readingchristine's review
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
This book is absolutely adorable. It had me hooked from the first chapter. If you are someone who sometimes wonders what would happen if you made a different choice this book is for you.
Natalya has to make a choice, stay in New York or go to LA for the summer and we get to see what happens however she chooses. Watching Natalya grow into herself in both timelines with her friends and family members shows us how even with different chances we can find what makes us happy and we can find ways to grow and connect with others.
If you love contemporary romance with some solid character growth and LGBTQIA+ reads this book if definitely one I would recommend you pick up.It left me feeling happy in the best way.
Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
arealmofbooks's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
theoceanrose's review
funny
hopeful
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? No
4.5
midnightsbooks's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
i loved this book!! I was really worried that I would mix up the two different groups of people she meets in LA and NYC, but I could easily tell apart the two plots. I preferred Adam over Elly, only because I like cooking and marketing over music, and Elly felt a little instalovey to me. I still liked everything about both plots and would really recommend this book!!!!
genya_safin8's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars
I loved the representation in this book. I thought the way the story was told was creative.
Thank you to NetGalley for sending me and e-ARC of this book!
I loved the representation in this book. I thought the way the story was told was creative.
Thank you to NetGalley for sending me and e-ARC of this book!
michellereadatrix's review
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. These are my honest thoughts.
You know the Robert Frost poem that ends "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference"? The meaning of the poem is less blaze your own path and more that we justify our choices as the right ones, having no idea what the other path would have revealed.
Going Bicoastal is very low stakes and feel good. Neither decisions -- summer in New York or summer in L.A. -- are bad decisions, just different ones. In some ways, but not all, she ends up coming to the same conclusions about her life. While readers might have their preferences as to love interest or location, neither is presented as a bad fate, making this an excellent choice for readers who get the new trend of warm, cozy only set in a YA contemporary romance.
Confession: When we talk about reading diversely some people will always say, horrifyingly, that they can't relate to people who they deem different from them. I don't usually have this issue, but I do struggle with extroverts! (LOL, not so bad, right?)
Natalya is definitely an extrovert. While having shy moments, it's clear that no matter where she goes she'll make friends. Often rich friends. Whether going to see a band, or being fed at dinner parties featuring a roster of chefs, she will WILLINGLY spend a lot of time with people. I'm triple her age (I need a moment to sit with that) and I have no idea who people meet people, strike up a bond, and effortlessly become friends. Trying might kill me.
She does like to read, though, which my introverted soul does fully comprehend.
Natalya is Jewish, and the book -- in both realities -- makes clear what this means to her, that she values and thinks about traditions without being shackled to them. We read about Shabbat dinner a lot and how it varies by your families community and country of origin. I am always hyped about food descriptions, of which there are plenty.
Food is about communion, not in the Christian sense, and this very much came into play in Going Bicoastal. When you break bread with someone, especially if you personally baked the bread, you allow them into your circle, you find out more about them, you share bits of who you are right back in time to who you were. This is very apparent in the L.A. time line.
The New York time line is more about how music connects us, which is just as vital, although I ended up feeling like I knew the N.Y. love interest -- Ellie -- less. Maybe because I never felt her vulnerability as much as I did the L.A. love interest, Adam.
I'd expected more of the book to be about Natalya hashing out her issues with her mom, especially in the L.A. reality, and that didn't materialize. There just seems to be a vibe that Natalya is old enough to not dwell on the past, and mature enough to move on. Her mother, and this surprised me, didn't seem to in any substantial way change her life at the presence of her daughter. I felt this to be a missed opportunity, but the overall readership might not be invested in that so much as the romance elements and Natalya figuring out what she wants for her life.
I had a nice time with this story, and the sense that Natalya is destined to be okay no matter what.
You know the Robert Frost poem that ends "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference"? The meaning of the poem is less blaze your own path and more that we justify our choices as the right ones, having no idea what the other path would have revealed.
Going Bicoastal is very low stakes and feel good. Neither decisions -- summer in New York or summer in L.A. -- are bad decisions, just different ones. In some ways, but not all, she ends up coming to the same conclusions about her life. While readers might have their preferences as to love interest or location, neither is presented as a bad fate, making this an excellent choice for readers who get the new trend of warm, cozy only set in a YA contemporary romance.
Confession: When we talk about reading diversely some people will always say, horrifyingly, that they can't relate to people who they deem different from them. I don't usually have this issue, but I do struggle with extroverts! (LOL, not so bad, right?)
Natalya is definitely an extrovert. While having shy moments, it's clear that no matter where she goes she'll make friends. Often rich friends. Whether going to see a band, or being fed at dinner parties featuring a roster of chefs, she will WILLINGLY spend a lot of time with people. I'm triple her age (I need a moment to sit with that) and I have no idea who people meet people, strike up a bond, and effortlessly become friends. Trying might kill me.
She does like to read, though, which my introverted soul does fully comprehend.
Natalya is Jewish, and the book -- in both realities -- makes clear what this means to her, that she values and thinks about traditions without being shackled to them. We read about Shabbat dinner a lot and how it varies by your families community and country of origin. I am always hyped about food descriptions, of which there are plenty.
Food is about communion, not in the Christian sense, and this very much came into play in Going Bicoastal. When you break bread with someone, especially if you personally baked the bread, you allow them into your circle, you find out more about them, you share bits of who you are right back in time to who you were. This is very apparent in the L.A. time line.
The New York time line is more about how music connects us, which is just as vital, although I ended up feeling like I knew the N.Y. love interest -- Ellie -- less. Maybe because I never felt her vulnerability as much as I did the L.A. love interest, Adam.
I'd expected more of the book to be about Natalya hashing out her issues with her mom, especially in the L.A. reality, and that didn't materialize. There just seems to be a vibe that Natalya is old enough to not dwell on the past, and mature enough to move on. Her mother, and this surprised me, didn't seem to in any substantial way change her life at the presence of her daughter. I felt this to be a missed opportunity, but the overall readership might not be invested in that so much as the romance elements and Natalya figuring out what she wants for her life.
I had a nice time with this story, and the sense that Natalya is destined to be okay no matter what.
kat__z8's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rep: bisexual Jewish mc, queer female li, queer side characters
This was a nice, fun read. but not really one that stood out to me. The timelines follow two possibilities, one with Natalya staying in New York, and one with Natalya choosing to go to LA.
I preferred the LA timeline more story-wise, it was just so mouthwatering to have multiple descriptions of food from all around the world. I also loved how the author interwove Jewish culture into Natalya's daily life, which I felt stood out in both timelines, and it was really nice to learn more about it.
On the other hand, I was bored with the NY timeline. since it involved so many name-droppings of bands I don't know beyond the world-famous ones, but I guess that's more of a me problem. Rock music fans would probably enjoy it more, but I'm just an occasional pop music enjoyer and certainly did not get more than half of the references.
Because this is a relatively short book with two diverging timelines, I also feel the romance in both timelines was pretty rushed. The characters meet, and two or three chapters later Natalya started kissing them. There was also probably not enough space to insert more conflict, I suppose, and so this book was pretty flat on that end. Also, this definitely has no sci-fi elements, the two timelines are just two timelines.
Rep: bisexual Jewish mc, queer female li, queer side characters
This was a nice, fun read. but not really one that stood out to me. The timelines follow two possibilities, one with Natalya staying in New York, and one with Natalya choosing to go to LA.
I preferred the LA timeline more story-wise, it was just so mouthwatering to have multiple descriptions of food from all around the world. I also loved how the author interwove Jewish culture into Natalya's daily life, which I felt stood out in both timelines, and it was really nice to learn more about it.
On the other hand, I was bored with the NY timeline. since it involved so many name-droppings of bands I don't know beyond the world-famous ones, but I guess that's more of a me problem. Rock music fans would probably enjoy it more, but I'm just an occasional pop music enjoyer and certainly did not get more than half of the references.
Because this is a relatively short book with two diverging timelines, I also feel the romance in both timelines was pretty rushed. The characters meet, and two or three chapters later Natalya started kissing them. There was also probably not enough space to insert more conflict, I suppose, and so this book was pretty flat on that end. Also, this definitely has no sci-fi elements, the two timelines are just two timelines.
"So I don't have hang-ups about how to reconcile those parts of me (being Jewish and bi), because I don't think they clash.
One other thing I loved was how Natalya is really proud of her identities as Jewish and queer, which is always heartwarming to me as someone who still identifies with a certain religious belief while also being proud of my queerness. I hope more young people see that it's never another's decision to decide for you whether or not your beliefs and your queerness are mutually exclusive (spoiler: these are not mutually exclusive).
Overall, still a decent read. I picked this up on a whim, hoping for a lighthearted romcom, and it delivered just that, nothing beyond expectations.
optimisticbooknerd20's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 ⭐️
very cute but it's also kinda cringy and I think I'm growing out of YA but I really enjoyed the Bisexual rep
very cute but it's also kinda cringy and I think I'm growing out of YA but I really enjoyed the Bisexual rep
lady_librarian_84's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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? No
4.0
itsbibliotherapy's review against another edition
4.5
I received this ARC in the mail from Wednesday Books last week and it was perfect timing — I had been craving a well-written romcom, and this one certainly delivered! I think the Sliding Doors-style trope was super fun, and the author did a great job integrating the two storylines: What might seventeen-year-old Natalya’s life look like if she spent the summer in NYC with the girl she’s been crushing on…or if she traveled to LA to stay with her mom to meet a guy she never expected?
I flew through this one, in part because I loved the bi, Jewish protagonist, but also because I thought the writing was solid and the plot was well-crafted. It was a cute story with an ending that made me literally gasp. Definitely add this to your June TBR!
I flew through this one, in part because I loved the bi, Jewish protagonist, but also because I thought the writing was solid and the plot was well-crafted. It was a cute story with an ending that made me literally gasp. Definitely add this to your June TBR!