very cute ya gave very much gaslight gatekeep girlboss energy and i love that for them.. amazing friendship between women and striving for female power PLUS a cute relationship is all i ever want in a book. amazing. 4/5

A beautiful coming of age story filled with all of your favorite YA tropes, this novel is set at two single-gender boarding schools embroiled in a decades-long prank war. Doe and her friends are the latest group leading the charge for the Weston girls school, and they face off against Three and his Winfield boys, with each group of seniors dead-set on winning the war once and for all in their senior year. When the administrations drop a bombshell that will change both school forever, though, things start to escalate very quickly. Soon, though, they will all face a new threat that changes everything again.

The greatest strength of this book, and what makes it a five-star read for me, is the characters. Markum write Doe's coming-of-age story and personal growth with subtlety and accuracy, and she is a protagonist you quickly end up rooting for. The Winfield boys, too, grew on me quickly, and I liked the multiple dimensions that they all seemed to have. The shift in antagonist added urgency and gravity to the story, and I was on the edge of my seat as I watched it play out.

I would highly recommend this book to fans of young adult fiction and coming-of-age stories.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me this free advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

SAM. How did you write this piece of pixie dust wonder and beauty?!

SO WHOLESOME AND AMAZING. Doe + Wells 4ever + ever + ever. Also, I find it difficult to find books with positive DIVERSE female friendships and here we are. This book makes me want to rewind to high school and go to a school like Doe's and have friends like hers. I also think that the creepy/pedo teacher plot line was handled really well, and this kind of manipulative toxic behavior happens in real life, so I enjoyed how it was in the book, and seeing how the characters handled it, especially given how this is a YA book. 10/10!

All in all, this was an incredibly fun yet realistic book. Filled with prank wars and all <3

I swear that if I didn’t work during the week I read this that I would’ve finished it in one day by pulling an all nighter but lol being an adult sucks. I can’t wait to buy this when it comes out and to read everything else you ever write <333

TW: Predatory behavior, sexual and verbal harassment/assault.

All my love and thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me a digital ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's press for an arc.

This is the perfect fast paced enemies to lovers book. I love how strong and independent the main character was. Although I didn't cry, I went through every emotion from laughing out loud to sad.

I love banter in books. It makes it so much more enjoyable to read, and this had exactly that. I loved the pranks, and in a boarding school setting was amazing.

I pre-ordered right after finishing it. I need to get a physical copy of this book as soon as it comes out, and will definitely recommend it to anyone who likes to read romance books.

*I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review*

This book started off really slow for me. I know it was meant to help build the rivalry and establish the characters before any of the major drama started, but I felt that it could have been sped up a bit. This book was extremely well written, and when Doe was conflicted I could feel it to. I celebrated with her wins and got teary eyed when it all started to go wrong. That's a sign of great writing! The characters were so well written that even the background friends/friend groups didn't feel flat, and I did enjoy that Doe was eventually able to see past her desire to see Weston remain unchanged and how others might feel more comfortable in a coed school.

I did appreciate how the situation with Tully was handled, but I wish we'd had more of a build up of that section as it felt a bit rushed towards the end. I was really hoping for more but it was over and handled so quickly I felt that Doe wouldn't just let him go quietly. No spoilers, but I wanted more from that section of the book. Overall, I really enjoyed the "enemies/rivals-to-lovers" aspect of the story (and thank god that Three was not placed as Doe's love interest! That made it way more interesting to me), and the book in general. It was fun to read and I didn't feel the need to put it down (even to sleep!). Definitely going to recommend to people looking for a fun rivalry romance.

This is going to be one of the best YA romance book for 2022, I can’t wait for everyone to read this book. It was perfect in every sense of the way, Samantha did such an amazing job with the enemies to lovers trope and I love that we have a strong, independent and amazing female main character for this book. This book was sweet, funny a little bit sad in some parts but it definitely was an incredible ride!

It's set at a boarding school, so I was going to love it regardless. In spite of me being programmed to enjoy it because it's set at a boarding school, I enjoyed it on its own merits. This was really fun and I appreciated how much Doe matured during the book. I will purchase this for my library.

This was a cute, quick YA romance. The boarding school romance stories always make my heart happy. The pranks and banter were funny and engaging. The fake dating trope is very obvious from the beginning, but it does not make it any less heartwarming.

A YA romcom with a twist. Evie has become a cynic about love. After all, her dad cheated on her mom and upended their lives, so how could she believe in love? Here comes the twist - as Evie is donating her romance novel collection, she comes across a book that changes her life. Suddenly, when she sees people kissing in public, she sees their love stories (good and bad). WTH??

As she tries to break this curse, Evie stumbles upon a new hobby - dancing - and a new partner, X. What ensues is a story filled with humor, emotion, love, and life.

I so, so enjoyed this! I haven't read a lot of YA recently, but this one was a reminder of the way I love contemporary YA, especially because it had so many things I love: faking dating, boarding schools, shenanigans... It managed to feel fresh and funny and actually current. The main character, Doe, and her friends are so fun to read, and her relationship with Wells was very charming and won me over quickly. I also really appreciated Doe's confidence and humor contrasted with her flaws and challenges. Unsurprisingly, it reminded me of how much I loved The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks a decade-plus ago, but updated to today's world, especially with the conversation around single-gender education and predatory teachers, not just feminist leads, plus layers for the friend group and the boys.

I really enjoyed this book, even though at the beginning I was reading it rather slowly because I was convinced that Doe and her friends were going to get caught and in trouble for their pranks and I knew I wouldn't be able to deal with the secondhand embarrassment of that. Once I got into it and got invested, though, boy was I in it. As frustrating as Doe could be, Wells was incredibly charming, and I lost track of how many times I slapped my hand over my mouth because of something he said.

I was anticipating a bit of a love triangle between Doe, Wells, and Three, and was convinced that the reason Doe and Wells "dating" got under Three's skin was because he had a crush on her (and the tension between the two of them was INTENSE), so I was just a little disappointed when I was wrong and Three wasn't secretly in love with his arch nemesis. Perhaps it's a story I'll have to write, myself, one day!

Besides the romance, my favorite part of this book was Doe coming to realize that the merger would actually be beneficial to trans and non-binary kids, and her realization that just because Weston was a haven for her didn't mean it was that way for everyone. My biggest complaint, however, is that the summary of the book includes a spoiler: a teacher engaging inappropriately with a younger student, which didn't even happen until around the 75% mark of the book. I knew it was going to happen, and so I kept waiting for it, and when Noelle was introduced, I knew she would be the victim immediately. I feel like this detracted from my reading experience somewhat, even though I still thoroughly enjoyed the book.

This wasn’t the book I expected, but I mean that in the best way possible. A lot of YA prep school books follow a very specific formula, but I really loved the main character Doe. It was refreshing to have a confident, strong female lead who didn’t deal with the typical teenage problems we have come to expect. Doe is unapologetic without being annoying, and her confidence in herself and her abilities was a refreshing change from having a girl who only sees her self worth once the popular boy loves her.

There was a subplot about a sexual predator of a teacher that felt weird. Doe was so strong and confident the whole book, and was unafraid to go against anyone…but somehow didn’t want to “give in” and show weakness by complaining about a creepy teacher? That part was rough and out of character, and using that to drive forward the main story was…I don’t know it wasn’t my favorite.

This was a very enjoyable read. It was light and fluffy but still entertaining. The banter of the characters were witty and fun, and it made it easy to connect with them.

Quick read full of witty banter and a decades old rivalry. This was so fun to read! I chuckled and fist bumped the air as I went along. Fake dating with a dash of enemies to lovers. I kept waiting for the next prank and the next interactions between the Weston girls and the Winfield boys. I really enjoyed reading this.

Review of This May End Badly by Samantha Markum

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book is phenomenal. I’ve warmed up to the fake-dating trope ever since I read Jenny Han’s To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before series, and let me tell you, Samantha Markum delivers the goods in This May End Badly. Markum’s story is full of clear world-building, high-stakes, fake-dating-turned-to-oh-no-there-are-real-feelings, strong friendships, and divorced parents who actually treat each other with respect. Our protagonist, Doe, has friends who are ride-or-die, but they will call her out when she’s wrong about things. Markum created a protagonist who must question whether or not she’s making the best choices for her life which is a fantastic writing-decision for a coming-of-age novel. This is highly recommended for readers who enjoy snarky protagonists, fake-dating, and school rivalries.

5 out of 5 stars

This book is full of lovable characters and fun antics. I also felt that the representation was good and the lessons learned were relatable. Spoiler-ish: I didn't love that they didn't go to their parents earlier with concerns about the teacher (or at least learned that they should've in hindsight). Otherwise, it was a fantastic book!

I haven't read much YA recently, but this book has reminded why I love this genre. This May End Badly is Samantha Markum's brilliant debut novel that perfectly blends YA with some heavier topics such as mental health and sexual harassment. The story is mainly centered around Doe, a senior at The Weston School, an all-girl boarding school, as she navigates her senior year. She is surrounded by her circle of friends - her girl gang - as they continue their ongoing prank war with their rival all-boy boarding school Winfield Academy directly across the street - a tradition going back decades and generations. Doe takes this battle of oneupmanship very personal since her arch rival Three is the defacto Winfield poster boy. Looking to pull the ultimate prank on Three once their schools announce plans to merge together, she enlists his cousin Wells in a fake dating scheme as a prank to end all pranks and really mess with Three’s head. But when their scheme starts to spark real feelings and the schools’ ongoing shenanigans begin to have consequences that Doe didn’t anticipate, she will have to decide what’s more important.

This May End Badly is a heartwarming and hilarious tale of trying to balance friendship, academic goals, falling in love, family obligations, and life’s expectations while also navigating your identity and priorities. There’s also a great lesson in here about asking forgiveness when your actions inadvertently hurt the ones you love. The love and support between Doe, Shawn, Sumi, Gemma, and Jade felt real - their banter as well as their disagreements. The chemistry between Doe and Wells was natural and provided a real source of unexpected but much needed friendship and safe space for Doe when she felt overwhelmed by her emotions. And finally, it was gratifying to see Doe become self-aware and less self-centered enough to realize that the most effective way to handle a very mature problem was to set aside all differences and unite with her enemies to achieve a common goal for everyone’s benefit.

Many thanks to Samantha Markum, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

NEW FAVORITE ALERT! When this is released in April of 2022, do consider getting it and giving it a go! You will not regret it!

I really enjoyed this read a lot! I have never really read too much where it was set at a boarding school, but Samantha Markum does such a great job at making it interesting and so engaging. The characters were so amazing and the differences between those voices flowed well with one another. I also really enjoyed the rivalry between the schools and the predicament they are put under. It was such a refreshing read and I will be looking forward to possibly more from this author, but also this theme as well.

5/5 stars! A new favorite for sure if you enjoy some romance, high-school drama, but also the love for your school and doing whatever it takes to make sure it will thrive once you are gone!

**Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a free review copy! I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a super fun read for me! I love YA lit (I’m 43), but I definitely don’t think this is just for the YA crowd….anyone would enjoy this. I have a soft spot for the main character, Doe. After spending some time at an all girls school, I can identify with her struggles and triumphs. I disagree with some of the other reviewers that felt that the characters weren’t fleshed out well enough. I felt that they absolutely were. An easy read for me, but enjoy and pretty sharply funny at times. Will definitely recommend to our older grade home schoolers.

Please check content warnings for this one! It includes SA by a teacher.

I have some mixed thoughts about this one. The first half really dragged for me. I was really frustrated with Doe and the romance wasn’t doing it for me. They had like zero chemistry in the first half.

The second half, however, really redeemed this book for me. I loved that Doe’s friends and family called her out about her behavior and had actual conversations about how what she was doing was affecting them. I loved that she was able to grow from those conversations and learn from her mistakes. I don’t know if I’ve read a YA novel that had the side characters be quite so blunt about how the main characters actions affected them and it was really refreshing.

I also really appreciated the themes this book brought out. I found the conversations about the role of women’s-only institutes and whether or not they can truly be inclusive really interest.

Overall, I did struggle with the beginning of the book, but the second half made up for it. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a eARC in exchange for a honest review!