I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. These are my honest thoughts.

You know the Robert Frost poem that ends "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference"? The meaning of the poem is less blaze your own path and more that we justify our choices as the right ones, having no idea what the other path would have revealed.

Going Bicoastal is very low stakes and feel good. Neither decisions -- summer in New York or summer in L.A. -- are bad decisions, just different ones. In some ways, but not all, she ends up coming to the same conclusions about her life. While readers might have their preferences as to love interest or location, neither is presented as a bad fate, making this an excellent choice for readers who get the new trend of warm, cozy only set in a YA contemporary romance.

Confession: When we talk about reading diversely some people will always say, horrifyingly, that they can't relate to people who they deem different from them. I don't usually have this issue, but I do struggle with extroverts! (LOL, not so bad, right?)

Natalya is definitely an extrovert. While having shy moments, it's clear that no matter where she goes she'll make friends. Often rich friends. Whether going to see a band, or being fed at dinner parties featuring a roster of chefs, she will WILLINGLY spend a lot of time with people. I'm triple her age (I need a moment to sit with that) and I have no idea who people meet people, strike up a bond, and effortlessly become friends. Trying might kill me.

She does like to read, though, which my introverted soul does fully comprehend.

Natalya is Jewish, and the book -- in both realities -- makes clear what this means to her, that she values and thinks about traditions without being shackled to them. We read about Shabbat dinner a lot and how it varies by your families community and country of origin. I am always hyped about food descriptions, of which there are plenty.

Food is about communion, not in the Christian sense, and this very much came into play in Going Bicoastal. When you break bread with someone, especially if you personally baked the bread, you allow them into your circle, you find out more about them, you share bits of who you are right back in time to who you were. This is very apparent in the L.A. time line.

The New York time line is more about how music connects us, which is just as vital, although I ended up feeling like I knew the N.Y. love interest -- Ellie -- less. Maybe because I never felt her vulnerability as much as I did the L.A. love interest, Adam.

I'd expected more of the book to be about Natalya hashing out her issues with her mom, especially in the L.A. reality, and that didn't materialize. There just seems to be a vibe that Natalya is old enough to not dwell on the past, and mature enough to move on. Her mother, and this surprised me, didn't seem to in any substantial way change her life at the presence of her daughter. I felt this to be a missed opportunity, but the overall readership might not be invested in that so much as the romance elements and Natalya figuring out what she wants for her life.

I had a nice time with this story, and the sense that Natalya is destined to be okay no matter what.

When I first heard of this book’s existence, I knew I needed to pick it up solely because of the concept. Having a book split in two, with one half of the book detailing Natalya’s choice to stay with her dad in New York for the summer (and finally speak to her red headed crush she’s been obsessing over) and the other half detailing her choice to go with her mom to Los Angeles for the summer (and meet a cute coworker who seems to want nothing to do with her)? I needed to know how this book was formatted!

Going Bicoastal’s split doesn’t happen until chapter three, when Natalya makes her big decision. From then on, the chapters go back and forth between NYC and LA, showing her adventures in each throughout the summer.

One of the things I immediately loved about this book was how it set itself up to make sure readers knew which side of the story was which. Natalya tells the story of how her parents mashed up two different names to create hers very early on in the book, and the book uses this to differentiate the New York and LA sides throughout. In New York, she’s Tal, based on her dad’s choice to name her Atalya, and in LA she’s Nat, based on her mom’s choice to name her Natalie. Before reading this book, I did have some worries I would get the New York and LA sides confused, but I think this choice for her to go by a different nickname in each really helped make the two versions of her separate.

I also really loved how some details were constant between both sides of the story, such as Natalya and her mom creating a book club in order to have a reason to talk to each other. Every time a detail popped up in both sides of the story, I found myself amazed by how the locations could be so different but Natalya could remain the same at her core throughout, and I enjoyed the idea in general that someone could find what they needed no matter where they were.

However, I did have worries throughout this book that if a reader liked one side of the story more than the other, they would have a difficult time having to alternate between the New York and LA sides. Near the beginning of this story, I was optimistic, as I was enjoying both sides equally, but the further I got into it, the more I started enjoying the LA side more. If a reader doesn’t pick a favorite throughout the story and can truly be neutral, I think the formatting of this story can really work for them, but the second a reader finds themselves enjoying one side over the other is when having to alternate between the two becomes a chore.

As for the love interests themselves, I found myself enjoying Adam, the boy Natalya meets in LA, more than I did Elly, the girl Natalya has a crush on in New York. I couldn’t quite find a trope I could use to describe her relationship with Elly, but Adam had that rivals-to-lovers, banter-y kind of relationship I really enjoy in romances. I also really enjoyed the found family aspects in the LA side of the story as Natalya meets Adam’s friends and the group immediately clicks.

I think most readers will pick up this book because of the interesting concept, but I worry most will enjoy one side of this book over the other and that will negatively impact the other side to this story.

I loved this book so much. At first I was so confused when there was two chapter 3’s but I caught on pretty quickly. I loved to see how similar yet different her time would have been had she gone either way. I feel like it really is bisexuals to a T. I loved that you weren’t made to feel as though one side was better than the other but simply enjoying both stories and even picking your preferences. I loved seeing Lara and Jasmine. I loved the representation for the Jewish community. I learnt so much from this book. Definitely would read and recommend to anyone.

Rep: bisexual Jewish mc, queer female li, queer sc

This was a nice, fun read. but not really one that stood out to me. The timelines follow two possibilities, one with Natalya staying in New York, and one with Natalya choosing to go to LA.

I preferred the LA timeline more story-wise, it was just so mouthwatering to have multiple descriptions of food from all around the world. I also loved how the author interwove Jewish culture into Natalya's daily life, which I felt stood out in both timeline, and it was really nice to learn more about it.

On the other hand, I was bored with the NY timeline. since it involved so many name-droppings of bands I don't know beyond the world-famous ones, but I guess that's more of a me problem. Rock music fans would probably enjo it more, but I'm just an occasional pop music enjoyer and certainly did not get more than half of the references.

Because this is a relatively short book with two diverging timelines, I also kind of feel the romance in both timelines were pretty rushed. The characters meet, and two or three chapters later Natalya started kissing them. There was also probably not enough space to insert more conflict, I suppose, and so this book was pretty flat on that end. Also, this definitely has no sci-fi elements, the two timelines are just two timelines.

One other thing I loved was how Natalya is really proud of her identities as Jewish and queer, which is always heartwarming to me as someone who still identifies with a certain religious belief while also being proud of my queerness. I hope more young people see that it's never another's decision to decide for you whether or not your beliefs and your queerness are mutually exclusive (spoiler: these are not mutually exclusive).

Overall, still a decent read. I picked this up on a whim, hoping for a lighthearted romcom, and it delivered just that, nothing beyond expectations.

I received this as an ARC through Net Gallery. I really enjoyed both storyline’s, however I was very confused. I’m not sure where she actually went or what actually happened as it switched between storylines with no explanation. I wish something explained what was going on. That being said, I was very interested in both storylines and enjoyed both stories very much.

This is my third Dahlia Adler read, and I have loved them all. The Jewish representation was absolutely perfect!! There were beautiful Shabbat dinners, the main character kept Kosher and there was no discrimination or hostility towards Judaism. Natalya is such a great character, she's confident in herself but unsure of her future, has an excellent set of friends and awesome parents. The alternating timelines never become confusing to the reader and the best part is that you get to choose the ending you want, which I happily did. Both her love interests are interesting, but I preferred Elly to Adam. Elly and Nat’s relationship was the shy meet cute kind of relationship. I thought that they had much more chemistry than Nat and Adam. I love that Natalya found a tight-knit group of queer friends on both coasts. I liked that there were references to both lives even though she was doing different things. For example, her doing the designs for her mom’s work in both timelines, just in different places. It was a nice touch that brought everything together. As someone who adored “Cool for the Summer”, I was so excited to see Jasmine and Lara make an appearance that showed that they were still together and thriving. I also appreciated the nod to “Home Field Advantage” with Elly’s college roommate. I can’t wait for Dahlia’s next book and I highly recommend this one and her previous works. Thank you to Dahila Adler, St. Martin’s, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Going Bicoastal was <i> so </i> much fun. It was like reading two different romance novels at once, crossed with a choose your own adventure. I read it straight through, but there's definitely a way to read it skipping every other chapter if you wanted.

Natalya is such a great character, she's confident in herself but unsure of her future, has an excellent set of friends and awesome parents. And did I mention her love interests? Elly is so effortlessly cool and honest, and Adam is deliciously angsty and the banter he has with Nat is just *chef's kiss* (Did anyone see what I did there? Heh).

Besides the absolutely delightful cast of characters, there are three other things I adored. The first was getting to explore both LA and NYC with Nat, both cities really came to life and it was nice to feel like I was exploring somewhere new. The next part I loved was seeing how things played out in both perspectives, it was neat to see how some things happened in both timelines, and how confidently happy Natalya was with <i> both</i> choices she made. And finally, the <i>food</i>. It was so cool to see the different foods in the book, especially since I hadn't known much about Shabbat before. The love of food in this book reminded me of my mom 🥺

Going Bicoastal touched on the difficulties of divorce, and how fear of the future is something that can resonate with everyone - but that all decisions can lead to good things. It was optimistic without feeling fake or forced, and it was really funny along the way. Also, these romances were SO cute.

3.5 rounded up.
I’m kinda conflicted with this. I really liked the premise.
Natalya has to decide what parent she will spend the summer with her dad in NYC and finally talk to her crush “the redhead” or take an internship with her mom in LA. The book split and every other chapter is one of the possibilities.
It took me a while to get into the formatting.
I really liked both stories. Both romances were great. I loved the Jewish cultural themes and learning about some of the Shabbat dishes they made.
I could have done without the last two chapters… (which may be controversial idk)

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for an eARC.

Every decision we make opens up a new set of possibilities. Bicoastal is a fun YA LGBTQ+ read that shows us both sides of the coin.
3.5 Stars

*I received an advanced reader copy from Net Galley.

Bicoastal is a mind trip. This is the first time I am reading a parallel universe story and Dahlia Adler kept me hooked in both realities.

I like Natalya and her group of friends on both coasts. Adler keeps the cast diverse whether Tal is on the east side or the west side. I liked the complete opposite paths that Tal took. It’s interesting how sometimes when you take a different path you can still end up in the same place. One choice led Tal to exciting realizations and opportunities. The other choice, I just happened to like on a personal level due to my own queerness.

The beginning paragraph of each chapter lets you know where you are as Adler immediately locates you to the reality Tal is living in. I was grateful for this as I worried, I wouldn’t be able to track it throughout the book. Adler also lets you choose the ending you want to read which I thought was really cool. I like the ladies so of course I read the reality where Tal and Elly end up together. Then, I read the ending where Adam and Tal are coupled. Both are hopeful and romantic ways to end Tal’s story.

Adler gives us two diverse sweet and sometimes a little hot romances in one story. You gotta love that - I definitely do.

This was a cute YA romance. The dual timelines never lost or confused me. I liked that Natalya was never involved in a love triangle. All the characters felt real and interesting. The two romances were supportive and never showed toxic behavior. This book is full of queer joy! I recommend checking this book out!

Thank you NetGalley for an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a sucker for dual timelines.

Going Bicoastal
By Dahlia Adler
4.25⭐️
Releases June 13th

Natalya has to decide whether she is going to stay with her dad in New York or spend the summer in LA with her estranged mom. This book follows how her summer goes through both scenarios.

First, can we take a second to admire this adorable cover?

I loved this book! I enjoyed both timelines equally. It has some cute romance but tells a really great coming of age story as well. Natalya is focusing on getting out of her comfort zone in both locations.

Sometimes we get overwhelmed when we feel like we are faced with a life changing decision. I like how this book shows no matter which choice you make, you can be happy and you can grow.

Add to your TBR’s now, it will be a great summer read.

Thanks to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the chance to read this one early in exchange for an honest review.

I did not really enjoy this book. I thought because I liked Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid that I would like this one. I just felt it wasn't authentically representing the bi-sexual experience that I have had as a person. I did however love Adam as a character, he was funny and adorable. The redhead girl (forgot her name...sorry.), was just not a fully flushed out character to me, it felt as though she was just there to fit the trope and make it a real bi-sexual love story.

I’ve loved every single book Adler has ever published and her newest one has me so damn excited to open this beauty up!

Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler exceeded my expectations.
She writes the best YA queer rom-com and I honestly believe there isn’t anything better than a Dahlia Adler
Natalya Fox I loved her. She is real, fun, exciting and full of life.
I really enjoyed getting to know her throughout this novel and seeing her story unfold.
The side characters were also extremely likable.
I thought the writing was so witty and fun.
If you’re looking for a sweet sapphic romance look no further.
Adler has written another phenomenal story witty humor, joy, and self-discovery.

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

Thank You NetGalley and Wednesday Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday books for access to this ARC.

This was a fun summer romance with a twist - how often do you get a protagonist playing out both sides of a seemingly impossible decision? Natalya doesn't know where she should spend her summer - in New York with her dad, the pressure of getting a summer job and the opportunity to finally talk to the girl she's been eyeing off for months, or in LA reconnecting with, and working for, her estranged mum with the opportunity for adventure and new things. Luckily, we get to experience both with Nat and see how in different environments, she still drew the same conclusions about what she wanted to do and the direction she wanted her life to go in.

I definitely found the perspective shifts a little jarring at first, but once you get into the rhythm of it, it is lots of fun. I found myself far more invested in the NY Bar Storyline and felt the relationship with Elly had more chemistry. All of the friends that we were introduced to seemed so interesting, I wish we got a bit more time with them. As an agnostic with little knowledge of Jewish faith culture, I learned a lot from this book too, and I loved experiencing it through Nat's eyes.

This book is lots of fun!

thank you to netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

i’m not gonna lie, i did not read the synopsis close enough because i was really confused with the second chapter. that’s on me, but once i got used to the two timelines thing, i really got into the book and enjoyed it.

without giving too much away, the ending kind of reminded me of the ‘choose your own’ story games where you choose your love interest, and i thought that was a fun idea. (of course, i read both chapters). it’s kind of like choosing which timeline was the ‘true’ story. i like how in both endings, they reference the other love interest, like a nice ‘what could have been’. it’s also nice to think that no matter what timeline happened, their paths would cross anyway. overall, i would recommend this book because it’s a nice quick read for a unique concept that was carried out well.

This was an enjoyable story. Natalya has the option of staying in NYC with her dad, find a job, spend time with friends, and maybe work up the courage to speak to the “Redhead” OR go to LA and spend the summer with her mother, whom she has rarely seen in recent years, and intern at her mother’s work. She cannot decide which option to choose, so in a sense, she chooses both. The story alternates between Natalya's summer if she chooses to stay in NYC and Natalya's summer if she chooses to go to LA. It takes a little bit to get used to the switching stories.

Natalya is a great character. I appreciate that she is confident in and proud of her Jewish heritage. She does not expect others to observe the Jewish traditions that she does or accommodate her; although she does appreciate it when participants in the dinner parties in LA make an effort to provide kosher options. However, she is also not shy about speaking up and respectfully explaining why she does not eat certain foods or why she is unavailable on Friday evenings due to Shabbot. She is also confident in her bisexuality. Natalya has her fair share of insecurities and uncertainties, especially as to her future. Unlike her friends, she has no idea what she wants to do. She is a talented artist but has never considered that her artistic talent could be a source of a viable career, as she has not really thought about how her artistic abilities could be utilized except as an artist, an often difficult and financially unstable career (i.e., the stereotypical starving artist). One aspect of the story I particularly liked is that situations arise both during the NYC summer and LA summer where others see her artwork, recognize her talent, and provide her with opportunities to utilize that talent and introduce her to possible career options that combine her creativity with more financial and job security.

While I like both versions of Natalya, I have a preference for the LA version, because that Natalya is more confident in her own self-worth. It takes her and Adam a little while to realize their feelings for each other and act on those feelings, but Natalya never feels unworthy of the attention/relationship. However, with the "Redhead" (Elly), even when it is obvious that Elly is as smitten with her as Natalya is with Elly, Natalya continues to have doubts as to whether Elly really cares for her and whether she is deserving of that attention/affection. Possibly it is because she had been pining for the Redhead for a year, trying to work up the courage to talk to her, and therefore had built up an image of the Redhead in her mind that made her seem larger than life, and therefore harder to reconcile that what she had hoped for was actually happening.

"Going Bicoastal" is well worth reading -- enjoyable characters, amusing and heartfelt moments, and creative plot.

This was a very cute, low stakes YA romance that's perfect if you're not looking for any stress, no real arguments/drama, and a sort of "choose your own adventure" storyline. I can guarantee you that I will remember nothing from this book in terms of major plot line or character names, but that's a testament to how quickly I devoured this book because of how fun and easy it was.

Definitely worth your time if you are looking for a bisexual protagonist, depictions of LA beaches and NYC excitement, lots of talk about amazing sounding food, and a book that will cause you to want to drink a coffee every time you turn to a new chapter. Has a bit of spice (obviously very tame, seeing as it's YA, but there are mentions of sex), nice relationships with divorced parents, and a diverse cast of characters.

Highly recommend for a fun, summer read!

This is a cute story using what I will refer to as the Sliding Doors trope to show how a choice can create two different paths for the main character. The trip unfortunately detracts from both of the plots because both feel rushed by the time you reach the end. That being said, this didn’t feel like a story I’d read before. It was original enough to not feel overdone.

If you like rom-coms this is probably a good choice for you. I’d give it a 3.5 but I’ll round up for Goodreads.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I loved following Natalya as a main character! She was so relatable, I found myself in her at so many points throughout the story! Her thought processes were so cute and funny sometimes, it made me laugh. She was relatable and fun, and had a good personality.

I liked that there were references to both lives even though she was doing different things. Like her doing the designs for her mom’s work in both timelines, just in different places. It was a nice touch that brought everything together.

Slight spoiler: I loved the part where she wished she could go to an actually good taco truck in her dad’s timeline, I’m like you did!! It was such a fun nod to the other life she could have lived if she chose differently. I also love how it mentioned how one life was better than the other in her mind when she was happy in both! It was the best of both worlds truly.

I was more invested in her mom’s timeline because I felt like we got more interactions between her and Adam than we got of her and Elly. I loved both love interests so much and was invested in both of them. Her dad’s timeline was boring to me though at parts because most of the time was spent following her doing her different jobs in the beginning than being with Elly.

I feel like even when her and Elly were together, she spent more time talking with Elly’s friends or whoever else was there that we barely got any interactions between them which made me sad. That’s why I was way more invested in Adam because at least they interacted with each other. But when we DID get moments between her and Elly, I really enjoyed their relationship. Elly was so cool, I loved her energy and her passion, I just wish we got more from her. The passion between her and Natalya was THERE. When we did get moments between them it was electric and fiery. But they can also be sweet and caring.

Her and Adam had such easy chemistry, I could gush about it for hours. The light touches, forehead touches, him being so caring and aware of her feelings, it’s just perfect. It was so natural. I was a big big fan. I couldn’t help but love him more and be excited for his chapters. He was very swoon-worthy, and he can cook; what else is there that matters!

Both couples had such good banter, I loved reading their interactions. They both had a light and teasing relationship, you could tell both couples were so comfortable with each other.

The only reason why I gave it four stars instead of five is that a lot of the book was repetitive. It was a lot of the same stuff just different dialogue, like them always eating food or going to an event, but we still got couple interactions so it wasn’t like it was terrible, just not as engaging as it could have been.

I loved the ending though! The blend of timelines was written so well, and I liked before the last chapters you could flip to who you wanted Natalya to see at the door: Adam or Elly. Of course I read both, but that was a really cool addition to the book I wasn’t expecting!