Unfortunately I didn't download this one in time and the book was archived. My apologies. Since then, I have made a point to download the ARCs right away so I don't miss out on books.

Samantha Markum has crafted a delightful YA novel about friendship, love, tradition and change. All the characters are fun to know and seem like people you might have known in school. The plot moves along smartly and the ending is not entirely as you expect it but is very satisfying. Thank you to #netgalley and #wednesdaybooks for this copy of #thismayendbadly to read and review—all opinions are my own.

This debut novel was a lot of fun. We meet Doe, a senior at an all-girls boarding school who is leading a prank war against the rival all-boys boarding school across the street. This prank war has been going on for many, many years and it's all in good fun. The administration decides that both rival schools will come together in a merger, which makes Doe very upset, and she is determined to do anything to ensure this merger will not be successful.

In addition to this merger plot, Doe gets involved with Wells, initially to fake-date him to get at a mutual enemy, but as the school year goes on, their relationship gets more complicated. Doe's friend group looks like it may be dispersing as the girls begin to make decisions about their futures and Doe feels left behind.

And on top of all of that, there is a male teacher that makes all of the girls uncomfortable, but has never had serious allegations against him, but when a younger student confides her experience to Doe, Doe decides she is going to take down this teacher once and for all.

There is a lot going on here. And I do think the prank war, the friend drama, and the fake-dating worked really well in this book. Doe's desire to keep her high school just as she likes it makes sense to me. Your senior year can be scary--everything is changing for you--so Doe's complete rigidity about not welcoming the boys from across the street is one change she feels like she may have some control over. Even the fake dating to get back at an enemy was so much fun, and I knew of prank wars between classes in my own high school. The only thing that didn't work super well for me was the male teacher sub-plot. It was weird to me that a male fitness teacher would be the only health teacher on staff at an all-girls school, and that when a female student came forward, the female headmistress was so resistant to the allegation that both the male and female schools had to come together once and for all. Maybe the author felt like there needed to be a big problem for both schools to agree was terrible enough for them to solve together in order to end the rivalry. I just wish it had been a problem that would have fit in better with the rest of the plot.

Overall, the book was fun, and funny, and it often felt very realistic. I think teens will really like it. I enjoyed it for the most part and would love a sequel with Three at Ohio and Doe in Ann Arbor.

Cute YA rivalry story.
Weston School for girls and Winfield Academy for boys have had an ongoing prank battle, and when they get word that the rivals will be combining, the pranks crank up. Doe is a senior and she’s especially against the merger. She sets her eyes on taking down Three from Winfield. Then she gets caught up in her fake dating of Wells, Three’s cousin. Rivalry, romance, mischief and conviction.
It’s a high school story, so a bit immature. But it has the fun elements of friendship, pranks and attraction. A bit of depth is thrown in. But it’s mostly lighthearted and enjoyable.

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

I absolutely loved this book.

When an all-girls school and their nemesis, the all-boys school across the street are told that they are going to be merging into one school, the harmless prank-war that has been going on for years turns into an all out brawl.

There is fake-dating, enemies-to-lovers, highschool drama, fun pranks. What more could you ask for in a YA Romance book?

This was a lot of fun!! I really liked the pranks and honestly would not have been able to think of them myself. The banter was incredibly witty. Doe was a very likeable character and she was really well written. I liked that it had fake dating and the TENSION!!! I truly loved this book and it kept me gripped.

The one part I felt was handled a little poorly was the sexual predator teacher subplot... the fact that it felt like a self-help promoting storyline felt problematic and a little off-putting because it hinders women and girls from seeking proper help and makes them think they can solve it on their own, which can be harmful...

This book was a fun an enjoyable YA read. There was some difficult subject matter, but at the same time I believe it is important to read about and discuss because that is the only way that teens (and everyone for that matter) will feel comfortable reporting misconduct. The book discovers falling in love, friendship and standing up for what is right and I would recommend it to lovers of YA fiction.

A fun, feisty coming-of-age rom com that ties up in a perfect bow of an ending. Sweet yet substantial, this book tackles relationships with friends, family, parents, and those in power. Worth the read, especially for parents of girls and teen girls.

I’m so mad at myself for sleeping on this book! From chapter 1 I was laughing and plotting along with Doe and her merry band of pranksters!

Set during Doe’s senior year Weston, an all girls boarding school, where tradition reigns supreme—especially the tradition involving the decades long prank war between Weston Girls and Winfield Boys—Doe finds herself fighting battles on all sides. But she misses the mark when her schemes unravel and the enemy she most urgently needs to deal with is herself.

Doe is at once arguably obtuse and carefully tuned in. She has major tunnel vision and uses her agenda as an excuse to bulldoze anyone and anything in her way. Wells, a Winfield boy and cousin of Doe’s archenemy, hatch a plan that will be mutually beneficial, but as the plot thickens and a simple fake dating scheme starts feeling all too real, Doe’s house of cards crashed spectacularly.

What I loved most about This May End Badly is how positively flawed Doe is, even though she believes wholeheartedly she’s campaigning on a wind of righteousness. I also enjoy that she has space in the narrative to atone for her mistakes and mishaps. She hurts those closest to her, acknowledges the harm done, and sets on a course to make amends.

I read a couple of other reviews that make mention of the predatory behavior of one of the teachers in this book, and I’m inclined to agree mostly. It does feel like a bit of a plot device and the grooming/SA of young people is not to be taken lightly at all.

read this back I March, just never submitted my review!

Thank you to Netgalley for my early copy!

I really enjoyed this one!! If you like boarding school settings, prank wars, fake to real dating and falling for the enemy then you’ll adore this book.

I enjoyed that this felt a bit more on the older side of YA, as the characters we follow are all seniors, so they’re transitioning to looking for college, deciding the track they want to go on, etc while still loving the school they attend.

For decades, the all girls school and all boys school across the street from each other have been at (prank) war and it has been decided that they are merging. Doe, our main character, is not happy with this and wants to fight against it, also fighting against her mortal enemy Three (from the boys’ school) at the same time. She and Three’s cousin, Wells, team up to get to Three and get caught up in actually falling for each other during their shenanigans.

I really liked the chemistry between Wells and Doe, it felt somewhat of a mature relationship for seventeen year olds and I really liked that aspect. I also enjoyed that the topics of sexuality and safe sex were sprinkled through the novel and tackled pretty well. I loved that there was a lot of representation of the LGBTQ+ community and talking about making sure the school is safe for everyone.

Love this trope! Pranks and hijinks while enemies turn to lovers. It's going to be a hit in my library for sure! Can't wait to book talk it.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was very excited going into this, but it fell a little short for me. It's a fine read and there are parts that makes you laugh; however, it was too much going on in one book for me. I also didn't really connect with the characters and wasn't a fan of the teacher's subplot in this book.

While I had a harder time getting into this book, I can appreciate the sweet moments between the love interests and how many elements the author tried to incorporate to make it feel inclusive.

3/5 stars

I had a lot of fun reading this book!

The concept of the boarding school was super fun and the development of the romance and Doe’s development was predictable but it was done in a way that was still enjoyable and didn’t have me rolling my eyes.

My biggest issue with the novel was that the plotline regarding the teacher felt a little bit like a throwaway plotline and wasn’t really peppered in the book and built up as well as I thought it should be considering that it becomes such a pivotal role in toward the end. Definitely felt like it was added a little later in the book to help bring the characters together and have a reason to work together.

Overall, it was a super fun to read!

Huge thanks to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. I sorry I'm so late with it.

Cute fake-dating/enemy to love trope, the prank wars were the star of the show and I wish there were more. I'm not sure the ending fit with the overall theme of the story but I didn't hate it. I can definitely see this being a teenage tv show though! It was a fun time overall.

4.5 stars.

I love a good private school trope. This one was so much fun. A good rivalry, a fun atmosphere, an entertaining protagonist.

There were some things that kept this from being a 5-star read, but it was overall quick and entertaining with a fake dating scenario that I enjoyed. The storyline addition of the inappropriate teacher could have been better developed and I could have done with more backstory on Doe earlier in the text, but I still didn't want to put this book down and just had a good time with it.

Doe and Wells's relationship reminded me a little of the Rory/Jess dynamic from Gilmore Girls and I was a total sucker for it. Their interactions were often hilarious and witty. I loved the banter and found myself often on the verge of literally laughing out loud. I'm fairly certain I had a goofy smile on my face for the majority of my read.

Samantha Markum has a fantastic way with words and I loved the little world she created here. I will definitely be back for more from her.

This was such a fun read! I loved the prank wars and how Doe struggled with her choices and emotions. The pacing was on point and the characters interesting and well developed. Great book!

THIS MAY END BADLY
By Samantha Markum

This is such a fun book that takes the fake dating trope to new heights. I am all about the joys of youth and boarding schools, and with pranks between the Weston girls and the boys at Winfield Academy.
I enjoyed this story about friendship, love, and everything else in between.

I really enjoyed this read! We have the fake dating trope and enemies to lovers. We have a girl's boarding school versus a boy's boarding school and the drama that results. Our main character, Doe, loves to pull pranks on the boy’s boarding school, but she might have gone too far this time and she has to be careful. We see Doe realize that her time in high school and her boarding school is coming to an end so what are her plans because she cannot stay in school forever. I gave this book 4 stars because I enjoyed this read and found it entertaining, but did not think it was perfect. I think that high schoolers and people in their early 20s will appreciate this read the most.

school at war? hate to love? side characters with depth? if you want any of those things pick up this book. Now I did get this book from Netgalley for an honest review. but I got the audiobook so I listen to this book and I will say I enjoy the audiobook. Now I will say with the main character having the same name as me threw me off thankfully most of the time she called by a nickname. but we have a boy against girl war between two school and people coming together and standing up for something. over all I really did like this book not a new fave but still a really good read.