*I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

What I Like About You is a YA Contemporary. It's a cute story about Halle, a baker and a YA book blogger who mixes the two together to create her online persona Kels. As Kels she feels free to express herself becoming what she feels is a cooler, more carefree version of herself. Things become complicated for her when she moves to a new town and suddenly finds herself going to school with her online best friend Nash.

I don't usually read YA contemporary and this book had a few examples of why I am not the biggest fan of it. The conflict with Nash is entirely self imposed by Halle. When she meets him, he has no idea that she is actually Kels. Since Halle decides to keep this from him in fear of ruining their on-line friendship. While growing closer to him in the real world, she is presented with handfuls of situations where she could come clean, and instead keeps holding onto her secret. It becomes incredibly stressful to read at times.
The positive side to this book is Nash and his school friends. I loved their little group, to me they showed a very positive representation of close knit friends. They might have disagreements, but their loyalty always brought them together. I also enjoyed reading about Halle's family. Her relationship with her brother, and grandfather felt authentic to me.

Overall this book was a cute, quick read. I think that the 14-18 age group would really enjoy this one.

Halle’s parents are documentary directors who travel around the world making films. Halle and her brother move in with her recently widowed grandfather while her parents film a documentary for a year in Israel. Halle is also a famous teen book blogger, but she goes by the pen name Kels on her cupcake book blog. Halle discovers that her online best friend Nash also lives in the same town as she has just moved to when she runs into him at a library. However, Nash doesn’t know what Kels looks like, so he doesn’t know that Halle and Kels are the same person. Kels’s online persona is growing as she gets more opportunities but she has to keep up the division between her online life as Kels and her reality of Halle.

The book blogging community was really well portrayed in this book. There was one incident where an author insulted her teen community by saying that her books are meant for adults. This is a common argument, since many adults read young adult fiction. I think that’s because the young adult or teenage experience is so relatable because every adult was a teenager first. Even if you had different experiences as the characters in the book, most of the themes are relatable.

I found this book so tense. Halle was frustrating me because she wouldn’t tell Nash that she was really Kels. I kept holding my breath when he came close to discovering her identity. I wanted to yell at Halle to tell him the truth, yet at the same time, if she did tell him, it would be the end of the tension in the story.

I loved this book!

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If I was tasked with choosing one word to summarize What I Like About You, it would be this: adorable. There is so much to love within the pages of this story, and I ate it up in the same way I’d devour literally any and all of the cupcakes Halle bakes.

It feels appropriate to preface this review by stating that while I live and breathe Young Adult fiction, I haven’t been a Young Adult for quite some time. I know that the books I enjoy and love to read the most are not written with my twenty-something self in mind, nor should they be.

So that said, something that became wonderfully obvious early on was how much Kanter cares about the target audience of this book, and the celebration of having Young Adult books so clearly, lovingly, written for teen readers. What I Like About You knows it’s audience, and never tries to go against that.

It never—not once—alienates it’s teen audience.

This is apparent in several ways, most notably in the equally loving way that Kanter celebrates the teen book community, and teen prescences within this community across blogs and various social media platforms. As someone whose activity within the online book community is still fairly new (this blog isn’t even a year old yet!), I loved how genuinely Kanter showcased the community. Reviews and viral posts, cover reveals and movie announcements, the seemingly never-ending Book Twitter Discourse, book conventions—it’s all there!

What I love even more though, is how Kanter validates the importance of online friendships, and never once tries to insinuate that these relationships hold less value than the relationships we form in person with others. This is just one of the hills upon which I will gladly die.

I also loved how Kanter grappled with heavier topics such as grief and anxiety.

Again, there is an obvious care and honesty to how this is achieved. I could relate to Halle’s experiences with anxiety so strongly, particularly in the way it molds and affects how she interacts with Le Crew, and the disastrous tolls it takes on her relationship with Nash with the “love triangle” element of the plot.

As much as I found myself frustrated with Halle for being unable to “simply” tell Nash the truth about her online alter-ego, I could also fiercely relate to how not simple it really was. Because again: anxiety. It was stressful waiting for the inevitable implosion the longer Halle struggled to be honest, and I can see where these struggles in particular may frustrate readers of the “IMAGINE IF CHARACTERS WOULD JUST COMMUNICATE!” variety, and while I understand communication would solve 97% of the problems in most Young Adult novels… it’s not always that easy.

I appreciated that Kanter embraced that reality.

There is truly a wonderful balance between these heavier elements and the humorous and romantic aspects of the plot, and together it all made for an incredibly well-rounded and enjoyable reading experience! There is a diverse cast of fun characters—in particular I adored Halle’s brother, Ollie—and there is some really varied and wonderful Jewish representation, with several characters!

Also, cupcakes for days. And a graphic novel, with a T-Rex for a protagonist (if you know me, you know I love dinosaurs with every fibre of my being). I want to eat every single cupcake Halle baked, and I want to visit her blog, and I want to see book covers recreated with baked goods, and I want to read Nash’s comic, and—

Yeah, actually. I think that pretty much sums it up.

I fully realize that I am not the intended audience for this book. If I was a teenager I would have loved this book. Halle made selfish choices that are relatable for a teenager but as an adult, I didn't find her relatable. All the lying stressed me out and I just wanted Halle to tell Nash who she was from the beginning. I really enjoyed the portrayal of the book community and how Halle had a lot of supportive online friends and followers. I also loved the family aspects, reading about a Jewish family and Halle's relationship with her Grandfather. Overall it was cute and fluffy and a teen would love it. One True Pastry is an adorable blog name.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Net Galley and the publisher (Simon and Schuster) in exchange for an honest review.

Halle has always liked books; her grandmother was a legend in the publishing world, and when Halle starts her book blog, One True Pastry, she goes by Kels because she wants to see if she can make it in the book world without relying on her grandmother’s name. Nash is a blogger, graphic novelist, and creator of the webcomic Rex. Kels and Nash are best friends online, they talk every day, and they plan on meeting each other face to face when they hopefully attend NYU in the fall. Then Halle moves in with her grandmother and runs into Nash at the library, in a moment of panic, she introduces herself as Halle, and things start spiralling from there.

My favourite thing about this book is that it dove into the world of book blogging, bookstagram, and book Twitter. I loved reading about the online world that I feel most comfortable in, and I was able to relate to Halle because I know and love the online book world. I loved that there was a side story of an author going rogue on Twitter and alienating her fans because that’s something that I hear and read about all the time. This is the first book I’ve read that featured this online world, and I thought it was neat to read about this world.

I also really liked the characters in this book. I liked how ambitious and awkward Halle was, even if her awkwardness was a bit stereotypical. I liked Nash and how hard he tried to be friends with Halle, even when she was acting weird and being pretty terrible to him. I liked Nash’s friends, especially Molly and Autumn, I loved how hard they were both working to achieve their goals, and I liked how easily they accepted Halle into the group.

Another thing that I liked about this book is that it deals with grief. Halle’s grandmother passed away, and her grandfather has been struggling ever since. When Halle and her brother move in with their grandfather, things are weird because he’s not the same. I liked that we got to see all three of these characters dealing with their grief differently because, in reality, everyone deals with grief in their own way.

One thing that annoyed me was how long it took Halle to tell Nash the truth about who she was. I understand that if she had been honest from the start, there wouldn’t have been much of a story, but I did get annoyed after a while. I also didn’t like how Kels started treating Nash as Halle and Nash started getting closer. I thought the whole situation got too messy, but I can also understand why Halle felt panicked and didn’t know how to tell him the truth.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I loved the characters, and I loved that it featured the book blogging world. I thought the premise of a love triangle with two people was unique, even if I got a bit annoyed with it in the end. I liked how ambitious the characters were, and I was incredibly happy for them when they achieved their goals.

This was a very cute read, and I really enjoyed reading the Jewish representation in it. I haven't read many books with Jewish characters, but this really made me want to read more!

4.5 stars

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

This book was cheesy and stupid and ridiculous and overdramatic but I loved it with my entire heart. This was a book about a YA book blogger, and (even tho I don't really blog anymore) I genuinely don't think I've ever felt so seen.

This community, this messy wonderful community, means the world to me, and seeing it in a book was just... mind blowing. The magic and the petty drama, the difficulties and the triumphs... you can tell this was a book written for us.

What I Like About You is far from a perfect book. It has a lot of uhhhh lack of communication, which is never a fun trope to me, and omg some of the plot points were STUPID and CHEESY and I was FED UP and wanted to smack Halle a lot, but also like . . . I loved it anyway?? somehow??

Maybe it was the characters. Halle had her issues, but the side characters were all fantastic. Maybe it was the writing, which was so engaging and fun. Maybe it was the fact that it made me long for cupcakes.

Or maybe it was that so much about this book was incredibly relatable. I know I already mentioned how much I loved how it portrayed the book community (and let's be real here, I'm ALWAYS a sucker for any book about the internet in general), but it was more than that too. Sure, I wanted to smack Halle now and then, and sure sometimes things were a little flukey or lucky, but this book was just also such an accurate portrayal of teenagers. They were a little messy, but aren't we all?

This book is far from perfect, but I loved it with my entire heart anyways.

Summary:
Meet Halle. Or Kels, as she prefers to be called online. Running “One True Pastry”, a YA book blog that compares covers to cupcake designs, is her passion. (Sound like someone you know? Maybe someone you look at in the mirror every day? YA book lovers, I’m looking at you!) But, of course, there’s a boy. A boy who happens to be Kels’ best friend online. A boy who Halle is starting to develop feelings for when she meets him IRL at her new high school. A boy who doesn’t know that Halle and Kels are the same person.

Thoughts:
This book is a love letter to the passionate YA bloggers out there trying to break into the publishing world. It’s a story that many of us can relate to, and that shows us how valuable our own voice can be when it comes to the books that are published and we talk about those books in an online sphere. It also shows us how to use those online platforms to make genuine connections with others around a common passion. On this note, I love the way that friendship is portrayed in this book. While, yes, the predominant story is that of falling in love with a boy, Kanter also forces us to think about all of the friends we have in our corner and how, at every corner, they are right there behind us even in moments where we may get tunnel vision on our first crush. More than this, I also loved this story for the family relationships, especially in relation to grieving the loss of a loved one. As someone who has gone through this recently, I found it difficult yet comforting to witness another family going through this, with each individual grieving in their own way, while also coming together to move forward as a unit.

Similar to other books I read this month, I enjoyed this book because of its representation of anxiety. Halle’s recognition of her logic and anxious brains made me smile with familiarity as I often conceptualize my own thought patterns this way to understand how my anxiety works, as well. Before this book, I had never seen a character as self-aware as Halle, which is something I greatly appreciated and was able to connect with. This said, while she may be self-aware in her understanding of her mental illness, I did find her frustrating in the way she withheld the truth about her online and in-person identities for so long. I understood her thought process, but at times I wished she would open up to her friends, at the very least. At the end of the day though, I think Halle was acting in a way that many of us would at that age which makes her character very believable (even if 23-year-old me was ready to have a chat with her).

I really do think that you should all pick it up when this comes out. It’s fun and adorable and, of course, features a main character that I think many of us can see ourselves in, which really acts as the icing on this delicious book cake.

This book focused on some important teen/YA issues as the MC was almost afraid to be herself as thought she may be rejected by peers as not being enough. Halle hides behind her online Persona Kels who she thinks is way cooler than Halle. This is a sweet coming of age story that highlights that it doesn’t matter what other people think you should always be you.

I really enjoyed Halles story and thought this was an extremely well written book that highlighted, anxiety over colleges, religion (without being over powering) , grief and the power of friendships and online personas.

I look forward to reading more from this Author and definitely recommend this YA book.

Look, this book was not for me. But you know what? It’s not supposed to be. I am a 30 year old woman, and this is very much a book for teens in the age of the internet. This book was not for me, but I could see so many kids who relate to this story. So yes, personally it is a 3 star read. But I would have no issue recommending this to someone and being confident that it would be a new favourite. It was well written with a timely story.

This was adorable!!! I absolutely loved the fact that the main character had a bookish blog with cupcakes, it sounded like so much fun! Plus the love interest was very swoon-worthy.

Oh my goodness. I did not think that I would like this book as much as I did. It was an extremely well-rounded book touching on topics such as family, love, social media, anxiety, death, religion, and more. I took so much out of this book and it left me feeling so satisfied. I LOVED how relatable and realistic it was and it touched on real life issues that happen every day. One of the things I took away from this book was when an author in the book was talking about how although her books are about teens that they could be enjoyed by everyone. Although the teens in the book took this differently than how I interpreted it, I truly identify with this idea. Being a 24 year old that typically reads books about teens it's hard to find books about teens that read universally no matter what age you are, but this is one of them. This book also made me bawl my eyes out at points and that's when I knew that I absolutely loved this book. I can't wait for Marisa Kanter to come out with more novels. 100% recommend to anyone who loves YA romance, this is one that will make you swoon, cry, and fall in love.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Absolutely adorable premise. I felt like this was such a relatable read as a book blogger. I felt so much anxiety and anticipation while reading the book, at times, heart screaming whenever they end up in precarious situations. It was definitely an enjoyable YA romance read, with a good balance of seriousness and fun-filled moments.

<I>Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada for providing me with an eARC of this novel via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is currently set to be published in April 2020. </I>

AHHHHHHHHH. This book was sweet agony to read. I was so into Kel's/Halle's story, and yet I was squirming with anxiety and having chest pain on her behalf. I knew everything would blow up in her face - her brother kept telling her everything would blow up in her face - but the anticipation KILLED me. A great modern YA romcom if you're into screaming at characters for their stupid decisions, but a shoutout to Kanter for realistically depicting grief and social anxiety in the process. (Plus bonus points for all the healthy friendship/relationship depictions and discussions).

What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter is a story about a love triangle that really only has two people in it. I normally shy away from books about social media or books since they are generally cringey, but this one has a little more depth to it.I enjoyed the balance of wholesome moments with more heavy ones, but the main character became a little bit frustrating. The love triangle is meant to be a nice tension, but since Halle brings all the drama upon herself and technically has the power to end it at any time, it is difficult to feel sorry for her. However, I still liked the overall concept, and I enjoyed reading the book.

This book follows Halle, a popular book blogger who moves to a small town. She is friends with a graphic novelist named Nash online, and when she ends up at his school, she finds herself falling for him in real life. The only issue is that Nash doesn’t know Halle’s real life identity, and his feelings for her online persona start to hold him back. There are many interesting details in the story such as Halle’s parents being prominent documentary directors and the fact that she is a book blogger. The book also has a good mix of fun and seriousness since the wholesome moments are juxtaposed with the main character grieving the loss of her grandmother. It is a pretty far-fetched story, but these elements make up for it.

❀ AUTHENTIC MAIN CHARACTER

There is great representation through the characters in the book, and they feel realistic for their age. Halle is Jewish, and I could appreciate how hard she works to maintain her blog. That being said, she is such a frustrating character since she refuses to share her true identity with Nash. She has multiple opportunities to tell him the truth, and her brother reminds her of this, but she continues to complain about what she did as if she can’t undo it if she tried. It is hard to sympathize with her in that sense, especially since she outright lies to Nash, pretends not to know anything about him despite them being best friends online, and then ghosts him. However, I did like her authentic voice.

❀ A CUTE STORY

What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter is a cute story about online relationships vs. real world relationships. I enjoyed the book’s representation and its more serious themes, but Halle’s drama with Nash was not easy to sympathize with. I did enjoy the book despite this frustration, but I am hesitant to recommend it since it is not for everyone.

What I Like About You is probably the most bookishly relatable book I’ve ever read.
Halle Levitt is a bookstagram phenomenon. Everyone loves her, and she’s close to reaching her ultimate goal: doing a cover reveal for her favorite author. But there’s one problem: online, Halle isn’t Halle. She goes by a pseudonym, and no one, not even her online best friend Nash, knows this. When Halle moves to live with her grandfather and she meets real- life Nash, can she keep her identity from him or will he find out and realise that irl Halle is not as great as online Halle?

Marissa weaves this realistic tale of love and heartbreak and pain. She writes about Halle’s insecurities and fears and makes them so realistic and relatable that all the characters were just wonderfully done and so likeable.
Let me just say, when Halle spoke about bookstagram and getting ARCs and going to BookCon I could feel her excitement and her pain and everything she felt I felt along with her. Halle is so in depth and her struggles were so well written that I definitely enjoyed reading about the way she dealt with all these new and challenging things.
And Nash. Nash was such a cutie, an angel. I absolutely loved reading his character and getting to know him online and irl. I just related so so much to both him and Halle it made me so happy!
Also, real quick, let’s talk about her relationship with her brother and her grandpa! Spot on. Made my heart hurt guys. It’s so perfect.
This book is wonderful and I definitely recommend it especially if you’re very into the bookstagram world/blogging/bookstagram!

My review was a 4/5 stars!

Hi, I love this book! It was exactly what I needed to get out of this weird book slump. And I wish it was out for everyone else to read since I think it's a perfect distraction when you're social distancing. I will say though, this book is STRESSFUL. It actually gave me anxiety, but in a good way. I loved the feeling, yet also didn't at the same time, but that's one of the wonderful things about books. The fact that they can make you feel this way, and just totally immerse you into a story, is amazing!

I definitely got major Eliza and Her Monsters vibes from this book. I think there was even a little reference, though I'm not sure. It's a lot more painful for the reader though since both Halle and Nash have an established relationship online when they actually meet irl. But it's great, and intense, and also full of really sweet moments.

I loved Halle and Ollie's relationship so much! I wish there were more great sibling relationships in YA. Ollie is honestly the best brother ever. He's always there for Halle, even when she isn't always there for him. He's understanding and supportive and cares so much, yet he also tells her how it is and doesn't excuse her for her bad decisions.

I also really enjoyed all the Jewish aspects of this book. It's not something I've seen a lot in books? Though I also very rarely read YA contemporary. But it was nice to see Halle and Ollie going along to Shabbat and the other Jewish celebrations and holidays. I like how it was just a part of their regular lives, and even though they aren't super practicing, seeing them attend services and become a part of the community was just a nice touch. I like reading about characters who have that other part to their lives just because it's something I can relate to more as a Muslim.

While this book is a YA contemporary romance, I did like the focus on friendship and how difficult it can be maintaining a friendship, especially when life is a mess. I grew to love Molly and Amanda a lot. They're great friends to Halle, and I liked seeing the journey Halle goes on discovering who she is and how she can become a better friend to others.

As for Halle and Nash. They were super cute and I did love all their moments and interactions. The whole build up to the reveal was terrifying and so stressful though, and Nash's reaction was honestly perfect, but I will admit that I was a little disappointed with how things were resolved. I just felt like we needed a bit more. Halle explaining things in more detail, Nash finally listening, but also super hesitant and needing time. I wasn't expecting things to jump back to normal right away. And I honestly wanted more even after that? I wanted to see Halle graduate, maybe get a scene of her settling into college, and I wanted more backstory on how Nash convinced his parents to let him go away for college.

But overall, it was a really great read. I loved the format of this book especially. The texts and tweets and emails were a nice way to tell the story and broke up the regular prose really well. I love books with unique formats and honestly want more of them just because of how quick and easy they are to read, plus also super relatable.

Overall: 4 stars!

This is such a cute story involving book twitter, cupcakes and hidden truths and identities. I really enjoyed the MC relationships with her grandfather, brother and friends-both IRL and online.

What a fun book! Halle, a bookstagrammer who has risen through the ranks with her page OTP (One True Pastry), is living a double life. Secrets, white lies, and ghosting cause her world to be turned upside down.
The characters in this book are fun and genuine. The struggles they go through are plausible, and the time spent on social media (as well as the representation of online relationships) are reflective of real life.
It’s actually quite interesting as an Instagrammer to be an outsider looking in on this online world so many of us are a part of! I love the pastry aspect of Halle’s bookstagram account and the view of where your account can take you! The family aspect of this story is also enjoyable and to see the character development (of both young and old) is appreciated!!
If you are looking for a fun, heart-warning, and quick read about friendships both online and in real life, give this story a try! I have no doubt you will finish with a smile!!!

I will say that I didn't enjoy this as much as I was expecting but I still enjoyed so many aspects of it. I really loved ho the main characters were book geeks, I loved the idea of cupcakes and books together. I loved how they explored grief and the different ways that we grieve and the different ways that we heal. I loved all the characters in this book. There was no one that I didn't like which I find is rare in books. I did feel like the book did get repetitive in some parts especially when the main is talking herself out of telling the truth. I also felt that the ending was a bit rushed, I wish that there was an epilogue at the end to clear up more things.

*Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for providing me a copy for an honest review!*