This book was the epitome of cute and cuddly. I LOVED the banter but I expected nothing less from Talia. I'm not a huge YA fan but couldn't pass up reading anything she writes. Although it's not my favorite I still absolutely loved it. I love the representation Talia puts in all her books. Like this woman is really feeding us when it comes to showcasing disabilities and love. I will highly (ahah get it) recommend this book to anyone who is found of her writing style.

Dnf @ 40%. This was very cute - and I would highly recommend to YA readers. I am just not a YA reader very often and am not clicking with this. Totally on me for requesting the book based on the author without realizing it was YA.

This book was such a cute YA and I think Hibbert knocked it out with loveable characters and wonderful character development. This book was so fun and cheeky, it had me smirking and laughing several times while reading. The banter between Celine and Bradley was so well developed, which I think comes from Hibbert’s previous writing of adult romances.

“Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute” by Talia Hibbert features diverse characters and a unique take on the classic enemies to lovers trope. The unique aspect of this story is that a good portion of it took place in the woods as part of a wilderness expedition as part of a college scholarship competition. All in all I’d give it a sold 4 stars.

Talia does it again! One of my favorite romance authors ever, Hibbert’s voice is stronger/ just as charming as ever here. This was adorable right off the bat and I loved this cast of characters. I the unique camping setting also added a really fun element to this friends to enemies to lovers story. Totally recommend for a YA romance!

SOOOOO GOOD! 5 STARS!!!

i’m always cautious of YA novels in general as an adult and lower my standards even more for YA novels from authors i love especially when they’ve never written ine before. but oh my gosh talia hibbert really hit it out of the park with this one! it was charming and funny and so wonderful!! i love hibbert’s adult novels and this one just did not fail me.

celine and bradley were such wonderful and well rounded characters who grew on me so quickly. the dual pov was everything to me and i loved reading about all their worries and thoughts. hibbert has such a wonderful way of writing her characters who are as sweet as they are funny and she didn’t miss a beat here. the premise of the book was also so interesting and the pacing was to my exact liking.

hibbert’s brown sisters novels have centered around characters who have invisible illnesses and i wasn’t surprised to read about bradley having OCD in this one. what continues to make my heart warm is the care that goes into the writing. it always amazes me!

bravo talia hibbert for your first YA novel, for what a success it clearly is, and for writing such a charming story about friendship, growing up, and love with such care.

also thanks netgalley for the arc!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute
by Talia Hibbert. All opinions are my own.

Okay first and foremost, I am a huge fan of Talia Hibbert so I had high expectations for this. At the same time, I am not that into YA novels so that was my only reason to be hesitant. Thankfully that didn't even matter. I felt totally brought back to my high school self and the pressures of applying to universities, making new friends and navigating those social circles, and high school romances. Happy to say, Talia Hibbert has done it again. I am actually really hoping she does another YA novel.

Where do I begin with the actual story? Celine and Bradley are now sworn enemies, but it wasn't always that way. There was a time when they were paired at the hip and spent all their time together. As they begin their final year of high school, they get thrown together again when they have classes together and end up in a survival course in the woods in order to win a high profile scholarship. We get to learn about what tore them apart the first time and watch them slowly begin to trust each other again. Not only do they become friends again, but they realize they are each others first loves. Wonderful book. Also I can't finish this review without mentioning how wonderful it was to see the bisexual and OCD representation in the character Bradley. This is why I am a loyal Talia Hibbert fan!!! <3

Hibbert's foray into the YA genre is just as delightful as her popular adult series featuring the Brown sisters. Hoping she continues to write more YA. I love that her heroines are always so wonderfully body positive.

This was so good! I loved the banter between the two main characters. They had some real chemistry. I also really appreciated how the author wrote about Brad's OCD. It seems like there was a lot of care and research done by the author. Overall, a well-written, cute romance!

So excited to get to read Hibbert's first YA! Celine and Brad are an unlikely couple, which also makes their unlikely relationship work. The back and forth between them is half the fun of the book, and matches the dialogue from Hibbert's other novels in cleverness. I love how through both of our protagonists, we get a sense of being a teen again (regardless of if the reader is or not) and dealing with the many life facets that come your way. I also really appreciated the careful way she chose to represent OCD. There were a few moments that didn't quite hit for me, but overall, a very enjoyable read.

This book was high on my TBR! Hibbert has done it again with this one! Insert some internal squeals cause this book was so cute! Loved it!

I'm so sad to say that I didn't love this one. Part of the problem is I went in thinking of the Chloe Bown series, and this was very different. I just didn't love this the way I've loved her others. ⭐⭐

Okay I loved this one. Talia Hibbert can do no wrong. This is a Y/A novel so it’s different than the other books I’ve read of hers, but it was equally as good. This one had me cheesing. Lots of fun scenes and environments. A girl who loves the paranormal and makes tik toks about conspiracies? Yes please! And the male lead is diagnosed with OCD and it was a really good representation and educational character. I appreciated the recognition for mental health in this book. I appreciated the young love. The high school soul mates of it all. ⁣
⁣
Love can be found anywhere, like high school between two best friends while on camping adventures together 🥰

Thank you to the publisher for this digital copy 🖤

I've adored Hibbert's books going way back to her self publishing days - so when I saw she had her debut YA book coming out - I took the rare step or requesting an arc.

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute his most of same notes and themes as her adult books. Mental health, quirky hobbies, witty banter - check, check, and check!

Celine and Brad used to be best friends until Brad decided to be more concerned with fitting in with the popular kids - which does not include introducing them to UFO, Big Foot - conspiracy theory obsessed Celine. Instead they've become enemies, waging verbal warfare and trying to one up each other academically.

Their fighting goes too far during an (accidental) altercation which leaves Celine with a bum foot and Brad with a giant case of guilt.

When Celine, aspiring lawyer, is accepted to a survival course in the woods with a grand prize to meet her idol, help her career path and yeah - maybe stick it to the father who abandoned her family, she jumps at it. Brad, feeling like he needs to help her win after what he did signs up as well.

Their rivalry softens at the camp and they open up to each other more about what happened in the past and their struggles and hopes for the future.

This is a really adorable romance with two great kids trying to overcome natural insecurities, mental health issues (OCD) and abandonment - surrounded by good parents (minus the absentee dad, of course) and supportive friends. This is light, easy reading which was nice.

Having said that, I was expecting more adventure, rivalry and I guess more about Celine being a popular social media conspiracy theorist lol All of those things take a backseat to Brad and Celine's budding romance. It is super sweet, as I said, but I felt like those cool elements that made me want to pick up the book were more stated as fact than part of the plotline described int he summary.

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute does tackle several deeper issues (brilliantly by the author, as always) and both characters show a lot of growth but this is mostly a low stakes, lots of witty banter/inner monologue, romance/coming of age story vs action and big characters - which is fine! just not what I was expecting.

Overall, despite not being what I was hoping for, it was the adorable, light read I was looking

Bradley and Celine were the best of friends until a misunderstanding stopped that. Now they are fighting for the same scholarship.
A few more misunderstanding get in their way of happily ever after (as much as a 18 year old can have).
Bradley has ocd

This book had all the wonderful Talia Hibbert swoony goodness but in a delightful YA package. That is high praise. I adore Talia Hibbert and how she can make you fall in love with two flawed and wonderful characters and root for them completely. The way she writes her love interests is just the best. I am so glad this book exists. I wish I had books like this when I was in high school.

All the heart eye emojis for Bradley and Celine!!!!!! Pitch-perfect friends to enemies to lovers romance...great for teens who are requesting Hibbert's spicier adult titles not carried in school libraries.

3.5 rounded up
Cute little romance book. Was s000000 slowwwwww up until like 40% for me. It took me almost a month to finish bc I kept loosing interest.
Dual POV
MCs are POC
FMC is plus sized
MMC is mental health rep (OCD + intrusive thoughts)
Trust issues / parental abandonment
Childhood friends to enemies to lovers
NO spice ( probably could count as YA)
Rating 3.5 /5
Spice 0 / 5
Anxiety 1 / 5
Bargain (Buy, Bargain, borrow, burn)

Very cute and very YA. After devouring The Brown sisters trilogy, I was really interested in seeing how Hibbert was to do YA. I found the teenagers to be very believable. I was just missing the extra spice that her adult novels have, pun intended. As always, the rep is really well done.

Celine and Bradley are childhood friends turned teenaged enemies. Ok only Celine sees them as enemies, but they are rivals at school. When the both enter a competition for a scholarship/mentoring opportunity, Celine sees a chance to work with one of her idols and Bradley sees a chance for independence. Being forced to work together makes them examine their feelings for each other and goals in life.
This a smart, funny and heart touching YA romcom.