I couldn't get through this book without crying. It's just got so much heart to it. Yes, on the surface, it's a You Got Mail retelling about two teens warring on Twitter, bonding via an anonymous chat app, and falling in love in real life, but it also deals with more serious themes of resenting and loving members of your family, how deeply the past can wound us, how misconceptions and bad first impressions can do real damage, and so on and so forth.

All the characters feel very real, though none shine as much as Jack and Pepper FOR GOOD REASON since the time devoted to setting up their relationship is so necessary to make it feel breathlessly inevitable when they do finally work it out. I'll be stanning this book all the way to January 2020, but not as hard as I stan Grandma Belly.

**Disclaimer: I was given a free e-ARC of the below in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley**

Title Tweet Cute

Author Emma Lord

Release Date January 21, 2020

Description from Amazon

Meet Pepper, swim team captain, chronic overachiever, and all-around perfectionist. Her family may be falling apart, but their massive fast-food chain is booming ― mainly thanks to Pepper, who is barely managing to juggle real life while secretly running Big League Burger’s massive Twitter account.

Enter Jack, class clown and constant thorn in Pepper’s side. When he isn’t trying to duck out of his obscenely popular twin’s shadow, he’s busy working in his family’s deli. His relationship with the business that holds his future might be love/hate, but when Big League Burger steals his grandma’s iconic grilled cheese recipe, he’ll do whatever it takes to take them down, one tweet at a time.

All’s fair in love and cheese ― that is, until Pepper and Jack’s spat turns into a viral Twitter war. Little do they know, while they’re publicly duking it out with snarky memes and retweet battles, they’re also falling for each other in real life ― on an anonymous chat app Jack built.

As their relationship deepens and their online shenanigans escalate ― people on the internet are shipping them?? ― their battle gets more and more personal, until even these two rivals can’t ignore they were destined for the most unexpected, awkward, all-the-feels romance that neither of them expected.

Initial Thoughts

Ok, can I just take a minute to talk about the fact that I’m reviewing a book that’s coming out in 2020?!? Seriously, where did the year go? It feels like just yesterday I didn’t even know what an ARC was, and now, I’m reviewing books for 2020! Anyway, I was chosen for a Blog Tour of this book in January but I couldn’t resist reading it early and writing this review.

Some Things I Liked

Gossip Girl vibes. I. Love. Gossip Girl. This book had all the best parts of that story without any of the needless bitchy-ness. I loved that. And, it was self-referencing (in a way). The story cited its parallels to the hit show and I just loved that.
Additionally, I loved all of the references to various bits of pop culture.
Alternating POV. This was perfectly done. Since our main characters are both harboring secrets that the other doesn’t know, the POVs made this story so much more fun to follow.
Grilled Cheese. Buddy the Elf’s food groups are candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup. Mine are grilled cheese, mac and cheese, donuts, and peanut butter cups. This whole story revolved around one of the most epic foods in existence.
I also really enjoyed the multi-generational element in both of these rivaling restaurants.

Favorite Quote

“Full-time vice principal and part-time thief of joy.”

“Thief of joy” is one of my favorite things that Michael calls Dwight on The Office. When I saw it used here, I literally laughed out loud.

Final Thoughts

This book was adorable. I loved every page. I applied for it kind of on a whim since I really don’t read many contemporary novels but this really caught my eye. I’m so excited to be participating in the blog tour in a few months.

In the meantime, ADD THIS TO YOUR TBR, like ASAP (or as Michael Scott would say, ASA P as possible 😉).

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Recommendations for Further Reading

Flawed by Becky Bird – if you like cute, contemporary romance stories, definitely give this new release by Becky Bird a try.
Cupid’s Match by Lauren Palphreyman – this book isn’t out yet but if you enjoyed the setting and characters in Tweet Cute, definitely give this new release a try.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of "Tweet Cute" in exchange for an honest review.
"Tweet Cute" promised to be a cute teenage romcom. This isn't usually my genre of choice but after reading and loving "Red, White and Royal Blue" this year I thought why not? I ended up loving "Tweet Cute" enough to give it a five star review, the same rating I gave "R,W and RB" so maybe this should be a genre I read more of. "Tweet Cute" was much more substantial than I would have expected. I didn't see all the twists and turns. The story follows Pepper, a high school overachiever whose family owns the chain fast food restaurant "Big League Burger" and her classmate Jack whose family owns a little deli called "Girl Cheesin'". Without the other knowing their connection to the restaurant/deli they get into a tweet war when Big League Burger unveils a new Grilled Cheese that seems stolen straight from Girl Cheesin's family created menu. Meanwhile Jack and Pepper are also anonymously chatting each other on a school specific app that Jack created. It is only a matter of time before the app 'outs' them to each other, they can't go on being anonymous forever. Real life sees Jack and Pepper pushed together for joint commitments to the dive club and swim teams. I really thought that the book would spend it entire page count with the tweet war and the big reveal at the end would be them finding out who the other was and its fallout. But the book swerved when I thought it would zag. I was so glad to not guess every step. Also, the book is built on the strength of Jack and Pepper as characters. The are very well drawn and their family stories are so human and believable that you can't help but be swept into the novel. I laughed out loud in several spots and that tells a lot about a story as well. I truly enjoyed this one and I can't wait for others to discover it. Great job on this one Emma Lord!

FOUR CUTEST SWEETEST FLUFFIEST TWITTING CYBER-DATING SMARTEST STARS!

Welcome to the present time retelling of “You’ve got mail!”

DIFFERENCES:

-There is no competition between local book shop and Barnes and Noble store, we had a local deli famous with its signature cheese sandwich versus burger joint that stole deli’s special cheese sandwich recipe and declares the secret recipe belonged to them!

-We don’t have stubborn as hell but charming as well adults like younger version of Tom and chick lit version of Meg! We have overachiever, responsible, competitive, serious, swim team captain PEPPER and smart, witty, sarcastic, technical genius JACK is also responsible, family oriented, hard worker boy who hated to be overshadowed by his popular, leader, charming identical twin brother!

-They don’t send EMAILS! They sent TWITS ! Actually they fight via TWITTER! But they also secretly cyber date on the application Jack designed. And in their normal life, they’re FRENEMIES who don’t stand with each other but unfortunately they sit next to each other at the classes. ( They know the rule about keeping enemy closer!)

-There are lots of PASTRIES, SWEETS,DESERTS on this book which gave me real cravings and threw a 3 am baking party at my kitchen( I’m the worst cook so I woke my husband up to cook for me!) Shame on my sweet tooth!

SIMILARITIES:
Tension between characters, story-development enemies to friends to lovers.
Undeniable chemistry
The complication when they find out their secret identities.
Never ending rivalry
Story located in NYC.
They didn’t meet the famous French Café Lalo was the best location of the movie( Please try its Nutella cheesecake when you stop by then write me thank you notes!) But the characters met at the coffee shop. Pepper actually has great gift about creating different, tasteful deserts which helped her seduce Jack at the first bite!

SUMMARY:
It’s fluffy, swoony, smart, entertaining, fast pacing, full of memes and popular culture references and social media forms. Sometimes their cyber fight overshadowed the romance part which a little disturbed me but mostly I really enjoyed this debut novel. It made me smile, feel good and have so much fun!!!Such a funny, positive, joyful reading!

Thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books to share this incredible ARC COPY with me in exchange my honest review!

I've rarely been someone to go against the grain of popular opinion with books (and movies, and tv, and anything else). When I saw someone on Twitter raving about this book and how highly it had been rated by early reviewers, I was excited to request a copy. I assumed I would love it too (like I usually do). It sucks to have to report back differently.

So what is Tweet Cute about?

Pepper and Jack are high school students juggling college apps, anonymous relationships on a school app, swim team, and their parents' sandwich shops (Pepper's family's fast food chain and Jack's family's local deli). When the two restaurants get into a bit of an online tiff over a copied grilled cheese recipe, the two teens take over their respective companies' Twitter accounts for a feud that was made for viral fame.

My thoughts:

Generally speaking, I should have liked this book. The second star is awarded for being a genuinely adorable contemporary romance. The characters felt realistic. The relationships between friends and family members were believable and enjoyable. The kinds of criticisms I generally have for contemporaries like this one don't apply. And yet, I struggled to get through this and I found myself ranting about it to my roommate just to get how frustrated I was off my chest.

As you can tell from any of the summaries (or actually from the title itself), this book centers around social media. This kind of focus is risky. I'm sure you've heard lots of discussion about pop culture references in books -- how they date the story and how they can feel like a cheap grasp for relatability. "This book references Mean Girls??? I've seen that!" (Also, by the way, this book references Mean Girls and Gossip Girl about a million times each. I feel like I might have been a bit less annoyed if there was any semblance of variability.) Tweet Cute was absolutely packed with pop culture references, but somehow even worse than that are the meme references. If you think pop culture references date this book (which they do, to the mid to late 2010's) oh boy, do memes date a book so much more (specifically to spring 2018, somehow. I'm assuming that's about when the bulk of this book was written).

Besides the incessant pop culture references driving me insane, the technospeak was just...wrong. You absolutely cannot write a book that is as much about social media as this book is without making sure that all of your social media content is at least correct. It was all little things that may well be caught in editing before this book is released, but calling a drama channel a vlog channel, calling it "quote retweeting", or remarking that a viral Twitter war left one account with "over a hundred notifications" eats away at your credibility to be writing a book like this. These are just three examples of the many that made me want to quit reading.

A book like this should have been one I could get through in one evening, but I got so frustrated that I had to repeatedly set it down and walk away. It sucks, because this is a book that I could have so easily loved. It has tropes I enjoy, characters I found likable, and no plot difficulties that I couldn't overlook. I think overall, I just found it pretty difficult to read a book about two teens spending a lot of time on social media by someone who just isn't quite fluent enough in technospeak to pull it off.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC through Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

Pepper's family is behind Big League Burger which has quickly launched into popularity across the U.S. and is spreading internationally. 

Jack's family runs Girl Cheesing, a small deli with only one location. 

While both go to the same school, their worlds unexpectedly collide when Big League Burger launches new grilled cheese sandwiches, one of which is clearly a blatant rip off of the Girl Cheesing Grandma's grilled cheese special. Not one to take it sitting down, Jack uses the deli's Twitter account and fires off a tweet reply which unexpectedly goes viral. And quickly, Pepper's mom instructs her to fire back because while Big League Burger has a social media manager, Pepper really is the brains behind it. 

And so the feud begins. 

But there's another problem. Pepper and Jack may be crushing on each other without actually knowing the other is behind it on an anonymous app that Jack built while simultaneously engaging in a Twitter war that neither knows they're behind. 

Tweet Cute was a refreshingly fun read. While dealing with some hard-hitting topics (struggling family business, tense family dynamics), this read remains a fun read throughout. 

This is told in alternating perspectives, and I thoroughly enjoyed both perspectives. 

Tweet Cute releases January 21.

I enjoyed this book so much even so beyond the typical what you expect from a YA romance. The family expectations and sibling relationships. I enjoyed this book from start to finish!

Tweet Cute is a really sweet YA romance that while being completely sweet and cute, manages to be occasionally surprising, and also deal with some of the challenges teen face regarding family expectations, relationships between siblings and parents, and of course some of the benefits and pitfalls of social media.

I really appreciated the opportunity for social media to be both a blessing and a curse, and how the narrative deals with the fast turn around on social media and how quickly things can change, as well as asking questions about the benefits and/or pitfalls of anonymity.

Spoiler alert, but also a content note - this is also the first book YA book I think I've read this year, where the protagonists only go so far as kissing in the narrative, which honestly was a nice switch. I sometimes recommend for religious schools and religious teens, where while I'm not bothered by teenage sexuality and/or language use, I do think twice if there's a lot of language or sex within a story, and this is one that I'd feel very comfortable handing to a younger teen, or recommending in a setting where content is more restricted. It's also, frankly, nice to have diversity in novels in the YA genre. I believe there was a little bit of language, but it was mild, again - particularly comparatively to some of the things I've seen in YA novels I've read this year.

Overall, recommend to those who love romance, who want a cute story that's a little cheesy and a little sweet, but definitely satisfying.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

This book has been on my radar ever since it was first announced. When the email came through asking if I would like to take part in the blog tour, I jumped at the chance, and actually read the book the very next day, after my copy arrived. Tweet Cute is a sort of You've Got Mail spin on YA contemporary. Both of our main characters, Pepper and Jack, are the children of burger chain owners, and find themselves in charge of the social media accounts for the companies. When Big League Burger, the company owned by Pepper's parents, introduce a new Grilled Cheese sandwich that is neigh on identical to the one that Girl Cheese have been selling for years, down to the name, it's on. Soon, a twitter spat is started, and to make matter's worse, Pepper and Jack are actually school mates, who have to work together as respective captains of the swim and dive teams. To add another layer to the story, both have been communicating with each other, unknowingly, through the anonymous Weazel app that Jack created for the school, and have been falling for each. With the gloves are on, and the gauntlet thrown, they will stop at nothing to win, and not even their budding feeling will get in the way (even with the world shipping them)

When I mean I read the book the next day, I mean that I spent two hours doing nothing but reading, and wouldn't move or do anything until I was finished - everything about the book was outstanding, and I refused to miss a minute until I was done. If I hadn't already known this was a debut, I would've expected this to have been the author's tenth published work, or something. The plot line was phenomenal, with the action gripping you on every page, and the characters were so relatable, and real, that I wish I actually know them.

To start with Jack, he's a twin, but not the 'popular' twin. His brother Ethan is beloved by all, and most people can't tell them apart, and when they realise Jack is not his brother, they're clearly disappointed. Pepper, however, has always been able to tell them apart, and this has partly endeared her to him from the first time they met in freshmen year. He seems to think his family prefer Ethan, as he's always allowed to skive off from working in the restaurant, whereas Jack always picks up the slack, and they don't understand his love of app development and coding. Pepper, on the other hand, is focused, and really really smart, too. She moved from Nashville to New York the summer before freshman year, and her first day at the exclusive school was an eye opener. Within a few weeks, she learnt how to fit in, and is now wading like a swan through life, juggling her school work, her swimming, the pressure her mam places on her with the twitter stuff, and her family's disfunctionality. Her only saving grace is talking to Wolf via Weazel, and the thrill that is coming from the interactions with Jack via twitter.

The romance in this book was second to none. Jack and Pepper might just be my ship of 2020, and this is currently the only 2020 book I've read. From the first interaction, the chemistry is off the page, and once we add the tension of school and twitter, I felt like screaming at them to kiss. They've both been the only people to really see the other, and not see the facade or public persona they put on. Even with the tension of the twitter spat, they lean on each other, and try to make sure it never goes really personal. Each reveal parts of themselves to the other, and there are some really sweet moments between them, that have nothing to do with their relationship or anything else.

There is a bit of angst in the book - understandably - and the hints of a love triangle, but it's nothing to worry about. All in all, this book was just outstanding, to repeat myself, and if I can't convince you to buy a copy, I don't know what will.

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord, 336 pages.
St. Martin’s Press, 2020. $18.
Language: R (144 swears, 2 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Pepper’s mom is being ridiculous by adding yet another thing for Pepper to be doing with her extremely-full schedule: answering the family business tweets about cheese sandwiches. Jack is getting similar pressure from his dad, except that his dad doesn’t want Jack to do anything with that fancy social media stuff. Despite the Twitter war going on, these two teens find themselves becoming friends in real life -- until secrets and stress pile up and threaten to ruin the careful lives they were trying to build.
I knew that I was going to enjoy reading this story as soon as I started reading the synopsis, but I didn’t know that I was going to enjoy it as much as I did. Yes, the book is cheesy (no pun intended), but it wasn’t as predictable as I expected. I literally laughed out loud at the quips and antics of the characters, and I was absurdly touched by the kindness of the main characters and their classmates. I couldn’t get enough as the characters kept surprising me and taking me in directions I wasn’t expecting. The high swear count is the only reason this book is “optional” instead of “advisable” or “essential.”
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

I was pleasantly surprised by this book! A refreshing take on an old story (Romeo-and-Juliet-esque), I loved the friendship development between Pepper and Jack and the interesting point on perspectives and how easy it is to make assumptions about people that you’ve known even your whole life. The language was intelligent and descriptive in a way that allowed me to feel like I was there in the story or in the characters head in that moment. So well written. It was a bit on the longer side but again, the authors writing style was so engaging, I didn’t quite mind it. I would definitely read another book by Emma Lord.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martins Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

This has been, by far, one of the cutest YAs I've read this year. I wasn't sure how I'd feel when I started, but by the time I got a few chapters in, I was hooked. I adored the characters, Pepper and Jack, and I loved how there was a natural progress from acquaintances to friends to more. I will definitely by the printed version when it's released. And Emma Lord is super nice on Twitter, too.

So fresh and relatable. I absolutely adored this book. Pepper and Jack have a depth that you don't always see in YA Rom-Com. They both have flaws, makes mistakes, and learn so much about themselves throughout the book. I loved how the book also showed how perspectives can do easily be skewed, and simple communication and conversation can clear up misunderstandings instead of allowing hurt feelings or anger to take root without knowing the full story.

Lord's writing is strong. The story flows beautifully and I loved her use of texts, apps, and, of course, a Twitter war, to keep the peace moving quickly. I can't say enough great things about Tweet Cute. Certainly one of the best YA books of the year!

this book was soo cute! I loved the banter between the two main characters the most. I will read more by this author in the future.

It's been months and I'm honestly still thinking about Tweet Cute. I first heard about it from Twitter (the author's promo tweets are pure gold honestly), so when my wish on Netgalley was granted, I immediately jumped in. Tweet Cute is already one of my favorite releases of 2020, and it's barely a month into the year.

This book was exactly my kind of humor and the writing was honestly my thought process. I actually typically hate You've Got Mail-comped books because they get so old so fast; however that was not the case with this one!

Tweet Cute is perfectly paced. I liked how the secret chats were two-fold: They're talking to each other on an app Weazel AND fighting on Twitter behind their respective brands. It made their interactions even more interesting. That being said, I was glad that the Twitter side was revealed really quickly because there was a chance of it turning too toxic. From there it delved into a prank war that I found funnier and more amusing.

And how they gradually grow to like each other in real life even without knowing they're talking to each other on Weazel . . . maybe I do like You've Got Mail books. Just a little bit. This book restored my faith in them.

I really loved Pepper and Jack, both together and as separate characters. Pepper wanting to be perfect to fit in with her prep school classmates was very relatable, as well as her inability to say no to her mom about writing tweets for their popular fast food chain Big League Burger. Similarly, I liked reading Jack's thoughts, how he feels inferior to his twin and thinks how everyone prefers Ethan to him.

Jack and Ethan's sibling relationship was very realistic; Jack thinks he's lesser than Ethan, but Ethan also has insecurities compared to his brother. The fact that they have these fears but don't voice them to each other . . . A+ sibling interaction.

Pretty much anything I had an issue with (basically anything that seemingly could have headed into a toxic area) was resolved eventually, and I'm so grateful. Emma Lord really thought of everything! The fact that this is her debut makes me so happy knowing that we'll hopefully be getting more great books from her!

Tweet Cute was all at once heartwarming and hilarious. It's a love story in the modern age of social media and streaming; in fact, I think this is one of the only books I've read that I think accurately captures meme-culture and everything else teens are enmeshed in today. Lord captures a humor unique to today's culture while also unveiling the hopes and insecurities of teenagers that everyone has felt. Tweet Cute is not to be missed.

**This review will be posted on my blog as a part of the blog tour on January 14, 2020.**

Tweet Cute was quite the ride. I loved the format, surprisingly, of having two narrators. Normally that annoys me, but in this case, it made sense to see it from both Pepper and Jack’s perspectives. Essentially, the story is this: two teens end up running the Twitter accounts of two businesses (that, whoops, belong to their parents, no potential grounding there) and they wreak havoc. And then at some point, two rivals become something other than enemies. I wanted to give it 5 stars, but at times it did feel slightly predictable, or occasionally the teenagers just didn’t seem totally believable as their age.

Pepper seems to be the protagonist, at the beginning, but at various parts in the story, it’s easy to shift sympathies between the two. They’re both likable, fleshed-out characters with their own quirks. Pepper is a swim-team captain with an eye for writing pointed Tweets and baking otherworldly desserts. Jack is secretly much more driven than people give him credit for, but also feels tied to the world he’s known his whole life.

The book really digs into themes of family loyalty, first love, social media (and what it’s like to be constantly connected), and expectations. I would recommend this book for anyone looking for a refreshing young adult read.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a while to get into this story, because the beginning was a bit slow. However, once we had met the characters and knew more about them, I fond myself really enjoying this story and the banter between the characters. It is a great YA book, it deals with family problems and rivalry between businesses.

Too cute for words!

I always loved "You've got Mail" and Tweet Cute does a great retelling of that story for a YA audience. The story moves quickly and the characters are very well crafted and realistic. The only worrying bit is the references are all over 10 years old (gossip girl, mean girls, cat memes) and focuses more on twitter than instagram or other more current social media platforms.

But still cute and something that will be enjoyable for those who buy YA books: 30+ year-old women.

I stayed up until 2am reading and finishing this book. It was <strong>SO </strong>cute and adorable, and very modern with the use of social media. I could definitely see how this could happen in real life, with a crazy twist of fate.

I really loved both Pepper and Jack's characters. They both had their own issues in life, but ended up working them out with each other in the most unique, but helpful ways. I felt like their relationship grew very organically, even with the twist of the anonymous app. It was so funny to see them falling for each other in person and on screen, without them knowing it was the same person. It isn't quite an enemies to lovers trope, but it is pretty close. They aren't exactly friends before they're thrown together.

This is a true YA Contemporary novel, you've got high school characters and high school problems. Bonus, you've got their PARENT'S problems as well, because of course it impacts them. I found this to be a very light and easy read that sucked me in very quickly. It's the kind of book I like to read when I need refreshing from a string of YA Fantasy novels.

I can give no critiques for this book, as I didn't see anything that could be improved as I was reading it. The writing was clear and well-constructed, the plot flowed as one would expect from a rom-com contemporary, and there was even a fun epilogue set a few weeks after the end of the book.

If you're looking for a light and easy read, or a beachy read to get you through this January... Tweet Cute will be for you!

Even though this book had a nice premise, the plot in my opinion was not very well developed. It took way too long for things to really start happening and when they did, they did not live up to my expectations and everything became very boring.
I know that we were dealing with a story that involves teens and their angst, such as insecurities, lack of communication, awkwardness when socializing, which are very interesting subjects to be discussed and shown on a book. However, not only things took too long to happen, but also the way things happen... too much infinite drama and all that twitter banter, which was something that could have been nice and could have brought the book to another level, made me hate Twitter for a bit.

I still gave two stars in recognition for the author's first title, but I can't really say that I understood what was the purpose in here.