Doe loves her school, a girls-only school with a long legacy… of a prank war with the boys’ school next door. Doe and her friends keep Three and his boys on their toes by vandalizing each other’s schools and doing other harmless pranks. But what will really annoy Three the most is his cousin suddenly dating Doe. Three and Wells have a history of hating each other, so when Doe asks Wells to fake date her to annoy Three, he’s on board. However, as with many fake dating stories, real feelings start to evolve. Is the prank war more important to Doe than her relationships? Samantha Markum has taken the fake dating trope and made it sweet and unpredictable. Doe and Wells’s relationship evolves slowly and believably, and their character development is superb. The relationships that are arguably more important in this book though are the friendships and family dynamics that the characters have. This is a character driven story with some fun pranks mixed in. Markum is a must read for YA contemporary romance.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really fun read. I’m well over the target age demographic but I still love a good boarding school drama - they’re a guilty pleasure for me.

The story was fairly predictable but the characters and dialogue were great, and while nothing about it reinvented the wheel it was the perfect light summer read I was looking for.

Even though YA romance is not my favourite genre , I’d read another book by this author , especially a sequel following the characters to college.

This May End Badly is an absolute firecracker of a book that deserves to be on everyone's shelves next April. The book follows Dorothy (Doe), a student at the prestigious Weston Academy for girls. And right across from them sits the Winfield Academy for boys, the home of Doe's biggest rival, Three. After years of grudges and prank wars between the two, Doe finally finds a way to strike back where it will affect Three the most; she starts fake dating Three's cousin, Wells. What she doesn't anticipate is the feelings that she pretended to have becoming very real. But things change when a teacher at Weston who has been accused of misdemeanor hits back at one of Doe's own Weston girls.

This book had such wonderful characters. Doe, Wells, Three, Shawn; everyone in this book was just so intensely loveable and insanely dynamic. They were so multi-dimensional.

The plot and pacing was also so well done, although there were times when I was confused on things that were going on. It was so well done that I just couldn't put it down.

And of course, the romance. Wells and Doe's romance was so heartfelt and so real. It felt as if I were right there with them, watching them fall in love. It was messy, and it was romantic, and it was so beautiful.

This May End Badly is one of my favorite reads of this year. It felt as if I were right there with every single character, watching the story unfold. A truly showstopping story that displays feminism and independence.

This May End Badly is a heartfelt novel containing pranks, fake dating, senior year, and the discovery of what is worth fighting for. It's practically perfect and one of my favorite YA Contemporaries.

The prank war was fun! I kept turning the page to see what the Weston Girls or Winfield Boys had plotted to do next.

This book has one of the best fake dating relationships! I loved the interactions between Doe and Wells. They have banter and sweet moments. I ended up rooting for these two for nearly the whole novel.

I really love the characters. Doe, our main character and narrator, is the Weston prank mastermind. I really enjoyed her POV (except for a few places). The friendship between Doe, Shawn, Sumi, Gemma, and Jade was really nice to see. Each girl had her own personality and it was lovely. Wells is also a great character. I liked seeing how he fit into Doe's world. Also, I ended up liking the Wellborns (aka the top of the Winfield boy hierarchy) more than I thought I would! (pointed look at Christian)

I was really expecting this book to be about fake dating and a prank war, but it's so much more than that, It's about growing up and starting the next chapter. It's about friendship. It's about deciding what is worth fighting for. And in the end, it really makes this book shine. This May End Badly is one of those books that captures the poignant feelings associated with senior year, and I really appreciate it.

Many thanks to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an eARC of This May End Badly. I really appreciate the opportunity to read and enjoy this novel!

CW/TW: sexual harassment by a teacher

I received an advance copy of, This May End Badly, by Samantha Markum. Wow this book is nothing like m y high school experience. This is a good book about friendship and tradition.

This May End Badly follows Doe and her friends at Weston as they try to win the long running prank war against the Winfield Academy. Doe loves Weston just as it is and is heartbroken to learn that her all girls school will merge with the all boys school (Winston Academy) the year after she graduates. What won't Doe do to stop the merger?

Doe is a very headstrong character, but she is balanced out by her great group of friends. She has loving, supportive parents. And she truly loves Weston. However, Doe is so one dimensional at the beginning of this story that I was frustrated with her fairly quickly. She does have a huge growth at the end, but it took almost the entire book to get there.

I loved Wells, and I really enjoyed his "tortured artist" path. It's a little played out to have the rich kid with problems, but I really liked this take. Wells didn't come off as snobby to me. He was patient with Doe, and I think they balance each other well.

I really enjoyed this book and would have loved this if I had read it in high school. As an adult, I liked that the ending wasn't so fairytale and involved the kids and parents working together (though it was still a little too unbelievable). I also really enjoyed the slow build romance.


3.5/5
Thanks to Netgalley for this surprise ARC!

**I received an ARC from the publisher on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I absolutely loved this book. Exciting from beginning to end. Full of high school drama, fake boyfriend, and teenage angst. Can't get any better. It is well written and has a strong plot. This will be a book that I'll read again.

I really enjoyed this! The writing is sharp, witty, and fast paced, with engaging characters and sparking dialogue. I liked that the friend group was front and center, even while a cute and sexy romance was unfolding. Seeing the central rivalry NOT be the romance was also a fun change from genre expectations. The rival boarding schools worked really well as a device to build enmities that began in mildly vindictive fun but eventually needed to mature, allowing the heroine to rethink how she utilizes her passionate voice. The relationships are dynamic and I loved that I was turning pages to get to the point where the lovers finally acknowledged they weren't faking it anymore. The story has stakes, humour, layered relationships, imperfect characters, complicated families, sex-positivity, and fantastic romantic tension. All of my favourite things.

The only thing I feel I need to touch on as it may also affect some other readers with similar life experiences, is the plot element mentioned in the synopsis blurb--the students coming together against a teacher accused of sexual assault. It comes in very late in the book and will require some suspension of disbelief, not for the assault described (which felt harrowingly real), but for how the accusation is dealt with, which eschews all legalities, investigative procedures, and logistical modes of making change within an institution, in favour of a swift, victorious, don't-consult-any-adults student protest. I loved that the students banded together and that the book acknowledges the ways administrators (and parents) can bury important issues instead of dealing with them head-on, but having been the one fighting for change in similar situations, I wasn't able to run with the swift escalation and resolve of this particular plot element, Given the gravity of the topic, I wish it was given more space for nuance and at least a suggestion for teen readers about how they might find adult allies and proceed in a way that includes an investigation and therefore might be more likely to make actual change. The rest of the book is so much fun, and I'm a huge fan of the writing, characters, and thoughtful use of setting, but if you've ever had to fight against sexual misconduct within an institution, you might also jar on the ways this topic is breezed over. That said, depending on a reader's personal experience and outlook, the story's climax can also be read as an empowering moment in which students shine as their voices unite for a meaningful purpose.

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. One of the best and most realistic YA reads I've read lately and I literally laughed so much. I devoured this book in no time!

This May End Badly by Samantha Markum is about fiercely loyal, high school senior Doe, her best friends, and her worst enemies, the boy’s school across the street. This book literally has it all: fake dating, enemies to lovers, rivalry, and pranks!! Doe and her friends have such a great relationship, that seemed so genuine and supportive. They really did stick up for one another, even in the messiness that is high school. I was absolutely rooting for Doe and Wells throughout the book. I loved their chemistry and their banter with one another.

I really enjoyed this book, so much that I read start to finish in a single day! This is definitely a reread for me!

3 stars

Dorothy "Doe" Saltpeter is a student at the Weston School for girls, a boarding school that is adjacent to the Winfield School, that's for boys. She has a rivalry with one of the Winfield boys, he's actually Nathaniel Emeric Wellborn III, but he goes by Three. For whatever reason, I really didn't understand the motivation, she decides to get under his skin by dating his cousin, Wells. Of course, Wells isn't his actual name. He's Gabriel Wellborn. Interesting names. Can't Saltpeter be used as an explosive (apparently its use to lower a man's libido is an urban myth). And, Wellborn? Seriously? Yes, Three is a Richie Rich, but the name is a bit much.

Anyhow, many pranks between the schools ensue. Some are dangerous. Some are funny. In the middle of all this is a thread about a male teacher sexually exploiting young girls. It's like the author tried to check every modern societal concept and cram them all into one novel "Student acting out because of parent's divorce? Check", "Bisexual parent?" Check", "Lesbian friend? Check". It's great to be progressive and open-minded, especially in a book designed for teenagers, but I felt like the author was just trying to hard to weave too much together.

Was it an awful book? No, the writing was generally good - I just found some of the plot lines hard to follow.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this digital ARC in return for an honest review.

First, thank you to St. Martin Press and Wednesday Books for the ARC for an honest review.

Dorothy "Doe" Saltpeter of one Weston Academy, an all-girl school that just so happens to be located across Winfield Academy, an all-boys school and the bane of Doe's existence. In particular, Nathan Wellborn the 3rd aka "Three". The students of these two schools have been playing pranks on the other since the dawn of time (or at least the dawn of their conceptions). This year, however, the pranks amp up when it is revealed that Winfield and Weston will be merging. Doe is beyond herself over this and will do anything to ensure this merger doesn't happen. This includes fake dating the cousin of Three, Gabriel Wellborn aka Wells. Throughout the book, Doe finds that she's probably the only one that has a hard on against these two schools merging, and how she continuously makes one bad decision after another until about 65% into the book, it all comes blowing back in her face. And Lord, there isn't enough Bounty to wipe the gunk when it does.

I don't get exasperated over main characters often, but I really wanted to just shake Doe by the shoulders and scream at her to grow the eff up. She was clearly emotionally stunted because I've seen prepubescent children act more mature than she did. I don't know if it was privilege or just straight up "only child" syndrome, but by the time I reached 65% into the book...eh, closer to 70%, I just didn't care what happened to Doe. I'm glad she got her comeuppance, and we start to see her growth, but I hate that it literally comes at the end. She doesn't mature or grow for majority of this book, and it took getting nearly expelled for her to realize that she sorta, maybe, absolutely screwed the pooch in so many ways in this book. I would have liked to see her actually mature throughout the book, but not every teen who has the privilege of going to a ranked all girls academy and have everything she wants sees growth until the last convenient minute.

That being said, I did enjoy the friendships between Doe and her band of young ladies. I also liked that she took ownership for her actions and didn't just apologize, but followed up with those apologies with actions. When she does start to get her head out of her own ass, she's a pretty kick ass 17 year old who could absolutely run the world if she set her mind to it. I also liked the budding romance between her and Wells, and they played well off each other. I wanted to say that the love was a bit instant, but it really wasn't. I was still a bit surprised over the "Falling in love with you" bits, but they're 17 and dumb so I forgave that.

All in all, this was cute and an easy read. This was the unedited version so I'd be interested to see how it shaped up once it's been edited and officially published. But I think regular contemporary young adult has lost its appeal to me because I can't bring myself to care about the hijinks of teenagers anymore.

This book checks ALL of my boxes. Enemies to lovers? Yep. Elite boarding school? You've got it. Fake dating scheme? Say no more! This May End Badly was a fun, quick read that got me out of my reading slump. Without giving too much away, I loved Wells and how honest and fun he was right from the get-go. Markum wrote characters that I was excited to root for, even if I did want to shake Doe by the shoulders on more than one occasion. I really enjoyed the scheming of this book, and how I never knew what to expect next. This May End Badly also did a great job at highlighting female friendships, and I liked seeing these friendships develop throughout the book. All in all this book was fun, quirky, and guaranteed to make you smile.

This book’s plot really intrigued me — I am always a sucker for the fake-dating trope! It was a bit slow at parts, but the romance definitely made up for that. I loved the boarding school setting; I feel like that really set the scene for the plot and the character development throughout the novel.

I was lucky to receive an ARC of this from netgalley. Thank you. I devoured this in one sitting. YA is not my favorite anymore but this drew me in from the start. Doe is such a complex character. And what I love is that she is really flawed. But despite her flaws she is a good person. Loved the fake/real romance with Wells. Loved the character of Wells and his chemistry with Doe. There are a lot of things going on in this book but it keeps you well entertained. The part of the book with ( spoiler) some sexual exploitation from a teacher and what the kids do about it is slightly unrealistic yet you are routing for the girls anyway. Overall I give it 4 stars. It could use some tweaking but I really really enjoyed the read.

How many times do I have to learn that crawling into bed thinking, "I'll just read the first few chapters" will invariably end with me awake at 2 AM having finished the book?!? I'm sleep-deprived, but damn THIS MAY END BADLY was such a wonderful read! Some ~light~ spoilers below.

Doe is a witty prank mastermind (although her Big Secret was pretty anticlimactic), with comebacks for days. I loved her straight away! And the fake dating/enemies to lovers slowburn with Wells was icing on the cake (what chemistry!). What truly stood out to me though was how every character was incredibly complex. Doe's group of friends could have easily been one dimensional (as is very common in YA, a genre I love so no shade meant) and only there to support Doe's journey, and I loved that they were all well-rounded people.

The subplot with the predatory teacher was difficult to read at times and a bit messy, but it did feel True to me. Back in the day, I had a high school teacher that made a lot of the girls (including me) feel uncomfortable, but without proof, there wasn't much we could do about it but avoid being alone with him—so this plotline really resonated with me. In the Real World, would Doe & Co's actions have potentially hindered a police investigation or legal case? Yes. But suspend your disbelief, people!

I'd recommend this book to readers who enjoyed THE SWALLOWS by Lisa Lutz (not strictly a YA, but similar gender war/dark academia themes), which was one of my favorite reads of 2019.

SO good. It was full of fun, enemies to lovers, adventure, pranks, and full on girl friendship. Woooo weeeee wooo

Thank you, NetGalley and St.Martin's press for an e-arc of this amazing young adult novel.

I love this book with all my heart like pranks, boarding school, and fake dating already got me hooked, but the most well-written character arc I've read in a young adult novel doesn't convince you then I don't know what will.

Along with the romance, it also focuses on the character arc and the relationships of Doe whether it was her parents, friends, or enemies.

The only thing that ticked me off was how shitty Jade was at times like I understand Dorothy was self-obsessed and extremely oblivious, but that doesn't mean shit on her everything.

I honestly have really high hopes that this will take over BookTok next year.

4.5 stars!!

this book is filled with hilarious banter, characters I'm way too attached to now, and a beautiful plot. i think I read the majority of this book with a huge smile on my face. I enjoyed this book immensely, and immediately from the beginning I was hooked.

i'm usually not a fan of the fake dating trope (because it always seems sooo unnecessary like for the stupidest reason) but I loved it in this one. additionally, this book is big on the rivalry trope, which I always love. the pranks were awesome--I loved how devious Doe was. and then there were also some sneaky/mysterious vibes which added a little more suspense. so to summarize that: i liked the plot and the unfolding of events. the ending did feel a little cliche, with Doe all mature and self realized lol, but the other parts of the book make up for that.

the CHEMISTRY between Doe and Wells was everything honestly. I loved every scene between them. they were my favorite characters and I really enjoyed how the romance developed. I don't really have much more to say about that lol so...on to the few things I didn't enjoy as much.

I didn't completely love Doe's friend group. I personally wanted a little more from Sumi and Jade--I loved the little details like Sumi complaining about how people can't pronounce her name (something I, and a ton of other South Asian Americans, strongly relate to), and like Jade's stickers and posters of like 'Don't touch my hair' etc. So I liked those little details of their cultural/racial identity, but they didn't feel fully fleshed out as characters. Gemma and Shawn were more focused on instead. If Sumi and Jade were better side characters I think they would've also been my favorite.

Speaking of Jade, when she and Doe disagree both times, there seems to be some subtle things that I felt I needed to read between the lines, so to speak, to figure out, and even then I was a little unsure. I wish that was all stated more explicitly so there isn't any confusion.

Lastly, this one isn't as important, but it took me a really long time to figure out who was who in the Wellborn family. Because there were like different last names and so many parents and kids it was all really confusing. Not that significant, but the confusion was a little distracting in like the scenes they're all there, like Thanksgiving.

I highly recommend reading this book. there's romance, prank wars, women supporting women, and not a lack of diversity. I'll probably buy this book to read it again when it releases next year.

also a companion novel to this would be the best thing ever--whether it was Doe and everyone in college (lol the rivalry continues!) or about Christian or a different character...it would be awesome to read more of this setting and characters.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. Loved the private school boy/girl theme and the pranks!!!! I loved how Doe's character grew in the novel. The friendships and how decisions affect friends and boyfriends was well done. Wellborn and Winfield round 2 I hope is in the future to see how the merger goes down.