First of all, I love the sapphic rivals to lovers trope and I love a summer camp setting and so I was very excited to read I Love You S’more which combines the two perfectly. This book is filled with drama and teen angst and tension as Ivy navigates her new single life at her childhood camp after her famous high school sweetheart dumps her. Here, she has to work with Rynn, the girl who friend-dumped her 5 years ago who she hasn’t seen since and so cue plenty of drama as Ivy attempts to deal with everything (badly).

I thought this book dealt with the grief and sadness of being dumped by someone you loved really well and I could definitely relate to Ivy’s feelings as she tries to get over Allyson. This is made a lot harder due to the constant reminder of her every single moment she is around the kid campers who are huge fans of her show and continuously ask her questions about her. Dating a child star was also difficult as their relationship was very much in the spotlight and she also has to deal with thousands of fans speculating on the rumours of Allyson and her co-star.

At the beginning of each chapter there is a unique format used to present snippets of information such as texts, news articles, social media posts and comments from fans. This added a fresh design to the story gives the reader an insight into how the fans reacted to news and showed what Ivy always has to deal with online. Throughout the story, Ivy is obviously trying to get over Ally and the more I learn about her the more I dislike her, especially the way she treated Ivy in the last few months.

I loved the camp setting and the other camp staff really added to the story. Her friendship with the others, especially Fitz was so cute and she definitely needed some friends during what she was going through even though she never really opened up to any of them about how she was feeling. I loved the rivalry and tension between Ivy and Rynn as they are forced to work together on the musical production and there is plenty of angst before they start to like each other again which was very fun to read. The only think that could have made it better was if there were some chapters from Rynn’s POV so the reader could see how she felt about Ivy.

I also love that Rynn continuously calls Ivy by her last name which is a classic romance trope to me and it really adds to their dynamic as they slowly grow closer. I did think that Ivy’s drama over Ally was quite repetitive after a while and it felt like she was very self absorbed, only thinking about herself and not even really helping the kids but she does eventually realise the error of her ways and makes up for her mistakes. Ivy is also only 15 apparently but it read like she should be at least 17 with everything that she was going through.

Overall, this is a fun and angsty sapphic romance that I raced through in only 2 sittings. It is a fast paced, easy read and I loved all the characters and I was very invested in the plot. This is a cute rivals to lovers sapphic romance with lots of drama and angst to ensure there is never a dull moment!

This was a cute book! I definitely ate a lot of snores while reading it! I did think that Ivy was WAY too forgiving but it was a good read regardless!

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC!

The former camp counselor in me was invested and heartbroken by this book, all rolled into one. Did it make me cry, because I felt like I was re-living my summer camp love woes? Yes. But it was good tears, because what a fun book overall!

This book is a wonderful YA look into first heartbreak, second heartbreak, and reconnecting with yourself. It's got sapphic love in a summer camp setting, and we're here for it. The supporting characters have just as much personality as the main character and love interest. Ivy and Rynn definitely wobble back and forth between being bitter ex-best friends and still feeling that underlying need to support someone you used to love. It really brings you back into being a 16 year old girl with a lot of feelings and not a lot of experience with how to cope with those feelings. The book balances female friendship and sapphic romance beautifully, without one being the absolute. The running theme of s'mores throughout the book is a delightful tie-in to the title.

I Love You S'more is the perfect read to get you warmed up for the summer camp season!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's/Delacorte Romance for an Advanced Reader Copy - pub date 4/8/2025. Very much a YA sweet sort of sapphic summer romance read (say THAT five times fast!), I Love You S'More manages to spend just as much valuable time on the importance of friendships and the importance of self-realization as it does on Finding Romantic Love and that is something that I can really get behind. It's hard enough knowing who you are when you have a few decades under your belt; it is so much harder when you are a roiling pile of hormones and peer pressure and self doubt. Ivy Raines has the extra misery of a very public break-up with her TV star girlfriend, the girl she thought she would be with forever. Not something I would wish on any poor young adult.

Desombre really dives into the inner life of Ivy throughout the book, working through the conflicting thoughts and emotions, watching helplessly as Ivy self-sabotages or just generally acts like the young teenager she is. Ivy feels real and bruised and everything is exactly as out of proportion as it feels when you are young and in love and suffering your first heartbreak... And then Ivy also has lingering issues with abandonment from her family history and her old friendship with Rynn. Yes, it is enemies to lovers but it's cute and low stakes that feel high stakes because you are so far into Ivy's head. It feels rather like you are watching your younger self and you just want to shake sense into Ivy. But then you remember it is all about growing. Through her relationships at the camp, quiet moments with herself, and finally talking to people who just want to help - Ivy gets there and we get to come along with her and, even better, we get to watch her help a pair of her campers learn something that she herself fouled up. Redemption is always super satisfying!

While this was definitely a YA read, it was the age of the characters ironically that kept putting me off and proved to be the main issue for me. For one thing, it is hard to believe that Ivy is only 15. Yes, I know big feelings have no ages and first loves are intense, no matter the age. But some of the relationship steps she had already gone through seemed... rather more like something an 18 year old would do than a 13-15 year old. References to her driving down to visit Ally? Going about at all hours with no check-ins? Hitting clubs? I'm sorry but maybe Ally's parents don't care but why wouldn't Ivy's be concerned at their early teen acting like a full on 21 year old with her girlfriend? Also I spent a summer as a camp director for ages 6 to 12 and, legally, we could not leave any counselor under the age of 18 alone with the campers. Is CA different on that score? So this remote camp has exactly TWO people over the age of 21? Is that what I'm reading? So, aside from Ivy as reading like an older teen in many ways, the safety and legality of her and her co-workers being 15/16 clearly was something that put me right off. Am I too much a Mom now? Oh, dear.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Romance for access to this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I genuinely enjoyed this cute YA queer romance! The title honestly caught my attention first (I'm a big s'mores person) and once I found out it was sapphic I was sold. Now that I've finished it I honestly wish there was more! I could relate so much to Ivy's struggles and insecurities, and I loved how we were able to watch her open back up to Rynn and watch their connection bloom. The side characters like Fitz and Twyla gave humor and insight, and I felt like there was a good, important message to the story overall. I definitely recommend this book to readers!

I Love You S'more was such an adorable YA read about friendship and romance. Ivy is just coming off a breakup with her gf who also happens to be a very popular TV star. She's working at the camp she should to go as a kid. Only to find her ex-friend Rynn is working there too. Now she has to deal with heartbreak and navigate camp with her ex-friend. However, the more time Ivy spends with Rynn, she starts to see something more might be there. It's overall a quick read.

I picked this up for the cover and stayed for the story. A summer camp that's putting on a musical of Peter Pan where the two co-directors use to be friends but now dislike each other. Plus the main character's girlfriend is famous and everyone can't stop talking about the breakup. Such a rollercoaster ride.

I never went to an away summer camp but this made me miss going to camp. I went to a couple different ones and one camp was putting on a show of Grease. So it's fun reading about that and almost going back in time. This is great to get you ready for summer or to read during the summer. The YA audience will definitely like this one.

*Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for my honest opinion.*

I loved this book, I could visualise the setting really well, the characters were fantastic and it just flowed so well, cute read.

I appreciated "I Love You S'more"
by Auriane Desombre. You can tell that the author is a middle school teacher as she does a good job with middle school and adult characters. Theater camp was a fun setting. Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the eARC.

Ivy Raines is off to be a counselor at the summer camp she used to attend. She didn’t expect that another counselor would be her childhood best friend, who she hasn’t seen or spoken to in years. That would be hard enough but they also want to both direct the camp musical. This alone has the makings of a very fun summer read. But Ivy arrives at camp full of hurt and anger. Her girlfriend of the last four years has just dumped her, and may have already moved on. The girlfriend has a hit tv show and having their breakup be all over the internet doesn’t help.

I like the camp stuff in the story. Trying to work together, sharing past stories. But every time the story switched to the celebrity breakup I rolled my eyes at the probability. What are the chances that these two could undergo four years of living six hours apart and call it a relationship. Ivy talks about her girlfriend introducing people to her and her encouraging her writing. What adult wants to read the writings of a young teen? I am not saying people can’t fall in love when young but this was a stretch. And I am someone who married a person I went to middle and high school with. So I was not into that part of the story, which was a big part.

I did like the camp and reconnecting with a childhood friend. Ivy is likable when she isn’t angsty and making impulsive decisions. But that is part of being a teen. The author wrote one of my favorite middle graders books, ’The Sister Split’ (Mar 2023). That one gave me all the feels and I’ve read it more than once. While I enjoyed reading this book I didn’t connect emotionally with it. (3.5 Stars)

Just the best summer romance! I loved the characters, the plot, and especially the ending. This is the perfect cozy up with a book for any rainy day or night. Honestly, it had me longing for summer. Simply amazing.

When your celebrity girlfriend dumps you, the best way to forget about it is to throw yourself into becoming the best summer camp musical theater coordinator... but the only person in your way is your ex best friend and the girl who absolutely gets under your skin, yet all this rivalry might actually lead to a new romance? What? Ivy Raines was known as the girlfriend of TV show megastar Ali.... and now she's been dumped by her and its an extremely public breakup. It doesn't help that Ali won't tell her why and Ivy is just reeling from the last year of their relationship in which Ali checked out of their relationship despite how hard Ivy tried to make it work. Ivy knows she needs to get offline and away from anything so she signs up to run her favorite summer camp's musical production, yet she finds herself with a rival for the job, Rynn. Rynn, her former best friend whom she had a terrible fight with, Rynn who gets under her skin constantly, Rynn who she can't stand. When the head of the camp makes Rynn and Ivy co-directors, this play is about to get messy. Ivy is in over her head as her campers barely listen to her, she's bombarded with constant news of Ali and her weird feelings for Rynn, which she can't decide if its hate or if she's actually falling for her. This was a very YA sapphic romance but I felt like some things didn't work for me, from the fact that Ivy so easily forgives Ali despite finding out that Ali might have been cheating on her, how Ivy talks about Ali treating her poorly, and then the romance between Ivy and Rynn just didn't really feel believable to me. I do think younger YA readers will enjoy this as a easy summer romance read though.

Release Date: April 8, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's | Delacorte Romance for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

SO.MUCH.DRAMA!! I know, I know, this was a YA second chance, forced proximity Sapphic romance set at a summer camp that sees two former Jewish girlfriends having to put aside their hurt feelings and co-direct the camp play. This read as very immature (granted the girls were only 15 going on 16) but it just didn't hit well for me. Okay on audio and likely to be enjoyed by fans of authors like Becky Albertalli or Jennifer Dugan. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review. (I did enjoy that there was disability rep: Celiac's disease).

I Love You S’more was cute and had its moments, but it didn’t totally hit the way I wanted it to. The summer camp vibes and sapphic tension had me excited, and I love a good rivals-to-lovers setup, but the chemistry between Ivy and Rynn felt a little more lukewarm than sizzling. It was a solid read—definitely gave cozy queer rom-com energy—but it didn’t sweep me off my feet the way I was hoping. If you’re into soft, low-stakes romance with musical theater drama and camp nostalgia, it might work better for you, but for me it was just alright. I know some people who will really enjoy it though!

A cute read though FMC was grating, especially towards middle of the book. I felt that the heart of the demographic was hit spot on, but I wish there was a bit more grace for certain scenes.

Desombre's I Love You S'more is GIVING sweet summer romance, and a lovely reprieve from a school/extracurricular setting that so many YA stories are about. I love a good, sapphic enemies-to-lovers plot, especially between camp counselors?! That would have been the summer of my dreams when I was a teen!

Regardless, Desombre does a beautiful job with creating full, dynamic characters with Ivy and Rynn: their banter, WHOA! There's a clear slow burn chemistry between the two that also addresses both the awkwardness and heartbreak of losing your first love and the hope of a fresh start with someone new. While Ivy and Rynn's relationship dynamic is thoroughly addressed, I would have appreciated a bit more of a resolution between Ivy and her ex at the end of the story. It felt a bit rushed and didn't match the thoughtfulness that shined through the rest of the plot.

VERY excited to share this one with my teen readers. Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

R E V I E W

this was such a sweet fun read. it had a fun setting (i am a sucker for summer camp stories) and a rivals to lovers storyline.

i enjoyed the tension we saw with Ivy & Rynn’s background and the competition between them. i wish we had seen more moments of the transition from rivals to lovers.

i appreciated that this novel addressed the grief that comes from long term relationships ending, no matter what age that happens.

overall this novel is short and sweet and delivers what it promises. i would have loved more build up to the main characters getting together, as well as more of the side characters (I would love to see more Ben & Fitz’s summer story), but it is a cute fun read that captures teenager level drama and emotions.

**Thank you to Auriane Desombre, Random House Children’s, Delacorte Romance, and NetGalley for the ARC**

The title caught my attention and I was pleased to see the amount of marshmallow mentions. It was cute and I appreciated the clear internal conflict that Ivy had. There were some moments, especially the asides and fourth wall breaks to the audience, that took me out of the story. I was hoping for more exploration of Ivy's dynamic with her fellow counselors and sisters and to really dig into those relationships. I also wanted some more performance art imagery. Overall, it is a light read with heartwarming moments with lovely sapphic characters.

What I Liked: From the start of this book your attention is captured through an introduction to the main character, Ivy, and the drama that surrounds her life. From this moment you get to witness the way she is choosing to handle her breakup with her long-time girlfriend, and how she decides to go away to be a counselor at camp rather than go on the yearly family vacation. At the start of each chapter, there is some sort of media post that ties Ally back into the story and reminds you that Ivy is still dealing with the backlash of that breakup. These media pieces show how hard it is for Ivy to move on when the world hasn't moved on from her previous relationship.

This book handled grief from a long-term relationship ending as well as friendship breakups quite well. This captured just how each of those feel and also provides you with a way to get through both of these things or to repair a friendship that shouldn't be broken. Throughout the book, you get to see that so much of what happens is underlined by larger feelings. A lot of the responses that Ivy has along with Rynn have to do more with things that happened in their childhood versus their actual relationship with one another. This book allows you to understand and witness the impact that ignoring feelings has on other parts of your life, and how it's important to share your true feelings with the ones you love.

There are moments in which the campers are annoying but as Ivy has to remind herself, we too have to remember they are middle school children and at that age things are complicated. This book shows the reality of being in middle school, how friendships change during that age, and the things that pressure can cause us to do such as lie.

While the ending left me wanting more from this book as it felt a bit rushed, I was happy with how things wrapped up. In the end, you do get to see closure for each of the storylines that take place in this story, you get to see what happens for Rynn and Ivy, each of the campers, and see a bit of where Fitz and Ben stand.

Final Verdict: I Love You S'more is a sweet and fun summer romance book that young adults will enjoy as they see their relationships reflected in that of Ivys. Fans of enemies to lovers will enjoy this book especially the twist that this is best friends to enemies to lovers.

Thank you to TBR & Beyond and Delacorte Romance for the ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I rated this book 3 stars. I really enjoyed this one—it was cute and such an easy, breezy read. It genuinely captures what it’s like to be a teenage girl right now, especially with the ever-present pull of social media and how it shapes relationships, self-image, and identity.

I loved that while the main focus was on Ivy and Rynn (our high school-aged counselors), we also got meaningful glimpses into the lives and relationships of the younger campers. It helped create a more complete picture of what girlhood looks like across different ages.

As far as the rivals-to-lovers angle, I found the “rivals” part compelling and believable. Ivy and Rynn’s history added nice tension and complexity to their dynamic. That said, the shift from rivals to lovers felt a bit too fast for me. I think the book could have benefitted from a bit more development in that transition and more context on their history together.

In general, we got a very solid, detailed look into Ivy’s emotional state—her breakup with her famous ex, her past friendship with Rynn, the divorce trauma, and her desire to feel like she belongs. But while the book set up her emotional struggles well, the resolution to those issues felt a little rushed and underexplored.

Still, this was a really enjoyable read with excellent summer camp vibes, cute moments, and strong queer representation—not just in the main romance but throughout the side characters as well.

Perfect if you’re looking for something short, sweet, and sapphic for your summer TBR!

Follow me on Instagram and TikTok @mythicalreadsreviewer for more reviews!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for an e-ARC of this book. "I Love You S'more" is about a camp counselor who hopes to get over her recent breakup. Ivy has been with her ex-girlfriend for four years and thought they'd be together forever. After the breakup, she decides that working at her old summer camp would be the perfect place to heal. She has put so much weight into this camp being exactly as she remembered it, that when she arrives and is face-to-face with an ex-friend (Rynn), she has this need to prove to herself. She wants to show her ex, Rynn, and even her family that she is capable of doing things.

I thought the premise of this book was really strong and had very high hopes for it. Unfortunately, I found Ivy to be a bit annoying. She sees everything as a competition and believes everyone is out to get her, even when her fellow counselors are just trying to help or offer advice. We learn a bit about Ivy's past and come to learn that this is a defense mechanism meant to keep her from getting hurt, but it's infuriating. Her fellow counselors could offer simple advice such as "Oh, it's very sunny; don't forget the sunscreen," and Ivy would take that as a personal offense. Towards the end of this book, we see her truly start to work on her issues and that's nice but it was so short and very rushed.

I do think this book has the charm and nostalgia factor of summer camp down, truly no critiques on that front. The cute sapphic romance that happens at this camp is wholesome and cute while also addressing a lot of issues that many experience when they enter a relationship, especially the issue of trying to be yourself while also being someone's girlfriend or boyfriend or partner. I like this because this book is aimed toward YA readers, and some of them have never been in a relationship and might struggle with the issues addressed in this book.

Overall, it is a three-star read for me.