I found this book to be really funny and I love the authors sense of humor. The plot was fun and the pace was steady. I, at times, struggled to connect to some of the secondary characters in the cast but overall really liked the book!

When the private boarding schools of Weston (a boys school) and Winfield (a girls school) consider consolidating, the students are aghast and will go to great lengths to thwart the merger.

Doe is the ringleader at the girls school and even agrees to fake-date one of the Weston boys for access to information. There is no shortage of tropes in the book, and readers should be aware of some content: one male teacher preys on female students, and the possible threat from him is a recurring theme.

While recognizing I'm not the target audience, I still had to consider reasons why the book fell flat, as it could inform others as to whether or not it would be a good fit for them. For one, my nature is not one to play huge pranks or hold grudges against others, particularly for the sake of tradition alone. And I found the fixation on the rivalry as well as the difficulty accepting the merger to be extended beyond my tolerance.

(I received a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)

I LOVE this book! At first I struggle to connect with Doe, but she really sneaks up on you, and I quickly grew attached. I really enjoyed the slight twist on enemies to lovers, as Wells wasn't the true enemy in this book. Also, Doe and Three shifting from bitter rivals to grudging respect was super well done, and struck as a very true teen relationship.

This May End Badly, by Samantha Markum is a YA contemporary romance about Doe, a high school senior who goes to The Weston School, an elite private academy for girls. Weston girls also happen to be in a generations-long prank war with the students of the neighboring school, the Winfield boys. When it’s announced that Weston and Winfield are going to be merged, the feud becomes much more chaotic than ever before, and Doe is intent on stopping the merger by winning the prank war, after all these years.

Three is at the top of Winfield, and is Doe’s nemesis. She will do anything to stop him and to win, so when she comes up with the plan to fake date his cousin, Wells, she dives in without a second thought. But things with Wells get more complicated, and Doe ends up in a messy web of lies while trying to keep up her end of the deal with Wells, and well trying to end the merger.

And, when worse things unfold at the school than just the merger, Doe has to decide what she really is willing to sacrifice for the merger, what might be more important than preserving the legacy of the Weston girls, and what she is willing to do and to fight for.

This May End Badly is a fast paced and entertaining book, with complex and diverse characters, and a plot full of countless twists and turns.

Doe is the main character: she is a lovable, flawed, complex, and really, really messy person, with a lot of passion and dedication towards being a Weston girl. She attends The Weston School because her mom went there, but also because at her school in her home town, she had a really hard time. Doe really struggled with her parents divorce, and after her parents separated, her classmates found out that Doe’s dad was bisexual, and was dating a man. This had always been just a part of Doe’s life, but she faced a lot of bullying for it, and many students would call her dad slurs. Eventually she had to leave, and that was how she got to Weston. The Weston School had become her home, and had been a safe place for her. She had also thrown herself into the prank war her freshman year, and it had consumed her life from then on.

Doe starts fake dating Wells when she find out about the merger, in an attempt to make Three, her nemesis in the prank war, jealous. The only thing that Wells wants in return is help in getting a precious family heirloom that wrongfully was given to Three.

Both Wells and Three have more depth than you would first imagine when meeting them, and both of their characters end up being fleshed out really well. You learn a lot about their family, and what it really means to be one of the Wellborns; the privilege, wealth and horrors of growing up as a Wellborn cousin. As their stories unfold, and as Doe learns more, it gives her a perspective on the cousins that she never thought about before.

Samantha Markum’s writing so beautifully captures Doe’s spirit and personality, and weaves it to tell the story of This May End Badly in a really great way. Having the book told from Doe’s point of view is such a perfect way for the book to be written; you get the facts of what’s happening, while also getting a lot of Doe’s own thoughts about the events, and what’s happening. I also think that the pacing of the book is really good; there are never dull moments, and the larger plot points and plot twists are spread far enough apart that they aren’t all crowded together, but not so far apart that the reader gets bored.

This May End Badly is a fun and exciting YA contemporary romance, with a perfect balance of serious topics mixed in with hilarious plot. I recommend it to anyone looking for a good YA contemporary romance, and anyone just wanting a fun book!

Oh THIS MAY END BADLY was a wonderful debut! Markum expertly navigates that feeling of tension when high school is ending, and all the complications of relationships (romantic and otherwise!) that are in flux as we face our future. The feud between schools made for a really fun plot device, and seeing how it all played out was so satisfying. I couldn’t put it down!

"You're like...the best person I've ever met."

The first thing I need to say is, I need a boy like Wells in my life. I have like a zillion book crushes, but he definitely tops the list now. Doe is an avid student of the Weston School for girls. After all that she has been through with her parents' divorce, this school helped her redeem herself right from her freshman days. Now that she's a senior, she's ready to live up her final days to the extent, until she learns that starting next year, Weston will be merging with Winfield Academy, aka the school for boys down the street that the girls from Weston have had a rivalry with for years. Doe absolutely despises Three, a boy from Winfield, and has spent her entire high school career pulling pranks on him and his boys, with him doing the same to her and the rest of Weston. Doe decides to step up her game, and to really get back at Three, she pretend-dates his cousin Wells to throw him off entirely. But, what happens when Doe starts to catch real feelings for Wells? Should she give up her goals of pranks and revenge for this boy? Even worse, Doe and the other girls learn about a teacher at Weston targeting younger girls in unprofessional ways. This situation really gave the book a huge twist, because the truth about sexual misconduct when it comes to teachers and students in schools were all touched upon, which are situations that still happen till this day. Students are still afraid to speak up when things like this happen, because it has been proven time and time again that the teachers will always have the upper hand. The way Doe and the girls team up with the boys of Winfield to get the teacher fired is an inspiration that must be recognized by society today, to teach students that their voices must always be heard. THIS BOOK MUST BE READ. Also, is it weird that I'm writing this review this late at night? Eh whatever. IT'S A GOOD BOOK SO IT'S WORTH IT.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was not expecting This May End Badly. I'm not sure what I originally thought about this book when I requested it, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised. This book is FUN.

It's coming of age, with school rivalries, a prank war, fake dating, found family, mental health rep + awareness, fight the patriarchy and more.

Also A+ for all the Midwestern rep in this!

I loved this prank-filled YA story of rival boarding schools! The characters felt real and there wasn't drama for drama's sake. Markum writes great banter and the romance was perfect appropriate for my young teens to read as well. (They also adored the book!)

Thanks to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the copy to review.

CW: sexual assault, predatory behavior, underage drinking,

A rivalry between Weston School and Winfield Academy has been going on for some time. As their senior year winds down, Doe and her friends are determined to end the war, to win the war. But, when their headmistresses announces that the rival schools are going to merge next year everything gets out of control. Doe forms a plan to make sure that everyone sees how they don't mix, therefore can't merge that makes things even more complicated.

When this first started, I didn't know if this was going to be for me. While the pranks were a little humorous, it really was reading like a younger YA novel. Eventually, there was a turn that made it read a little older and I had a lot better time. In the end, I did end up enjoying this.

Doe is truly a disaster. She’s incredibly focused on the prank war and really nothing else. This is part of the struggle I had for a long time. She’s so focused on the prank war that it seemed like there was nothing else to her. But, she’s a determined character and she really had the chance to grow through the story. I loved watching her battle with what people told her and reflecting on it to see what she did need to do better.

Part of what made Doe so great were her friends. They are loyal to one another and really look out for one another. The best thing about their relationship is that they aren’t afraid to call one another out. If they saw one of them doing something shitty, they took the time to call them out. They encouraged one another to grow and be better and I loved seeing that.

The romance was good. There was certainly some tension that budded up between them. It’s not the romance I was suspecting when there was such tension with another character, but this turned out to be sweet. They were good together. He was good for Doe and really helped balance her out as well just as she did for him. They were pretty complimentary towards one another.

Now, what I struggled with in this book was the amount of topics that it was trying to hit and talk about. There are the conversations about the struggles that a kid could go through with divorce and one of their parents coming out. There is the coming of age discussions as well as friendship and fake dating drama. A couple of talks about inclusion and how maybe they aren’t being inclusive and need to think about it. That alone is a lot to process and talk about.

But, then there is another plot point that comes in. It had been hinted at the whole time, but I didn’t think anything would come of it, but it did. It felt way out of place. This plot alone could have been an entirely different novel and I think it should have been. I think it would have allowed it the proper space to breathe and be fleshed out to where it didn’t feel so rushed.

While the ending did put a little bit of a damper on things, I do think this was an entertaining novel. There is a lot of character throughout it and fun.

Thank you to St Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This May End Badly takes place at an all-girls boarding school, across the street from a longstanding rival all-boys boarding school - I love a good school setting for a YA book! The schools announce their upcoming merger once students are back on campus, and students from both sides of the rivalry are up in arms. There is a fun fake-dating piece to the plot which I enjoyed. While that sounds light and fluffy, there are some serious topics that are handled, such as family drama and an inappropriate teacher. I thought it was well done, and I will be recommending this one to my students to check out!

This May End Badly takes place at two boarding schools: both gender specific, both filled with rivals. Doe and her female friends plan some outlandish pranks on the boys school, including dating Wes: her nemesis's cousin. Dorothy is set on making sure that the schools DO NOT merge. But is merging schools the worst thing they could happen to her?

Samantha Markum's debut is a well written take on young female empowerment, taking a stand and fighting for what you want. She crafts her characters to connect, even the side characters. While This May End Badly may not seem like a love story, it has a romantic subplot. I would recommend this story to anyone who enjoys young adult books set in boarding schools or books with a cast of characters.

A very cool plot and well executed! I will say there were somethings that could have been omitted and the story would still have been just as good!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

If you're a fan of enemies to lovers and fake romance tropes, but you also want to read about teen romance, this one might be for you. There is also a subplot of banding together for the greater good that I enjoyed. The dynamics between the characters seemed a bit off to me throughout this book, as I couldn't really reconcile the age of the characters with the language and interactions. I suppose it might be because they are at a boarding school, so take on a more adult lifestyle. I don't know. This book was ok but it wasn't particularly impactful.

Give me all of the boarding school drama. Prank wars? Check. Fake dating? Check. Witty banter? Check. But teacher and harassment? Gah. I get it. Authority figures do wrong. They do. It’s in the news a sickening amount, but… argh. I hate that it was all so quickly rectified by the kids. In reality, that’s *not* reality. At all. It’s probably as realistic as the witty repartee is between adolescents, but I hare seeing the myth of swift execution of justice perpetuated.

This book! It made me laugh, it made me tear up, it made me swoon. I just wanted to give Doe a big hug the whole time I was reading, The way she was attached to the school and how it played into her understanding of herself was so relatable and I loved her journey. And Wells! And Three! I also loved the emphasis on friendship in this book. It’s just a delightful story with a whole lot of heart and some excellent pranks.

I grabbed this YA read from Net Galley because I need to chase away my winter (New England) doldrums. I loved this story - part romance - and the someimtes hilarious things that ensued. YA novels are really for all ages! Thanks for sharing this one with me.

The blurb for this book had me intrigued but after reading this book I was left with too many questions.
There was too many storylines going on in this book and I felt it confused the reader on what was going on.
A good idea but wish it was more contained to one plot line.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. This May End Badly was a cute introduction to some of the issues that same gendered schools deal with and how things could possibly change, some for the better and some for the worse. Doe and her group of friends from Weston Academy are in a prank war with a group of boys from Winfield Academy and have been since freshman year. As she finds out, some things are more important than pranks as her friendships grow and change senior year. While the characters names were a bit on the nose, this was a light hearted book that dealt with very heavy subjects.

In this fun YA romance, the girls of Weston School are constantly at war with the Winfield Academy boys. Their prank war is put to a halt though, when the schools find out they are merging at the end of the school year. Doe wants nothing to do with Winfield and is determined to keep the school open at any cost.

This was a fun book! Fake dating plus prank wars was right up my alley. The book was well written and I loved Doe's set of friends. The dynamic between the two schools was cutthroat, with places in town marked as Winfield territory or Weston territory. I loved watching the romance between Doe and Wells develop and there were some twists and turns along the way that I didn't see coming! The book also had a great tone of acceptance and inclusion, which is important, especially in YA books.

Who doesn’t love a good prank war? This story is funny. The pranks are good. The main character, she was hard to like. A little obsessive, self involved, and at times unlikeable. There are some redeeming qualities as she finds herself but the story fell short.