Last year, I unexpectedly really enjoyed The Best Laid Plans, so I was so excited for this author’s next release. Also, it had fake dating and dislike-to-love, so of course I needed to read it. With a fun plot and a lot of character development, Heartbreakers and Fakers was a cute story about finding what really makes you happy.

Penny wakes up on her boyfriend’s lawn with no memory of the party the night before. When she goes inside, her best friend, Olivia, is hostile towards her and her boyfriend, Jordan, breaks up with her. It turns out that Penny had kissed Olivia’s boyfriend Kai, whom she hates. Realizing now that the perfect summer she had planned is ruined, she confronts Kai, who proposes that they fake a relationship to get back into their friends’ good graces and to win Jordan and Olivia back, respectively. Soon, though, Penny realizes that she likes Kai more than she previously thought and that maybe Jordan and Olivia weren’t quite the people she thought they were.

The reason for Penny and Kai fake-dating was a little hard for me to wrap around my head first, but I think the book does a good job of justifying it in the moment. It’s a very messy situation, Penny pretending to date someone who is her (now ex-) boyfriend’s best friend and her best friend’s (now) ex. Olivia and Jordan soon get together too, so whenever they all hang out, it was so weird to me. However, that being said, this book acknowledges the messiness and grows from it. This whole situation puts into perspective how Penny has always viewed her life.

I really liked the character dynamics in this book because they felt realistic to me. It’s set in a small town, so Penny has gone to school with the same people her entire life. In middle school, she was teased and had only one friend, another girl whom everyone else also found weird. You can tell how this affected her even now, years later, when she is popular.

Olivia is the most popular girl in school, and in a lot of ways, Penny has just gone along with whatever she’s done because she’d rather be the one on top, even if that means she’s the one doing mean things. Their relationship, which is complex to say the least, has a strange dynamic because, in the end, Penny was just glad she finally wasn’t the one being teased. She’d rather be popular and superficial and not at all her own person if that meant that she had “good” friends. Throughout this book, however, Penny comes to realize how being Olivia’s best friend doesn’t have to be her entire personality: she can be her own person and still be happy.

Penny’s need for validation also affected her opinions of Kai because she’s always thought he was rude and too carefree. They bickered constantly, in a way that everyone thought they liked each other and were trying to hide it. This dynamic felt very natural to me; if we’re being honestly, hate-to-love in young adult contemporary can feel so forced and unrealistic at times. Here, though, I understood Penny’s dislike of Kai because she just can’t understand someone who doesn’t care about other people’s opinions when other people’s opinions are all that she thinks about. This also was more dislike-to-love than anything because while they argued a lot, there was no real vitriol.

Penny and Kai’s dislike of each other added to the fun of their fake dating. Fake dating already usually has funny scenes, when the couple has to convince everyone else, but I really liked their dialogue. Some of their scenes together were so cute too! Also, I just had a lot of fun reading this book! There were some really funny scenes, and I couldn’t stop smiling at some points. The writing was really good, so I’m excited to read more from this author.

I honestly have more to say about how all of this (Penny’s need for validation, the fake dating, the dislike-to-love) ties together, but it involves spoiling the ending so I’ll hold off. I’ll just say that I really liked Penny’s character development. She’s spent years holding Olivia’s approval, so when she suddenly doesn’t have it again, she chases after it. However, throughout the book, she realizes how fake their relationship was and how that led her to not have good relationships with other people, like Kai and their other friends or with Sarah, the “weird” girl who was her only real friend for years when they were younger. This book made this character growth feel very natural, which I really liked.

Overall, Heartbreakers and Fakers was a fun fake-dating story that also had really good character development. I really liked the complexity of the character dynamics, and how they grew from the messy situations. If you liked Emily Wibbroka and Austin Siegemund’s books or Emma Lord’s novels, I definitely think you should check out Heartbreakers and Fakers!

<b> "And then I saw you reading, and you smiled at me, and it was that little smile that got me through it all. I was like, <i>this girl gets it</i>." </b>

<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/xT9KVFTRFSds7hG4Y8/giphy.gif"/>

Oh, you want to know the tea? I gotchu, sis. So Penny and Olivia and BF4E. Penny has been in love with Jordan for years. Like life long debilitating crush. He finally asked Penny to be his girlfriend. Jordan and Kai = bromance. Kai is one of the most annoying people on the planet. Kai is ALSO Olivia's boyfriend. Yikes. First night of summer. First party and Penny wakes up buzzing with fear that something is wrong. And she is right. She kissed KAI TANAKA. Kai, her long time nemesis. Kai, her besties boyfriend.
<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/KwUKU198KlWJW/giphy.gif"/>

There's a theory among the friends, that Kai and Penny are secretly into each other or something. Like Han and Lei vibes.
<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/Gpf8UJXH5Q3CM/giphy.gif"/>

Penny's not feeling it. But people believe it. And everyone forgives a good love story, right? So...How are Kai and Penny going to get Olivia and Jordan back? By pretending to date to make them jealous. Classic freaking idiot kid behavior.

I LOVED Heartbreakers and Fakers! YA rom-com with max com. Penny and Olivia's pet names for each other are comical. "You're the dollop of whipped cream in my PSL." SO LOL! And Kai's nicknames for Penny "hey, lemon poppy seed muffin". Okay. Snort! Kai is funny. He's got jokes. There are two scenes that are steal-your-breath-precious!
<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/3o7bu2rAyeZ8U5oQSc/giphy.gif"/>

And wait. It's not all rainbows and butterflies. There is massive betrayal, manipulation, and toxic friendships. Secrets and lies! Oh, my!

Cameron Lund! This was such a FUN read! If you need few hours of escapism...Heartbreakers and Fakers is what you need, dear reader. Perfect for fans of Emma Lord and Rachel Lynn Solomon.

READ IF YOU LIKE:
-fake dating
-enemies to lovers (it's an eternal flame)
-self discovery
-puns & jokes
-lots of good music (Khalid, Lana Del Rey, AC/DC)
-#IsThisAKissingBook: uh...blinks a couple times...duh.
-Disneyland! (I know that weirdly long line for Peter Pan)

<b> "I think that's whats so great about love: it's something worth putting in the extra effort for." </b>

All the thanks to Penguin Young Readers for an advanced copy!

Song: As I Am by Justin Beiber ft. Khalid

This book was the summer romance I needed in my life. The classic fake dating scheme to attract others, ugh I loved every second of it. The writing was fantastic and the characters were well developed. I loved how you don't really find everything out until the end of the novel when everything comes together. It was a fun and cheesy romance, but it also had a few mystery vibes going on as well. I would recommend this to pretty much anyone out there who wants a fun read. It's cute, sweet, funny, and a great time. You won't regret picking it up!

This book was a cute, fun, and quick read! To me, however, this book did not stand out as much as I hoped it would. I loved the new take on the fake-dating trope, but I felt like many of the ideas played out were repetitive and quite predictable, so they lost some of the charm I had hoped they would have. Definitely an amazing mood booster if you are looking for a quick adorable romance!

One mistake can ruin you. Penny has had to face this truth too many times already, the first time was when she was in fifth grade and earned the nickname Puking Penelope and now it’s for kissing her best friend’s boyfriend. She had the entire summer planned out, but now she is a social pariah. With only the boy she kissed speaking to her, she hatches a plan to get her boyfriend and best friend back, because “everyone forgives a good love story”. But while trying to return her world to normal, she may discover it isn’t what she really wanted.

This is for sure an enemies to lovers that you won’t want to miss! I received an advanced readers copy from NetGalley. Heartbreakers and Fakers by Cameron Lund comes out this June! Make sure you add it to you #tbrlist. 😊

This summer romance story doesn't have as many plot twists as Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's love story, but it does have the star crossed lovers. If you love teen angst and high school drama involving popularity rankings and who likes who, this could be the book for you. For fans of Gossip Girl and High School Musical.

I love the fake dating trope! This book was really fast paced and easy to read in a couple sittings. I loved Kai automatically. I think he was my favorite character in the book. I’ve been seeing a lot of mean girl best friends and it is really easy to make it impossible to understand why anyone would tolerate their ways. In this one Liv was more understandable in some ways. She wasn’t likable (i hated that she bullied Sarah). I could understand why Penny was friends with her though. Penny made me sad with her insecurity and through the flashbacks you see the real nature of her relationship with Jordan. Reading this made me grateful for my high school friends. We didnt treat each other like this- i’m not sure I could have survived these type of friendships. The characters did mature throughout and grow which I appreciated.

I couldn’t put this down and literally read in one sitting. It was messy and honest and real and somehow still packed with fun and swoons. Highly recommend!

As an adult of an undisclosed age, I can say there are hits and there are misses. For me to enjoy a book, the writing has to be amazing, with characters that have bigger problems than what to wear on Friday night. Cameron Lund is an author who can take a fun trope as fake-dating and give it a new meaning with characters that have complexities and relatable growing pains. She goes beyond superficial problems and dives into the heart of emotions that everyone tends to feel either as an adult or as a teen. To me, her writing is effortless, captivating, and natural. She has a flow that makes it so an adult like myself who loves angsty teen drama can enjoy this without feeling too old to be reading it.

There’s a kindness to Penny that feels authentic in nature. She feels genuine with her actions and is just trying to navigate the game that is high school to come out unscathed. Reading her struggle and doubts left a relatable feeling about my own self, and seeing her growth throughout the book made me cheer for her success. It was interesting to see how the author went between past and present to showcase Penny’s key between being in love with the idea of love versus actually being in love with another person.

This book is the perfect mix between Mean Girls and season three of Dawson’s Creek, Joey and Pacey vibes. The friends of the group sparred and bantered back and forth only to end up blurring the lines between love and hate. I loved the angst between these two characters. There is a passion that is felt every time Penny and Kai interact. Through their “hate” they were able to find common ground and be vulnerable by letting each other into their messy worlds. Though it can be stereotypical in some aspects, the author provides an unexpected twist that is different from other books like it.

There’s a universal feeling of wanting to belong or wanting love that’s translated to any age. Though this book filled my heart with agony and drama, I devoured this book. There were twists and turns that kept it interesting and hard to put down, characters that you just fell in love with, and moments that were so sweet. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for this ARC

RATING: 4.5/5 STARS

This was a really fun book! It was an excellent execution of two of my favorite rom-com tropes - hate-to-love and fake-dating. The character development in this novel was very well done. Penny and Kai weren't perfect but they learned from their mistakes. In my opinion, flawed characters who are able to communicate with each other and resolve their issues create some of the best YA writing. The chemistry between Penny and Kai was entertaining and kept me reading. Their dynamic was unique with some real heartfelt moments.

Cameron Lund's writing is just so relatable and engaging. Her first book was fantastic and this one also lived up to my expectations. I finished it in one day. It's a light and enjoyable read that also has deeper layers about difficult family relationships, bullying, and teenage uncertainty about the future. Additionally, it has Asian character representation, which is a major plus.

A sincere thanks to Penguin Teen for providing an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was so honored to receive an ARC for this amazing book! As soon as I read the synopsis I knew I was going to love it! This book had all the elements to make a great book! There was high school drama, friendship relationships, fake relationships, jealousy, and all the feels of trying to fit in! The lead female character, Penny, is very self conscious and questions her ever decision. She thinks she needs to look perfect for everyone to like her. Kai is the exact opposite, doesn’t care what others think about him and wants to be true to himself! These two characters find themselves with the help of the other and make their way through all the high school drama together! Swoon-worthy and so cute! This is an absolute must read!

Thank you penguin teen for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Last year I read Cameron Lund's book The Best Laid Plans and fell in love with her writing. She has a way to really draw in her readers. When I got her newest book I was really excited to see what type of story she was going to write. I felt like this story was a bit much for my personal taste. There were a lot of really sweet moments but I felt like there was so much drama, and lying that it came across to me as a bit over the top. I totally understand high school drama and YA drama but when it lasts until the last chapter, as the reader I began to wonder when is it going to fizzle out. I think there has to be a good balance, and I felt like this one left too many ties untied if that makes sense. But I will say that I loved Kai's character a lot. I felt like he stole the story for me.

Disclaimer: I got this ARC in exchange for a review from @NetGalley. As always, all opinions are my own.

This book is perfect for fans of Tweet Cute by Emma Lord. I thought this was a cute, predictable book. I think if you need a comfort read or if you're a huge fan of the fake dating trope, then this is for you! Penny and Kai also have a bit of an enemies to lovers trope so if that is more your thing, then I would recommend this for you! I enjoyed reading about Kai more than Penny, but that's just my personal take on this. If you've read it, feel free to let me know what you think!

I loved this book. I’ll admit, I had extremely high hopes for it because Cam’s freshman novel The Best Laid Plans was one of my top five favorite reads of 2020 (out of 110). Heartbreakers and Fakers had me laughing, it made me angry, it made me sad, and I loved the characters.. mostly.

The only thing that made it fall short of a five star read for me was Penny 😬 I realize that as a coming-of-age novel, Penny is supposed to go through a major transformation. That’s the point. But sometimes she just royally pissed me off and it made me frequently not like her all that much lol. But Kai more than made up for it. I’m a sucker for the fake dating trope, and when this book comes out in April, it will be a perfect addition to the sub genre.

Even though Penny wasn’t always my favorite, Cam has such a gift with creating extremely real characters. Penny was flawed, but so we’re Kai, Jordan, and Olivia. I don’t really know what Jordan wanted, honestly, but Kai and Olivia just wanted to be seen and be loved. So did Penny. They all just went about it the wrong way.

(I also may have helped Cam fix a small timing inconsistency and I feel pretty cool about it 😂).

I LOVE this author and I LOVE this book! It's full of some of my favorite tropes--fake dating, only one bed, forced proximity, enemies to lovers, and a lopsided love triangle. And as much as it's about the romance, it's about how toxic some friendships can be, and if there's ever any coming back from that. Just how much blame, or fault, or grace, can anyone expect or be given?