I DNF'd this book at around 60% through.

While the first quarter of the book felt okay--the influencer life very interesting--the second quarter felt very...lack luster. Lola simply complained about everything. She was her own worst enemy and only escaped when Aly came into the picture. There was no real chemistry or passion between the two. For this book to be described as "spicy" seemed like a stretch because most of the spice was rushed through. Lola seemed selfish, narcissistic, and materialistic. The parts I read showed no real growth or want for growth--besides a quick thrifting expedition. Lola simply laid low. She consistently blew off her best friend and talked/thought about name brands constantly. This felt more like a long magazine article than a book.

For those reasons, I will not be sharing my review on my social media as I don't share 2 star reviews or below. And I do not leave reviews for books I have DNF'd on other review sites.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloom Books for a copy of this book to review!

I had high hopes for Hotter in the Hamptons but unfortunately it missed the mark for me. I thought the premise overall was relatable to today's cancel culture and influencer drenched world, but I felt the characters were one-dimensional and stereotypically cast in their roles like the out of touch content creator, the gay best friend, or the cynical jaded reporter. The plot ended up being just okay and a little washed out for me. I felt there were glimmers of hope in the story but the redemption arc for the female lead just wasn't fully there for me.

I can appreciate young people exploring their sexuality and trying to figure out who they are, but the ability to "pull straight girls then discard them" wasn't believable for Aly's character. I couldn't see that about her. There was also too much trendy references that I'm afraid may not age well and/or be understood for people of a certain generation - from referencing "white lotus season 2 vibes" to "carrie bradshaw's fantasy closet". Also, I get that the brand drops were important to Lola's character, but it got a bit over the top for me.

Unfortunately, this was only a 2 out of 5 star read for me. Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

"Hotter in the Hamptons" sets itself up to be a fun beach-read, centering on a sapphic romance during a summer in the Hamptons. What we get is very surface level and middling.

Our main character Lola Likes, a fashion influencer, starts the book with the dumbest controversy (both what happened and the magnitude of the fallout). She gets her first public critique, flees to the Hamptons, develops a situationship and goes out to eat. Does she spend time reflecting on why the critique hit so hard, somewhat but she cries constantly and seeks out the journalist who wrote it to badger her about how it affected her life instead. Lola does change but I wish the growth had been spread out through the narrative. She makes no decisions until the last 2 chapters and it's only when other people decide it's time for he to make a choice. Lola comes off as immature and waaay younger than 30.

Does this book have romance? No, it is mostly fiction with a lot of sex scenes. There is no chemistry between them, they are just very attracted to each other and like spending time with each other. Their relationship only happens and continues as long as they live nex tdoor. They don't reveal themselves as the summer develops, we never learn why the way the are, they just remain as shallow as their introductions. Lola is not a personal fav but Aly is so weird and mean and much more off putting. The reason she writes the article is so petty and the fact that when she tells Lola why and then they start seeing each other is wild.

I could write more but I what I want to convey is that this was an unpleasant time with unpleasant people set in a place of quiet luxury and not much else. Don't read this expecting a sapphic love story, or character development, maybe just something to pass the time.

Somehow it was exactly what I expected? Nothing life changing but a quick, messy read! Like a grown up version of the Clique books.

Thank you so much to Bloom Books, Tinx and NetGalley for sending me an early copy.

This was an incredibly eye opening and somewhat sweet romance. I loved a lot of aspects of this. It is very indicative of todays society and internet culture./ Being canceled, being an influencer, losing why you do what you do in the first place and letting the money compensate. It was good, not a favourite though. It felt to close to home and very real life. Sometimes i wanna get away from real life.

Hotter in the Hamptons had drama, influencer chaos, and a main character who was hard to root for but kept things interesting!!
Some of the character dynamics felt off, and the writing leaned cheesy, but it was still hard to put down. Not deep, but entertaining.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

This was a nice change from the usual romance I read. I liked the enemies to lovers trope! My favorite was our main character at the end when she realized that she is worth more that what her previous PR team thought. The ending also made me a little sad because I wanted that perfect happy ending.

The romance itself is steamy and complicated, with Aly providing a sharp contrast to Lola’s chaos. This enemies-to-lovers story never quite lands with the emotional payoff I wanted. The supporting cast like Lola’s ex, her gay best friend, the Hamptons party crowd mostly fade into the background, and the glitzy setting feels underused, more backdrop than character in its own right.

I wanted to like this book, but ultimately, Hotter in the Hamptons was more surface than substance for me. If you’re in the mood for a fast-paced, character-driven, drama-filled summer read with a modern edge, you might find something to enjoy here. For me, though, Lola’s redemption came too late, and I never quite warmed up to her or her story.

Overall, this was a decent little beach read. It wasn't too long and the plot (mostly spice and bi-curious exploration) somehow kept me turning the pages.
However, I found the book and characters as a whole to be overly stereotyped and surface-level (which I think was also kind of the point).
There were a couple things I didn't really love (we're getting into spoiler territory now, so beware!) - the urgency to make Lola declare herself as bisexual from Aly and her friends was a bit much, but so was Lola's insistence that she was straight (after spending how much of the book talking about her fantasies about women and the whole fling with Aly?!). The characters were also overly stereotyped versions of themselves and could have been done so much better.

A fashion influencer is canceled for saying an outfit is “lesbian chic.” A journalist writes a scathing article about her, resulting in her losing her following. She tries to escape reality to the Hamptons with her best friend, just to find out that her next-door neighbor is the journalist that she blames for ruining her life. I really wanted to like this book more than I did. The plot was an interesting concept, but it just fell flat. It seemed like there were more pop culture references and sex scenes than real substance to the story and character development. The end was lacking, and I was overall underwhelmed with this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC.

Thought this was just a splashy beach read? Think again given the drama the book and author are currently embroiled in; this book is about a queer coming of age story, but is being published under a straight woman’s name (Tinx) yet written by a gay ghost writer (Gabrielle Korn). If it wasn’t for that under lying issue, this would probably go by largely unknown because the book is fine, but not great given the lack of fully flushed out supporting characters and love interests.

Lola, a fashion influencer living in NYC, gets cancelled a few months prior to her 30’s and unwillingly finds herself at a crossroad after her boyfriend drops a marriage and bicoastal move ultimatum on her. In order to cope she finds escape by spending her summer with her friend in the Hamptons. It’s here she befriends a woman she cannot deny an attraction to and much to her confusion begins to pursue romantically. The book does a great job of glamming up the life of influencers and the rich, dropping 2-4 brand names every page to anchor the story in our 2025 reality. That will probably age poorly, but makes for an easy read. I finished this in 3 days for reference. But where the book falters is the queer identity of Lola because her internalized homophobia is so prevalent it’s offensive to any actual queer readers. Lola defends her straightness and slyly villainizes other queer characters (issues with ex-girlfriends, gay best friend drama, and general commentary on LGBT+) throughout the book despite being with a woman romantically and sexually. It’s degrading to have confusion on sexual orientation be interpreted negatively and without any true resolution- and to also never address that Lola’s motives in her negative thoughts were internalized homophobia. Instead the blame gets placed on the LGBT+ community for wanting her to claim a label, and honestly that’s not really a thing especially in NYC, where the spectrum is so fluid it flows better than water in the pipes.

But let’s set aside the issues with the actual writing and construction of this plot. After all, the elephant in this room remains to be that it’s pandering LGBT+ stereotypes to a broad audience of largely cis-women who make up Tinx’s following. This might be their first encounter with LGBT+ relationships or sexual awakening stories, and it’s ultimately opening the door to a novel they might not have picked up if it was penned under Gabrielle Korn (who has written other lesbian books to middling success and reception). If it get’s people who haven’t read LGBT+ literature into the category then that’s great! But it doesn’t outweigh the harm of the homophobia, poorly executed narrative on labels (which can be really empowering to some people to feel apart of a community), and leveraging an author’s audience over representation in writing.

PUBLISHERS- people will buy GREAT queer stories, written by actual queer authors. Stop providing these whitewashed fictional narratives of the gay best friend, ice hearted lesbians, and denying the socio-political reality of being queer. Being queer in itself is an act of love, and this book missed the entire point of that by the whole of Long Island.

This really was not a story I enjoyed. The writing felt a little juvenile and disjointed to me, which took me out of the story. I am often one who likes an annoying MC; but this one took the cake - she wasn’t someone I felt like I could root for or get behind. The synopsis of the book sounded like something I would like but unfortunately it just did not hit for me.

Hotter in the Hamptons by Tinx follows disgraced influencer Lola Fine as she retreats to the Hamptons, only to fall into a tense, surprising relationship with the journalist who ruined her career. A sharp, stylish story about fame, identity, and second chances.

This was a light and entertaining read that definitely pulled me in. I found Lola, the main character, pretty irritating at times, especially with how long it took her to grow. I was frustrated by Lola’s constant insistence that she was straight, even as her actions suggested otherwise, and I was disappointed that the story did not end in a full romance. Still, it was a fast and absorbing read.

Hotter in the Hamptons is quite a ride! A queer love/lust story (and a spicy one at that!) set against the glamorous backdrop of the Hamptons, it feels like Magnolia Parks meets Gossip Girl, with brand name drops, lavish parties, and plenty of drama. This is not a serious book by any means (with the writing quality to match), but it’s a fun, glitzy, fast-paced read nonetheless, perfect for the summer.

The main character, an influencer named Lola, is complicated — and not always easy to root for. After being “canceled,” she resists the opportunity for real growth pretty much right up until the very end, which was frustrating. Still, I found myself flying through the pages.

I can’t fully speak to some of the critiques others have raised, especially from LGBTQ+ readers, regarding the stereotypical portrayal of queer characters and Lola’s hesitance to truly explore/come to terms with her bisexuality — especially coming from a straight author — although I definitely agree there were moments that felt problematic. Tinx did say she worked with a queer collaborator/ghost writer on this book (who is thanked first in her acknowledgements), but still, there are a lot of questions still surrounding this issue, so I would keep that in mind going in to this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This book has the perfect back drop for a summer beach read and now I'm dying to go to the Hampton's, but the story fell a little flat for me. I didn't find the main character likeable and I wasn't really rooting for her. The spice also seemed a bit cringy for my personal preference. I love Tinx and will continue to read anything she puts out, but this was a kind of like, not a love for me.
2.5/5 rounding up to 3

Yikes.

I decided to DNF this early on. I tried to keep going but it felt incredibly vapid and ugly and then because it was oddly homophobic, made worse by the author/MC feeling like it was progressive? It wasn't; it was offensive. The writing was full of stereotypes and the characters had no development - they felt immature and unbelievable. The FMC is narrcissitic and yet can't seem to understand why no one likes her? There is so much slang and fashion thrown around that I also don't think this one will age well.

Listen, this is a straight white woman writing a sapphic romance(ish) that happens in the Hamptons, which is problematic on so many levels, but especially because the FMC keeps insisting that she is NOT bisexual, that she is straight despite being in a romance with another woman?

Although the first chapter pulled me in - it is an easy read - this is a skip for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early look.

Very quick-paced and fun read. The story explores the fenomen of social "influencers", media sweethearts that are today's muse - yesterday's old news. It's very actual and up-to-date topic, so I enjoyed this interesting highlights.

I adore books that have the setting in Hamptons, it's so inspiring and summery every time! So absolutely must as a summer reading.

I did not like this book, everhthing felt so forced and homophonic, not to mention that the fmc was basically narcissistic and irritating. I just couldnt connect to this book, it felt like a big insult being disguised as a cover with pages.

1 star

I had to DNF this pretty early because it just felt...very homophobic while thinking it was progressive. Full of stereotypes and just felt overall immature. Learning this was ghost written was also annoying, I get having a ghost writer for a memoir but why give an influencer a book deal if they can't write it?

Also, I read a review that this doesn't have a happy ending?? I refuse to put myself through this whole book without getting a happy ending, that's a CORE NECESSITY for a romance.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC.

This book was a major miss. She literally wrote an elementary version of herself. All of the characters were dull and seemed stereotypical. I didn't know about this person on socials prior to reading this but I can now see why she was cancelled. She is a problem and this transferred directly to the pages of this book.