This book was wonderfully cute and often laugh-out-loud funny. YA romance isn't my primary preferred genre, but I was rooting hard for Brad and Celine at the end. I loved them as characters and found this book to be sweet and satisfying.

I really did enjoy it and practically finished it in one sitting. Loved the relationship between Brad and Celia. I'm always a sucker for friends to enemies to lovers. Also enjoyed the parallels of their own individual conflicts and how it offers insight for one another. Although, there were some points in the beginning where the stereotypes and bias got too repetitive for me. Also, I felt some very minor substories did not get closure.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's Joy Revolution for my copy of Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute.

Special thanks to the author, @joyrevbooks, & @netgalley for my advanced readers copy!!!

I kinda have a love-hate relationship with this book right now. The pacing started off to slow for my liking. It dragged all through the middle then finally picked up toward the end. In all honesty I wanted to DNF this book but I didn’t LOL my own fault.

We have a dual POV from two MC’s Celine and Bradley. They were once friends then had a major fallout over a minor misunderstanding that resulted in them becoming enemies. When they both signed up for an outdoor survival competition to win a scholarship. They’re paired together in a group forcing them to rekindle and set aside their differences.

The relationship between Celine and Brad really seemed forced. I didn’t see a true connection or chemistry between the two. Kind of think they were better off as just being friends. The secret romantic moments they shared were awkward. Just a lot of we shouldn’t be doing this, we can’t let anyone find out, I want you so bad moments.

My main dislike was there wasn’t much detail into why Celine and Brad became enemies. I get that she felt left out when Brad started hanging with the popular kids in school. But we all know peer pressure can be a tough thing to deal with. Brad conformed and she didn’t which made her feel betrayed. I slick feel like she made herself the outsider stepping away from their friendship and blaming it all on him. Their whole falling out and becoming enemies really wasn’t worth it in my opinion.

The character development was okay but Celine got a little annoying after awhile. Brad was very likable. But I just expected a little more out of the book. This was my first read by Talia and I’ve heard her other books are great but this wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be.

The premise was cute and I loved the cover which is why I wanted to read it. But I wouldn’t say this book was 100% for me definitely recommend for a younger audience. I’m a fan of YA but feel this one fell a bit flat. It had potential but the delivery made it boring.

This is Talia's first dive into the Young Adult genre and I really hope it won't be her last! This was such a sweet story will well fleshed out characters, funny banter, and the cutest love story in the midst of it all. Can't wait for more YA stories from her!

To no one's surprise, this was another super entertaining book from the great Talia Hibbert. I loved that like all of her other books, these characters had "flaws" that made getting through their day a bit more challenging than others. I also thought the romance was sweet and heartwarming and loved how the book ended. I think the only reason it didn't get a 5-star from me is that I've already read some of her adult books. Using adult characters makes the challenges and the plot a bit more complicated, and the romance steamier. So to go from those to this felt like a step-down, personally. However, I do genuinely believe this is a great book for teens and a great way to segway people into trying her adult books. I would definitely read another YA by her and will of course read her adult ones.

I absolutely loved this book! I love Talia Hibbert’s characters - she writes diverse, fun, cool characters flawlessly. The banter in this was beautiful, and we even get some cute, awkward, YA-ified, steam-adjacent moments which I LOVE. The plot is so crazy in the best way. Seeing both characters find themselves and gain confidence as they fall in love? Chef’s kiss.
I think it was a great first venture into YA as nothing felt too adult or too dumbed-down. The dialogue wasn’t cringey and out of touch at all, which is somewhat bare minimum but still fantastic. And things manage to feel down-to-earth and high stakes all at once. I think high school age kids will love it as they face similar struggles, but it’s not by any means too immature for adults to read and connect with.
Celine and Brad are kicking my feet and squealing worthy levels of adorable, and their friends and families fill out the world perfectly. I love it!

My Rating: 4/5 Stars

My Review:

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via TBR and Beyond Tours in exchange for an honest review and place on this blog tour – thanks!

I am quite please that this was my first read of the new year as it was an absolute blast. Celine and Bradley were too characters filled with so much sass and energy, that you cannot help but love them. Talia Hibbert’s YA debut is certainly one you should not miss, and I hope mine and all the other posts on this blog tour make you see why.

I thought that the British slang glossary was a neat addition to this book, even as someone who has consumed enough British media to understand most of it. I always can appreciate when authors take the time to do this extra work, and it was helpful especially in the description of their schooling system. I still don’t fully understand it, but I was certainly less confused.

At times this book was all over the place, but I think that was part of its charm. The time skips weren’t entirely consistent or with any noticeable reason, but it helped to move the story along and set it apart from other YA books for that reason. We don’t really need details of every day of their school life, considering the BEP is the main focus of the book. One thing I will say is that this choice does negate the changes in Celine and Bradley’s relationship and makes their strides from frenemies to friends to maybe more a bit harder to believe.

This is a story not only about friendship, but about family. It has deep messages about agency, and that not everything you do needs to be approved by your family. But at the same time, both Celine and Bradley have such sturdy familial support systems, who help them to see this.

Fans of Hibbert’s other works will certainly be a fan of this, and perhaps this can be a book for fans of Alice Oseman as well (my apologies that I am not more familiar with other British YA contemporary authors). It was a wild ride, filled with lots of laughs, smiles, and the cutest (and perhaps most oblivious) ship. This book will be a new favourite for many I am sure. It has certainly encouraged me to pick up more of her books this year.

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute released January 3rd, 2023

I adored this novel! Yes, this book was UNFAIRLY CUTE! This is a YA, former best friend turned nemesis trope and it was just so sweet and charming. I really enjoyed the dual POV and the will they/won’t they that just fits so well in a high school book. I listened to a portion of this audiobook and the British narration added a lot to the story for me. The story was cute and the detail of Celine being a content creator that discredits conspiracy theories - love it!

Talia Hibbert debuts her first YA novel and gives readers plenty of the sass and snark that she is known for in her adult books but also some sweetness in this teen rom-com. Bradley and Celine are former best friends turned sworn rivals when they are paired up in a wilderness competition. As they learn to work together, they begin to remember all the good parts of friendship and realize that maybe they want more than friendship. Hibbert gives us layered, relatable MCs dealing with real teen issues and also loveable side characters that help round this story out. I definitely recommend.

This was such a tender and sweet young adult novel. Talia Hibbert's writing beautifully depicted the dynamic characters and I particularly appreciated the humor sprinkled throughout. There were moments where I literally laughed out loud. What a delightful read. I am very much looking forward to reading more titles from the Joy Revolution imprint - which is addressing a much needed and valued cause.

Talia Hibbert has never once disappointed me. Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute is no exception. Bradley and Celine are former best friends but now they're sworn enemies. When an incredible opportunity for uni applications sends them and a group of other year 6s to the Scottish woods, Brad and Celine have to reconcile and work together. But what if they fall in love while figuring out what their futures look like? Surely, that's impossible.

Words to describe this book include but are not limited to: precious, funny, heartfelt, and tender.

Tropes included: best friends to enemies to reluctant allies to friends to lovers & he falls first

Rep: OCD, anxiety, bisexual, queer

This book was a very fun light read with all the witty angsty teenage drama. I loved the characters and the supporting cast, specifically Aurora and Giselle. I thought the story was paced well and glad that the book was broken into sections by month; that really helped me understand the timeline better. This book was very British but the glossary in the front was helpful! I’d recommend this book to anyone looking for a light read, enjoys British or gen z culture and clean romances.

This is a great debut YA novel by Talia Hibbert. Characters and the plot were fun. Would definitely recommend as a good summer read.

Thank you to the publisher via NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Fun Fact: Talia Hibbert was the first contemporary romance that I read. For me it all started with Get a Life, Chloe Brown. I loved it and also the third in the Brown sister series. (I still need to read #2!) When I saw I got this book on NetGalley I nearly died of excitement.

Now, what I didn’t expect was for this story to be YA because the Brown sister trilogy is very much…. Not. Hahaha. Also, if you know me, I am not a big YA girl. So I tried to stay objective when rating this book with that in mind. Happy to say, it didn’t disappoint.

I thought this book was very cute and was a very good example of healthy relationships in high school with all of their unique dynamics like family and choosing a college to go to. It was an extremely cute story of friendship and Brad and Celine were just so precious I could hardly stand it. 💕

I would say, enjoyment wise it was probably a 3.5 for me, but I rounded up to 4 because I think objectively it is a very good book. Well written, interesting, and has really great representation and healthy relationship examples for teen.

Thanks again to NetGalley and Random House for giving me the chance to read this lovely book.

-Thank you for the chance to read and review this book.
-This is the first book I’ve read from this author even though I own other books by the author.
-I felt like this started strong, but then I felt like the pace got slow.
-I could not relate to the characters and honestly did not care for them, which took me out of the story.

When I saw that Talia Hibbert had another book coming out I was lit. And then when I heard it was a YA book, I was even more excited. Y’all know that YA is where my heart lies. So seeing this, I was even more excited. And rightfully so, because it’s so good!

The only thing I didn’t like about this was the setting lol I am NOT an outdoorsy person AT ALL. Like at all lol Not when it’s hot, not when it’s cold, not when it’s spring or whatever. It just isn’t my cup of tea. So, I wasn’t really into them being outside or the camping aspect at all. Thankfully it was but a small part of the plot. There was so much more to it, like the development of their relationship.

The two of them were so cute. Celine was so funny! She was weird in the same way that I’m weird. And then there was Bradley who I related to in a whole nother way. I’ve talked about this a few times here, but I also have OCD. I’m “Pure O” so not exactly the same as Brad, but I could relate closer than others. The two of them together felt like an unlikely pair, but the way they were so shy together and warmed up together. It was swoon inducing.

I think what I liked most about this tho was the characters individually. Celine is a conspiracy theorist and yea that sounds weird, but she was the cutest one you’d ever meet. And she had a real reason why she was the way she was. And once you figure out why, you’ll understand. It really hurt a little when I read it. And again, I related to Brad in a whole other way. I did feel like it was a bit like “I found this on the internet in the first link” but I know that me and Brad don’t even have the same thing, AND I know that everyone is different, so I don’t feel I can accurately say it was like that. It’s just what it felt like. But I’m almost positive the reason is because this is a YA book and she didn’t want to go too into an explanation. I don’t know. It’s really hard to explain. All the other characters were fully fleshed out and amazing as well. I loved meeting all of them. They made it seem like a huge party.

There’s also a parental abandonment side plot in this that I wasn’t expecting. At the beginning of the book I didn’t know how much of a big deal it was going to be until it was a big deal. If it makes sense. And it came up unexpectedly. She didn’t have any idea. And I think that was my favorite part about it? This was a huge revelation, and I know she wouldn’t have gotten there by herself. Just be prepared, if you have parental issues, please be advised you might cry or get upset.

I liked literally everything else about this book. The characters and the romance. This was super cute and I really hope there will be more YA in Hibbert’s future.

Calling all romance lovers! Talia Hibbert, the New York Times bestselling author of the Brown Sisters trilogy, has returned with a steamy read, this time dipping a toe into the YA genre. In this enemies-to-lovers romp, ex-friends Bradley and Celine, one a football star and the other a conspiracy theory die-hard, wind up as teammates for an outdoor survival course. Prepare for sparks to fly.

I can't say enough good things about Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute. Talia Hibbert has written the cutest YA romcom that you will never want to end.

I love Hibbert’s adult works so I was beyond excited to get access to an ARC (thanks NetGalley!) for <I>Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute</i>

I loved Celine as a main character! I saw so much of my younger self in her. The ambition and tough shell she tends to wear (but she really is a softy on the inside and can be a great friend when she lets her guard down!). I think Hibbert did a great job showing the insecurities and worries she tries to hide behind that though exterior. Her growth as a character was great imo!

I loved the scholarship/camp aspect too. It made for a really fun plot line that kept me entertained. I also enjoyed the cast of side characters we meet along the way.

I hope she plans to make this a series/ plans to do more YA books!

Abso-freaking-lutely adorable!

I loved Celine and Brad's story. Dual POV for these two was absolutely the right choice, because we really needed to see inside these two heads to understand 1) what went wrong back then 2) what's continuing to go wrong now and 3) why their senses of self preservation are both their BFFs and their absolute worst enemies. Because OMG, do these two have a whole heck of a lot going on in those (adorable yet sometimes kinda dense) heads.

And so much of it made me LOL...though a lot made me want to give them giant hugs, too. And maybe a stern talking to or seven. And then more giant hugs.

Truly, my only complaint here is that the book ended kind of abruptly, though it was nowhere near the worst offender in this department. It was a perfectly fine ending, even though I wasn't ready for it to be over and it theoretically *could* have continued on the next page, though it didn't need to.

(I may also be slightly biased here because her author's note made me tear up again and how dare she? Talk about unfair!)

For Ms Hibbert's regular readers, especially those who loved the Brown Sisters books, all the banter, snark, cuteness, quirky characters, and representation you're used to from her is still here. (We don't have the steamier scenes, but honestly, I didn't even miss them.) For those who are looking for a really fun YA rom com with everything I mentioned above, here you go! It's the perfect intro to Talia Hibbert for YA or adult readers alike.

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.