Thank you Quill Tree Books and Harlequin Audio for access to the e-ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.
This was my first book by Anita Kelly, and gosh I was blown away. First off, Penny is so relatable, especially with her anxiety and overthinking tendencies. And Mateo is very relatable as well with their gender journey they've experienced. I loved both of them separate, but I love them even more together. I like how they balance each other out. I also loved all the side characters and the elements they added to the book. The plot was also very good and the pacing of the book kept me interested throughout it all. And the narrator did a fantastic job for the audiobook and bringing all the characters to life. I definitely recommend this one, it was fun and light but still had some serious moments that were addressed well. It's a good summer read!

I adored Anita Kelly’s ya debut. The anxiety rep was incredible. This was such a feel good story and the gender identity storylines were handled with care. The side characters were all fabulous and the side plot surrounding saving a Main Street mainstay was timely.
Bailey Carr narrated with the perfect amount of emotion and really captured the essence of a witty teen.

Thank you Hachette Audio for providing me an early copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely ADORED this one! 🥰

Penny is working at her town’s donut shop for the summer, trying to earn money for her college savings account. Unfortunately she discovers that Mateo, whom she has been feuding with over the past 2 years, is also working there for the summer…now they’ll work together to save their donut shop from corporate takeover.

My heart was with Penny throughout the book. She suffers from anxiety, and I was really feeling it along with her in certain sections. She has a lot going on at home, with younger (triplet) siblings, with one of her siblings dealing with health issues, her moms “secret” discussions about money, and one of her moms often being absent due to working a lot.

Theo, also has *stuff* they’re dealing with at home, especially as a non-binary teen, and a dad who is less than supportive.

I loved seeing these two interact, whether bickering, flirting, or having deep conversations.

Because this story is told in single POV, we only get a peak inside Penny’s head, so we’re right there with her as she’s trying to guess as to Mateo’s true feelings.

I thought this was a fantastic YA read, and will definitely be recommending it to my 12 year old daughter. (There is one convo about s3x between the two MCs, but I didn’t think it was anything my daughter couldn’t handle. She’s read/watched all of Heartstopper, and I would compare it to that level.)

Audiobook notes: Bailey Carr was so good! All her voices were distinct, and I thought she did a fabulous job, especially with Penny’s inner voice, emotions, and anxiety attacks.

What this book is giving:
✅ YA Queer Romance
✅ Single POV
✅ Summer Job
✅ Between Sophomore and Junior Year
✅ Donut Shop
✅ Feuding to Lovers
✅ Non-binary MC
✅ Anxiety Rep
✅ “Heartstopper Leaves” 🥰

From the line where Penny said she wants a love that feels like Hearstopper leaves, I knew this was the book for me. This book starts as a cute summer romance between two teens who are working a summer job at a local donut shop. Very quickly it turns into something deeper. Both Penny and Mateo spend the story learning about themselves through their interactions with each other. There are tones throughout of social activism. This was just a very well done YA summer romance.

This book is a YA queer masterpiece full of real teenage issues, anxiety, angst, identity (nonbinary rep) and so much more.

Following the POV of Penny, a very anxious teen (with a great therapist), she gets a job for the summer to save for college after overhearing her moms talk about their financial troubles and medical issues with one of her younger siblings (triplets!). She gets a summer job at a donut store where her school nemesis, Mateo, is also working for the summer. They are artsy, cool, and Penny may be a little bit oblivious to the feelings she’s developing for them.

I loved watching both of these characters grow, have teenage struggles and setbacks and find support in so many different ways. This book filled me with a lot of joy and I definitely recommend picking it up if you are a fan of YA romances ❤️

Thank you to Harper Collins Children's - Quill Tree Books for the advance reader copy and to Harlequin Audio for the advance listener copy. These opinions are my own.

Penny decides to work at her local donut shop for summer to earn money to pay her college expenses. And on the very first day of work, she learns that Mateo, her nemesis, will be working with her.

I absolutely adored Penny and Mateo and their disagreements and working together on everything from donuts to art. I firmly agree with Penny that apple fritters are the best (sorry, Mateo but that is a no on Boston cream for me). And I related to Penny in so many other ways as well from her love of nature and Silver Falls to her need to do something physical when annoyed.

We see Mateo primarily through Penny's eyes, but they are just as nuanced a character. And so much of the story is about Penny needing to grow and become more empathetic to the paths that others are on. There are so many aspects of coming of age that are addressed perfectly here. And that's layered with excellent representation both of gender identity and mental health.

Bailey Carr narrated the audiobook. I found her pacing and pauses were excellent. She didn't really attempt to do a different voice for Mateo. That worked quite well for the first person POV.

Anita Kelly made the transition from adult to YA romance seamlessly. I'm unsurprised and incredibly impressed. I'll continue reading literally everything Anita Kelly writes. And I might need to go buy donuts now.

4.5 stars rounded up

Penny is a bit anxious. Well, okay, actually a lot anxious. But what’s not to be anxious about? One of her siblings has medical issues, she’s got to get into college and probably pay her own way, the ice caps are melting and she’s not doing enough to stop climate change from happening! Oh, and her “genderqueer nemesis” Mateo started working with her at Delicious Donuts this summer. As if that’s not bad enough, there’s the threat of a corporate takeover of Delicious Donuts, so Penny has to let bygones be bygones to rely on Mateo and their artistry to save the shop. How will she ever survive this summer gig?

Let me just give you one quote that resonated so well: “they walked in on me while I was trying to peacefully hyperventilate by myself!” lolllll I’ve never felt so SEEN in my entire life in just one quote. This book is everything: queer rep, mental health/anxiety rep, YA college angst, even a shout out to Dutch Bros Coffee! I loved how unapologetically queer it is; you have to look pretty hard to find a fully straight character. The #EnemiesToLovers trope works so well here with the inciting event being SO middle school (in the most authentic way possible), and I loved the #ForcedProximity of having to work together at a donut shop. Bailey Carr did such a phenomenal job capturing the innocence of high school mixed with the soul-crushing anxiety that comes from deciding what comes after graduation. She captured Penny’s panic attack so vividly in voice that it was hard to believe I wasn’t watching it happen in front of me. That said, this is one you should definitely check out if you’re into YA queer romances; I can’t believe it’s a debut novel and I can’t wait to read everything Anita Kelly writes next!

Reviewed as part of #ARC from #NetGalley. Many thanks to Quill Tree Books/Harlequin Audio for the #gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

Read this book if you:
🌈 love reading queer love stories with genderqueer rep
🍩 are Team Apple Fritter or Team Boston Creme; this is the only binary we will accept
☕️ use iced coffee to down your SSRIs


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This review will be posted to Instagram @AutobiographiCole on or around the release date!

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the ALC!

•queer romance
•summer vibes
•anxiety rep
•coming of age
•dislike to friends to lovers

This was just a delight! I often forget how much I love YA, and this was a perfect reminder of all the reasons I do.
Donut Summer was charming, hopeful, and so full of heart. By far my favorite queer YA in recent years. Penny and Mateo were both fantastic characters on their own and were so cute together.
Penny was a very relatable main character. She was driven to fix things on her own and worked hard to save for college because she thought her moms were dealing with too much to help her. Her anxiety was so realistic and very reminiscent of what I felt as a teen.
I also really enjoyed Mateo and Penny together. Penny talked about wanting “Heartstopper leaves” when falling in love and I thought that was so cute. Their romance definitely had that Heartstopper joy.
One of my favorite elements of this book was Penny’s relationship with her moms. It’s clear that her family dynamic isn’t perfect but I really liked that there was a focus on making everything work. One of the conversations they had toward the end made me so emotional and I loved that they made sure Penny knew everything didn’t need to fall on her shoulders.
I really liked Mateo’s journey with their art and just building their confidence in general. Penny teaching them to drive a manual was one of my favorite scenes. They’re just adorable.
This book had such fun summer vibes! I really enjoyed Penny’s idea to save the donut shop and it made a really cute setting for the story. It gave it a great small town vibe and really captured the nostalgia we have for the places we grew up with.
Anita Kelly’s writing is truly phenomenal and I can’t believe I haven’t read and her adult novels! I’m really looking forward to catching up on her backlist.
The audio really made it shine. Bailey Carr gave a great performance and made Penny come to life.

Anita Kelly does it again! One part "budding entrepreneur" meets one part chaotic summer romance, DONUT SUMMER is a fantastic exploration of real and deep teenage issues through the lenses of self-identity and mental health. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.