The romance was cute. Perfect balance of funny moments with well developed characters dealing with complex situations as they enter “kid-adulthood”. Entertaining read and the British high school setting gave me a lot of nostalgia.

Didn’t know it was YA until I literally opened the book. I went in open minded but YA romances aren’t for me. High school me would have loved it but adult me likes romances with a bit of spice.

Recommend for fans of heartwarming romances with enemies to lovers trope.

What fun, fast read! The characters, both MC and supporting, were likeable and easy to connect with. The plot was fun and slightly crazy, but just. I enjoyed everything about this and cannot wait to read more Talia Hubert YA novels.

3.75 stars | All of these characters are absolutely adorable! I would have loved to see more of the development of the romantic aspects of Brad & Celine's relationship, because it felt just a tad rushed to me.

4.5 stars rounded up!

I thoroughly enjoyed this YA romance. Celine was the perfect embodiment of a type A, go-getter high schooler and Brad was just so cute. There's a lot of will they, won't they, but I enjoyed the wait. The setting was super unique at this outdoor adventure camp, and the whole thing was delightfully British.

Overall. this was a cute easy read and I highly recommend.

A fun YA friends-to-enemies-to-friends-again kind of love story, set in the UK. Enjoyable characters and character-development, with one MC dealing successfully with anxiety issues. I purchase a copy for my HS library.

I received an ARC copy to read through NetGalley.

This was an adorable YA romcom kind of book. It’s very YA in my opinion and there were times that I sort of rolled my eyes a little (forgetting it’s YA)… that said overall just adorable!

These main characters are flawed, strong, badass, overachieving, intelligent, and emotional kids. They are completely relatable on every level really. I love that they were besties, then enemies, and now HFN dating.

I’d recommend this to teens everywhere without hesitation and to adults as well with the caveat to remember it’s YA and a young YA.

This was very cute! Celine and Brad had a major falling out 4 years ago and have been butting heads on occassion ever since. But now in their senior year they're in class together again and partnered up. Tensions flare, but so do old feelings. The 2 tangle with how they miss each other and their friendship and new developing feelings all while struggling to figure out who they want to be while competing for a scholarship opportunity.

Overall i really liked the characters in this book. Everyone had some kind of character trait to distinguish them all apart and not all of them were positive. But they also weren't painted as a villian, just someone with difficult life circumstances. I felt like the kids all had an appropriate amount of immaturity to them all for still being 17/18 year olds. No one felt too far in one extreme or the other.

Some of the slang took me out of it, but there was a glossary in the book which helped, bit was also a pain to keep flipping back to.

Friends to enemies to lovers cuteness! I requested an arc of this book because I was so interested in Talia Hibbert’s debut into YA romance! While I am patiently waiting for her next adult romance this really did tide me over.
I enjoyed the pacing of how our characters developed from enemies to being forced together to “crap I think I really like them” and how much time we got with them crushing on each other!
The plot of competing for a scholarship and realizing what they really want to do with their lives (and for who?!) I think is great for the intended audience.
I’ll be back for more Hibbert in the future!

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute was so much fun! I adored Bradley and Celine and would love to go on a Katharine Breakspeare adventure.

Celine and Bradley used to be friends, but as things happen in middle/high school they parted ways and never quite got over it. I loved the tension this added to the story. Bradley has OCD, and I thought Hibbert did a really great job showcasing this without any hint of "fixing" Bradley. There is talk about his struggles and it is demonstrated in different ways, but it doesn't over take the story. It's just who he is.

Celine's dad left long ago and Celine is still feeling some type of way about it. This is evident in the fact that she wants to show her dad how amazing she is and kind of throw it back in his face. Celine has a lot to deal with here, and I loved how her family/friends talked her through things related to her dad to determine what SHE really needed.

The adventures were great, the banter was witty and the relationships were solid. Highly recommend!

My Thoughts:

This is a YA Bridgette Jones except if Bridgette were a black 17-year old who wants to go to the uni and make a mark in corporate law just to crush her deadbeat father at his own game. The voice of Celine Bangura is very sharp, witty and self-absorbed like Bridgette and I could see a younger, more modern Bridgette also having a Tik Tok channel focused on aliens and conspiracy theories.

Celine is the slightly chunky, "I don't need anyone or anything to succeed [especially my former best friend and arch nemesis Bradley Graaeme who is annoyingly beautiful]" social media star who is bullied by the cool kids for her theories on aliens. She doesn't care, except for the fact that Bradley was her person until he abandoned her for the popular jerks/jocks that he hangs out with. That is her side of the story.

What readers will automatically know even before they start is that of course Celine and Bradley will be friends again and even find out that they are still each other's person. That is super obvious by the genre and the title.

What readers will be surprised by is that Bradley will get equal voice in this novel. Not only that, but Bradley has not only (mostly) found ways to deal with the spiraling thoughts from his OCD that Celine would help him through when they were younger, but also that he really is the moral center and the emotional rock of this story. He is definitely a keeper.

This book will give you all the feels you expect from a YA rom com with just enough coaching, controversy and mental health strategies to be helpful without being preachy. The characters do a lot of soul searching and maturing, even if as readers we know how it will end. The joy, after all, is in the journey, even if we know where the journey ends.

From the Publisher:
Bradley Graeme is pretty much perfect. He’s a star football player, manages his OCD well (enough), and comes out on top in all his classes . . . except the ones he shares with his ex-best friend, Celine.

Celine Bangura is conspiracy-theory-obsessed. Social media followers eat up her takes on everything from UFOs to holiday overconsumption—yet, she’s still not cool enough for the popular kids’ table. Which is why Brad abandoned her for the in-crowd years ago. (At least, that’s how Celine sees it.)

These days, there’s nothing between them other than petty insults and academic rivalry. So when Celine signs up for a survival course in the woods, she’s surprised to find Brad right beside her.

Forced to work as a team for the chance to win a grand prize, these two teens must trudge through not just mud and dirt but their messy past. And as this adventure brings them closer together, they begin to remember the good bits of their history. But has too much time passed . . . or just enough to spark a whole new kind of relationship?

Publication information:
Author: Talia Hibbert
Publisher: Joy Revolution (Jan 3, 2023)
Age range: Gr 9 and up

Talia Hibbert does it again! I loved everything about this. YA is a fine line but these teenagers definitely lean on the mature side so conflicts don’t last long and it’s relatively angst free. I appreciate that everything doesn’t magically resolve for Celine, but she still gets to have it all while figuring out her stuff, and Brad? Sweet sweet Brad. Thoroughly enjoyed myself during this entire book, but especially the second half.

I am a huge Talia Hibbert fan, so when she announced the release of this YA I jumped at the opportunity to read it.
I used to read loads of YA so I thought I was ready for her to change up her adult storylines for the voes of growing up and yet.

Maybe it's me and the book will resonate so much more with the teens about whom and for whom it is written, but for me, the pace was slow, the stakes were low and the resolutions, though meaningful, didn't quite have the gut punch I needed.

It isn't bad, don't take my review that way.
It just isn't for me and though I will continue to read adult Talia Hibbert, I might not return to her YA books if she puts more out in the future.

I am a huge Talia Hibbert fan, so when she announced the release of this YA I jumped at the opportunity to read it.
I used to read loads of YA so I thought I was ready for her to change up her adult storylines for the voes of growing up and yet.

Maybe it's me and the book will resonate so much more with the teens about whom and for whom it is written, but for me, the pace was slow, the stakes were low and the resolutions, though meaningful, didn't quite have the gut punch I needed.

It isn't bad, don't take my review that way.
It just isn't for me and though I will continue to read adult Talia Hibbert, I might not return to her YA books if she puts more out in the future.

First, Thank you for Netgalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

5 star read!

I’ve loved Talia Hibbert ever since her Brown Sisters trilogy. When I heard she was writing a YA romance, I just had to read! Just like her other books, I had a hard time putting this one down.

The banter between the MC’s was amazing (as always with Talia Hibbert) and they are just … as the title of the book says, unfairly cute. Overall if you are looking for a great, fun, and awesome read, pick this book up today!

I'm not usually into YA romance, but I thought this book from one of my faves was excellent! Talia Hibbert always knocks it out of the park, so I shouldn't be surprised. The way that she approaches writing about mental health struggles is so gentle and careful, and I wish more authors would follow her lead. If you like enemies to lovers, strong female leads, and sweet cinnamon roll bi dudes, this one is for you!

This was a super cute story that I think my students are going to love. I think the representation was done really well and the students reading this book will definitely be able to see themselves in these characters. The writing was also done in a really well done way.

What a fun YA book from Talia Hibbert! I will admit, I thought it started off a bit slow - but I ended up loving the dynamic from these friends - turned enemies - turned friends - turned romance. And the setting of a wilderness adventure? Loved it - something fun can always happen when you're surrounded by nature, mud and wild animals.

Overall, I think Talia Hibbert fans will enjoy this one - as long as they go in wit the mindset that it is YA! It was a cute read!

We Stan a young queen who’s unapologetically herself. And a young king that knows how to match her energy.

Celine is no joke and Bradley is no slouch.

The back and forth between the two is cute, but it’s clear as day they’re crushing.

The way they notice each other’s smell and the things that make them individually them. really enjoyed the way the author took her time developing things with these two. Things weren’t rush and we even got the back story. There’s an important lesson of communication here, it truly is key when it comes to navigating relationships. I would love to see more of these two, a series perhaps

I always keep a place for YA in my heart. This story gave me all the feels.

I

First of all, I loved The Brown Sisters by Talia Hibbert, so I knew I had to get my hands on Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute, and it was perfection in all its opposites attract, rivalry, and forced proximity goodness.

Celine and Bradley are enemies.
They haven't always been.
Now they have to show teamwork and leadership... From the same side. And as university deadlines loom closer, the stakes are high.

Celine is finishing her school days dedicated to staying top of the class and beginning a university study in law. When her friend finds a scholarship opportunity being presented by one of her female law idols, she signs up for a wilderness leadership experience, convinced she can overcome any obstacle and win the scholarship.
In a painful twist of fate, her enemy Bradley ends up signing up too because the scholarship would allow him to follow his own career path without debt. And also not have a roommate, which appeals to his OCD self enough to overcome his fears and disgust of the outdoors.

Together, through the challenges of the wilderness experience, leadership challenges, their school year and family dramas, Celine and Bradley aren't sure enemies is accurate... In fact, quite the opposite.

This has all the humor, banter, strong personalities and descriptions that define Talia Hibbert writing. In teen form, her writing was just as engaging, just as complex but in a way that would hit teens in the right way. The demonstration of wanting to be an adult, feeling grown up, and actually growing up being different points of life was beautifully done.

#arc
#netgalley
Highlysuspiciousandunfairlycute