I am all over the place with this book! I absolutely loved the idea of all the fine arts coming together and proving their worth, I loved that the strained relationship between Natalie and her dad felt so authentic and heart wrenching, I loved the complicated situations with friends that happen, and I loved how the enemies to lovers trope felt so real!

I did not love how frustrated I was with Natalie throughout the book! There were times where she was AWFUL, and it was hard to take! Like really hard to take!

In the end, I did close the book smiling, so I would recommend it if the premise is something sounds interesting to you!

Contemporary and romance are what I’m in the mood for right now. I’ve had this on my NetGalley shelf for a while. And I loved the first book I read by Marisa Kanter, so I’ve been looking forward to this one.

As If on Cue follows Natalie, who wrote a play with her best friend, Henry. With the arts budget depleted, they hoped that by putting on their own play, they would be allowed. But when the school says no at first, Natalie and her friends decide to do something about it. They want the money that has been given to the band, and her childhood rival Reid is part of that group. They’re forced to work together and turn her play into a musical, and that’s when things get chaotic.

I seem to have been reading more about musicals this year. I think this must be the third book? But it might even be the fourth. I do like musicals, but I don’t love them as much as I do books and blogging. So this book wasn’t as quite as perfect for me. But it was enjoyable, and I do love rivals to lovers.

Reid and Natalie have been rivals for years. Natalie used to play the same instrument as him, their families have been friends for years, and they’ve been pranking each other since they were little. It was a lot of fun, and I did enjoy seeing their growth. But I did have some issues with it. Many of Natalie’s issues with Reid were because of her own assumptions and things she’s done. It was kind of frustrating as I did feel for Reid, and I feel like she kind of should’ve done more to apologise.

Natalie could be very frustrating, but I understood why she was doing what she at least. Well, most of the time. The last thing she did to Reid, I really didn’t get. It wasn’t good, it didn’t make sense and yeah…I wasn’t a fan.

But this book was very funny. The friends and some of the family members were enjoyable. It was good to see some of the different arts represented. And you got to see how music changed the characters over the years too, which was fun. I don’t usually like flashbacks, but they were alright in this book.

Overall, this book was okay. For me, it wasn’t anything special, but whenever I was in the mood to read, I did enjoy it. It was easy to get through. If you love musicals or Frozen, then you’ll want to check this out.

This was a cute and fast read! I feel like I definitely was not part of the target audience so I can't really relate too much to what was happening, but I think that if this was put into the right hands they would love it!

Marisa Kanter’s new YA novel As If on Cue is a cute and fun enemies-to-lovers romance that follows Natalie and Reid, two teens who have been rivals for most of their lives. Their heated rivalry started with the clarinet, where they each vied to be First Chair and tried to sabotage each other’s chances, thus beginning the prank wars. The prank war between Natalie and Reid have become so intense over the years that they have actually drafted rules for them that must be followed. Natalie eventually stopped playing and found her passion elsewhere, in theater and in writing plays, and yet the prank wars continued on.

When she learns that the budget for the arts has been decimated and that band is the only arts class that will be funded, Natalie devises a plan of attack to save the arts, one that uses a play she has written and that will bring together students from all of the other arts programs. Her plan, which potentially pits her yet again against Reid, but also against her dad, who is the high school band teacher, backfires spectacularly due to a prank gone wrong, and as punishment, Natalie and Reid are forced to work together to bring Natalie’s play to life, basically their worst nightmare come true.

As If on Cue has a lot of hilarious moments in it as Natalie and Reid have to figure out how to work as a team when all they’ve ever done is try to outdo one another. While the pranks themselves are pretty juvenile and annoying to their friends, there’s also an interesting undertone though where the author introduces a dual timeline, with flashbacks that show how the prank wars originated and that really showcases the complex feelings Natalie and Reid have for one another. I really appreciated this because it gave more context to some of Natalie’s actions in the book, which were downright bratty at times. It becomes pretty clear that perhaps Natalie and Reid don’t hate each other as much as they thought they did and I enjoyed seeing how their prankish relationship originated as well as how it evolved once they finally started working together and appreciating one another. I always love a story where characters show personal growth and there was a lot of that with Natalie as the story progressed.

The Arts getting cut is also such a relevant and timely topic because it happens frequently. I loved that the author really spotlighted how truly important the arts are and I really enjoyed watching the students come together to try to save them. I especially loved the behind-the-scenes action and seeing everything that takes place, from the writing process all the way through to the performance itself. I actually enjoyed this aspect of the story just as much as, if not more so, than the romantic angle.

If prank wars, a student-written retelling of Disney’s Frozen called Melted, and a fierce student-driven campaign to try to keep the Arts from being cut from their high school’s budget sounds like your thing, you’ll definitely want to check out As If on Cue.

Natalie and Reid have been in each other’s lives forever—pranking each other, competing for first chair, fighting for her dad’s attention. Natalie *hates* Reid. But when the arts programs at her high school are going to be cut—and after Natalie’s prank ruins the band’s (and, therefore, Reid’s) festival—Natalie and Reid are forced to work together to make the play she’s written into a musical in order to save the arts.

Though it took a little longer than my personal preference to get to the *romance* of the book, it was an adorable read (and it certainly thoroughly addressed the *enemies* part of enemies-to-lovers). Natalie and Reid were both written perfectly—making terrible, actual teen decisions that drove me crazy (but in a good way because it was realistic!). I loved the complicated relationship Natalie had with her dad. The conversations and reactions from each of them were realistic, and Natalie’s growth as she realizes she has been holding a grudge against the wrong person is incredible. And once the romance started up, Natalie and Reid’s relationship was swoony and fun. Would definitely recommend, especially to those who love the arts.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon Teen for a digital ARC of As If on Cue.

As someone who was in both band and theater in high school, this seemed right up my alley. Lifelong rivals, Natalie and Reid, are forced to worked together to save their school’s art programs.

Unfortunately, As If on Cue missed the mark. For pretty much the entire first half of the book I found Natalie incredibly annoying and the dialogue cringy (i.e. way too many uses of the phrase “I cannot even”). The second half barely made up for it. Natalie did show some character growth at the very end and the depiction of putting on a show had me feeling nostalgic. However, the romance felt rushed and lacked chemistry. I wish more time had gone towards building the romantic tension between Natalie and Reid. Sadly this book was a lot of Natalie being infuriatingly self-centered and every problem boiled down to the characters not communicating. They are teenagers in a YA novel so I can understand some miscommunication but this felt excessive.

I enjoyed how long and how their relationship began between to the two main characters but there was a lot of front loading with many musical vocabulary and secondary characters. This detracted from the story line and diminished my connection to the plot.

“When it comes to Reid and music, it will always be a competition. Even when we’re supposed to be on the same team.”

Sixteen year-old Natalie Jacobson spent all summer writing a play for Lincoln High’s first student-written theatrical production. She’s ecstatic to see her words come alive on stage, but the school board has other ideas. Budget cuts have caused all the arts extracurricular activities to be eliminated—well, all except the school’s award-winning band…which just happens to be directed by Natalie’s father and stars her life-long nemesis, Reid. For Natalie’s play to be performed, the band will have to lose some of their funding, something Reid is definitely not going to let happen. But when the two end up in an all-out prank war and it goes terribly wrong, Natalie and Reid have to face the music. Their punishment? They now have to write and direct a musical…together. With the fate of all the arts clubs on the line, Natalie and Reid will have to figure out how to work together and deliver a perfect show if they want things to go back to how they were before. Except after spending so much time together on the show, is that even what they want anymore?

As both a life-long theatre kid and high school band member, I knew I had to read As If On Cue. And Marisa Kanter definitely does not disappoint! This book is fabulously full of fun characters, brilliant references, and a fantastic enemies-to-lovers romance. Natalie and Reid are both excellent characters with very real flaws and insecurities, but who also bring out the best in each other. I loved watching their relationship grow and change over the course of the book. Additionally, I enjoyed the Jewish representation Kanter includes. She handles topics like Anti-Semitism and micro aggressions skillfully, covering how both high schoolers and middle schoolers alike can be bullies. Overall, As If On Cue is the perfect read for fans of fun and flirty teen romances and art-lovers alike.

Content Warnings: Anti-Semitism, bullying, micro aggressions, strong language, underage drinking

(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.)

Oh my god this book! This was the love letter to high school theatre that I needed at this time. I really resonated with Natalie. I loved her journey throughout the book. I was also a big fan of all of the side character and they really helped to make the story. Ok enough gushing, but I honestly loved this book and I think everyone needs to read it but especially those of us who love creating, collaborating and theatre.

As If on Cue is a hate to love story of childhood friends who were always competing for a spot in the band. When Natalie decided to give up band and joined theater instead, her father became even more invested in Reid, especially since he is the band director. Natalie and Reid have been rivals for years, but now as junior year approaches and all extracurriculars have been cancelled except the band, Natalie must find a way to continue the theater. Even if it's at Reid's expense...

I left this book with some mixed feelings. I really enjoyed the theater plot line, the LGBTQ rep, and the Jewish rep for both main characters. There was a lot of diversity mixed into the book which I love to see. There were a lot of themes in this book: finding passions that speak to you, family issues, friendships growing and changing over time.

I desperately wanted more from the romance. I think having Reid's POV would've been incredibly helpful to this book because I didn't really buy his interest in Natalie, especially after all the pranks. Which brings me to my next point, some of the pranks were really mean spirited and hurtful, which then led to me again - not buying the romance between the two. And the turn around from hate to love was a bit quick after all of this.

**Thank you to Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers and Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review**

Title: As if On Cue
Author: Marisa Kanter
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young
Release Date: 9/21/21
Genre: Romance
Age Range: Young Adult
Rating: ★★★★★

Publisher’s Summary: A pair of fierce foes are forced to work together to save the arts at their school in this swoony YA enemies-to-lovers romance that fans of Jenny Han and Morgan Matson are sure to adore. Lifelong rivals Natalie and Reid have never been on the same team. So when their school’s art budget faces cutbacks, of course Natalie finds herself up against her nemesis once more. She’s fighting to direct the school’s first ever student-written play, but for her small production to get funding, the school’s award-winning band will have to lose it. Reid’s band. And he’s got no intention of letting the show go on. But when their rivalry turns into an all-out prank war that goes too far, Natalie and Reid have to face the music, resulting in the worst compromise: writing and directing a musical. Together. At least if they deliver a sold-out show, the school board will reconsider next year’s band and theater budget. Everyone could win. Except Natalie and Reid. Because after spending their entire lives in competition, they have absolutely no idea how to be co-anything. And they certainly don’t know how to deal with the feelings that are inexplicably, weirdly, definitely developing between them…

Very quickly after I started As if On Cue, I realized that this book was practically written for me. I mean, a book set in the Boston area (where I lived for years) with a Jewish main character who writes a musical inspired by Frozen? I immediately fell in love with Natalie Jacobson (and this book).

I really enjoy the way that Kanter develops Reid and Natalie’s relationship. Not only does the reader understand the current tensions in their relationship (band, Reid’s relationship with Natalie’s dad), but Kanter also gives the reader flashbacks that give insight to the start of their prank war. The reader learns about pranks that caused injury, Natalie’s decision to stop playing the clarinet, and Natalie losing her best friend over Reid. These details flesh out their relationship and make the reader feel invested as they watch Natalie and Reid go from enemies to friends to romantic partners.

As a major fan of Frozen, I absolutely loved that Natalie writes a Frozen “opposite play” called Melted that addresses the climate crisis. Some of the songs include “Keep It In,” “In Winter,” and “Hate is a Closed Window.” I laughed out loud as the song titles were revealed. I also respected the passion, drive, and creativity of the students working on the show. High school arts programs are so important, and Kanter addresses why with this story.

I also loved that Natalie’s Judaism played such a central role in this story. Not only is Natalie’s sister’s Bat Mitzvah a central plot point, but As if On Cue also mentions Yom Kippur break the fasts and includes latke topping debates. These little details made me feel very represented.

We also live in a world where anti-semitic hate crimes are on the rise, I found As if On Cue’s discussion of anti-semitism to be so important and poignant. Toby, one of the actors in Melted, casually refers to Natalie as a Nazi. Natalie, as a Jewish teen, is immediately upset by this.

"It’s another casual Nazi reference in colloquial conversation, like words don’t matter. Nothing new in America, a country that has, you know, actual Nazis. I hate it. When you’re a Jewish person in America, when you have a name that identifies you as such, you listen to a lot of ignorant, triggering bullshit that no one even thinks twice about. I cringe ever time a Twitter mutual refers to themselves as a grammar Nazi. No. Killing a comma does not equate to fascism and genocide."

I cried when I read those words because they rang so true to my experience. Not only that, but these words serve as an important reminder that we, in American society, normalize micro-agressions against minority groups and that we need to stop doing that. Reid serves as an excellent example when he stands up and calls Toby out for his behavior.

I am enamored with the world of As if On Cue, and I look forward to reading it many more times.

4.5/5 stars
This is the book for every theater kid, band geek, artist, or any young adult pursuing the arts. This book shows the varied reactions that people (primarily adults) have to choosing a creative career (or hobby), and it does it very well. You see supportive parents, you see unsupportive parents, you see neutral authority figures, and there are even overly supportive parents who are simultaneously being under supportive. Though the adult characters in this book are obviously far less prevalent than the teens, they still hold a solid backbone, especially the main character’s father who is a teacher at the school the teens attend.
This book balances the good message of pursuing your dreams with the reality check that always comes with it. This book doesn’t make any promises to the reader about guaranteed character success, but it does leave you with a major positive outlook which is exactly what I wanted to feel upon finishing the book. The ending was just a touch abrupt, but honestly I think that was because I didn’t want the story to end. I read the latter three quarters of this all in one sitting.
The book goes a great job balancing in brief flashback scenes that highlight the main character’s motivations. The pacing is good. I never felt like any of the background characters had a singular purpose or were only created to back up the main character and her rival/love interest. I was glad to find that because the reader experiences the story through first-person narration of the main character who, naturally, makes mistakes (some of them big ones) I never felt like she was unlikable. Her motivations, though flawed, were understandable when considering teenage emotions. It was also good to see that there wasn’t a moment where she was unaware that the wrong things she said or did were wrong, and at no point was she not “punished” for the wrong choices she made.
The friendships were portrayed wonderfully, including the handling of twelve-year-old sisters having friendship troubles differing clearly (but no less importance put on them) from the high school friendship battles. The evolutions of all types of relationships throughout the story was very naturally done.
This had (from my perspective) great Jewish representation (the main character and family; the LI and his family) as well as background queer representation.
I will absolutely be recommending this book when it publishes at the end of September and it is a book I can picture myself wanting to revisit.

Thank you to Simon Teen for my copy. All thoughts are my own.

It is no secret I love the theatre. I was a bit of a shy theatre kid in high school, not wanting to be boxed into one “group.” I guess I was a little too influenced by Troy Bolton. But this book reminded me so much of how awesome it was to be a theatre kid. Theatre kids are fiercely protective and creative. They understand found family very quickly and will do anything to protect their own.

The main character in As If On Cue is Jewish and after a castmate makes anti-semitic remarks, the cast steps up. It reminded me a lot of the people I’ve met throughout my years in theatre. People who are willing to stand up for what is right, even when it isn’t easy, and also take the time to educate for the greater good.

It’s a YA novel so it’s got a great angsty romance and plenty of laugh out loud moments. A perfect book for back to school!


What I Liked:

The Ode to High School Theatre—I have done some amazing shows in my time as a working actor, but the memories I have of high school theatre are truly some of the best. It all felt so high stakes at the time and this book perfectly captures how “life or death” fall and spring productions felt!

The Characters—I really liked Natalie and Reid, plus all the side characters. It felt like a well rounded cast (ba dum dum) with interesting arcs for each of them.

The Dialogue—The banter was so good! This follows a light enemies to lovers trope, which I always feel like works well in YA before the characters have totally matured.

What Didn’t Work:

Act I Pacing—The first act was really slow and I wasn’t quite sure where things were going to go. Once we broke into act 2, I was all in.

Content Warnings:

Anti semitism, microaggressions

Character Authenticity: 4/5 Steam Rating: N/A, it’s YA Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Read It If You Like:

To All the Boys I Loved Before by Jenny Han and Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

As If On Cue is available September 21, 2021

I enjoyed this enemies/rivals to lovers YA romcom - I really liked how Natalie's issues with her dad were explored through her rivalries with Reid, as well as her concerns about making a life in art.

I was provided with an eARC of this book in exchange for a fair review.

I very much enjoyed this enemies/rivals-to-lovers story. As a former drama geek, at a school where the Arts were just as popular and funded as the athletic programs, it killed me to see this school putting aside literally all the Arts in favor of its singular band program. I cheered as the various groups came together to save their programs. As for the characters, I really liked them. Natalie was hardheaded and determined to see Reid as her rival, but her reasons made sense. Reid was a good sport, and I very much enjoyed him. I would LOVE to see Fitz get her own story - she was an absolute delight! This was a good, easy, lighthearted read.

I am absolutely in love with this title! The plot is so smart, I liked the different twists on a classic enemies to lovers trope. The main characters Natalie and Reid are so well written, I can absolutely see these characters in their high school fighting it out. The conflict of the book is to work together on a musical to save the art departments, which I thought was done really well. I liked how fleshed out the fundraising and save the arts campaign was, and I think it could potentially be a start for lots of teens looking to take a stand about the arts a jumping off point to do their own fundraisers. I was torn apart with Natalie’s issues with her father, and was a little sad that he couldn’t really see her side of it, but I appreciated that he was s huge support for her and they did eventually learn how to have an honest conversation. I also feel like Reid’s parents were really well written as parents who wanted their kid to have a practical career, I could see the type of parents that they are in people from my own life, and it hit close to home so great job! Overall I’d definitely recommend this to those who are passionate about the arts and want to take a stand about funding, or someone who just loves a good enemies to lovers trope, because this one was written really well!

Between competing for the first chair clarinet position and seeing who can pull off the best prank, it’s always been Natalie versus Reid. But after their school cuts the funding for the art programs (including Natalie’s drama club) and a few of Natalie and Reid’s pranks spiral out of control, Natalie and Reid are forced to work together co-directing Natalie’s play turned musical as their punishment. The musical is a parody of Frozen titled “Melted” and it needs to include all the school art programs that were cut in addition to Reid’s band. With the future of the school’s art program and Reid’s music program audition on the line, Natalie and Reid are forced into a temporary truce. It turns out that not hating each other isn’t as bad as it seems…in fact, Natalie and Reid might just like each other. But old habits die hard. Will Natalie and Reid be able to move forward and trust each other?

As If On Cue is a teen enemies-to-lovers rom-com, perfect for fans of Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson, What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter, The Upside of Falling by Alex Light, and Super Fake Love Song by David Yoon, plus inclusion of all the artistic elements makes As If On Cue perfect for anyone interested in music, fashion, dance, drama, or visual arts. It deals with themes such as art and music, power, dreams, fun versus seriousness, love and family, the Jewish faith, fear of failure, trust, greed and selfishness, growing up, injustice, and teamwork. I think that the moral of this story is that art is magical and that your passions (e.g. drama club or playing the clarinet) “can be fun and serious. It doesn’t have to be an either/or thing.” Another one of the main takeaways for me is that you should trust your loved ones and you should also have faith in yourself.

In addition to being a cute rom-com, it is important to note that As If On Cue also brings attention to some more serious topics such as climate change (the real villain in “Melted: The Musical”) and discrimination against Jews or anti-Semitism. For example, after Reid and Natalie’s classmate makes a horrible and discriminatory comment, instead of moving past it as if it were a joke, Reid powerfully states that, “every time we let it go, it signals that it’s okay. It’s never okay.”

The enemies-to-lovers theme in this book was enjoyable and the addition of the school musical was a big hit for me, especially the tap number as well as all the Disney references! Furthermore, there were a ton of hilarious Frozen puns and references since Natalie’s musical is a reverse retelling of Frozen (e.g., fire instead of ice, “Hate is a Closed Window” instead of “Love is an Open Door” etc). There were also a lot of wonderful Lion King references because Natalie and Reid go to a performance of the musical adaptation on a maybe date. Fellow Disney lovers will absolutely love reading all of the Disney references in As If On Cue.

One thing that I wasn’t a fan of was the family drama happening in both Reid and Natalie’s families, such as Natalie competing for her Dad’s attention, Reid seeking his parents’ approval, and Reid’s sister ditching Natalie’s sister for her new friends, mostly because it wasn’t very interesting in comparison to the rest of the story. Another thing was that the pranks seemed quite juvenile, and I felt like the story didn’t really get engaging until after Natalie and Reid form their truce and then also start to develop feelings.

Overall, As If On Cue was a funny and cute read that I would definitely recommend to those who are interested in the arts and music!

If you remember my review from What’s Not to Love, it’s basically the same thing for this one.

We all know I love enemies to lovers, but when they are just flat-out mean, it’s a no-go for me. Reid and Natalie have been enemies ever since Reid became first-chair clarinet player and took all of Natalie’s dad’s attention away from her. Over the years, they have constantly been pranking each other as everyone around them suffers. For the record, Reid is…fine. He’s a typical bland HS love interest but seems sweet enough. Natalie is the worst. She is incredibly immature, rude, selfish, and I hated her. I seriously could not believe everything she did to Reid, how she jeopardized her friends and family CONSTANTLY, and everything of course worked out for her in the end. That doesn’t fly with me.

I’m rating this 3 stars because I do think actual teens will like this better than I did, and I feel like this is always what I get when I read enemies to lovers YA. I’m just always hoping for another Today, Tonight, Tomorrow, I suppose… Overall, it was an entertaining, quick read so I cannot fault it THAT much.

⭐⭐⭐

This book was book the called to my theater lovers soul. I flew through this read. I loved the focused on the arts in this book but also on the struggle for arts funding. It was a really unique take on the classic story. I also was immediately invested in the hate to love romance between Nat and Reid. I also though this book talked a lot about the arts and how it can become a career. This book also was so seamless diversity and i loved it. I also loved the focused on creating a "Off the book" production and love that process. This book had a classic miscommunication element that I normally did not love but thought it was handled so well. This book also had a really unique family dynamics and also loved the jewish represented, this book as a theater teacher put a smile on my face and also stressed the importance of working together and cooperation. Such a great read!!

Oh to be young again. This book took me back to the days where everything was bigger than it actually was. Everything felt like a life changing moment. Though my experience was a bit different than Natalie’s, it was nice to go back and have those nostalgic moments of falling for a boy, friendships that are life changing, and memories that shape who we are today.

I enjoyed the quick-wit dialogue and the savvy narrative of Natalie. She is driven in her passion, motivated by her actions, and refuses to fold when options are sparse. But because of her drive, she’s often blindsided by her actions and that made some scenes tough to read because of her lack of awareness towards others.

This book seemed heavily concentrated on the production of the play rather than the will-they-won’t-they romance between Natalie and Ried. It was very slow paced with their storyline, but the parts I did get were adorable and sweet. The writing was creative and I enjoyed reading the story unfold, but I did crave more of the “romance” aspect of the story because Natalie and Reid together was magic. Though their progressions had a lot of cringe worthy obstacles to overcome, it was nice to see their growth outshine the awkwardness and misconceiving actions. Overall this book was fun but the drama was a bit too much for my liking and I crave more romance than what was written. Thanks to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for this ARC.