For being a coming of age story, I didn’t particularly find this was as wholesome and good-moral promoting as it should be. The synopsis is awesome and had the potential to be so great, and yet it really fell short in the execution. The female main character is trying to be less good and the male main character is coerced into being more good and it is a super rudimentary distinction between good and bad. The character are young and make young decisions and are motivated by what a teen perceives as “cool”; so really, this is not something I would want a teen to read since the perception is so far from healthy in a lot of cases. While I was entertained by aspects of the story and really liked certain side components (his family was delightful to me), the whole left a little to be desired. With that being said, I really needed to the book to be longer. Their are some serious lose ends that need to be tied up like with a certain friend and their boyfriend and the female leads whole family. A lot was left unresolved which was kinda sad since I think those would be really good growing points for the characters and make this a more recommendable novel. Overall, it is not my favorite read, but I definitely won’t write off future novels by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced electronic copy in exchanged for an honest review.

Dahlia Adler’s Come As You Are delivers a heartfelt and emotionally grounded story of reinvention, resilience, and reluctant friendship. Evie Riley is a protagonist you can’t help but root for as she stumbles through heartbreak, dorm drama, and the complexities of rebuilding her self-worth. The accidental placement in an all-boys dorm is a clever setup, and while the premise leans into classic rom-com territory, Adler handles Evie's internal journey with thoughtful nuance. Salem, the grumpy-but-soft emo roommate, makes for an unexpectedly tender match, and their dynamic is filled with just the right amount of banter, tension, and heart.

The story shines brightest when it focuses on Evie learning to define herself outside the pain others have caused her. Though the pacing drags a bit midway and Evie’s transformation occasionally feels uneven, the emotional payoff is well worth the ride. Adler doesn’t shy away from messiness—familial betrayal, toxic friendship fallout, and self-perception are all tackled head-on. Ultimately, Come As You Are is a smart, compassionate story about learning to want more, not just from love, but from yourself.

4.5/5 stars


Come As You Are is a Young Adult coming of age rom-com that takes place at a boarding school.

The narrator is Everett/Evie. She arrives at Camden Academy (high school) as a sophomore trying to get a fresh start after being betrayed by some people back home.

Because of her first name the school thinks that she is a boy and she is placed in the boys' dorm. This was such a fun premise.

Evie is a fun character. She is smart and snarky. She is really good at cards. She shows up at this boarding school hoping to make friends and get her life back in order.

I really enjoyed the boarding school setting. The book features both LGBT and Jewish rep.

One of my favorite things about this book are the friendships. I adored Evie and Sabrina. And I was intrigued by the popular girls befriending Evie. I really liked seeing Evie and popular girl Isabel interact. I also really enjoyed the boys in the dorm (Salem and roommate Matt).

The romance does not happen right away. However I really liked it. I enjoyed the witty banter between the couple. This was a coming of age story, but it was quite funny. It's a boarding school rom-com that shows what it's like for teens to struggle. But it's also happy and hopeful. It's a very enjoyable YA read.

This book was a solid 3.5 stars for me. It is an easy, somewhat cozy read that you can get through fairly fast. For a young adult romance, there aren't many things that are 'new' within the story, but I did really enjoy the cast of characters within the story. The whole novel starts with Everett, Evie, being placed in a boy's dorm because of her name, when she finally gets her own room, still in the boys dorm, she starts to make friends with some of the boys around her. Including a playboy who asks if she's okay with his special ladder being next to her window when he has visitors. She also meets his roommate, Salem, a more 'rockstar/emo' boy who she becomes fast friends with. Salem and her make a pact, she will help him impress his parents and he will help her get over her 'good girl' attitude. As expected, they start to fall for each other while trying to avoid their feelings. We also have Sabrina, Salem's twin sister. I really liked the dynamic between the twins and their way of showing how they cared. My biggest thing about the book that was 'weird' was I felt like the characters were older than sophomores in the high school. It read more like juniors or seniors in my opinion.

I must admit this wasn't my favorite by Dahlia Adler, I think maybe because I was expecting a college age love story and what I got was a boarding school for pre-college teens. This did have a fun opposites attract good girl x bad boy situationship where they tried to help bolster one another's reputations and end up falling for one another. Good on audio with some messy family drama, it's light-hearted and an easy, quick read but didn't have the depth or chemistry I wanted or have found in her other books. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

after experiencing heartbreak and betrayal, evie riley is ready for a new start, which she hopes the boarding school camden academy will provide. her new start doesn’t exactly go as planned when she’s accidentally placed in an all-boys dorm. she decides the only way to survive is to lean into her questionable reputation. she recruits her grumpy, emo dorm mate salem grayson for help becoming a troublemaker. in exchange, she’ll help him repair his relationship with his parents. soon enough, though, it seems like salem got the better end of the deal, and evie’s not so sure she can pull this off.

i love dahlia adler, so of course, i had to request this book as soon as it became available! i really enjoyed this book. i loved how evie was determined to reinvent herself and stuck to that plan. i also liked how she made friends with other students, especially how she went out of her way to make girl friends since she was in an all-boys dorm. i enjoyed her romance with salem, though it didn’t become prominent until later in the book. they’re the definition of “opposites attract.” finally, it was great how reinventing herself at camden gave evie the courage to stand up to the people, family members especially, who hurt her in the past and led to her going to boarding school in the first place. overall, this was a great book. i can’t wait for more from dahlia adler!

Come As You Are is a cute, fun, quick little YA romance! Evie Riley has decided to restart her life at a boarding school after she found out that her boyfriend was cheating on her with her sister, and her best friend knew about it. Unfortunately for Evie, when she arrives at the school, she's been placed in the boy's dorms (because her full name is actually Everett and no one bothered to check her forms). This kind of bungles her plan to make friends with girls, find a sense of camaraderie, and be so done with dudes. But one of her dormmates is also looking to revamp his image, and the two strike up a deal to help each other out.

I really enjoyed this book, though honestly, I immediately found a lot of the characters (or maybe the scenario or stereotypes of characters?) annoying. But in a early-2000s teen romcom kind of way! Some of it was over the top, and then some of it was not enough. But again, I enjoyed my time reading it!

In conclusion, I liked it! It'd be a good one for people who wish they'd make more fun, romcoms these days.

Thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the e-ARC!

This was a perfectly sweet YA especially if you're looking for some easy reading. I really liked the growth Evie showed throughout the story. I thought it was age appropriate and not too heavy. Salem, Sabrina, and Matt were amazing side characters and they definitely made the story for me.

It got a little slow for me while they were discussing what to do for the talent show but I couldn't sleep one night and grabbed it and was hooked around 60% and just needed to know what was going to happen next. I will say I definitely swooned during the talent show and Salem was a great mix of bad boy and sweet boy next door.

Thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the chance to read this book early in exchange of an honest review. I'm giving this one 3.25/5 stars

I. Am. Obsessed!

I love Dahlia Adler’s writing style and Come As You Are was addictive! I just couldn’t put it down once I started reading. Even though the story is focused on teenagers at boarding school, it dealt with major issues like depression and feeling lonely while finding your place in the world.

Evie’s character was so raw and vulnerable! I empathized with her so much on feeling lonely after realizing people in her life weren’t necessarily putting her first like she was doing for them.

This is the first book in quite a while that I’ve been wholly captivated mentally and emotionally.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for sending me an early copy!

Come as you are was a cute simple YA romance. I like the idea or the setting being a boarding school and our FMC ending up as the lone female in an all male dorm due to a mix up because of her first name. And of course everywhere else is completely full with no chance of moving her to a female dorm.

But Evie (Everett) is here for a fresh start and nothing is going to ruin that for her. So she takes her new living situation in stride. Befriending the resident playboy Matt and his roommate Salem. Despite Matt being a side character he was probably my favorite in the book. And I loved how easily he just accepted and vibed with Evie instead of being a jerk like the majority of the boys in the dorm. Evie herself was refreshing. Being unapologetically herself. If not a little blunt. As well the banter between Evie and Salem was on point.

This was a quick sweet read and perfect as a palette cleanser between some heavier thriller and HF books.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in return for an honest review.

This was a cute story with cute characters. Everyone was very likeable and I enjoyed the pacing, the connections and the conversation.

I’ve read a few of Adler’s books, and as far as YA romance goes, they are a highlight of the genre for me. One of my favorite aspects of her books has also been the fantastic LGBTQ and Jewish representation present in each one that I’ve read. I was excited to read this one during Jewish American Heritage month and feature it on my blog.

Growing up, I went to summer camp with a girl named Ryan. I’ve known a few male Leslies, and one of my close friends chose to name her daughter Ryan. So I know better than to assume a person’s gender simply by looking at their name. However, the staff at Camden Academy didn’t get the memo. Everett Owen Riley is summarily placed into a boy’s dormitory when she arrives at the swanky boarding school, despite listing her gender as female and her preference for one of three female dorms. Unfortunately, all of the dorms are filled and she has no choice but to stay in the males dorm.

After a devastating breakup and the subsequent implosion of her life, Evie can’t bear to return to her school. Instead, she found a boarding school that offered enough financial aid for it to be a manageable expense for her parents. Once there, she has the opportunity to reinvent herself, but being placed in a boys dorm throws her for a loop. It isn’t long before pretty much the whole school knows her as the girl living in a boys dorm, and she’s already the subject of rumors and curious stares, so she figures the best thing to do is to lean into the situation. The only problem is, as a lifelong good girl, she doesn’t know how to be bad. Naturally, she finds Salem, a bad boy in need of someone to help him clean up his act, and agrees to teach him how to be good if he teaches her how to be bad.

Salem turns out to be one half of an emo-goth pair of twins, along with his sister, Sabrina. Along the way, Evie learns how to harness her bad-girl side, while also still trying to be somewhat good. One of the things that I really liked seeing was the way that she had her own well-developed moral code, and how she never lost sight of her morals. Evie shows so much growth over the course of the book, and the friends to lovers trope is written wonderfully here.

I was surprised and yes, maybe a little disappointed, that Evie wasn’t queer or Jewish, since I’ve never read a Dahlia Adler book where queer Jews are front and center. However, she managed to work in a character who is both queer and Jewish, and she gets a lot of page time (and her own romance). I really enjoyed seeing how Salem and Evie got to know each other first as partners in a deal, but that it gradually shifted into friendship as they actually started to warm up to each other.

Overall, this is a really sweet romance that I enjoyed reading, and found myself eager to get back to it when I had to put it down. Despite the lighthearted feel of the story, there are some deeper themes of trust and betrayal, self-discovery and self-acceptance, learning to face adversity, and balancing her responsibilities with a newfound sense of freedom. It’s easy to like Evie, although I suspect she wasn’t viewing herself through the lens of the reader, or Salem for that matter. But in the end, this turned out to be very much what I expect out of Adler’s books, and I couldn’t be happier.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy.

Whew, I have not had a good laugh at the banter in a book in a hot ass minute. This was so funny and ridiculous but it worked. Evie and Salem had so much tension from moment they stepped into a room together and by the end I was satisfied.

If you’re looking for a romance that’s slow burn with a little grumpy x sunshine give this a read. You won’t be disappointed.

Unfortunately, this book didn't quite work for me. The premisse sounded so fun, but something about it didn't click. My main issue was that I didn't really like any of the characters, including the main character, which made it hard to root for them. I also felt like some storylines were underdeveloped, especially the storyline with Evie's sister, where I would have liked to see a little more nuance.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review. This was a cute YA romance that reminded me of those comfort feel-good rom-com movies that you put on to relax and enjoy. This book is set at a boarding school where Evie (Everett) gets accidentally placed into an all-boys dorm where she meets the bad boy of campus, Salem. Evie has to navigate through school, relationships, the rumor-mill, and a budding romance.

My thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books/St. Martins Publishing for the ARC of "Come As You Are" in exchange for an honest review.

Confession time - I barely suppressed a resigned sigh and eye roll before heading into this one. Another boarding school romance, filled with gossip, hook-ups, break-ups, quirky girls, grumpy guys, villainous mean queens, dumb jocks, heart-of-gold besties, inner turmoil, wardrobe fails, bad hair days, bad parents days, nuclear sibling rivalries..... and kisses that sail right off the Richter scale.

True, all that stuff is duly in place here. But author Dahlia Adler deploys such a wicked sense of humor and telling insights, that by the time I reached the last pages, I was sorry to see it end.

I would've loved spending more time with the perfectly mis-matched Everett 'Evie' Riley and Salem Grayson. Evie arrives at school already a nursing a bruised heart (a loser boyfriend stolen from her by her ultra popular older sister). Adding insult to injury: she's mistakenly assigned to the boys' dorm (only partially corrected by giving her a private room there). But she's never at a loss for memorable comeback repartee aimed at boys who dare to ridicule her as the girl stuck in a sea of testosterone and a variety of foul male odors.

Speaking of boys, in her effort to pursue the elusive goal of being cool, she engages in a pact with Salem, a darkly coiffed, darkly tempered emo guy. He needs to fulfill his parents' expectations of his becoming what's thought of a normal good student.. Their deal: he schools Evie on cool (and maybe even 'bad' a few times) and Evie transforms him into a traditional, socially acceptable boy (even trying out for team sports).

Evie and Salem's agreement, to the surprise of absolutely no readers of this book, goes spinning off in all manner of different directions.....laugh out loud funny and dead on in the depiction of characters finding out who they are and what they want. And I lost count of how many times I wanted to rush out and find friends to quote the hilarious, astute dialogue exchanges here.

If all the boarding/high school opposites-come-together romances were as sharply written and amusing as this one, I'm afraid I'd end up reading three of them per week. Don't pass up this one.

4⭐️

This was a fun, quick read. Don't go into this expecting something super deep, but sometimes it's nice to just have fun.

I loved the way Evie just settled into the all boys dorm even though it ruined the vision she had for starting over at her new school. I feel like her anger at her sister was understandable and I really like that they hadn't necessarily made amends at the end of the book. There were times that Evie's personality really grated against my nerves and the fact that she was trying to help Salem by 'normalizing' him to make his family happy felt gross. I did love her friendship with the twins and Matt, though, and how loyal she was to all of them. I can understand being ashamed and wanting to keep her time with

I really liked Salem in this. He was unapologetically himself and I loved that the reason he and his twin were at this private school was because he acted out to get the attention off of his sister after a bad breakup. He may have came across as a 'bad boy,' but he was just an all around good guy who didn't put himself out there much. His friendship with his roommate Matt didn't seem like it should work but they had great chemistry.

I also love how Matt was portrayed like a total himbo fuckboi but he was an ethical one. The ladder hanging out the window for people to sneak in and out was hilarious but I loved how he was clear that there would be no cheating since he didn't do relationships. He was just a fan addition to the story.

Thanks Netgalley and Wednesday Books for providing this ARC to me!

This book was incredibly cute. The banter between the two main characters was top notch. It’s very cliche to say but I couldn’t put this down. I loved to see the character growth and all the relationships within the story. It’s been a long time since I read a YA book as good as this!

This was my first book by Dahlia Adler despite having followed her on social media for years. I loved the voice here and I imagine it’s similar in her other books. As a high school teacher, I did feel Evie’s actions were too mature for a sophomore so that took me out of the story at times. I also can’t push back my disbelief that they would have let her stay in a boys’ dorm. As a girl with a traditionally boy name as well, let me just say no way.

She does it again!
Dahlia Adler’s writing bounces off the page with spirit and heart.
Come As You Are will make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, but it goes so much deeper than that.
And nobody does it better than Dahila Adler!
One of my favorite YA stories and I can't wait to see this book out there