A cute summer romance and exploration of sister relationships. A fun and quick read. with realistic characters.

Another book that IDK why I never sent feedback because I read it when I got approved. Also just a super cute romcom that had a great lead, love interest, and supporting characters. Familywise, the relationships between Lydia and Penny and Lydia and Grace were adorable and this was super enjoyable to read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Amulet for the ARC and sorry I’m so late!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this review copy in exchange for an honest opinion. Review has been posted on Amazon.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

This was requested when I first found out about NetGalley and I had requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before they were archived. I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. If I can find this somewhere for a reasonable price, I will try to get it! I am giving this book three stars, as I don't want to give it a good or bad rating, since I did not get to it and we have to leave a star rating.

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I thought I would but it was still cute. Some parts felt a bit rushed but overall it was a cute book.

This was such a cute and fun read. The representation in this book, not just for love for all, but also a bigger girl main character was refreshing. Lydia was a good MC, but kind of annoying and frustrating at times. The story seemed to repeat itself a lot, but was easy to overlook with continuing story. - 3.5 -

This was really cute! I loved the dual progression of Lydia's relationships with both Fran & her sister, and the emphasis on romantic, platonic, and sisterly relationships as being of equal importance.

When you make a promise not to get involved with any boys in the summer, the loophole there absolutely means that you can get involved with a girl and no one will be upset, right?

Such is the premise of Amy Spaulding’s newest YA release. Lydia makes a pact with her younger sister Penny that they’re going to focus on bettering their lives and that means not focusing on boys. Lydia really does try to stick with the plan, but making new friends also means meeting a girl who causes Lydia to blur the lines of the pact.

I liked this book, but there were some points where I got frustrated with Lydia. It gets a little repetitive at points, but overall I had a good time with it.

3.5 stars rounded up

This book hit me right in the feels. This is my second Amy Spalding book and dang I DEVOURED this. I love the story here and all of that insecurity she showed for her young protagonist made her feel so sympathetic. I really loved this!

What a sweet love letter to Los Angeles and the exhilaration of finding your independence as a teen. I also especially appreciated the thoughtful and heartfelt treatment of the bi characters!

I really enjoy Amy Spalding's books so of course was so excited to read No Boy Summer. No Boy Summer follows Lydia, a rising high school senior spending the summer in LA at her aunt Grace's house with her sister Penny. Lydia and Penny make a pact to not get involved with boys this summer and to focus on their self development and sister relationship. However, working at Uncommon Grounds -- a coffee shop -- Lydia makes friends with a group of wonderful girls. She also meets Fran, whom she has feelings for. As Fran is a girl, it doesn't count against the pact, right? Still, Lydia doesn't tell Penny and carries the secret of her feelings for Fran.

The setting of the corner of LA that Grace lives in was so well written. I love when books have a solid sense of place. Lydia's growth from someone who feels at arm's length from everyone to having a solid group of girl friends was excellent. The way the friendship group was written was great. Also, Lydia is fat which plays into one part of the story where she calls someone out for an offhand comment. I didn't care a ton for Fran or Penny but I guess both were on their own journeys as well. No Boy Summer was a fantastic warm weather reading.

I love fat queer representation and this was great representation. This is an easy and fun read but I don't know how memorable it's going to be to be honest. I liked it well enough and I especially loved when the fat main character called out one of her friends for being unintentionally fatphobic, but I didn't love it. It's fine. I totally throw it on a summer reading list and recommend it as a fun summer queer read but it's not landing on my favorites list.

After a year marred by relationship disasters, Lydia and her sister, Penny, decide to spend their summer with their Aunt Grace and her boyfriend Oscar in Los Angeles while their parents are off on a European cruise. The change in scenery is perfect for the pact the two sisters make: they won’t kiss any boys this summer. But when Lydia meets Fran, she convinces herself that Fran is a loophole because Lydia is bisexual, a fact Penny doesn’t know yet. Lydia has never dated a girl before, but she wants nothing more than to kiss Fran. Penny won’t mind as long as Lydia’s happy, right?

i've enjoyed the books i've read by amy spalding in the past (especially her recent adult romance 'for her consideration'), and her latest ya romcom 'no boy summer' was no exception. the book follows lydia and her sister penny who, while spending the summer with their aunt grace in LA, decide on a 'no boy pact' as a way to focus on themselves and their relationship to each other. soon, lydia is making friends at her new job, one of whom is fran, the queer aspiring filmmaker who actually seems to like lydia back. surely lydia dating fran in secret, while technically not breaking the 'no boy' rule, will be ok with penny?

this was truly a coming-of-age, finding yourself story and i had a good time reading it. the exploration of lydia's relationship with penny was great. fran as a love interest was honestly pretty mid, but felt realistic for a summer fling situationship. this one's a good summer read, though, and worth checking out!

This book made me jealous, I want to spend a summer in L.A. working in a cute coffee shop and exploring the food scene! The premise of this was great, two sisters staying with their aunt, spending their time working fun jobs (well, Penny's isn't really for me but she loved it!) and exploring a new city. I enjoyed living through Lydia as she made friends and had her first real girl crush.

Continuing my Pride Month reads, I picked up No Boy Summer. And, yeah, the title is completely correct. No boys here, nope. Just girls. Cute girls. And a relationship within the first few pages. Except it’s not a relationship, either. Fran doesn’t want a relationship, doesn’t really do relationships, and is known as a player. Lydia just came off a bad breakup and she doesn’t want a serious relationship either. She’s eager to be with a girl and explore this new side of herself. She’s an LA girly now, with girlfriends and a cool job at a coffee house. Sure, she knows what she promised her sister when she said no boys, but Fran isn’t a boy so it’s fine. Everything is fine.

I love how Lydia grew over the course of this novel. I wouldn’t describe her as a loner at the start, not exactly, but she’s not very confident in a lot of ways. It’s kind of funny, how confident she is with relationships, even with Fran, who is the first girl she’s been with. She’s boy crazy, which is why her and Penny have a no boys pact for the summer in the first place. But she doesn’t have any friends, not real ones. Sure, she’s pretty outgoing with regards to theater, but she doesn’t hang out with people outside that. But it’s so easy for her to fall in with Margaret and her friend group, and they accept her with open arms. I love how easy it is for her, if she even tries just a little bit. It helps that her and Margaret work together at Lydia’s aunt’s coffeehouse. I was so happily embroiled in the little coffeeshop. I am a coffeeshop connoisseur and love to see them represented in books. I know it’s pretty cliche, especially since this actually involved a romance (coffeeshop AU anyone?), but I love the coffeeshop element. By the end of the book Lydia, an upcoming high school senior, has solidified what she wants in life (nothing specific, but just a whole lot of confidence and hopes for the future).

She’s helped along by her sister, Penny. They grow closer over the course of the summer and come to a much stronger understanding of each other’s motivations. Penny is extremely logical and loves facts. Lydia thinks Penny believes her to be unmotivated and stupid, basically, because these little bits of info seem timed to be more like an insult than a help. But Penny is just trying to help, and that’s how she sees the world. Fran, Lydia’s hookup for the summer, also helps Lydia realize how awesome she is. Fran is an aspiring filmmaker and Lydia does sets for her high school’s theater program. They’re a match made in heaven, for sure.

No Boy Summer is a light summer read, with a low stakes romance set against a journey about finding yourself and not setting solid expectations. It’s about friends, forging new connections, and getting out of the little box you build for yourself once you think you understand the world. I love how Lydia is a bigger girl, how she’s unquestionably bi and this is something of a coming out story, but not at the same time. She’s so comfortable with herself as a person in so many ways and I found comfort in that. I recommend this book to anyone, middle school and up, who wants a summer romance with a little bit of life advice thrown in. Thank you to NetGalley for an early copy of this book!

Two sisters make a 'no boy summer' pact in an attempt to spend more time together over the summer. One of them finds a loophole though by falling for a girl. There was some great body positivity and nonbinary rep in this book. Overall it was a cute, light-hearted summer read with a beautiful cover. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

dnf at 42%

i kept turning the page wondering “will i be clobbered over the head with the same info as the last page?” and the answer was always yes. i get it: it’s the no boy summer, lydia’s an uncultured suburban white girl, lydia doesn’t know how to navigate social situations, lydia feels her sister penny is better than her, lydia has self-worth issues, lydia and penny only used to talk about boys, etc etc. literally every single page brought up at least one of those previously mentioned ideas and it got so exhausting so fast.

lydia and fran have almost no chemistry and i don’t think we actually get a single character trait for fran other than “wants to work in film (position unclear)” and “is a ‘player’” whatever that means. considering the book is built on lydia’s instant physical attraction to fran, i have no idea what fran looks like, though to be fair that could be because i didn’t care enough to picture her in my head.

anyways i don’t think i’ll regret dnfing this. i honestly don’t know if it could get better and i don’t care to find out.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book, all opinions are my own.

For Her Consideration was one of my favourite reads of the year until this one came along.

No boy sumemr is about two sisters who made a pact that they will spend summer only focusing on themselves and not on boys. That plan worked well for both until Lydia meets Fran and her group of friends.

I think it was a very delightful and easy read. The way the author describes Los Angeles and its experiences is so beautiful. The queer love story and the sisterhood elements at the center of this book are what make this book one of the best reads of the year.

This is highly recommended for all fans of queer love stories, easy reads, Los Angeles and sibling stories.