I really wanted to like this book. The synopsis held so much promise, but the book failed to deliver as much as I hoped for from it. I enjoyed it well enough, but with a few tweaks it could have been an even more enjoyable read.

A line from the book -
“Don’t try to quit on me again. Coaching a loser is one thing a quitter is another.”
What an entertaining, light read - this was cute. Gray and Addy are schoolmates. This is their love story with a lot of swimming.
The writing was exciting and clean. The friendship goals of Addy were so cool. A classic high school romance which was good. Go, give this book a read.

I was a bit worried reading this book that it was going to be a book about a girl getting hot specifically to take revenge in a guy and life getting better once she’s got.
Luckily, although this was a part of the story, it wasn’t a big deal and it wasn’t massively focused on this. Still the idea of this made me a bit nervous.
The book was fun and enjoyable, worth a read.

Addy is trying to get over her ex of two years. Her and her friends have this thing of setting goals each school year. Cue Addy’s goal to make her ex jealous by becoming hot and with another boy all before Halloween.

Gray has just moved there from California. He wants to have a good spot on the swim team which he sees as his way to get a scholarship into his dream college. Which leads him to being focused on swimming.

This book is the perfect mixed of sweetness and humor. I loved Addy’s relationship with her friends. Both these characters grew from the beginning of the book as well as their romance. Overall it was a fun, sweet and quick read.

* Received this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion and review*

Super cute contemporary romance with a nice slow burn romance that I felt progressed in a really cute believable way! Totally recommend this for a sweet read and to get in the spirit of the season too.

3.5

Firstly, for anyone out there worried about the whole 'becoming hot to take revenge on a guy' thing- I don't think you should be worried. While it is a part of the storyline, it's not focused on too much, and Addy's swimming definitely turns into something for herself rather than for Mitch.
The development of the relationship between Addy and Gray seemed very organic and I loved the journey. Another relationship I loved was the one between Addy and Max, her brother. They tease each other a lot but when push comes to shove, you know they'd be there for each other.
Overall, Hot by Halloween is a cute read which I couldn't put down, and I would definitely recommend it!

ARC provided by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I daresay that I read it without any judgements. And for me, at this stage, it is of extreme importance as I just cannot handle all the drama surrounding high school romance anymore. But I seriously loved this book and below are the reasons for it:

1. It had sports in it.
2. For once, I cannot define this book in any categories (which is hard to find these days).
3. I did not include any romance between popular girl/boy and unpopular boy/girl. More like they were pretty much known in their own circle of friends.
4. I liked both the characters equally which is saying something. And actually not only the main characters but everyone in this book because each one had something to look forward to (except Freddy).
5. I loved the fact that the best friends had something sacred between them.
6. I liked the whole basic theme of this story!

Now that I have given my list of the reasons why I liked this book, I’ll give a brief description of this book.

So basically, we have this group of three best friends who make a squad goal for each year with the aim of fulfilling it. At the beginning of the senior year of their high school, Addy decides to make ‘Hot By Halloween’ as her squad goal (to make her ex boyfriend regret breaking up with her – which she realises at the end shouldn’t be her squad goal). She joins the school swim team to have a hot bod (I know the aim is not that appreciative but it works for me because dude, swimming does make you more fit). Here, she meets Gray who is a new student and literally lives swimming. He badly wants to get a scholarship to move out of Minnesota. And thus the story begins with two of them having very different objectives of being in the swim team but finally finding a common ground to be with each other.

And that’s how the story progresses and it does get more interesting after that. What made this book even more nice was the fact that I like the determination that these characters have in this book. That’s something I’ll never get tire of.

So I give this book 4.5 stars for all the goodness it gave me!

Squad Goals: Hot by Halloween by M. F. Lorson and Jessica Bucher is a cute young adult romance. I love this genre, there is something so innocent about first loves. I love the quirky people and situations in this book, and watching the characters grow. I found this book to be a quick read, and recommend it to all readers who enjoy a YA sweet romance.

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

Apologies, I really wanted to read this book it sounds like such fun! But it is only available to download on Kindle not epub. Bummer!

" And I never wanted to come up for air. "


OMG! What a cutest book! I have not read a YA who takes my heart and makes me love everything for a long time. It is exactly the kind of book I like, full of friendship, smiles, achievements and a beautiful romance.

Addy is heartbroken after watching her ex with another girl. For thinking that the reason Mitch dumped her and date Cassie was because Addy isn't a hot girl, she's going to come up with a plan to win the guy back.

Gray is also heartbroken but for different reasons, the talented swimmer joins the school swim team willing to get a scholarship to return to California.

Addy and Gray know each other when she subscribe her name to be a competitor too but Gray and the other colleagues don't like the girl for thinking that her inexperience will lead the team to failure.

Addy wants to earn Gray's trust to make him her jealous element and to teach her how to swim.

Between workouts and cute dates, these two become fond of each other and what was just a friendship ends up becoming something more.

I loved the writing of the authors and especially the light, fun and romantic way that they led the romance between the characters. The book brings great important lessons about overcoming and teamwork.

I loved the cover and already want the love stories of Simon and Lucy, Nora and Max.

This was a fun, easy romance read. It looks like it will be a series that coincides holidays, so depending on how this book does in our collection (I've purchased it for our teens) I'll consider adding the rest for a complete collection. Overall, a light, fun book that I can't wait to circ for Halloween!

3.5/5

Just the book I needed at the moment: a cute, fresh and addictive YA Romance and such a cozy Autumn read.

I was very pleasantly surprised by how much of the plot revolved around sport instead of around the romance (although there are plenty of adorable moments too!). The main characters have a lot of chemistry and you can really root for them. I only wish the secondary characters were a bit more fleshed out.

Every year Addy and her two friends set what they call "squad goals" at the end of Summer before the new school year begins. Addy is still recovering from the breakup of her boyfriend Mitch as they had been dating for two years and now he dumped her for someone whom Addy thinks is hotter than she is. Now her goal for this year is to be Hot by Halloween and win Mitch back. In order to get in shape, she joins the swim team. This would have been perfect but Addy doesn't know how to swim and thinks freestyle swimming is where she can make up her own swim style. Enter Gray Turner, he's the new guy at school as his dad left his family to move in with a new one and now he and his mother have moved to the middle of nowhere. Gray now needs the scholarship to go to college and his strong suit is swimming, the thing here though is their team here isn't as competitive as his old one and they let anybody in including Addy. As the story goes along, we read as Addy in return for her picking Gray up for school, etc he gives her free swimming lessons. We all know what's going to happen though as Addy starts to fall for Gray but her heart is divided as she still wants Mitch back. What will happen though when she is faced with the decision? Will the guy she really wants, want her when he discovers her Squad Goals book which made it out like she was using him as arm candy? Can Addy prove to Gray that she has changed from the Summer and beginning of the year? Find out in this fun cutesy Tween Novel which is perfect for girls aged 11-12+ and while you are reading it, have a think of what your Squad Goals or as we call them here New Years Resolutions would be?

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for supplying me with an ARC of this book*
I really quite enjoyed this. It was a quick and easy read that kept me interested chapter after chapter.
At first, I thought it may be very focused on Addy becoming hotter however it wasn't the main point of the book. I loved Addy's friends Nora and Lucy, they were so supportive with what Addy wanted but also never stopped telling her she didn't need to become hotter as she was already hot.
I enjoyed how all the characters weren't just vapid people in the book, they had more to them.
Although it is a cute YA romcom, it is a lot more to it.

Such a fun read, a great YA novel, fun, flirty and full of heart. A great book to make you smile and laugh and fall a lit in love yourself.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Cute book. The story was very rich and full of life. It was like you were right there watching everything take place. Definitely a must read.