In Dahlia Adler's latest LGBTQ+ YA romance, we meet Jewish, bisexual, artsy heroine Natalya (aka Nat, Tal, or Tally) on the precipice of deciding what she's going to do with her summer before senior year of high school: Stay in New York with her dad, trying to find a job and avoid being his research assistant, and hope to run into the punk redheaded girl who's been catching her eye? Or travel to LA to spend the summer with her mom, interning at her marketing firm, where there's a (according to her mother) handsome male intern around her age?

In this sliding doors style romance, this book avoids choosing and explores both options, alternating chapters between the two paths. I've never read a book like this before, but I had to say I enjoyed it. You kind of get the best of both worlds, two love interests for the price of one without a messy love triangle and double the HEAs. I was worried, at first, that it would be confusing, but it ended up being a breeze to read and fall into the rhythm of both stories. This is my third novel by Adler, and--particularly given that each one seems to be getting better and better--will not be my last. I also loved the easter egg reference to the last book hidden in there!

Thanks to Wednesday for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 9/10

Going Bicoastal should be on your summer reading list, because this has all the fun, happy, summery, queer, YA, figuring-out-your-life vibes you could want. You'll leave feeling happy no matter what, because this sorta-kinda choose your own adventure slash sliding doors of two different timelines is low-stakes but high reward.

The characters are fun, and there's a lot of working through family issues (nothing too intense), learning about yourself and what you want to do in your future, and the effects of your choices on your present, and how some things won't change regardless of your decisions. I personally liked the idea that there is no one soul-mate, that multiple people could fit that bill.

Thanks to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the e-ARC!

Finishing this extremely cute and fun book with bisexual representation on the last day of pride month is so serendipitous. What perfect timing! I honestly loved this story so much, and I knew from the first few pages that it would be an entertaining read!! This is my first time reading from Dahlia Adler so I’m excited to now check out her backlist!

The story follows Natalya Fox through two alternating narratives as she tries to decide where and how to spend her summer. In one timeline, Natalya stays in New York City with her father for the summer, where she focuses on reconnecting with her (sort of?) estranged mother by way of a long-distance book club. Should she stay in New York, there’s an added bonus: to potentially pursue a relationship with the girl she’s had a huge crush on but only ever met in passing, Elly, “The Redhead.” But if she hops on a plane to LA, Natalya not only gets the chance to reconnect with her mother in-person and as an intern for her company, she just might find herself falling for the cute intern she shares a desk with: aspiring chef, Adam. Decisions, decisions!

The timeline switching was so genius and worked so well with this story. Each chapter and storyline, although taking place in different parts of the country with different people, flowed pretty seamlessly together. I need to read more books with this narrative structure immediately!!!

There was (at least to me) a clear distinction in the writing between Elly and Adam’s chapters, where one timeline *cough* Adam’s *cough* felt more thought-out and complete, though. I’m not complaining because I shipped Adam and Nat more from the start (sorry Elly!), but I wonder how I would’ve felt if we got more of the relationship dynamic between Elly and Nat that we see with Adam. It felt like wherever Elly and Nat went on “dates,” Elly invited her friends and they ended up third-wheeling 98% of the time. There were plenty of scenes that involved Adam’s friends too (and I really loved that friend group so much), but they also gave Adam and Nat their space to get to know each other in a way that didn’t exist in the other timeline. But aside from that, I really did love this book!! And can we also give Dahlia Adler a round of applause for not only giving us one happy ending but a second one too?! I was waiting on a big reveal of sorts but I have to say, I love the idea of a double HEA.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for this eARC!! ((:

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for this advanced copy of Going Bicoastal. Let me start off by saying this is a good book. The writing was fun, the characters had depth, and I loved the Jewish, bisexual representation as well as the food and music scenes. I definitely loved Natalya’s confidence and the growth you see throughout the book with her parents.

I went into this book completely blind and unfortunately this did not hit home for me. I absolutely could not get past the parallel timelines and I’m finding that YA isn’t my favorite. Also, Elly’s chapters were weird for me and I couldn’t wait to get back to Adam’s chapters. Overall I would recommend this book to a certain audience if what I described interests them.

When I was a kid I used to read a lot of Encyclopedia Brown books where I was able to interact with the story and guess the Whodunit. I also used to read some books where I got to choose the end. But I was a weird kid because I didn’t ever want to pick. I always just wanted to read both. So imagine my surprise where I found a book that would do just that at my grown age lol

Obviously that was my favorite part of the book. I LOVED the feeling of being in charge of the narrative and I’m sure others will too. And what makes this even better, the timelines are near exact, but you don’t have to read both if you don’t want to. Like you can make the decision at her very first big decision. And then from there you can decide if you want to read the story separate or together. Adler essecntially wrote the same story twice and made them both 5 star reads.

The romances were cuteeeee! And the best part is your ship will sail no matter who you’ve picked. And Adler made sure to make both of them cute. Whether its about the red head or about the brother, I was enthralled in both of them. I loved that she had the cutest story about going all those places and seeinngred head or how she really thought the brother was a dick at sometimes throughout the other time line. It was amazing trying to keep track of the two of them. And the coolest part is, they both are different enough that you won’t get the m confused.

I know I sound like a broken record with all the ways the separate timelines made this book a masterpiece, but it really did make all difference. It was cool to feel like I was in the book and that I controlled it, even though I had the easy part with just deciding if I wanted to use it in one way or the other. This was a fun one and I really hope y’all get your hands on it!

When Natalya Fox has twenty-four hoursto decide whether to stay home in NYC for the summer or go see her estranged mom in LA, she isn't sure she makes the right decision.

Natalya decides to take a chance, move to LA and see what could happen.

This book was absolutely lovely and I really loved the bisexual rep. I think this is the Queer YA book of the summer and can't wait to talk to my book club about it!

Many thanks to NetGalley for the digital copy of the book.

If I could summarize this book in two words, it would be dishonest because I was not able to fully read this before my deadline came through. I was fully absorbed in my own life and by my job to read this in it entirety. Yet I want to buy it based off of what I have read.

Based on what I read I can describe it as cute and charming. Our protagonist is presented with a choice: stay with their dad or visit their mom for the summer. Because I don’t want to spoil their decision, I will let you read the book to find out what they decided.

To be honest, whenever the main protagonist got involved with Elly, I was always cheering for them. She kinda became a favorite for me. 😅

High key, read this book! Highly recommend it!

DNF. I really liked the premise but the writing did not work for me at all. It wouldn't be fair to the book if I finished reading and gave it a low rating.

Going Bicoastal is a fantastic YA pick for summer!

I didn't personally love the "choose your own adventure" aspect of the narrative, but it was super unique. I was super entertained by the characters and their interactions, however, and I appreciated the bisexual and Jewish representation is this story, as well.

This book really just took me for a ride. I loved the build up, the character development, and the writing. I would definitely read more from this author!

I really liked the concept of this book with the parallel universes and seeing how both choices play out, but that was about it. It was very insta-lovey, the characters on both sides got together very quickly, and there wasn't much conflict. There was also A LOT of kissing, making out, and sex for a YA. I almost DNF'ed it but kept reading to see how Adler finished the parallel universe thing. Overall, a good book, but definitely not my favorite.

(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.)

I really enjoy the author's writing style and I was really looking forward to this book! While I understand the stylistic choice for this particular book, it has been hard for me to really get into. The main character is exploring her options between staying with her dad & everything she already knows in NYC for the summer or moving in with her mom in LA. The chapters flip back and forth between what *could* happen if she says in NYC and what *could* happen if she goes to LA.

I really wanted to love this book & I'm sure that I will when I try the book again. But for right now, it just isn't for me.

Really loved this kind of choose your own adventure book about a young adult bisexual woman trying to decide her future. You get to follow what her life would have looked like if she made two different decisions about where to spend her summer and I honestly couldn't decide which path I liked better for her. This could have been annoying and redundant but I feel like Dahlia Adler did a really good job with these parallel timelines, showing different pieces of who Natalya is. Both love interests were swoony and good for her in different ways and I really liked getting to know the relationships she had with her parents and how they were evolving. highly recommend for any young adult romance reader.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a fun, unique concept for a book and I loved every minute of it! I honestly could not tell you which of the two romances/timelines I liked more, because they were both so well-written and compelling, and I liked (possible small spoiler alert ahead), that no one timeline was ever revealed as the "real" one, and you could almost choose your own adventure for the ending. I also liked that some major non-relationship life beats remained the same throughout both timelines. And that Home Field Advantage shoutout at the end? Amazing!

I definitely need to pick up a hard copy of this book so I can read it again, probably twice (one time for the Elly chapters only, one time for the Adam chapters only, of course). If you're easily confused and want a more straightforward read, this probably won't be for you, but if you're cool with juggling two different storylines, you are in for a fun ride.

Unfortunately, this was a dnf for me. The writing felt clunky and disingenuous.

Giving this book 5 stars because I dnf’d it—I don’t feel good giving a bad rating for something I didn’t finish.

We return to the Dahlia Adler Literary Universe with her newest book, "Going Bicoastal"! This is a YA bisexual summer romance that contains two stories in one. In the summer before her senior year of high school, Natalya is forced to choose between spending the summer with her dad in NYC, where she currently lives, or with her mom in LA. In NYC, she’s got friends, her dad, and the chance to finally get to know the cute redhead girl she keeps running into; in LA, she’s got an internship, the chance to finally reconnect with her mom, and the cute intern boy she shares a desk with.

Natalya’s two options are presented in back-to-back chapters of her living out either choice. Each chapter has a fun title, which also keeps it clear which location it’s set in, as different nicknames are used in the title for both cities: Tal in NYC and Nat in LA. I rooted for both romantic options and liked them equally, and Natalya’s friendships—new and old—feature prominently in both realities. Whether Natalya spends her summer listening to music in NYC with the girl or bonding over food in LA with the boy, I enjoyed every chapter and thought each relationship was well-developed. This is especially impressive as each character only gets half the book, making for a fast-paced plot. Adler completely pulls it off!

The only possible criticism I could have for the book is that every so often it was repetitive. Natalya has a cohesive, unified character arc throughout the book, so regardless of which romantic option and city she chooses, her relationship with her parents, friends, and career aspirations evolve in similar ways. There are of course differences, too, but in order to keep Natalya on the same main page in each version, there are some repeated lines or paragraphs to show her linear development in both chapters. This did not hinder my overall enjoyment of the book, however.

Speaking of career aspirations, I loved that one of the major subplots was Natalya figuring out what she wants to study in college and what career she could potentially be interested in! I thought I knew what I wanted when I was her age, but have quite recently had my own epiphanies about what I really want, and I really appreciated reading about a character on a similar journey. I also like that, due to her cohesive character arc, "Going Bicoastal" supports the idea that there are many different pathways to a positive outcome in your life. Natalya realizes what she’s interested in in two completely different ways, which I think is a great message for any other readers in high school and college. There’s not just one correct pathway to your future.

I’ve only read one of Adler’s other books, "Home Field Advantage," but I caught a number of references to her other works. I love when an author includes easter eggs like that, and if you’ve read HFA, "Cool for the Summer," and/or the Daylight Falls books (and possibly more, those were just the ones I noticed without having read them all), you will enjoy the inclusion of characters and references to those books in Going Bicoastal.

"Going Bicoastal" is the perfect lighthearted romance to read this summer. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Going Bicoastal is a refreshing and engaging coming-of-age novel that explores identity, friendship and love in all shapes and sizes. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a really positive queer read this summer.
The story follows Natalya Fox as she navigates the challenges of new environments and becoming more independent. She must choose between her father (and the girl she’s always wanted) in New York, and her mother in Los Angeles (and a guy that makes her rethink everything).
With reliable characters and witty dialogue, Adler’s writing captures the essence of teenage angst and personal growth. This is a must read for anyone looking for a heartwarming and authentic story and self-discovery and finding one’s place in the world.

What a charming book! I don't read many book descriptions before diving in so I was surprised and delighted by the dual narratives. Our main character Natalya is bi (love the bi rep!) and this summer she has to decide if she's going to live with her dad in NYC and ask out the gorgeous girl at the coffee shop or her mom in LA and the hot new intern at her firm. We get to see both scenarios play out on the page and then, in the end, the reader chooses who she ends up with. Really fun reading experience!

Let me start by saying how much I absolutely LOVE Dahlia Adler. Every book is charming, funny, witty, and so refreshing. There’s so much honesty and rawness in her work that you can tell the author always gives little pieces of herself to her characters and readers. Every story feels like a hug from a bestie and a trusting, safe, accepting environment.

All that said, while this didn’t work for me, I think it will absolutely work for many others! The sliding doors aspect was always going to be a tough sell for me in particular because I was never a fan of the movie or any other application of those trope. It always leaves me feeling like each side of the story, each “choice” or alternate reality is never fully fleshed out, while at the same time often featuring a lot of repetition to rightfully showcase how some aspects of the MC were always true or going to happen no matter what choice they made.

Both of those things felt like they happened here. From some of the conversations with the parents, to some specific dialogue and lines, I just felt like the pages were taken up with a lot of redundant information.

Despite this, I loved seeing how Natalya fell in love with both the girl she was crushing on for forever, and the guy she gets off to the wrong foot on with at work. She’s a loves le bisexual disaster still trying to work out so many things, that it’s impossible not to root for her. Her challenges and strained relationship with her mom, her uncertainty over college and what she wants to study, and her flickering self confidence all feel really grounded in the teen experience. Add to that how she navigates each relationship differently and the specific challenges with each, and Natalya is a character that truly shows a lot of range and depth.

This is a wonderful queer TBR selection that happens to come out during pride but can and should be read and enjoyed at any time of the year! I highly recommend it for those who are fans of the author, the sliding doors trope, or just want to see a wonderful bisexual MC represented. As always, the jewish representation is respectful and lovely to see and overall, this feels really balanced, despite the trope itself being a downer for me.

Thank you netgalley and Wednesday books for my galley and finished copy!

Dahlia Adler can do no wrong. Their books are always a great big hug and leave so many readers feeling seen! This book is no different and I devoured it from beginning to end! I highly recommend