3.5 stars -- I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

I'm...not sure...exactly what I thought. I enjoyed myself thoroughly. It was what I was looking for, something a bit lighter with swoony moments. But it did have some other depth that I hadn't been expecting but still found very intriguing and gut-wrenching. But at the same time there were a few things that bugged me, and it was a bit more obviously predictable. I mean, it's not that I don't often pick up these books knowing that they will be predictable, because that also means that I get those predictable good feelings. But there was just something a bit more that didn't work for me...or maybe it's that there were a few things that went off book that didn't necessarily fit for me. Huh, so did I find it too cliché or not predictable enough? I don't even know.

OK, good stuff. In general I really enjoyed both our MCs. At the core of Ayla, she was a sassy personality who believes in noble things and desires fairness and opportunities for everyone. I enjoyed that while she was a curvier girl, she was OK with who she was most of the time...I actually liked that it wasn't 100% of the time, b/c it's something I think people have to work at and takes time. Even I try to accept myself, but it's not that sometimes things people say can't still get to me. So I felt like that was very real, and so she was a good role model. And I didn't even mind that what we got with her was the typical nerdy girl who hates judgement, but does a bit of her own judgement about the popular kids/jocks. It's a good lesson to learn, to give EVERYONE the benefit of the doubt, not just the ones like you. And I didn't even mind that she resorted to blackmail, though I wish I felt the desperation more to justify it. It seems like she only just decided in one day to run, and suddenly she's resorting to shady means to win. It was OK, but could have been fleshed out better.

Luke was even more interesting in some ways. Because we end up with a guy who is afraid to upset his current status by being himself, and who's both vandalized and either called people names (according to Ayla's friends), or at minimum stood by while his friends were dicks. I felt like these things weren't given enough time or thought in the book though, and that was kind of a shame. Did he really never feel bad about Jack being such a dick to other people in school? What led him to the vandalism? I mean, we kind of get some of it, but I would have really appreciated a bit more growth there. It was kind of swept under the rug (except for that one part with Isaac). It was an opportunity missed in my opinion. And I get why, there was just so much else going on with him. But it's not an excuse you know? So did he honestly just have so little compassion? Or was he just not aware? I don't know...

But on the other side of the coin, I (like Ayla) really fell for the "real" Luke that we got to see outside of school. Landon's big brother. He was really rather sweet, and it almost seemed like maybe he was just coasting, and needed someone to give him a reason to stand up for something. And that someone was Ayla. And he really was dealing with soooo much at home. The twists were a bit unexpected, and honestly I'm still not sure how happy I am with the realism of them. Like they live in one town, and he never saw or encountered those people (trying to be vague)? That's kind of unrealistic, isn't it?

As for secondary characters, they were occasionally a mixed bag. I wanted to see more of the friendships with Brady and Chloe. Because I think they could have added even more. I wanted them to, from what I saw of them. But for Chloe, I wasn't sure what brought her and Ayla together...what they were like together. We didn't really get to see them hang out, she was just kind of ancillary to the plot. I got a bit more from Brady, but I kind of wanted him to be more involved with Luke. Like he lived on Mansion Hill, did he not notice those people?

Landon and Ayla's parents were awesome though. Awesome awesome awesome. Added good stuff, made me happy. Awesome.

I was a bit bummed with the way the whole Jenna thing worked out too. I saw it coming from a mile away, but it would have been cool to have been surprised, you know?

So yeah, it was a solid cliché YA. They're good to have. I just felt like it could have given me a bit more and I would have been a bit more satisfied.

First I have to say I've never read a story like this before and it was a very fast read! Going into it I expected just a blackmailing, fake relationship type of story but there was so much more to that. It mentioned real life issues that are currently happening when it came to the school newspaper, how the arts and clubs related to them tend to be in the most danger when funding becomes an issue, friendship, family drama and some really great villains.

I'm a sucker for these boy pretends to be girls boyfriend books... this one didn't disappoint. Ayla and Luke are likeable characters. Ayla is frustrated with the funding cuts for the arts in her school and happens across PERFECT, popular Luke involved in some vandalism She uses this to help her blackmail him into being her boyfriend to get the votes for class president. Their relationship starts to change when they both realize that there is more to each other than they initially thought. This was a fun read, with great swoonworthy moments. It dealt with family issues, bullying issues and friendships. The layers to this book really surprised and impressed me. I look forward to more from this author!

Okay, the story is simple and it follows the standard formula - Geek blackmails Jock -Fake Relationship - Falling for each other -Some twist - All is well that ends well.

The author has followed the formula to the T.

So about the characters - Ayla Hawkins - a geek who runs the school paper as well as a main part of drama club is outraged that the school has cut off funds to art clubs and instead increases funding to sports. She comes off like a geek-rebel but she keeps saying she is just a bystander who normally doesn't talk much. She says she hates the rich families and their kids who act like everything is under their disposal, but she isn't poor, mind you! She has tree (boat?!) house that looks bigger than Luke Pressler's house. So I found it hard connecting to her.
Luke Pressler - popular jock, putting up a pretense in school that he is still rich and lives in big mansions. But inside he is raging and trying to cool off his hatred towards his dad for forsaking them, and in a moment of rage vandalizes public property. But otherwise, he is responsible big brother to Landon, takes care of him and helps his mom in paying bills.

The fauxmance turning to romance is predictable but I did enjoy it. All through the book, I was waiting for the video to go into the wrong hands. Because, duh the formula!

I'm being honest here and will list out the things that I liked and disliked.

I liked that Ayla stood for many causes but resorting to blackmail was beneath her. Like she should have just asked Luke to help with her campaign , why particularly to be a boyfriend.
There's a confusion to most of the characters - Luke's mom is first portrayed differently, so I'm not able to digest how things turn out eventually.
The number of times the characters repeat something about themselves. Like Luke, stressing so many times that he is paying the bills or how Ayla stresses multiple times about jocks and all popular kids being judgmental jerks. Or Jack and Jenna's "you're going down!"
I liked that Ayla was curvy and was confident about her appearance, and doesn't mind stuffing herself with pizza.
I loved Landon <3
Andddd, i loved the book cover !! I usually like headless couples on the cover of a book<3 :P
I've read other Entangled Teen Crush books that have a similar story, but if you haven't read any of them, you can give this a try, because its cute, high-school romance with some swooning.

2.75 stars

***ARC received in exchange of an honest opinion***

Incriminating Dating was a bit TOO YA for me. What most people call YA (young adult) these days, specially on IG, I consider NA (new adult), but there's nothing wrong with a good YA book, ai actually love them.

But this time, it was maybe a bit too sweet for me. The man characters, despite being high school seniors, were too childish for my tastes. The story was just too mellow, with no real sparkle between the characters. I couldn't feel the chemistry.

Even though it seems like a cliché from the blurb, it isn't. At leats not the cliché we all think at first. It might still be a cliché, but a more "different" one. There's also a plot twist (I saw itcoming - to some extent) with the hero's story, which was welcome.

I couldn't relate much with the book and it shouldn't have happened. Even though I'm 10 years older than these characters, it's a sign of a good book and an acomplished goal when we can relate to stories and characters despite them being different than us. Unfortunately that didn't happen here.

The ammount of sugar in the story and how sweet it was, ironically, prevented me to like it as much as I could.

“Incriminating Dating” was a really cute book that follows two high school seniors, Ayla and Luke. We bounce back and forth between their two perspectives, which works out perfectly. Ayla is pretty much the opposite of Luke. She is nerdy with Star Wars themed purses, working on the school newspaper and auditioning for the school musical. She’s pretty unpopular and gets teased for her weight. However, she’s happy with who she is and can handle the heat. Her senior year is off to a rocky start- the budget for drama has been halved from its already pitiful amount, and the newspaper is on the verge of getting cut entirely- all to feed into the sports teams.

Her BFF Chloe comes up with a plan to save the budgets- if Ayla gets elected Senior Class President, she can influence the school board into hopefully sharing the wealth a bit more equally. Ayla just found out her article on transgender rights is cut, and the principal wants her to do an interview with the star of the basketball team, Luke. Although she is upset about it, she has to play by the rules. On her way home, she catches Luke and some of his friends defacing some public statues. She records it, considering using it for her article. When Luke stands her up for the interview, she runs into him at the pizza place where he works and comes up with a new plan- she’ll blackmail him into helping her get elected to President. His popularity would be sure to bump her social standing up a few notches and help her case.

Luke is the popular jock, but he’s struggling at home. He lives with his mother and little brother, Landon. His mother works two jobs and Landon works every hour he can to help support their family. Landon’s mother has a bad habit of coming home drunk and yelling at him. We are first introduced when she calls and asks him to skip his last few classes to go pick up his sick brother from school. Luke knows he needs the scholarship for basketball to go to college the next year- he can’t afford for Ayla’s tape to come out and ruin his future.

When the two collide, they learn more about each other than they would have thought, and the blackmail starts to seem like more of a catalyst for a wonderful relationship than a burden. The book takes some unexpected twists and turns, and I absolutely loved it. There are some big themes of neglect, abandonment and abuse, but nothing gets too out of hand, and things are handled well by the surrounding characters (good examples are set). This was a really lovely story and I really enjoyed it. I loved that they were not your typical high school couple and their whole journey from blackmailer/blackmailee to friends and to maybe something more.

It’s a very well-written story and it is almost impossible to put down. I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend it for any lovers of clean YA romance. Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

As far as YA contemporaries go, this one was a classic "Let's pretend to be dating because it has got to solve both our problems but wait I think I'm falling for you in a not-pretend way." Nothing life-changing or extraordinary. But enjoyable just the same.

This book was funny and adorable and I think that that's good because one of the reasons I read contemporaries is because I find them relaxing when I just really need to sit back and relax. Unfortunately that's about the only good thing about this because the writing felt more telling than showing (which I'm never a fan of). I wasn't sold on the two main characters' chemistry. Not to mention I had to put the book down several times because I just couldn't get into it. Which is a bit of a disappointment since I almost always love books from Entangled Crush.

I received an e-arc to read and review.

I loved reading "Incriminating Dating' so much that when it came to the climax when things got complicated I just couldn't stand the thought that Luke and Ayla may be torn apart. Gosh, that was suspenseful! I loved the way these two people, coming from different social groups, found out that they had more in common than they thought, and it made me swoon when they always stood up for one another. Lovely swoonworthy novel. I do recommend, especially to nerds who love comic books and super heroes - Ayla is one of us ;)

If you enjoy preppy high school themes then this is the book for you. I really loved the pacing of this one and the fact that even though you may not have things in common on the surface you still might have more in common than you think you do. This was a very fast and simple read that I think many will enjoy. If your looking for a preppy high school read that you could read in one sitting then this is for you. Each character was fully formed as well as the plot and it was a joy to read.

I received a copy of this from Entangled Teen through netgalley.

Ayla and Luke are a new favorite couple for me. While it sucks that Ayla blackmailed him, I'm so happy she did. I loved that while she was confident in so many things, she also freaked out about a lot. Especially when it came to how others saw her. It made her feel real. Luke was a pleasant surprise. His relationship with Landon made me melt. I would love to see a story based around Chloe and Brady, too.

ayla hawkins believes in causes. she believes in standing up for what is right. she's a proud drama club member, reporter for the school paper, and pizza fan. in incriminating dating, she accidentally catches star basketball player, luke pressler vandalizing a public park with his friends. they are drunk and stupid and rich and entitled. and ayla has no problem sharing the video of their actions with the authorities, except she's running against the super popular jenna for student body president, and she could use a little help. so she makes a deal with luke. if he pretends to be her boyfriend and helps her with her campaign, she'll delete the video.

luke has a scholarship to the university of michigan that would be endangered if ayla shares the video. he could be suspended from school or off the team. so he agrees to ayla's terms. and in spite of what ayla thinks of him, he's actually a pretty good guy. in fact, ayla only learns as she gets to know him, but his circumstances are so far from what she assumed they were. he lives in a seedy part of town, his mom is absent or drunk on a good day, he has no contact with his father or that side of the family, he works long hours to help supplement his mother's income, he studies late into the night because there is no other time to do it, and he often is left to watch his younger brother because he's the only one able to pick up the slack.

as ayla and luke get to know each other better, they each come to understand what has shaped their points of view. ayla shows luke that while he's basically a good person, he can stand to speak up when things are not right more often. people see him as a leader, so when his friends are being jerks and he says nothing it looks like he is part of the problem. and ayle learns that not all things are what they appear. everyone has a story and you can't trust your first impressions and think you know everything based on limited information.

ayla and luke go through some pretty major stuff, some of it life-changing. learning to rely on others and opening up about their problems are some of the life lessons that they both need to acquire in order to come through everything together. it's a bumpy road and they are teenagers, so things get pretty dramatic, but it also works out perfectly in the end. as always, communication is key. one of the best things that incriminating dating does is it lets us really get to know who ayla and luke are as they are getting to know each other. it's almost as if they had been defining themselves by how other saw them or who others assumed they were. but when ayla and luke are together, they are their real selves. they start out thinking the worst of one another, only to find that maybe this person they've thought so badly of, is actually pretty wonderful.

Three and a half stars.

Review to come ...

Ayla Hawkins is an idealistic drama club, gaming, school newspaper editor nerd. But when funding for the drama club and the newspaper at her high school are cut yet again to buy new uniforms for one of the sports teams her best friend urges her to take a stand and tun for class president. The problem is that her rival is Jenna Lee, popular, one of the in-crowd and incumbent class president. Her chances look slim until one night she sees three of the most popular boys in school vandalising public property. When one of the boys, Luke Pressler, blows off an interview for the school paper with Ayla without an explanation (an interview mandated by the Principal) Ayla decides enough is enough and decides to blackmail Luke into helping with her campaign by posing as her fake boyfriend.

Although Ayla might be a nerd she is self-confident, happy with herself and comes from a loving and supportive family. Luke however is living a lie. Formerly one of the rich kids living in a huge mansion, his parents have divorced, his father has remarried and moved to Italy and he has to work nights at the local pizza parlour to help his mom pay the bills.

This is a really low-angst teen novel about two individuals who have nothing in common on the surface who click once they spend time together. Luke realises that some of his so-called friends are not very nice and that in a crisis it is Ayla and her family who are there for him. There is the inevitable (and predictable) nasty girl plot at the end but overall I read this with a smile on my face. After starting and putting down five or six books when I was 30%-50% through them because they weren't engaging me this was a breath of fresh air.

Thoroughly recommended if you enjoy any of those preppy High School movies.

I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love these cute simple reads. The characters are loveable. The situations a little more believable than a lot of novels out there for teens. I don't have to worry about inappropriate scenes. The main characters make mistakes. Plus this one had a curvy main character who accepted herself for who she was and was a nerd (go Doctor Who) also. You couldn't help but love her. The friends were realistic. I completely enjoyed the book.

Incriminating Dating
Rebekah L. Purdy
Book Review: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
I enjoyed Luke's story in this book. He is a complex character with so much to offer and a great guy. His home life is the best part of this novel.

Ayla, I didn't like as much. Overall she was okay she just had her moments. Ayla is a super geek. She dresses in sci-fi t-shirts and plays video games. She is also a great lover of pizza making her a little curvy. She is passionate about the school paper and the drama club. She wants to help the non-sport extra school activities gain more funding as their budgets are getting cut while the sports teams are getting new supplies. When she was out one night, she catches some of the jocks vandalising public property. She decides to use her incriminating evidence to gain herself a fake boyfriend in the hope it will help her win class president. If she gets this role, she is hoping it will help her to gain funds for the clubs. The bit I didn't get was why jocks would want to help the other clubs when surely the money would be cut from their budget? Her campaign wasn't part of the main story it was about her relationship with her fake boyfriend.

Luke is the guy she wants to entice with the evidence little does she know about his own personal issues. Instead of blackmailing him to help herself win the election she ends up helping the one person who needs her most. I felt this was an unlikely couple pairing, however, I enjoyed reading their blossoming romance.

Geek/ Jock romance novel with a difference. Definitely worth the read for the teen 16+ reader.

4 stars out of 5. Thanks to Entangled crush and Netgalley for this book in exchange for an honest review.

ebook £3.90
Expected publication: April 10th

Cute story that has the perfect blend of teenage angst, high school drama, romance, and growing up and finding your path in life. Definitely recommend!

I totally love a great fauxmance and want a Luke of my own. Incriminating Dating does have some mild adult language and sexual situations, but it has plenty of awesome girl power, and the combination kept me riveted to the book! I have another book hangover thanks to this Entangled Teen Crush! I can't wait to read it in our YA book club, too. As a drama teacher/coach, I love how Ayla is the perfect candidate to stand up for change in her school against popular incumbent Jenna. The underdog vs. the popular queen-bee bully will resonate with so many teens. Plus, Luke (as the popular basketball player fighting his own demons) falling for Ayla (the drama and newspaper editor geek) is just so perfect.

I recently got the opportunity to read Incriminating Dating by Rebekah L. Purdy. I fell in love with the characters and story line from the very beginning. Purdy does an outstanding job creating the characters, settings and plot line. The story has two points of views, one from Ayla Hawkins and another from Luke Pressier. Ayla is what some might say a geek. She is involved with the drama club, editor of the school paper and a huge comic/video game geek. She has an ongoing dislike for Jenna and decides to run against her for class president to try to save the school clubs she loves so much from losing their funding. Jenna is the typical high school popular girl who only cares about the in crowd. This feud makes for a great deal of drama and heated arguments. While Luke is one of the popular kids, a basketball star and loved by everyone, he has a dark secret that he has only told his best friend Brady. Ayla stumbles upon a way to blackmail Luke into being her pretend boyfriend hoping this would help her get enough votes to win the election. Luke has no choice but to go along with this plan or lose his full ride scholarship. Little do they both know they are more alike then they thought and fall for each other. I really felt like this story relates to a lot of teens and high school in general. I look forward to reading more of Rebekah L. Purdy's books.