A review by tofugal
Hot Summer by Elle Everhart

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.
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