I had a difficult time getting into this book, but once I did I was absolutely hooked and could barely put it down! We follow Dorothy Saltpeter (Doe) on her senior year at the all-girls Weston boarding school. Early in the school year, they discover that Weston will be merging with the Whitfield Academy all-boys boarding school across the street. Doe thinks this merger is an absolute insult to the legacy of Mallory Weston and forward thinking for women to get an education, and she must put an end to it.

In addition to the merger, Doe and Three (Nathaniel Emeric Wellborn III) are the leaders of continuing the prank wars that are so ingrained in Weston/Whitfield life. Doe decides that as a senior, and with the schools merging, she needs to take her pranks to the next level. This, ultimately, is the plot line that drives the story forward. Following Doe's obsession with the pranks, her creative execution of the pranks, and her friends and foes that all get involved is something that kept me engaged the entire time, and really threaded the beginning with the end.

Of course, this story also includes a few teen relationships and lust and love. I was really rooting for a couple of the characters while reading, because I felt like as a reader, we were seeing their genuine sides, which the characters in the book were often missing. This was another thread that really brought the whole book together, but more in terms of character cohesiveness than plot.

Finally, I loved that there was a lot of forward thinking acknowledged in the novel that never felt forced. It was integrated with the plot so effortlessly, but just the mere mention of bisexuality, lesbians, transgender, and more, is something that isn't always done or done well. Though only a small part of the story, I was so pleased to see that it made a way in, especially in a young adult novel. The only thing I didn't love so much were the character's nicknames. They all made sense, but for some reason it really bothered me. I also actually prefer the original title, Weston Girls Take No Prisoners, after reading the novel.

I absolutely think this book will be one of the ones to watch in 2022 and I would highly recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press (Wednesday Books Imprint) for the Advanced Reader Copy of this book.

This one was sort of hit and miss for me. I loved that it was a boarding school and rivalry between the girl and boy school. The pranks were fun and the characters were all well developed and interesting. Even with all this something felt iff for me? Perhaps the pacing? I’m not sure but mid way I started to lose interest a little. But, it was still an easy and quick read.

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

TW: SA, predatory behavior

So first off, I just want to say that I DNF’ed this book at 56%. I was really excited to read this because the premise sounded super interesting, but I was heavily let down. The story is about two rivalry schools, Weston (an all girl school) vs. Winfield (an all boy school). Both schools have yearly prank wars against each other to prove one’s superiority over the other. There is a fake dating scheme that happens between the mc, Doe, and Wells from the rivalry school. I thought this would be a fun enemies to lovers, rivals to lovers, fake dating, dark academia story and while it is, I feel like it missed the mark. My first issue was with the main character, Doe. She was super unlikable and selfish. Her actions were purely to benefit herself, and she didn’t care about who else they affected. Second, I’m all for fake dating, but I hated the way it was done in this book. The reason behind them fake dating seemed very immature. Third, I found myself easily getting bored while reading. Lastly, there was a subplot developing about a teacher who is a sexual predator. This caught me so off guard, as I wasn’t expecting this book to deal with that issue. That alone just made me lose interest in reading the rest. While I couldn’t bring myself to finish the story, there were some things I enjoyed. I thought this book did a good job of having diversity within the characters. The prank wars were fun and entertaining. And the romance developing between Doe and Wells had its cute moments. Based on the 56% I read, I’d give this 2/5 stars.

It has been a long time since I have enjoyed a YA book as much as this one. I had my doubts when it was set at an elite boarding school, but I ended up loving it. I will 100% be buying this for my teen collection.

Thanks to Netgally for a copy of this book to review.

This is a tough book for me to rate. On the one hand, I realized pretty early on that my tastes weren't an good fit for this book. On the other hand, the author clearly crafted a story with many characters that she put a lot of thought into creating. The writing has a lot to recommend it and I think it will find it's audience even if that is not I. Hopefully this review will explain more about this book so that you can make an informed decision about whether this book is for you.

Our main character Doe, attends an all girls school. She has deep attachments to the school as she credits it with helping her through a really bad time in her life. One of the ways she got engaged when she started the school was participating in the rivalry with the all boys school across the street. Now it's her senior year and right when she needs comfort and familiarity due to the looming closure of her high school years things get really complicated. She throws herself into the rivalry to such a degree that it starts to damage many of her other relationships and distances her from people who matter.

At the start of the book we're thrown into a group of friends that includes a fair number of girls and the author attempts to flesh them out beyond what is usually seen. It made it more confusing at the beginning to keep up with everyone as well as the situation and all the background we're given. This made the beginning of the book slower and less fun to read. Doe is written in a way where her character is such a force and she's making some really bad decisions. Her character often left me frustrated, though probably intentionally. There are also two other important aspects of the story. There is a running story in the background about sexual harassment/possibly assault (we're never really told). It did not get quite the weight as you'd expect since it served mostly as a vehicle to reunite a splintered friend group and make some gains for help in ending bad feelings from the rivalry. It nearly felt like a plot device though it was discussed just enough where it didn't feel too gratuitous. It rode the line pretty closely though. The romance was okay but not particularly developed. That is mostly due to Doe being entirely consumed with the rivalry.

Growth and learning does occur. Doe might be relatable to those feeling the pressure of decisions for what's to come after high school but don't feel ready. The book will likely find an audience with actual high schoolers as it is intended and those that like big growth stories and rivalries. I'll give it a 3.5 overall. For my tastes it's closer to or a little below a 3 but for all that it does accomplish in the right audiences hands it deserves more stars than just a 3. So 3.5 stars is where I'll land for rating purposes.

I picked this up on a whim - my first NetGalley read - and I could not have been more pleased with it! "This May End Badly" takes place at an elite boarding school for girls, which has a long and complicated history of a rivalry with its neighboring all-boys counterpart. Senior Doe leads her pack of friends in a series of goofy - and mostly harmless - pranks against the boys' school. When it's announced that the two rival schools will soon be merging, the stakes are suddenly a lot higher, and Doe embarks on a mission to not just put off the merger, but to get back at her nemesis, Three, too, by dating his cousin. Soon enough, Doe's pranks and secrets - and her feelings, too - start to catch up with her, and she must decide what's more important - continuing this prank war, or letting it go once and for all. I really enjoyed this book! It was witty and charming. I adored the cast of characters and their banter with one another. I'm a sucker for both enemies-to-lovers and fake dating - and both were done so well here! It reminded me exactly why I enjoy YA romances so much!

I cannot put into words how much I actually ended up loving this book, because I did. It’s so so cute and I loved doe. I think I was more surprised and shocked at how much I ended up loving this book and I have no regrets with going into it and picking it up immediately. It was everything I was hoping it would be and more! 5/5 stars what a pleasure to read.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC!

I've been craving (and really enjoying) YA recently and I enjoyed THIS MAY END BADLY, also. It has all the catnip-y things we love in a boarding school novel (a genre I happen to love). But there are a couple red flags here.

I really appreciated the complexity, unlikeability, and real-ness of Doe. Teenage feelings are big, urgent, and often messy-- and the author captures this really well. But warning for those who have rule-breaking anxiety (like me), the title says it all (it may end badly) and readers can see how a mile away (take that into consideration in terms of your reading experience).

But--I'm an educator, who used to teach at a boarding school, with similar issues of teacher sexual assault. I think the treatment of this issue in this novel is highly problematic. So for that reason alone, it was really hard to suspend disbelief in this novel (won't even mention some of the behavior the students get away with in terms of the pranks, which is highly suspect). But it also makes it challenging to recommend this novel, especially to students.

There were also some plot holes in terms of character motivations that really didn't add up for me, especially the Three/Doe backstory (felt like there was something else in there that wasn't explicitly said on page in terms of Three's behavior? Maybe this is just me) as well as how Doe treats/interacts with some of her friends.

3.5 stars. This didn’t totally blow me away, but still a great book. It was very funny with a good story line, but the FMC was frustrating and I didn’t love the chemistry between Doe and Wells. It also took me a little bit to actually get into the book and finish it. There are also some really great points to the book like humor and plot development/ enemies to lovers trope. I would recommend this book with a TW/CW: predatory behavior and sexual assault. I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

That was the best book I’ve read in a really long time. The fake dating trope has always been a favorite of mine and the miscommunication was perfectly executed. I fell in love with the characters and some scenes actually brought me to tears. I loved how you could see the main character grow as she was held accountable by friends, partners, and colleagues. The story originally hinted towards an enemies to lovers, but I found myself accidentally falling for the main love interest anyways, so no complaints here. It was nice to have a break from the trope that is so commonly written about! Overall, this was the perfect book to get me out of a reading slump and I will 100% be buying it when it comes out! (Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for approving me to read an early ARC)

A good read. I enjoyed the dynamics between the main characters. I was a little confused in the beginning chapter as there were a lot of characters introduced all at once, but as I kept reading the story grabbed my interest. I liked that some predictable outcomes in this genre didn't happen, which led to some surprises in the storyline along the way. The main characters were likeable with entertaining dialogue.

Fake dating between two students at rival boarding schools? If TikTok doesn't eat this book up I'm going to be so mad.

This May End Badly was a perfect balance between soft, adorable romance and sharp characters angry at the world. The prank war shenanigans are ridiculously fun and the banter between the characters made me laugh out loud so many times I lost count. I got so invested in the budding romance that I just could not put it down.

Content warning for discussions of child abuse and sexual misconduct.

This was a DNF for me. I just couldn't get into the story, there were too many characters from the beginning, and I felt the writing was overly juvenile for a book for teens.

I cannot think of one thing wrong with this book, I loved it all the way through and I would highly recommend it to all of my friends. I like how the author added more depth than just fake dating, and made this book have an underlying plot as well with the teacher issue. This book made me so nostalgic for Fall and falling in love, and I will keep an eye out for anything else by this author!

This book immediately sucks you in. I adored the main five girls and their relationships were depicted perfectly. Although a bit predictable in the middle there (with the conflicts and the apologizing), this story never lagged. And the ending was superb. Love everyone coming together like that for an important cause.

I really wanted to like this book but I just couldn't get past the predator teacher storyline. The fact that not only did all the students know he was a predator but the faculty did as well and covered up to avoid a possible closure for the school. Not a fan of showing a young audience that this type of behavior is tolerated. The romance and the pranks were fun but there was a shadow hanging over me for the whole book. It was written well but the story just wasn't for me.

This was super cute. Not only did this book feature a diverse cast, but they were so likable and relatable. This book has enemies to lovers, two rival academies, ✨fake dating✨ and I loved our main characters relationship with her parents, her dad especially. I did like the romance too, but think it could have been fleshed out a bit more. Very fun read!

"This May End Badly" is a story of being too passionate and losing sight of what is really important. The all-girls boarding school, The Weston School, is across the street from the all-boys school, The Winfield Academy. There is a longstanding rivalry between the schools that manifests in a prank war, with the students trying to one-up each other with pranks. Nobody epitomizes this rivalry better than Dorothy (Doe) Saltpeter and Nathaniel Emeric Wellborn III (Three). Doe and her friends pull off a great prank to start the school year, their Senior year, with Three as one of the victims. However, at the school's opening assembly, Doe and her friends learn that this is the last year that the Weston School will be an all-girls school. For financial reasons, the two schools will be merging into a co-educational institution next year. There are also plans to have the students participate in volunteer activities together and otherwise develop the collegiality that will be required starting next year.

Doe is a Weldon girl to her core and she can think of nothing worse than the school becoming co-ed. She is determined to stop the merger. She is also determined to make sure that in the rivalry between her and Three, she comes out on top. Doe and her friends come up with ever more creative pranks, which are matched by Three, his cousins, and his friends. However, Doe also concocts a scheme with Gabriel Wellborn (Wells), Three's cousin, in which they will pretend to date, as a way to really annoy Three. Wells and Three have their own issues, and Wells needs Doe's assistance with his own plan. Doe wants to tell her friends that her relationship with Wells is fake, but she does not think they will understand. In order to make her plans work and in order to hold up her end of the deal with Wells, Doe makes some painful choices, lying to her family and friends. She also soon discovers that not all of girls at the Weston School want it to remain an all-girls school, especially some of the students in the lower grades who are actually going to be at the school next year. Doe ends up in a war with Three and a war with some of her fellow students, and she sees her friendships fracture, as her single-minded focus prevents her from seeing other perspectives and recognizing the harm she is causing. Some of her lies catch-up to her, which results in damage to her relationship with her parents and threatens her continued enrollment at the Weston School. However, a bigger threat arises, which threatens the safety of the female students, and it is going to take the assistance of the opposing factions at the Weston School, as well as the assistance of the Winfield boys, to make sure the threat is eliminated and that the school is safe for the students.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

This was a fun read- reminds me of what I enjoy YA!

What I liked:
-boarding school setting
-fake dating trope
-complex characters
-overall just cute!

What I disliked:
-I initially did not think much about it, but I did see one reviewer discuss the issue of teacher vs student harassment and how it was dealt with by the students. Something I am still thinking about.

Soooooo cute! And fun!

This is one of my favorite tropes and this book is incredibly well done. It’s funny and realistic.

I thought the sensitive subjects were handled in an intelligent and believable way (as in how real-life teens would react).

I’m a sucker for a well-written YA romance. And this was absolutely fantastic.