Y'all!!! I had so much fun reading this book. I loved Doe,
Wells, and all the Weston girls. I seriously couldn't put
this baby down. I'm pretty sure I read it in 2 days, if not in
one. This book has all you need, including the fake dating
trope, which I'm beginning to realize is one of my faves.
Not only was the book funny, but it was sweet as well.
There was a lot of growth in each character, especially in
Doe. I am so excited for Samantha Markum's newest book!

So I have come to realize that I really can't read YA romance genres. I find the characters a bit childish and they should be since it's ya genre. I just need to step back from ya romance, and stick with ya fantasy instead.

This was a really fun young adult rom-com set at a boarding school. There were plenty of laugh out loud moments and cleverly written dialogue. I have never read a book by Samantha Markum before, but I will certainly be on the lookout for what she does next.

"But maybe Wells is right -- maybe it's natural for us, in our final year of school, to feel strange in our own skin. 'It's the end of an era no matter how you spin it.'"

What a swoony debut. Like, for real, if I was rating this purely off the banter between Doe & Wells and the battle scenes between Weston & Winfield this would be a 4-5 star read. I enjoyed the pranks, the fauxmance, and the friend group that held each other accountable. And watching them navigate first love, family drama, and the dreaded "what comes next" stage post high school was incredibly relatable.

What didn't work for me was the sexual harassment subplot mentioned in the synopsis. Not only does the inciting incident not occur until the last fourth of the novel, but it also is handled more as a redemptive arc for the friend group rather than as its own standalone issue. The students involved aren't taught how to speak up (although the importance of doing so is thankfully stressed), and they weren't really listened to when they did. And while I appreciate how the girls -- and guys -- bonded together to take action and where the group landed in the end, the subplot that got them there just felt like a puzzle piece being forced to fit.

This subplot aside, I really adored Markum's debut and can't wait to see what she writes next.


Thank you to Wednesday Books for sending me an earc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I requested This May End Badly as soon as I saw that it was being marketed as a YA dark academia rom-com, and I truly think it lived up to that comparison! While I'm admittedly in the minority in that I'm not usually a fan of the fake-dating trope, I found that I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it in this book. The prank war aspect was really fun as well and I loved seeing how creative some of the students got with their prank ideas!

Furthermore, I also loved how, while this book was in many ways a cheesy and fun teen rom-com, it didn't shy away from discussing important and timely topics such as sexual harassment/assault and the outdated practice of segregating private schools by gender (i.e. all-boys schools & all-girls school). I personally went to an all-girls high school and this was something that I actually thought about a lot from time to time.

Overall, while this wasn't a jaw-dropping book by any means, it was still truly a delight to read and I would easily recommend it in a heartbeat. Four stars!

DNF at 53%

I committed six hours to This May End Badly and still ended up DNFing it. I really liked the idea of a school rivalry and thought the author played that up really well, but it should have remained the focal point of the story. There was just too much going on. And what was the deal with the pervy teacher? That subplot seemed REALLY unnecessary. The students kept bringing him up, so I'm sure something would have eventually happened with that, I just didn't stick around long enough to find out. I do think it should have been left out altogether.

Fake dating is usually a trope that I like, but it didn't work for me in this one. There was no chemistry between Doe and What's His Face. I think there were more sparks between her and her archnemesis than the guy she likely ended up with.

I think this book would have been better if it had been simplified just a little. A school rivalry, some teenage angst, and boom. Unfortunately, I was having to force myself to listen to this one "hoping" it would get better as it progressed. (Spoiler alert: It didn't.)

I also wasn't thrilled with the narrator. She wasn't bad per se, but I did find her voice to a be a little distracting.

Additionally, Doe was incredibly unlikeable, and I always struggle with books when I can't relate to - or at least understand - the main character. She was so selfish and never considered how her actions affected others. She wanted to talk about her friends and how close they were, yet she didn't think twice about them before doing whatever she wanted.

Some notes I made while reading:

Missed the mark
Immature
Didn't like why they were fake dating
Doomed to fail
No friendship would survive the fallout

It a nutshell, This May End Badly had too much going on and the main character was a selfish brat that didn't actually know what she wanted. She was too absorbed in herself to see what was happening around her, and her fake boyfriend clearly had ulterior motives of his own. Weird teacher subplot. (★★☆☆☆)

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the premise right from the start but was hooked by the characters. Doe and Wells were simply amazing, and I really enjoyed their journey. The writing was great, the pacing perfect, and the cast of characters very well done. This book tackled heavy issues in an approachable and intelligent way, and ended up being a heartfelt read that made me laugh and cry. I honestly wish this had been a series instead, because I don’t like the idea of not seeing these characters again.

This YA romance was such a surprise hit for me!

I thought for a minute that this would be an enemies to lovers romance, with a side of school pranking, but it turned out to be so much better than anticipated. From the fake dating relationship (with a character I didn't guess from page one) to watching as our female main character grew up, without giving up her passion; I enjoyed every single second of this book.

I can't wait to see what comes next from this author, and I can't stop recommending this book!

reading vibes: boarding school, rival boys school, pranking, fake dating, best friend groups, small towns

This book gave everything I thought a YA romance book about a prank war would give. It was cutesy, funny, and the boys school vs girls school is just hilarious. There was fun romance, though there were a few elements that I could have done without (cough the weird teacher cough), but I enjoyed this quick read overall.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the gifted copy of This May End Badly! All opinions in this review are my own.

I really enjoyed this YA romance! Fake dating is my favorite trope so I was drawn in immediately. I loved the prank war mixed with the boarding school setting. I also liked that there is quite a bit of character development. You see the main character grow over the course of her senior year and be able to use her influence for good.

4 stars

This was a fun YA read. I’ve always enjoyed books with boarding school/academic settings, so this one appealed immediately, and the contemporary story was fun and interesting. The protagonist was kind of the worst at times, but I was glad to see (some) character growth by the end of the novel. The ultimate conclusion was a bit of a surprise as I didn’t anticipate the direction the ending of the book was headed in, but I did enjoy it. It’s one that I’ll probably get a copy of in the future for my classroom library.

This was the first book I've read from this author and I really enjoyed it. The story was different from anything I've read recently and really captured my attention. It was so well written and the characters were fantastic.

Ok, I loved this so much. The characters and plot were ridiculously fun, the romance was adorable, the fake dating was done SO well, I’m honestly just obsessed.

This book has it all – rival boarding schools, prank wars, the aforementioned BRILLIANT fake dating (is it ok that I’m still falling for fictional high school characters??), a hilarious and wonderful friend group, as well as touching on some more serious topics.

A fun ride from start to finish, this is such a great example of why I still read YA as an adult. I highly recommend it!

Thank you so much Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This May End Badly by Samantha Markum checked all my YA bucket list items: boarding school setting and fake dating trope. Throw in a prank war, and this one was super cute.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

This book was slow at times, but I found the cast of characters and the setting to be very immersive. Wells is my favorite type- misunderstood “bad boy”. He’s a quiet, book loving, never-know-what-he’s-thinking pretty boy who you can always find in a big red chair in a local book store. I mean COME ON. It doesn’t get better than that. Doe is incredibly flawed but somehow never comes across as insufferable. Her friend group is fun, if a bit underdeveloped. They all blend together a bit. The pranks are fun to read about, but there’s plenty of heart to be found as well. Watching Doe absolutely train wreck her life in a matter of weeks is heartbreaking but believable. I LOVE the present and supportive parents, who aren’t stereotyped as out-of-touch authoritative figures, but also are hands-off besties. I feel like that’s a hard find in most YA novels. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC to review!

If you loved Lily Anderson’s The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You, I think you’ll love this witty, hilarious private school rivalry. Described in multiple early reviews as a fun, entertaining read, you might want to save this one for your Spring vacay–whether you take some time at home or go away– as it’s a perfect light read.

This was a cute book. There’s alot of characters to keep track of, but it gets easier as you go. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this book, but overall I enjoyed it!

A cute and very fun YA book about a punk war between two same-sex schools. There is fake dating, college pressure, rivals, and a pretty good indictment on same-sex schools in today's world. I had fun reading!

I could not tolerate all the “dick pick” talk. I ended up DNFing because of it. I think there was a strong premise but I’m not here for teens acting super whiny and overly sexual.

I love a solid fake dating romance! Set in academies, this book made me want to go back to high school! It felt a bit young for me though, which it is a YA novel so this makes sense. Great characters and while some of the pranks were juvenile, it was still a quick and fun read!