After reading the Brown sisters' series by Talia Hibbert, I wasn't sure what to expect from a young adult novel that she'd written. Those Brown sisters are pretty spicy! Well, of course, a book written for teens isn't going to have the same level of, ummmmmm, detail, as their books for adults. However, there's still the same amount of diversity and representation, with some snark, and lots of love. Her characters come in all shapes and sizes, a rainbow of skin tones and all along the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. Plus, the author documented their own journey with OCD through the lens of the main male character. The only downfall, for this American, is trying to understand English. Thankfully, Hibbert included a glossary of British school-related terminology at the start of the book, for those of us who don't speak fluent British.

Thank you Random House Children's and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a digital ARC in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed Talia Hibbert's Brown Sisters books and was excited to read this one, her first foray into young adult romance. It was extremely sweet, a lot of fun, and the adorable characters had outstanding chemistry. The YA themes of discovering yourself during a major transitional period, and dealing with family pressure while you make decisions about your future were very well handled. In fact reading this inspired me to immediately read 10 other Talia Hibbert romance novels! I hope she writes more YA in the future, it definitely scratches a different itch.

I loved this one so much! I’ve read one of Talia Hibbert’s books before and I adored this one so much! This was an amazing YA debut. Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute is set in Nottinghamshire and I loved recognising some of the places that were name dropped!

Celine runs a conspiracy TikTok and has thousands of followers. She dreams of being a lawyer and the lawyer she idolises, has a survival course which would look insane on her CV and personal statement, she knows she has to apply. Up until high school Celine and Bradley were incredibly close, but once they arrived they drifted, Bradley didn’t seem to want to hang around Celine, who couldn’t fit in with the “cool kids”. When Bradley doesn’t stop Celine from breaking her arm during an argument, he is forced to drive her everywhere, including to a hotel to apply for the course. Celine expects Bradley to drop her off and pick her up at the end, but Bradley shocks her by applying too. Honestly, this book was so cute, the perfect academic rivals to reluctant friends to lovers!!

‘You’re allowed anywhere you want, as long as you’re right next to me.’

What I love about Tallia Hibbert’s books is that she always discusses an important topic, perhaps not covered as much as it should be in literature. Bradley has OCD and has an incredibly good way of coping. I think Talia writes his character really well and Celine’s responses to Bradley’s triggers were done well.

Forced to work together during the holidays over the course of a year, Bradley and Celine slowly begin to build up their relationship again. As they’ve spent too much time apart, it feels impossible for them to return to the friendship they had before. I loved these two together, and you could tell that they still cared for each other, even when they tried to hide it from themselves. There were so many cute moments, I couldn’t help but swoon over these two!

I loved this one and couldn’t recommend it more!

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute is the story of two friends-turned-rivals who compete against each other in an outdoorsy survival contest, but find love along the way.

Celine is a social-media queen and a bit obsessed with conspiracy theories. Brad is a popular athlete managing his OCD. Celine and Brad used to be friends before high school complicated everything and made it all a popularity contest. And both end up signing up for the Breakspeare Enrichment Program: a highly competitive outdoor survival competition that promises to open doors for participants, including a full college scholarship for the winner.

Told in dual narration over the course of Celine and Brad’s sixth form year, this novels covers their participation in the competition, their respective anxieties about what comes next (university? Law school?), and their budding romance as they are forced to spend more time together.

If you love Hibbert’s Brown Sisters books, you will love this. The writing is just as witty and the characters are just as multi-dimensional, realistic, and lovable. Be aware that there is no spice here — it is YA, after all — but the romance is adorable and swoon-worthy in all the best ways. I dare say that Hibbert’s writing works just as well or EVEN BETTER in YA than it does in her adult novels and I do think actual YA’s will adore this book! In particular, I love that she builds in healthy communication with her characters in addition to smart wit and real-world problems.

It is worth noting that I was originally disappointed a bit that this book was less about the actual competition than I thought. I love the structure a good competition gives to a novel, but I also love learning about the challenges presented. While this certainly had those, it was not of the type or scale I had envisioned. Since these characters are both in secondary school and the competition events take place over the school year, much of the story is still set at home and school. I ended up still loving the book, but I wanted to make other readers aware in case that is part of the draw to the story. The climax still revolves around the results of said competition, though, so rest assured--it is a major part of the conflict and plot.

Oh, and did I mention that it has excellent bisexual rep in the male main character? This was subtle and natural, but oh man do I love seeing good bisexual rep!

I absolutely love Talia Hibbert, so I jumped at the opportunity to read Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute.

Celine and Bradley were just oh so adorable. I loved how open they were about things once they became friends again. It was clear from the start that these two cared so deeply for one another and knew so much about each other. I loved how that dynamic played out in sth story, especially with regard to Bradley’s understanding of Celine and her father. Bradley is wise beyond his years!

I also felt like Celine grew a lot throughout the book. She wasn’t my favorite when the book started, but as the story progressed, she grew on me. I understood her a little more. I liked how she became less focused on her goals and more focused on people.

One of my favorite things about Talia’s writing is how she incorporated mental illness or chronic disease in her books. Bradley has OCD, and while it is talked about, it is not his defining characteristic. It was done subtly, bringing awareness but not too much attention.

I very much enjoyed this story, and I can’t wait to read more by Talia Hibbert!

I cannot explain how much I LOVED this. Usually books that have characters preparing for college gives me a lot of anxiety, but this was so funny and interesting that I was not anxious for them (as much).
The main characters in this book… I mean…I kinda love them. Obviously Celine makes dumb decisions but, honestly, I cannot blame her. In fact, I would probably do the same. Not sure what that says about my mental health, but it did make her seem realistic. And Brad (a tool name in my opinion though he is totally not a tool) is a DELIGHT. I have a few favorite guy main characters for YA books. I think I am gonna have to rearrange my list for Brad. Him struggling with and managing OCD is incredibly captivating and inspiring. His overall pleasant demeanor even when things are crap also just makes me want to swoon. ADORABLE.
Basically, I am really glad I read this. Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this before it came out.

Celine Bangura and Bradley Graeme’s used to be best friends. And now they’re enemies. So when they both wind up in the same Wilderness Enrichment program in competition for the scholarship things can’t possibly go well. And when they both start to realize that hate is a relatively easy emotion to mistake love for, well who knows why will happen.

This was such a fun and cute book! I loved Brad and Cel and I loved watching them both come to terms with their feelings. I wish the boys I went to high school with were half as self aware as Bradley and Jereme. I also loved that a main theme of the book was if you’re weird, or quirky, or have a mental illness that isn’t something people should love you “in spite of.” Talia Hibbert’s first foray into YA is a smash and will no doubt be a book that means so much to so many teenagers, I can say this because I know if I’d had this book as a teen it would’ve meant so much to me!

It took me almost 50% of the book to really invest in the characters and care about them. Celine grated my last nerve but I appreciated how Bradley softened her. Overall not my fav

This YA debut was fabulous!! Following the main characters as their relationship evolves from former best friends now enemies to love was refreshing. The thrill of competition, battling OCD and making life-changing decisions during their last year before university was relatable and enjoyable. The way main character Celine examined her emotional intelligence could be used as an example for young people who decide to pick up this book. Great read from Talía Hibbert!

Bradley Graeme is a laid-back popular teen on the football (American soccer) team, managing his OCD, and acing all his classes. Celine Bangura is a content creator sharing conspiracy theories on Tik Tok, toping Brad in all classes they share, and living her best life as her authentic self. Brad and Cel used to be friends, until a falling out years left them both thinking the other abandoned them. Now all that's left between them are academic rivalries and petty insults that sometimes cut deeper than intended. When both are chosen to participate in an enrichment program which involves an outdoor survival course in the woods, and need to work together to win a full university scholarship, they'll need to sift through their messy past as well as literal mud and dirt. But when they temporarily set their differences aside in order to work towards success, they start to remember all the good parts of their friendship, and it's possible that a new spark can be ignited just as well as a campfire.

This was just absolutely delightful. From the dual perspective in first person, we get to see both Celine and Bradley's opinions on each other and their prior friendship from the beginning, and we get to watch as they slowly start to develop deeper feelings of appreciation and love throughout the book. I appreciated how Celine is unapologetically herself, and even when she believes Bradley left because her personality was too outlandish for his new friends, she doesn't shy away from what makes her unique. She leans into the conspiracy theories and doesn't let anyone try to dissuade her, while also earning top marks in all of her classes to one day apply to Oxford or Cambridge to study law. While initially Bad only attends the Katherine Breakspeare Enrichment Program information session because he felt bad for *maybe* breaking Celine's wrist and didn't want her taking the bus alone, once Katherine herself starts speaking about how people treated her differently because of her dyslexia and how she had to work twice as hard to prove her worth, he connects with the sentiment and decides to apply as well (and if it proves to Celine that he can do anything she can do, well that's just icing on the cake). I really loved how much development was given to the side characters - Brad's parents and brother, even his sister who isn't present because she's studying in America, Celine's mom and sister (and sometimes her father when he appears, but not often), Celine and Bradley's best friends Minnie and Jordan, and the fellow Breakspeare candidates they befriend - Aurora, Sophie, and Raj. It was great to watch Celine and Brad's banter, which everyone else just interprets as the flirting it truly is (and they're just waiting for the two to realize it), and the frank discussions about relationships, sex, and not wanting to be left behind after secondary school, which are real fears of teens this age. I think one of my favorite parts of the book was when they throw a party for Aurora at camp, because Celine didn't want her to feel unimportant when her 18th birthday was away from her family and friends, even though they barely knew each other a week. And when Bradley puts everything together, he doesn't take all the credit because they know it was Celine's idea. The two work well as a team, even when they're butting heads, and it was really great letting them come together in the end.

I really want to highlight two specific aspects that were explored - Bradley's OCD and intrusive thoughts, and Celine's experience with parental abandonment. Early on, Bradley says that his OCD is managed (pretty well), but there will still be times when he needs balance, or can't share a bathroom with anyone so he can keep it as clean as necessary, or will get up earlier than anyone to make sure he's the only one in the camp bathroom / shower. At one point he does note that before he found medication and routine that worked for him, he thought it made his parents upset to see him and his life in disarray because of it. There are also moments in the book where we see Bradley's mental exchange with his intrusive thoughts - the most prominent is when Celine throws mud on his shirt during their first survival camping expedition. He takes the time to acknowledge the thoughts are there, accept them for what they are, and breathe deeply while letting rational thinking supersede them. It's been a while since I've seen intrusive thoughts mentioned and discussed in this way, and I really appreciated the depiction. Celine, her mom, and her sister were abandoned by her father years ago, when he came clean about having an affair and another family to tend to. While Celine doesn't want to admit it for a large portion of the book, even when she declares she's been fine without a father figure, she acknowledges that she got jealous seeing Bradley's solid relationship with his dad, and shapes a large portion of her future to a path that will prove him wrong - she wants to become a corporate lawyer at the second largest firm behind his and watch him squirm as he watches her succeed. Throughout the book, Celine has to have in depth discussions with Bradley, her sister, and her mom to work out these feelings and realize that she should shape her future around something she wants, and what she thinks will bring out the best in her. I also appreciated how Celine talks to her mom about seeking counseling, so she can further work out these feelings with a professional.

In conclusion, this was a great book to start the new year off with. This just makes me want to delve more into Talia Hibbert's backlist and hope she writes more of both adult and YA in the future. This also makes me more interested to see what the imprint, Joy Revolution Books, has in store for the future. Please pick this book up if you're in need of some cute and fluff in your life, or have loved some of Talia Hibbert's work in the past. *Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Joy Revolution Books, for the e-copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Children’s for the ARC of this!

I absolutely love the idea of this new imprint, and having loved the author’s Brown Sisters series I was so stoked to read this!

I think she did a great job moving into YA, and I loved the friends-to-enemies-to-lovers backstory/story arc. The setting was fun, I loved the diversity of the character and I especially loved the OCD rep as someone who struggles with intrusive thoughts and anxiety.

this was so charming and sweet! a YA debut that really stands on its own compared to talia hibbert’s stunning adult romances. this story follows celine and brad, friends turned enemies after they had a falling out a few years prior. they both end up signing up for a camping survival course for a chance to win college scholarships, and they have to work through their problems to achieve this. this felt like the perfect blend of friends-to-lovers, enemies-to-lovers, and academic rivalry and made for such a cute humorous plot!

the characters were definitely my favorite part of this book. it was told in dual POV, and hibbert did a great job of creating distinct voices for both celine and brad. their inner dialogue was sooo funny to me, and i loved getting more insight into their personal lives outside of their academic goals. celine is my fave conspiracy-loving, moody, introverted girly (although she was a capricorn when she was clearly giving aquarius vibes) and soft boy brad was such a complimentary love interest for her. their mutual pining that they were pretending didn’t exist was absolutely everything to me, however, there was a bit of a miscommunication trope (which i don’t love) but it was easy to overlook since this was a YA book and felt more realistic for their age range.

i adored this book so much & highly recommend!

An adorable YA debut from Talia with all the charm, wit, and swoon of her adult books!

A very sweet romance with our couple getting a second chance even at a young age. I felt like the serious subject matter of the heroine's dad leaving was handled really well.

A perfect blend of serious subject and cute and fluffy. Very much enjoyed!

This YA romance was super cute! I really liked Celine and Brad as characters and they felt mature while still acting like 17 year olds. I really appreciated the OCD and queer representation in this book and I’m so excited that it’s becoming more common in YA books. The ending felt a bit rushed and I wished we got a little more closure for the storyline with Celine’s dad but he was the worst so I’m simultaneous glad he didn’t get any more attention.

Bradley and Celine used to be friends. But AN EVENT happened and now they barely speak. And when they do speak, it is highly snarky banter. Unfortunately, while they would normally avoid each other at all costs, that is not possible when they both are accepted into a prestigious survival course. They don’t have to team up to win, but…well, it’s easier to deal with the enemy you know.

But as they spend more time together, they remember why they were friends to begin with and maybe…why they would like to be more.

I LOVED Celine and Bradley. Their banter is off the charts. Amazing. Spectacular. Top tier! But I really expect nothing less of Talia Hibbert.

And, of course, the romance was so freaking cute and sweet. I can barely come up with words. These two may be so different but they are perfect for each other. They work well together, they get each other, and they care for one another.

I LOVE how Celine cares for Bradley and his OCD. I practically cried at the way she knows what things affect him and knows what he needs at certain times. And Bradley knows how Celine feels about her father and what she needs after she sees him for the first time in a long time.

I also really loved the friendship group that came together while they were at the survival camp. Before, Celine had one friend and didn’t think she was capable of making more. But the team bonding at the survival camp proves her wrong. She also learns to trust a little more and as someone with trust issues, I so appreciated seeing that.

I also love Bradley and Celine’s unique hobbies/interests. Celines love a conspiracy theory and is famous on TikTok and Bradley loves writing and despite what his parents want, he really wants to be a writer.

The ending had me crying because it’s so wonderful and surprising and I love seeing a whole gang of friends come together to celebrate one another.

If you love Talia Hibbert, contemporary YA romance, or cute AF books, you need to read Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute. It is a must!

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert is available now.

Thank you to NetGalley and Joy Revolution for the free eARC in exchange for the honest review.

4 stars for this dual POV, former-friends-to-enemies-to-lovers young adult romantic comedy!

"Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute" by Talia Hibbert is a super cute and charming YA romance with excellent OCD/neurodivergence, body positivity, and OWN Voices representation.

Let me start off by saying that Talia Hibbert is one of my all-time favorite authors. Her humor, inclusion, love of geek culture, and stellar, descriptive writing are a breath of fresh air!

Celine is unapologetically Celine. She's proudly sure of herself in academics and her thriving conspiracy theory TikTok account. Still, her anxiety in social situations and trust issues (because of her father) make it hard for her to let down her walls and let people in. Brad is a charismatic, popular, bisexual all-star footballer with a heart of gold. He has OCD, which is much more manageable now than it was a few years ago. Still, it sometimes rules his life, and he has to actively work to keep his racing thoughts at bay. He is also harboring a secret: he doesn't actually want to study law like his father but is afraid of telling his family what he really wants to do instead. Celine and Brad used to be the best of friends, but an incident a few years ago turned them into enemies. They have always been academic rivals, and now, with a scholarship on the line, they both enter into an outdoor adventuring competition and are pitted against each other to win it.

This is a sweet, quirky, witty, wonderful coming-of-age story. I adored Celine and Brad as the main characters! I loved how Celine got to be the grump, and Brad got to be the sunshine of the pairing. They are definitely one of those couples I could see lasting forever if they were real-life people. Their connection is and always was undeniable. Both Brad and Celine go have terrific character arcs. They both learn lessons that feel believable, earned, and natural. And when they learn lessons together? Magic. Wonderful. Sparks!
The way Talia Hibbert talks about mental illness is so honest and understanding and refreshing. She is such a terrific, passionate writer. This is not some dumbed-down version of a YA novel. Hibbert talks to her readers with maturity and compassion, never talking down to them or making them feel less-than. "What is normal? What is fine?"
I also liked the side characters and hope we get to see some books about them, too!

While I really enjoyed this book, it's not my favorite from Talia Hibbert. I think it's because it is a young adult novel, and I have a hard time relating to what 'the youths' go through that now that I am ancient. I can't imagine being a high schooler in the age of Facebook/Instagram/TikTok. Still, there's enough good here that I was able to look past that and really enjoy this read. I found it unputdownable.

Thank you to NetGalley, Talia Hibbert, Random House Children's, and Joy Revolution for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This was cute! Brad and Celine's arc through all the ups and downs in their relationship as friends, enemies, rivals, etc. was fun and entertaining. The portrayal of Brad's OCD was respectful and realistic while not making the story revolve around it completely-as was Celine's anxiety. While I cringed at some of the decisions both of the main characters made, the plot flowed well and wasn't bogged down. Outside of Brad and Celine, the side characters were not very well fleshed out. The focus was clearly on Brad and Celine and that did some of the more interesting characters a disservice.
Overall, a nice and light read, if not an especially great one. 3/5.

Talia Hibbert has been on my radar for a while and I have been excited to read her for a while. So, when I had the chance to read an early copy of Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute I was very excited. This is a young adult romance that was sweet and charming. Bradley and Celine were once friends, until they weren’t. Now they are sworn enemies, right?

Bradly was a sweetheart. He is popular, a football player and adorably charming. Celine is quirky and unapologetically herself. They have no time for the other, until one day Brad finds himself helping her unwittingly. Celine has a plan for her future and is determined to do what it takes to get there. Brad is struggling with what he wants for his future and what he thinks is expected of him. When they find themselves vying for the same scholarships and needing to work together, can they do it? I enjoyed reading about the struggles each are facing and choices they need to make as they get to know each other again and find that they may not really hate each other. I truly enjoyed reading this story and am very excited to read more from this author in the future.

Happy reading!

In Talia Hibbert's first foray into Young Adult we follow Celine and Brad two teenagers who used to be best friends when they were younger but are now heated enemies on opposite ends of an academic rivalry. When Celine decides to sign up for a survival course in the woods that is offering an academic scholarship for uni to whoever wins, Brad decides to join her in the competition. This adorable YA rom-com follows the two as they traverse the woods, high school, their fears about the future, and their relationship with each other. Filled with witty banter and lively characters this book about old friends turned enemies is positive to make every reader fall head over heels for Brad and Celine.

Talia Hibbert honestly never misses. I'm going to be completely honest, I was slightly hesitant about this one because sometimes authors don't always navigate the transition from YA to Adult or Adult to YA that smoothly and I desperately didn't want to lose pride in one of my all time favorite romance authors. But Talia Hibbert slid into YA as smooth as a seal with absolutely zero faults. This book was absolutely perfect, it had all of her usually sparkle just adapted for a younger audience. Give me everything she writes and I will eat. it. up. I loved Celine and Brad as protagonists. I adored being inside both of their weird and beautifully interesting minds and I loved watching them figure out their futures and their priorities together. I loved reading about Brad's struggle with OCD especially since the author explained that most of his intrusive thoughts about OCD came from her personal experience. I loved watching Celine understand the innerworkings of her relationship with her dad and how that brought her closer to her sister and her mom. I also loved all their friends from high school and from the wilderness course who were rooting for Celine and Brad the entire time.

If you are looking for a sweet YA rom-com to pick up, please put this at the top of your list. I can assure you, you will not be disappointed!

This book was literally everything I wanted it to be and so much more! I am so excited to start off 2023 with such a strong five star read, it seems to be paving the way for some excited things to come. Truly though, after reading of the Brown Sisters books I’m of the opinion that Talia Hibbert can do no wrong, and this book has just solidified her genius to me.

Her characters are all incredibly smart, witty, and self aware in a way I typically don’t see in contemporaries (especially YA ones). Brad and Celine and very emotionally intelligent and they have some tough conversations with each other but they are brave enough to be vulnerable with each other and I loved every moment of it.

This is truly an enemies to lovers story and it was incredibly well written. Going from friends to enemies to friends to lovers was such a delightful whirlwind. I could literally gush nonstop about this book because I truly enjoyed it with every fiber of my being.

Not only was the story well written and had excellent pacing; but the characters were also diverse. Celine has trust issues due to her fathers abandonment and has trouble letting people in. Brad has diagnosed OCD that he works hard to keep from impacting him negatively. There is so much good stuff in this book and I’m truly impressed with it as a whole.