AYOOO!! 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙨!!???

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘺 follows Doe, a senior at an all-girls boarding school, along with her motley group of friends whose lives have  revolved around a century-long rivalry with the boy's school across the street ever since they met.
But when Doe embarks on a fake-dating scheme to get under her worst enemy's skin, she must contend with the lies she's told, as well as the future of her beloved friendships and school.

This might just be for you, if you enjoy:

✓ fake dating trope
✓ squad goalss
✓ boarding school hijinks
✓ women dominating the patriarchy
✓ prank wars

- ~ -

"𝙃𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮𝙗𝙪𝙣, 𝙡𝙚𝙩'𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙚."
𝙃𝙚 𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙨 𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙚."𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙤 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩?"
"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚. 𝘿𝙤 𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙡 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪?'
𝙃𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙨. "𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮𝙗𝙪𝙣?"
𝙄 𝙚𝙮𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢. "𝙄 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣, 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙝. 𝘿𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮."

Doe is bold and wild, just like her hair.
She's loyal to her very core and extremely protective of her loved ones but just as anyone else her age, she's also made some morally questionable choices. Yes, she has messed up several times throughout the book but I feel those decisions only added to her character development.

On the other hand, we've got Wells, he's charming, sweet and flirtatious. He acts like things don't affect him but he's super caring deep down and besting Three, his archnemesis just might be his life's motto.

Both characters are fun, engaging individuals and together they are all synonyms of adorable. Their banter, their bickering was supreme!!

- ~ -

There will neverrrr be a boarding school based book that I'll reject so it's no surprise I ended up loving this one too. I practically inhaled it within five-ish hours! The book does not solely revolve around romantic relationships, it also tackles family and career prospects which was well appreciated.

We've also a great, diverse selection of tertiary characters. From the nail-biting-because-I'm-nervous, Gemma to little-Miss-shock-humour, Sumitra, each character has their own unique traits which adds personality to the story, rather than some characters with a generic presence.

- ~ -

The only issue, however, I had with the story was that Doe's sexual tension with Three was not addressed??? like hello? when did it fade? we don't get to know that bit and it *may* create confusion for some.

But overall a great YA contemporary debut, with a cute romance and supreme friend goals and strong opinions. I surely can't wait for the author's next work.
Mark your calendars, it's out 4/12.

𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: 𝘀𝗲𝘅𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗮𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 (𝗼𝗳𝗳-𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲)

4.21/5✩

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘵. 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯'𝘴 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 & 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 & 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

Applause for this contemporary YA novel! I think this hits the perfect mark by taking familiar tropes, like boarding school and fake relationships, and adds a fresh and spunky feel. There is a great balance between humor and real-life issues, problems, and confusion. I think that the best thing about this book is that the characters and their feelings are so relatable. I also thought the romance in this book as well as the friendships were very well done.

Rival boarding schools and a fake relationship? Yes, please!

I was super excited to try this young-adult romance, and while it was a quick read, it didn't quite hit all of the beats I'd hoped it would. I wanted to buy into the fake-dating scheme more than I did, and I wanted to care more about the prank war between the two schools than I did. I think part of my issue was I found it hard to root for the female protagonist. She was so singularly focused on the school rivalry and her legacy within it, she alienated her friends and me as a reader. Yes, I get that this was her arc, and she was a purposely flawed character. Usually I can get behind that and appreciate a character's evolution over the course of the story, but for some reason, I struggled with this for Doe for a good portion of the book.

And then there was the truly icky storyline about a professor at the all-girls school that seemed so random and unnecessary, thrown in toward the end ... It felt like the story was suddenly trying to be more than it needed to be, or had initially planned to be.

That said, I did enjoy the friendships in this story and how it had a very coming-of-age feel. The setting was great, and I really liked how there was some diversity among the cast.

RATING: C+ (3½ stars)

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a while to get through this book, not because it was bad, but just because I didn't find myself in the space to want to read about a teenage rivalry turned romance. I've been jaded by the "rich people have problems too" vibe every since reading We Were Liars, so once I got that sense from this book I set it down for a while before returning to it.

That being said, I did think it was a (mostly*) fun read overall, and I think it definitely has a spot in the witty YA romance realm. Doe's character was likeable and relatable, and I enjoyed the solidarity among the girls. Can't go too wrong with the classic fake dating trope. Gilmore Girls fans would enjoy this novel. The teenagers were, by and large, enjoyable to read, but the mostly* comes in for me with the creepy teacher side plot. I found that both out of place in the scheme of the novel and pretty highly problematic in the way it was (un)addressed.

Well well well…where do I start??? High school rivalry that puts an all boys school verses an all girls school, fake dating, and prank wars…yes, please! This was a cute one. It also includes some heavier topics sprinkled throughout. I loved the banter and the characters. It was a fun read!

I was pretty excited for this one, and though pranks are not really my thing, I can enjoy some good hijinks. I'm also a sucker for a fake dating trope. Overall...this book was fine. There was just SO MUCH going on, I found I couldn't really focus on anything.

This book definitely reiterated the fact that I do enjoy YA romance books and this one with two rival boarding schools involving fake dating trope was super entertaining. The pranks between two prestigious schools was fun and the banter between Doe and Wells was absolutely witty and cute.

Wells was easily one of my favorite characters among all my recent reads. I wanted more on Doe and Three's relation as well as how it came to where it is now. I saw the growth in Doe from a very selfish girl to standing up for her schoolmates. About the shakedown regarding the sexual assaults, it was dramatized a bit and I am not sure that was handled in a serious manner that it deserves.

It was a light and fun read mostly! Just for Wells, I would recommend it any day!

I definitely enjoyed this book! It was a fun read and definitely kept me entertained. I’m a big sucker for academia romance and enemies to lovers so this was a win for me!! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this one!!

This May End Badly by Samantha Markum was a fun, entertaining read that included two rival boarding schools, pranks, pretend romance, and more.

The main character, Doe, is a senior at the girls Weston school, and has been eagerly planning a variety of pranks against the boys Weston school across the way. One way to get back at her main rival Three, is to pretend date his cousin Wells. This prank, along with many others, gets out of hand, and Doe is left figuring out her priorities and what is really important.

I really enjoyed this book, and loved watching Doe’s character evolve. I found her antics frustrating at times, but watching her learn from her mistakes was rewarding. This was a fun, fast-paced read that had me laughing, groaning, and cheering Doe and Wells on.

A huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a charming ya contemporary with one of my favorite tropes, fake dating. I really loved the banter between characters and the pranks the schools played on each other were fun to read.
I was little weary of Mr. Tullys storyline for a while but seeing the girls come together and fight to keep themselves safe was inspiring.
However, I didn’t connect with any of the characters and disliked the main character for a big chunk ok the book. So overall it was an okay book for me,

✨THIS MAY END BADLY by Samantha Markum✨

★★★★★

🍦🍫Drink: Dark Chocolate Milkshake

- Scoop some Talenti Dark Chocolate Gelato into your blender
- Add 1/2 cup of milk
- Blend!! Pour into your glass and top with whipped cream, sprinkles, and your favorite dark chocolate

This was an easy choice since I had started craving one of these from the first time Doe had one at her fav Phoebe’s Diner 💕

Thank you to @stmartinspress @wednesdaybooks and @netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion - Everyone, add this to your TBR for 2022 it comes out on April 12th. Swipe to read the synopsis!

🌟Review: I loooved this book! If you’re someone who likes YA romance, academic rivalries, enemies to lovers, fake dating, and strong friendships - then this is a book for you!

I’ve seen some people call it “dark academia” but I wouldn’t call it that, this was a fun story that yes had some serious themes and topics covered but centers around a blossoming love and an epic prank war between rival boarding schools. This book captured my interest right from the first page and I literally read it in one sitting. I love love love Wells (Doe was great too but Wells was my favorite by far) and the relationship between him and Doe was absolutely adorable. Also all of the side characters were *chefs kiss*

I don’t want to give away too much but I highly recommend everyone to try this one out!

This was fine. The idea of a prank war between two rival schools is fun enough for a YA book! It's just that I found there to be too much going on in addition to that.

You have the prank war, a rivalry between the head boy and girl of their own schools, big groups of friends all going through their own thing, fake dating, family drama, school changes, and an inappropriate teacher.

There's just a lot of content in this that I feel could have been cut out without weakening the story, ESPECIALLY the subplot about the teacher. I found it to be very out of place and not really fitting with the overall vibe of the story. I think this book definitely could have benefited from a more simplistic execution. Just keeping it to a prank war between two schools with a little bit of teenage romance would have been pretty solid.

But I'm sure the extra content will mean more readers will be able to connect with this. So while I personally didn't find it necessary, some other readers will probably enjoy it.

If you loved "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" and Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls series, be prepared to fall in love with this book.

What did I love about This May End Badly? Pretty much everything. There was fake-dating, elements of enemies-to-lovers, perfect friendships, and the perfect amount of humor. The quality of writing was also superb, and I was completely emotionally invested in Doe's life. This book was *phenomenal,* and I pity the rest of the public who has to wait until April to read it.

Let's get more specific. I always love witty banter, and this book was packed with it. Wells and Doe had such good chemistry, and they embody everything I love in a YA romance. I particularly loved how they went from basic acquaintances with a similar goal, to friends, and then to a couple. Although I don't typically like friends-to-lovers romances, there was something about the way their relationship developed that had me swooning.

I was also obsessed with the friendships in this book. Doe had the perfect group of friends that made me wish I could be a Weston girl with them. They also had great jokes and banter that had me laughing out loud in public. I really mean it when I say there was a perfect cast of characters in this novel. Beware, though, because it also means you won't want to stop reading and you'll dread reaching the end of the book.

I did find the ending to be a bit fast-paced. I go into more detail in my Goodreads review, but I thought the characters were acting a bit rash and very focused on making a statement without explaining themselves well.

I cannot wait to see what Samantha Markum writes next. I hope to score an ARC of whatever she writes next because I can already tell she's an author to watch.

I thought this book was well written and an interesting story. I was really surprised that it’s a debut novel. There was a storyline that I wasn’t a huge fan of though, I know my rating would have been higher if not for that. I don’t want to start on that note, I’m starting with the positive.

Doe is a very strong willed teenager. She goes to an all girls school that has a prank war with the all boys school next door. While the school prank wars have gone on for decades, Doe’s war feels personal. Everyone notices that Doe seems to specifically try to agitate a guy who goes by Three.

It seems all of Three’s family either currently goes to the boys’ school or previously attended. All of his cousins go there now, including his cousin Wells.

Doe and Three have enjoyed picking at each other for years. This is their senior year and they learn that the boys’ and girls’ schools are going to be incorporated the following year. They’ll all have graduated by this point but it still deeply bothers Doe. This school is the first place Doe made real, lasting friends and she’s terrified to lose it.
One might even say she is obsessed with it. (One would definitely say this lol)

Doe and Wells make a deal. They will pretend to date to irritate Three (this is Doe’s reason) and to get back a family heirloom (Wells’ reason).

I did find it interesting that it was not completely obvious whether Doe had feelings for Three or Wells. I wasn’t sure whether this was an enemies to lovers trope or a fake dating trope.

Ok, time for the storyline that I didn’t like. I’m not marking this as a spoiler because I feel it’s a trigger warning/content warning and people should know about it.
There’s a “pervy” (I’m quoting the characters) teacher at school named Mr. Tully. All of the girls are creeped out by him. None of the girls want to be alone with him. No one will admit whether he’s done something awful or whether it’s just a vibe he gives off. So, there’s this constant lingering creepiness about this teacher. When someone admits that he tried something, the girls gang up to take him down. I don’t want to say anything that risks this sounding like victim blaming. I understand that some of the girls weren’t ready to talk. But Doe’s character seems close enough with her parents that she would have told them that she was upset by the idea that she was going to have detention with this man, alone, twice a week.
And, I’m sorry, but the school employee who had reason to believe Mr. Tully might be assaulting students? She actually left him in charge of detention, alone, with these girls?
Oof.
That part of the storyline felt problematic to me. It’s like implying all adults might be nefarious and involved in a cover up.
I just wish this storyline hadn’t been part of that book so I didn’t even have to think about how it was handled.
Doe is a strong, powerful young woman. Her friends are strong too. They all would have come off this way without having to take down a creepy, pervy school employee.

I read an early copy of this book. I have no idea if this storyline will still be included months from now when the book is released. And I am just telling you my own thoughts on why I would have enjoyed the book more without it.

I think this author is a new talent and I already marked her next book as “want to read”.

I got to read an early ebook edition from NetGalley. Thanks!

I admit, I was expecting a lot more out of this story from the reviews others had given me. However, that being said, the book was a well-written and fun story that had me entertained in the first half but I quickly found myself losing interest.

This is a YA novel, so Doe gets a pass for being super selfish in the beginning, but I was glad to see she did struggle with doing the wrong thing. And, the way it was all worked out felt real to me. Sometimes, the guy really is cool and you can just make up without extra drama. And yes, actions have consequences. Minus her single track kind, this was a lot of fun and I love the relationships at play here.

i have mixed feelings.

i love a good rivals boarding school story, and i love fake dating. when i started reading this i wasn't sure if doe was supposed to be with wells or with three, but then i realized it was wells and i kinda like that. i also have to say that i wish it would have been three but whatever!!

i love the friendships, the holding your friend accountable aspect of this book, the small town shenanigans, the rivalry.

i had a problem with the SA turn this book took. it had nothing to do with the original plot. it felt unnecessary and was handled extremely badly in my opinion. sexual assault is not a light subplot you add in a book and speak of lightly. it's serious. it's not something teenagers can fix just like that. i seriously hate the way it was handled. it made me extremely uncomfortable.

in the end, SA subplot aside, this was a fun story. so i'm giving it 3 stars. but if we had half stars, i'd give it 2.5

Thank you NetGalley for early access to this book.

I enjoyed the characters, the witty banter, and the strong rivalry. Loved the fake dating troupe and the over all writing.

SPOILER ALERT

My main problem was with the part of the storyline concerning the creeper/perv teacher. I loved that the girls did all they could to look out for each other and protect each other, but parents should have been involved a lot sooner. I don’t like setting the precedent that it’s something you just deal with until it gets bad.

I loved that the girls realized that it wasn’t necessary to deal with it alone and loved that they fought for things to be better monitored in the future. I’d rate this book 4 stars.

Though I don't tend to like boarding school novels. I enjoyed this one and I think it's due in part to the prank war between the girl's school and the boy's school. Kept things interesting.

Let this book ruin me. It was so good, i loved the characters and the development they went through. Plus who doesn't love when opposites attract?