You know how sometimes you’re watching a hit 90s romcom set in high school or college and you’re reveling in the delicious shenanigans of the leads and the dramatic irony of them not knowing that they are the leads in a romantic comedy and they’re about to fall in love despite their absolute refusal to acknowledge that they are fallible human beings and love will come for them and their one true love is standing right in front of them? And they go rollerblading and play Never Have I Ever and try their darnedest to futilely manipulate fate? And then you turn off the tv (or Netflix or whatever) and sit back and sigh and think “Man, that was delightful but I wish it had been sapphic”?

Well boy, do I have a book for you.

She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick is an ADORABLE interracial Cyrano-ish college-aged sapphic romance about two polar opposite college freshman who team up to help each other get the girl of their dreams only to discover that the girl of their dreams has been in front of them this whole time. It is such a cute, fun read.

I love Alex and Molly. I love both of them so much. They are opposites attract in the best way possible, both trying their hardest to navigate a world that they do not feel valuable in and finding value in themselves and each other. Alex is a thick-skinned lesbian and Molly is a good-girl Korean-American lesbian. In short, Molly is a mom-jeans lesbian and Alex is a ripped black skinny jeans lesbian. They are flawed and messy and just trying their best and that is the best kind of young sapphic romance.

The plot itself is so intricately plotted and the different POVs are distinct and vibrant. The writing is funny and contemporary and wholehearted and the whole books feels so hopeful to me.

This is being sold as a YA but I’m not entirely sure why. There’s no sex on page but also there it doesn’t feel like there needs to be for the story. However, there is alcohol and drug use on page and it deals with some pretty heavy subjects such as alcoholism and internalized racism. The college setting and the liminal adulthood of it all feels so necessary to the blend of maturity and immaturity of the story. It is definitely grittier and more mature than I was expecting from the ADORABLE cover and the YA tag.

I highly highly recommend for both romance and YA readers alike.

Also it was written by a wife/wife team, and what is cuter and gayer than that?

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon&Schuster for the ARC.

CW: Anti-Korean racism, food scarcity, alcoholism, car accidents, on-page drinking

This was a super sweet YA/NA sapphic romance. I was a bit hesitant through the first few chapters, as I knew Alex was being set up as a protagonist and love interest and found her initially pretty unlikeable. However, that ended up just speaking to the amount of real character development in this book — she had a true arc that went well beyond the generic “tough character has a sad backstory” trope that often ends up excusing bad behavior. In fact, this tends to be a pattern throughout the book; although in many ways this follows many familiar plot lines for the genre (enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, dating schemes, family dramas, general college scenarios), it does them all really well and avoids many of the pitfalls that sometimes annoy me about the genre. The trajectory of their relationship feels so genuine! Both of the main characters deal with real issues in realistic ways, and it never reads like trauma porn. Watching the two girls grow together was satisfying and tender, and even the third act conflict between our two main characters (the point where I usually start rolling my eyes because obviously they’re going to work it out) didn’t feel forced, but rather a natural extension of the characters’ insecurities. Overall, it was a lovely story, and it’s just itching to be the next hit Netflix original romcom.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy!

This. Was. So. Cute. It was a young-ish adult (they're freshmen in college), sapphic, enemies to friends to fake dating to lovers romance! And I loved it. I'm obsessed with the fact that Lippincott (who wrote another one of my favorite books, Five Feet Apart) wrote this with her wife. Anyway, I'm very excited that there are more LGBTQ+ YA romances coming out these days for my students to read. Would recommend!

4.5! I enjoyed this book so much more than I thought I would! This is the first book by this author that I have read. I thought that I knew what to expect from the description, but the writing pulled me in and I read most of the book in one day.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about either of the characters in the beginning, but the character growth that took place made both of these characters very likable. I actually loved that this was a slow burn wholesome book, and by the time the two main character realized how they felt about each other, I was entirely invested in their lives and relationship. Their struggles were so different, but so relatable. This book gave me all of the feels. I would definitely read it again and recommend it to other people.

4.5 stars
This is my third book by Rachael Lippincott, her first with her wife Alyson Derrick. All 3 I have just blown through. This was such a fun book. I enjoyed every minute of reading it.
We get 2 POVs, Alex and Molly. Alex is finally getting out a household where she is taking care of her alcoholic mom 24/7. I really felt so bad for Alex. She is scraping by and still giving her mom money she knows she will blow on alcohol. She is also trying to win back her ex girlfriend Natalie and thinks she can prove that she doesn't flirt with everyone she meets by helping Molly. Molly is the definition of an introvert. Her best friend (and only) is her mom, and she has been pining after Cora since 9th grade, but has never even talked to her. Alex thinks that if she sets up Molly and Cora, it will prove to Natalie that she can be just friends with someone.
Alex and Molly start out basically hating each other because Alex embarasses Molly at a game of Never Have I Ever at Molly's first college party. But they really grow as friends, and more. I really enjoyed watching their friendship grow because it really does start out as friendship. They both are head over heels for someone else. And both those other people seem right for them and they do not seem right for each other. I also loved watching them grow separately. Molly learns how to stand up for herself and put herself out there. Alex also learns to stand up for herself, but I don't want to spoil how.
My favorite side character is 100% Jim. He owns the food truck Alex gets a job at. He seems so rough and gruff but he's a really good guy and really good for Alex.
Like I said, I blew through this book and it had a lot to do with the writing style. It was so easy to read, so easy to picture in my head and it was just a lot of fun.
If you are looking for a fluffy romance with a few tough topics, I highly recommend this one!

I want to say so much about this book and I don’t know where to begin. Most importantly I want to mention that as I was reading, I paused to think and feel that it couldn’t possibly get any more perfect. The authors do not attempt to reinvent the wheel. It’s the old “smooth Player is going to teach the awkward newbie how to get her girl” trope. We know almost immediately what is going to happen. Is it disappointing? Far from it, because the joy of this story comes from the characters emerging into their own and the gorgeous telling of it.

Alex is the tall, sexy blonde who turns heads and is cool personified. She’s trying to prove to her musician girlfriend, who is currently away, that she knows how to be a responsible adult in a relationship. Molly is the shy, never been kissed, college freshman who is determined to reinvent herself now that she is away from home for the first time. She’s also dead-set on winning the heart of, Cora, the girl that she crushed on throughout high school. Molly and Alex agree to help each other achieve their individual goals and hilarity ensues.

The Pov’s alternate and the authors riff off each other seamlessly. It’s a showcase in how to have two people co-write a book and enhance the other’s work, making the whole shine as one tremendous effort. The pace is crisp and I never felt a lull or wished to quickly return to the other character’s voice because both Molly and Alex are scene stealing in their own wonderful ways. Tiny quirks of dorms and funky jobs fill in the background of university life. Likewise, making new friends in strange places and dealing with the changing dynamics of daughter/parent ties are on display as the mains take their first steps as independent adults. Alex and Molly take turns being the strength of their growing friendship as it should be, learning also that vulnerability is part of any relationship.

No doubt in my mind that this gem will be one of the best books I read this year. Just an fyi, although there is mention of sex, there are no graphic scenes and everyone is at least 18.

In She Gets the Girl, by real-life wives Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick, tells the dual POV story of Alex and Molly. The two girls meet as strangers during their freshman year of college while Molly is pining for someone from her high school and Alex is trying to prove to her sort-of ex girlfriend that she’s capable of not flirting with everyone who crosses her path.

And so, Alex takes Molly under her wing, in order to teach her all the steps and tricks to get someone to fall for you. The problem? You guessed it. They fall for each other.

To start, I went into this book with wildly different expectations. I know, I know, I know. Never judge a book by its cover. And I did. And that’s on me. But also, that’s on marketing because the thing that got me interested in this was the skates on the cover. As someone who roller skates, I was so excited for that aspect of the book. So imagine my surprise when roller skating is not even mentioned until the 70% mark.

But that aside, I found this book to be enjoyable while reading it, but the second that it was closed, I wouldn’t think about it at all. That’s not a good sign for me. I love the books that live in my head. And this one didn’t. Even now, writing the review a week later, I’m having a hard time remembering most of it.

I don’t know why this is. I liked the characters fine. I thought the conflict was realistic. I related to a ton of it. But for whatever reason… this just didn’t grab my me like I wanted it to.

If I could point to one specific thing, it’s probably that Alex and Molly don’t end up meeting each other until a quarter of the way through. I felt a little impatient for it to happen, knowing it was inevitable, and then once the moment finally happened, it was underwhelming.

I know that this book will speak to many people and it will nestle itself in the hearts and minds of a lot of readers. I wish that had been my experience with it.

DNF at 23%

I was excited for this dual POV enemies-to-lovers sapphic rom-com set in a college and co-written by wives, but I had a hard time connecting with the characters, especially Alex. When Molly started dropping hints of internalized racism and self-hatred for being half-Korean, it felt time to be done. The college setting is hard to find especially for LGBTQ+ books, but this one wasn’t doing anything for me, unfortunately.

I really hope people enjoy this one more than I did, especially because it ticks so many boxes that you usually don’t see with sapphic novels.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

This is exactly the kind of queer representation needed in YA books. For a rom com, there is a ton of depth in this novel on other subjects. I connected deeply emotionally to both Alex and Molly and enjoyed getting to know them. This story was emotional, silly, fun, and a joy to read.

Firstly, thank you Simon & Schuster for providing me with the opportunity to read and leave an honest review.

I though this story was super cute. The book is fast paced and the characters are very relatable. I found myself sucked into the story multiple times. I really felt for Alex and what she had to go through with her mom.

Molly seemed like a sweet character and I was rooting for her every second. I loved the edition of TBR and book reading references. The description of college life was also refreshing.

I can't wait to read more stories by this author/duo soon!

Thank you NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, and Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I thought this book was super cute and I really enjoyed the college setting. It took me awhile to get to know the characters, but after I did, I was hooked.

This book focuses on Molly and Alex as they start their freshman year of college. Molly gets Alex’s help to impress a girl that she likes… but ends up falling for her instead. In the beginning, I wasn’t a huge fan of either character, but they grew on me throughout and I think that they’re really good for one another. It was nice getting to see them grow while experiencing new things at college and finally sorting out their feelings for one another.

I also liked that this story touched on some hard topics and how the two characters relied on each other for support. I feel like this definitely places the book into the new adult category and I recommend it for people looking for a cute romance!

Very sweet YA f/f romance. Molly Parker and Alex Blackwood are both starting as freshman at Pitt. Alex is pretty, confident and flirty. Molly is socially awkward, and is looking to starting over in college wanting to have friends besides her mother. It's her goal to get to know Cora, the girl she crushed on in high school. When they meet at a welcoming party Alex sees an opportunity. She will help Molly be the kind of girl that get Cora's attention. In return Alex will show her girlfriend, who is performing on the road with her band, that she can be faithful and do a good deed. Something her GF doesn't think is possible.

This is a cute set up and works well. Alex is very off putting at first with her swagger and a great balance for Molly and her insecurities. They both are smart but come from very different backgrounds. There are some heavier elements to the story including alcoholism, parental neglect/emotional abuse and some racial issues (Molly is part Korean). The story is told alternatively from each girl. I like that they were doing typical freshman things like attending classes, eating, sports tryouts, shopping and attending parties. It all feels realistic. I especially enjoyed Molly's dream date of roller skating. The book is geared for 14 and up and includes kissing and some language.
*as requested I will wait to post review publicly till closer to the publication date. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

In a cute Romcom filled with all of our favorite clichés and tropes, the bookish and painfully introverted Molly strikes a deal with the flirt in all-black, Alex. Alex’s relationship with her long-time girlfriend is on the rocks and to prove she’s bettering herself as a person, Alex decides to help Molly get a date with her dream girl but as the two get closer as friends, they quickly realize that maybe the one they’re meant to be with all along has been right beside them.

First off, I demand more YA novels that take place in a character’s freshman year of college. The vibes were excellent. Second, as cheesy as a handful of lines and moments are, I still couldn’t help but smile at the romance blooming between these two.


I’m terms of what I feel needed work, I think the plot line discussing internalized racism had a very strong start that didn’t go anywhere really. It was mentioned about three times and really discussed/acknowledged twice in very brief ways. It’s a plot line following too big of an issue to have been that forgotten about and briefly mentioned. I also think Alex navigating her relationship with her girlfriend was a bit odd at times. Going into this book knowing Alex and Molly are love interests and seeing Alex having a girlfriend almost the entire time was tricky to navigate. We don’t see any negative traits in this girlfriend until the chapter where Alex starts to have warm feeling for Molly about halfway into the book. It goes downhill from there in diving deep into Alex handling a toxic relationship that isn’t very good for her. I’m a bit confused why we only started acknowledging that this girlfriend wasn’t good for Alex right when romance between her and Molly sparks. It felt very convenient and last minute to alleviate our guilt about Alex falling in love with Molly while having this girlfriend (who I guess isn’t fully her girlfriend at the time of meeting Molly despite the two remaining loyal to each other on this break until they figure things out.)

The themes surrounding addiction and a child taking on the role of caretaker for their parent, though, was a painful and meaningful thread that ran throw the entirety of the story. I think Alex’s character got the most attention with her growth and depth while Molly’s story tended to function as necessary and more lighthearted breaks in-between the heavier topics explored.

This was precious and a good time.

4.5 Stars - If you watch romcoms like thriller movies, get ready for the second-hand embarrassment and slow burn of this one. YA novel in the first year of college is my new jam. This was an excellent read by one of my auto-buy authors. Duel POV LGBTQIA Romance.

Molly has a crush on a girl she barely talked to for years and hopes that because they are going to the same college, maybe something will happen. She is an introvert who hasn’t figured out who she is yet, and trying to get a girl to notice her isn’t the easiest thing, and by the time Molly gets the nerve, Harper seems to be interested in someone else, Alex. Alex is in a rocky relationship with her long-time girlfriend (she thinks she has no friends), and she needs to prove that she is better herself to win her back. So why not help Molly get the girl of her dreams to prove to her girlfriend that she can have friends after all. So it’s only natural that the girls get closer and closer as the novel moves on. The slow burn and backstories shine a light on the characters, and I enjoyed how Rachael Lippincott wrote this one with her wife. You can see how their writing meshes well together and flows like one. This was was truly addicting.

Full review on my blog.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Warning: Racism, addiction, parental neglect, parental abandonment, & toxic relationships

Alex’s relationship is falling apart. So when she heads to college, she wants nothing more than to prove to her girlfriend, Valerie, that she can be faithful. She wants to prove she can make friends and have platonic relationships. Enter Molly. Molly is painfully shy and not at all assertive. If Alex can help Molly get the girl of her dreams, she can prove to her girlfriend that she’s capable of helping others, capable of making friends.

If I had any criticism, while our main characters, Alex and Molly, evolved, Valerie turned out to be the complete opposite, which threw me for a loop. I’m not sure if that was a stylistic choice to match Alex’s evolution or not. I didn’t really care for Molly’s endless judging. But Alex perfectly counterbalanced her with her fount of positivity, and in that, they make the perfect team. I liked the alternating perspectives and the way the girls clicked. This was an adorable, upper YA read. Thank you, Simon and Schuster Children’s, for sending this along!

This was a quick, easy read that I liked a lot! The characters were engaging. The story has lots of popular tropes and they are used well. There is added depth to the story with subplots regarding alcoholism and expressing one’s own true identity. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

This was such a fun, witty, adorable friends to lovers college romance. Rachael and Alyson are an amazing writing duo with amazing flow. The story really struck a cord with me especially because it not only focuses on the romance aspect, but it deals with two very different mother daughter relationships/traumas.

Freshman Alex needs to prove to her long distance kind of girlfriend that she isn't a player. Molly is trying to prove to herself that she can be a new person and not socially awkward like she was in high school. After a chance befriending and seeing how hopelessly Molly flirts with the girl she likes Alex comes up with a plan.. She will show Natalie that she can be friends and help people, by helping Molly get her girl. But what Alex doesn't expect is to fall for that very same girl along the way.

I related to Molly and her mom a lot, because like Molly my mom and I were attached at the umbilical cord. Her and I had to go through much of what they had to go through to learn that living our own lives is an ok thing.

The biggest issue I had with the book was the internalized racism that Molly's mom Beth had for being Asian. I thought it could have been resolved a little better. But it doesn't impact how much I liked the story.

cw/tw
Alcoholism
Abandonment
Toxic Relationship
-Parental
-Romantic

Written by wife and wife co-authors, She Gets the Girl is a fluffy hate-to-love lesbian romance in which two girls practice date with the aim of winning the girls of their dreams, but end up falling in love with each other in the process.

The book follows two girls, Alex and Molly, as they navigate the turbulent first few weeks of college, and explore the ups and downs of college relationships. While I felt that some parts of She Gets the Girl were weaker than others, I did enjoy the commentary on young adult relationships. In particular, Lippincott and Derrick do a fantastic job of showing Alex’s unhealthy relationship with a girl who treats her poorly, and examining how Alex’s low self-esteem and strained family relationships have led her to believe she’s not deserving of anything more than that.

There were certain parts of She Gets the Girl that I wasn’t as keen on - for example, in their first meeting Alex virgin-shames Molly in front of a large audience of strangers, humiliating her, and I felt that this was brushed off too easily. I would have also liked to see Alex and Molly’s very different home lives explored a little more; it seemed like an interesting possible conflict for the two girls to work through, but this was never fully developed.

Overall, though, She Gets the Girl is a sweet trope-filled new adult romance which is sure to appeal to fans of the genre.

Many thanks to Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for providing a copy of She Gets the Girl. The opinions expressed in this review are my own. She Gets the Girl will be released on April 5th 2022.

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Rating: 3 stars | ★★★✰✰
Review posted to Goodreads and Paperback'd Reviews

I received a complimentary copy of this book for review from Simon & Schuster. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

She Gets the Girl is a YA hate-to-love sapphic romance following two college freshmen. In short - this was really cute! Molly and Alex's dynamic was fantastic. I don't really have more to say about it. It's light and fun and sweet. TW for an alcoholic parent, though.

One thing I will say is that I found the detailed Pittsburgh-ness a bit distracting. From a yinzer that went to college here, the mentions of Atwood Street, the Bigelow Bash, etc., constantly took me out of the story. But I'm positive that this won't be a common experience for readers, and it IS nice to see a book set in Steel City.

Overall - highly recommend. And I love the idea of wives writing a gay romance together. You should pick this up for that fact alone.

I enjoyed She Gets the Girl, by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick and
I easily read this YA fiction novel in a lazy afternoon. Alex and Molly were such fun characters; I'd love to read more about them.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with an ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.