Thanks to NetGalley & Wednesday Books for a free arc in exchange for an honest review!

See the full review and more here!

Recommended: Sure
For an easy romance read, with some fun parallels to a classic story before developing into it's own

Thoughts:
This was being touted as an LGBTQ version of Grease, and while I love that story, I wanted to read this story, and worried it wouldn't develop it's own identity for leaning too heavily on being a recreation with a twist. Happily, that was not the case! There were enough similarities, mostly towards the beginning, that it was a fun parallel to unravel. As the story continued, it branched onto it's own path and away from being merely an imitation.

My biggest issue lies with some of the side characters who were quite undeveloped and felt somewhat pointless at times. If you're not paying attention, you might have no idea who Ryan and Hayley are, or why Ollie briefly considers calling them when he's distraught midway through the book. These 2 characters get 4 (MAYBE 5) mentions in the whole book, and for people who were his best friends his whole life, that felt pretty flimsy. Frankly, it made me think "Wow, Ollie sure is a crappy friend."

The romance was Eh for me, since it's dampened by Will's struggle to own his identity. He ends up being a jerk quite often, so it's hard to fall for him and see him through Ollie's eyes.

Overall, it was a good read and I definitely enjoyed it. Still, it was pretty middle of the pack, which could be changed by a little more development of some of the people around Ollie. There was definitely at least one moment where I was reading and told my boyfriend to shush before he started asking me something because I had to finish the scene - so definitely not bad! ☺ ( )

Loved the growth in this book. Loved the snark (Lara was my favourite by the end.) Loved the Venezuelan food. Loved the little kids getting into the Nutella jar. And loved loved loved the sweet romances! This was super readable, dealt with some heavier topics but was fast paced. It should be noted that cancer plays a huge role in this though.

Though I must comment that I highly disapprove of choosing a college based on a high school love interest. Sure, he then justified it with family as well, but still. And I was sad that the friendship with his Californian friends didn't play out. ( )

2.5 Stars

Well sometimes you and a book just don't click and that's okay. I enjoyed it well enough but didn't quite get the 'heart eyes emoji' feels that I expected when I read the synopsis. It kind of meandered along to a satisfactory conclusion but at no point did I have that bubbly giddy fizzy feeling you get when there is a romantic relationship that you are hopelessly devoted to (eeeeeee..I worked it in!). Just okay for me.

Additional note: you will likely be singing Grease tunes whilst reading this. Well, I did anyway, much to the chagrin of my kids. ( )

(3.5)

I didn't fully connect with every character that was introduced or the main romance. But it was a sweet and entertaining book nonetheless. ( )

Will Tavares is the dream summer fling―he's fun, affectionate, kind―but just when Ollie thinks he's found his Happily Ever After, summer vacation ends and Will stops texting Ollie back. Now Ollie is one prince short of his fairy tale ending, and to complicate the fairy tale further, a family emergency sees Ollie uprooted and enrolled at a new school across the country. Which he minds a little less when he realizes it's the same school Will goes to...except Ollie finds that the sweet, comfortably queer guy he knew from summer isn't the same one attending Collinswood High. This Will is a class clown, closeted―and, to be honest, a bit of a jerk. ( )