Hot Summer by Elle Everhart is a fun sapphic reality show romance that takes place in a Love Island-inspired setting.
After several years of being passed over for other roles, Cas Morgan has had enough of hosting singles night parties for Friday, the dating app company she works at. So, when her boss Robert dangles the possibility of a massive promotion to Chief Marketing Officer and heading up their new partnership strategy, she agrees right away, even though it means doing something unusual. Cas will be planted on the dating reality show, Hot Summer, and she has to make it to until the finale.
Cas has seen enough seasons of Hot Summer that she figures it should be easy enough for her to go all the way to the end. What she doesn’t count on is Ada Hall. Sweet, beautiful, and earnest in wanting to find true love, Ada is also bisexual like Cas.
When Cas’s plan to make herself likeable for the show’s audience crashes and burns immediately, she has to turn to the next best thing—being herself. And the more she’s herself, the more Ada seems to return Cas’s crush on her.
Can Cas set her motivations for being on the show aside long enough to grab on to love with Ada?
Narration & Writing
Typically we talk about the writing in a book before the narration, but I’m not sure I would have finished Hot Summer if it weren’t for the narration, so I’m talking about them together.
I was excited to pick this one up, because I love reality show romances and it’s the first sapphic romance that Marisa Calin has narrated (she’s a prolific narrator, married to Lori Prince). Unfortunately, because I’ve spent my career in Marketing departments, I was uniquely conditioned to side-eye the events that kick off the novel.
The leap from event host to Chief Marketing Officer is too big for me to believe anything except that Robert is a slimeball out to exploit Cas. When he said she’d be approached for brand opportunities as a finalist, and thus make it easier for her build out partnerships as Chief Marketing Officer, I wanted to gently explain to her that Friday would 100% benefit and she would never get that job. Thankfully the narration kept me going, because Calin’s voice is just that good and I liked how she acted the different parts.
I increasingly enjoyed the story as I listened and ended up loving the romance between Cas and Ada. It also felt like a very fun peek behind the scenes of shows like Love Island, showing us the highs and lows of living in a reality show pressure cooker for weeks, where you don’t know who your friends or enemies are.
One final note about Calin’s narration: Hot Summer is the only audiobook I didn’t speed up in the last decade. This is a big deal because I typically listen to books at anything from 1.25-1.8x speed. I so hope she narrates more sapphic romances, because she’s amazing at it and we need more excellent narrators with British accents!
Pros And My Favourite Parts
Hot Summer is told from Cas’s perspective and this works well because her character arc is so strong. When Cas starts the book, she’s tired of hangovers and being passed over for promotions. So, she goes into the Hot Summer villa cynically, thinking only about how she can make it to the end of the show. Despite trying to keep herself at arm’s length from the rest of the cast, Ada and Femi (the man Cas is initially paired with in a friendship couple) both see the good in Cas. Viewers rating her poorly is a foundational moment for Cas, because it forces her to be herself more and worry less about what others think.
I especially loved seeing how warm Cas becomes when she starts to trust people. Her friendships with Femi and Freddie, another male cast member who shows up later in the book, are very sweet. It’s not often that men are among my favourite characters in a sapphic romance, but Femi and Freddie are incredibly supportive and cute as they root for Cas and Ada. They also make a great counterbalance for the f*ckboys in the cast who are typical in shows like Love Island.
Hands down, though, the romance between Cas and Ada is my favourite part of this book. After having her heart broken spectacularly in a previous relationship, Cas has zero intentions of falling in love ever again. And yet, it’s understandable why she can’t help herself with Ada, because Ada is so lovely and sexy, and able to see beyond the front that Cas puts up. The question of how Ada will react when she learns about why Cas is on the show drives tension in the story well and I was very happy with how everything turns out in the end.
Heads Up
None.
The Conclusion
The degree to which you enjoy this book will likely be determined by how much like you like messy relationship reality shows. Although I haven’t seen Love Island, I’ve watched enough seasons of other shows like Love is Blind and The Ultimatum: Queer Love that I ended up loving Hot Summer, despite my initial feelings about how Cas ends up on the show.
This book has hot people, big feelings, an interesting set of characters, and a satisfying romance. I could see myself rereading it on vacation when I want a low stress read that will make me smile. If you’re looking for a beach read, this is the one for you.
Excerpt from Hot Summer by Elle Everhart
“I think we’re supposed to go down there,” Ada said, pointing to one of the high-top tables just off the pool deck. There were a few stools around the table and, on top, an ice bucket with a bottle of cheap champagne waiting for them.
Cas grinned, a thin attempt at hiding the nerves now swirling through her stomach. “What makes you think that?”
“Just a hunch,” Ada said. She was smiling again, the right side of her mouth hitched up just a touch higher than the left.
They uncorked the champagne, and Cas poured two generous glasses into the white plastic flutes stacked in the center of the table. Her contract had been very clear that they were only going to get a few drinks a day—one this morning and then two, maximum, at the first-night party later—and Cas needed every ounce of alcohol she could get to soothe the anxiety twisting itself up in her chest.
It wasn’t that she was nervous. Not in the way the others might be. She wasn’t hinging her romantic future on this show, she wasn’t a fool, but she could feel the tension in the air all the same, thick around her. She needed this show, needed to be liked, needed to get to the finale.
“So.” Cas swallowed a sip of champagne, blinking through the rush of bubbles in her nose. “What’s your dating situation been like?”
Ada laughed and immediately raised her glass to her lips. “Not great.” She took a sip, and when she lowered her flute, her expression was soft, almost sad. “I just got out of a long-term thing a few months ago.”
“Oh no.” Cas moved her hand to rest briefly on top of Ada’s. A show of solidarity without being too over the top. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, she wasn’t ready to commit, and I don’t know.” Ada shrugged. “I’m ready for something serious, you know? That’s why I’m here.”
She.
“Are you bi, then?” Cas tried to ask it casually, like she had absolutely no interest in the response.
Ada nodded. “I kind of flick between using ‘bi’ and ‘pan.’ I’m not sure which fits best.”
Oh my god.
Get It Online
When you use the links in this review and buy within 24 hours of clicking then we get a small commission that helps us run the site and it costs you nothing extra
Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 978-0593545126
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Audiobook Publisher: Penguin Audio
Narrator: Marisa Calin
Note: This is a review of Hot Summer by Elle Everhart. No money was exchanged for this review. When you use our links to buy we get a small commission which supports the running of this site
