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3.5
Come As You Are: A Novel
ByPublisher Description
In this opposites attract romance for fans of Begin Again and Better Than the Movies, a fresh start doesn't have to mean changing yourself.
Hot on the heels of a broken heart, Everett “Evie” Riley arrives at Camden Academy ready for a new beginning - one far away from her cheating ex-boyfriend, the sister who stole him, and the best friend who let it happen. But her fresh start is stopped in its tracks when she's accidentally placed in an all-boys dorm, with no choice but to stay.
When rumors and gossip about Evie's housing predicament spread like wildfire, she decides the only way to survive is to lean into her questionable new reputation... but she's definitely going to require help. Her grumpy emo dorm mate Salem Grayson isn't exactly her first choice, but he does need her help to repair his relationship with his parents every bit as much as she needs his to learn how to be cool. And so they make a pact: he'll teach her how to be bad, if she teaches him how to be good.
It's a flawless plan, except while Salem thrives academically, romantically, and–annoyingly enough– even physically, Evie's quest feels like one dead end after another. But when Evie realizes what she wants more than anything, she'll have to contend with her thrice-broken heart and figure out how to become someone capable of chasing happiness.
Dahlia Adler’s Come As You Are is about refusing to accept less than you deserve, and realizing that the best relationships are forged with people who know exactly who you are.
"Heartfelt and hopeful. In Come As You Are, Dahlia Adler deftly combines the witty dialogue of a grumpy-sunshine romance with the emotional turmoil of searching for self-acceptance. This is the royal flush of YA romances!" - Kristy Boyce, bestselling author of Dungeons and Drama
"Dahlia Adler’s uplifting Come As You Are is full of snappy banter, personality-plus characters, and the chaos and complications that come with being sixteen. Plus, a giggle-inducing grumpy-sunshine romance. This fresh take on the boarding school story is a delightful way to spend the afternoon!" - K.L. Walther, New York Times bestselling author of The Summer of Broken Rules
Hot on the heels of a broken heart, Everett “Evie” Riley arrives at Camden Academy ready for a new beginning - one far away from her cheating ex-boyfriend, the sister who stole him, and the best friend who let it happen. But her fresh start is stopped in its tracks when she's accidentally placed in an all-boys dorm, with no choice but to stay.
When rumors and gossip about Evie's housing predicament spread like wildfire, she decides the only way to survive is to lean into her questionable new reputation... but she's definitely going to require help. Her grumpy emo dorm mate Salem Grayson isn't exactly her first choice, but he does need her help to repair his relationship with his parents every bit as much as she needs his to learn how to be cool. And so they make a pact: he'll teach her how to be bad, if she teaches him how to be good.
It's a flawless plan, except while Salem thrives academically, romantically, and–annoyingly enough– even physically, Evie's quest feels like one dead end after another. But when Evie realizes what she wants more than anything, she'll have to contend with her thrice-broken heart and figure out how to become someone capable of chasing happiness.
Dahlia Adler’s Come As You Are is about refusing to accept less than you deserve, and realizing that the best relationships are forged with people who know exactly who you are.
"Heartfelt and hopeful. In Come As You Are, Dahlia Adler deftly combines the witty dialogue of a grumpy-sunshine romance with the emotional turmoil of searching for self-acceptance. This is the royal flush of YA romances!" - Kristy Boyce, bestselling author of Dungeons and Drama
"Dahlia Adler’s uplifting Come As You Are is full of snappy banter, personality-plus characters, and the chaos and complications that come with being sixteen. Plus, a giggle-inducing grumpy-sunshine romance. This fresh take on the boarding school story is a delightful way to spend the afternoon!" - K.L. Walther, New York Times bestselling author of The Summer of Broken Rules
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesCome As You Are: A Novel Reviews
3.5
“Cute boarding school romance about finding yourself. I wanted to keep reading between sessions. Pretty well narrated.”
“I love how much personality there is in the writing. I really liked Salem and Evie’s friendship. It’s fun to read about them becoming such fast friends and their dynamic. I really enjoyed ‘Going Bicoastal’ by this author, I liked that one more than this but I still enjoyed this. Something about her writing is just nice and easy to read, and makes me want to read more books by her. I started really enjoying it in the second half of the book. The characters were making me laugh. I love when an author can make me laugh. I’ll definitely be reading more of this author’s books!
At first I thought this was set in college and I was surprised to find out it’s set in sophomore year of high school. I liked the boarding school setting though. The ending was good, but I am getting annoyed at so many romances having to end in ‘I love you’. I was liking how slow burn this was, they didn’t kiss until it was almost over. And I was liking how the book was ending, then that had to be added in the last 2 pages which just annoyed me because I don’t really think they’re in love yet.”
“This gave the ultimate if rapunzel was in boarding school vibes. After a falling out at home, Evie takes a chance on boarding school. Unfortunately it begins with her being the only girl in the boys dorm, assuming “Everett” was male, and the female dorms are full. Evie is determined to reinvent herself this year and with the help of her misfit band of friends she’s made, they’ll figure it out together. What she doesn’t expect is falling for dark, broody rock and roller, Salem, the stoner who lives above her and is going to give her lessons on behaving badly. Before long, there’s more than just friendly vibes between them but Evies too much of one of the boys for that, or is she? Will Evie notice their spark before it’s too late? There was just enough drama the keep my attention and the romantic aspects take me back to being in middle school with the first boy I ever kissed! It was so cute!”
“I haven’t read a YA romance in a bit and while I did enjoy it overall, the whole time I kept thinking it felt more mature than the age of the characters. And maybe I’m too old and out of touch, but the idea of high school sophomores being that openly sexually active and clear about their sexuality preferences seemed unrealistic to me. Yes, some sophomores have sex but they usually lack the maturity to express , understand, and verbalize their desires clearly or accurately. Generally, they fumble how they approach partners, and there aren’t a lot of sexually active kids at that age, more the exception than the norm. It was a stretch for me to believe the way they acted and spoke based on my own experiences and what I see from my nieces and nephews today. The characters were an odd juxtaposition of a tad too mature and emotionally progressive, while immature enough that both Eve and Sabrina needed to escape to boarding school because they couldn’t cope with their break ups.
The other things I struggled with were how Eve’s issues were (or rather weren’t) resolved. The dynamic with her sister and her parents was so dysfunctional but only addressed in a handful of scenes and some phone calls. I get that the premise is a YA romance, not literary fiction but these are serious traumas and little to no plot development or depth is dedicated towards understanding the underlying issues or how to cope with them.
That aside, the overall friends to lovers romance felt organic and sweet. The dialogue was sharp and engaging and I found it enjoyable to listen to. I think it would have just worked better if the characters were older. Seniors would have been more likely. It had a Gossip Girl flair because it’s a boarding school of rich kids, but less catty and dramatic.”
About Dahlia Adler
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