For me, AS IF ON CUE was just okay.

I was so frustrated by the main character and her selfish decisions and it was hard to find something redeeming about her. I need *something* if I'm going to connect with and cheer on the main character. I honestly didn't want her to end up with Reid by the end! If I wasn't committed to finishing ARCS, I'm not sure I would have finished reading. I really liked the idea of it, but the execution wasn't 100 percent there for me.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the e-book in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

I really wanted to love this one. An enemies to lovers centered around a dying arts program, some family drama, and forced proximity? It was a recipe for the perfect young adult novel. Unfortunately for me, it fell flat. I generally disliked all of the characters, especially the MC. Natalie was whiny, annoying, entitled, and generally exhausting to read. She thought the entire world revolved around her. She often took things too far, then acted like everyone else was crazy when she was forced to suffer the consequences. Her parents were around, but both extremely emotionally unavailable. The only character I actually did like was her love interest, Reid. He was funny, quirky, and just generally adorable. He’s honestly the only reason I finished the book.

This was adorable! I really loved the banter between the characters, it was sweet and fun with a good message - fund the arts in schools!

The story follows Natalie and Reid, high school juniors who have been in a prank war since they were little. When their high school cuts arts programs (except for band due to their awards and revenue), the war escalates a little too much.

As the result of a prank gone wrong, Natalie and Reid have to work together to put on a musical. Along the way, the two just might learn more about each other, what it means to work with others, and the meaning of friendship.

This book has it all. The cringey high schools, the frustrating parents, and a sweet romance.

At times, I was so frustrated for Natalie and by the circumstances that were thrown at her. While she is far from a perfect character and made me frustrated (mostly at the end of the book), I found her to be relatable and realistic.

I loved the premise of the book and how it manages to tackle so many topics so well.

Now for the Jewish rep. Both Natalie and Reid are Jewish, and I loved how Kanter decided to write about their Judaism. It’s casual, but also serious. I loved the Bat Mitzvah story line and the conversations about Judaism and antisemitism.

I really liked the Jewish representation in the book. The plot took a bit to pick up but I think younger readers wouldn't mind. There is great witty banter and chemistry between the two main characters. I liked how much family and friends got page time. All the relationships were flushed out and a joy to read.

3.5 stars
Sometimes I liked Natalie and Reid and sometimes I did not! And maybe that’s just how it is with teens so it makes sense in this YA teen relationship drama. I found myself feeling like their parent while I read As if On Cue. Instead of getting caught up in their drama I just wanted them to grow up and make better decisions.
ARC Provided By NetGalley.

As a librarian, I will definitely recommend this book to my performing arts-loving teens. However, for my personal taste Natalie came across as overdramatic and immature - not really a heroine I was rooting for.

4.5/5 stars

This book has me soaring. It was...super cute. Like, really. I really, really liked it. Apparently rivals-to-lovers just...hits the spot.

I really enjoyed the arc Natalie goes on in this book, not just in the romance but in her relationship to art. I loved the family relationships - Delia and Hannah are PERFECT younger sisters - and the conversations had about Jewish identity and celebration and even the highlighting of how insidious and gross antisemitism is.

I wish two things that I'm not going to delve deeply into b/c spoilers but they have to do with the relationship with her Dad and I've forgotten the second one so I guess it's just that one.

I just think this is a really cute romance, I loved the artistic/theater component, and I'm overall a very big fan.

I'm a total sucker for the enemies to lovers trope, so I went into this pretty sure I was going to like it. That being said there were a lot more things that I liked about this book and a couple that missed the mark for me. I liked that it focused on arts in high schools (which is almost always underfunded), both main characters were Jewish and that was part of the focus of the story, and Natalie coming to terms with making art a possible career. Things that I didn't like as much: Natalie destroying the letter. I kept reminding myself that she was a high schooler and she did have reasons not to trust Reid, but it just seemed so immature. Maybe you don't find out that there are almost always exceptions to the rule until you are an adult, but I hated that she just automatically assumed there would be no other time for him to have his audition.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I would definitely recommend it.

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
A decent enemies-to-lovers YA novel about finding your path in life and realizing the important things, like friendship.

This was cute. The main character was kind of unlikeable and the reconciliation at the end was not believable at ALL (without spoiling, let’s just say there is no coming back from that kind of betrayal) but the plot was super fun.

I would recommend this enemies to lovers for the younger YA audience. Loved the emphasis on the importance of art. Very timely. I struggled with the lack of communication and the harshness of the main character a bit - just kept it from being a 5 star from me.

Thank you Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers for this eARC via netgalley.

The Arts are being taken away from Natalie’s school. Due to major budget cuts all the art departments decide to band together to show their school and community just how important they are. Natalie sets out production of her co-written play. However things do not go to plan once she is forced to involve the band department, and more importantly her longtime rival Reid.

This book had a lot of subjects I love such as band, musicals, writing, humor, and enemies to lovers trope. I love how all of the students banded together in support for the arts. I also appreciated the inclusion of standing up for others as well as what is right. I did not except to see discussion about anti-Semitism so it was an unexpected delight to have this included in great discussion. This book seemed to have good Jewish representation which I enjoyed.

My only complaint was how the drama at the end seemed a bit too much. I hated how selfish and spiteful Natalie became at the end as well as how her character growth diminished due to such toxic behavior. Overall, I wish this was played down because it also felt pretty unrealistic as well as ridiculous. I much prefer when characters have meaningful conversations to help clear up issues as well as past miscommunication.

Overall I did enjoy this book. I have not read many books with music and playwriting as well as centered around the arts in general. I did really appreciate being able to read a book with these components.

This book is really sweet and charming and is a great addition to the YA contemporary romance collection about two rivals who must team up to produce a musical. The main character and love interest are both Jewish and the primary side characters represent a wide range of identities, and the author realistically depicts microaggressions and antisemitism. While some of the plot hinges on miscommunication, it is a quick, charming read.

Musicals and enemies-to-lovers add so much to this story and make it a good read. The pranks were funny until they weren’t and that helped process the story. I was excited when things were resolved and cursed the Natalie’s decisions at time. I enjoyed this read so much and it was a book that I could not put down once I got into it.

This book is so cute. It's perfect for theater fans, but if you're not the humor and, quite frankly, adorable storyline will make you swoony and wish you'd had a rival turned lover in high school.

Ahh I loved this. I loved the Jewish representation. The relationship development was really well done.

Fun and engaging, young readers will delight in seeing the roller coaster ride of Natalie and Reid’s relationship. Jewish representation is wonderful and the side characters frequently steal the show. Highly enjoyable.

With their school's art budget cut, rivals Natalie and Reid have to compete for limited funding. Their all-out prank war results in the two having to compromise and work together on a school musical. If they produce a sold-out show, next year could have a full band and theater budget. But the rivals have never been able to work together before, and now there's a weird draw between them.

Natalie and Reid have grown up together, as their fathers are best friends, and there has been an incredible rivalry since early childhood. Natalie always felt like it was a competition, especially for her father's attention. She felt like playing the clarinet was her way to connect with her music teacher father, but then Reid started to play. The prank wars started early and had hurt others throughout the years so that they actually have rules to follow. Natalie attributes the worst possible motives to Reid and has trouble seeing anything good in him. This is intensified when she has to turn the play she co-wrote with her best friend into a musical, and he is roped in to compose the music for it. She's so focused on her own vision that she shoots down everything, and she's so intense that she scares others and can't see the truth. Reid doesn't help his own cause when he riles her up and doesn't give her much opportunity to see anything good in him right away.

This rivals to friends to lovers kind of romance still has its snags. They're high school juniors, after all, and the emotional growth is not that deep. When there's the first serious challenge to a burgeoning relationship between Natalie and Reid, she still assumes the worst. He has gone out of his way to deal with her suspicions regarding the musical and has even thrown out one of the actors making anti-Semitic comments even though it adds to the overall stress of the show. When she realizes her mistake, she does go out of her way to correct it, which makes me admire her. She doesn't take the easy path and works hard as an apology not just to Reid, but to her best friend and to other students that she was too hard on. While there likely will be a lot of stress in the future, I do think they'll be able to work through it. Artsy drama kids are full of drama and angst, after all. It's a realistic ending, and one I enjoyed a lot.

*Special thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!*

Ahhhh this book is such a delight!! It's truly a celebration of art and teenage nerds. I devoured this book and couldn't stop thinking about it afterwards. There's so much to love about it!

Marisa Kanter writes some of the best nerdy characters I've ever read. I loved the book-nerdy characters in What I Like About You, and in this new book Natalie and Reid don't disappoint. I love how passionate they are about the art they love: theater for Natalie, music for Reid. I was easily able to identify with Reid's love of music, and Natalie inspired me to learn more about theater and writing scripts. Reading about their theater rehearsals was really fun, too! This book is truly a tribute to art and theater, and I adored every moment of it. (Also: I really really want to see Melted the Musical. A musical Frozen parody? Sounds like a blast to me.) This book also addressed issues of antisemitism in middle and high school in a way that felt very natural and propelled the story along. ​

Unfortunately, Natalie's character did frustrate me a lot. She made some really awful decisions and was controlling of the people around her. I definitely wanted to scream and throw the book across the room on one particular occasion (WHY NATALIE WHY?!?​). However, she did have an okay character arc and eventually did some self-reflection. I just wish she would've been less aggravating at the start. I felt like Reid's character could've used a smidge more development, but overall I really liked him. All the side characters were fantastic too, especially Fitz! Everyone had pretty good character arcs.

I've got to say, I did really enjoy the romance and rivals-to-lovers. The banter was so good! It was lighthearted yet so fun to read. I was rooting for Natalie and Reid from the start. High school rivals-to-lovers is one of my favorite tropes and this one didn't disappoint!

Lastly, I wanted to mention that I absolutely adore As If On Cue's cover! It's so cute, and I love that Natalie and Reid are wearing matching colored outfits. Plus all the subtle nerdy hints--the instruments, magnets, etc. I love it!

That's all for my review of As If On Cue by Marisa Kanter! Overall I really enjoyed this book and gave it 4/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. If you like books with nerdy characters, theater kids, and rivals-to-lovers, this one's for you! Make sure to grab a copy when it hits the shelves September 21, 2021!

Content Warnings: antisemitism, microaggressions