“After working in this store from the time I was old enough to thread a sewing needle or tally a spreadsheet, it’s hard to believe weddings have anything to do with love. Frankly, it’s hard to believe in love at all.”

Hardened cynic Harper has been working in her mom’s wedding shop for years. She’s seen everything from petty arguments to full-on screaming matches and has a hard time believing that love even exists. So when her hopeless romantic best friend and neighbor, Theo, comes to her nursing his umpteenth heartbreak, Harper makes a deal with him: she’ll teach him how not to fall in love…but only if she proves she can date without falling in love too. At first, everything seems to be going great, but as the lessons progress, Harper realizes this love thing may not actually be so simple. When her feelings start complicating things, she has to decide whether to listen to her heart or her head—and figure out who was truly doing the teaching and the learning after all.

Jacqueline Firkins has crafted a masterful love story full of heart, humor, and hope. Harper and Theo are perfect foils of each other, and I had such a great time following their story. How Not to Fall in Love is fabulously full of fun characters, brilliant twists, and a fantastic best-friends-to-lovers romance. I especially enjoyed learning about LARPing along with Harper and how Theo’s quirks aren’t put down but applauded. The world could use some more zany people! The wedding shop setting absolutely sparkles with charm, and I really loved the dynamic between the three women who work at the shop: Harper, her mom, and Pippa. Firkins doesn’t shy away from discussing the very real internal turmoil that love can cause, and I think she does an excellent job with it. Overall, How Not to Fall in Love is perfect for fans of fun and flirty teen romances.

Content Warnings: Strong language, mentioned eating disorder, toxic relationship, intimate scenes, underage drinking, anxiety, mentioned infidelity, absent father

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

How Not to Fall in Love was absolutely adorable. I literally read it in one sitting on my way to San Francisco. I loved our main characters Theo and Harper. I loved how friendship was a major role in this book. Theo and Harper had grown up together and eventually developed a romance. I loved how their relationship was not always perfect but both fit so well together. Theo was just adorable. Unfortunately, Theo always kept choosing the wrong girls and Harper was always there for him picking up the broken pieces. Overall, this book was amazing. It was funny, complicated, but the romance was just adorable. I am extremely grateful that was able to receive an early copy. Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity. I can’t wait to have a physical copy.

How Not to Fall in Love by Jacqueline Firkins is a contemporary young adult romance that is sure to take your breath away. It’s dynamic, funny, fast-paced, and an amazing depiction of complicated, modern love—a must-read for fans of rom-coms.

Thank you to Clarion Books (HMH Children's) and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I wish I had words to describe the joy reading this gave me. There is nothing like a good YA contemporary to brighten your mood and that's exactly what this did. I adored the premise of this as well. There's nothing like a friends-to-lovers trope with one being absolutely clueless for half the book at least. Jacqueline has this incredible ability to draw you in from page one and leaving you wanting more with her prose and dynamic writing. While in parts this was a tiny bit predictable, it was still so enjoyable that I didn't care.

The relationship that blossoms between Harper and Theo is just so fun to watch. I love how their friendship has always been so close and they're always able to count on each other. They're both so well developed and intriguing to watch change and grow as the book goes on. I love how much Harper learns about herself and how determined she is to make things right when they go wrong. Her relationship with her mom was so pure. There are very few books that I can relate so fully and completely to the main character, but I really felt like I've been in Harper's shoes. While there was no bets involved, her relationship with her mother and her male best friend truly was something I experienced in high school. I enjoyed every minute of this!

I loved the way Firkins was able to make even the subtle details stand out and become such an incredible part of the story that she's crafted. If you are a lover of sweet, romances and love watching each character grow, pick this up. This is one book you won't want to miss!

How Not to Fall in Love, by Jacqueline Firkins, is both predictable and full of surprises.

Harper, recovering from the break up of her first love, has resolved to teach her best friend Theo (who falls in love at the drop of a hat) how to protect himself from love and inevitable heartbreak. Theo insists that if she is going to give him lessons in love, she needs more experience—she needs to get out there and date! And thus a tale of love--requited, unrequited, unexpected--begins.

There are some truly wonderful characters here. I give special shout-outs to the moms, who fully support their teens, offering listening ears, shoulders to cry on, food, frank talk & condoms. Yes, there is a bit of fairly tasteful teen sex here. The teens themselves are adorable, quirky, open, and generally believable. They run the gamut from nerdy to jock to LARPer to… I loved the incorporation of studying vocabulary for the SAT, resulting in some really clever wordplay!

All in all, a sweet story with all of the feels, from young love to heartbreak, from friend zone back to young love. I recommended it for anyone who enjoys rom-coms, but especially for lovers of YA.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of How Not to Fall in Love by Jacqueline Firkins.

This book was an enjoyable, if predictable, young adult romance. Cynic Harper and romantic Theo are best friends, when Theo comes to Harper for advice on his latest break up she tries to teach him how not to fall in love and in the process learns about love herself.

Things I really enjoyed about this book where the background setting of Harper's mother's wedding dress shop which has been struggling and in which Harper has been working almost nonstop for the past year. I also enjoyed the vocabulary for SAT practice that Harper does throughout the novel which lends some interesting words to this book. I also adored Theo and only wanted the best for him from the beginning. Being a quirky, if handsome, best friend who throws himself into every romance that comes his way made him lovable.

However, I was not the biggest fan of Harper. I understand that there is the background of her mom almost going bankrupt and her not even knowing who her father was, along with a failed summer romance, to add some depth to Harper but overall I felt like she just continued to self-sabotage everything that was going on. Her cynicism felt very frustrating, especially as we continued into the book and she made decisions that wouldn't have gone with her thinking but seemed like she was ruled by hormones instead. I also found the plot entirely predictable almost from the very beginning and while Firkins threw in a twist near the end it was still very obvious about what was going to happen in this story. Despite that I enjoyed the ending for it's happy ever afterness.

Overall not amazing but still enjoyable for 3.5 stars.

The book starts with Harper being relatable in the fact she does not want to fall in love after she sees day in and day out the results of doing so. With dealing with bridezilla after bridezilla, it’s hard to want to even feel love for another. Harper plays a funny and witty MC, but declines when it comes to being a friend. Where rules are set in place between her and her best friend, she is quick on her feet to break them and damage a fragile heart in the process. The book is labeled how not to fall in love, but more accurately teaches you how TO fall in love. The book is like every Hallmark and Lifetime movie trope of the MC only caring to be with a special someone who is everything of their dreams. And then when that fails, it’s time to notice the best friend. In my opinion, it’s just another over done plot smashed into a different town. All in all, it is a nice little read and does uplift you a bit, but also crashes you when you notice how selfish and foolish the MC is.

When trying to educate her best friend, Theo, in the art of casual dating, cynical Harper finds herself falling in love with both the boy she's supposed to be casually dating and with Theo himself.

I was swept away by this earnest, emotional rom-com. Harper's voice is funny, and her experiences of love are raw and realistic. There were points in the novel when I genuinely wasn't sure how things would turn out because of the believable complications that Firkins built into her love life. It is refreshing to have a love triangle where all three people are good humans trying to figure out what they want in the world and whether they can fit together in a relationship, and the sex-positive mom was an added bonus. I highly recommend this novel to teen and college-age romance readers! It would be an excellent addition to any YA collection.

How Not to Fall in Love by Jacqueline Firkins is an absolutely delightful YA contemporary romance. It follows Theo and Harper who have been best friends since they were toddlers and who are now trying to navigate the often treacherous waters of teenage love and romance. Harper is actually completely off love at the moment after recently getting her heart broken by a boy she thought was the one. It also doesn’t help her thoughts on love that she works at her mom’s bridal shop and is surrounded by Bridezillas all day. But when she sees Theo, a hopeless romantic, getting his heart broken time and time again because he just tries too hard, Harper vows that she’s going to help Theo by teaching him how to tone down his approach to dating.

I adored the friendship between Harper and Theo. They have such an easy banter and a wonderful chemistry, and I especially loved how Harper found endearing every quality about Theo that all of his potential girlfriends found weird or too nerdy. She truly appreciates what a special and unique person he is. I also had such heart eyes for Theo because he’s so soft and he just loves everything about love. He was adorable and nerdy in the cutest possible way, and it was so frustrating that girls didn’t appreciate him. I thought Harper was great too and I especially loved how badly she wanted to help Theo even though she herself wanted nothing to do with love and was still hurting from her own failed relationship. I also found Harper’s overall journey in this book to be quite compelling, especially because even though she’s the teacher in their arrangement, Harper also learns a lot from Theo as well, which gives her the nudge she needs to open her heart again.

I also loved all the scenes that took place at the bridal shop. Harper and her mom made such a great team, and Pippa, the fun and quirky shop girl who is a great friend to Harper and who also appreciates Theo and all of his nerdy goodness, is a fabulous secondary character. There were also several wonderful scenes where Harper gets to interact with non-Bridezilla clients who help make her a little less jaded when it comes to love and realize that once you’ve found the right person, nothing else matters.

If you’re in the mood for a heartfelt story of love, friendship, and family, be sure to check out How Not to Fall in Love.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

How not to fall in love, is a Romance book. The main character, Harper, works in her mum´s wedding shop. She has the idea of not getting married ever as the big weddings are only part of a big showing off.
Her best friend Theo falls in love too easily and usually ends up with a broken heart.
So Harper offers to give him lessons about how not to fall in love.
The other characters are also lovely and fun. Pippa, Felix. Friendship stories and love stories that could but didn´t happen.
It is a very enjoyable, funny book, a quick read if you are looking for just read and not think too much.
Friendship and romance are in their pure state.

I tried really hard to get into this book. I understand the characters are young, but the voice was entirely too immature. I found the main character to be annoying as she wallows in self pity. I enjoyed the premise of the book but that’s about where that list ends

I cannot believe how much I loved this book. I had pretty low expectations thinking it would be another standard YA romance but it hooked me right away with it's quirky characters and romance. Theo was just a treasure, hilarious and unique and lovable and holy smokes was there some amazing chemistry happening with him and Harper. The romance was definitely my favourite part of this book, a little spicier than your typical YA but still not adult territory. Just a cute, heart-squishing, feel-good read.

Is this book your typical teenage best friends realizing that they are meant to be together. Yes it is. Very much so. Yet it is done is such a beautiful way. I love the fact that Theo is this love struck dreamer who is not afraid to be who he wants to be regardless of how others might see them. I also love that Harper is such a focused driven individual who is leery of love. That they both go on their own journeys in this book just makes when they come together so much more meaningful. Teens will love the growth of the characters and how it truly reflects how confusing finding real love can be.

Thank you so much Clarion Books and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy.

This book was amazing and everything of the sort. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

Harper is a teen who is oddly cynical about love given her age and experience. Blame it in years of dealing with Bridezillas at her mom’s bridal shop, she’s just not into the commercialization of love or the concept of “falling” for anyone.

In the meantime, her best friend Theo is her polar opposite. He’s a hopeless romantic who goes all in and gets his heart broken on the regular, only to dive right back in for more. Despite these differences, the two balance each other out, gently pushing the other to see love through the other’s eyes.

So when Harper finds herself crushing on local hottie Felix at the same time Theo gets his heart broken again - Harper vows to teach Theo the art of NOT falling in love, all through the lense of her new flirtation. But the better student Theo becomes, the more the teacher begins to question her lessons. With the rule book out the window, Harper is quickly finding she just might be the one whose fallen….and can’t get up. 😉

How Not to Fall In Love is by and large a clean teen romance that just skirts naughty territory in moments. It’s realistic in the sense that it features teenagers who don’t always know what they want, but are adorably awkward in their attempt to figure it out. My favorite character was probably Theo as he wore his heart on his sleeve proudly through out much of the story, giving me major Duckie vibes. There aren’t any major surprises in this story, but it’s a sweet and straight forward teen romance nonetheless.

Harper and Theo are next door neighbors. They're very very close with one another. They are about to go into their senior year. This novel takes place the summer before.

I loved the essence of this story promoting positive relationships. Harpers mom is such a powerhouse. There is a lot to love here. There is medieval tournaments, weddings and dresses galore, spicy treehouse makeouts and so much more.

I was a big fan of Firkins' previous novel "Heartstrings and Unbreakable things." This was equally as wonderful.

Thank you Clarion and Netgalley for the advanced review.

How Not to Fall in Love is a cute book featuring Harper and Theo. Harper thinks love is waste and Theo loves love. They decide to help each other out, Theo helping Harper fall in love and Harper helping Theo not fall in love so fast.

Despite how cynical Harper is, I liked her a lot, and fully believe that someone in the wedding industry who deals with brides on a regular basis can lose the spark, however she fails to recognize that she's seeing them at a most stressful time.

Theo and his cosplay and his lamenting after a break up was a lot for me. I'm not one to deal with overdramatic people and Theo was definitely that.

Overall an enjoyable and cute read.

I liked this book. This book is about Harper who tries to help her best friend, Theo, try not to fall in love but she notices that her heart is falling in love. I have read Jennifer's debut book and love it so I knew I had to check this one out. The writing was well done and well paced but I do have to say that the story was a little dragged towards the end. The beginning was well done where I was hooked from the first page but then when it came to the ending, the story just dragged. I enjoyed the setting of this book taking place mostly in place in the bridal shop and in town. This book also talks about family relationships and friendships then just romance. Overall the writing was well written.

This book is written from Harper's pov. She is a character who thinks she shouldn't fall in love and develops throughout the story. There were also some amazing side characters in this book like Harper's friend who works at the bridal shop with her. Another side character was Theo. I didn't really enjoy his character not because of who he is but just a personal thing where I don't get attracted to guys who aren't like Rhys if you know what I'm saying. I don't want to really spoil or say anything else so I will leave it at that. This book is a love triangle trope and a friends to lovers trope. For Firkins' first book, I enjoyed this trope but for some reason not in this one. *spoiler* I was rooting for the other guy instead. *end spoiler*

The ending was meh for me just because of the way the romance ended. I still enjoyed the story though and stressed out who the lover could be in a good way. I did have some minor problems with the writing but overall this book was still a great read. I still recommend it but I especially recommend her first novel which was AMAZING! If you still want to check this one out, I recommend it to fans of Anna and the French Kiss and Lady Midnight (for the romance of course).

Thank you to #NetGalley, Jacqueline Firkins, and HMH Books for Young Readers for the ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When I first requested this book, I expected an over the top and super eye rolling rom-com. I was sure wrong and am so thankful I was. This story follows Harper, who works in her mom's bridal store. Harper is used to working and seeing brides who are over the top or have dramatic meltdowns. This causes Harper to not particularly believe in love. Now her best friend Theo on the other hand not only believes in love, but falls in love way too easy and always has his heart broken. What do friends do when they have different experiences with love? Help each other of course! But will their lessons turn into something more?

Bravo to Jaqueline Firkins! All the characters in this book are so loveable and it was really hard to dislike any of them. I will be recommending this book to friends and members of my book club.

Harper doesn't believe in love and that is hard considering she works in her mother's bridal shop where love is all around her. She is even convinced that she can teach her best friend, Theo, how to avoid falling in love with every girl he dates. Teaching Theo how to avoid falling in love may be the best thing she has found to realize that love is real and that it can happen to her. A great read that will leave you feeling good about love. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.