Brian Zepka

Sixteen-year-old Dylan Highmark thought his winter was going to be full boring shifts at the Dairy Queen, until he finds himself in a fiery first love, literally. Dylan has always wanted a boyfriend, but the suburbs surrounding Philadelphia do not have a lot in the way of options. Then, in walks Jordan, a completely normal (and undeniably cute) boy who also happens to run at a cool 110 degrees Fahrenheit. When the boys start spending time together, Dylan begins feeling all kinds of ways, and when he spikes a fever for two weeks and is suddenly coughing flames, he thinks he might be suffering from something more than just a crush. Jordan forces Dylan to keep his symptoms a secret. But as the pressure mounts and Dylan becomes distant with his closest friends and family, he pushes Jordan for answers. Jordan's revelations of why he's like this, where he came from, and who's after him leaves Dylan realizing how much first love is truly out of this world. And if Earth supports life that breathes oxygen, then love can only keep Jordan and Dylan together for so long. THE TEMPERATURE OF ME AND YOU is the story of first love, and the lengths we'll go to figure out our hearts. What starts as an electric, chance encounter at a Dairy Queen leads to first love, a journey of trust and identity, and a ticking clock for survival.

The Temperature of Me and You

kelsey

more like a 2.5 stars***

this was just kind of underwhelming to me and the romance was sooo instalove which i despise 💀

the best part was the mean girl i kinned being a lesbian<3

𓆨

huge disappointment but i have to give that cover 2 stars

akynn 

This was absolutely beautiful. I'm in tears. The emotions I went through??? I don't think I'll ever be okay.

Agust Harris

Latitude Tamarind

This is a contemporary light science fiction novel, and when I say “light” I mean _really light_ - it feels like it has barely any substance. The pacing of this book is exhausting; it feels at various points like it’s going too slow or too fast, but you know what? The gay scene deserves some mediocre mildly sci-fi YA romances too. Also, the characters in this book are 16, but I would recommend the age range as being 13+ — perfectly acceptable for middle-graders as well as young adults. It’s fine! I wouldn’t write home about it! Three stars.

Katrina 

This book is a masterpiece and the epitome of love. You could feel the chemistry (pun intended) that Jordan and Dylan have. The characters are all so perfectly established my love for this book cannot be explained in words. This book evokes so many emotions in me this will forever be my favorite book of 2022.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc, arc, and finished copy from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Temperature of Me and You

Author: Brian Zepka

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 1.5/5

Diversity: Gay MC, gay love interest, m/m romance, w/w romance

Recommended For...: can’t recommend DNF 

Publication Date: January 25, 2022

Genre: YA Fantasy

Age Relevance: can’t recommend, DNF

Explanation of Above: I did not finish this book for a variety of reasons, but some of them include fatphobia, sexism, misogyny, the only other queer characters being a mean girl, and other problematic queer content as well as Harry Potter references in the book.

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Pages: 412

Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Dylan Highmark thought his winter was going to be full of boring shifts at the Dairy Queen, until he finds himself in love with a boy who's literally too hot to handle.

Dylan has always wanted a boyfriend, but the suburbs surrounding Philadelphia do not have a lot in the way of options. Then, in walks Jordan, a completely normal (and undeniably cute) boy who also happens to run at a cool 110 degrees Fahrenheit. When the boys start spending time together, Dylan begins feeling all kinds of ways, and when he spikes a fever for two weeks and is suddenly coughing flames, he thinks he might be suffering from something more than just a crush. Jordan forces Dylan to keep his symptoms a secret. But as the pressure mounts and Dylan becomes distant with his closest friends and family, he pushes Jordan for answers. Jordan's revelations of why he's like this, where he came from, and who's after him leaves Dylan realizing how much first love is truly out of this world. And if Earth supports life that breathes oxygen, then love can only keep Jordan and Dylan together for so long. 

Review: I DNFed this book at about page 220. The book has a strong premise and I wanted to like it a lot. The book had a great superhero aspect and I love the “normal person falls for the superhero/person with powers” trope. I also liked that it had a strong beginning. However, the book quickly faded after the beginning and it got very slow and boring quickly. The characters weren’t well developed and  the world building is meh. The book also started to show a lot of problematic content that made me feel uncomfortable. There is a Harry Potter reference, which is hugely problematic given JK Rowling’s comments and that this is a queer book.  There are multiple instances of sexism and misogyny, including making the only other queer character in the book the stereotypical “mean lesbian”, which I hate. The book also had a few other problematic elements, including a character who introduced himself with “male pronouns” and it wasn’t really called out or commented on. I skimmed this one to see the end and it’s very anticlimactic as well. I’m ultimately disappointed in this book because I really really wanted to like this one and I just feel very let down.

Verdict: It’s definitely not for me and I advise caution when going into this book.


Gabriel Noel 

ARC given by NetGalley for Honest Review

[3.5 stars]

The Temperature of Me and You is a story about two teens with super-powers but not superheroes. I enjoyed that the story focused on the life of Dylan and Jordan rather than the normal cookie cutter "person gets powers and becomes a hero" story. 

The characters were enjoyable but I never really fell in love or was super captivated by any one in particular. The story is really cool, and I think the cast of characters either needed to be trimmed or better developed for it to come together into a five-star book.

The story contains your classic YA tropes of "popular mean girl is actually hurting and needs a friend", "mc keeps a secret from friends and then reveals it to them in an emotional way", and "love interest changes mc's outlook on life". It's a bit cliché but it's cute enough to get away with.

Overall, an enjoyable and fun read.

The Temperature of Me and You

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