I loved this book! So much fun going back and forth between the two stories and I loved all the characters. This is a great queer rom com.

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. This was such a cute and fun read told on two coasts with two potential options and outcomes. It’s a queer (Jew Female Main Character) summer rom-com set in California and New York. Ignore the fact that you get told the same chapter twice. It becomes important later in the story. I had a preference as each tale was told and progressed. Her choice with her mom in California and Adam was inevitably lesser for me then her time in New York with her dad and Elly (aka “The Redhead”). Both her love interests are interesting, but I preferred Elly to Adam (and I’m a bisexual woman in a heteronormative relationship). Adam was a jerk to her at first, but as she learned about him, he grew on her. Elly and Nat’s relationship was the shy meet cute kind of relationship. I’m usually a huge fan of relationships like Adam and Nat’s, but hugely adored Elly SO much that it was unbeatable in my eyes. Highly recommend

so cutee, i like both stories but i’m team adam! it's interesting to get to see both timelines played out

I loved this book! Adler did such a great job of capturing the essence of each cities and their cultures. I was never confused or bored with the switches and I loved the way that each aspect of Tal's sexuality was explored. This was such a great read that I enjoyed every minute of.

Another fun romcom from Dahlia Adler! This book was exactly what I hoped--swoony and light, with the perfect balance of the main character trying to find a plan for the future. It was like two romcoms rolled into one! I highly recommend it for anyone looking to curl up with a romance!

Setting: LA and NYC
Rep: bisexual Jewish MC; multiple queer and POC side characters

This was cute! I enjoyed the two timelines (this is kind of a Sliding Doors situation) and I liked both love interests, Adam and Elly. I also enjoyed Natalya as a protagonist and I loved the sapphic Jewish rep!

This story is about Rubi and her way to complete the « Recipe» aka the plan her parents made when she was a kid. This « Recipe » is her way to success (according to her parents) and starts with getting accepted to university. Somehow she gets waitlisted and her perfect « Recipe » is missing its most important ingredient. Trying to manage her failure, Rubi tries out for a baking contest. The thing is, she can’t bake anything that is not a part of her parents’ bakery so she has to hide the fact that she got rejected plus that she got into a baking contest. From there, she navigates between what she really wants and what could make her achieve the American dream.

I did not particularly like this book because of how predictable it was. For me, and it’s a bit harsh, it was just another book about how teens feel controlled by their parents and have a difficult time choosing what they want to do. The author did not twist the story to make it more unique.

When taking the time to analyze the characters, they fell flat for me. There was the main character, living all of the normal and basic emotions any teen lives, the best friend who encourages her to follow her heart and even a mean girl that is mean for no real reason.

Since it was not the most memorable read, I personally would not recommend it, but if this is the kind of story that gets you going, why not read it? I do feel like the cover matches the vibes of reading on the beach…

Another cute and enjoyable book by Dahlia Adler, which is not surprising to me since I love all her books! I liked both timelines and am very torn on which I want to have actually happened more. I liked that we could really choose for ourselves what actually happened!

The cutest sapphic romance I have read in a while. I was expecting that ofcourse but I got so much more also because this story was not only swoony, it was also emotional and wholesome.

I try to stay away from books with multiple narratives for a single character like this before, so I was a little nervous going into it. But I was surprised by the story and really enjoyed Natalya’s summer perspective in both New York and Los Angeles. I found it really easy to follow along with both narratives

I loved this book. The representation, the sliding doors feel made it so special. I can’t wait for the next book by this author.

This book was on my radar right away after the stunning release of Home Field Advantage last year, so imagine my surprise when I opened up my inbox to find an ARC waiting for me! I had to set everything else I was reading aside to dive right into this, and I'm so glad I did.

Going Bicoastal is the story of of teenager Natalya Fox, who has less than 24 hours to decide on a path that could determine her entire future: will she stay in New York City with her father, finding random summer gigs in the relative safety of a place she's known her entire life, or will she fly to Los Angeles to spend the break with a mother she barely knows, working in her office as an intern and braving the mysteries that come along with a new city across the country? One option has the beautiful redhead she's been quietly crushing on for months, the other has a random boy she'll have to share a desk with at the office. Since she can't choose, both of these options play out in alternating timelines, showing what happens based off of that one initial decision...

This absolutely lived up to its promise as a sweet, cozy summer rom-com! Natalya is a delightful lead character that provides amazing Jewish representation; she keeps Kosher, follows Shabbat dinners with family and friends, and her beliefs are treated with respect by those around her. The handling of the different beliefs existent in Judaism was lovely! Natalya, in general, is absolutely the disaster bisexual that we all love and adore in queer YA and I adored her. This book does a great job of handling that struggle that so many teens go through in trying to find themselves separate from their parents - what to do with their futures, balancing their interests with their career choices, how far to go from home... All handled wonderfully. Both love interests are delightful, Elly in New York and Adam in Los Angeles. I found myself vaguely more pro-Adam, but by the end of the story, you genuinely love both of these characters. (It was also GREAT to see references to some characters from Home Field Advantage!)

This was another wonderful Dahlia Adler read and I'm so happy to have gotten to preview it early!

What a delight!

I’ve never read a book with multiple narratives for a single character like this before, so I was a tad nervous going into it. But I was pleasantly surprised by this story and really enjoyed Natalya’s summers in both New York and Los Angeles. I found it really easy to follow along with both narratives (the chapter titles helped a lot) and root for both romances to succeed (I’m bisexual, don’t ask me to choose a favorite!).

As an incredibly indecisive libra, I immediately felt a kinship with Natalya and her struggle with making a decision on where to spend her summer. She’s fearful of making the wrong choice and letting down each of her parents for different reasons, which resonated with me and likely will with a lot of readers. It’s my constant dream to not have to make a choice and have all the options, so this book really played out that fantasy for me!

I’m not Jewish, so I can’t speak to the representation but I really enjoyed how heavily Natalya’s Jewish identity was present in this book. And likewise, the queer rep was very present and well done, in my opinion. I love that Natalya found a tight-knit group of queer friends on both coasts. Plus, it’s nice to read a story not centered on the angsty side of being queer.

I don’t feel like the point of this story is to choose which romantic partner, Adam or Elly, is better for Natalya so I won’t pick one. I do like how both partners brought joy into her life and helped her discover what she wants to do with her future after her senior year of high school. I found her experience of not being sure which career path is right for her relatable, and I’m sure a lot of other young adult readers will as well.

All in all, I loved this book and can’t wait to buy a copy on pub day. I flew through it in a couple of days and predict it’ll be on my top reads for 2023.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Bicoastal is a delightful novel that isn’t just a fun sliding doors-style romcom, but a book that provides a beautiful representation of a bisexual teen. In both scenarios, we get to watch Natalya navigate her relationships with her parents as her love stories unfold with equal amounts of enthusiasm and charm. I only wish a book like this existed when I was a queer kid trying to figure myself out.

This book was really cute and something I’ve never seen before. The 2 different storylines of what if we’re really well done. You got to see Adam vs Elly. And how different their relationships were, how they progressed, their hopes and dreams. I also really enjoyed that you got different perspectives of Nats family. You got to know her mom and dad separately.

At first I was really confused, I thought the chapter was repeating itself or one part of it was cut replaced and not removed until I realized the 2 different what ifs.

One thing I didn’t like is there really wasn’t any twists, suspense, conflict. No situations where you’re like okay what’s going to happen now. It was pretty much smooth sailing throughout.

I did appreciate the ending though and the choice from the reader. I think this book is really good for younger readers. Being my age I did find it a bit young. (im mid 20s) I would recommend it to someone maybe 12-18?

But if you like really happy endings, easy, fast paced reads then this is for you.

This book was the bisexual romance my teenage heart wanted (needed).

This is a brilliant, sweet, sweeping and warm romance that while I may be a touch too old for, is perfect for its target audience. It was heartfelt, young and fantastic. I really loved the dual storytelling, it intrigued me how it was going to end - how do you tie up two stories in a good way and Adler managed!

Why one romance when you can have two? A lovely treat and I cannot wait to hold a physical copy!

This book is hard to rate, mainly because I had never watched Sliding Doors and wasn't familiar with the tropes before diving in. Overall, I really like Dahlia Adler's writing style, the pacing is quick, the characters engaging, and the storytelling is fun.

However, I deeply struggled to connect with either romance for most of the book because of the dual timelines. It felt a bit like whiplash every time we jumped from NYC to LA or back again.

My favorite parts of the story are Natayla's relationship's with her family. In both timelines, her parental relationship plays a major role in the story and I deeply appreciated that. It was so comforting to read the way Natalya struggled to connect with her mom and how they navigated forging connections together.

Overall, not a book I'd read a second time but a book I'll recommend. and I look forward to Dahlia Adler's next book, as always she is one of my go-to always-read authors.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC.

I'm grateful for the bisexual rep and I think it's important, but this story was just really basic. There wasn't anything that unique about it and after about 25% I didn't really care to continue reading.

The premise is great. I started out enjoying. I personally found the first transition jarring and I’m realizing two weeks later that I didn’t have a desire to resume reading. I made it to 27%.

We have more adults and younger children visiting our libraries, so likely won’t purchase. I don’t think this would translate well to their age groups. It’s solidly at Middle school/high school. (Of course, very important! Keep going, Ms. Adler.)

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

3 ⭐️

I think I'm out of the audience range to enjoy YA. It sounded fun and I love seeing bisexual represention but it was just ok for me. Very cute romcom but not my favorite book ever

This was cute! I absolutely love the cover, and knew from the synopsis I had to read it. I love romcoms and this was no exception. Natayla was such an interesting main character and the book was funny, it made me laugh multiple times, The wlw romance was beautiful and I loved the two characters.