Thank you @penguinteen for the E-ARC! I couldn't
resist the cover
ahhh!! Look what beauty came in the mail today! Just
in time for my review € I've been listening to this at
work and oh man! So it's AMAZING & I was hooked
Rivals to lovers with a Besharam (shameless) twist was
the perfect book. This is by far my favourite YA
romcom this year (I don't like to give spoilers so add
to your TBR spike it's highly recommended by ME!

What an incredible and adorable book! I was giggling and full of the fluffy feels from the get go. Lillie Vale's writing is so engaging and hilarious that I sped through this. The whole cast of characters is incredibly fun and I loved every single one of them. I loved the chose knit dynamics and how built out the family members and friends were as well, with their own struggles and sub plots. I loved everything about this book!

Besharam in Hindi means “shameless” and refers to someone who is “too much”. In most Asian cultures, not just South Asians, the expectation is that you shouldn’t be too loud and opinionated to the point of being almost submissive, especially if you’re a girl. I liked how Lillie Vale takes this concept and incorporates it into her modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast, with the “beast” referring to Kavya’s “ferocious” personality…

Full review can be found at link attached,

thnak you so much to Netgalley and Colored Pages Blog Tours for gifting me this eARC in exchange for an honest review!!

I can only say AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 😱😱😱 as my first coherent thought because I loved everything about this book!!! it wasn't rushed at all, the hate to love was done amazingly, the banter and relationship between Kavya and Ian made the book sooo much more interesting than I thought it would be and I enjoyed their scenes so much, how they opened up just a little to the other. and I so adore the relationship with beauty and the beast, the disney princesses, the Indian customs that I barely had any idea about, such an amazing set of characters and super diverse. and I love how fierce Kavya is all the time, never afraid of speaking her mind and not embarrased of being a besharam at all, because yes, we do need more characters like her in YA literature, in which we love male characters who behave that way but condone the female ones when they go after what they want, and I adore how this book wants to change that. the pace was good, the amazing thoughts as well, I just couldn't put this book down for anything 😍😍 I love and adore this book so much!!!!!!!

If you're interested in:-
YA romance
LGBTQ
Enemies to lovers
So read this one🥰💞

✍This story is about Kavya Joshi an Indian girl who was bold and hates to lose, she was famous all over the school for her boldness and shamelessness, her relatives called her Besharam(shameless) and there was Ian Jun her mortal enemy, they competed with each other toe to toe.

✍ Ian had other plans for Kavya, sure he completed with her but to stay close with her not for the winning. 🥰

✍ Before being enemies they were childhood friends but now they were at each other throats. To get this rivalry to end their friends create 3 challenges for the last time because their school was going to end and whoever win these challenges was the winner forever.

✍ the cutest thing is Kavya know about all 9 smiles of Ian🤭😍💞, she knew every Ian's smile meaning and when he said " Joshi, I will woo your socks off🔥 ( god this sweet threat💞😩😍).

🗯 this story is so cute😍 I love Kavya she is so bold and doesn't listen shit of people and Ian I love him really he is so so nice, sweet 💞 the way he understands Kavya and give her another chance every time❣.

I am a huge fan of Lillie Vale's adult romance novels, so I was super excited to try her new YA novel. In this book we see 17 yo Kavya in the summer before her senior year of high school, forced to work with her long-time rival, Ian, at her summer job--where he's playing Prince Eric to her Ariel. Their friends scheme to get them to end their rivalry and maybe finally see their banter as something more by posing a series of challenges. Kavya has always been told she's "too much," or besharam, and she's not about to back down from a challenge.

I enjoyed this book for the most part--it gives me the same vibes as What's Not to Love by Emily Wibberly and Austin Siegemund-Broka--and I'm a huge fan of high-achieving rivals-to-lovers high school romances. I do think the book dragged a bit in the middle, and some of it's diversity efforts seemed a bit performative, but it's overall a very fun read. I loved the friendships that were shown, and the subplot involving Kavya's girl gang was honestly one of my favorite parts.

Thanks to Penguin Teen and TLC Book Tours for my eARC and finished copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4 stars - 7/10

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc and finished copy from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Beauty and the Besharam

Author: Lillie Vale

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: While some of the characters have stated sexuality in the book, some of it is not mentioned. This is the rep that the author specifies is in the book: Bisexual Demiromantic Indian American character, Black Sanegalese lesbian character, Sapphic character, Indian American character, Mexican American trans gay character, Lebanese American character, Korean American character, Bisexual Indian American MC, Korean American anxiety disorder LI

Recommended For...: young adult readers, contemporary, romance, retellings, Beauty and the Beast, LGBT

Publication Date: May 24, 2022

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Age Relevance: 14+ (language, underage alcohol consumption, cheating, sexism, sexual content, panic attack, anxiety, romance, death, grief)

Explanation of Above: There is a couple of curse words sprinkled throughout the book, but nothing a child won’t hear at school. There is underage alcohol consumption mentioned as well as sexual content mentioned. Cheating is slightly shown, but it’s more of caught in the aftermath so it’s not explicative. There is one panic attack scene shown and anxiety is mentioned in the book. Death is also mentioned and there is grieving shown in the book. There is also a fair bit of kissing scenes, but nothing beyond intense kisses and hand holding.

Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers

Pages: 389

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old, high-achieving Kavya Joshi has always been told she's a little too ambitious, a little too mouthy, and overall just a little too much. In one word: besharam.

So, when her nemesis, Ian Jun, witnesses Kavya’s very public breakup with her loser boyfriend on the last day of junior year, she decides to lay low and spend the summer doing what she loves best–working part time playing princess roles for childrens’ birthday parties. But her plan is shot when she’s cast as Ariel instead of her beloved Belle, and learns that Ian will be her Prince Eric for the summer. [Cue the combative banter.]

Exhausted by Kavya and Ian’s years-long feud, their friends hatch a plan to end their rivalry by convincing them to participate in a series of challenges throughout the summer. Kavya is only too eager to finally be declared the winner. But as the competition heats up, so too does the romantic tension, until it escalates from a simmer to a full-on burn.

Review: I really liked this book overall! It’s a very loose Beauty and the Beast retelling, but with our MC being the “beastie” character. The book has some great pop culture moments, including their love for Sailor Moon and mentions of Percy Jackson. Props to the author for not mentioning books that shouldn’t be mentioned, especially in a book that’s very LGBT+ friendly with a trans character in it. The book has a grumpy (she)/sunshine (him) romance and I love all the little mentions about bookstagram and bookstagramming and ARCs. The book reads very much like your typical YA Contemporary Books, but I feel like the charm of this read is that the book is so much more than just a romance. The main point of the book is that the MC has a drive for competition, but being too competitive leads to a lot of her issues at home and with her friends. Seeing the character realize and rectify that was really well done. The character development was great. The world building was good. And I honestly read this in almost one sitting because it was just that captivating of a read.

The only issue I had with the book is that I think the sexualities of the characters could have been better stated. Some of it was great and well done, but others I only found out about from the author’s note on Goodreads. I would have liked to see that incorporated a bit more, but overall I thought it was an awesomely well done and inclusive book.

Verdict: I love it! Highly recommend!

This is full on the perfect summer YA romcom read. It has the over the top antics that you expect as well as sweet moments. Plus, princess parties AND slight Beauty and the Beast vibes. What more can you ask for except for the tensions to rise.

I picked up this book when my exams were about to start. And dare I say, I was more concerned about the book than my geopol syllabus lmaoo, and all for good reasons!

I truly loved reading this book. I mean what’s there to dislike? A friends-to competitors-to lovers is my favorite trope and it did proper justice to it ❤

It has amazing diversity in most of the aspects, which isn’t forced in any way? It’s hard to see queer rep of desi characters often and this one not only has queer desi rep, but also many queer side reps who filled my heart with joy so muchhh.

Kavya and Ian’s character development was something I was living for – not to mention the fact that each side character had a story arc to add to the main story which just made my heart fulfilling. Get me more books by Lillie Vale plssss!!

Also can we pls scream for the cover of this book? Yes, that’s better.

4.5 Stars

CWs: mentions of (past partner's) infidelity; some experienced colorism; some brief references to anxiety/anxiety attacks; and some explorations of child death and grief

When I started reading this book, I had no idea that it would quickly become one of my favorite YA romances, but that is exactly what happened! "Beauty and the Besharam" is one of the most perfect and heartfelt, summer-y, rivals-to-lovers romances ever. It centers an incredibly tender endgame relationship that will give you All The Feelings, and it is positively bursting with fun summer shenanigans that are guaranteed to entertain any and every reader along the way!

I have to start by talking about the main character, Kavya, who is incredibly strong, decisive, driven, talented, competitive, and fearless in her pursuit of greatness. From the very first page, Kav knows exactly who she is, what she wants, and what she's worth, and she is not about to compromise or make herself small for anyone or anything, even when people insist that she should. The word "besharam" referenced in the title is a Hindi word that translates to "shameless," and its negative connotation has haunted Kavya all throughout her life, especially in her family and her community where it is often discouraged for Indian women, especially, to be outspoken and outwardly proud of themselves and their accomplishments.

In Kav's cultural experience, women are expected to be beautiful, intelligent, accomplished, and well-respected, but they're also expected to be all of those things and more while staying humble, quiet, and making sure not to quote-unquote "overstep their place." As I said, Kav is not willing to compromise herself for anyone or any reason, which is why she is often branded as besharam, even by people who wouldn't necessarily know that word, and that moniker or sentiment is meant to discourage her from expressing the fullness of herself, simply because it's inconvenient for others.

That is exactly why I love the rivals-to-lovers aspect of the story *so much.* Kav's "sworn nemesis," Ian, is someone who sees and respects Kav for exactly who she is. By definition, in order to be considered someone's rival in the first place, you have to be considered their equal, and oftentimes that sense rivalry comes from the fact that they fear you may even be *better* than them in some specific way. That means from the get-go, Ian respects everything Kav is bringing to the table, and in fact he challenges her to be better and to be even *more* unapologetic, fearless, and accomplished than she already is. That, to me, is why the rivals-to-lovers dynamics works so well in this case, because it not only establishes mutual respect (no matter how begrudging) but that sense of competition is also something that actually forces both characters to grow.

Even more than that, I think it's so important how this story establishes Kav as having such a strong, unwavering personality, and even though she definitely has things to learn and unlearn about herself, the story is never once about people trying to make her change or convince her to be *less.* This is shown, particularly, in the story arc with Kav's older sister, Simran, who starts the story constantly butting heads with Kav because of their differences and because Simran resents the fact that Kav is younger and doesn't have to deal with the same pressures that she does.

In the beginning, Simran often chastises Kav for being so outspoken. But gradually as the story progresses, it's revealed that she's actually jealous that Kav is able to hold her own ground and speak her mind, which is something that Simran wants to do more for herself. So that initial contention between Simran and Kav doesn't come from the fact that Simran thinks Kav should "grow up" and stop being so contrary or drawing "negative" attention to herself, but because Kav's forthrightness is something she actually admires. As they open up to each other more, they're learning that they are *both* worthy of taking up that space in their own lives.

On a different note, as a summer romance, this book truly has everything but the kitchen sink! You get this delicious forced proximity as Kav and Ian become co-workers at this "party princess" company for the summer, you have this super fun series of games and competitions that Kav and Ian's friends have put together for them, you get to see the shenanigans that Kav and her "moon girls" get up to with sleepovers and putting together one of their family's restaurants, and it's all underscored by this incredible rivals-to-lovers romance. If you love reading about summer adventures, this book is simply a spoil of riches, an absolutely sumptuous feast. Every which way you turn, there's something fun to enjoy, and for every light-hearted element there's also an accompanying sense of tenderness and genuine emotion.

And perhaps one of my favorite romantic tropes is when two or more people are so clearly in love with each other, but they're too idiotic and oblivious to see it themselves even though it's *painfully* obvious to everyone around them who just desperately want them to finally get together, and this book definitely has that dynamic in spades.

To circle back to the fullness of Kav's character and humanity, it is so rare that we get to have stories for young readers that show how young characters can embrace *all* the different sides of themselves. The title of this book, for example, is a clear reference to "Beauty and the Beast," which is a title that inherently creates a dichotomy of character where one person must represent the "beauty" and one person much represent the "beast." But this story allows Kav to be *both*—to be both the beauty AND the besharam, to learn how both of those things can be true at once and can also be badges of honor that you wear with pride. Because when you know exactly who you are and you're trying to be the best person you can be, why should that ever make you feel shame in the first place?

I just adore everything about this story! It brought a HUGE smile to my face and such a refreshing take on what romance can and should look like when it encourages growth and brings out the absolute best in folks. I laughed, I sighed, I swooned, and I made concrete plans to read whatever Lillie Vale is writing next. To say this story is a delight would be an understatement. I cannot recommend it highly enough! If you're looking for the perfect summer romance, look no further!

This was a great read! The dynamic between the two characters is fabulous. The tension is spot-on, and we really get a front row seat to Kavya’s changing feelings. I loved her interactions with her sister, and all the family drama.
And that scene when Ian and Kavya had their first party (and their castle party. Okay, all of their scenes)? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lillie Vale really has a way with words. Her prose is magnetic and draws you into the story from the beginning. The books she writes are the books that high school me would have absolutely adored. Beauty and the Besharam are the YA rivals to lovers romance that I desperately needed. The representation, the banter, the friendships and the overall themes…everything about this is just perfect. This is honestly a really fun book that also tackles topics of grief and loss and familial pressures and does so in an incredibly nuanced way.

I adored Kavya and Ian together; they have such a fun dynamic and their banter is hilarious to read. I could clearly see the chemistry between the two and my heart squealed in many of their scenes. The rivals-to-lovers dynamic was already great, but when Ian started working at the same place Kavya did, it just became a thousand times better. I sort of had a feeling that Ian had probably liked Kavya for a while and when that was confirmed, you should have seen the smile on my face. I’m a sucker for the trope where the guy falls first.

And Kavya; she’s the main character of my heart. I think she’s basically me but way more confident. We share so many interests and I got weirdly emotional seeing the similarities between her and me. The desi rep in this book was done so well. I loved how different types of desi family dynamics were shown. I connected to so much of what was written and it was just beautiful to read about.

Beauty and the Besharam is the perfect summer YA contemporary romance with great desi representation, great friendships and of course, an adorable rivals-to-lovers romance. And you might just catch me reading this again sometime soon hehe.

Kavya has always been told she’s a little bit too much, but after a very public breakup with her boyfriend she decides to lay low for the summer. But when her school rival shows up at work to play the Prince Eric to her Ariel. Tired of the rivalry between Kavya and Ian, their friends plan a series of challenges for them to complete to bring them together. As they compete and spend more time together, they start to feel the chemistry between them sizzle.

First of all, let’s take a moment to appreciate this perfect cover. I love the colors, I love everything about it.

Now that we’ve taken a moment for the cover, let’s get to the story. I loved Kavya as a main character. She’s loud and bold and speaks her mind. She’s not perfect nor is she trying to be. I love how unapologetically herself she is and we need more characters like this. I adored all of the side characters and loved how they each had their own distinct characteristics and personalities. Despite their differences, the friends really supported each other and had a beautiful friendship.

I loved Kavya and Ian and how they pushed each other to be better, even when they were rivals. They had some great banter and were so much fun together.

If you are looking for a fun YA love story with great characters and amazing representation, then look no further! Thank you to Penguin Teen for the advance copy!

📖Book: Beauty and the Besharam
⭐️Rating: 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✍🏼Author: Lillie Vale
📚Genre: Romance | LGBTQIA+ (not a focus)
🗏 Pages: 400
💌Tropes: Grumpy Sunshine, Friends to lovers, Disney Inspired, Forced Proximity, Nick Names, Gender Swap Beauty and the Beast Inspired
⚠️TW: Grief, Biphobia, Child death Infidelity, Sexism, Bullying

Friends to lovers but add rivalry as courtship. Beauty and the Besharam is the grumpy/sunshine gender swap beauty and the beast-inspired retelling we all need this summer. From the sailor moon references to Taylor Swift, you will be in love with the 90s easter eggs in this one. Kavya is unapologetically a force to be wrenched with but has always been told she's too much. No wonder she thinks she's hard to love and not even worthy of said love. Step in, Ian, the childhood friend who has always just been a pain. You follow along as these characters work together being Disney characters at kids' parties. The tropes and references in this one are immense. I was dancing while creating this playlist. I did limit the Disney and Taylor Swift songs to a minimum…

Thanks to Colordpagetours, Penguin Teen, and Lilly Vale for the copy of Beauty and the Besharam in exchange for my honest review

I admit that at first, I had a hard time getting into the story and relating to the main character Kavya, since I am pretty much the opposite haha. Despite that, the more I read, the more I became invested in her story! I really enjoyed Kavya's chemistry with Ian, the competition, their Disney characters role play part time job(so unique!) and their rivals to lovers storyline.

Most of all, I adored the message that it conceives and how unapologetic Kavya was for who she was. She never tried to be someone else no matter what, and I loved that the story shows that it's okay to be who we are, even if we are besharam!

There was also insight into Indian culture which I really loved. Tons of food descriptions that made me hungry! Fun pop culture references (Sailor Moon!!) and a diverse cast which I'm always an advocate for.

A beautifully written, fun, and heartwarming story with a powerful message.

I'm sorry but who told Lillie Vale she could write such a heartfelt, funny, cute, contemporary ya book based on Beauty and the Beast? I'm absolutely obsessed.

Lillie Vale's writing style meshes so well with me. I loved the humor and there were just enough popular culture references to give me a good idea of the characters' personalities without being overbearing. I truly enjoyed every minute of reading this book and couldn't put it down.

It's very easy for a Beauty and the Beast retelling to feel cheesy or overdone. Vale did a fantastic job of following the basic idea (bookish girl falls for boy who isn't what he seems) and took it to new, sweet places. The MC is someone you can root for. The rivals to lovers trope was executed perfectly, and I truly loved all of the characters in this book. It was everything a ya contemporary romance should be. The perfect balance of fun and serious.

I could go on and on about this book, but I'll be done. I'll definitely be buying a physical copy when it comes out and will look for more books by Vale in the future.

I was given an E-ARC by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the author for providing me with an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Beauty and the Besharam is about Kavya, who was always considered to be too brash, ambitious and besharam. To make it worse, her public breakup is witnessed byher arch-nemesis Ian Jun so all she wants is to lay low during the summer. But instead, she's dragged into a competition to resolve her longstanding rivalry with Ian. I always like to read academic rivals to lovers and this book stayed true to this trope. I lived for the banter between Kavya and Ian. Their efforts to one-up each other in tests, reading challenges, and basically, everything was hilarious to read. Apart from the romance, I appreciated reading about the complex family dynamics, friendships and cruel taunts from 'well-meaning' acquaintances that are very frequent in the South Asian community. I was very envious of the moon girls as I wanted to have a group of friends who stood by me when I was young. I could see how smitten Ian was with Kavya that I was internally squealing with joy. My favourite part of the story was the character growth of every character. This made the entire book all the more enjoyable. I would recommend this book to everyone who is a fan of academic rivals to lovers, the hero falls in love first, messy siblings' relationship, a girl gang, and a hero who reads books. This has everything that makes a best contemporary romance.

(ARC copy provided in exchange for an honest review. This in no way changes my rating or review.)

4 SQUEAL-WORTHY STARS!

Three Minute Thoughts:
This. Was. ADORABLE! It was so much fun to read – from the moment I picked it up I was giggling and squealing, and I never stopped being amused throughout the entirety of the book. The writing was addictive and light and the storyline was mildly unrealistic but incredibly entertaining, which is all I need from a light contemporary romance, really. Also the rep was *chef’s kiss* and the characters were all such realistic and flawed little cinnamon buns! I would adopt the hell out of half these characters.

The Extended, Long, and Very-Possibly-Messy Review:
I wouldn’t say I had low expectations for this, but I didn’t have particularly high expectations either – this was my first Lillie Vale book, and I’d kinda forgotten what the synopsis said when I picked it up. But I was completely blown away as soon as I started! The characters were so lifelike and three-dimensional from the first page, and the banter between the MC and her love interest had me giggling and swooning at the same time.

Plus – and I believe this is a true necessity for every book – the side characters were absolute gold. Our MC, Kavya, had her little group of besties who stuck by her through thick and thin – her moon girls, who each had their own separate problems, but still made time for each other. A few things went on within their friend group, and I don’t want to say too much and spoil, but I do have to say that I really appreciated the fact that the MC’s friends actually had their own lives and weren’t just plastic cutouts that were there to prop up the MC in times of need.

“The moon girls regroup in the downstairs bathroom. They gnash their teeth with anger and worry, nails pincer sharp as they pull me close and whisper words of vengeance in my ear. We emerge only when my makeup is freshened, warpaint and armor class leveled up.”
(This quote may not be in the published version of this novel, it was copied from the advanced reader’s copy.)

But we have to talk more about our MC, because Kavya, oh Kavya… she was everything I wanted from a kickass heroine in a contemporary novel. She was competitive and smart, she knew what she wanted from life and she fought to take it. Being Asian can be tough. I’m lucky – I’m only half-Asian, and my parents are both quite relaxed and not those stereotypical tiger parents – but I know other people aren’t quite as lucky. There was lots of representation in this of the pressure that families can place upon their kids, and I thought the entirety of that topic was very well-written. But yes, Kavya was just so damn cool – she was confident and determined and so inspirational! She took no shit, even though she was – by her own admission – in no means perfect. I loved her character with all my heart.

And, of course, there was our love interest! Ian was just the sweetest baby ever. He was everything a book boyfriend should be – smart, funny, doting, sweet and such, SUCH a simp. He had me wrapped around his little literary finger in about 0.3 seconds. Him and Kavya were such a mess at times, but they also had such great chemistry and such a wholesome relationship, I couldn’t help but root for them the whole time! Did certain scenes between them make me want to cry from secondhand embarrassment? Maybe, but I toughed it out, because they were such sweethearts, and I really need to find myself a man like Ian.

“I’m not perfect. Tomorrow, when I wake up, I’ll still be competitive. Maybe I’ll even be impossible at times. I’m not changing myself for him, or for any boy, and here’s the thing: The right boy wouldn’t want me to.”
(This quote may not be in the published version of this novel, it was copied from the advanced reader’s copy.)

Final point of brilliance in this book: the REP! I once saw a review that said “I won’t praise books for having good rep, because it should be normalised and all books should have good rep” (or something along those lines), and I completely and absolutely understand that, and would agree if it WAS in almost all books… but here’s the thing, it’s not. Not all books have good rep – in fact, it’s the minority of books that do. It may be getting more common, but we still have a way to go, so I’m going to praise the ever-loving crap out of this book, because it’s rep was magnifique. Both the LGBTQ+ and POC rep was brilliant; there were a couple prominent f/f relationships which I loved, and also some wonderful South Asian rep, most of which was talked about previously. Basically, this was practically perfect.

I’m so, so glad I read this, and I can’t wait to read more of the author’s books – I’ll have to check them out stat! Thank you so much to the author, publisher and Colored Pages for the ARC copy provided :)).

I was sent a widget of this book for a promotional post through TBR and Beyond Tours, so here is the text from my promotion, along with a link to the posts!

What are your favorite tropes to find in books?

I personally love enemies to lovers (which I know is a favorite of many) and I’m a sucker for it in contemporary novels especially. Beauty and the Besharam is a fantastic enemies to lovers retelling, and today I am joining @tbrbeyondtours to celebrate this book’s impending release!

Here’s a synopsis of Beauty and the Besharam from Goodreads:

Heated competition leads to even hotter romance in this YA summer rom-com for fans of Sandhya Menon, Emma Lord, and Wibbroka.
Seventeen-year-old, high-achieving Kavya Joshi has always been told she's a little too ambitious, a little too mouthy, and overall just a little too much. In one word: besharam.

So, when her nemesis, Ian Jun, witnesses Kavya’s very public breakup with her loser boyfriend on the last day of junior year, she decides to lay low and spend the summer doing what she loves best–working part time playing princess roles for childrens’ birthday parties. But her plan is shot when she’s cast as Ariel instead of her beloved Belle, and learns that Ian will be her Prince Eric for the summer. [Cue the combative banter.]
Exhausted by Kavya and Ian’s years-long feud, their friends hatch a plan to end their rivalry by convincing them to participate in a series of challenges throughout the summer. Kavya is only too eager to finally be declared the winner. But as the competition heats up, so too does the romantic tension, until it escalates from a simmer to a full-on burn.

Doesn’t it sound downright swoon-worthy!

If you are looking for a cute rom-com story with diverse characters, YA teen drama, a sunshine-and-cinnamon-rolls love interest, and plenty of banter and sexual tension between high school rivals then I think you would enjoy this book.