Happy Wednesday! Today I am taking part in my first blog tour with  TBR & Beyond Tours for I Love You S’more by Auriane Desombre.

Thank you to Random House Children’s for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:

A sapphic rival-to-lovers story about two counselors who find an unexpected romance during a summer they will never forget! Perfect for fans of Auriane Desombre”s beloved debut I Think I Love You.

Ivy Raines needs camp for an escape like she did as a child. After going through a very public breakup with her first girlfriend and teen TV show mega star, she wants nothing more than a summer of sunshine, friends and s’mores as newest counselor. 

But when she signs up to run the camp’s musical production she soon finds herself in a rivalry she didn’t see coming with the co-director, Rynn. She’s bossy and thinks she knows everything because she’s been most experienced counselor. Worse, it’s a girl Ivy had a falling out with when she was younger.  It’s the last thing Ivy needs while going through a breakup but as tension between them builds, sparks begin to fly brighter than a campfire. 

As the days get hotter, will Ivy discover she can still have the summer escape she needed after all…in the way her heart has always wanted?

Review:

I decided to join this tour in an effort to continue to read out of my comfort zone since I can’t remember the last time I read a young ya book, let alone a ya romance.
I Love You S’more is a cute, summery read that follows Ivy Raines as she heads off to the summer camp she’s been attending for years, but this time she is going as a camp counsellor. She’s just been through a very public breakup and all she wants is to escape and have a drama-free summer, but unfortunately, her ex-best friend Rynn is there as a counsellor too and is Ivy’s competition for the camp play director’s spot.

Oh to be fifteen again! While I am over double Ivy’s age, I made sure that I actively remembered she was so young as I was reading otherwise I know that she would have irritated me a lot. The characters here are very true to their ages and their reactions to the situations they find themselves in are what you would expect from young teenagers. So many times I wanted to shake Ivy, to tell her that a breakup isn’t the end of the world, especially at her age, but then I remember myself and my friends reacting pretty much exactly the same when we were young.

Ivy spent a lot of time worrying and obsessing over her ex and Rynn, so much so that initially I worried that that was all this book would be. However, we do thankfully get scenes where she is more present with her fellow counsellors, namely Fitz and Rynn, and we can see her work through her feelings and in turn give some apt advice to others. The same is said for how she deals with her young charges. Unsure to start with and letting the girls overwhelm her, but eventually Ivy learns how to manage tensions between others and be a guiding example.

The setting of a summer camp worked really well for the story and I am sure will be very nostalgic for a lot of readers. Stories and s’mores around an evening campfire anyone? The pacing was a little funky towards the end which did feel a bit rushed and we didn’t spend really any time at the big play the whole camp was working towards.

While I don’t think I will pick up any young ya romance in the future, overall this was a sweet, fun summery read that I think a younger audience will love. I don’t usually star-rate, but I would put this at a 3.5, with the caveat that I am much older than the intended audience!

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