Rating: 3/5 Stars
Natalya has a choice to make: she can spend the summer in New York with her dad or she can spend it in LA with her estranged mother. She has only 24 hours to figure out what to do..
In Going Bicoastal we see Natalya's scenarios play out in two alternating timelines.
One where she stays in New York and go after the girl of her dreams. The other is where she goes to LA and repairs her relationship with her mom and go after the guy she never saw coming.

I believe this is my third Dahlia book I have tried and read by Dahlia this year. I always find her books to sound super good but then once I read them I just feel indifferent about them. So I think Dahlia's work is not for me and to just give the disclaimer: Dahlia's books may not be for me but that does not mean that they are not for you.

When it comes down to this book, I felt like there was too much going on with the alternative timelines. I kept mixing up what was going on in each timeline. Then, I found Natalya to be annoying a lot of the time. This was definitely a fast paced book filled with teenage angst. The relationships were done well and made me root for Natalya and her love life and just in general.

When it came to the plot it felt like there was not much of one and was definitely more character driven. Natalya does not have to jump through many hurdles to overcome her problems and fears. It feels like a lot of things were handed to her which stunted her character growth.

I did end up listening to Going Bicoastal on audio, so I wonder if that could have impacted my rating and would explain how I kept mixing up some of the timeline details.

If you want a fast paced, diverse, or an easy read then definitely pick up Going Bicoastal. This is a perfect summer read as well.

This was a super cute story, if generally a bit underdeveloped due to the nature of the dual storylines. I thought it was a pretty unique book and the dual storylines were done very well. I was worried about getting confused but everything felt really smooth! I thought the bi and Jewish rep was really great. I was a little let down by the queer romance storyline, I wasn't a fan of their connection and romance. It felt kinda cringy and high school romance (which I get that it is, but it didn't feel very real). On the other hand, I loved the Los Angeles romance storyline, it was really sweet!

🌈 Queer rep: bi female main character, FF main pairing. Secondary characters are lesbian, trans women, agender, nonbinary

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

I received a free copy of Going Bicoastal from Netgalley and St Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.
Natalya Fox has a choice: stay in New York for the summer with her dad or head to LA and spend the summer with her mostly estranged mom. She knows if she stays, she’ll have more chances to run into the girl she’s been crushing on from a distance all year. But if she goes to LA, there’s a chance for unknown and surprising romance…if being with her mom isn’t hard enough.
Since the choice is impossible, both timelines play out side-by-side. One in which she meets the girl and explores more of NYC and one in which she moves to LA, tries to mend her relationship with her mom, and meets a gorgeous guy.
I’ve read a romance with a similar structure before, with multiple timelines. I found it quite lacking, but the queer/bi nature of Going Bicoastal made me give it another chance. I’m so glad I did! Dahlia Adler hit this one way out of the park. I found myself rooting for both romances, and I’m so glad there wasn’t a need to pick one over the other. Both were well-structured, justified, and absolutely cute.

This was the first book I read that kind of like a sliding door concept, there’s two versions of each chapter. I didn’t absolutely love this book but I did find it to be still super cute & a really cool concept, where it allowed the character to really see how different their life could be with each decision.

Natalya must decide between two very different options. Moving to LA and lreconnecting with her mother while taking a summer intern job at her work OR staying in New York with her father, where her current crush "The Red Head" lives. Finding it hard to decide, both summers play out in alternating chapters.

First off, I'm in love with this cover, I think it is so fun, and I love the colours chosen. This is told in dual timelines - one being LA, the other New York and you follow Natalya through her day to day life in each destination. The different versions of Natalya's summer were both fun, and had likeable love interests. There were neither that I liked more than the other, and actually enjoyed both equally. They were both so different from one another personality wise, but I never felt like I was rooting for one over the other. I liked the conclusion of both storylines as well. I really liked how much Natalya grew in both timelines, and figured out her future and what she wanted in life. The bisexuality rep was really well done, and from the reviews I've read, so is the Jewish rep! I don't know too much about the Jewish culture, so I liked learning small details through this story. I also really enjoyed the side characters in both timelines, they were all fully fleshed out and unique. The one thing I do wish is that there was at least a TINY bit of drama in this... I felt like everything was way too easy for Natalya at times, and it got a bit boring at times... like give me SOME angst.

I do enjoy Dahlia's writing, so I will be checking out more of her work when given the chance!

Disclaimer: I received an e-ARC of this book. I chose to review it and this in no way impacts my opinion of it.

I have read a few Dahlia Adler books before and have not been disappointed yet so when I saw Going Bicoastal was up on Netgalley, I knew I had to request it. When I was approved, I couldn’t wait to start reading it.

I was incredibly intrigued by the idea of a book following two different timelines and being able to see what would have happened if Natalya had chosen different. I found this to be incredibly well done and I found it easy to follow along and know which timeline I was in while reading.

I loved being able to experience the safe and the risky options for Natalya’s summer. I wish we had the option to experience life this way as well so we could see risk vs. reward in life but I suppose that would take away the experience of life. It was exciting to watch Natalya learn and grow throughout both timelines and see how each one benefitted her.

I really enjoyed the bisexual representation in this novel as the world most definitely needs more of it! I never felt as though the representation was too much or too little and believe it to be good representation!

I loved the characters in this book and it was such a fun read that I’ll be highly recommending this novel to everyone.

I received an advanced copy of Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler from the publisher St. Martin's Press Wednesday Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: Natalya Fox has to make a huge decision, stay home for the summer in NYC for the summer with her dad (and also maybe talk to the girl she’s been seeing around and crushing on) or spend it with her basically estranged mom in LA (perhaps fixing their distant relationship). How can she choose? The short answer is she can’t and so the reader gets to see two alternating timelines, where Natalya stays in New York City and one where she goes to LA. This leads to two different love interests.

What I Loved: This book was so fun! I love a good sliding doors style book, it feels like I’m choosing my own adventure but I don’t have to make a decision. I found both of the timelines pretty equally compelling (when does this ever happen?!) and loved getting to know Natalya. I felt like I was on so many adventures with her and that is fun. I also loved seeing which things overlapped in the different timelines and how they came to be by different ways but also were meant to be. I loved this queer rom-com, it was a delight and has fabulous bi representation! I loved both love interests and I loved seeing some of my favorite characters from Cool for the Summer again!

What I Didn’t Like: I found some of the extra people in New York City plotline difficult to keep track of, but this is a minor complaint!

Who Should Read It: People who want more books celebrating bi characters. People who love a sliding doors book. People who love queer YA romances.

Summary: A sliding doors queer YA romance.

Super sweet story. Love any opportunity to get queer stories into the hands of young readers so I was excited to get copies of this into our store.

I've read several Dahlia Adler books in the past, and I always enjoy them. I appreciate the young queer characters getting to know more about themselves and how to love their own identities.

Going Bicoastal was a bit different than I expected. I was honestly quiet confused at first because I didn't realize this was a dual storyline with almost a choose-your-own-adventure type vibe (especially at the end). I enjoyed the parallel storylines with different locations and love interests, but I definitely found myself more interested in a particular storyline. I did love the diverse characters and perspectives, and enjoyed learning more about Jewish culture (and so close to Rosh Hashanah!).

I really appreciated the way this book reminds us (readers) that things can go well even when we make different types of choices. I enjoyed that.

Overall, this was another enjoyable read from Dahlia Adler - with a fun little mention of characters from other books she's written.

4.5 Stars, rounded up!

I absolutely adored this book and devoured it! I wasn't sure what I was walking into and once I realized the different "timelines" it all made sense. I had to take a break from the book because I confused myself at first, but then when I jumped back in, I couldn't stop.

Once I realized that the chapters alternated and we got to see Natalya in both NYC and LA and living two different summers, it was clear to me which chapter was where and what we got out of each. I loved how Dahlia Adler was able to grow both stories and love interests within a short amount of pages, but it doesn't feel like anything isn't fleshed out enough. I loved seeing Natalya grow in both cities, and see how much of that growth would've happened wherever she ended up, but that she came to it in different ways.

I think both timelines were well-written and developed, but I definitely favored one a bit more (though I know that's personal preference). It was so refreshing to see how Shabbat was important to Natalya and her different ways of experiencing it with her father and with her mother. Hearing about the wonderful food made me hungry and crave my mom's homemade meals.

I truly enjoyed this and I've loved everything I've read of Dahlia Adler's, so I'm definitely not surprised! I think it's such a cute read, and definitely great for the summer! I also loved how Natalya's bisexuality always played a part, that it was there within both timelines, and how she was accepted and loved and got to truly just grow into herself entirely. I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes YA romance!

I’m always down for one of Dahlia Adler’s excellent YA, bi, Jewish, teen rom cons and Going Bicoastal was a wonderful sliding doors addition to the group. Natalya’s parents are divorced, and in two different timelines, she spends a summer with each one, on opposite coasts, and two different love interests. I was invested in both of the storylines (and both of the live interests of Elly and Adam). Shout out to some great scenes of Shabbat, which I rarely ever see depicted in books with Jewish characters, and brought me back to family dinner on Fridays when I was growing up. A ton to love here, sparkling with joy, growing up, and getting the girl/guy, I recommend to anyone wanting a little summer fun. Thanks to NetGalley for an early review copy, all opinions are my own.

I found the way this was written unique - to have two timelines and storylines happening at the same time is awesome

Dahlia Adler has two options for the summer - stay in New York with her dad or go to LA and stay with her mom and complete an internship

In this book we get to see what happens with both options with two different love interests It is like two books in one and two HEA

This is a great book for young adults and I cannot stress how interesting it was to see Dahlia grow in both storylines within her relationships and with her parents

I loved the bisexual/Jewish rep and the sliding-doors execution was nice, but there were no real stakes or conflict to be found – the only person who really had any sort of challenge to deal with was Adam, and even that didn't really seem to present that much of a problem.

This story was just okay for me. I went into it excited but left feeling let down. I wanted more from the MC and her Sliding Doors-style story. I never felt there was any sense of urgency for her to pick a place to live. She casually told the dual timeline as if there was nowhere to be. The ending felt lack-luster because the reveal of who she chose was a boring reveal. There was no trumpet fanfare so I felt just blah about it. I also felt like the MC did not have any growth or development throughout the story. She came across as a bit of a brat who never had to want for anything so it didn't matter what option she ultimately went with. I have always enjoyed Adler's books but this missed the mark for me.

This was so cute!! If you are looking for quick YA book with lots of queer rep this ones for you. I have never read a book with a split plot like this and doubted if the author would be able to pull it off but man she did! I loved flipping back and forth between the two plots and seeing how Natalyas' character differed in each. All in all i definitely recommend picking this one up!

I had a fun time with this! It wasn't anything revolutionary, but it was certainly a light enjoyable summertime romp. I resonate a lot with the way that Adler writes bisexuality, and I can now say I trust her to write a swoony love interest. I think she did a good job building the atmosphere of NYC and LA and differentiating between the two, and I loved the found family/queer friend group aspect of both timelines. The Jewish rep was also a nice added bonus. I will say, that I went into this expecting her to choose between one of the two love interests, and it did bug me that she didn't, maybe mostly because I definitely had a favorite. But it was well done for what it ended up being and a solid summer romcom!!

This book was really cute. I loved that you got to see both potential futures and that there was a “choose your own ending” surprise. I enjoyed all the characters, music references, and the FOOD. Definitely a fun end of summer read

This book truly is a bisexual Sliding Doors. Natalya Is a fun and relatable character, and it was so great to see her grow and come into her own more throughout both sides of the story. It was fun to see when certain aspects crossed both storylines, and it just made it feel like certain things were fate no matter which path she chose. I also really loved that there was Jewish rep in this book as well, which isn’t something I come across very often. Honestly, the rep in this book just felt realistic, and I’m always happy that people will be able to see themselves in a book. The ending was great, especially since I wasn’t sure how things would wrap up, but this was such a pleasant surprise. I’ve really loved everything Dahlia Adler has written, and hope we keep getting more books like this in the future.

4.5 Stars

This was a cute read. I liked that there were some consistencies throughout both timelines. I liked that it went back and forth between the two timelines after each chapter. Both love interests were interesting in their own way and equally suitable for the main character. I couldn't choose between either and rooted for both in their perspective timelines. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good rom-com.

I received an eARC via Netgalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.