A great LGTBQIA+ young adult novel just in time for summer. It speaks to teenagers who might be questioning their sexuality in such a beautiful way. It’s a quick pace and easy read I will recommend to all of my friends at the beach this summer!

I was excited by the storyline, which proved to be a slight letdown. I didn't feel much of an attachment to any of the characters, and while I rooted for Andrea, I had nothing to pay off in the short ending.

The MCs although supposed to be 17, feel like mere 12 or 13-year-olds. This has nothing to do with sexuality or love, but maturity and attitude. The book would suit better as a middle-grade novel about young girls dealing with notions of LGBT and crushes for the first time, rather than a YA story to be taken seriously. I appreciated the interactions between Andrea and Hailee (her best friend/crush) which conveniently jumped from childish to more mature.

The disability portion interested me, but there too I found very little detail. Having no experience around differently-abled people, I would have liked to learn more about the story (Andrea has Cerebral Palsy)

I definitely can't tell whether some serious editing would improve the book, but as of now, it's a miss for me.

I LOVE SUMMER ROMANCES !!! Or just books set in summer in general. I think this was a super cute YA novel that really makes you wanna get together w/ a friend and make a bucket list for the summer.

The Secret Summer Promise by Keah Brown is a new (soon to be released) YA novel that follows Andrea Williams and her best friend, and newly founded crush, Hailee! They come together and make a BSE (best summer ever) list with 8 pretty fun things. Along with a secret ninth addition: Andrea must fall out of love with her best friend. This was a really cute and easy read for me, especially with being in a reading slump for so long. I loved Andrea and watching her deal with her new realization about her sexuality. I think at some parts the characters seemed a little younger than they actually were but besides that, I really enjoyed this book. If you’re looking for a teenage coming of age with friendship, self acceptance, and just overall lovely vibes, I think you’ll also enjoy this !!!! ☀️

Thank you NetGalley and Keah Brown for this epub in exchange for an honest review!

it was cute and I do enjoy bi-representation. there just wasn't anything that stood out to me and seemed like other YA sapphic romance. I enjoyed it though and the narrator!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This story follows seventeen year old Andrea Williams. She is just recovering from her latest cerebral palsy surgery. She is determined to have the best summer ever. She has even made a list of things that will make her summer unforgettable. Andrea also is dealing with the realization she has feelings for her female best friend, Hailee. I love that we get to see how Andrea lives with cerebral palsy and how her family has worked her daily routines into theirs. This was a quick read that was very enjoyable and engaging.

Thank you to Levine Querido, Hear Our Voices Tours, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This summer, Andrea and her friends are going to have a blast (and make up for last summer- recovery from surgery for her cerebral palsy). Between concerts, thrifting, and special events, they have a list full of fun times to check off. But Andrea has one list item of her own to check off - fall out of love with Hailee. When she realized her feelings for her best friend were more than platonic, she knew that it could ruin everything. So even if it means dating George, the guy who can’t seem to resist her orbit, she’ll keep this secret promise no matter what.

This book was so sweet - the feelings bubbling between Hailee and Andrea were so tender, and the jealousy of the burgeoning relationship with George was a great conflict that stirred them up even more.

This group of friends is stellar - I love the unspoken understanding of Andrea’s needs and how they are accommodated by her friends. Their relationships are so in tune with each other that the subtle signs of fatigue are noticed and taken into account. I also love that she has a support network of disabled people who understand bad pain days and all that comes with the territory! Andrea has such a robust network, and I loved that her parents make a point of surrounding her with people who look like her. (Seriously though, her parents are great!)

The rekindling of friendship with Olivia was so sweet because it showcased another way that you can’t know what someone is going through by looking at them, or simply being around them.

The ableism that is portrayed is handled extremely well, and Andrea’s support network rallies behind her, no questions asked.

I would highly recommend this sweet, queer summer love story, and loved the disability rep! Whatever Keah Brown writes next, I’m looking forward to binging it!

Thank @hearourvoicestours and @keah_maria for giving me the opportunity to read this book in advance.

This is a cute summer read. Imagine planning your summer adventures with your friends to make it the best summer ever. Exciting, right! Then there that one friend that you have feelings for, but don't want to say anything because it may ruin your friendship. What do you do? Check out this book to find out. You won't be disappointed.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes.
🌱 I was ready for my life to start.

🌱 The dreams always started with me being surrounded by the people I love, which made me feel safe and warm.

🌱 She raised one eyebrow, which in almost every Black household meant, "Don't push your luck."

🌱 "If you were as hip as you thought, you wouldn't be saying the word hip."

🌱 I really was determined to make sure that this summer was the one we'd reference when we were old and gray, when our grandkids would ask us what we were like when we were their age.

🌱 You and I have history, but I was so scared that you'd break my heart. I was scared I wouldn't be enough for you.

🌱 I was not going to be one of the girls who swooned just because he showed them attention.

🌱 I just want someone to want me.

🌱 When our lips met, time stopped, and I felt like I was flying.

🌱 The sun was trying its best to keep me company, but I needed to be alone for a little while before my mom got here.

🌱 I was excited to draw my Black face and my Black body, the joy radiating off the painting and onto me.

🌱 The portrait version of me was sitting, because a big part of my life was about the necessity of rest.

🌱 No longer did I think that I had to bide my time, waiting for my life to start-it had already begun, and it was my job to create something meaningful with it.

🌱 "I can see how proud you are of the people in your life, but more importantly, yourself."

17 year old Andrea is determined to live it up this summer, since this time last year, she wad to have surgery due to her disability. She decides to make a list of that is most important to her (as a list girlie, I'm the same way). The only issue with her list is that she has recently come out bisexual, and has more than just a friend feelings toward her best friend, Haillee. As teenagers do, there is a lot of feelings and miscommunication, and the friendship circle gets tested and decisions have to be made.

They are teenagers, so they're going to act their age and not adults, which is one thing I really liked about the book. I had to keep it in the front of my mind of their age, and that we all acted that silly at that age. I also enjoyed how her disability was presented in a positive light in the story And one of the best parts was when the ah ha moment came. That lessons is one that adults can learn from as well. This was a cute summer read, and I enjoyed it very much.

A charming teen romance with some good diverse rerpresntion that we might not see elsewhere. Supposedly Young Adult, the voice and voices seemed. more Middle Grade, and I wonder why. I would read more by Keah Brown, but for readers' advisory, consider middle grade readers rather than high schoolers.

This is a YA novel that speaks to young teens navigating their sexuality. Drea is in love with her best friend but doesn't feel as though her best friends loves her in the same way.

This book could have been better if it interrogating Drea's feelings a bit more. I think young adults would have connected more in understanding the nuisances of being young and figuring out what all those feelings mean.

The writing is good and I think young readers will enjoy it.

This YA romance novel features a Black, queer, disabled main character, Andrea. I’m pretty sure it’s the first book I’ve ever read that featured the intersection of those identities and I thought it was very well done and important representation.

As I find with many romance novels, this book simultaneously had me wanting to throw my Kindle across the room and had me not wanting to stop reading! As the reader, you’re able to see all the miscues the characters are having with their feelings - it’s infuriating because you just want them to connect and be happy together! And you can’t put the book down because you just need to get to the happy ending that you know must be coming! You’re rooting for the characters the whole time, even when you want to take them by the shoulders and shake them and tell them what they’re missing.

I did appreciate the way Andrea took accountability for her behavior throughout the book - we really went on the journey with her realizing how she had hurt others, while she was also feeling hurt. I enjoyed her parents as well - supportive, but honest with her about her choices.

I am not in the disabled community, but the depiction of her cerebral palsy felt authentic. The impact of her disability on her life was shared in many ways throughout the book, but it was done in a way that made it clear that there was so much more to Andrea than her disability.

I also really appreciated that the queer representation extended beyond Andrea, who is bisexual (as far as we can tell anyway - she never actually gives herself a label). There were other queer peripheral characters…for example, a friend had two moms, her mom’s assistant used they/them pronouns, and a fellow artist was trans.

The Secret Summer Promise has a promising premise but fails to deliver. Its biggest flaw is that it reads more like a middle-grade novel rather than one that centres around high school juniors/seniors. Additionally, the central conflict is heavily driven by communication issues between the main character and her love interest. While in reality that is a major cause of conflict, it is also a book trope that is slowly becoming overdone. In the case of Promise, we are not offered any new twists to the trope to make it more enticing.

On the other hand, Promise does a good job of representing chronic illness in a relatable and realistic way. It also includes some fun elements such as an enemies-to-friends trope which is refreshing.

Andrea wants to experience the best summer ever with her friends before she finishes school. But that can be quite hard when you're in love with your best friend, and she cannot find out. It's also not easy when those feelings just become stronger and stronger by the day...
Such a feel good book, I read so fast, absolutely perfect for the summer with cute moments without being unrealistic. Topics like ableism and racism also play a small role in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Levine Querido for the eARC!

This was a cute summer romance and will probably be enjoyed by tween and teen readers. Definitely a fun read to pick up as we head into the summer.

“This summer really was far from over, and after everything that had happened, I was so ready to take it on.”

Andrea Williams is ready to have the time of her life this summer after recovering from her latest cerebral palsy surgery. She made a summer bucket list, with things like going to a Lizzo concert and having an amusement park day, and wants to have adventures with her friends and family. Her best friend, Hailee, is along for the ride. However, Andrea secretly loves her and doesn’t want to ruin their friendship, so she’s trying to fall out of love. Andrea tells herself that she must lose feelings for Hailee, so she goes out with a classmate named George. As a result, she has to figure out her love life all while trying to have the best summer ever.

This book was amazing! I love a good best-friends-to-lovers book, and this novel became one of my favorite examples of this trope. The diversity in the book was astounding. It had characters with disabilities, multiple characters who were part of the LGBTQ+ community, and characters from diverse racial backgrounds. I read this book in one sitting because it hooked me from the start with its lightheartedness and humor. I liked how the novel didn’t show Andrea’s cerebral palsy in a negative light; instead, it showed her navigating her life at her own pace, and her family and friends helped her when she needed it. My one note would be the writing style seemed to be meant for middle grade readers and not young adults. That being said, this book was heartwarming and emotional, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a cute and quick summer read!

Thank you NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Secret Summer Promise by Keah Brown is a debut queer YA summer romance. It deals with all the ups and downs of growing up, friendship, family and love. To have a book with such a diverse rep - especially when it comes to queerness + dissabilies - is truly something I would like to see more. Unfortunately the writing did not match the age of the characters as they were supposed to be 17 but read/acted like 14/15 which made it hard to get into the story and the characters and actually follow the story. It also did not help with the overall storyline - at some point it felt like various scenes got stitched together. So sadly it’s not for me but could very well be for someone who likes a queer summer read with a more middle grade writing style.
TW: ableism, child neglect

Thank you to Hear Our Voices tours and Levine Querido for an arc of this book!

When Andrea makes a Best Summer Ever (BSE) list with her best friend Hailee, she adds a secret item: fall out of love. But it's hard to stop loving someone when they are also your best friend.

This book is so cute! Best friends to lovers. So much friendship not just between the MC & LI but all her amazing friends. I loved that a focus of this book was Andrea's broken friendship with Olivia and how they handled still being in a friend group.

Andrea has such loving and supportive parents and I absolutely love to see it. This book is super light and fluffy and has such a happy ending. I couldn't help but smile through it!

There were a few parts that I thought could have been developed more and some of the writing style felt repetitive, but overall I really enjoyed this one!

CW: abandonment, ableism

I really tried to enjoy this book but I found the main character very immature, and it made it hard to read.

I did like the Black, Asian, queer and disabled rep though.

Thank you, NetGalley for an ARC of this book!

This is a book about a girl who wants to fall out of love with her best friend over the summer but goes about doing it the wrong way. She starts seeing somebody in hopes that it'll help her out, and it ends up causing a whole bunch of problems in her life.

I kept forgetting that these characters were supposed to be juniors and seniors and high school, and kept picturing them as middle schoolers, or early high school age. They tended to act and speak younger than I imagined that they would, including the adults in the book. I enjoyed the plot of the book, but the characters seemed like they were younger than they were, making it hard for me to get into the story.

I also don't enjoy pop culture being mentioned much in books when I read them, and this novel tended to have quite a bit of that. I think that people who like that kind of thing would really enjoy this book because they might see their favorite artists mentioned in it, and I think that they should give it a try.

I liked being able to read a book with the MC having cerebral palsy, but I wish that it had been mentioned a little more. It felt like it was only mentioned a few times throughout the story, and I feel like it would've been nice to be able to have some moments where Andrea struggled, or thrived, with her disability. I haven't read a novel where the MC had cerebral palsy before, and I kind of wish that a little more detail on the disability had been given so that I could have a grasp of what it was, and how it affected her everyday life.

Overall I give this book 3 out of 5 stars, because while I did enjoy it, I'm not sure if it's something that I'd reread in the future.

This is about a girl named Andrea and her list for the best summer ever. She was recovering from surgery for her cerebral palsy last summer so she wants to make the most of this one and she wants to get over her crush on her best friend, Hailee.

I love how supportive her family and friends are. The romance part of the story is cute. It feels like a few characters are just randomly thrown in but, other than that, the cast of characters is pretty good.

I was provided a free copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.