This book was perfection. I genuinely enjoyed the banter, and Evie and Salem were a cute couple. I appreciated the set-up and the challenges Evie was faced with. The relationships between her and her family were just as developed as her relationship with Salem, which made for a well-rounded story.

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

This was a cute YA coming of age novel. I enjoyed it but the relationship just evolved way too quickly for me. It was sweet but just missing some chemistry for me. I loved the setting, the storyline it was original.

This was a very cute fake dating romance! I really enjoyed the story, and the relationships felt believable and not forced, like in most tropey-reads. Evie was witty and funny, and I loved the name-mix-up-boarding-school setting. Overall, this was a fun and quick read that had me goofy smiling by the end. I will definitely be on the lookout for more from Adler!

Such a fun book I loved the premise of the story and how entertaining the whole story was.

The whole plot of her being placed in the boys dorms because her name is Everett is actually hilarious to me.

A good time
Highly recommend!

Rating-⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice- No Spice
Tropes- He Falls First, Grumpy Sunshine, Bad Boy/Good Girl


After catching her sister has been sleeping with her boyfriend and that her best friend knew about the affair, Everett "Evie" Riley begs her parents to send her to Camden Academy boarding school for a fresh start. To her dismay she finds she has been placed in the boys-only dorms based on the assumption of her gender from her name. Determined to make the best of things she talks her dorm mate, Salem into a deal. She'll help turn him into an upstanding student and member of society if he helps her take on the persona of a "bad girl".

Come As You Are is a charming coming of age story where we watch Evie journey through the discovery that she is enough being exactly who she is. While there is a bit of info dumping at the beginning while Dahlia Adler attempts to set the scene and introduce the characters, it is quickly moved through and easy to pick up. I do wish the characters had been aged up slightly. The story and lessons seemed more like they would be better suited toward college age rather than teens in a high school boarding school. I frequently had to remind myself the characters were significantly younger than I was imagining them.
If you're looking for an easy going comfy read then I would say this book is one to pick up and enjoy.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley and Dahlia Adler for providing me with this copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book had such nostalgia vibes and was a delightful YA read! Very easy read with likeable characters and a plot that kept my attention.

After Everett “Evie” Riley catches her sister sleeping with her boyfriend and learning her best friend knew about their betrayal, she begs her parents to send her to Camden Academy as a boarder so she can reinvent herself. To her horror she learns that the school assumed she was a boy and places her in the boys-only dorms. Determined to be different she talks classmate Salem into a deal: she'll help him be a solid student for his parents who are angry he was kicked out of his last school, while he helps her be more of a bad girl.

A charming coming-of-age gem, I loved Evie's journey to discovers she's enough she is and come to realisations about her heart. She's funny, messy and relatable. Who hasn't felt that they weren't cool enough? I found myself rooting for her to come to realisations about herself and her heart. I also loved the other characters, especially Salem's roommate Matt, who was presented as not just a one-dimensional manwhore, but a funny and sweet friend. I loved the banter between Evie and Salem as well as between Evie and Matt.

I devoured this book in one sitting, it was heartfelt, delightful and I was bereft when it finished. I'd love to read more from these characters.

Thanks to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

This was such a fun time! I adored the main character, she was incredibly relatable and just had such an infectious energy! I loved everything about this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Evie Riley needs a fresh start after catching her boyfriend hooking up with her sister, and finding out that her best friend knew and didn't tell her. What she didn't expect was to end up "starting over" in an all-boys dorm at her new boarding school because her full first name is Everett, and someone wasn't doing their job right. She decides to push back and make the most of her chance to start over, including a pact with a guy she meets: she teaches him to be good, he teaches her how to be "bad." Definitely no flaws in this plan.

I really enjoyed Evie and her story and all of her friends. Yes they're teens in high school, but the story felt realistic and not at all "childish." I love the little hints towards her other books that the author leaves too - a fun little reward for having read her previous works.

This is out on May 27th!

CW: infidelity, drug use

This was such a sweet and cute read that I couldn’t set down! I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did when I initially went into this one.

This was a cute, easy to read YA romance about a girl named Everett (Evie) who goes to boarding school to escape her ex boyfriend, her ex BFF, and her sister. However, because of her name, there's a mix up and she ends up in the boys' dorm. There isn't a single available room anywhere else in the school, so unfortunately, it's not exactly the fresh start she had planned. But then she meets her grumpy dorm mate, Salem. He needs help being a good guy, and she needs to add a little edge to her personality, so they join forces. Predictably, the two become friends and a crush develops.

I liked the boarding school setting and the main character, Evie, was pretty genuine and relatable. Like the title of the book, Come As You Are, the theme of the story was very much about being yourself, loving yourself, trusting your gut and your instincts and not changing for anyone. I thought it had a pretty good message and overall, it was an entertaining read that was pretty sweet.

A) this cover is completely unrelated to any part of the book, though it is very nice.
B) I am not emotionally ready for this many references to 90s music as oldies
C) Other than that, the book was really good. The characters were very well done, even the trope characters were distinct and well developed. The plotting was well done, and the way the disparate lines wrapped back into themselves was excellent.

This was so sweet and laugh-out-loud funny! I loved the characters and the setting so much. It was fun to watch Evie try to find her footing in a new place and to see her build a chosen family when hers has let her down in big ways. Good queer rep and good character development!

A cute, quick read. And while I actually enjoyed it a lot, I do take issue with the whole “I can’t be with you so I’m going to hook up with this other hottie I don’t even like.” Are people really that needy? Does pining no longer exist? Or do I not understand because I’m not a teenage boy? Could be any one of those, honestly. Thanks to Wednesday Books for the ARC.

This is an absolutely fantastic coming-of-age story with a slow-burn YA romance and the best witty banter I've seen in a long time! Readers follow Evie as she starts her sophomore year of high school at a new school and finds her footing and her voice.

Back home, she was the perfect daughter, perfect sister, perfect girlfriend; and it was never good enough. Those around her treated her poorly. So when her fresh start begins with placement in an all-boys dorm and both administration and her dorm mates treat her like it's somehow her fault, she starts to think about how someone else would handle this. She hatches a plan to learn to become a badass who does not get walked all over by others.

She quickly meets and befriends her "grumpy emo dorm mate Salem" and they enter into a pact - Evie will help him improve his image with his parents, and Salem will help her learn "how to be cool." What ensues is so much witty banter and humor. It's a joy to watch Evie slowly find herself and build confidence and realize that she is seen, for exactly who she is, and that it is enough.

This is my new favorite Dahlia Adler book and one of my all-time favorite YA Contemporary reads. Highly, highly recommended!

I've never read a bad Dahlia Adler book, and this one continues the trend. An instant classic that everyone should pick up!

the characters were kind of cringy as teenagers are, but it was okay. some characters didn't feel that realistic

3.5/5

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's press for the eArc!

This was my first Dahlia Adler book, and I don't think it will be my last. This was a cute read and overall I ended up enjoying it very much.

I really enjoyed the dynamic between Evie and the other characters in the book, and the way she is essentially creating her own little found family at this boarding school to make up for the loss of the people she thought were most important to her. I thought each character had dynamic personalities that set them apart well, and the banter was fun between them all. I also thought that Evie's journey of self-discovery was well-written in the aspect of how messy it was. It was realistic, and there were still things left unsaid but that is part of life. Evie figuring out that her just being herself has always been enough was a beautiful concept.

I have a few small things that made me give this 3.5 stars overall. I felt that the beginning of the book was very rushed and jumped right into the story without a background on what, exactly, was happening. It also felt a bit unrealistic at the beginning with how the faculty treated the situation, and also how some of the characters acted. I didn't really enjoy the way Evie handled the Lucas/Heather situation, I think it would have really helped Evie's character arc to have told Heather the truth, especially considering how she handled not knowing the truth from her own best friend at the beginning of the story. I think I also wanted a bit more from the actual moment that Evie and Salem got together. Her speech, and his response, felt a bit anticlimactic after spending most of the book ITCHING for the moment that they got together.

Overall though, this was a great book. It took me through Evie's journey of emotions beautifully and wove a really compelling story about self-discovery and love.

Dahlia Adler’s Come As You Are is an irresistibly charming and insightful coming-of-age novel that is as much about self-discovery as it is about learning to accept and love the messy, complicated parts of life. From the moment we meet Everett "Evie" Riley, we're pulled into her whirlwind of new beginnings and heartbreak, and Adler’s skillful writing makes it impossible not to root for her every step of the way.

Evie arrives at Camden Academy with the goal of starting over—leaving behind a toxic ex, a betrayal by her sister, and the wreckage of a broken friendship. But when she's mistakenly placed in an all-boys dorm, it’s clear her new beginning will be anything but typical. In fact, it quickly turns into something much more interesting, as she forms an unlikely bond with Salem Grayson, a brooding and complex dorm mate who challenges her in ways she didn’t expect.

What truly sets Come As You Are apart is its exploration of identity and healing. Evie’s journey isn’t about fitting into a preconceived mold of what’s "cool" or "good," but about embracing who she is, flaws and all. The tension between Evie’s desire to reinvent herself and the pull of her past makes for a story that is both heart-wrenching and empowering. The real magic comes in her realization that she doesn’t have to change for anyone—especially not for someone who doesn't appreciate her fully.

Adler’s characters are rich and multifaceted. Salem, in particular, is the perfect foil to Evie—gruff on the outside but full of vulnerability underneath. The dynamic between the two of them evolves naturally, and their evolving relationship is as much about friendship as it is about romantic chemistry. The way Adler writes about their emotional growth, from awkward beginnings to a deeper connection, feels genuine and rewarding.

Come As You Are is a thoughtful exploration of the complexities of relationships, self-worth, and the idea that happiness doesn’t come from being someone else—it comes from being unapologetically yourself. Dahlia Adler has crafted a book that is both funny and deeply meaningful, leaving readers with a lasting sense of hope and empowerment. Whether you're a fan of romance, coming-of-age tales, or just excellent character-driven stories, this one is a must-read.

it's unusual for one book to make me both laugh out loud and to ugly cry, but this one definitely did. When Evie starts at Camden Academy (fancy enough to have both a fireplace and a clawfoot bathtub), she's fleeing from a mess of her personal life, only to find herself living in a boys dorm.

Too often the side characters in YA novels are stock figures, and I really appreciated how specific these ones were. I really enjoyed Evie's dorm mate Matt, who would normally be dismissed as a dumb jock. Instead, his sexual experience is matched with a genuine kindness and interest in others, as well as a fierce advocacy that all sex be protected and consensual. At some points in the book, I wanted to follow him out of the room, sure he would surprise me. Similarly with Queen Bee Isabel - she is clearly a character who contains multitudes, both on and off the page. This is a novel full of people who felt incredibly unique and real and when the book ended, I was sad not to get to spend time with them.

One thing I will say is that book ended without a lot of closure, specifically in the plotlines of female friendships. There are amends that aren't made between friends or sisters. While this is true to life, I wish we had gotten to see them find their equilibrium in the relationships and the book had lived a little more with Evie while she changed her perspective on how to relate to the women in her life.

While this book is a YA novel, I would recommend it to older teenagers, due to a lot of emotionally sophisticated content. Anyone who loves Lynn Painter's teen novels or Sarah Dessen will really enjoy.