3.5/5
This was hovering between 3 and 4 stars, but I ended up giving it the latter because A. I love a good FLAWED HEROINE, character development, and girls stewing in their angst. B. The love interest was so dreamy. Perfect book boyfriend much? C. The plot was cute, and well thought out. I liked the idea of rivalry schools facing a merger, and the love each student has for their side expressed in all these unique ways.
What I didn't like: the writing. A little too try-hard-y for me, though that tends to be a pitfall of YA the genre and not just this book. It was bearable (and I liked the angsty, stewy parts). I also didn't like that the story used time skips so liberally. After a huge blowout, and the main character not speaking with her friends for a good month or so, they have one conversation and resolve the frostiness? I was still feeling the residual awkwardness that follows a long fight, and was disoriented by the restoring of closeness.

FIVE STARS

objectively, no this book isn't the greatest book I have ever read. But, it is the first book that I have finished in one sitting in about two months. I have been in such a bad reading slump and this book took me out of it.

This book takes place at two school that are right across from each other, The Weston School (an all girls boarding school) and Winfield Academy (an all boys boarding school) These two schools are rivals and have been participating in a prank war for as long as anybody can remember. We have Doe, our heroine, who is the mastermind behind the majority of the pranks. Her ultimate goal is to piss off Three, a Winfield boy. But, when she hears that the schools are merging together, her life falls apart. She now has to prove that Winfield boys and Weston girls just don't mix. Somehow, she ends up striking deal with Wells; Three's cousin. They fake date to piss Three off and Wells gets something else in return.

I honestly have very little bad to say about this book. It was a fast paced novel with fake dating. What is there not to love? But my one problem is the immaturity . What I find with books that center around this huge epic prank wars are that both parties acting in the war are extremely immature. This is the exact case in this novel, The pranks are childish and I failed to see why it was necessary to go to such extreme lengths.

But other than that, I ate this book up. First of all, the love interest is extremely swoony. Wells is our classic " I am capable of a lot more but I pretend not to be" who is also a BOOKWORM. "screams internally* I absolutely adored Doe and Wells' dynamic and their banter. I was consistently smiling at the novel. The plot was pretty interesting and kept you wanting to read more. I don't think there was ever a slow moment. The book also brought up the issue of sexual harassment in the academic setting. Everything was resolved nicely and the book just made sense

This book is everything and more. GO READ IT.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Two rival boarding schools, Weston and Winfield, are amidst an epic prank war. In an effort to finally one up the boys school, and get back at her arch enemy Three, Doe concocts a plan that has consequences even she didn't see coming. The novel, as a whole, is pretty quintessential Young Adult fare with a slight twist. Teenage hormones and boarding school just never do mix very well.

I thought the author did some wonderful things within the confines of the story. First, the representation was wonderful. There were several LGBTQIA+ representations as well as multiple race representations - things that are becoming more common in young adult fiction but are still novel enough to be worth noting. Markum also did a great job at creating a complicated character in Doe. If I'm being truly transparent, I didn't particularly like Doe for 90% of the book. She's abrasive, bullheaded, and not the greatest friend or daughter. However, she was held accountable for her actions, eventually, and her moment of reckoning and the fallout from it really felt honest.

As a trigger warning, there is content involving sexual assault in this novel. This is perhaps the one area I was not totally thrilled with. While it is important that this topic is addressed and brought to light so that readers learn and know the warning signs, it felt a little implausible to me that there wasn't a single faculty member (especially one with kids at the school) or parent who raised the alarm over the span of 5 years.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC. I enjoyed it!

This book was so sweet and entertaining.
Despite how long it took me to finish the book i thoroughly enjoyed it and cannot wait to see others thoughts on the book

Tw/cw: sexual assault, predatory behavior
While I do adore the book and characters at some points I didn’t like the main character, Doe, and the way she handled situations regarding her creepy teacher. At her school there is a teacher where rumors and whispers have been passed down over the years to stay away from him and to not be alone w him, but despite knowing all this Doe insists she can handle him. During one point in the book the love interest insisted he go w doe to when she was going to be alone w this teacher. This part was so frustrating bc he’s offering to be there for support and as extra eyes but she’s so set on going alone bc she didn’t want to be thought of as weak. Accepting support and comfort never makes anyone weak, and I honestly wish doe would’ve seen that offer as something other than needing a guys help since she is a girl.

4.5 stars~~
14/15+
Prank wars, romance, friendship, rivalries, boarding school, and witty characters. Read this book. It's amazing. I have fallen in love with the characters and found myself laughing along with them at times. (Also, this book is not for those of a young age. There is some language and ideas involved. Along with sexual assault.)

It transports you to another place where school ties run thick and rivalries even thicker. Two historic schools across the street. One all girl. One all boy. And, of course, having the schools be there for 200 years, there HAS to be a school prank war. Obviously.

This book had everything that made my heart go pitter-patter (as my heart did in fact fall absolutely in love with this book). The romance was so cute and made me smile and blush throughout the book. Wells and Doe have stolen my heart. It’s gone. In a lockbox where only they can keep it.

The diversity in this book is also amazing!! There was LGBTQ+ and race representation as well which made it outstanding and my heart full!!

This novel also handles some pretty deep topics like sexual assault. It’s not one of those things you hear a whisper about like “oh it happened.” No, it is a major plot point in this book. It was handled very very well, and I did not feel completely uncomfortable when reading it. Nor did I feel super triggered in any way. I mostly felt anger and sadness. So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE look at any warnings there might be in this book, and DO NOT read it if you have a trigger or do not feel comfortable around sexual assault being there. I definitely don't agree with the way the students went about solving the sexual assault.

SPOILER- solved it trying to on there own. I was kind of questioning with the parents why nobody stepped forward. At least tell some parent. I love this book and it definitely makes me want to put it at 5 stars, but it's just that little tiny part that makes me put it at 4.5

The friendship, pranks, rivalries, and romance in this book really really make it one of my favorite books. My full applause goes to Samantha Markum for writing this absolutely amazing book. I will forever be making this a comfort book of mine and will most definitely be purchasing this book when it officially comes out APRIL 2022. She is now one of my favorite authors and I will in fact be buying every single book of hers when they come out!

I will now be self proclaiming myself as a Weston girl and will be dreaming about the pranks I wish I could pull on the Winfield boys. I literally bookmarked my favorite parts (and there’s at least 30 bookmarks). PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read this book. It makes me envious of boarding school and prank wars. Mentally, I will be with them. Now I only hope I can see a glimpse in college (no pressure though I can always make it up in my mind). :)

Two rival boarding schools where a group of students from each school are engaged in an epic prank war that leads to a fake dating scheme. I’d say there’s a bit of enemies to lovers mixed into the fake dating making it even better. The rival schools - who have been rivals for centuries might I add - are set to merge the following year and many of the students have strong opinions about it, especially the main character Doe. You could always tell just how much she cared about her school and wanted to protect it even if her intentions were a bit misguided at times. There was never a doubt of passion or love for her school I was a bit sceptical of Doe at first as she’s got quite the overdramatic personality and cares potentially a little too much about keeping the two schools separate; but there was a well-explained backstory that does an excellent job at showing where Doe is coming from and is a big part of the reason she acts the way she does. Having the backstory for Doe near the beginning of the story really helped me understand her better and gave me a better outlook on her throughout the rest of the book.
The one thing I honestly kind of liked is that I couldn’t figure out who the real love interest was right away. It took me about half of the book to figure it out and I liked that it wasn’t overly predictable right away. I definitely had suspicions that the love interest was going to be Doe’s true enemy but noticing the little moments from Wells that showed he truly cared about Doe made me like the two of them together. I loved seeing the slow relationship development of the main characters and watching a fake relationship turn into possible real feelings. Especially when Doe is so dead set on hating the Winfield boys for the majority of the book.
I can’t forget to mention all of the pranks and shenanigans that both school’s students got up to throughout the book. Everyone got incredibly clever and never feared retaliation which lead to some impressive one-upping with pranks. Right from the start you could tell that there was a group of students from both schools who were truly dedicated to these shenanigans and it lead to so many hilarious moments.
I admired the effort both schools put in, and thoroughly worked together, to take down a teacher who has been long suspected of inappropriate behaviour with female students. This is the one part I didn’t love about the story is that all the students, both current and alumni, who had been targets for this teacher had all kept silent. When all of the parents finally found out about what had been going on they were extremely shocked that no one had said anything and I can definitely agree with their feelings. It was sad to think that none if the girls had even thought to come forward to a parent or adult figure outside of school. I appreciated that all of the parents instantly stood up for the girls and confronted to school board about this teacher.
Overall, I did quite enjoy this book and would give it a 4/5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for the ARC!

(3.75 stars rounded up)

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC of This May End Badly!

I was immediately drawn to this book when I read the description. It had all of my favourite things (such as fake dating, enemies to lovers) and I was so excited to read it. I can say that this book did not disappoint. I loved how sweet the romance was and I honestly had butterflies for so much of it. I enjoyed the way that the enemies to lovers and fake dating trope was written out. I do want to mention that I think that Doe's character got more annoying as the story went on and sometimes went a bit to far. Another thing that I should mention is that the story was pretty predictable and it did not grip me as much as I thought it would.

Overall, I would recommend this book and I"m excited for it to officially come out!

Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for the ARC of This May End Badly in exchange for my honest review.

What a stunning debut for Samantha Markum.

Doe and her friends enter their senior year at Weston determined to win a century-long prank war against the rival all-boy Winfield Academy. Enter Three who leads Winfield’s efforts in the war, and is also Doe’s biggest nemesis. There is nothing Doe wants more than to beat Three and end the war with Weston on top. So when it’s announced the two schools will merge the next year it’s Doe’s worst nightmare. Her focus shifts to protecting the one place she feels at home.

Determined to both end the prank war and show that Weston girls and Winfield boys should not be merged, Doe decides to fake date the cousin of her long time rival. But not everyone views change as a bad thing, and there’s more pressing matters going on in Weston’s halls. Readers follow Doe as she tries to save her school, win a war, keep a boyfriend and decide what her future after senior year hold for her. What could possibly go wrong?

Boarding school theme? Check.
Fake dating? Check.
Enemies to lovers? Check.

This May End Badly checks all the boxes in what I could possibly want in a YA romance these days. Markum wastes no time getting into the thick of the action and the pacing of this novel is definitely strong. At no point did I feel like it dragged, and I hungrily finished it in two sittings.

What makes this book a very solid and promising debut is that everything in it just felt authentic and real. The problems that Doe faces and the emotions she goes through are relatable and engaging. The outcomes aren’t far fetched the ending is satisfying and the conflict comes to a nice conclusion. I often have trouble reading YA romance novels, because I feel like they become a tad unbelievable.

The tension and banter in This May End Badly are so fun and definitely added to the overall enjoyment. She creates strong characters who jump off the page, are complex in their identities and who I honestly liked spending time with. This is a group of friends that I would really look forward to reuniting with in a sequel.

Speaking of characters I want to talk about Doe, the female protagonist. I absolutely adored her. Doe is far from perfect, she’s messy, she’s wrong and a little narrow-sighted, which honestly makes me love her even more. Doe is relatable in her emotions and decisions as a senior not sure what future she has outside the walls of a school that gave her a place to belong. It’s also really nicely shown, that you can have nothing but positive intentions but can still fail to be right. The world changes and sometimes, as hard as change can be and as hard as it hurts, it can be good change. While Doe isn’t really fighting on the “right” side, she is honest in her intentions and when it matters most she puts aside her personal desires. You’ll want to shake some sense into her, but you’ll also want to give her a hug, and I hope we get to see more of her in the future.

I also really enjoyed the romance. Wells was a great love interest and the fake dating trope was perfect. The enemies to lovers tone only added to the tension, and the banter between him and Doe kept me laughing. Their relationship doesn't feel forced or like it progresses too fast which can also happen in fake dating scenarios.

This May End Badly was a 5-star read that I can’t wait to recommend. I had very few issues with it, but I will note them. I loved the role that Christian came to play later in the book, but I wished he had gotten a little more character progression earlier in the story so that he had a bit more impact. I also wish that Doe would’ve gotten a bit more of an apology from her friends. While she was 100% in the wrong, her friends were far from innocent, and I think an apology would have added more emotional payout to their reconciliation.

There does need to be a TW for mentions and discussions of sexual assault. I was a bit nervous for this plot line. It was heavily hinted at for most of the book, and I wondered how exactly it was going to be used as a plot device. I think Markum did a good job, however I do hope that younger girls especially know that it’s okay to get help from your parents in this situation and that trauma does not need to be handled on your own to mean something.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of This May End Badly in exchange for a review.

Oh my god! I had amazing time! This is one of the most hilarious, intelligent, exciting story I’ve devoured!
If you want to get lost in delicious boarding school fights theme meets fake dating troupe with well developed great characters, realistic approach to the sensitive issues such as bullying, sexual assault, dysfunctional family problems, you shouldn’t miss this book! There’s so much rivalry and betrayal and pranks + fake dating my expectations were high and this book surpassed them. Doe and Wells were such amazing characters to follow I'm so obsessed and even though I think this is a stand-alone I need a sequel in my hands ASAP. The end of the novel was one of those movie moments that sounds good and looks good, but as a high school teacher I struggled to turn off the disbelief, which is weird since the fake relationship, boarding school, ultra rich family didn’t bother me a bit. Lol.

This book was absolutely delightful! It was a unique concept, prank wars set on a boarding school campus and it was executed beautifully. The main character was flawed and did end up making some bad decisions, but I think that made her super relatable and more fun to read about. I fell in love with all of the characters. Doe's friend group was so dynamic and fun and Wells was an adorable love interest. This story made me feel warm and fuzzy and you can never go wrong with a book like that. If you're looking for a fun spin on the classic fake dating trope or even just a different take on YA contemporary, I highly recommend this!

✰✰✰✰.75 / 5

This book checks all the boxes: Fake dating? Check. A boys vs. girls school rivalry plus an epic prank war? Check. A dark-haired "bad boy" with a heart of gold? Check. A supportive friend group of badass girls? Check! Witty banter that will have you laughing out loud? CHECK!

This YA romcom centers around Doe, a senior at Weston School, an all girls boarding school that has been her home the past 3 years. But, when its announced that next year Weston will merge with the all boys school across the street—the school Weston has been in a prank war with for decades—Doe is determined to do everything she can to prove that they two schools are just not compatible. In addition to a plan to fake date her nemesis’ cousin and a plot to take down the teacher who has been sexually harassing Weston girls, this book is a page-turner that I finished in 2 days!

This book was a lot of fun and so well written! The characters are a blast, and I really loved Doe and her group of girls. Their banter is so quick and witty, and I love just how much they love and support each other (even when that means calling one another out). Pranking masterminds, these girls pull of some pretty impressive stunts against the Winfield School for Boys. Their little group is pretty diverse, and I particularly loved the LGBT+ representation in terms of Gemma and Doe’s dad. It was really heartwarming to see that on the page, and how Markum make a point that even though Weston would be changing, it would be making it more open for nonbinary or trans students.

Speaking of Winfield, the boys there are also a lot of fun. Doe's main nemesis is Three, a member of the prestigious Wellborn family that makes up most of Doe's rivals. In order to get under his skin, Doe begins to fake date his cousin, Wells, and becomes a lot more involved in the Wellborn family than she anticipated. I LOVED the banter between Three and Doe, and found that there was a lot of sexual tension between them, so much so that a lot of the characters, even the love interest, comment on it. Now maybe I've just been reading too much enemies to lovers romances, but in the beginning I was definitely rooting for Three and Doe to get together. This kind of threw me off for the first part of the book, and therefore lowered my rating a bit. However, in the end I was fully on board with the Doe/Wells relationship!

Another thing I loved about this book was how it held the main character accountable. Doe made a lot of mistakes throughout the book—lying to her friends and family, ignoring her schoolwork, and hurting others around her—and she isn't let off the hook! Her friends call her out, she has to face the consequences of her actions, and she has to work on herself to be better. While it wasn't a great time for Doe in the book, I really loved seeing Doe go through that character growth and admit she made mistakes. And even though she made some questionable decisions, Doe was a great main character, full of spunk and confidence and a lot of heart.

Another huge plot point in this book is how one of the teachers, Mr. Tully, is a sexual predator and taking advantage of the girls at Weston. It's a pretty serious topic and I would recommend looking up TW if needed, but I loved how the Weston girls and Winfield boys came together in the end to take him down. It was super inspiring and heartwarming to see all these girls supporting and helping one another.

This May End Badly is a touching story filled with a lot of heart, humor, and relatable and fully formed characters. I think readers can learn a lot from Doe and her experiences, and feel represented on the page. If you’re looking for a cute YA romance I recommend picking up this book when it’s released!

This was such a surprising debut novel that i truly enjoyed. it was funny, cute, and frustrating at times meanwhile having very serious undertones!

The romance between Wells and Doe was very cute and heartwarming. The enemies to lovers aspect was done very well alongside the fake dating. Wells was just so perfect, complex and truly swoon worthy. By far one of my favorite male characters i’ve read about!

Even though the book seems so cute and lighthearted theres some serious topics about gender, feminism and the patriarchy that i truly enjoyed. Alongside the crazy pranks being done by both rival schools, theres uneasiness regarding one of the teachers as the story unfolds.


Arc kindly provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a free e-galley of this book. There are a lot of things happening in this book that are a good setup for a novel. Rival boy and girl schools. A plucky heroine and good friends. Two good-looking boys. Somehow, though, it was such a slow start for me. The main character seemed to genuinely hate her rival, and it made me less empathetic towards her. Her hijinks got old, especially as they got riskier. What saved the book was the overall message at the end. The girl finally uses her energy to stage a protest and meeting with school administrators when it becomes clear that a teacher took advantage of a student. The boy rival helps to bring the sexual predator to justice. I wish the book had gotten to their cooperation and the main theme of student empowerment sooner.

I went into this blind and was pleasantly surprised! I loved doe and her dedication and attachment to weston. this isn’t just a romcom but a coming of age story! I enjoyed reading about the different relationships between her friends, love interest, and family!

I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

**TW: Mention of sexual assault within the review and the novel.

Overall, I really wanted to love this novel but also found myself walking away from it feeling less than satisfied. I genuinely enjoyed the journey of reading the book, but doubt I would come back for a reread.

To begin, the good stuff. This book features boarding school fights, pranks, fake dating, dysfunctional families, and much more. In fact, at some points, I felt like it was trying to fit too much into one book. The character development was phenomenal and the setup for the plot was decent. I was really rooting for the fake dating to end the entire time because I loved Wells so much and I actually enjoyed Doe for the most part. While she may not have always made the best of choices, her mistakes (and subsequent guilt) were realistic and understandable.

For my not-so-favorite parts. I expected Doe’s secrets (and Well’s, too) to be much bigger than they were. One of the most disappointing things about a majority of contemporary YA novels is the play-up on these big secrets or big reveals, for it to end up being something small, contrived, or just flat out normal. For example, I expected that the big heist Wells wanted Doe to help with was going to be a cover-up for something much deeper because after all, it was just a watch. However, I was wrong. The big thing was the watch, and nothing more. Situations like that fall super flat and take away some of the allure and promise to the book.

I did see this in another review as well, and I wanted to talk about it. While I adored Wells and wanted him and Doe to truly be together, they had no good page chemistry. I just loved the personality and the quips. Doe and Three had much better page chemistry, and I was often worried she may end up with him instead of Wells. I think there could have been some better planning that would have allowed Wells/Doe to have more chemistry than Three/Doe.

I loved the look of gender equity and differentiation throughout the book, right up until the very end. I’ve noticed that there is a back and forth for other reviewers on the sexual assault aspect of this book. It is slightly problematic that this trope was written that the “adults” wouldn’t help or believe the girls around the sexual assault, but at the same time, they are children and they are acting out of fear, discomfort, and anger. The bigger questions for me lie with the following: why did the headmistress keep the teacher on, knowing that these accusations were happening? There was no good explanation for why she defended or hid this teacher, which made it seem pointless and problematic. In addition, why is it that the girls didn’t stand up for themselves until the boys were involved? I understand that this is supposed to be a “coming together” of the two schools, to show the growth and potential of the merger, but in a lot of ways, it created a “damsel in distress” narrative. The girls didn’t completely save themselves, rather, they needed the boy’s help to make it happen. This left a bad taste in my mouth and made me aggravated with the conclusion. All of this to also say that the ending was rushed and didn’t feel like it belonged in the same novel

All-in-all, it was a fun, enjoyable read with some problematic pieces that didn’t really add to the story in my opinion, or make it better. It does tackle some pretty serious and interesting storylines that would be important and relatable to students, but it should be used as a conversation starter, not as a teaching point for how decisions should be made or the correct thing to do in certain situations. If you’re into academia, fake dating, some boys vs. girl mindset, and you come in knowing this is very high-school, drama-focused writing, then you’ll really enjoy the book.

The story follows Doe Saltpepper through prank wars, fake dating (with the prettiest Wellborn boy!), friendship, and the fight for a haven for young girls that might need what the Weston Academy was for her when she needed the most.
There were several points throughout the book where I questioned whether the main characters were crossing the line of what was right. I had this feeling because I wasn't sure if the author would know how to deal with it. I was happy to see how the author worked with Doe. We can see how she grew up, learned more about herself, and how she was dealing with things. Doe learned from her mistakes, apologized, and grew as a person while accepting new perspectives on her ideals.
Together with our main character, we have Wells. As the second oldest Wellborn boy, we see how his family functions and its impact on their identities. In my opinion, even though he had his development, the author could have gone a little deeper with him. Anyways, I really liked him and Wells+Doe as a couple. They were super cute and funny!
Also, I loved the secondary characters! Shoutout to Doe’s friends, parents, and Wells’ parents especially. We had good POC and LGBT representation with them, from her friends to her parents.
It is important to note that while this book focuses a lot on friendship and romance, there are significant and heavy topics discussed and dealt with too.
TW: pedophilia, sexual assault, LGBTphobia.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for proving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

TW: sexual assault / abuse
Tropes : enemies to lovers, fake dating, romcom

This story follows students from two rival boarding schools embroiled in a prank war carried forth from generation to generation. When shocking news at the start of senior year arrives, the prank war kicks up several notches and gets personal.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought the pranks were fun and the romance was sweet and cute. I really liked the supporting characters and I LOVED Wells. I adore a devil may care type of character and he had it in spades. Doe was sometimes a little too intense and she got annoying but I loved her spunk and I loved how she would do anything for people she loves. Overall a really great read and I look forward to picking up a copy when it’s released.

I was immediately drawn in by the premise of this book. It promised me a lot of fun, and I got just that. A prank war and a fake dating scheme unfold in This May End Badly until the characters must reevaluate what’s most important to them.

For as long as anyone can remember, the Weston School has been at war with its rival, Winfield Academy. Doe has headed the prank war for the past three years with her enemy, Three; now a senior, she’s shocked by the announcement that the two schools are merging the next year. She’ll do anything to win and to stop this merger, including fake dating Three’s cousin, West.

At this point, everyone knows I’m always up for a good fake dating scheme, and this book definitely served that. Doe and West had a lot of chemistry; I really enjoyed their banter. In fact, I would say these scenes were the best part of the book. Their dialogue was very funny, and I couldn’t help but smile at certain points.

I also liked the friendships in this book. Doe and her friend group, including Gemma, Sumi, Shawn, and Jade, are tightly knit and the heads of the war against Winfield. While they’re always there for each other, they’re also willing to call the others out when they go too far. I liked seeing them hold Doe accountable for her actions.

There were some parts of the book that I felt went too far, but these parts ended up being challenged in the narrative, which I’m grateful for. One instance is Doe crossing too many lines to get to Three, and like I mentioned before, her friends often provide a voice of reasoning to her even if she’s not willing to listen. Another side character, Virginia, also often fights with Doe because of her plan to stop the merger; Doe isn’t trying to keep the schools separate for any exclusionary means, but Virginia provides another perspective on this: that single gender schools are inherently exclusionary even when they try to be accommodating.

I will say that the enmity behind the prank war itself was not really convincing to me. I believed that Doe hated Three, but I wasn’t really convinced about the rivalry scenes. The pranks themselves were pretty tame although that’s probably more realistic. However, this just contributed to the fact that at certain points, I was like why do these schools even hate each other?

Also, I thought the plot line where the teacher who was a sexual predator would be more prominent since it’s mentioned in the summary. I’m not complaining about it being a plot line, and it was mentioned early in the book; however, the part the summary mentions doesn’t occur until the last 15% and at that point, I don’t really see how it’s a main plot point. This just made the book feel a little unbalanced.

Overall, the book gave me Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy vibes (if you know, you know)! Two rival boarding schools with both school trying to prove that they’re better than the other. Doe and West also had an initial dislike of the other that reminded me of Cam and Zach. If you liked that book or if you like fake dating and/or prank wars, you should check This May End Badly out!

A funny, entertaining and beautiful love story! I loved this book about boarding school rivalries and unspoken love. It reminded me of a Colleen Hoover love story.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins press for letting me read this advanced copy!

This was a great book with interesting characters. Loved the way the enemies turned lovers and secret dating was written out. Would highly recommend. Such a great quick read!