First off, I’d like to say thank you to Netgalley and Bloom Books for providing me with an ARC for my full and honest opinion! Now, for honesty…

Lola Fine is perhaps the worst protagonist I’ve read in a while. She’s vapid, conceited, and barely capable of maintaining the one (1) friendship that she’s managed to keep throughout her twenties.

A social media influencer who is canceled after saying something problematic goes to vacation in the Hamptons with said singular friend and proceeds to have her first lesbian encounter/relationship. Yet for the entire novel she refuses to acknowledge that fact. As a bisexual woman who didn’t look too closely as identifying my sexuality until my late twenties, I found this entire conflict of Lola’s boring and irritating. I also found Aly’s pressure of Lola to label herself problematic. This may be personal experience talking, but I haven’t met very many queer people with this agenda. Oh, and let’s not forget that Lola spends the entire summer ignoring her best friend to hyper focus on Aly, constantly forgetting plans and even forgetting the name of the man he’s dating, though he’s mentioned it several times.

I wanted to like this novel, I wanted to like Lola. I kept rooting for her to change, but by the end (spoiler alert) she still only cared about her followers and what they thought of her. It was still the Lola Show by the end with her, as always, making everything about her.

The ending fell extremely flat for me. What was decorated as a romance novel ended up…not being that. Or at least not what the current romance genre is producing. Also, the author namedropping herself in the last chapter gave me the ick.

I would recommend this novel to readers who are not interested in HEA, and are interested in character-driven stories where the FMC is in love with herself and herself only.

This book is fast paced but not entirely for me, it has a warm summer vibe, the characters are likeable but not enough that I actually cared for the book. If you like LGBTQ reads you might enjoy this one.

okay so the book is pretty quick, it’s a fast paced read. i didn’t want to put it down truthfully.

however, i did feel kinda bad for Aly. i feel like she was used as a crutch and the emotional unavailable lesbian for a bi-curious woman.

i absolutely did however enjoy our fmc’s growth. it
was nice to see her become her own.

thank you to Netgalley for this opportunity!

Hotter in the Hamptons just wasn’t for me. I couldn’t stand nearly any of the characters and found myself wanting the book to be over. That being said, I do know some people that would absolutely love and devour this book and I would suggest this to them. For me, it just wasn’t the big win I was expecting it to be.

This wasn’t the worst but it also wasn’t the best.

I was actually very intrigued by the whole influencer situation Lola found herself in because I’ve seen how easily you can either make or break your career. However, she got so annoying and whiney in constantly needing that validation from her followers. I know it’s hard sometimes to not seek it but Lola needed therapy.

I was happy to see that little bit of growth at the end but I felt the situation lacked a depth to it. It all felt surface level and it just kind of happened. The entire time I thought she needed to be on her own and I’m glad she finally figured that out.

Here is my concern with this book however. I did not know who Tinx was and I realized she is in fact an influencer. This book is heavy on LGBTQIA+ stereotypes and I’m hoping it’s coming from a place of experience and not just trying to use it for a storyline. I’ve heard it’s even getting picked up to be a series as well so I truly hope this is not a money grab.

I did have moments I enjoyed the storyline but mostly, I just couldn’t get past the whole Aly writing such a mean article about Lola and Lola starts dating her? I love me an enemies to lovers trope but this just felt weird. The spice was a bit spicy though so I give it a 3 🌶️ out of 5.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloom Books for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Let me just start by saying the vibes in this book were immaculate!! This book makes me crave summer and the classic Hamptons lifestyle. I thought the writing was quite good for a debut novel. All the characters were extremely loveable. The end of the book took a turn that I wasn’t expecting and didn’t love but still thought it was well done. Overall I’m giving this book 3.25 stars for the vibes/plot/characters.

For one thing, I like how the novel approach the sex relationships. If you’re into LGBTQIA plus books, you will love this one. The book is fast paced in that perfect type of summer fling meets scandal way many of us love reading. That said, I really did struggle with the likability of the characters. Lola was hard to like, and the overall escape to the Hamptons felt more self-indulgent than romantic at times. I think that this would make a really good push for lit thick over romance, but many romance readers will still enjoy this.

I appreciated how this novel approaches same sex relationships without labels. I think it’s being marketed more as a romance when it’s not. But I recommend for anyone looking for fiction with pop culture and spice.

Hotter in the Hamptons is a fast-paced, easy-to-read, summer fling. The book follows Lola, a New York City fashion it-girl whose life spirals out of control after a highly publicized scandal. Seeking refuge and a fresh start, Lola retreats to the Hamptons only to find herself living next to Aly Ray Carter, the culture critic who seemingly destroyed her life.

Lola’s emotions are incredibly realistic and, at times, even relatable, though her influencer lifestyle definitely isn’t. However, despite her often questionable choices, I couldn’t help but sympathize with her. It felt like Lola was being pressured by everyone around her, leaving her lost as she struggles to figure out who she truly is.

The dynamic between Lola and Aly was interesting, but the situation with Lola’s boyfriend was so frustrating to me that it kind of took away from it. The ending, however, was fitting for all the characters. It gave Lola a satisfying character arc and felt like a perfect conclusion to her journey. In fact, I was wishing for that exact ending multiple times throughout the book (without being too spoiler-y).

Overall, Hotter in the Hamptons is at the very least, entertaining, and was an interesting look into the influencer lifestyle!

Before I get into my review of “Hotter In The Hamptons”, I’d like to thank NetGalley and Bloom Books for the eARC!

I have so many thoughts about this book, mostly negative but let’s dive right in. My biggest pet peeve with this book was with the characters themselves. I honestly couldn’t stand Lola as a character. Yes, I felt empathy for her at certain points throughout the book but most of the problems that arise are all or partially her fault. She did have some excellent character development towards the end that I appreciated.

Both of the FMCs made huge mistakes throughout this book but there was excellent character development.

In the end, I feel like this book is for lovers of “Mistakes Were Made” by Meryl Wilsner, an easy read with a lot of spice.

And remember, sometimes you don’t need a partner; you just need a cat.

The Hamptons in the summer is a magnificent setting for a HOT book! I was enthralled with the characters and action throughout this story. Tinx is an excellent and captivating writer. It was easy to get hooked and sucked in! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc. Lola heads to the Hamptons to escape after everything in her life starts falling apart. She escapes to fix everything and drink her sorrows away when she notices her rival being right next door.

I miss summers that I spent in the Hamptons. It was just an experience about anything else! The beaches and the friendships were the best! This book follows a rising social media influencer Lola on a journey of finding herself. She goes through some really tough life lessons and hard experiences to see that things need to change for the better. Lola is such a complex character with lots of layers that need to be pulled back to fully understand her and her actions. I loved the side characters in this story and found this one such a fun read. It would be a great book to add to your beach bag for this summer!

I really enjoyed this story - the writing, the layers & depth, and the ending! I enjoyed some of the commentary (e.g., on influencers, on being queer and self-identification). Finally, I liked the embedded contrast of NYC vs. the Hamptons. Pressure, the work-centric lifestyle, feeling stifled vs. freedom, the ability to let go and recover.

And while I don’t want to give any spoilers, I loved the ending, Lola figuring out what was right for her and picking it.

There were two main reasons I didn’t give this five stars. First and foremost, I wish Lola finding herself had been a broader portion of the book. I think that was the best (and most important) part but instead felt a bit sudden and quick. Secondly, while most of the characters had flaws, I loved Ryan and watching Lola completely and repeatedly deprioritize him was painful.

Thank you to Christina Najjar aka Tinx, Bloom books, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Major bummer on this one. The writing in this book was super basic, and honestly, I just didn’t vibe with the story. I couldn’t get lost in the world the author was trying to create, even though I have been to NYC several times and know the Hamptons from TV very well. The luxury stuff mentioned was mostly just labeled as “high-end,” with no real details about what it looked or felt like, which could’ve helped bring the characters and setting to life. The whole fashion subplot felt pretty flat, too.

Lola, the main character who’s an influencer, was a total snob. Her “personal growth” got lost because she was so focused on getting validation from social media. I would’ve connected with her more if she had any actual girlfriends. It made sense she didn’t, given how self-absorbed she was, but it left the side characters feeling underdeveloped. I don’t know any women who don’t have close female friends and only one gay (male) best friend. That kind of thing feels more like a trope from pop culture than real life. And last but not least, I just don't think a sapphic romance is my cup of tea.

I read a book once called "Girls Who Lie Together" that involves a teen girl who is sent to a home for troubled girls in a different town. In this town, she meets another girl, and they begin a relationship. That was very much a young adult book. This feels like the adult version of that book but with characters that still feel closer to kids than adults (aside from the spice).

While the other book I mentioned and this one have similar themes, they are vastly different, so I just want to clarify that they are not being compared in this review.

Hotter in the Hamptons is absolutely a summer read that I have a feeling will be read on beaches everywhere this year. If you are looking for an LGBTQIA romance with adult characters, this is the book for you. It felt very sweet, and yet not. Very fresh, and yet still impactful. Very summery, and yet absolutely perfect for any time of the year. It is full of drama, and the influencers in this book do a good job of making you not like them.

I am going to keep this review short and sweet: read this book if you want, but I definitely recommend it if you are a fan of influencer books, drama, and toxic relationships in fiction.

Thank you very much to Sourebooks BLOOM Books, NetGalley, and Tinx for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own and in no way are influenced by the manner in which I received this book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Bloom Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I did not enjoy this book. I found the characters to be quite unlikeable and harmful lesbian/bisexual stereotypes within it to be homophobic/biphobic at times.

The setting was neat. A sapphic beach romance is always a good idea. I gave an extra star for the spice because it was spicing!

This book is likely a great representation of a bicurious woman discovering her identity later in life. Her conflict of who she loved felt real. However, I was not here for Justin. I really liked Aly and her development through the first half of the book, so I hated to see how her character developed towards the end. But that is how plot and character development work. I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline of how they met (very original). My issues with the book are strictly personal in the fact that it did not end how I would have liked. I was waiting for a 5 years later epilogue. That is not to say that the ending was bad- I do believe this book is a great "finding yourself" story, but that's just not what I was looking for in the moment.

HOTTER IN THE HAMPTONS is a fun and easy read that will for sure make your summer hotter. It centers around soon-to-be thirty Lola as she is hit with a crisis in career and a breakup that causes her to take some time to discover new and old parts of herself. I was worried I wouldn’t like the ending since it’s not a romance, but Lola does indeed get her own “happily ever after.”

Thank you to Sourcebooks Bloom Books and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

““See, that’s exactly it! Why do you have to be gay to have a relationship with another woman?” “Is that not the definition of the word?””

“Besides, Lola didn’t need another person. She [just] needed herself”

I’m a big fan of stories about women finding their identity. Lola was really relatable to me. She was charming and self-absorbed at the same time, and her struggles with finding her purpose and who she loved were something I could totally connect with. It made me feel a little emotional, and I think it’s a great book for anyone who’s feeling lost or uncertain about their future. It’s a normal part of life, and this book can help you feel a little bit understood. Thank you to Netgallery for providing me this arc.

“She hoped the rest of her life would be full of such opportunities for change and growth. She had a feeling it would be- as long as she was open to it. And she was”