Such a cute debut YA from Talia Hibbert!! I'm a huge fan of her Adult works, so when she announced that she was going to be writing a YA Romance, I was ready to grab it and read it, and I really enjoyed it! I loved the humor of the story, Brad's outgoing personality, Celine's obsession with conspiracy theories, and how these ex-best friends found their way back to each other when the stakes are high. I think the only thing I would wish for more from this book was more of a finality to it? Like we know this book ends happily ever after, but I just wanted more from Brad and Celine's relationship. This was still a great story, and Talia's writing is so good and witty that I can't be mad at it.

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute is filled with adorable banter, nerdiness, and high school romance. I was rooting for each and every character throughout the story, and Hibbert did a masterful job of constructing well-layered and relatable MCs for such a quick read. First we have Celine, a 17 year old black girl who is unapologetically driven in all aspects of her life, including school, a future career in law, and a popular TikTok about conspiracy theories. Then we meet her archnemesis / childhood friend-turned-enemy Brad, a charming and popular boy with OCD and a passion for writing sci-fi. We get some ~incredible~ romance tropes, including forced proximity, bickering enemies-to-lovers, and a story where the guy falls first. It was sweet, heartwarming, funny, and I devoured it in one sitting.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children's for providing me with this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Goodreads review (12/7/2022): https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5150443653?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
TikTok review will be posted/linked closer to publication date*

Talia Hibbert writing YA? And the first book from Nicola & David Yoon's new imprint, Joy Revolution? I could not request this title fast enough. And apparently I couldn't read it fast enough, either. This book was one of my three current reads, because I like to have more than one book going at a time. But this one? I could NOT put it down. Read it straight through in one day. Why? Because it's just that good.

If you've read any of Talia Hibbert's books before (I'm more than a little fond of the Brown sisters), then you know she consistently gives us strong women with minds of their own and a penchant for snark and sarcasm. And not a bit of that has changed as she ventures into the YA world. Celine is my spirit animal and is everything I wish I had been when I was her age. Bradley is the cute boy you would die to have even notice you. The banter between the two is unmatched and I found myself giggling at it on more than one occasion. Also, I may or may not have taken some notes on the particularly good retorts for use at later date. And this whole book was just one big, comfy sweater on a cold winter day. It's sweet and absolutely unfairly cute, but it also gives us a good hard look at the realities of living with mental health issues, and that's something I appreciate seeing normalized in more and more of the books aimed at our younger generations. I especially loved that Bradley was shown using the techniques he had learned in therapy to deal with his intrusive thoughts. That's something we could all learn from.

All in all, this book is the cure for the winter blues that tend to settle in around this time of year. So grab your comfiest blanket, a big cup of hot chocolate with extra marshmallows, and snuggle up with this absolutely delightful book.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Joy Revolution for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Characters: 5/5
Setting: 3.5/5
Writing: 5/5
Plot: 4/5
Overall: 4.5/5
 
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my review.
 
Talia Hibbert doesn’t have a single bad track. The Brown Sisters books? Steamy, swoony perfection. Merry Inkmas? Everything you could ever want in a Christmas book. Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute? Adorably awkward YA goodness. This is Talia’s YA debut and if you’re wondering whether I missed having spicy scenes, I can tell you with absolute certainty that I didn’t even notice they were gone, and neither will you. I guarantee you’ll be far too busy pissing yourself laughing at Bradley and Celine’s inner monologues or rapid-fire banter.
 
This is what you can expect from this book:
Enemies to (sorta?) friends to (definitely) lovers
Academic rivals
Camping shenanigans
A conspiracy theorist TikToker MC
Dorm shenanigans
Meddling siblings
Gen Z humor (we really are the funniest generation)
Did I mention shenanigans?
 
Celine is an awesome protagonist. She’s blunt, messy, and definitely avoidant, as Brad loves to mention, but she’s also incredibly thoughtful, kind, and strong willed. Brad is such a soft himbo, I love him endlessly. I love how open he is about having OCD. Even in the moments where you can tell it annoys him, he never expresses any desire to be neurotypical.
 
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute comes out January 3rd! If you want a book about academic rivals competing for a scholarship in the woods while also getting over their years of pent up resentment and occasionally making out, you’ll love this one.

Like other reviewers, I didn't do my research and didn't realize this was a YA novel. I have absolutely adored Talia's other books so I was excited for this one. If I was still a teen or young adult, I would have absolutely loved this. I just had a hard time relating to the characters. I absolutely recommend this for older teens though. Super sweet, inclusive, and fun.

Hibbert's first YA novel hits just as well as her adult novels. Although not appropriate for my middle school classroom, I will be recommending to older teachers for their classroom libraries!

I'm going to be honest, I didn't realize this was a YA book when I requested it. I loved Talia's other series and so I jumped on this book with no research (and cause the title is so cute). That being said, ya isn't my favorite genre anymore, so I felt like i struggled to get in to it for a while. The ending was cute and the book was well done.

This book is Hibbert first book in the YA genre and i was skeptical but Hibbert hit it out of the park. This book was wonderful! This was romantic and funny and just an all around fantastic read.
This book has some great mental illness rep in the main character. As well as this is just a great friends to enemies to lovers story line which i am just a sucker for. This is definitely a book I plan on recommending!

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly cute is a new YA title from Talia Hibbert, known to many Adult readers of Women's Fiction and Romance for her fabulous "Brown Sisters" book series. Her entry into the Young Adult genre is a great story that tracks the challenges that a young man and a young woman can have when they become friends in the middle school years and things happen that pull them apart once they hit high school. The story of the "nerd" and the star of the football team finding their way back together as their high school years are coming to an end is just the best kind of feel good story. So many relatable plot points for both teens and adults. Trigger warning, this book does deal with one character dealing with OCD.

Hibbert does a wonderful job illustrating how our familial relationships effect the way that we deal with our friends and romantic interests from the start...in our story Bradley and Celine have to navigate how their own experiences with their families are effecting how they are reacting to each other...and aren't we all dealing with that in our own romantic interactions every day? Hibbert does a wonderful job building up romantic tension between our two main characters in a completely YA-appropriate way, but with a build up that even an adult could enjoy. She really treated these characters with a lot of respect for what they HAVE experienced in their short lives, and honors them coming into adulthood. This would be a great read for for anyone!
Thank you to Net Galley, Random House Children's and Joy Revolution for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. All opinions are my own! #HighlySuspiciousandUnfairlyCute #NetGalley

‘Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute’ is Talia Hibbert’s first foray into YA and she nails it on the first try. Her protagonists are fresh, vibrant, and utterly endearing. Bradley is the popular kid with OCD while Celine is a conspiracy theorist TikToker. These ex-friends are forced together in a scholarship competition that forces them to contend with their best and worst qualities in order to get the life they each dream of. Their chemistry is off the charts, and Hibbert brings such sensitivity and thoughtfulness to their struggles that a reader can’t help but root for them. Highly recommended for readers of romance, those who enjoy the enemies to lovers trope, and anyone looking for portrayals of mental illness in teenagers.

Great banter, funny characters with actual personalities, super nerdy at times and mental health rep that didn’t feel like a simple add-on for plot pizazz. Hands down my favorite was Bradley. Celine was cool and knew how to match his energy but we love a self-aware simp and he owned it. lol The book title didn’t lie and was so infuriatingly cute, I even giggled multiple times. ME. *facepalm* I’m even willing to overlook the amount of times TikTok was mentioned which I surprisingly didn’t cringe at like usual.

The fact that a YA romance has hit way harder than all the adult ones I’ve read this entire year is crazy to me.

It doesn’t officially come out until January 2023 but we should just go ahead and give it the Goodreads YA award for next year. It already won. At minimum, it’s a 4star but I’m gonna give it the extra star just for Bradley. He was that adorable.



Thank you NetGalley, Random House Children's and Joy Revolution for providing a copy for an honest review.

Just as I expected, I really enjoyed this book. Hibbert is masterful at creating realistic relationships between her characters that make you want to root for them. I was a bit nervous that skill wouldn’t fully translate to a YA book and that, as an adult reader, I wouldn’t be able to relate to them, but I was very wrong. She does such a good job of fleshing her characters out, and making their thoughts, hopes, motivations feel visceral and real. I also love how unflinching she is in addressing mental health issues in a way that makes them even more well rounded. This was a cute, heartstring-tugging book, and continued to cement Hibbert as an auto-buy author for me.

4.5/5 stars

I going to preface with saying I am HUGE Talia Hibbert fan so I was super excited to read her debut YA novel. This was such a good, witty and fun book. It has all the teen angsty and funny situation I would want in a YA romance. It has friends to enemies to friends to maybe more? I loved both the characters of Brad and Celine. I loved Celine conspiracy theories and her focus for her with success and her self deprecation. I love her family dynamic and her how she is coping with her father's absence. It is so relatable. I also adored Brad. Being in his head while he explained his OCD was so amazing. The little glimpses into his head made his character so approachable. He was the perfect guy on the outside with the sports, and popular with all the friends. He was all charm and "unfairly cute" but he was dealing with so internally that it have him great depth. Not your typicdal nerdy girl meets popular guys and they fall in love. This book had so much more. I loved their friendship and the way they communicated (or even the lack of communication). It was very real and true to teenage love. I really enjoyed the setting and the story of winning a scholarship with camping. It made for great background to their love story not being stuck in just a school setting. I also loved the family and friendships that were apart of the story.

Another Talia Hibbert hit for me. I truly enjoy everything she has written.

As a self-proclaimed Talia Hibbert superfan, I was beyond excited to take a look at her new YA book. Even though I have grown out of the YA genre, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this and just like the title, it was Unfairly Cute. Hibbert is able to give such depth to her characters without inserting a monstrous chapter explanation, and that alone makes me love her. She brings to life characters that are real, that you can meet in person, that have real life problems and struggles. Brad and Celine are childhood friends, turned enemies, back to friends and more. They both have the regular high school to uni growing pains, along with family pressures. Yet, I felt as if Hibbert really poured herself into Brad with all the care she built into him and reading the end I saw that she too also suffers from OCD and that was her inspiration. Celine is a rising conspiracy theorist star on TikTok and not only embraces her weird, but leans into it. Seriously where was she when I was in high school. Please check this novel out when it was released and thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

I loved this YA romance! I am a big fan of Talia Hibbert's Brown Sisters Series, so I was excited to read this book! And she did not disappoint! I lovedddd the childhood friends to enemies to rivals to lovers arc! This book had great representation, and the characters were very charismatic. They had great chemistry and even the side characters added a lot to the story. It was a quick read and left me smiling all throughout! I would recommend to anyone who likes YA romance!

I've read almost everything Talia Hibbert has written, so I jumped at the chance to request her first foray into YA. I was relieved to find that her writing style--witty banter, laugh-out-loud one-liners, and strong representation of mental health issues--translates well. Brad and Celine both feel fleshed out and unique, and their relationship is, well, unfairly cute. Hibbert does, however, spend less time adding depth to her plot; for example, I wanted more from the BEP scholarship storyline. Regardless, if you've enjoyed Hibbert's other books and also like reading YA, pick this up.

I have only read a few YA romances but I will read anything Talia Hibbert writes. This was one of the sweetest romances I’ve read with so much inclusion throughout the book I just loved it. The characters were flawless, the storyline, the relationships, all of it. I don’t have one thing that I think this book could’ve done better.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's, Joy Revolution, and author, Talia Hibbert, for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoy Hibbert's adult romances, so I was very excited for her first foray into the YA genre. The characters were very unique and interesting people that you root for. I loved the way OCD and mental struggles were represented in a male main character - which is rare. Hibbert's signature banter, pop culture references and heart were all [erfectly spiced into this YA novel. The one downside was I felt the romance was a bit platonic- when normally she has such great spice and yearning.

i love talia hibbert books so much, but this didn't quite have the same magic / charm/ perfectness/ joy / banter / love / perfection as she typically does for me. maybe it was the move to YA?

i was interested in so much of this! in friends to enemies to lovers, and in the romance, and in these two characters and their backstories, and in the other friends in the story, and in their academic rivals thing. i just wanted MORE from all of it.

but a book not feeling long enough is not a bad problem to have!

I adored this book. First of all, I had never read a book that has a character with OCD, and might I add, lovingly and possibly more sensitively portrayed than those characters may sometimes be. I am so glad that Talia Hibbert put some of herself into this story. And I'm so glad that she wrote a YA book, because I really liked how she wrote YA. Seriously, this is a story that made me feel things and I enjoyed following the two MCs. I also especially enjoyed seeing how one of the MCs secretly wanted to do something that wasn't what his dad expected for his future. I don't want to give away too much of what happens with that. But this book was a total winner for me and I hope that lots of people pick it up!