Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of "I Kissed Alice" by Anna Birch. The best part about this book was the gritty realness of it. The people in this story were deeply flawed and so were their relationships and that made it feel authentic and resonated in a real way. I liked that the experimental, rebellious actions that many teenagers do in real life also had real consequences and that, just like real teenagers, the characters in this book were highly concerned with their schoolwork and how it would affect their futures, and that affected the main plot line of the story. I also thought it was cool that the main characters in the book were gay, but that was simply who they were and coming out wasn't a major plot point—they were merely living their lives.
The romance actually didn't do much for me. Much of their physical interactions felt forced and awkward—maybe because it was so realistic. But I loved the realness of female teenage relationships, including how truly horrible they can be to one another. It showed every aspect of how sometime girls ignore and shove their problems beneath the surface, sometimes face them head on, sometimes forgive each other, and sometimes have to let each other go. Those relationships were where this book shone.

Oh I loved this so much 😍

Make way for an F/F REAL enemies to lovers story! Because they both don't know what we know that they should know...

I got some SERIOUS Pride and Prejudice vibes from the story--So if that is your jam definitely pick this book up. Privilege,

Iliana hates Rhodes guts for a very real situation that happened between the characters in which Iliana manages to be the hurt party. Ever since then, Iliana hates Rhodes, Rhodes seemingly hates Iliana, but they are stuck in close proximity because of their friend "glue" in the form of Sarah. Sarah has been Iliana's BFF since they were children, and is Rhodes' roommate at this fancy conservatory arts school in which they seem to be the only poor scholarship kids.

Iliana fights tooth and nail for everything she has ever had, but she also will trample over people to get there. Rhodes is quiet and reserved which comes off as snobbish and cold--Rhodes inner monologue really hit close to home, as she is anxious and suffering from depression (which is something she shares with Iliana as her online self, Alice). Iliana however believes Rhodes to be full of privilege, which Iliana is too but because of Rhodes economic advantages she is a step up in the privilege department (both characters will come to address this).

"If there were a time on Slash/Spot before I-Kissed-Alice--Alice as I call her, and she calls me Cheshire after my own username--I don't remember it. There was no life before Slash/Spot, and the rest of it barely mattered before I met Alice."

In the online world, Alice (Rhodes) and Cheshire (Iliana) have been a team for many months and are in a sort of online relationship. They work on an online comic book together as co creators and basically are as honest with each other as only two strangers on the internet can be. Since they seem to be taking internet security seriously though, they do not divulge specific information that will lead either person to pinpoint who the other one is. Convenient, but safe and only helps to build the tension. I cannot wait for the finished copy to hit the bookstores so I can buy my copy and look at the comic book sections which are ILLUSTRATED and look AMAZING <3

There are a lot of complicated relationships in this book, not only between Iliana and Rhodes, but also the one between Iliana, Rhodes and Sarah. The girl on girl hate that occurs on this book is not motivated by romantic relationships (kind of), overall I think it is portrayed in a realistic way. Not only is the "hate" necessary for the trope, but it really helps to shine a light on unhealthy relationships and what they can do to your self esteem and mental health. We all have had those relationships that are bad for us that we just don't see how to quit. There is this other character that then comes along and "works to sabotage the girls" but really I can see where the character is coming from because she was working from a very specific mind set and because of the main characters bad behavior (which gets addressed). In the end, it all has a purpose.

I just love how the story was written, how issues were addressed, and how complicated the relationship issues were. I will definitely be recommending this one to friends and anybody who manages to understand my babbling about how great this story was.

Fairly predictable romcom, with a very predictable twist. The art aspect was interesting, including the whole "tarot as archetypes" project. What puzzled me was it read as though Iliana and Sarah lived in the same town as this Conservatory and yet they boarded? And were on scholarship? That just didn't make any sense.

eARC provided by publisher.

I received a digital arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I did not enjoy the reading experience of this book and quite honestly wanted to DNF it the whole first half of the book. The only thing that kept me going was that it was an ARC and that I did want to know what happened, which I guess the author gets points for that.

All of these characters are so unlikable: Rhodes, Iliana, Sarah, then Kiersten when she joins the picture. The only character I wanted to root for was Rhode’s brother, Griffin. Out of the main girls, I definitely liked Rhodes the most but even then... I get that the whole point of the story is that they’re all flawed and Iliana sees herself as the one being wrong even though she’s actually being the bully but I can’t stand a story where the characters are all just awful. They’re all just mean girls. I love a good flawed character but I just couldn’t find anything in the characters to make me care about them. There’s so many terrible friendships in this book that are more infuriating than anything else.

The writing was super weird too, especially at the beginning. It’s just things that were said and then the way backstories and scenes were told was kind of confusing. I just didn’t like the way it was written at all.

I definitely got more interested in the story in the second half of the book, especially once we start to see a reveal in sight. However, I didn’t like that I knew from the beginning who Alice and Cheshire were because then it was just boring to me to just wait for them to realize. I do recognize that that is just a personal thing I personally don’t like in books, so some people may like it. I just like when there’s a good reveal and I didn’t feel like I got that.

I love the queer rep obviously and that the story takes place at a school for the arts. I was intrigued by the fan art elements and the focus on Alice in Wonderland. These are all things that interest me and are the reasons I requested this book in the first place. While I still enjoyed these parts of the book, it wasn’t enough to make me love or even really enjoy it.

I guess what really just got me was so much of the book was just girls being hateful and that’s not what I want to read. And the writing style. I get what the author was trying to do and I do think this book has its audience, but I am not a part of that group. I’m giving this book 2.5 stars. I added a half of a star just for the fact the second half was a little easier to read and slightly more enjoyable.

Sapphic YA romance about two messy art students who hate each other in real life while they are in love online creating a fancomic together.

Content warnings include: bullying, loss of scholarship, corruption, nepotism, abusive parents, class difference, destruction of art property; mentions of teens consuming drugs.

I loved the setup for this book. I adore enemies-to-lovers trope, and Rhodes and Iliana truly do hate each other, even though they share the same best friend, Sarah.

I was sort of hoping for more of the falling in love and online interactions, but by the time the book starts they are already well in love, and most of their interactions happen IRL as antagonists. What was cool was the illustrations of the Alice in Wonderlans fancomic the two create together.

The book lacks exposition - the reader is thrown right into the tons of dynamics of people who have known each other for years and experienced a lot of formative events together. The writing was also very much showing instead of telling, which in this case unfortunately lead to me not quite being able to follow every nuance, particularly in the interactions.
It was still engaging and interesting though!

As I said before, the book is messy. I loved that because I do think it's important to show more mean, headstrong girls who make mistakes and hurt others in YA and fiction in general. However, that also made the overall mood sort of dire. Pretty much throughout the entire book, Iliana and Rhodes hurt each other and others, and a lot of time is spent fighting or resenting someone. Added to that Rhodes has depression, artblock and abusive parents, while Iliana desperately needs another scholarship in order to go to college since her previous one was taken away, and wants to prove she's earned her spot.

I think both Rhodes' and especially Iliana's stories are important. The themes of the book are picked and delivered well.
However the execution of it all and the way the character development worked, and the way a lot of things ended up and weren't adressed in the end wasn't my favourite. I would have liked more closure for Sarah and Griffin.
While the pacing worked overall, again, I personally would have liked to see some things slower and others more quickly.

Ultimately this has a great setup, and I loved that it shows teenage girls being messy and far from perfect, making mistakes and falling in love.

I received a e-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my god I was so looking forward to this book I had it already listed in my need to buy wishlist for months I was so excited when I got the approval for the ARC. And I am so upset because I absolutely hated this book I literally cannot finish it I gave up around the 20% mark because II just could not do it anymore. I hated everything about it and I mean EVERYTHING!

The writing is odd and immature, the character's are all terrible people and not likable in the least bit, the romance I didn't care about at all and didn't even want the characters to get together, and the plot was wishy-washy and made little sense.

I usually try and find something and I can say the cover is super cute and that's about it.

Iliana and Rhodes have been sworn enemies ever since they first met, but sharing a mutual best friend ensures that their angst is alive and well. Their senior year at Alabama’s Conservatory of the Arts brings with it paralyzing bouts of artist’s block, a lot of self-reflection, and a high stakes scholarship competition that could change everything. When the truth comes out about Iliana and Rhodes’s online identities, where will that leave them?

I Kissed Alice is a fun, quick-paced book with sapphic enemies to lovers. Are you sold yet?

I’ll admit that the first few pages threw me off. The reader is kind of dropped into the story world without any explanation offered as to who these characters are or what’s happening. BUT this was one of my most anticipated 2020 releases, so I pushed through and found myself thoroughly enjoying the reading experience.

Once you find your footing, the drama easily draws you in. Competition at a school such as the Conservatory is nothing less than intense, and it shows in the way it wears each girl down. The story is focused on Iliana and Rhodes and told through each of their perspectives. While I was disappointed that their online identities were revealed in just the second chapter, both girls remain unwitting of each other for the majority of the book. I appreciated the different details we get from each girl’s POV chapters; I don’t think I would have liked Rhodes very much as a person or a character without that deeper understanding of her fears and desires, but with the full picture, she wound up my favorite character. Also, reading about each girl’s different art styles from two POVs was fun. Birch wrote about all of the different art mentioned in the book really well—my mental image never wavered.

One of the best things about I Kissed Alice is that the enemies actually have believable motives for being enemies. Enemies to lovers is hands down my favorite trope, but it’s shocking how often it’s done poorly. If two characters have flimsy reasons for hating each other, I have a hard time suspending my disbelief enough to focus on anything else. Luckily, Iliana and Rhodes’s enmity makes complete sense and is strong enough to drive the story forward.

It’s possible that Iliana and Rhodes’s believable enemyship cost the book in other places. I just cannot believe that they wouldn’t have figured out who their online counterpart is before the big reveal. I remember a few years ago when Alice in Wonderland was trendy because of one: scene kids (or was that just me?), and the more likely second reason: the Tim Burton films that came out in 2010 (yes, I’m saying that 2010 was a “few” years ago—please leave me in my denial that 2020 is a thing). However, that’s a fairly niche interest to devote so much time to, and Rhodes apparently had fan stickers all over her laptop. If this kind of thing doesn’t drive you mad, you’ll be just fine.

Overall… I Kissed Alice is a solid contemporary sapphic novel with enemies to lovers and a high stakes storyline.

This book is cute, and as a huge fan of Alice in Wonderland, I loved seeing Birch's/her characters' interpretations of the story as a fanfic comic. I do think some of the writing was clunky, and there wasn't anything unpredictable or particularly unique about the story line itself, but it was a sweet YA book about artsy, nerdy queer girl rivals, and fun for that alone.

I’m torn between a 2 and 3. The overall plot was cute, but the characters were so unlikable. Side characters who played a big role in the story, like Sarah, were fairly flat and unbelievable. There were also some time jumps that I didn’t care for in terms of flow. Overall, it was a good idea with mediocre execution.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43300915-i-kissed-alice

I came into I Kissed Alice looking forward to the sapphic enemies to lovers tied in with secretly online best friends. The book started mostly just ~okay~ for me, but the ending really brought it all together so well.

Iliana and Rhodes are seniors in high school in a specialized art program, and they also share a best friend in Sarah. They’ve known each other for a couple years, but their relationship is antagonistic between jealousy over shared relationship Sarah and feeling like one or the other will take their place in Sarah’s life, and an incident the previous year that resulted in Iliana getting arrested and losing her scholarship to college. Unbeknownst to both, though, they are actually best friends on a Fanfiction website where together they’ve been writing an AU Alice in Wonderland comic set in space and featuring a romance between Alice and The Red Queen.

I really liked the level of antagonism between Iliana and Rhodes, and was really curious to see how the reveal of their identities would resolve itself. I think what really stands out, though, is the way this book handled toxic relationships and apologies and different dynamics. Iliana is poor and had to fight to get into their high school, which is why the loss of her scholarship was so devastating, while Rhodes has a lot of financial privilege as well as connections with the judges for the capstone Rhodes and Iliana are competing in, but also has a very toxic home life, as well as coping with depression and anxiety.

In some ways this book handles a lot of topics, and I appreciate that Rhodes is in therapy and we get to see how she grows through the help of her therapist. I also really liked how it showed that despite Iliana’s financial strife, she has a loving family and home. In some ways I Kissed Alice was dealing with perceptions versus reality, especially factoring in the way Rhodes and Iliana saw each other IRL compared to their interactions as Alice and Cheshire.

Overall, I really enjoyed this despite the slow ending. I really liked the way the antagonism was handled and the way different kinds of unhealthy relationships were portrayed (and addressed as unhealthy!).

I wanted to like this book. Enemies to lovers romantic comedy and an Alice in Wonderland theme made me so excited. Let's start with this is not a romantic comedy. I laughed zero times and nothing about any of this made me want to chuckle.

Essentially this story is about two girls, Rhodes and Iliana, who have the same best friend, Sarah and who hate each other to an extreme. They are in competition for an art scholarship and in competition over their friends Sarah. Yet online they are more than best friends under their online identities and have created an Alice retelling comic. When one of them discovers their true identities things change and everything spirals out of control.

This book is depressing. Both girls are going through their own issues and mentally not handling things well. The females in this book, including our main leads, are not nice people. The relationships are toxic, especially Rhodes relationship with her mother. The bright side in it all is that they both reflect on their actions and see the error of their ways. Iliana goes through a major character growth for the better.

Sadly all the Alice in Wonderland references couldn't make up for the fact that this book was not what it expected it to be. I Kissed Alice needs to step away from the romantic comedy tag line and live as a YA LGBT contemporary.

There are very few words I can say about I KISSED ALICE. IT'S FRICKING AMAZING!!!! It was everything I wanted in a story. The characters were so relatable and real. My heart raced through most of Anna's story. Everyone needs to read this one!

While I loved some elements of this book, like the conservatory setting, teen artists, and beautiful love story of two young women, I found it difficult to connect to the voice and storytelling style. There were so many plots, and none of them were explored as much as I wanted them to be. I wanted more from the characters, their backstory, the setting around them, etc. That said, I think many of the teens I work with will strongly connect with some parts of this book, so I plan to share it with them.

Thank you Netgalley for the review copy!

I Kissed Alice follows two art students, Illiana and Rhodes, as they compete for a prestigious scholarship while falling in love with each other through their anonymous online interactions.

The cover of this book is absolutely gorgeous! The illustrations inside were a pleasant surprise as well and a great supplement to the text.

My first impression of the book was that it's definitely not what was advertised. I was expecting something more light-hearted and a true rom-com. Instead, it's a lot more intense and deals with heavier themes than the blurb lets on. While that's not necessarily a bad thing, it caught me off guard and I'm not sure if I would have picked up the book if the blurb had been more accurate.

The writing style was beautiful, and I could definitely see how the characters were able to grow and change themselves for the better. All the characters of this book were extremely complex, and I loved that they were able to be rude, angry, and unapologetic. However, sometimes the girl-on-girl hate could get a little too much, especially in the beginning. I couldn't really see how they went from enemies to lovers, honestly, the initial hate between them was just a bit too toxic.

Overall, it wasn't the fluffy, light-hearted read I was expecting, but overall still a strong book and worth a re-read.

DNF at 21%

Just not feeling it. I think this is more me and my general mood and not really jonesing with YA angst than this book.

Probably won't pick it up again, but I am very happy that it exists in this world. We need more f/f YA.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review

Super cute enemies-to-lovers romance and I very much enjoyed reading it. Both characters were flawed yet likable characters. The artwork in it was a nice touch to show the comic they were working on.

Okay, but this is already one of my favourite f/f romances ever. Halfway through this book, I preordered a physical edition, because I was just loving it that much.

This book is about two girls who share a best friend but HATE each other, but they're also best online friends (who are crushing on each other) who work on a webcomic/fanfic of Alice in Wonderland together, and they don't know each other's real identities.

And the writing??? Is amazing?????? Honestly, this was so well written, and I actually loved how messy the relationships between these girls were. Because that's really just how a lot of teenage friendships work.

To clarify, because you might not know this about me: I'm a HUGE Alice in Wonderland fan (as in, I own around 40 different copies), and this book is speaking to my autistic "gets obsessed with certain fandoms" soul. In that sense, it reminded me of a sapphic version of Fangirl or Eliza and Her Monsters. And we all know sapphic means superior.

Color me surprised, but not in a good way. I am surprised that the fanfiction elements weren't what brought this down for me. This book is a poster child the type of girl on girl hate I don't like to see in books. Additionally, the two voices by the characters were not distinct enough for me. Overall, not as fun as it was pitched to be.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Curious-in-Cheshire and I-Kissed-Alice were best friends and maybe more online, but their real life alter egos were mortal enemies. Will either woman be able to see past their history, and give this relationship a chance?

I first need to say, that this was not what I expected. I read the word "rom-com", and I thought I would be reading something on the fun side of things. I kept waiting for those moments, but they never really materialized. That doesn't mean the story was bad, per se, it just wasn't what I was expecting.

This was an enemies-to-lovers story, where that enemies part was front and center. There was an "incident", which had a terrible outcome for all involved. Iliana lost something tangible, while Rhodes lost a part of herself. Regardless of who thought they lost more, it became the beginning of a war between the two. Their interactions were always intense, fiery, and full of angst. Yet, online, a friendship was growing. There was collaboration on a Alice in Wonderland fanfic, and even some flirting. They even planned to meet in person, and that is where things got really interesting for me.

I don't want to speak about the actual in real life events, but I found some of the precipitating ideas quite interesting. Iliana and Rhodes had some history. This history caused them to view each other through filters and let certain pre-conceived ideas inform their feelings about each other. Meeting anonymously online was like meeting each other in their most pure form, and I absolutely adored the exploration of this.

My issue with this book was what sometimes happens, when I read enemies-to-lovers stories. What can I say, I like to spend more time in the lovers part of the story, and this one definitely spent more time in the enemies side. Though, I enjoyed seeing both women experience their personal growth separately, I was really glad, when they finally got together. I liked them together very much, and I wish I got to see more of that side of their relationship.

Though this was a little light on the romance, I still enjoyed the ideas explored in this novel, and appreciated both women's journey of self discovery.

Ahhh sadly this one just did not work for me. Usually I am all for the enemies to lovers trope and I mean artists who secretly fall in love with each other? Hell yeah! However, the biggest obstacle that I just could not get behind was that I could not root for anyone in this book. The relationships were toxic and as Kiersten so perfectly put it “you’re both assholes.” I initially was sucked in by the premise and was so excited to see where the chemistry would begin however the more I read the more I thought “ yeah no. No no no.” By the time I finished the book I was just happy to have finished it. Maybe this book would be better for someone else but there was no chemistry between the characters for me and I just could not buy into their relationship.