sally rooney, normal people / krooked tongue, girls with knives / john green, turtles all the way down / wendy cope, the orange / lorde, writer in the dark

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Lottie Fitzpatrick has spent the last ten years changing the world, one song at a time. She's a global pop sensation—glittery, glamorous, successful—and has everything she could have ever dreamed of. Her sold-out world tour made headlines and her most recent album shot up to the top of the charts in record time. So why is she feeling so empty? Burned out and aching for an escape, she quietly retreats to sleepy Evermere, Massachusetts, hoping she'll find it within her to make music that means something.

She certainly doesn't expect to find her purpose helping save the local summer music camp. The camp's future is hanging by a thread . . . and so is its lead counselor, Leigh Flores.

Leigh runs from attention like the world is a burning house. She likes her stability, and having a world famous pop star disrupt her peace and quiet is a distraction she doesn't need. Even when said pop star is strangely down to earth, impossibly gorgeous, and filled with good intentions.

She quickly realizes that there's more to Lottie than it seems—she's sincere and genuinely eager to help the camp and the kids. People love her and, much to her chagrin, Leigh begins to understand why; it's hard not to like someone who pours her heart into everything she does, especially to help a stranger.

The summer air helps. Lottie is writing again—for herself—and rediscovers her love for the craft so she can tell her story in her own words. And for the first time in a long time, Leigh lets herself imagine that life is more than just surviving. It's hard to ignore the sparks between them.

But when Lottie's real life cannot be put on pause anymore, the delicate bubble they've created begins to crumble. Letting Lottie in means risking the balance Leigh has worked so hard to assemble. Now, they're forced to decide what—and who—is worth fighting for when the whole world is watching.

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zoë barnard as charlotte 'lottie' fitzpatrick

alexa barajas as leigh flores

&

zoey luna as chloe flores

alycia debnam-carey as natalie 'tilly' rookwood

calahan skogman as luca de leon

daisy edgar-jones as daphne langley

whitney peak as katrina 'kat' stone

+

olivia rodrigo & leo woodall as esme mendoza & matt crain

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forced proximity

reluctant friends (on leigh's part) to friends to lovers

LESBIANS doing LESBIAN THINGS (if you're a homophobe/fetishist weirdo, go away)

orange cat x black cat

esmatt crumbs

dual pov since this is not a novella and i can overwrite to my heart's desire

mentions of abortion. i am pro-choice. so is this book. there will be a warning at the beginning of the chapter that goes more in detail about when it happened (before the start of the book), but i can also add it to chapters that mention it in passing if the need arises. DON'T BE WEIRD IN THE COMMENTS.

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this book is a spin-off to WARM HANDS. it can be read as a standalone, but it will spoil the end of WARM HANDS (as if the ending wasn't obvious)

lottie and leigh are LESBIANS. i don't want any shipping comments between them and any men

"but cate, the names—" well, yes! if you know, you know (can't spell pit girl without it girl. where the fuck is natalie indeed)

that is, indeed, THE kat stone™

DO NOT MAKE FANDOM REFERENCES IN MY COMMENTS SECTION

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My characters' opinions don't necessarily reflect mine.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, corporations, establishments and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

COPYRIGHT © 2025 CATERINA GEORGE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author. Feel free to quote it, but give me the proper credit.