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ggbookrecclub's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
⭐️ Rating: 4/5
🌶️ Spice: 2/5
Genre: LGBTQIA+
Tropes:
Forced Proximity
Friends to Lovers
Secret Keeping
Slow Burn
Sapphic Romance + Reality TV = Amazing Summer Read
Hot Summer by Elle Everhart was so much fun. It incorporates all the fun aspects of Hot Summer(aka Love Island) and that crushworthy, will they/won't they feelings. This is the perfect summer read, it’s a fast paced book that keeps the reader hooked. Cass, one of our female leads, feels stagnant in her marketing and events position at the dating app she works for. With a promotion being held over her head, she goes on Hot Summer to use her vast knowledge of the game and to cross promote the dating service without telling or even hinting at it, thanks to an ironclad NDA. The show progresses and personalities come to show themselves. Cass struggles to stay in the game and to keep her feelings about Ada at bay.
This book is a slowwwww burn. We’re talking small touches and holding eye contact kind of slow. Being held in captivity and with cameras on you 24/7 really accelerates relationships. Strangers become best friends and crushes turn into love connections. This couple is so cute and I loved seeing what their HEA looked like in the epilogue.
I’m not a huge fan of the 3rd party narration, I’m much more of a dual POV gal, but it worked in this instance. The emotions/reactions of the characters were still evident even if you weren’t getting it from their first hand point of view. I think the vehicle of producing a reality television show helps this, as shocking things happen to these characters it’s a surprise to 1. The character, 2. The rest of the cast, and 3. You, the audience.
🌶️ Spice: 2/5
Genre: LGBTQIA+
Tropes:
Forced Proximity
Friends to Lovers
Secret Keeping
Slow Burn
Sapphic Romance + Reality TV = Amazing Summer Read
Hot Summer by Elle Everhart was so much fun. It incorporates all the fun aspects of Hot Summer(aka Love Island) and that crushworthy, will they/won't they feelings. This is the perfect summer read, it’s a fast paced book that keeps the reader hooked. Cass, one of our female leads, feels stagnant in her marketing and events position at the dating app she works for. With a promotion being held over her head, she goes on Hot Summer to use her vast knowledge of the game and to cross promote the dating service without telling or even hinting at it, thanks to an ironclad NDA. The show progresses and personalities come to show themselves. Cass struggles to stay in the game and to keep her feelings about Ada at bay.
This book is a slowwwww burn. We’re talking small touches and holding eye contact kind of slow. Being held in captivity and with cameras on you 24/7 really accelerates relationships. Strangers become best friends and crushes turn into love connections. This couple is so cute and I loved seeing what their HEA looked like in the epilogue.
I’m not a huge fan of the 3rd party narration, I’m much more of a dual POV gal, but it worked in this instance. The emotions/reactions of the characters were still evident even if you weren’t getting it from their first hand point of view. I think the vehicle of producing a reality television show helps this, as shocking things happen to these characters it’s a surprise to 1. The character, 2. The rest of the cast, and 3. You, the audience.
gisele47's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Hot Summer is a Love Island inspired queer romance. The setting was so much fun and it was amazing to see two queer women have the space to explore their feelings in a typically heteronormative show. Really fun read.
kelly93's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
thisboricuareader's review against another edition
2.5
This queer love island book was okay overall.
I didn't enjoy that it was play by play like love island. There were barely any liberties, did I like that unlike Love Island it accepted a queer couple and didn't kick them out, yes. I just didn't like how she was used by the show for rating.
Even with the way Love Island works in real life, someone that works for a dating app as an event planner will get leaked and people will hate and try to ruin her credibility. Like as a long time Love Island fan, we know the drama that comes out while people are in the Villa.
I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I didn't enjoy that it was play by play like love island. There were barely any liberties, did I like that unlike Love Island it accepted a queer couple and didn't kick them out, yes. I just didn't like how she was used by the show for rating.
Even with the way Love Island works in real life, someone that works for a dating app as an event planner will get leaked and people will hate and try to ruin her credibility. Like as a long time Love Island fan, we know the drama that comes out while people are in the Villa.
I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
booksandbreadcrumbs's review against another edition
4.0
Books centering reality dating shows truly are so much better when they're adult.
This was so much fun! While I definitely side eyed and questioned a few of Cas's thoughts, I really enjoyed reading this, which was most of what I was hoping to get out of it. I also think the author did a good job of establishing the side characters and friends of Cas (and to a lesser extent Ada), which I loved.
This was so much fun! While I definitely side eyed and questioned a few of Cas's thoughts, I really enjoyed reading this, which was most of what I was hoping to get out of it. I also think the author did a good job of establishing the side characters and friends of Cas (and to a lesser extent Ada), which I loved.
sookandbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.5
kendal4kendal's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kayliereads_alot's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5 stars rounded up
This book was a lot of fun. I am a sucker for a behind the scenes look at reality tv book especially when its queer. Fans of love island are going to love this book (It's me. I'm the love island fan). Reading this was like being transported into the love island house and getting those emotions and relationships first hand.
I loved Cas and Ada so much. There were so perfect together and the type of could I love seeing in romance books. Their chemistry was phenomenal, they had wonderful communication, and their tension and banter was top tier.
Now let's talk about the side characters because I loved all of them! While I am obsessed with the main couple and their story, these side characters shined. Elle is magical because there were so many characters in this and they were all unique and stayed true to their character throughout and that is a true feat. I would read an entire book for so many of these side characters because I just adored so many of them.
This book was a lot of fun. I am a sucker for a behind the scenes look at reality tv book especially when its queer. Fans of love island are going to love this book (It's me. I'm the love island fan). Reading this was like being transported into the love island house and getting those emotions and relationships first hand.
I loved Cas and Ada so much. There were so perfect together and the type of could I love seeing in romance books. Their chemistry was phenomenal, they had wonderful communication, and their tension and banter was top tier.
Now let's talk about the side characters because I loved all of them! While I am obsessed with the main couple and their story, these side characters shined. Elle is magical because there were so many characters in this and they were all unique and stayed true to their character throughout and that is a true feat. I would read an entire book for so many of these side characters because I just adored so many of them.
tofugal's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
As someone who doesn’t watch Love Island—or any other reality TV—I probably wasn’t the ideal reader for this. I was hoping for something where dating show contestants picked each other over the guy they were supposed to be vying for (which was 100% my bad for not knowing the difference between Love Island and The Bachelor).
The reality show itself rubbed me the wrong way. Ranking people, only allowing the women to wear skimpy clothes, and requiring kissing and dancing felt icky. And the safety issues were downright alarming. Forced bed sharing with a complete stranger? Absolutely not! I’d feel safer Goldilocking it and sharing a bed with a bear. Women accepting drinks they didn’t watch being poured? Seriously, NEVER do that!
If that’s how Love Island works, it’s a good thing I’ve never watched it.
I also had trouble keeping track of everyone in the large cast of characters. Other than Brad standing out as the jerk of the group and Femi as the sweetie, all the men seemed basically the same. The women besides Ada and Sienna blended together for me too. And the focus on superficial descriptions rather than personality did little to help me tell them apart.
That said, I liked Femi and Ada a lot. They were the MVPs of the book for me. And Ada and Cass did have great chemistry and a couple delicious spicy scenes. But I found Cass difficult to relate to since I never got a clear feel for her personality. All of her interiority centered on her shallow obsession with the show instead of anything that would have fleshed her out as a fully realized, three-dimensional character.
This is probably best as a light beach read, since the stakes were so low. Cass didn’t seem particularly passionate about the promotion she went on the show for (she doesn’t even show the full details about it). I didn’t feel like the other contestants were particularly invested in trying to sincerely find love either, no matter what they claimed on camera. Lust? Sure. Love? Not so much. Which made me feel like Cass’ secret shouldn’t have been as big a deal as it was made out to be.
I think this is a great choice for sapphic fans of Love Island and similar shows, but it lacks the stakes and compelling protagonist of other queer reality TV themed books like Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly, The Romance Recipe by Ruby Barrett, and Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales.
I received an advanced copy from the publisher and am voluntarily leaving this review.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexism
bbop14's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Very similar to a season of love island which was fun to read. I loved Femi possibly more than either of the main characters but I still liked Cas and Ava. My only critique really is that the drama with Cas's reason for going on the show felt a bit forced/excessive.
Very similar to a season of love island which was fun to read. I loved Femi possibly more than either of the main characters but I still liked Cas and Ava. My only critique really is that the drama with Cas's reason for going on the show felt a bit forced/excessive.