Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel! 4/5 Stars.

I'll be honest...I was HESITANT about this at first when reading it. I struggled to get into it a little bit just because Natalie is very much a YA protagonist...as in she's a teenager who struggles to see past her own thoughts and feelings...BUT of course this is a plot point. And I think it's resolved beautifully. Also, the Jewish elements and antisemitism were interwoven beautifully with a family dynamic adding to the plot. The premise of this surrounding the importance of performing and fine arts and the found families from them is just SO good.

Natalie and Reid though...GOODNESS. Look, rivals to lovers may just be a little bit better than enemies to lovers. Childhood friends to rivals to lovers...even better. PRANK WARS!! Rivals turning into little comments in Natalie's head about Reid...turning into "oh shoot I think I like him" turning into possibly the hottest surprise kiss I've read in a YA novel...goodness.

Yeah, Natalie is stupid toward the end of the book. Do I blame her? No. Could she have thought better? Absolutely. Was she self-absorbed? Yes. Did the ending make me cry and feel all the things? ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL. Love this. ugh.

Here we've got a classic enemies-to-lovers vibe, all caused by over-competitiveness dating back to our main characters' younger days. Natalie and Reid both played clarinet, and Natalie's dad is the band director. The kids compete for first chair, until both of them take a prank war way too far. (There's your theme for the book-prank wars and other retaliations consistently taken too far.) Natalie quits playing clarinet, but Reid continues. Therefore, Reid and Natalie loathe each other, leading to a whole new prank war down the line, all because the arts programs at school are all being defunded, save the band. There's a lot more nuance to the story, but you can read the book description for that.

Overall, it would have been a great book if Natalie weren't so daggum irredeemable. There weren't many-if any-moments where she did something selflessly, or that make you like her. I felt like her character doesn't learn much, but just keeps feeling bad after she faces consequences for her impulsive and awful actions. This book had plenty of great side characters, good representation across the board, and a good story at the heart of it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the e-ARC.

Super cute YA romance following two enemies who need to work together to save the arts in their school. Enemies to friends is one of my favorite tropes and set it in the world of the arts?! Full of music, drama and pranks, I also loved the way the Jewish religion was highlighted, including a Bat Mitzvah! This was a fun and quick read and I know my high school students will enjoy. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

When the school cut all the arts funding (except for band) Natalie and her friends are enraged. They hatch a plan to raise money and change the school boards minds about cutting all the arts clubs at the school. But things take a left turn when the pranks start.

Natalie and Reid have been at war as long as either of the can remember. But it really took hold when Reid picked up a clarinet for the first time after seeing Natalie and her dad play. When they were kids rules had to be established when the prank wars started. Now Juniors in high school all their friends and family are so done with the pranks when one happens at an important concert for the school thus causing Reid and Natalie to team up to turn the Frozen parody play that Natalie and her friend wrote over the summer into a musical.

Oh ... the microaggressions, sarcasm and perceived slights that happen in this book! I can't event talk about that part of this. Both main characters are Jewish and do not take kindly on people making comments that they shouldn't! But I think that could have been taken further if it saw supposed to be an underling theme. It is defiantly an enemies to lovers book, for those who like that sort of thing, but Natalie is a piece of work. Not all readers will like her. And Reid seems too cocky for anyone, but that could just be because we only ever see the world from Natalie's angle. Overall a nice read for those who like romance. But it is a "BOW" ending.

A thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the prepub copy.

This was a sweet and snappy read that kept me glued throughout!
Natalie and Reid have the kind of relationship where it takes effort to antagonize each other. When they’re tired though, they slip into the easy rhythms of knowing each other’s coffee orders and driving across town to get each other’s favorite ice cream toppings. Natalie’s younger sister looks up to Reid as a big brother and Reid calls Natalie’s mom Aunt Shell. They get along so well unless they really try to mess it up. And boy do they try. Well, at least Natalie tries.
Reid definitely came across as the sweet one. Throughout the book, his pranks were always funny and harmless, and he always took the first step to bridge the gap between himself and Natalie. Aside from being focused on his goals, he makes time to help and encourage Natalie even though he has every reason to walk away. Natalie is, very clearly, the snappy one. She always assumes the worst in Reid, and is always hesitant to apologize or admit her own wrongdoings. She grows significantly by the end of the book, but wow does she make some bad decisions. Everyone around her suffers from her rash actions. Still, she is compelling, both for her initial convictions and her eventual willingness to bend and grow.
The plot was well-paced, and I really liked the idea of the arts programs all coming together in one hail-mary attempt to prove their worth to the school board. It was painfully relatable. Throughout the book, new obstacles are thrown at Natalie and she keeps pushing herself to power through. I’ve also found myself newly interested in musicals after watching In the Heights, so Natalie and Reid’s struggles with their musical were very interesting.
This book also featured a healthy dose of Jewish representation, which I found very meaningful. Both Natalie and Reid are Jewish, as is Natalie’s close friend Fitz. Throughout the book we get to hear about their culture and festivals, along with some well articulated points about anti semitism and a subplot about being proud of your culture.
My only issue was that the synopsis was a little bit misleading. There are some basic points that I think could have been better explained. For example, it kind of seems like Natalie is trying to create a new drama program from the ground up but this is actually incorrect; Natalie has been in drama for the past couple of years, and she comes up with an original play idea as a way to circumvent the pricey licensing fees that her club has to pay every year. Additionally, Natalie and Reid are family friends, which I think should have been included. Also, Natalie’s dad is the band teacher, which means that Reid is his protege, and Natalie’s efforts to undermine the band program actually directly affect his job. And Natalie and Reid have always pranked each other; they even wrote a rule book about it when they were children.
Overall though, this book delivered exactly what it promised. As If On Cue blends a handful of delightful plotlines together and packs a solid punch.

Full disclosure: I was first chair clarinet throughout all of middle and high school and was a huge musical theater nerd. At the 10% mark of this book, I had a surreal experience where I wondered if *I* had written it since it was so very much in my wheelhouse.

In As If On Cue, Natalie finds herself at odds with many people and entities. The school has cut the arts funding for all groups and clubs except for the prestigious band. Conflict #1. Her dad is the director of said band and she has a very strained relationship with him already before finding out her drama club is kaput. Conflict #2. And then there’s Reid. Her arch nemesis and her dad’s clarinet protégé. The absolute bane of her existence. The two have a prank wars like it’s their jobs. And after a prank gone wrong that ruins one of the band’s performances, Reid becomes Natalie’s co-director of the drama she’s hoping to use as an example of why the budget should include all clubs. Conflict #3.

This was a delicious read in so many respects. I loved the complicated relationships that Natalie had with so many of the characters. Her drive and passion are evident in every word on the page. The banter between her and Reid was some of the best I’ve seen. There are some moments when Natalie goes too hard in the pranks or comes across as too heavy handed, causing me to put the book down for a little while to do some deep breathing.

I would have loved even more of Natalie and Reid’s changing relationship, especially right at the very end. I was so invested in the two of them as characters both separately and together. I want a bonus chapter just from Reid’s perspective of literally any part of this book.

And honestly? Marisa Kanter’s opinion on the best Les Mis? No notes.

4 stars!

This was a cute book and an easy read. There were things I loved and things I hated about this book. I loved the concept and how the main characters were fighting for the arts programs at their school. There was also diversity and LGBTQ+ representation among the characters. However, I did not like Natalie at all. She was self-absorbed and took situations way too far. Her character made it difficult for me to enjoy the book. I also thought there were too many side characters, and I had trouble keeping up with who everyone was. I think I would’ve enjoyed it more if I had read it while I was in high school.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Reading the synopsis, As If On Cue sounded so cute. This prank war started between rivals as they try to save their respective art fields at their high school? And a student created musical on top of that? It was too good to pass up! After reading it, however, I kind of wish I had. This book was boring and instead of focusing on a creative endeavor between high school art groups it recycled the plots of Frozen and Frozen 2 into some messy musical. On top of that the writing was painful to read and the way that the main character, Natalie, tried to reassure herself that each bad decision she made would work out for the better was not only frustrating but I think had a negative impact on the plot overall.

To start off, every character in this book seemed to have interests all over the place. Each introduction went along the lines of "this is NAME and they are in CLUB & SPORT & ETC" which I understand helps to set up the idea that these kids are overachievers and love what they do but it made the writing painful. I think that this finally gave me the prime example of an author needing to "show" and not "tell". Natalie is into theatre, having had a messy breakup with band in the past but she has a staunch belief that creative jobs are not worth going into despite the fact that both of her parents work creative jobs. Her dad's "protege", Reed, is Natalie's rival and he dreams of playing clarinet professionally.

When the pair find out that there will be major cuts to every art program EXCEPT band Natalie and her friends go behind the band's back to try and find a way to save all the other clubs. I won't say much about this part of the plot because I actually liked it. When I was in high school there were also budget cuts for a lot of things that impacted many students and to see kids from many clubs band together in this book was really cool and I'm hoping this could motivate high schoolers elsewhere to do what they can to try and save their own art programs. Now if this was the main focus I think that reading this would have been a much more positive experience for me but instead it ended up going downhill.

The author seemed to want to fit as many topics as she could into one novel. So Natalie, instead of writing a creative musical, has written a parody (but acts like it's original) of Frozen and Frozen 2 about a world being consumed with fire. The insertion of climate change discussion felt shoe horned into the overall plot and while it's a relevant and important topic I don't think this was the book to include it in. I also think that this detracted from the discussion of friends and microaggressions against Jewish people that Natalie was trying to help her younger sister cope with. I wish that this would have taken a bit of a bigger space within the plot because it fit in better than climate change overall. I also think that this could have helped to tie into some of Natalie's own anger and frustration with the larger world because otherwise she seems to be consumed with a lot of rage for not very many reasons.

I think that this was my biggest issue with As If on Cue. Natalie was flawed, yes, but she bordered on unlikeable and at other times was downright completely unlikeable and I'm not sure the author intended her to be like this. She had so much anger over her relationships with everyone in this book but especially her dad and Reed and yet she had absolutely zero self awareness to realize that Reed's parents didn't support his future goals, Natalie's DID and they were always on board with whatever Natalie dreamed of her future too. Her acts of selfishness jeopardized not only the art programs, but also her dad's job, and Reed's entire future. The fact that the third act conflict relied entirely on Natalie COMMITTING A FELONY angered me so much I had to put the book down for a few days before I could finish it. And in the end I don't think she ever faced adequate consequences for her actions, nor did I see any growth in her as a character overall. This book felt sloppy and I think that I may have enjoyed it more back when I was an angsty teen I couldn't find many moments at all that stood out to me that were truly good and that I enjoyed fully. It did have a lot of potential but I was disappointed in everything except the music puns which were abundant throughout.

Overall, As If on Cue was not great. I think there will be an audience for this but it was poorly written with too many plot lines and characters thrown together which created a mess and not a cohesive and fast book. I didn't think that Reed and Natalie had enough chemistry to form a rivals-to-lovers relationship and Natalie was an unlikeable character to her core. I will not be picking up any future works from this author unfortunately.

As If on Cue
3/5 stars

I was excited for the enemies to lovers trope that was advertised in the blurb and that was exactly what was delivered. Natalie and Reid’s banter was top notch. Hell, they even had a prank war. There was also forced proximity and when that is mixed with the fact that they are enemies *chefs kiss*.

One thing I did not like that knocked the rating down was Natalie’s personality in some parts of the book. I feel like she made some really rash and harmful decisions. She then tried to justify those actions by using the same excuse over and over again which just annoyed me. Natalie just seems like a very selfish and self-centered person.

I was given this ARC by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

With looming budget cuts, the arts department at Natalie’s high school is demolished, including her previous drama club. The award winning band, though, of which her father is the teacher, is thriving with no budget cuts. She starts a revolution in the school protesting the loss of the other art programs and in the process falls for her archenemy after they’re forced to work together.

This was cute, just not for me. I’m far past high school so I think it just missed its target audience in me. I found the main character to be slightly annoying and self centered, but again which high school student isn’t self centered. Gave it a 2/5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

While I am a huge fan of the enemies to lover trope, this book had so much more than that.

I sometimes struggle with realistic fiction because so many stories are heavy on the romance (which I do love), but I'm always looking for books that I can classify as more than just romance.

Natalie finds herself in a predicament when the arts program is going to get cut, but the band program gets to stay because it brings in revenue and popularity. Not only does she struggle with the fact that the arts program is getting cut, but her father is the band director and the boy she can't stand plays in the band and inadvertently gloats about the art program being cut.

Natalie finds herself in a prank war with Reed that leads to them co-directing a musical that Natalie originally wrote as a play. Natalie and Reed have known each other for several years, when Reed decided to take up the clarinet alongside Natalie (who no longer plays) and it became a competition over who could be better. This also led to the prank wars (and the prank wars rule book).

Co-directing a musical was not what either of them had in mind. Neither really knows anything about co-directing a musical and they are at each other's throats because they can't agree on anything and refuse to compromise (mostly).

What makes this book so much more than just a romance was that Natalie struggled with her relationship with her dad because she resented that he always seemed to side with Reed. She didn't know how to communicate with him and it led to tension within the family. This was a secondary plot line that very much contributed to a lot of Natalie's actions as well as her growth. Another part of the novel was her friendship with Henry. Henry is less than pleased when it is Natalie's fault that the play they wrote together is now turning into a musical. He is angry with her for being selfish and putting her grudge against Reed before what is really important. Henry ultimately decides he doesn't really want to be a part of co-directing with Natalie and their friendship is greatly strained.

Natalie has a lot of growing up to do. While she has good intentions (mostly), her anger towards Reed and her frustration with her father lead her to make selfish decisions that hurt her goals instead of help them.

I cannot recommend this book enough. I read it in one day. It was funny, at times frustrating, full of hope, and heartwarming. It was a well rounded book with multiple plot lines and characters with multiple layers.

This one was really cute, definitely a good one for theater kids! It was predictable in the enemies to lovers trope, but still cute. It was great to see the development of the play and how much hard work they put into it.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

I was told I was going to love this book, but I did not expect to love it THIS MUCH. Marisa crafted a perfect YA enemies-to-lovers romance in the world of musical theater and I'm fairly certain she wrote it just for me...haha. I adored also having more Jewish rep in this arena. Outside of Rachel Lynn Solomon, there isn't a lot of Jewish #ownvoices YA!

I loved this book SO MUCH, perhaps even more than Kanter's debut. I feel like Kanter really GETS teens, and that this is a book FOR them. I feel like so many band and theater nerds especially will LOVE this. I loved Natalie's fierce intensity (even if it makes her make very bad decisions sometimes...also realistic for teens), the well developed dynamic of Natalie's family, the Jewish rep, and the never-ending tension between her and Reid. I can't wait to buy this for my library and recommend it to my students! :)

*Review to be posted on my blog on 9/6/21*
3.5 STARS

Talk about enemies to lovers….Natalie and Reid are straight-up hating one another. At least that’s how we see it through Natalie’s perspective. Natalie and Reid have been rivals since they both started being clarinet pupils under her dad’s tutelage. The competition between them became so fierce that it included pranks and then rules to curb their behavior. Now they are both in high school and their relationship is beyond tense.

I enjoyed how this story was written – it flowed so well and the characters were really fleshed out and strong. I loved Natalie’s friends, Henry and Fitz who are amazing. Natalie and Henry’s platonic best-friend relationship is super sweet and Fitz is just fabulous, bi and a fashion trendsetter. When Natalie’s in her core group, we see her shine even when she doesn’t feel like she has a voice. There is a lot of growth to her character especially when she is forced to turn the play she has written into a musical. She is pushed past her comfort zone, and becomes aware of how intense she can be. This whole venture also makes her confront the issues she has with her dad.

The part I had fun reading about was the making of the musical, Melted. We see all the hard work that these teenagers go through with making music, auditions, and just all the effort they put in because they love the arts (music, performing, etc…). I loved how the story progressed as we get to opening night.

I really connected to the message the author was trying to convey about Natalie not knowing what to do after high school. She’s still a Junior but already she’s wondering if pursuing a passion (for example the arts) and giving it your all is a bad thing because she sees her mom, a writer, struggle with writer’s block and the emotions of trying to put out work to help pay the bills. Her dad is a music teacher and that doesn’t pay well either plus all his time seems to be devoted to the band and Reid. Natalie weighs the options of pursuing a passion or doing what other people do and find something stable and play with your passion on the side. Everyone has their own path but Natalie really struggled with her vision of the future.

Random Notes:
Triggers: microaggressions, antisemitism

I love an enemies to lovers romance, it’s my favorite trope but Natalie and Reid take it too far. I will say, Reid didn’t do anything for me in the beginning of the story, because I was getting Natalie’s side of this story. I did not like him and even blamed him for coming in between Natalie and her dad – I was wondering what was his deal? Like lay off the animosity buddy…but then we learn more about Natalie. She’s intense, she doesn’t listen to others and she distrusts Reid. Natalie does something in my opinion, that isn’t forgivable and the fact that Reid does forgive her…he must love her a lot. But I was not impressed with her actions, though I’m glad she fixed the problem.

The issue with Natalie and her dad is a big thing to Natalie and her dad seems oblivious. Again, I didn’t like how her dad seemed to say brush off her concerns. Natalie isn’t good at communication with Reid and her father. She just wanted her dad’s attention, outside of anything to do with the clarinet/band and I can see why Natalie hated Reid for that. Natalie had to do some serious soul-searching to do on the issue and tell her dad, which she eventually does.

Final Thoughts:
When all is said and done and Natalie and Reid finally communicate is when they were the best together. The pranking, the miscommunication, the distrust caused some major problems between them to the point I thought they were not a good fit for one another. It caused great tension though which is a must in an enemies to lovers romance. I did enjoy the message about career paths and fighting for the things you love and believe in. My favorite parts were just reading about the whole crew trying to turn a play into a musical, that was fun! Overall, I enjoyed the story and read it in one sitting.

I ADORE NATALIE AND REID!!! This book has enemies to lovers between a playwright and a clarinetist. It's got prank wars, siblings. and complicated dad storylines.

An enemies to lovers story, which you see coming from a mile away. When budget cuts are set to eliminate extracurriculars at her school, Natalie decides that she must save the arts programs which were first on the chopping block because, of course they were. But Natalie has had a rivalry with Reid forever and I know you'll see where this is headed. Natlie isn't a very likeable character, especially for being the main focus, as she tends to make terrible decisions and hang onto long time resentments (I guess I just don't understand having a childhood rival that I've wanted to best since I was in elementary school). An okay read, but the level of petty got to be after a while.

i love a good enemies-to-lovers, but natalie was kind of an annoying protagonist (and occasional trash human), not gonna lie.

#netgalley

Unfortunately, I asked for an ARC of this book and gratefully received a copy. However, it was not an option for a Kindle download so I didn't get to read it. #Bummer

As if on Cue is a story that shows how far one will go to protect the thing they love most. When Natalie finds out that Drama Club will be cut from her school's extracurriculars due to a lack of finances along with ALL of the other art programs (excluding the band) she knows she has to do something- even if that means partnering with her life long rival, Reid. Together Natalie and Reid have to set aside their differences for the sake of others. Though the band's funding is secured, the band's role in turning Natalie's play "Melted" into a musical is essential in order to draw in a larger crowd and raise the money they need to save the various programs. This means working side by side with Reid who is pulled in to co-direct and compose the music.

Tensions rise as jealousies from childhood are revealed and Natalie has to rewrite her own narrative. She doesn't see security in the arts after having seen her parents struggle for their dreams. Is she willing to go through a struggle of her own?

I have to say, Natalie has to be one of the most frustrating main character's I've ever read, but I think that's because I relate to her so much. I understand what it's like to love theater and how competition can bring out the worst in people. Seeing Natalie's inner monologue and intentions really enabled me as a reader to sympathize with her. She's flawed but has her reasons and oftentimes acts without thinking of the consequences. This made her character very real and, even though I was frustrated with her, I also shared in her frustrations.

The romance in this book was also very cute. It played into my favorite tropes of "childhood friends" and "rivals to lovers". I do have to admit that I wish there was a bit more elaboration on Reid and Natalie's relationship. There were signs that Reid cared for Natalie but not so much the other way around. There was a lot of build up for the turning point in there relationship, but I felt as if was missing a very important piece in that Natalie never elaborated on where her feelings came from. After being resentful of Reid for so long, how does she seem to forget about her years of hurt feelings within the span of a few pages?

Despite these minor critiques, I really enjoyed this book (read it in one sitting)! The characters were lovable and the dialogue was brilliant. It felt as if I was watching a movie. Sometimes YA authors can struggle with banter of their young adult characters and for Kanter, this was simply not the case. There are endearing moments of stress baking pizza bagels and changing room praises that made me smile. I would recommend this book to any YA contemporary fan that's looking for a quick paced, meaningful story of self-reflection and discover with a bit of romance on the side.