This story was really interesting. I would NOT classify it as a romance, it should be a coming of age story instead. Mare was a great girl who was definitely going through a time of growth. There was soooo much going on in this story that by the end you really felt her turmoil because you were in the chaos with her. It was not overwhelming, which is surprising with everything that was happening. This really felt like an into book to an epic story though. I would like to go on a journey with Mare to college and really get to see her spread her wings. The author gets you invested in her story.

The Cons: Some of the plot lines were skimmed over, or wrapped up to quick. Maybe that was do to so many things happening, but there could have been more build up.

I saw this book on bookstagram and knew I wanted to read it. I absolutely loved it. It drew me in and I didn't want to take a break. Definitely did not disappoint!

I want to thank NetGalley and author Katie Wismer for providing me with an ARC of this novel.

I had such high, high hopes for this novel. I thought it was going to be dark and spooky, but I was wrong. I felt like the characters were more so middle school age than high school and beyond. That made it hard for me to take them seriously, and a lot of stupid decisions were made. The actual writing wasn’t bad, but the story line and characters were. Also, the dog fighting was completely unnecessary. You could have taken those parts out completely and the story wouldn’t have been affected at all. I wanted a raw and gritty read, and I got... Well, this. Sad. Disappointed. Major respect to the author, writing a book isn’t easy. But this one just wasn’t for me.

Thank you again to those named above for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

I received an advance readers copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Disclaimer: I have no hate or negative feelings towards this author. I requested the ARC from NetGalley to support the author. I watch her YouTube channel and love her vlogs.

This book follows 18-year-old Meredith Beaumont. She's the daughter of a preacher in a super religious family while struggling with her own beliefs with God. With a push from her best friend, Johanna, they make a pact to lose their virginities before they graduate and head off to college. Things start to look up when Meredith starts dating Sam and coming out of her shell, but when the pact gets out Meredith is no longer invisible. Words are whispered behind her back and guys are offering to complete her pact.

Starting with Meredith as the main character. We are in her head the whole book but for being 'invisible' people really like to bully her. Everything she does goes against someone who has crippling anxiety and has to take medicine to help with it. I didn't really connect with Meredith.

Johana. She is Meredith's best friend. She is supposed to be the complete opposite of Meredith. She has no filter just blurting everything that comes to mind. She decides that she's going to lose her v-card to a TEACHER. Meredith warns her that it's a bad idea (because it is) and what does Johana do? She ignores her. For a whole day. Then who has to apologize? Meredith. For not supporting her friend in her dumb decision (which is stupid). Then (because everyone saw it coming) it didn't end well because he's a TEACHER.

Sam. Poor ol' Sam. He gets dragged into this whole Meredith thing because she decides (with a couple of swift pushes) that he is who she is going to lose her v-card too. Sam just likes Meredith. He likes that she's easy to talk to and understands his dreams (unlike his father). You find out that he's father is a drunk and they fight over Sam's decision to pursue writing and journalism in college. But that's it. He doesn't get any kind of wrap up for his story. He finds out about that pact and then breaks it off with Meredith and then that's the end of Sam

Ashley. She's just a big old bitch. She gets somewhat of a redemption arc and a wrap up to her story instead of Sam. I didn't think she deserved it. She kidnapped Meredith and left her for dead because her boyfriend was trying to find other means of getting laid since she wasn't ready to lose her v-card to him. JUST BREAK UP WITH HIM

Moving on to the plot. I feel like there were a lot of things that were put out there and they just hung out there. This could've been a great message about religion and families with blind belief but it wasn't that. The whole book just made everything about religion seem evil. I didn't like that. Meredith tells her parents in the end that she believes in science and not God. So their response is to try and send her off to a boot camp of religion. Black vans show up with FBI like guys trying to haul her away. Far more dramatic than anything that would really happen. (then after making a whole thing about it, calling the police, making they sign something saying they won't try something like that again. Meredith MOVES BACK HOME. um, wat)

There's also a part where her dad sees a penis in her sister's textbook for Health. He decides to band together with other parents at their church to try and remove that from being taught in the class. No. Just have them be removed from school. That was also never wrapped up. You don't find out what happened with that.

Now let's talk about dogfighting. I don't think this plotline was needed at all. The author talks about trigger warnings for this book and animal abuse is one of them. This plotline could be removed from that book and pretty much nothing would be affected by it. Sam just wouldn't have had a reason to come back and talk to Meredith about the pact. I think this was just a way to make the fact that Meredith volunteers at an animal shelter more than just that. She volunteers at an animal shelter. (also, there are moments in the book where she refers to it as a job and her having to work. you don't get paid to volunteer.)

Now the pact. Meredith ignores all of Sam's calls and texts because she just assumes that he heard about the pact. She doesn't want to face him. Makes sense except for the fact that he goes to a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SCHOOL than she does. Yes, there could be a chance for it to be passed by word of mouth but also not really.
You are also lead to believe by the synopsis that Meredith meets Sam after the pact comes out but she meets him like 7 percent of the way into the book and the pact doesn't come out until Chapter 15.

Ashley's brother is a rapist. She tries to stop Meredith from coming forward when he attacks Meredith at a party. He's done it to multiple girls. Ashely randomly decides to come forward to speak against him at the end of the book.

Meredith's sister may or may not be homosexual. It comes up after some girls decide to be terrible people and make things up (except it's true). It is only referred to as 'dyke' five times. That is the only way it is given a label in the book.

This review really got away from me.
Things that I've concluded from reading this book:
It doesn't have the same tone as what you get from reading the synopsis on Goodreads. I thought this book was going to be darker. All of the rigger warnings given by the Author are valid and in the book. I just don't think they are intense enough to be a trigger. Meredith's anxiety wasn't as intense as I thought it would be. The dog fight wasn't needed, I thought I was reading a different book when that plotline was wrapped up.

The only thing I really enjoy about this book was the writing (for the most part) and the small number of cute scenes between Meredith and Sam before everything goes downhill.

I had really high hopes for this book and maybe that was my first mistake. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

I’m so.
Sad.

*currently considering changing my name and disappearing forever*

I wish I could praise this book and shout my love from the rooftops, but instead I find myself in the situation where I have to write a very difficult review. Some people say “you should try to write a book yourself, instead of hating on the work of other people more talented than you”, as if writing rant reviews is easy. I’m here to tell you, no it’s NOT easy. It’s not fun.
So. I didn’t like a single thing about this book, apart from the passable writing style. The rest was a literal mess.

From the start I knew something was off. I was very excited about this book, and I even changed my OWLs TBR to fit this book in as I wanted to read it immediately. However, from the first chapter I realized I wouldn’t like this book as much as I expected. The main character is a senior in high school, but the book would have worked better if she was actually 15 or 16. Not only the way she behaves is immature, but her monologues belong to a much younger girl. She makes a whole lot of poor decisions without thinking them through in a childlike way. Though this doesn’t mean that the occurrences she finds herself in are any different. Everything that happened made me more and more conscious of the fact that this book is like a very cheap teen movie written by someone who has no idea how teens really act, and mistakes them for slightly maturer children. The adult characters are not any better (her parents, for example. Or school staff. Where was the principal?). I guess it makes sense that the author started to write this book at the age of 14.

On top of the unrealistic plot, the book felt disjointed in its parts. The beginning was very slow, but after the halfway point everything happens at once. What happens in the second half, apart from the pact plot line, it’s just shoved there as there’s no space for it. I would have wanted the book to have focused more on the pact, instead of having the characters discuss about one societal problem for one chapter or two, and then toss it aside. To be completely honest, I really dislike when these issues are in a book but are not well explored. I don’t think that was the intention here, but it does look like they were thrown in for shock factor.

The most random of these plot lines was the dog fights one. It’s so inconsequential and inconsistent with the main plot that if you take it out you don’t miss anything.
There is also a student-teacher dynamic that maddened me. Meredith’s best friend Johanna is even more immature and stupid than her, and that’s saying something. Together they have countless arguments about how Johanna plans to have sex with their young teacher but Mare doesn’t think it’s a good idea. Johanna even stops talking to her because she’s not on board with it. But the worst is that after the thing backfires Mare says this:

“Jo, I know this sucks, but are you really going to let one guy—no matter who he may be—get to you like this? You are Johanna fucking Palmer. If he wasn’t into you—and I’m guessing it was more about being afraid of getting in trouble than not being attracted to you—then screw him. Not literally, obviously.”

I understand she’s being supportive of her friend in a bad moment but are you freaking serious? There’s a reason why student-teacher relationships are illegal. Thank god he was a conscientious person or it would have gone in another direction which I don’t even want to talk about right now. Read My Dark Vanessa.
On the other hand, I’m conflicted about the sexual assault plot line. It does make sense with the main plot line but the way it was handled... I don’t even know. A part of it is used as a plot twist and I’m not sure I’m on board with it.

Thinking about the synopsis makes me very angry as well. After reading it you go into the book and you expect something very different. I, for one, was expecting a raw and gritty novel, not a mix between a cute contemporary and a nonsense bully plot. The tone of the entire book doesn’t match with that plot at all. Plus, the synopsis and the TITLE talk clear, but the pact gets out at the 55% mark and I don’t know about you, but I’m super disappointed. I was promised something different. Chapter 15 is probably the only chapter that was similar to what I wanted from this book. If you want more proof, look at that synopsis and tell me it doesn’t look like Mare is going to meet the guy she’s going to be with AFTER the pact gets plastered all over school and she starts to get bullied.

I really like the author and I’m sad about not liking her book, but I seriously hope other people love it. I hope it’s just me.

Excellent read! Definitely wasn’t expecting something so well written! The story kept me hooked and I could barely put this down (alas I’m a mother so I did have to put it down a little) but wow!!!! Loved every minute of this

Meredith and Jo are two best friends who signed an agreement that says they will have sex before graduation of the high school. Meredith's family super religious but she has her own believes. When nobody knows her name, suddenly she find herself middle of getting bullying by popular girl in the school.. Her quite, easy going life will go upside down.
Katie Wismer did a really good job on her first novel. Her language is mostly simple and smooth. Sometimes she uses a fancy world and keeps using it back to back that sometimes takes you out of the story for a second because feel like it does not fit right.. Beginning of the story has many dashed lined explanation that was overwhelming. I think name of the book is not the best fitting of the book, there is only two teen in the pact.
I think it is a pretty good for youth adult novel.

Meredith is in her final year of high school and makes a pact with her best friend to lose their virginities before graduation. When things at school take a turn for the worst, Meredith begins to spiral out of control and her life follows suit.

This book was impossible to put down! I found myself invested in Meredith and urging her to make (or not make) certain decisions! It tackled real world problems in a way that was sensitive but also genuine and I can’t commend it enough!

Meredith Beaumont signs the anti-virginity pact that her and her best friend made up not knowing that the pact would be spread across her entire school. From there, Meredith has to navigate the school hallways where people are looking at her like she's someone different than she's always been. She also deals with the stress of her religious parents finding out.
The overall premise for this book was really strong and somewhere around halfway through this book took a wild and weird turn. I mean, I expected a cute romance or empowering novel about sexuality and all that but out of nowhere there was the possibility of religious camps, dog fighting. It was too much. The plot took a wide turn away from what it was originally supposed to be about and I'm not sure it recovered from it. Sure, Meredith had really great growth throughout the novel as she discovers more about herself and who she wants to be. Sam is a promising character but we lose out on their connection rather quickly. Overall, I thought the beginning and middle were great and expected from a book with a premise like it had but the ending through for a loop and I was disappointed in where it went.

*Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC copy, all opinions are my own

I’ve enjoyed Anti-Virginity Pact immensely. The book was well written, the pacing was good and I’ve grown to really care about the characters. I think each character was well developed and had a good sense of self. The book discussed some important topics very tactfully and got me really invested. My one complaint would be that it tried doing a little too much. There were so many threads and sub plots, all encompassing important topics but it felt like too much crammed into a relatively short book, so that the last 80% felt incredibly packed with threads which needed a conclusion.

It got me out of my contemporary slump and I would highly recommend it to anyone who feels like they’re ‘the quiet ones’ and is looking for their place in the world.

-I received an ARC copy of this book thanks to NetGalley, all thoughts and opinions are my own-

I was very excited to receive this ARC. But I soon realized this was not at all what I thought the book was going to be. The synopsis is veryyyy misleading. I thought this was going to be heavily on the pact that was established, more sexy, less high school drama (that really didn't even make any sense).

~Let's talk characters:

Our main character Meredith is 18 but acts like she's 15. She's described as this really quiet girl, that not many people know, preachers daughter, goody-goody. Which none of that makes sense because she's the entire opposite in the story. I understand that it's to show that she changes because of the pact and because of another character sabotaging her but everything bad she does almost comes easy to her. It was very hard for me to connect to Meredith and even show any sympathy for her in some situations.

Johanna is Merediths best friend. She's portrayed as the complete opposite. She's loud and snarky, doesn't care for others opinions or others who cross her. Johanna is the one who comes up with the idea for the pact and the person she decides she wants to lose her virginity to is their teacher. Now don't get me wrong I live for taboo, age-gap relationships, but Johanna is a complete idiot who is attempting to seduce her teacher when it's so damn clear that's not his intentions and not at all a relationship he wants. That whole situation just made me cringe when I was reading. Johanna was also another character I could not connect with (spoiler alert- there was not ONE character I could actually connect with.)

Sam. This poor boy. Sam is Merediths childhood best friend and she just drags this kid into her mess of a life and I could only feel sympathy for him. They're relationship starts off really cute and was honestly the only this that had me continue reading, only to be let down in the end. I understand that he really cared for Meredith but she just continued to treat this guy like utter garbage when things in her life started getting bad- the time that she should be going to her boyfriend and explaining whats going on, not ignoring his calls and making him go on a wild goose chase for her. Only in the end for them to break up because she feels that she needs to focus on herself.

Merediths parents. In the beginning I liked them, until her dad went crazy over her younger sisters health class homework that had to do with sex education. I know that he is a preacher and loves God, but I think the way he reacted was SOOOO overdramatic. He even went to the school and through a fit! These adults easily turned into characters that just pissed me off, especially when they find out about the pact and what they try to do to Meredith. (I won't spoil to much but it was easily the most overdramatic and downright inhumane thing I've probably ever read from two parents who are supposed to love their daughter.)

Ashley is our villain and she was just an annoying bitch. Everything she did to Meredith was not only childish but completely psychotic. Like obviously we knew the pact would get out so thats not crazy, but was it necessary for her to kidnap Meredith, dump her in some deserted location, throw her keys and phone and leave her there all because HER BOYFRIEND left his number in Merediths locker? AND when Meredith was almost raped by Ashley's brother she showed no remorse and threatened her if she told anyone, then in the end admit that he had done the same to her and was on Merediths's side, like WTF?!

~Moving along to the story.

The writing is insanely slow. I felt that nothing interesting started happening until the halfway mark. (I was really close to DNF'ing if I'm being honest.) Like I said before I thought this book was going to be more sexy- SPOILER ALERT: there is no steam. At all. We're introduced to the pact in the first chapter and then after that Meredith and Johanna talk about it and who they want to lose their virginity to but thats really it. We get development with Johanna and Mr.Graham but not even really because he is not feeling it back and Johanna is just idiotically throwing herself at him, and Meredith chooses Sam and the only thing they do is make out- BORING!!

There's also this weird dog fight scenario thats thrown in that I think the story could have done without. It didn't add anything to the plot, it felt like an unnecessary filler that just honestly didn't make sense. The only reason it was added was to prove the person who bought Squirt was bad and for Sam to have an excuse to come back and talk to Meredith even if he said it wasn't for her. Honestly I think the character Ryan- who bought Squirt- could've been eliminated. Make the story a little more cute I guess and have Sam buy Squirt or something, but the entire part just was not needed.

Something else I'd like to point out was the amount of spelling and grammar errors. I know this is an ARC but before books are published I hope someone goes through and re-reads and fixes the errors because at times it was annoying to have to re-read and fix the error in my head to understand what was trying to be said.

Overall I gave this a two star rating. I was close to giving this a one star but I did feel that there was some parts in the story that were really well written even if they didn't add much to the story. There was not one character I liked and could relate to, the grammatical errors were really making the reading not fun and just slow me down, I also felt the relationship between Meredith and her parents wasn't cohesive and just didn't make sense. I am thankful for receiving this digital ARC copy from NetGalley and I encourage you to give the book a try and see if it's something that maybe you will enjoy.

My favorite thing about this book was that it was definitely a binge-able read. I was hooked the whole time and wanted to find out what was going to happen next. I thought the author did a good job of weaving together the multiple conflicts in Meredith's life into one cohesive storyline and making the character believable.
Meredith's relationship and friendships were wholesome, her family life hard to swallow and a great overarching conflict that led to so many other conflicts, and her high school drama, albeit over the top at times, made the story much more interesting and relatable. I felt like I was watching an early 2000s young adult chick-flick mixed with heist film the whole time because of the wealthy best friend, the over-the-top bullying, and the suspense of the dog fight scene.
I really don't have too many criticisms of this novel because I think it did a great job at what I believe the author was trying to do and with the messages she was trying to get across. I thought the first 1/3 of the book was a bit slow because the anti-virginity pact didn't seem to be playing much of a role in the plot yet, and I would have liked to hear a bit more about Johanna's efforts to sleep with Mr. Graham.
Overall, though, I thought this was a fun read while sometimes also dark and gripping. Would definitely read more of Katie's work in the future.

Emotional. Infuriating. Eye-opening.

What a powerful debut novel. I went into this book with zero expectations--so neither high nor low hopes--but I was still excited. The premise sounded promising, and I enjoy watching this author talk about her writing process so I knew I just had to try and get my hands on a copy. That being said, thank you so much to NetGalley for letting me review this book early in exchange for my honest thoughts.

The Anti-Virginity Pact had a very solid beginning, although I can already predict it may be a little too slow for some people's reading tastes. The real action and grit did not start to truly appear until half way through the novel, but for me that was not an issue. I enjoyed having the first couple of chapters to orientate myself with the characters and their dynamics with one another, and because of that I was easily able to empathize and fall for them later on. I felt for Mare and her hardships and her struggles as if she were a real person who was actually close to me, and for me that's a clear sign of some great characterization.

Sam was so incredibly endearing and I found very little fault with him. Jo, on the other hand, did infuriate me and although I admired her loyalty she was too stubborn and impulsive for me to fall in love with.

There were several scenes in the beginning where I simply could not stop myself from grinning, and that lighthearted start made a great contrast to the second half of the book.

As for that second half of the story, I could not put the book down. I devoured the last chapters in a single sitting, and I loved how the author did not shy away from talking about these very real issues. I will also note that the trigger warnings listed in the beginning of the book are very much real, and should be noted with care.

It was to little surprise on my part that I found myself shedding more than a few tears over several parts in the story, and I have so much appreciation for Katie Wismer for bringing these issues of rape, animal abuse, and oppressive religious households further into the light. These things are very real, and although I do not share many experiences with this main character, I believed every second of her pain because I myself know plenty of people who actually have had similar experiences. What happens in this book is fictional, of course, but it's the fact that it was believable without a second thought that is the most unnerving, and I wholeheartedly believe people need to understand that.

There is one main issue I had with this story, and it had less so to do with the book than the marketing. The fact that in the blurb itself it reveals that there is this main event pertaining to the pact being exposed took away from the actual scene a lot. Seeing as it didn't even happen until half way through the book, I think it could have been so much more impactful and climatic if it had come as a surprise.

All in all, a wonderful story that kept me guessing and screaming and crying. I look forward to purchasing this book when it comes out in print, and I do not hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for a quick and thrilling read that is as important as it is fun.

The Anti-Virginity Pact by Katie Wismer was just what I needed right now, a page turner to keep my mind off of current events. It starts with Mare and Jo making a pact to no longer be virgins by the end of senior year. This book dives into issues with religion, bullying, sexual assault, animal abuse, anxiety and trauma. I wish the book would have developed more to learn more about what happens with Harper and Silvia, but I guess I can always hope for a sequel! It would be great to find out what happens after a few years passes with Mare, Jo, Sam, Harper and even The Pretty Committee.

The Anti Virginity Pact ⭐️
Meredith And her best friend Jo sign a pact. A stupid pact, Meredith is the first to admit that its stupid and ridiculous but they sign a pact to lose their virginity before the end of senior year. Meredith is a preachers daughter which makes her the perfect candidate for this because everyone loves to break the rules as a pastors kid right?
After reading this much about it I didnt think I would enjoy this. I had heard of the author from youtube and wanted to show my support but really didnt like the concept. Pastors kid sleeps around. Boring. But I liked this one.
For starters she doesnt want to be a cliche. shes not perfect but she is also a normal teenage girl.
Jo sets her sight on a teacher (which is funny because I mean come on.) Jo is going to lose her virginity to a teacher. At least thats the plan. While Meredith sets her sights on a guy from her church, Sam.
I really liked that Sam and Meredith got to know each other and we get to see their friendship/relationship really grow and when it came down to it. It read more naturally than most YA books where they just sleep with whom ever, whenever, and where ever. She did a good job developing both characters, so you are rooting for them to succeed at not just love but life.
But Because everything was going right in her world something had to go terribly terribly wrong. Meredith’s copy of the pact her and Jo made together was plastered all over school except Jo’s name wasn’t on it it was just Meredith’s name her reputation her humiliation.
So after the pact is released she thinks she should prove them right but nothing feels as right as it did with Sam. Shes not some slut. She is not the girl everyone now thinks she is. But she really only cares what Sam thinks of her.
There were lots of twists and turns that I didnt expect from what I thought i knew about the book.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this.

Thank you to netgalley for sending me a copy of the anti virginity pact by Katie Wismer Available on June 16, 2020
All opinions are my own.

⭐1 Star⭐

A story about juvenile inconsistent characters that is as exposition-heavy as it is declarative.

The desire to break away from your parent's ethics is universal and this could have been a very powerful novel about escapism within a religious household. But it was underwhelming and poorly paced. So many characters were introduced at once and the hyperbolic unrealistic dialogue made for a less than engaging read even in high stakes moments. I think Wismer tried to do too much here and if the plot were condensed this novel would have been more impactful.

For an insightful look into a Christian’s interpretation of this book CLICK HERE (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3254701320?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1)

As a lesbian, I could not write this review without mentioning the LGBT+ representation in this novel. A slur for lesbian was used five times. The words lesbian, gay, or queer are not used once. The slur becomes the identity of a character and I find this very problematic especially for younger queer readers. This is worsened by the protagonist's decision to go back to the parents at the end. If they were willing to send away one daughter to a conversion camp, then the queer-identifying child is in a lot of danger even if said parents 'promised' they wouldn't do it again. This is not a safe place for the protagonist or the queer child and should not be presented as such. The presumed homophobia of the parents is never explored and that plotline is left hanging in the air- illustrating my point about condensing the narrative for effectiveness. The queer representation feels like a second thought as the intricacies of Queer Christianity is not explored. All the reader sees is self-hatred, internalised homophobia and hate speech directed at the young person. Moreover, the slurs used are not mentioned in the Trigger Warnings section of the book, an oversight that may be telling of the writers intentions when writing this character.

As a long time viewer of this writer’s YouTube channel, I am greatly disappointed by this debut.

Below are Trigger Warnings if you choose to read this novel.

Trigger Warnings provided by the writer: bullying, religion, sexual assault, animal abuse, substance abuse, anxiety, and trauma.

Extra Trigger Warnings from me: homophobia, slurs, body shaming.

I have been watching the author's youtube channel for a while, and when I heard the description I was very intrigued and interested in the story.
It was an easy read and the writing was very good.

There were, however, some things that took me by surprise. There were trigger warnings given for this book regarding sexual assault and animal abuse, so I was curious to see how these were going to be worked into the plot. Considering the main premise is about a virginity pact being leaked around school, I was ready for some gritty, complex issues to be discussed and stereotypes to be shot down. This book was however full of stereotypes - this is neither good or bad, just in my eyes a tad disappointing. There was the stereotypical mean girl (who never suffers consequences for her actions), the side kick best friend who embodies everything the MC does not (confidence and humour) and then the love interest, who is the bad boy with a bad past of drugs/alcohol.
The dark themes in this book, such as the sexual assault and animal abuse, were topics and scenes that I felt were rather rushed and shoved into this story to cover as many things as possible. I feel as though more time was needed in this world to fully understand see some growth from these characters - especially the MC's parents.
The overall message that the author presents in this story is one that I did truly enjoy. For readers of that high school age who feel as though they are 'missing out' and need parties and boys to complete their ideal teen years, this will suit well. The ending, too, summaries having to be fully accepting of who you are as person, and being sure in your beliefs before you can be comfortable in yourself.
I do look forward to reading more from this author. She writes well, her years of reading and knowledge of captivating a reader indeed shine through.

I especially want to thank @netgalley &@katesbookdate for letting me read and review this ARC. Although this book is a YA book, which I normally don’t read, I did overall really enjoy this book. It had some tougher subject material and I think it was executed well. I did love our main character Mare and I loved to see her develop over time. I’m rounding my rating to a 4 star because of my overall enjoyment and the creativity that this author put into this novel. The writing style was great and I loved how original this story is.

I really really wanted to love this book. I've been watching Katie's Youtube channel for years and have been following her process of writing this book. Unfortunately, I just found this book to not be my cup of tea. This is by no means a reflection of my opinion of Katie as a person or author, I just found certain aspects of the plot to be cringey and unrealistic. The bullying plot point really did'nt make much sense to me. There was no reasoning behind it and felt totally out of the blue. I get it, high schoolers can be terribly mean, but to mercilessly torment a girl who supposedly was a nobody and didnt talk much at all was a bit much. I think I would have connected more to the story if there were an event or reasoning to explain the behavior of Mare's peers.
I think that the concept had a lot of potential and the religious zealot component was interesting , but for the most part felt disjointed and under researched.

While I do find the light, almost Easy-A/Rom-Com vibe of the plot description and back matter to be slightly misleading, this was a thoroughly engaging read. A strong debut!