This book was just OK for me. I loved the premise, but unfortunately it fell a little flat for me, especially towards the end.

The start of the book had me interested, and I genuinely thought it could be a five star read. But sadly the mid section of this book just felt too long and didn't keep me interested.

I did like the characters, however I found myself getting a little frustrated with some repetitive sections.

Overall it was just fine for me. Parts of it were great, premise was great. It just didn't quite hit the mark for me.

This was a really sweet love story with a fun premise. I really enjoyed it, as I do with all of Kristina's stories. Would highly recommend.

I absolutely loved this book! The premise immediately hooked my interest and it was filled with complex characters and very incredible prose!

2.5 rounded up.

I really struggled with this one. I wanted to love it but I couldn’t connect at all to the characters, despite liking them. I didn’t really like the writing style and felt like it stopped me from feeling emotional about the storyline and characters. I thought it was structured in a weird way and the time jumps seemed kinda unnecessary and I felt it could’ve been written chronologically as the “big event” at the end was very anticlimactic.
It did have great representation though, which I did really enjoy. Black love, black joy, and the exploration of mental health. I also liked the queer rep and how natural it was.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, brown book group UK for this E-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not usually one for stories dominated by a romantic plotline, but the author, promise of sweet summer vibes, and mystery element had me willing to give this one a go. And, boy, was it worth it! Forest crafts some incredible characters, which prove both realistic and relatable. Alongside this, she balances the perfect dual timeline and uses side characters as the narration for the present day, adding depth to the discussion of judgment and outsider perspectives (honestly, this was really clever and provided some real food for thought and personal introspection!) My biggest qualm with the book was its length as, despite being enjoyable, it did feel long (unnecessarily so, at times). Overall, however, it's another fantastic story from Forest.

3.5

Zyla & Kai is a very sweet and charming love story, with well-developed characters who truly felt like real people, and a simple, cute relationship between our two main characters. I enjoyed getting to see their relationship develop, and how they struggled to balance their relationship between the ideas that each of them had about what love is, based on their parents and past experiences. There are really great, strong friendships in here, and also an excellent portrayal of mental health shown in Kai, with a strong advocacy for therapy (which I love love love to see in books!)

However, this book is 480 pages long, and it just felt too long for a contemporary... I think some of the story felt a bit like filler, and if it was a bit shorter, I might have enjoyed it more. From the very start of the book, we are told that Zyla & Kai have gone up this mountain and ran away, and throughout the novel we get flashes to other character's perspectives as they learn that Zyla & Kai have run away up the mountain. I have to admit, a lot of this felt very repetitive, and by the end of the book, when we learn what's actually happened, it's pretty anticlimactic.

I will definitely be picking up this author's other books, because I really liked her characters; I just don't think the plot was particularly strong in this one.

I found Zyla & Kai to be a compelling, fast-paced, easygoing read, I devoured it and finished in just one day. This is a solid YA romance about first loves and heartbreak. It flicks between the past and the present and I think this helps to really build suspense throughout the whole book. However, the ending was a bit anti-climactic, the 'why are they on a mountain situation', but I enjoyed the rest of the book, so I don't feel it ruined it. The dual POV allows you to really understand both Zyla and Kai and the side characters are well written too. My favourite character was Jamal, I was really hoping he'd get a happy ending the whole way through reading the book.

The writing is fairly basic and the plotline is quite straighforward, there were no major plot-twists, but I think it works for what the author is aiming for. Overall I really enjoyed this book and I've already added Forest's other books to my TBR, for when I'm in need of a cute, easy to read romance.

Rep; Black main and side characters, mental health, and bisexual rep.

This was a fast, easy read that was well-paced and had a great flow to it. It wasn't quite what I expected but that's okay, it was an enjoyable story and I liked the characters of both Zyla and Kai. The storyline was pretty basic and straightforward but I liked it and it worked for what this novel was. This was a cute, easygoing story with a lot of charm and I would definitely check out more by this author.

I absolutely loved this. This is a new author for me and I will be buying her other books ASAP.
I thought the author dealt with the situations very well and was true to life in every aspect. Brilliant.

A really quick easy to read book. It is fun and romantic and perfect for a summer holiday at the beach. I enjoyed it.

If you've read any other recent book reviews by me, you'll already know that I start every review in the same way: that they all start off with the full 5 stars and that I'm always hopeful that they will all still be firmly in place when I close the book too. This book ain't no different ;-)

OK, so the author is American, so I won't knock a star off for not spelling words with u's and using z's all over the place too ;-)

It's only taken 3 dull and boring pages to finally have some speech. I realise that backstory is needed, but not 3 pages of dratted boredom!!

The first 8 pages have been soo dull - it might be how things are written for teens in America, but it's been so overwhelmingly boring that the first star is coming off before I start reading page 9... will I be skipping more than I read with this book? Haven't had to do that for a while, thankfully, but it's already looking likely with this book.

The second star is coming off because of the totally unnecessary swearing... I get that swearing is allowed in Young Adult books, but this was a totally unnecessary swear so the second star is already coming off and we're down to 3 stars in under 10 pages.

Another 2 swears on the next page too, which is again totally unnecessary. If the author is so determined to swear in her books then she should stick to adult fiction IMNSHO.

Now the author is using big brand name drinks, probably without written permission, which is Trademark infringement, so the third star drops off at page 12. I was really looking forward to reading this book, but now I'm regretting ever requesting it and wasting my time on it so far.

Four swears in three pages is horrible and I really don't know how or why the publisher has approved it for publication over here in the UK. I'm gonna skip ahead and hope beyond hope that things improve in a few pages' time.

OK, I'm now at Chapter Two on page 19, so lets see if things have improved, shall we?

I'm on page 20 and things have definitely improved now. The author has used a big brand name again, but I've already knocked a star off for that, so I'll let it go again.

Oh yes, the second chapter was soo much better than the first! If the story had started at chapter two then this would be making me feel so much warmer towards it.

Blimey! I'm now up to chapter nine and haven't found anything to bitch about. The author is really in her stride now and her words are flowing like a river!

Over the last 10 chapters (and the entire book so far, in all honesty) have been sooo dull and boring 'cos there has been so little speech between the characters, so a star is coming off for that, so there are only two left and I can't leave a zero star review, so if just one more star comes off, I'm not reading any further.

Skipped ahead to chapter 24 now... I really wanted to believe the description on Amazon and was looking forward to an awesome book, but this is the exact opposite of that unfortunately.

*sigh* I've skipped ahead to chapter 28 now... this really is the final chance - if I manage to trawl through this chapter without skipping any farther then the star stays in place, but if it's so dull that I can't bear it then the final star will come off and I'll stop reading.

Oh dear, the use of brand names that even I've heard of means that, like with other books I've read and reviewed, the star is coming off and I'm officially giving up on this book, unfortunately.

I'm just mightily relieved that I didn't have to pay for this book and that I got it for free from Net Galley.

I read this book so quickly, it was a quick, easy lighthearted and romatic read. I liked the writing, the story and the characters. A good read.

This is solidly a YA romance for YA readers. Light and fun dealing with the trials of first filling in love and dealing with parental figures.

Loved this book so much I read it straight through in one sitting! Alternating between the past and present, we see the love story unfold from Zyla and Kai's perspectives: how they first became the unlikeliest of friends over the summer, how they fell in love during the school year, and why they ultimately broke up. Can’t recommend it enough ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️