anyone who knows me knows i absolutely love the childhood best friends to enemies to lovers trope, and celinebradley having that trope mixed with the academic rivals trope was just perfect.

i loved that this book was dual pov and we got to see a deeper look into both of the characters' personal lives and the progression of their feelings towards each other. i also thought the plot was very fun and unique - i personally could not be caught stuck in the wilderness for a scholarship, but it was fun reading about kids who would :D and celine and bradley's banter was so funny and cute, and i enjoyed seeing their relationship develop through the book.

Talia Hibbert does not disappoint!!

This black love YA romance between ex best friends turned nemesis in their last year of high school that sign up for the same program to win a scholarship was truly an amazing and fun read.

I love how the author writes inner monologs and banter between the main characters, it's so fun and cute and makes you really get into the story and want the relationship to thrive.

Both main characters have a great character development and put in the effort to make their relationship succeed but they're also teens so things are on their level.

I loved their intimate scenes and just....ughhh they're so cute

Highly recommend this book

5/5 ⭐️ I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did! I don’t read a lot of YA so I was skeptical but Talia Hibbert’s writing never fails to draw me in.

This literally had me giggling and laughing and it just felt like a warm hug. It was just so cute and funny and surprisingly emotional. Both Celine and Brad were very vulnerable and I felt so connected to them. Their struggles, fears, and dreams felt like my own.

I just loved every minute of this book. Celine and Brad’s banter was hilarious! I literally had a smile on my face whenever they bickered 😁.

This was friends-to-enemies-to-friends-to-lovers and it was done so well. It is evident that although they are “enemies” they are both obsessed with each other. It was just the cutest thing ever 🥹❤️.

One of the things I thought would bother me was the pop culture references. I usually don’t like them in my books but oddly enough, I didn’t mind it here. It wasn’t OTT.

Overall, this was such an amazing read. I loved the characters and the romance was really cute!

I reviewed this on Book Riot's All the Books podcast. Here is a rough transcript.

This is Talia Hibbert’s debut YA romance.
I love the Brown Sisters series.
In fact, it really changed my perspective on romance.
It showed me how much I could love it.
But even though Talia Hibbert has written plenty of other books, I haven’t read any of them.
I think I’ve been nervous that they won’t be as magical of a reading experience.
But when I saw she was coming out with a YA romance out Jan 3rd, I had to read it for this episode.
But there weren’t any review copies, so I emailed the publisher and requested one.
And they never emailed back.
But then, when I had lost all hope, only days before recording, they made review copies available.
And I’m so glad, because I really enjoyed this one.
This follows Brad and Celine,
Who were were best friends years ago,
And are now bitter academic rivals.
When a scholarship opportunity opens up at a Wilderness Camp —
One run by Celine’s environmental lawyer hero —
They both jump at the chance.
But they’ll have to figure out how to work together if they have a chance of winning that scholarship.
This was such a fun mix of friends to lovers, rivals to lovers, and even some second chance romance elements.
They used to be so close, but then Brad started making new friends and generally not being a weirdo, which Celine took as betrayal.
Now, she runs a semi-popular TikTok account about conspiracy theories and he plays football, and they are in completely different circles.
Of course, Celine’s reaction to Brad wanting to make other friends might have something to do with her dad’s abandonment of their family.
They haven’t spoken in years.
But she has a plan.
She’s going to become a corporate lawyer, just like he is,
But she will be a better lawyer,
And he’ll have to see her face everywhere, and always feel that guilt,
And that will be the perfect punishment.
All she has to do is get perfect grades, round out her extra-curriculars, and get hopefully get this scholarship. No problem.
Neither Brad or Celine is excited about the wilderness camp element.
Brad has OCD, and there are a lot of things in the forest that trigger his fear of contamination.
And Celine is just not an outdoorsy kind of person.
But they’re both willing to brave it for the opportunity.
And might I say that this is, while believable, a ridiculous way to test someone’s academic or professional qualities?
It reminds me of my high school gym teacher, who told us to learn from the high jump winners, because they were really going to go far in life.
But back to Brad. In the author’s note, Talia Hibbert explains being recently diagnosed with OCD and how it runs in her family.
I appreciated how we see Brad dealing with it.
He was diagnosed before the book started and has found the right combination of therapy, drugs, and techniques to manage it most of the time.
We see him talking himself through his strategies countering his obsessive thoughts, which I really appreciated.
On the other hand, Celine has not learned healthy methods of dealing with her fear of abandonment, and it’s affecting a lot of her life.
Her dad’s company is one of the sponsors of the wilderness camp, and that means he’ll probably be at the ending party, which will be the first time she’s seen him in years.
She doesn’t see how she’s letting him control so much of her life, just to spite him.
But this is a romance, and I haven’t even talked about that part yet.
I really liked Celine and Brad’s relationship.
They have that staple of a rivals to lovers romance: good banter.
And even after they get past that animosity, there’s still a good reason for them not getting together, which is something I need from a romance novel.
Celine’s fear of abandonment not only makes it hard to commity to someone else in general,
But they’re only months away from graduation, where they will be going to different schools.
Still, despite her logic, she can’t help being drawn to him,
And they end up in a friends-who-kiss situation that they both want more from but can’t articulate.
I really felt for Celine.
She wants so hard to protect herself from heartbreak, but it’s already too late. It’s impossible to not open yourself to be hurt by people, unless you completely isolate yourself.
Brad and Celine had a great dynamic, and this definitely lived up to the standard set by her Brown Sisters series.
Also, Brad is bisexual! More bisexual men in books, please.
Honestly, my only complaint in this whole book was a brief conversation about Kanye, and I imagine that was written before some recent remarks.
So if you like friends to lovers or rivals to lovers YA romances, definitely pick this one up.
And that’s Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert

I loved this book! The characters were well-drawn, the writing was smart, and it was really funny. Will definitely recommend and read anything Talia Hibbert writes!

I loved Talia Hibbert's Brown Sisters Trilogy so very much! This was the first book outside of that trilogy that ive read of Hibbert's books! I really enjoyed it and even found that it had that same energy as the Brown Sisters, which was a huge win for me! I'm absolutely going to be picking up more of her books!

I really wanted to love this book, especially because I love Talia Hibbert books. But I think they author needs to stay in adult romance world.

This book was not interesting to read. Started from the very unlikeable MC Celine. I’ve read books where I didn’t like the main character but the usually grew on me. Celine did not. She got worse as the book went on. Bradley was much more enjoyable and I think if he didn’t have his own POV I would have DNFed the book. I did find that he fell for Celine quicker than I’d like. I’d have preferred more angst between them.

The overall plot seems very random and unlikely to every happen. A camping competition to win a scholarship? Odd.

As I’m writing this review a week after finishing the book I realize that I don’t remember most of what happened in the book. It was bland and forgettable. There were moments where the witty banter was funny and cute. But overall I really didn’t enjoy this book. I’m honestly surprised I’m not rating it lower.

Thank you to penguin teen Canada for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Such fun and romance. It's the perfect camp read. There have to be camp reads if there are beach reads, right? I will definitely recommend it and have done so on my TikTok. I enjoyed it.

I thought this was a really cute read from Talia Hibbert. As a fan of her adult romance, this YA romance was cute and fun and easy to read. Although YA isn’t really my genre anymore, I don’t have anything negative to say except how enjoyable Celine and Brad were. Going from friends to enemies to friends to lovers was so fun to read and just seeing them grow together again was amazing.

Thank you again to NetGalley for inviting me to read Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute!

Talia Hibbert is one of the authors that got me into reading romance. Her Brown Sisters trilogy was excellent, so I knew I had to grab this one. Even though it was more YA than her normal books, it was still an excellent and cute read!

What a wonderful romantic story of former childhood best friends turned intellectual rivals. Talia Hibbert well written high school coming of age pair of Bradley and Celine. Both were quite relatable and young adult readers could put themselves in their shoes. I loved that it gave the reader a look inside in the lives of teenagers in the UK.

Talia Hibbert delivers a cute and irresistible love story with her YA debut, Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute. Celine and Bradley were once inseparable. They knew and understood each other better than anyone. It was an impossible bond to break or so they once thought. Now they can’t stand to be in the same room with one another. Every interaction snowballs into an argument, with each taking verbal jabs at the other. Both are convinced the other is responsible for their friendship ending and nothing will convince them otherwise. When a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity comes Celine’s way, a chance to win a scholarship by enrolling in a wilderness program run by one of her idols, she leaps at the chance. Unfortunately, Bradley also insists on participating, seeing this as a way to make his own academic dreams come true, dreams he hasn’t quite been ready to share with anyone. Forced into each other’s orbit once again, Celine and Bradley must put their differences aside if they have any hope of winning. Soon they discover that the bond they thought was gone hasn’t entirely disappeared and there may be room for something more to develop between them. The disdain these characters have for one another leaps off the pages. They can definitely come across as a little silly and immature, but they both have such conviction, it’s hard not to get sucked into their banter. Celine is very bossy and knows it. She’s always ready to strike first. She has a complicated relationship with her father, but is very close to her mother and sister. This scholarship would mean taking the financial burden of university off her mother’s shoulders. Bradley has been on a preordained path for years. He is supposed to study law; he’s supposed to want to study law. Only, his heart is set elsewhere, on his passion for writing. He just hasn’t been confident or brave enough to make his desires known. I loved that this novel wasn’t just about the rivalry between these two characters. Hibbert takes the time to develop their own personal journeys. I also appreciated that Celine and Bradley’s falling out wasn’t just a matter of miscommunication, but they had some real issues that neither of them had addressed head on at the time. Talia Hibbert’s Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute is a sweet rivals-to-lovers YA contemporary which will have you falling for both leads.

“Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute” by Talia Hibbert is a heartwarming romance that easily earns four stars. Hibbert’s signature charm shines through in this delightful tale, where endearing characters and witty dialogue take center stage. The chemistry between the protagonists is electric, and their interactions are nothing short of adorable. While the plot may follow some familiar romance tropes, Hibbert infuses it with a refreshing and unique spin that keeps you hooked. If you’re in the mood for a cute and feel-good love story, “Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute” is the perfect choice to add a touch of sweetness to your reading list.

I really enjoyed reading this why a novel by Talia Hibbert. After reading the Brown sisters trilogy, I was really looking forward to more by her and this book is so utterly charming and delightful and the characters are fun and quirky, and very easy to root for. I have course miss the spicy scenes from her adult novels, but she is very good at writing Teen melodrama

Talia Hibbert does not miss! I first read her Brown Sisters Trilogy and was interested in what she would do in the YA space when this was announced. It did not disappoint. There is a trend of YA books being written for adults, but this is a YA romance written for a YA audience.

This novel follows Celine and Bradley, once best friends, are now school rivals who only talk to make gabs at one another. An unfortunate accidents leaves them both competing in an outdoors survival course with the top 3 prizes being full ride scholarships to uni.

There is so much good going on in this. There is great character development, but also fantastic plot development. It’s also a dual POV, which is my absolute favorite, and each character’s voice is so strong. Bradley has OCD, and his internal monologue is endearing, funny, and also great representation for one persons experience. He has supportive parents and has gotten professional help, so him struggling to get help and being rock bottom is not apart of this story. In my opinion a lot of care was taken in his representation. Bradley is also just a cinnamon roll of a character, and I love a grumpy sunshine troupe where the male lead is the sunshine.

On the other hand we have Celine who is the grump in this duo. She struggles with feelings of abandonment that stems from her father. Her personal story arc relates to how this has been affecting her life in ways she has yet to realize. Even though I say she is a grump, it is pretty light in the grump scale, she is an endearing character, and from her internal monologue is very sweet.

You aren’t going to get spicy, I can’t believe this is in a kids book vibes from this. Hibbert captures both the certainty and uncertainty one feels at 17. I liked this as an adult, but I would have loved this as a high schooler reading it. So for my personal reading it’s a 4 and for the target audience it is a 5 - so 4.5 it is! If this interests you as an adult, please pick it up - but I highly encourage you to get this for a young family member or your friends kid!

I loved the humor and over-the-top attitude of the heroine in this novel. I have book talked it a lot at school and gotten great reviews!

I loved the adult series The Brown Sisters by Talia Hibbert and was excited to see what she does with a YA book! This book was really cute, with a perfect amount of spice for teens. Celine and Bradley are super smart without being ostracized at school, ambitious and snarky in the best way. I also appreciated the representation and depiction of OCD in an honest and seemingly authentic manner.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Celine and Bradley are teenagers trying to figure out what they want to do in the future. They have not been friends in many years, although their families are very close. These two are very competitive so they both sign up for an outdoor camp which is an opportunity for a scholarship.

What this book has:
~YA steamy romance
~Nerdiness
~Self-realization
~Rekindled friendship
~Enemies-to-Friends-to-Lovers
~Dual POV
~OCD rep
~Comfort in who they are

Triggers:
~Distant/Poor relationship with Father

Absolutely sweet and adorable book that is a great representation for YA audiences of what a healthy relationship looks like.

This book radiates fun and charm! Celine and Bradley are super witty, determined, and overall extremely endearing with tons of comedic banter. I also appreciated the representation and depiction of OCD in an honest and seemingly authentic manner.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.