I received this book "Five Ways to Fall Out of Love" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. Okay so I needed something light to read and choose this one. I know it is a YA and I was okay with that. First, I really liked the characters, they were fun and real, people you could be friends with in high school. There was the romance, while Aubrey tried to find herself. There was the girlfriend fights, misunderstandings and hurt feelings. Oh the struggles of being young! Overall a good book.

When Webster Casey moves across the street the summer before junior year, Aubrey can’t help but become smitten with him. Endless days shooting hoops and endless nights ordering pizza and watching movies has them bonding before school starts. But as the novel opens with Aubrey being stood up during the homecoming dance, and Webster telling her that she’s easy to dislike, her world is shattered. Follow Aubrey through senior year as she picks up the pieces of a lost friendship (and crush), navigates her parents separation, and tries not to let her cynical side ruin friendships and relationships as high school comes to an end.

Compelling relationship quagmire!

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: ❤️💙💜💛💚
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙
World building: 🌎🌏🌍🌎🌎
Character development: 👤👤👤👤

The setting: High School

The Hero(s): Webster - The summer after his parents divorce, he moved in across the street from Aubrey. They spent all their time together and became fast friends, then when she asked him to the homecoming dance he stood her up, never telling her why.
Holland - Webster’s cousin who meets Aubrey at a party at Webster’s house on New Year’s eve in their senior year of high school. Holland attends a rival school, but is extremely attracted to Aubrey and treats her great.

The heroine: Aubrey - grew up in a home where her parents fight non-stop about anything and everything. Aubrey has little faith in everlasting love and sometimes figures why even put yourself through that. She is focused on school and hangs out with her friend Reece.

The Love Story: For the longest time I had not idea where this one was going as Aubrey worked through the relationship issues left with her after growing up with parents that seem to hate each other, seeing her best friend fall in and out of love with different guys all the time and Webster standing her up and turning on her the first time she puts herself out there.

I have to admit I was kinda hoping she would end up with Webster because she seemed to think about him so much. However, it became such a quandary when she started dating and falling for his cousin. I had no clue how things could turn out if she ended up with Webster after his cousin said the “L” word. I began to think this was one of those that would somehow end up being touted as a coming-of-age story and she would end up going off to college alone and focusing on herself.

Also, I really liked Holland. He was hot, nice and sweet. Webster was nice as well, once we get to know him. He was bisexual and I liked how that was dealt with in that he said when he found himself attracted to guys or masc non-binary individuals he started thinking he must be gay, but when he was attracted to girls, he thought maybe he was just confused before, then he finally determined to just love who he loved and not worry about it.

Though the fact that Webster was bisexual was not really an issue in the romance other than the fact that there was some miscommunication between him and Aubrey about how she felt on the issue. The book was more centered on Aubrey’s fears about commitment and how to move forward in a relationship when you are so afraid one of you might someday fall out of love!

I voluntarily read & reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

This book was adorable!! I loved how fluffy it was, and how even though its just another high school romance, it felt different.

When I read a romance, I want likeable characters. I want them to be flawed and realistic. I want them to be complex and dynamic. Emily Martin was able to do all of that and more! Webster and Aubrey practically jumped off the page, and even the side characters were loveable.

Too many times, I've read romances with static characters. They start out one way, and by the end of the book, they're still the same. This wasn't the case here. Aubrey started out the book as a pessimist, believing that love was a false idea. I loved watching her challenge her beliefs, and I loved that her change wasn't instant. She had to fight with herself, and it felt real.

I feel like it's super important to acknowledge the semi-love triangle in this. Normally, I hate love triangles. In this though, it was very minor. It was more about Audrey finding herself, and less about which guy she preferred. I loved that take on things, and it was so nice to to have the guys dueling over her, they respected each other, and they respected her.

Its obvious from the title that this is a romance, so I was expecting great things. This delivered on all of them! The main romance was adorable, and I will admit to shipping it from the very beginning of the book. It was so nice to see a YA romance that had ups and downs, it wasn't instant love and happiness. Also, anything that's enemies to lovers is a favorite, so that was a plus.

If you're a fan of light romances, this is for you! It was sweet, and had the cutest characters. I'd definitely recommend it!

Thanks to Netgalley and Emily Martin for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 rounded up to 4.

I really wanted to love this. Was super excited about the premise, and was intrigued by the usage of Bayes Rules by a teenage girl in respect to life and love.
Unfortunately, the use of this instead gave me an overly cynical teenage girl, with a habit of constantly doing or saying the wrong thing to the people she cared about.
And then there was Webster. I like to read about mean boys, but the things he said and did were crafted for maximum impact/cruelty, and there wasn’t much to redeem him. I didn’t understand why everyone else in the book seemed to like him. I still don’t.
I think the shining piece in this story was simply Holland, Reese and Lucy, of course.
The miscommunication/ blatant lack of communication trope was strongly present here.
It’s not a reread for me, but it wasn’t a hit either.

I was very excited about this book, but unfortunately, it just wasn't for me. The main character in this book was constantly in a depressing mood, and nothing seemed to go quite right for her. I also didn't find any of the characters in this book that enjoyable or readable.

Not a bad YA romance but not one that I connected with. It was a quick read and I do feel some if my students will enjoy it. Overall, a good read, just not my favorite.

This is a cute - easy read that is perfect for the spring. It is centered around two teens who were in the beginnings of a solid friendship (with potental of more) but through miscommunications and misunderstandings the friendship turned into a feud. With obvious strong feelings between them they try to carry on with as little interaction as possible but that becomes impossible as they are thrown together through different situations.

I couldn't decide if I loved or hated this book, which I guess is fitting! All in all it was a fun book with entertaining banter. I would have enjoyed more ending to that story, but I understand why it ended the way it did and I think it was a good ending all the same.

This was a super cute, super fast read. While a bit predictable (and frustrating) at times, it was still enjoyable. I waffled between liking the main character and wanting to scream at her, but I loved the other characters. Overall a good book.

Aubrey Chase is a pessimist who thinks of herself as a realist. Based on her parents' dying marriage, Aubrey believes that there's not much point to love since all she sees is breakups and fighting.

Across the street lives Webster. Just when Aubrey was ready to give love a try, Webster stands her up for Homecoming and then embarrasses her in front of the school. Over a year later and they still wage a daily battle to tick the other one off.

But there's still a little something there.

There's also Webster's cousin who might be able to show Aubrey that love can be more than the end of the relationship; it can be the beginning, too.

Now there's a triangle and Aubrey is more confused about relationships than ever.

Final Thoughts: I was not a fan of this one. The characters were pretty flat and the story just didn't flow well. I finished the book but not with the satisfaction of reading a good story.

Rating: 2/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

*Review will be posted to my blog on 2/22/21*
**2.5 Stars**

I Liked:
*Oh the drama of misunderstandings! This whole book is about miscommunication. Webster and Aubrey’s friendship falls apart because of a misunderstanding. It takes them a whole year to even discuss what really happened, but honestly they would’ve stayed enemies if Webster’s cousin Holland didn’t say something about it.
I thought the drama was realistic. I can think of a lot of moments in my teen years when misunderstandings and miscommunication or lack of communication turned into some drama.

*Aubrey’s parents have been fighting for years but it’s coming to the point where it is unbearable and they are separating. It’s no wonder Aubrey is so wary about love and very unsure what it means to be in love. Aubrey is cynical and she uses a scientific theory to gauge love.

*My favorite thing about this book is Reese, Aubrey’s best friend. Their love for each other is apparent and Reese helps Aubrey loosen up. She made the story fun because the two of them together is comfortable, just like it should be with a bestie.

Random Notes:
*Triggers: divorce

*I usually don’t mind love triangles but the one in this story made me cringe because Aubrey is basically into Webster and his cousin, Holland who is just a nice guy. 🤦🏻‍♀️ Poor Holland, he totally deserved better. It was just messy and so could’ve been handled better.

*Webster is bi-sexual but for some reason the way Aubrey discusses this with him left me feeling uncomfortable. Aubrey tries to bring up college and how their relationship could change if he meets a guy. I mean…I guess she wasn’t worried about him meeting another girl…but a guy is problematic? It was awkward.

*Some mature content: the characters do some sexual exploration like fondling and even masturbation, which is very realistic. I’m glad it didn’t shy away from that.

Final Thoughts:
This book is more like a 2.5 star read for me but I did read this in one night, so it did keep my interest but mostly because I wanted to see if Aubrey’s character would grow. If you are more of a cynic about love or tend to lean that way, you may enjoy this one. I think I’m pretty cynical as an adult haha, but in my romance novels, I want it to be pretty hopeful and optimistic. I appreciate this story being realistic though but in the end it was just an okay story for me.

💙 ~ Yolanda

Five Ways to Fall Out of Love by Emily Martin
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This YA Romance is adorable! It has everything a good YA Romance novel needs: love, heartbreak, parental turmoil, and of course, some cringe-worthy stories about life in high school.
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Aubrey Cash does not believe in love, especially since she has spent the last few years listening to her parents fighting as their marriage falls apart. After spending the summer falling in love with her new next door neighbor, Webster Casey, only to be stood up by him at Homecoming, she decides not to rely on love. She struggles to make decisions and decides to put a theory to the test as she tries to avoid commitment, even when faced with sparks flying with a boy. Aubrey must navigate her fear of commitment, come to terms with her parents’ relationship failing, and balance out her confusion so she doesn’t put all her close relationships at risk.
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This book made me smile while at the same time making me shake my head. I could definitely imagine many of my students facing these same struggles and making the same silly decisions Aubrey and Webster made. I enjoyed reading it and look forward to reading something else by this author! This book comes out on March 16, 2021!
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Thank you to @netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!
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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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I gave this book four stars because I was confused by the format of the chapters at the beginning and felt like it took too long for me to understand the Homecoming debacle between Aubrey and Webster. I also (personally) was angry at the ending because I was sad to see it end! I wanted to know more about Aubrey’s story!

Not your average saccharine YA romance. It appeals more to the cynic than the romantic. Five Ways to Fall Out of Love is about girl dealing with her parents divorcing while crushing on new guy and her ex-boyfriend. It's a good and realistic portrayal of relationships. The characters overall are well developed and distinct. So long as you don't go into it with the expectation that it will be super sweet and everyone's problems will be solved at the end this is a good read.

Three stars for this fun YA contemporary about falling in, out, and back into love. There is of course a love triangle, and I kept going back and forth about who I liked. The characters were okay. I didn't really like any of them. They all did things that made me cringe. This was an ok contemporary. It wasn't my favorite, but it was fast and a good read if you need something fluffy.

I received an ARC of this book my NetGalley. I really enjoyed this YA romance about Aubrey and Webster who became fast best friends and then through a series of unfortunate event, fast enemies. They spend their entire junior year hating each other. By their senior year they are nearly strangers when another series of events forces them to spend time together and discover how they truly feel ❤️

Very cute YA to read. I loved how it presents the high school experience so well. The writing is funny and so well thought through. I loved it!

Very relatable book for older teens!
Aubrey Cash is a high school senior who is trying to figure out relationships. She navigates milestones like homecoming, best friends, love interests, and prom. I grew to really like Aubrey and to want things to work out in her favor. This book included struggles that many high schoolers face as they make decisions about their futures.

This was solidly written YA with two compelling leads and the typical crossed wires and miscommunications that keep them apart. That said, some of the overall plot points, given the expectations of the genre - just not as satisfying in that coming-of-age vein as you want. I held off on submitting feedback thinking I'd write a longer, more comprehensive review. If I do still end up having more to say, it'll be available on my blog, Warm Fuzzies Only. But the odds of revisiting a book I felt was decent but not exceptional are pretty low as of now.

This book had potential and its storyline seemed quite interesting. Unfortunately, the writing style and especially the character development was not for me. The relationship seemed quite forced and unauthentic, so I ultimately was unable to finish the book.