This is an ADORABLE interracial Cyrano-ish college-aged sapphic romance. Opposites attract college freshman team up to help each other get their dream girl and fall for each other in the process. Such a cute, fun read. It felt like watching a romcom in the best way. There's no sex at all, but it was 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 S&S for the ARC.

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

Alex wants to be with a girl, Molly wants to be with another, and the only way it seems that the two of them are going to get what they want is by teaming up; but of course, the two girls fall for each other. The question of stepping out of your comfort zone, which was Molly’s main obstacle, was well explored; I appreciated the final word on the matter, which was to balance out stepping out of your comfort zone without stepping away from who you truly are. As for Alex, her obstacle was the unstable and unreliable mother in her life, whose attention she has to fight alcohol for. I also liked the rather well-rounded final word on this matter, which was that you can’t outrun your past but that you will have to work through it, and that might take a lot of time, a lot of energy, and requires a lot of support. I feel like Millennials and Gen Z are, more than ever, trying to break negative intergenerational patterns of behavior, and we need to understand that this is going to take a lot of time and energy, and requires a lot of support. I do hope that Gen Alpha will be the first generation to reap the benefits en masse of this work, the importance of which I felt was underlined in this book.

This review was also posted on goodreads at the following link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4446343534

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for the advanced copy of this book.

I loved the strangers who disliked each other but were helping each other out to friends to lovers in this book. It showed the progression of Alex and Molly in a lovely way and i'm obsessed with it.

This books beautifully showed the overcoming impacts of growing up with an alcoholic parent and how it can impact future relationships without even knowing. From the instant Natalie was introduced she had been nothing but horrible to Alex for not moving at the pace she desired. Watching Alex want Natalie the whole book while having clarity on their motives and attitudes was painful but the relief and joy that came when Alex realized they deserved someone who treated them so much better and was willing to accept them at the pace they can offer.

I spent every second loving the relationship between Alex and Molly while they not only help eachother get what they wanted but also found themselves and discovered what they really wanted along the way.

I will have to mention I did find it a little odd how they threw in the internalized racism of Asian culture (specifically Korean) by first introducing it by having Molly's mother say to a korean fast food location along the lines of not speaking their language to later discovering she is Korean, although the backstory of her being uninterested in the culture due to trauma is explained and shows in Molly by hiding that part of her culture too, I can't get over the fact that the book still had her say that to someone because it is showing it to be so out of character for Molly's mom I just wish they went about this plot moment in another way.

Romcoms are better when they're gay, I don't make the rules. "She Gets the Girl" is a slow burn strangers to friends to lovers story, following two protagonists as they embark on their first year in university. And, the cover is absolutely gorgeous.

Molly wants her college experience to be better than high school. She wants to reinvent herself, push past her crippling social anxiety, make friends who aren't her mother and finally talk to Cora, the girl she's had a crush on since seeing her walk into ninth grade homeroom who is also attending Pitt. Except Molly is quiet, awkward and lacks confidence. Enter Alex, a freshman who has no trouble getting the girl, keeping them on the other hand is a different story. Alex looked forward to escaping her hometown, leaving her alcoholic mother behind and being on her own for the first time. But, following a fight with her girlfriend Natalie, she needs to prove she can care about someone other than herself. In an attempt to stay out of trouble and build a non-romantic friendship in the process, the perfect plan comes to fruition. Alex is determined to help Molly land the girl of her dreams, but as the two get closer, the feelings begin to feel not so platonic.

Alex and Molly are both wonderful characters whose stories, most importantly, felt real. Any shifts in their relationship were organic and I began rooting for them early on. The back-and-forth jumps in POV really assisted with this. I find romance books often tend to ignore the chemistry build up, much to my horror, but "She Gets The Girl" hit all of the right marks for me. It's also well paced, nothing happens too fast or too slow, in my opinion.

It's important to note that the story deals with some heavier topics including alcohol abuse, emotionally abusive relationships and internalized racism. That said, they're handled incredibly well and add dimension to the characters, their background and the overall narrative.

"She Gets The Girl" is light, super cute, witty, unapologetically queer, and the chemistry between Alex and Molly bleeds off the page. It's incredibly refreshing to be able to watch their relationship build over the length of the story. I only wish it was longer; I was definitely left wanting more.

This was a fun read! Molly and Alex have a great dynamic, and I loved all of their banter. It was great watching them grow together and learn from each other, and their chemistry is the strongest part of the book. I had trouble really believing Alex' characterization (what high schooler is *that* charming?), especially when it came to her apparently uncontrollable flirting.

I also wish we got to see more of them once they become a couple! The ending felt so abrupt, and left me wanting more. The book touches on serious topics—such as internalized racism, alcoholism, and abusive relationships—but they warranted a deeper exploration to truly do them justice. Alex' previous relationship was clearly toxic, but we don't see her grapple with realizing that — we just get straight to the happy ending. Overall, though, I enjoyed reading this.

*This ARC was provided to me through Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion*

I really loved this book! The university setting was pretty perfect (I'm a sucker for school setting books); it was a good sapphic enemies to lovers rom-com.

"She Gets the Girl" follows two main characters, Alex and Molly, through the beginning of their first year of university. The two could not be more different, but they work together in order to each "get the girl."

The book did tackle some heavier topics (alcoholism, emotionally abusive relationships, internalized racism), but the authors wrote it very well, and they were a big part of the story.

Both of the main characters were relatable and showed authentic emotions. Each girl had their own respective personal problems/character arcs, and they were complete and satisfying. Overall, this is a cute, feel-good quick read :)