long-time best friends to lovers that's full of miscommunications. "A gorgeous and uplifting romcom"? i beg to differ. there's no comedy to begin with. the mood was somber from the beginning, since Natalia and Ethan had already developed feelings for each other. the yearning is THICK in the air.

the story mainly happens during a day, which is the day of senior class camping event, with occasional flashbacks. Natalia as the student body president is the organizer of this event. but just when the event started, the chaperone teacher suggested that they write a lion letter which could contain secret confession that they wouldn't dare to tell anyone, to be put in a bottle and then burned at the closing of the event. later Natalia regretted her letter and wanted to take it back... but they're camping near the beach and it was windy, so she accidentally fumbled other letters that immediately flew everywhere. she lost some but determined to find them all before other students find them.

the good point, the setting imagery is crystal clear and beautiful. the characters were fine too. but God i couldn't stand the miscommunications false-assumptions, and jump-into-conclusions. also it's weird how Natalia couldn't find a single missing letter anywhere even though she's actively looking for them, but the bullies managed to find some. ok it was necessary for the plot but what's the odds? also Rainn deserved better!!!! poor guy was the true selfless hero:'

thankfully the ending was decent. glad they sorted it out. wouldn't reread it, tho. oh there's a lot of subtle references to Taylor Swift's songs & lyrics because apparently the author is a Swiftie haha.

This book was one big nostalgic trip back to high school and young love and I ate it up. Throwing the letters and mystery element into this book kept me reading and I literally binged the book in less than 24 hours. Each character was unique, I loved the friend group, and it was so good. The whole entire book was one big miscommunication trope, which I'm not usually a big fan of, but I feel like the author did it was done very well and I really enjoyed it. This was really a great YA contemporary and I would absolutely recommend it.

A very cute and angsty YA romance. There were some parts I really liked: Natalia was very real and flawed (even if that made for some super cringy moments), the letters aspect of the plot was enjoyable, and seriously, the angst and just mounds of feelings. I did have a good time reading this, but in general, it was a bit of a miss for me. I could have used more depth to the characters overall and I just really hate how much miscommunication there was in this entire book.

STUNNING! The perfect blend of angst and hopefulness. I loved the relationship between these two, a painful but powerful friends-to-lovers book. Bravo.

This book was so cute! First of all, this book’s vibes were perfect for being a book named after a Taylor Swift song! Specially one of my favorite songs! I loved Ethan and Natalia together! I love stories where the main characters are so much in their own heads that they can’t see that the person in front of them is crazy about them! It may be frustrating, but it’s fun to read! I also loved the format of the book with the letters! I think this would be a great read for any high schooler who thinks they are alone in their feelings of doubt or inadequacies, because those letters demonstrated that everyone is hiding some insecurities no matter what persona they present.

This is such a cute friends to lovers story. The book was an easy read that helped because it was the kind of book you didn't want to put down. I would love to see more books form this author in the future.

This sweet friends to lovers story is a quick read, filled with characters who are easy to root for because they are facing relatable problems (in the sense that they feel huge in the moment--losing those letters was pretty specific!). Natalia and Ethan must learn to be vulnerable with themselves, their classmates, and each other in order to smooth things over where their friendship is concerned, explain what went wrong to their classmates, and ultimately, own up to their feelings for each other.

Exactly the kind of love story I love!

<blockquote>☁️ ⇢ ˗ˏˋ We know that whatever the future holds, we'll face it like we have everything else in our friendship; by turning every risk into a chance. Every kiss into a promise. Every ending in the beginning.</blockquote>
˚ ·
* ˚

｡ﾟﾟ･｡･ﾟﾟ｡
ﾟ。3.75 ★ﾟ
･｡･


જ⁀➴ 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘛𝘰 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴

જ⁀➴ 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦

જ⁀➴ 𝘠𝘈

𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙, 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖 𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙚.

𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴, 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭, 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢 𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘖𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘺𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺, 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 the campsite, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯, 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘸𝘬𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴. 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴.

𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒂
┈┈┈┈․° ☣ °․┈┈┈┈
Where do I start with this girlie? First of all, I love that she's artistic, like me, and that she loves so deeply. I loved how even with the letters, she refused to read them, to keep the privacy of her peers. It was so sad to see her heart breaking over Ethan, and she really was so alone I felt, even though she had her little friend group. It was upsetting to see her have panic attacks, and her fear of not being pretty enough, right enough, good enough..broke my heart.

-"Secrets and heartaches and uncertainty and never, ever doing anything right.I only make things worse when all I ever try to do, all I ever want to do, is make things better. To be better. But no one sees the trying. They don't care about the trying."-


How much Natalia loves Ethan with her whole being makes me happy. She deserves happiness, to feel loved and wanted, both things it seems her parents never really gave her.
Overall, I really liked Natalia, a hell of a lot more than I liked Ethan, but if she's happy, that's all that matter

𝑬𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏
¨ðº°˜¨ ¨˜°ºð¨
Hmm. I don't really know what to say about him. In the beginning, I thought he was selfish, acted a little like a jerk, mopey, but once I read more about why he acts the way he does sometimes, I understood. But that didn't make me like him any more. I think he is just a very wounded teenage boy; he was bullied for years until recently, and he is still in high school, so of course both him and Natalia have made choices that aren't the most mature. I liked him a lot more near the end than I did the beginning. It was also really sad to see he struggles a lot with abandonment issues.

-"She doesn't back away, but I'm braced for her to leave any second. That's what she does. That's what everyone in my life does."-

╭────────── · 𓆩🤍𓆪 · ─╮
𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑬𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏
╰─ · 𓆩🤍𓆪 · ──────────╯

Regardless of my feelings about Ethan, I couldn't resist kicking my feet and giggling at their romance. They were both so into each other, both completely oblivious, and when they finally kissed - eeeeek! I think they are freaking adorable as a couple, and they really do make the other whole.
I also really liked the summer camp aspect of it, and the letter thing was very clever indeed. All in all, this book was super cute and I definitely can see myself maybe re-reading this in the future.
⁎⁺˳ ✧༚ ˎˊ˗ ♡ ˗ˏˋയ ✩

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for this early ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

YA Contemporary romance is always a hit or miss for me. I feel like I might be pulling away recently. With that being said, this was a really cute read and love story between Ethan and Natalia, but this miscommunication was infuriating. Miscommunication is my least favorite trope. I just wanted to scream at them both to just say how you feel and not assume they are feeling the opposite. Saves a lot of time and energy. I also understand it is a high school romance and teenagers are notorious of not saying their feelings. Eva Des Lauriers did a good job writing this trope, because it drove me nuts.

Overall it was a cute story and ending, but I wasn't the right audience for this story. I got more distracted about the beautiful cover than reading the synopsis carefully.

OMG, this book is totally the sweetest and most wholesome thing ever! 💖 The writing style just made me remember why I absolutely adore YA romance. I was kicking my feet, giggling, and feeling all the teenage feels. Ugh, LOVE! The characters are so well-rounded and their growth throughout the story is just perfect. I absolutely LOVED it and can't wait to see more from this author in the future! 🌸📚💕

The cover immediately drew me in, as well as the concept. It was the perfect YA summer romcom, with all the right vibes. The only qualm I have is the major use of miscommunication trope in the building of Ethan and Natalia's relationship. And that's coming from a defender of the miscommunication trope 9 out of 10 times. However, it's YA, so we can forgive some of that. Definitely fits with Taylor Swift's "august" vibes, so it's not too late to pick it up and enjoy it this summer!

*4.5⭐️
This book was so good! I love a good besties to lovers romance and had been craving a good one when I read this. And Natalia and Ethan were perfect for that! They had such a cute relationship that felt very realistic for teenagers in the level of miscommunication. It was like they kept missing each other, but even apart, they still supported and cared for each other! They were honestly so adorable together!

I really liked the overall plot of the senior year trip and the letters. This book is perfect for anyone going through a transitional period, especially people who are graduating from high school. I also really liked how while the book focused on Ethan and Natalia, it also gave us glimpses into the minds of their classmates, demonstrating that everyone has similar fears of not belonging and not knowing where they’re heading.

Also, I need to add how much I appreciate Eva Des Lauriers naming this book after one of my favorite Taylor Swift songs!

For transparency, Eva is a friend of mine, but this review has no bias due to that. I don't often read YA contemporary because the stories don't grab my attention or that I simply prefer to be in a fantasy world. BUT LET ME TELL YOU... I read this on the flight home from her debut event. The entire book... in the span of one flight. I loved it so much. It kept my attention for the entire book and I didn't want to stop reading it. It brought me back to those days when I was a teen going to a camp and all the emotions that come along with being a teenager. It was perfect.

A cute young adult/high school romance based off the fact that there was POOR communication the entire time. The entire plot could have been dismissed if only the main characters actually told each other how they felt... However, the storyline took place in one day while they're at the beach with flashbacks in between. Such a FAST paced book... I started the audiobook yesterday while playing a game and was to 80% before the next day started. phew....

I'm giving the 3 stars just because I'm not the biggest fan of the lack of communication trope... I find it to be annoying now especially with the entire book being based off of that, also it felt predictable. It's a good cute read for the beach though and I'd recommend to friends who want a quick read.

I thought this was a solid read overall, but I'm finding that I'm drifting away from young adult contemporary fiction lately. This took me a while to get through, but I don't think that was the fault of the book itself.

I stand by that this cover is absolutely STUNNING though.

Not a good book. I feel like the characters were really annoying. I won't write a long review because I don't think that this book deserves it, I already wasted my time trying to finish it. The misscommunication drive me insane and NOT in a good way it was done really bad. Natalia's anxiety was potrayed very poory. Ethan was not a great charactet. They both were getting on my nerves CONSTANTLY. This book would be 50 pages if they just TALKED and acted their age.

I think the premise of this book sounds so cute. I also think I would’ve liked this much better if I were a bit younger. My biggest problem with this book is how much miscommunication is throughout the entire story. I know that’s kind of the whole point, and there is a lot of angst, but I think I would’ve connected and liked it much better if I were apart of this age group. I went in blind and mostly because it shares a title with my favorite song off of 1989 Taylor’s Version. However, I was looking for those vibes and didn’t get what I was hoping for. The miscommunication was so intense and the story was difficult for me to want to pick back up because of that intensity. I feel like if that intensity were shifted more so onto the deeper topics in the main characters lives and less on the forceful nature of the relationship I would’ve enjoyed it a lot more.

3.5/5 Stars

Natalia and Ethan haven't seen or spoken to each other since junior prom night, where they almost became more then friends. Ethan is desperate to mend their relationship and will do anything to be best friends again. It is now Senior Sunrise, a day where the seniors come together to bond and complete the tradition of writing letters to themselves that contain secret confessions and sealing them in a bottle. When Natalia accidently scatters the letters across the beach, she teams up with Ethan to collect them before others find them.

This was a cute little YA romance, that takes place over a single day in the summer. It is dual POV, and I enjoyed both Natalia and Ethan's chapters. They did drive me crazy with the miscommunication, and the entire story and relationship could have been resolved if they had one conversation, but I digress. I think the reasoning behind Natalia pulling away was very valid, so once we learn that, it was a bit less frustrating... still frustrating, but less so. I loved once Natalia and Ethan started mending the relationship, they are so sweet together and you could see how much they cared for one another. I think that both Ethan and Natalia had a lot of character development in the end, and I did enjoy how the story ended. The side characters were also so much fun, and I think they enhanced the story so much. Also the writing style, and some of the quotes in this were so gorgeous.

A lovely YA friends to lovers and second chance romance set over the course of an overnight event called the Senior Sunrise in the same vein as Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon and Some Mistakes Were Made by Kristin Dwyer.

Former best friends Ethan and Natalia haven’t been on speaking terms since their junior prom. In an event to kick off their senior year, tradition has it that seniors write private letters to themselves on doing things if they were braver. When seven letters flew and got lost due to strong winds, the two reluctantly help each other out in finding them with the intention of fixing everything or simply letting go.

I loved this book and I think it perfectly captured the doubts, angst and pressure every teenager goes through and has to face, both academic and otherwise, HA. Also, I’m quite forgiving when it comes to the miscommunication trope, which this book hinges on, when it’s done by young adults as a benefit of their youth. How I envy that they have the freedom of being idiotic and making terrible decisions (they have all the time in the world to learn from their mistakes after having to suffer the consequences).

This book was well-written for a debut which I enjoyed overall. I will surely look out for Des Lauriers’ future releases.

My thanks to Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), NetGalley and the author for my copy. All opinions are honest and my own.

A cheesy friends to lovers taking place on a windy beach, I loved the tension and the connection between Ethan and Natalia and the cast of characters ranging from petty Janice to chill Rainn and lovely Sienna and of course, the vengeful Claire. Ultimately, glad that both Ethan and Natalia took their time to grow