Member Reviews
I will admit that this book took me a little bit to get into, but once I did I was hooked. This book was so cute, and the banter between the two main characters was so fun. I also really appreciated the mental health representation with conversations around OCD and therapy.
I don't read a lot of YA, but this is one I really enjoyed!
So I found this one to be a little too YA for my taste - the characters make some interesting choices, but this is quite literally a YA so it is probably written for the perfect audience. (They do mention sex and curse a few times but nothing crazy so it probably fits the high school age perfectly) Outside of the YA, this one was super cute and had me laughing out loud. Highly recommend for the adult readers who need a break from steam or people who just love a good rom com.
Thank you for allowing me to read and review this story. My review can be found on storygraph, goodreads, amazon, barnes & noble and my instagram (@manymerrybooks).
This was super cute - it did take me a while to get into. At about 20% in i couldn’t put it down and was rooting for all the characters at the camp to get the scholarships they were going after.
I felt that the author did a great job at making the problems the characters were facing extremely accurate to the age they were in. Relationships and friendships do change during school and age transitions and the struggles the MCs were having were accurate and normal for their age.
I tend to not enjoy YA books because they’re not realistic or accurate to what teenagers go through, and this book was realistic and still extremely enjoyable.
I will definitely be revisiting this author.
5 Stars: I loved it
Genre: YA, Romance
You may like this book if you like:
Emma by Jane Austen
To All the Boys I Loved Before by Jenny Han
Lovely Complex (Anime)
Summary: Celine and Brad have been ex best friends and mortal enemies since a fight in their youth. Their interactions consist mainly of petty insults and academic rivalry until the two apply for a survival course in the woods that could result in a full ride scholarship for the top “explorer”. As they work together to win, they heal their bond and their relationship grows into something different and new.
Thoughts: This book was wholesome and adorable. The whole cast of characters was great. Our two main characters, Celine and Brad, are very lovable but also struggled with issues such mental illness and abandonment which I thought were handled with care. I loved the banter between Celine and Brad, I thought they were very funny and literally laughed out loud at times. Their relationship is very sweet and tender. I wouldn’t say this book was exciting per se but it was cozy without being boring.
While I’m not the demographic for this book, I legitimately enjoyed reading this as an adult and I’m sure I would’ve liked it had I read it as a teen. Talia Hibbert has flawlessly transitioned her style from adult romance to YA romance. I’m not sure there’s a book by Talia Hibbert that I wouldn’t love at this point.
"Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute" by Talia Hibbert is a delightful romantic comedy that is as charming as it is heartwarming. The novel follows the unlikely love story between its endearing protagonists, whose initial animosity soon gives way to sizzling chemistry and undeniable attraction. With her trademark wit and humor, Hibbert crafts a tale filled with laugh-out-loud moments, swoon-worthy romance, and genuine emotion. Readers will find themselves rooting for the quirky yet lovable characters as they navigate the ups and downs of love and relationships. "Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute" is a feel-good read that is sure to leave a smile on your face long after you've turned the final page.
I think my opinions on this book are more to do with me not being interested in YA contemporary romance anymore rather than the book having inherent problems. I generally love Talia Hibbert but there was just something with this that did not click for me. I liked the characters and thought the chemistry was decent, but I found myself not loving it as much as I had hoped to.
I enjoy everything I’ve read from Talia Hibbert, and this was no exception. Though I don’t read tons of YA anymore, I did have a pretty good time with this one. It did drag a bit in the middle, and I thought it was a tad too long, but overall a fun read.
Talia Hibbert does not disappoint with her foray into YA literature. Her characters are fully realized and I loved watching their growth from rivals to lovers. I will read anything she writes.
This was a very cute read. I highly recommend. The characters were lovable and the story was very interesting.
Really cute and I enjoyed the romance so much! After loving Talia Hibbert's Adult novels, I was excited to dive into her YA and I'm not disappointed. Will definitely be recommending this one for people to read!
I'm a big fan of Talia Hibbert's Brown Sisters series and was curious to see what her first dip into YA would be like. Unfortunately, it was just okay for me. I liked our MCs as individuals overall, but didn't really care about them as a couple.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book was so cute and compulsively readable. I am not always the biggest fan of enemies to lovers, but I could just tell from the beginning I was going to enjoy the ride. You can feel their chemistry, their long history makes the slow burn so delicious, and I really enjoyed the forced together on outdoor trips vibe that really makes the space for romance to ensure. Loved it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me review this book! This book was super cute and I believe I can say I liked it better than the brown sisters books Also by talia hibbbert. I would give it a 3.5.
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Talia Hibbert is an amazing author and wonderful at world building. I loved this book so much and look forward to more by Hibbert.
Talía Hibbert never misses. There I said it. And it’s so true. The characters are on point. The representation is on point. It is always SO BRITISH in the best way. I love that she made a YA book so you get audiences can get a taste of the amazingness that is Talía Hibbert.
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.
I enjoyed this quite a lot—I mean, to be honest I enjoy everything Talia Hibbert writes, but this one stands above the others. I'm so excited that she seamlessly wrote a YA and it wasn't clunky, and was just as good as her adult rom coms. The banter, and the chemistry in this book is so well written, it felt like I was watching a movie. I would love a follow up on Brad & Celine, I feel like we deserve it and deserve more of where they are now and how their souls are intertwined. 10/10 would read again & absolutely recommend.
Talia Hubert does not disappoint! I love seeing black representation in stories and actually well rounded characters. The author really takes the time to develop their characters and have them resonate with the readers. Honestly, this was an amazing story!
The first young adult book published by Joy Revolution, the publishing company started by Nicola & David Yoon! I fully support the mission behind Joy Revolution and I was so pleased to be selected to read an arc of this book, Talia Hibbert's first journey into young adult lit.
I really enjoyed this contemporary romance story. Celine and Brad clearly have a loaded past and I enjoyed uncovering that tension with the characters as they navigated this new wilderness class. One thing that made this book a bit confusing for me was I didn't realize the survival class took place over the course of several months. This led to some confusion on my part and made parts of the plot hard to understand/follow. However, I think that was a me issue and other readers of the book will surely pick up on that fact.
This was such a fun young adult contemporary romance story from Talia Hibbert. I look forward to seeing what other ya stories she ends up sharing.
I enjoyed reading this book SO much!! Talia perfectly executes writing a ya romance while still keeping the same energy they have for their adult romance novels. I absolutely adored Celine and Bradley and I'm always going to be a big fan of POVs but I love their interactions and their teen bop thoughts about each other. Also interacting with the other kids at the camp. It was also so insightful to how OCD is for a person or at least in the way that Bradley has it and how he lives with it. Overall Bradley was just so sweet. Also i loved Celine and how stubborn she was but also how she still was thoughtful and kind. I really would eat up any other bonus material of these 2 even if they were just in the background. This was so so SO adorable and I hope Talia is going to write another ya romance in the future.
I loved Talia Hibbert and this was so cute! However, I think I’m officially outgrowing the YA genre.
Or maybe, it’s better for me to say, I’m not out growing the YA genre, as I read the dialogue, the miscommunication, and the cliques frustrating.
This book was adorable, with the sweet female friendships, and the crazy shenanigans. The only thing I didn’t love was the frame of mind that YA books seem to leave me in anymore (a time that reminds me of high school).
That being said, I would still recommend.