If I had read this as a teenager, I think I would have loved it. It was cute and sweet and typical of the genre. For fans of this, I would totally recommend it. For me, it was a little slow and I'm not sure it was for me!

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. A typical contemporary romantic teen novel that I couldn't get through, but teens will enjoy. A little slow for me.

I’ve been slowly working my way through a list of books, catching up on some books that I’ve been meaning to read for years. I have this list in a notebook with just the titles of the books so I have no idea what kind of story I’m getting into until I start reading it. That being said, there has to be some sort of irony that the next book on the list was this one… a book about a young girl whose been diagnosed with lupus.

Having been feeling sick for quite a while and going to doctor after doctor who has yet to pinpoint what it is exactly I have, well, Something I’m Good At hit a little bit too close to home. Reading about how Summer pushed everyone away after her diagnosis for fear of being a burden rang so true with me and I couldn’t help but empathize with her/connect with this character so much. So when she meets Kane? My heart couldn’t help but break for her because I know what it’s like to push someone away in order to protect them, so when I read these lines? I was completely gutted. Kane, the goofy guy whose so good at making the “girl of his dreams” laugh, who went over the top to make this girl his girlfriend & include her in his group of friends was just aww worthy.

Something I’m Good At is a for the most part lighthearted teenage romance wherein two young people are forced to deal with things that plenty adults would not be able to. This book was cathartic to read in essence and I could not have enjoyed it more.

Fluffy good fun! This is the perfect summer read for when you want to remember the highs and lows of teenage years or for when you just need something lighter to make you smile.

I really tried to finish this book so I could give it an accurate review however I did not find it capturing enough to keep me entertained to finish.

So freaking adorable!
I loved it - and kind of squealed and grinned, now my jaw hurts and i want to re-read it again this instant.
So adorable, easy-read romance, sometimes that is what one need! <3

This book was extremely heartwarming. The characters were well written and relateable. I enjoyed this book from start to finish and was so emersed in it I lost track of time.

I received an eARC of this book through Netgalley, in exchange for my honest review.

This was a sweet summer read, about teenage love, life struggles, hope, friendship and forgivness. Super easy to read and very well writen. A lovely story, without the teenage angst that usually comes with this type of books. and great characters.

I`m gonna start with Kane, whom I`ve felt verry attached to through the story (besides being a male character, he was very relatable). He`s a goofy guy, always smiling and cracking jokes, quite good at making people smile/laugh. He might seem as a very imature person, vey clumsy and prone to accidents - we learn about his many accidents and trips to ER throughout the story, and maybe a little too pushy when it comes to things he made his mind up, but I think if we dig deeper, he`s actually very caring and strong headed. Someone that kows exactly what he wants and is willing to work hard to get it.

Next, we have Summer, a sweet and reserved girl, that used to have it all figured out. She was quite popular, had many friends, was involved in lots of extracurricular activites at school, had a beauty blog and was dreaming of becoming a make-up artist until she was diagnosed with lupus. When she realised she`s gonna be sick her whole life, she distanced herself from everyone and gave up all her hard work and dreams to avoid letting people down or becoming a burden. She`s strong and brave and once she let`s Kane and his friends slowly in her life, she starts fighting back, not letting her sickness win.

We see some great friendship relationship from Matt and Abigale, Kane`s childhood friends. Besides their daily bickering, they definitly care and support eachother. They support Kane`s attempts to win Summer and even try to give him advice. Also, they are making sure Kane`s not falling in depression once Summer is pushing him away and igonres him. What impressed me the most, was the fact that they continued to be Summer`s friends as well, after she and Kane break up, and they still cared and helped her, even if she was the reason their friend was hurting. That`s great qualitty friendshi material right there.

This story hade me laughing out loud at times and tearing up at others, so i`d deffinitly recommend it!!



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Thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was light-hearted and romantic. It was a very easy read. It was a break from my usual genre too.

There are plenty of things to like about this book, however I also had a couple of big problems that meant I didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to.

The positives first:
Author Caroline Andrus was determined to make her teens true to adolescence rather than catering to adult YA readers, and that’s something I really appreciated.
I also really liked the casual diversity of the secondary characters.
I was intrigued by a heroine who had chronic health issues.
And yay for a “nice guy” hero.

However...

Two issues I had:
#1 It's episodic. There's no overarching plot. The characters don't have any real motivations, so there are just chapters and chapters of them doing random stuff.

#2 The hero has serious boundary issues. When I was the age of these characters I had a guy behaving a similar way around me (constantly "upping his game" buying presents and hanging around me to try and get me to like him), and it terrified me. He thought it was romantic; I thought he was a stalker.

A sweet concept, but there needed to be more conflict to make it a better book.

Oh my goodness, what a perfect confection of a book! I loved this sweet YA romance. Such a cute, great read!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

*I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

It's been a while since I read a contemporary YA with a love story that I could recommend without any reservations. But I recommend this book.

Chapters alternate between Kane and Summer, and it worked. I don't always like alternating-perspective books (though I'm finding I do more than I used to). I typically find one character less interesting than the other. But I liked both Kane and Summer, and I appreciated being privy to each of their thoughts.

Let me just start by saying that I adored Kane, even admired him. Not only was he funny and straightforward, but he was kind and chivalrous. Yes, a BELIEVABLE chivalrous teenage boy in a contemporary YA book. Honestly, he's the kind of boy a mother would be proud of (and I know this because I have three sons). He's the kind of boy a mother would be happy her daughter was dating (I know this because I have a daughter). He was just . . . good. Caring, accepting, determined, thoughtful. I could keep going. Reckless? Yes, but only in terms of his daredevil activities--he wasn't reckless with other people, nor was he reckless simply for the sake of recklessness. One of my favorite inner thoughts of his was the following: "This is the girl I'm going to marry." Because too many times, people assume that dreaming about and looking forward to marriage and family is a girly thing. But it's not. I'm a big fan of Kane.

I don't have as much to say about Summer, but it's not because I didn't like her. I was frustrated with her unwillingness to open up to anyone about her lupus--literally the only people in the book who knew about it were her parents, her sister, her doctor, and the school nurse. She was so determined to keep it a secret that she made things worse for herself. I get that she didn't want to be "the girl with lupus" or "the sick girl"--I'm not criticizing her desire to not be defined by her disease. It just frustrates me when I see people doing things that I (and usually they) know will make things harder for them. But aside from that . . . I did like her. She wasn't happy-go-lucky like Kane, but they kind of balanced each other out.

I really appreciated the relationships that Kane and Summer had with their parents. Kane was very open with his parents about pretty much everything. He treated them with respect and love. He asked for their opinions and advice. Did he always agree with them? No. But he wasn't disrespectful. Summer's relationship with her parents was not quite as comfortable as Kane's with his; however, it wasn't a bad relationship. I'm sure her diagnosis and medical treatment affected things, as well. But it was obvious that her parents loved her and were reasonable people.

And I just want to say THANK YOU, Caroline Andrus, for writing a YA love story with NO SEX. Not even a hint of it. It was so incredibly refreshing, and I sincerely wish more authors would follow your lead.

After reading this, I plan to learn more about lupus. I really don't know anything about it except what was mentioned in this book (which wasn't much). But the book did not feel like it was pushing me toward that goal; it didn't feel like a PSA or anything. The book wasn't about lupus--it just happened that one of the main characters had lupus, and it impacted the way she lived.

Note: Some swearing.

I could not get into this book. I found myself putting this story down more then a few times to pick something else up

I really liked this one. It was a good summer read. It was fun and I enjoyed reading it. Nice story. Good read

Thanks Net Galley for the preview!

This book carried so much hope and sweet ideas for a teen going through a really rough disease. I loved the side of the book that showed Summer as vulnerable but at the same time unbelievably strong. Kane was charming, dangerous and so funny. I was constantly laughing and smiling at this book. I thought this was a great teen love story!

Such a cute book! Before this year the subject of Lupus hadn't come up that much in my life. When I read the synopsis of Something I'm Good At on Netgalley, it really caught my attention! We had a scare this past year from some blood work that showed irregular readings, leading to a Lupus diagnosis. It turned out to be a false positive, which we found out after speaking to a specialist, but just hearing that word, scared us so much.



I truly enjoyed Something I'm Good At by Caroline Andrus. Lupus is not a common subject spoken about, let alone written about. Especially in YA fiction, so it was good to bring more awareness into the world; especially in a way that will get a younger audience to read about it.



Summer is just a scared teenager who has had world ripped out of her hands, and doesn't know what to do with it. Kane comes along at just the right moment, and helps her, unknowingly to him, find her way again; even changes have been made that she can't help.


This is a cheesy novel. Kane is not the normal teenage boy you read about or see in the real world. He puts his feelings out there, and is not afraid to do so. And while there are some cheesy, somewhat over-the-top moments, it was still a really adorable read, and I really enjoyed getting to know Caroline Andrus's characters. Also I like cheesy! 🧀



I am definitely going to be keeping my eyes open for the other novels in the series! This is the first, and it only came out last week, so I'm sure I'm going to have to wait; but I can't wait to see who Caroline Andrus writes about next in the "Sol del Mar" series!



Side note: I am also pretty sure that the setting for this novel is based on the city right outside of my little town! I can't wait to hear more about it, and see if I find more similarities!

Something I'm good at by Caroline Andrus is the 1st book in the Sol del Mar High young adult series, and it won't be my last. Summer was doing well in school and on the volleyball team, until she was diagnosed with Lupus. Summer's way of dealing with it, is to distance her self from everyone. Kane has had a long time crush on Summer, and he refuses to be pushed away. This book is a cute young adult love story, that deals with a chronic illness. I recommend this book to anyone who like a sweet romance, and watching teens develop into their own person.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and the publisher. Thank you.

I received a free copy for an honest review! Thanks Net Galley!

Something I’m Good At by Caroline Andrus
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was adorable! Kane is a sweetheart who is so funny! What a perfect match for Summer who feels broken after her recent diagnosis!

I really enjoyed learning more about autoimmune diseases and how lupus is like have a unknown amount of spoons each day and when you run out that’s it for the day- game over till tomorrow. What a creative metaphor!!

I loved all of Kane’s food puns!

Great summer romance read!

#netgalley #somethingimgoodat #carolineandrus #summerromanceread

This book is more than teenage angst - it is about hope, forgiveness, perseverance, friendship, and love.

This may be a YA book but it spoke to me and I raced through this book like there was no tomorrow. The story flowed well, the characters were flawed yet real, and it shed some light on Lupus.

Kane is goofy and Summer is reserved but finds what Kane has to offer might be exactly what she needs. I appreciated that the characters weren't rushing into anything, mostly because of Summer's disease and her reservations, but that they took time to get to know each other. The relationship is not smooth sailing but it was real and honest.

I also liked Matt and Abigail, good friends to the end. I'm hoping we get to see stories for each of them in the future.

This book had me laughing at times and is worth the read.

Such a sweet book! Easy to read and you will fall in love with the characters in it. Loved every second of it. You will not want to put it down.