3.5 stars.

This story has a such a cute premise- on the wake of a painful breakup with a celebrity, Ivy Gaines goes back to her old summer camp to escape only to run into her former friend, Ryan. Ivy and Rynn's friendship did not end well and even with the passing of five years, the rivalry between the two threatens to take over. But you know what they say about a thin line between love and hate!

There was a lot going on here. A celebrity breakup (and dealing with not being able to avoid all the gossip related to said celebrity), a fractured friendship, family issues and then there were the tween campers! Overall it was a cute premise and a fairly easy read- but I think there was just too much going on. And a lot of the storylines felt like they were unnecessary and a lot of the "conflicts" were resolved pretty (too) quickly and easily. Regardless, it was still a fun read. Anyone who ever went to summer camp will enjoy some of the nostalgia.

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. While I appreciate and recognize the need for queer lit for teens and middle grade readers, I can’t say I loved this one. First, I felt like the family dynamic was fluffed over and just hunted at now and then without enough back story to flesh it out. It needed built on or left out. Next, I really couldn’t tell how old Ivy was. I thought it said not 15 but then sounded like she drove to LA at one point? Her character was quite immature for someone who was supposed to be in such a serious relationship. Last, the enemies to lovers thing wasn’t working for me bc I didn’t really understand what the hate was founded in or how they could go from fighting to swoony so quickly. I can’t say I really liked these loved interests and wasn’t digging how quickly tides turned for them (& then went back and forth some more). I did like the summer camp setting, but I can say there’s not any camps inworkd at that would tolerate some of that snippy behavior with the counselors. The good things were that it was a queer love story that made it no big thing that it was two girls-thank you! The ex being famous was kind of fun and interesting while this girl is a counselor in a camp setting. Overall, this one wasn’t for me and seemed very immature, but young queer people may enjoy it, especially bc there’s so much to be said for representation. FYI several f-bombs that seemed completely unnecessary and forced but fairly clean otherwise with just talk of making out and great acceptance of lesbian and gay relationships, even with the campers knowing and discussing it.

I Love You S'more by Auriane Desombre is the perfect summer read—fun, flirty, and full of heart. This sapphic rivals-to-lovers story had me hooked from the start, and the setting at summer camp made it all the more charming. Ivy Raines is a relatable character, navigating life after a very public breakup and trying to escape to camp for a fresh start. When she finds herself clashing with Rynn, the camp’s experienced and bossy co-director, the sparks fly in the best way. The author really nails the "rival" aspect of this trope with tension and banter that kept me turning pages, and I loved how the chemistry between Ivy and Rynn built slowly but surely.

One of the standout features of this book is how real the characters feel. Ivy and Rynn act their age, and their reactions to situations are exactly what you'd expect from teens navigating heartbreak, rivalry, and first love. The post-breakup angst that Ivy experiences is so well done—it’s awkward, painful, and yet somehow hopeful all at once. However, the ending left me a bit frustrated. Ivy’s quick forgiveness of her ex, Ally, felt unearned, especially considering how badly Ally had treated her. I was hoping for a little more exploration of that dynamic, but the narrative rushed through it too quickly. The big play they were working towards all summer also felt like an afterthought, which was a bummer because it could’ve added some extra emotional weight. Despite those issues, the book is still a solid 4 stars for me. It’s cute, it’s fun, and if you're in the mood for a light, swoon-worthy read, you can't go wrong with I Love You S'more.

Also, can we talk about how spot-on the camp setting was? The whole summer camp vibe, with s’mores, campfires, and late-night chats, gave me all the nostalgic feels. So if you’re looking for a heartwarming, rivals-to-lovers, sapphic romance, this one’s a perfect pick!

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Children's | Delacorte Romance for the ARC! <3

I went into this book completely blind but it was super cute and fun! It's a very typical contemporary YA romance story, but sometimes that's exactly what you need out of a book. I felt like there was a unique spin on the rivals to lovers trope that I really enjoyed.

The author does a great job with making the unfortunately relatable post-breakup feeling come across so vividly through the story. I also feel like the author wrote the characters in a refreshingly intentional way - this is a young adult book with young adult characters and they ACT like their ages. It is really easy to try and make characters more "likable" my having them react maturely or in "better" ways but its just not realistic.

My only complaint is that I really didn't realize that this was a YA book when I first noticed it, I thought it was at least college age if not a little older. It's still a great book but I wouldn't want readers to pick up something (and rate it unfairly) due to not realizing what they were getting.

3.5
this book was okay? it’s not doing anything incredible but it could be fun if you’re looking for a summer romance. However, the romance was not very appealing to me. it would’ve helped if i had cared about the main character more but she was honestly annoying. i liked her throughout most of the book but then she decided to forgive her cheating ex and kind of blame herself for ever hating her like that’s a bad thing.
“let’s be friends” “i’m sorry for posting that” umm no? you can’t just portray ally as mean and a cheater and then just act like it’s okay and try and convince the reader that she’s actually not that bad without showing it. i understand forgiveness is important for a lot of people but the sudden “ally is friendly and wasn’t that awful” vibe was really annoying. she treated ivy poorly and undermined all of her worries and her dreams and then cheated on her? you can’t just “i should’ve handled it better” your way out of that.
the ending was also so rushed. i would have liked to see more of the big play that they had been preparing for the entire summer but instead it was only about a page or two.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

Thank you Random House Children's publishing as well as Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Summer camps and romance are such a perfect pairing, very much like s'mores! I loved getting to meet Ivy and the complex character she was even with her struggles with a very public romance which she doesn't seem to have any control over. This is definitely a book I would have my younger self read to help understand my own feelings. While this is a cheesy romantic summer teen read, the characters grow through a lot during the summer, I would have loved to see a little more towards the end of the summer? After all the ordeals it was just a little lack luster. Overall a cute and cozy summer read!

title: I Love You S'More

author: Auriane Desombre

publisher: Delacorte Romance

publication date: April 8, 2025

pages: 256

peppers: 1 (on this scale)

warnings: breaking up, cheating on a girlfriend

summary: Ivy is happy to be back working at her childhood summer camp after getting dumped by her long-distance, television-star girlfriend. Unfortunately, what should be her safe space becomes unpleasant when she finds out that her ex-friend Rynn, who friend-dumped Ivy five years earlier, also works at the camp. And what's even worse, the camp director makes them co-direct the summer musical.

tropes:

enemies-to-lovers
famous girlfriend
forced proximity
back to camp

what I liked: great LGBTQ representation without making same-sex couples seem like something that needs to be explained.

what I didn’t like: Ivy is quite brooding and lacking in self-awareness for almost all of the novel, and in the end, all of a sudden, she understands everything.

overall rating: 3 (of 5 stars)

I really don't know what it was, but I just couldn't get through this book. Maybe I'm just not into YA right now (or maybe just not this one), but I was disappointed because I always want to read more sapphic books!

This book brought me back to being a teenager (and in the best ways). The summer camp setting, the rivals to lovers, and the apparent pining made this book a win for me. The characters were lovable, the plot was enjoyable, and the pacing was perfect. This is a super sweet, young adult sapphic summer romance book, and I totally recommend it. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

It was an easy enough read but the rivals to lovers trope isn’t really for me. I stuck with it just to find out why they were rivals in the first place. It wasn’t really worth the work to find out.

It could have been a cute second chance romance. But it wasn’t.

4.5!!!

this was such a sweet and swoony time. YA romance sometimes can feel a little cheesy and predictable but this one had me hanging on every chapter until I finished!

Everything about this, from the camp setting, the teenage angst, the incredibly hilarious side character, to the drama and character arcs, kept me so tuned in and gave me such a fun time.

Thank you to Random House Children’s and Netgalley for this arc!

I really enjoyed the plot of this book and the love story was very sweet. I gave it four stars instead of five because some parts fell short for me, but that might be on me. I found myself skimming through some of the first third or so of the books, because I wanted the characters to stop fighting, so I could finally see them be cute together. Once that happened, it was pretty short-lived before there was more drama. The parts where they got along were SO CUTE and I loved the story of the two main characters. I also really enjoyed the side characters.

I also loved getting to see Ivy recover from her first heartbreak. It was a very good representation of what it’s like to lose your first love - that constant struggle between wanting to let go, but being afraid to.

Overall, this was a very well written book and the sweet scenes with the main characters had me swooning. I just wish we got more of them!

I LOVE YOU S'MORE by Auriane Desombre is an absolutely adorable sapphic rivals-to-lovers YA romance and I had such a good time while reading it. Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Romance for the advanced copy!

I was a huge fan of Auriane Desombre's previous book. Her latest work was an entertaining spin on the YA celebrity/normie romance at summer camp. An extremely quick read due to the author's contemporary writing style. Greatly appreciative of Desombre's focus on the arts and creative teens. Highly enjoyed!

Thank you to Random House Children's | Delacorte Romance and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

This took me back to being a teenager. I loved the summer camp setting and the gluten allergy rep. It was cute but almost more of a contemporary fiction than pure romance. A lot of character growth going on! Overall a great sapphic YA summer read. Makes me want a s’more real bad.

This was a cute story. I liked how former best friends Rynn and Ivy went from unexpected rivals, at a musical theater camp meaningful to both of them, to sort of friends again and then something more, only to have Ivy’s very public breakup with a Hollywood teen star and her unresolved issues derail things. It will take a hard look at herself and a dramatic gesture to save her friendship and create a possibility for something more.

Ivy is determined to make this summer a good one. After being dumped by her TV star girlfriend, all she wants is to enjoy her time as camp counselor at her old theater camp. Unfortunately, the universe has other plans when a ghost from her past joins her as a counselor and shows no remorse for the heartbreak she caused as young teens.
Rynn is bossy and opinionated and assumes that because of her experience as a counselor, the director position of their musical should fall to her. But maybe there's more between them than they originally thought.

This book was cute! Definitely meant for younger readers, I am absolutely not the intended audience. But it is a nice, easy read! Helps navigate breakups and feelings, could definitely see early teen me eating this up!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House for the eARC. Projected publish date: April 8th, 2025

I liked this read and how we follow Ivy’s time in summer camp after a breakup with her celebrity ex. Then the fact Ivy was basically the talk of the whole camp amongst the campers 😂😂. Now I will say that seeing Ivy finally take control of her life was my favorite part along with the marshmallows at the fire pit.

I have pretty much no complaints about this book. The writing was great, the characters loveable, the sprinkles of found family wonderful, and I felt Ivy's inner turmoil to my soul. I really really enjoyed this