Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Melt With You

Why is Fallon awful? She literally expects Chloe to read her mind and gets pissed at her when she can’t. Fallon didn’t tell Chloe how much sex meant to her, so how was Chloe supposed to know that? Fallon said it was okay that Chloe couldn’t come to the diner, so how was Chloe supposed to know that it WASN’T okay?? On more of a craft note, I literally have no idea who Fallon is outside of her anger over Chloe. It occupies every SENTENCE of the book which is exhausting to read about, and also means we get no character construction.

Why is Chloe awful? When Fallon explicitly tells Chloe she doesn’t want to be around her, doesn’t want to talk, etc. Chloe does the exact opposite, constantly. It made my skin crawl. I’m not saying I agree with Fallon’s choices but oh my god leave the poor girl alone. Also, all the nice things she did for Fallon weren’t because she wanted to make Fallon feel good or whatever, but because she was trying to entice Fallon to being her best friend again. And then when Fallon was trying to explain her feelings, Chloe automatically assumes the worst of her and won’t let Fallon get a word in. Then later when they meet with Delilah, Chloe is grossly possessive and jealous, trying to dictate what Fallon does and being so mean to Delilah.

Why is their relationship crappy? Firstly, we aren’t actually shown how close Chloe and Fallon were, we’re just told about it, so I was utterly unconvinced by their connection platonically. There was also no romantic chemistry. There was some physical chemistry on Fallon’s part at least. But at 60% in the reader is still under the impression that Chloe hooked up with Fallon just for fun, which makes it hard to see her as the love interest, especially coupled with everything else. (And just to note, the reader never finds out when Chloe actually started having feelings. To me that makes it seem she developed them on the road trip and so it’s hard to believe she had any deep feelings for Fallon like Fallon had for her). Also, these two are just so mean to each other!! I genuinely cannot recall a time throughout the book when they said something nice about the other person to her face. But I especially hated how Chloe would roll her eyes whenever Fallon expressed her annoyance or anger over something. Gross!! They’re also both so passive aggressive and think the worst of each other. How are you supposed to root for them to be together, let alone as people? All their relationship ended up being was toxic and messy, with the characters and the author apparently believing it was cute as can be.

Yeah so I hated this read and it's honestly made me question whether I want to read anything by Dugan in the future.

Content Warnings

pey333's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

sophieissapphhic's review against another edition

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2.5

Content Warnings: alcohol consumption, sex scene (fade-to-black), divorced parents, a character being grossed out by periods (off-page), vandalism, theft, break-in

Melt With You is a fun, sapphic story about two former best friends who must road trip together to work their families’ ice cream truck at a series of food truck festivals. Ten months ago, Fallon and Chloe hooked up- and the next day, Chloe left for college. The two haven’t spoken since. Fallon is reluctant to go to an event without her mother, and she’s even more reluctant to do it with Chloe. However, Chloe is the only one available to help, so Fallon must put up with Chloe’s attempts at brushing off their hookup and trying to act friendly as they road trip to their first festival.

Quick Tropes:

Forced proximity
Second chance
Road trip

I’ll start with the things I liked about this book!

Melt With You is a great sapphic book for summer. This book gave me all the road trip vibes I wanted. If you like YA books with messy teenage gays that are endlessly dramatic, this is the one for you.

I had two major issues with Melt With You.

Firstly, Fallon, the main character, constantly breaks the fourth wall. She addresses the reader regularly throughout the text. Usually her reason addressing the reader is to say something along the lines of, “You’re once again wondering, Why is Fallon being soooooo dramatic all the time?” (Yes, that line did have six o’s.) She often notes the audience is probably wondering why she doesn’t just talk to Chloe.

This is where my second issue comes in: the miscommunication trope. The major conflict in this book could’ve been solved by Fallon reciprocating Chloe’s efforts to mend their relationship. If they could have a conversation about what happened and their feelings around it, the book would be so. much. shorter. Not only does Fallon not try to communicate with Chloe, she outright rejects Choe when she wants to talk. Since Fallon and Chloe are coworkers and are forced to be near each other, they have many, many opportunities to talk to each other. But they don’t, because Fallon is so determined to hate Chloe.

It took me a while to root for the couple because Fallon was so stubborn and refuses every opportunity to communicate with Chloe. I like messy teenage gays, but it gets annoying to read about when the characters refuse to own up to mistakes or talk through misunderstandings.

Thank you to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for an ARC! Rating: 3.25

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