didn't believe it.

I will say that Dass successfully showed Trinidadian culture from carnival to food.

This is my first time reading a book by the author Sara Dass and I most definitely will be reading more of her work. This is such an enjoyable read set in Trinidad an island that I would love to vacation in. This a young adult book that from the book cover looks more like adults. This is Brandon and Tess enemies to lovers journey which is one of my favorite reading tropes. Brandon and Tess are such a cute couple with their witty camaraderie, great chemistry and attraction to each other. Tess wants to be a Trinidadian Carnival costume designer and inherit leadership of the family’s masquerade band, Grandeur. Brandon who is a social media influencer who is working with Tess’s biggest competitor. With the Grandeur band facing a set back Brandon and Tess join together to get things back on track. With the two-spending time together their enemy relationship takes a step back as to embark on a more engaging relationship with love in the air.
I reading enjoyed reading about Brandon and Tess and the island of Trinidad that is now on my bucket list of places to travel.

I received an ARC via books NetGalley HarperCollins Children's Books, Balzer + Bray Romance | Teens & YA and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

You're about to experience an amazing romance that is taking place in the beautiful land of Trinidad! Sarah Dass is creating a lovely story of enemies falling in love. Meet Tess Crawford, who, like her famous uncle, is going to be a bigshot Trinidadian Carnival costume designer. But the twist is that she can't get along with her former classmate, Brandon Richards, an Internet celebrity. Uh-oh!


A charming story, where enemies become lovers, is being told by Sarah Dass.Meet Tess Crawford, who, like her famous uncle, is going to be a bigshot Trinidadian Carnival costume designer.But there's a twist here, she's not comfortable with her classmates, Brandon Richards, a social media star.

Get ready to dive into an excellent romance that takes place in the stunning land of Trinidad! Sarah Dass weaves a charming story where enemies become lovers. Meet Tess Crawford, who's all set to be a big-shot Trinidadian Carnival costume designer like her famous uncle. But here's the twist - she can't stand her classmate, Brandon Richards, a social media star. Uh-oh!

When Tess's family's masquerade band, Grandeur, faces trouble, they must join forces, even if they'd rather not. But guess what? As they spend time together, things get interesting! Love starts blooming in the most unexpected places, and the beautiful setting of Trinidad's Carnival makes it even more exciting.

Sarah Dass's storytelling is pure magic! The romance is heartwarming, and you'll feel like you're part of the Carnival celebrations yourself. When the Vibe Is Right is a fun read that shows us that love can surprise us when we least expect it. So, jump in and enjoy this extraordinary journey of love and discovery!

The romance is a slow burn and the story took a little bit for me to get into but there's plenty of banter and great chemistry to prevent readers from being bored.

This was a cute romance. I really liked the banter/bickering between Tess and Brandon and there chemistry was definitely there. It was especially great seeing Tess realise her feelings for Brandon were changing from enemy to more meaningful.

The setting of Carnival was good and it was interesting reading about the costume making process and how much Tess cared for Grandeur.

The side characters were interesting too. I especially liked Tess' cousin, Hazel, who is a budding romance author! One thing I did struggle with was that there was a few too many subplots going on and I did struggle to keep track of who some people were and what was happening.

Overall, though this was a cute enemies to lovers story that has good character development.

This was fresh and inspired!!! Loved the bicker and banter, adored the setting, and I absolutely love any story that is a Shakespeare retelling. The Much Ado About Nothing vibes are on par!!! The romance is very front and center, which I appreciate and is what I was looking for, but I liked that we also saw Tess’s personal growth throughout the narrative. My only complaint would be that Tess and Brandon feel like they should be in their early 20s, not teens.

I loved this book. Tess is such a relatable protagonist (at least for me). The relationship between Hazel and Tess is so wholesome. How Brandon and Tess are such opposites is the best and makes their feelings more believable. And getting to see a different culture portrayed in this story was amazing. The foods mentioned gave me a sense of nostalgia.

Read for my world reading challenge at https://ya-world-challenge.tumblr.com

Tess has plans for the future, and they all involve designing Carnival costumes for her uncle's mas band. So when her uncle announces that he wants to shut down the band after a series of bad years, Tess does not plan to let that happen. She also doesn't plan on having anything to do with Brandon, social media influencer extraordinaire, on the PR team for a rival mas band, and Tess's arch-nemesis since grade school. Guess which plan doesn't work out?

This is a cute enemies-to-lovers with a stubborn protagonist who's shut herself up after trauma and a laid-back love interest. Contemporary romance isn't usually my genre but the characters were solid and I enjoyed the peeks behind the scenes of Trinidad's Carnival. This would be a fun beach read for the summer for romance-lovers, especially if you like the rivals type of dynamic.

This was such a cute and fun read! I really enjoyed how they integrated Trinidadian culture throughout the book. and seeing how much work goes into the carnival the costumes our mc designed!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.