Celine is an overacheiver with trust issues. Determined to participate in a wilderness experience organised by her idol, she finds herself spending more and more time with her insufferable ex-best friend, Brad, for whom she might have more feelings than she's willing to admit...

This is a quick, sweet YA romance with good, relatable characters. The plot dragged a bit and there was lots of skipping over what I expected to be the good bits. Definitely aimed at the younger end of YA, but overall not a bad book.

Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adored this book. Earlier this year, I read the brown sisters trilogy and fell in love with the amazing writer that Talia Hibbert is. I adore the fact that her characters are diverse (race, size, health) and I really appreciate how she makes the characters lovable when so many authors with diverse characters do not. Celine's and Brad's story is so so cute! It's a super combo of tropes friends to enemies to friends to lovers!! Absolutely magical ride, I read it all in one sitting.

Talia Hibbert is dipping her toes into YA and it was a fun read. This is a friends to enemies to lovers story and I enjoyed seeing the journey our characters took to get to that lovers stage. It was definitely YA and I think teens will really enjoy certain references in the story. It did drag a little for me around the midway point, but all in all it was an easy, cute read.

This was an absolutely adorable YA romantic comedy. I would classify this as friends to enemies to lovers. Our protagonists were once best friends but had a falling out as one becomes more popular. Both decide to compete for a scholarship camping program and their friendship and more reignites. This is definitely a YA story, the main characters are in high school and it is definitely geared towards a much younger reader than me. I would highly recommend this to YA readers who want a sweet romance with some great representation - bisexual characters, OCD characters, BIPOC characters.

Thank you NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

This is the first book I've read by Talia Hibbert, but I can promise you that it won't be my last. I had her Brown sister series on my to read list for years but always put if off. After reading her young adult novel, I am ashamed I waited so long.

I wasn't fully prepared to read a young adult novel and was nervous how I'd feel reading it being almost 30. As stated above, I was pleasantly surprised. The cutlure difference between British schools and American schools was also a transition and it honestly read like a college romance novel. I appreciated Talia's glossary at the beginning of the novel even if it was in satire. From the beginning, Talia is able to captivate the audience's attention by crafting distinct perspectives from each of the main characters. Celine is stubborn and sassy and Brad is an emotional overthinker who seems to have everything handed to him (key word: seems). Throughout the book these former besties, now frenemies, learn to forgive, fight, flirt, and quite literally fall in love with each other (no spoilers!). I don't want to spoil too much with my review but if friends to lovers/enemies to lovers is your trope, go read this book ASAP!

talia hibbert does not fail to deliver. i loved the brown sisters series so much so i was so excited when i got an arc for this book

i'm pretty sure this is her first ya book but it hit all the points that i would expect from ya and i think it portrayed a high school relationship pretty well. the interactions between brad and celine were adorable and i liked that they had a past before becoming "enemies."

this book was pretty fast moving but the bep plot bored me just a little bit. i would have liked to see something more come out of it. but overall this was such a fun read and i really hope talia hibbert writes more ya in the future

Thank you to @netgalley + @randomhousekids + @taliahibbert for the eARC!

“Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute” by Talia Hibbert (pub date: January 3)

SYNOPSIS: Brad and Celine are mortal enemies. They used to be best friends until Brad became a jock and left Celine in the dust. Now in their final year of high school, they have the chance to win university scholarships by competing in camping and team-building challenges through a selective program. Forced to work together, can they rekindle what they once had or is their past too far gone?

This book 🥹💓 I’m not a big YA reader but Celine and Brad were too cute. I loved the story, the main + supporting characters, the banter, and the heartwarming wholesomeness of the romance. I was really impressed with how Talia Hibbert wrote in Gen Z (the slang and meme references were spot on) and how authentically she conveyed the anxiety of being uncertain about your future at 18 years old. I also loved the representation of OCD and normalization of therapy.

“Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute” will make you feel so warm and fuzzy while also making you laugh. So grateful for the ARC and can’t wait for this to officially release in January 🫶🏻

I'm so excited that Talia Hibbert wrote a YA novel! This was great, with strong character development and a relatable plot. Celine and Brad used to be best friends until Brad got sporty and (at least from her perspective) left Celine behind. Now they're both in their final year of secondary school and both end up in a wilderness leadership training program thing to compete for a scholarship to university. They're both planning to study law, but both for different (bad) reasons, and as they move through their fall semester, they tentatively rekindle their friendship. Since this is a romance, that friendship quickly becomes something more. I really liked both Celine and Bradley, and I thought they were well-developed, realistic, and interesting characters. As someone with OCD myself, I really appreciated the inclusion of OCD representation and felt that both main characters' mental health issues were depicted with care and kindness.

This book lives up to half its title because it is unfairly cute. This book was such fun and had me smiling and giggling from the beginning! It has the Talia Hibbert staples such as great and funny banter and heart warming romance, but for a YA romance! I loved the chemistry between Celine and Bradley. Their enemies were so well written that I couldn’t see them reconciling. But there was so much growth and development (which I loved to see and made me happy because it led to their happiness) for them to get together that it worked out so well! In those moments between enemies to lovers I was on the edge of my seat just waiting for them to admit their feelings! Celine and Bradley have the kind of high school romance that I wish I had then.

Overall, I loved this and recommend you read it when it comes out in January!

Read if you’re looking for…
•childhood friends to enemies to lovers
•forest adventures
•mental health rep
•dual pov

“The point is, I want to take the risk because I want you. And I trust you. And you’re worth it! Do you get that? You’re worth it to me.”

Celine and Brad. He’s the popular, star football player that everyone wants to be friends with. And she’s the weird, conspiracy theory-obsessed that is popular on social media, but not in real life. Former best friends that now hate each other, until they’re both competing for a scholarship.

This was a nice story, but I felt like it was a little confusing and rushed. I feel like Celine and Brad didn’t really have chemistry. They literally went from hating and bickering to having feelings—it was out of the blue. And they’ve barely mentioned why they had a falling out.

🌲READ IF YOU LIKE🌲:
- dual POV
- content creator x football player
- besties to enemies to lovers
- academic rivalry
- being in the wilderness
- sci-fi writer
- he’s popular, she’s not
- bickering
- conspiracy theories
- forced proximity
- LGBTQ+ & mental health rep: ocd
- England/Scotland setting

cw: parent abandonment, ocd, divorce, trust issues, concussion

Thank you to @netgalley and @joyrevbooks for the advanced copy! Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute is available on January 3, 2023!

I loved the Brown Sisters trilogy (especially book 1), so I immediately requested this on Netgalley when I saw it. This is Talia Hibbert’s YA debut and is a dual POV, childhood friends to enemies to lovers story.

First off, this cover is so cute! I’m obsessed.

Second, I really enjoyed getting to know these characters. Celine is a conspiracy theory tik toker (which I thought was hilarious) and is dealing with some tough family trauma. Brad is bi, has OCD and is the absolute sweetest cinnamon roll of a human being. It will be nearly impossible not to fall in love with him, I guarantee it. I love that Talia incorporates real life characteristics like these into her characters. She has OCD herself, so I would imagine she did the representation justice.

Overall, this was funny, witty and gosh-darn adorable!! I hope Talia keeps writing YA because I will keep reading it.

This was funny and I was invested in the characters and plot . This is an YA novel . They also say fuck a lot so If that bothers you skip it. The relationship dynamic was good. If you like Ya this is good for the YA crowd . I do prefer her adult books more .

Already a fan of Talia Hibbert, I could not wait to read her debut YA novel Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute. Let me tell you, Ms. Hibbert did not disappoint! Talia Hibbert has a talent for creating strong, unapologetic female leads. This time around she has given us readers an equally lovable male mc who makes this book impossible to put down.

Celine Bangura is determined, goal oriented and ready to do anything to reach the future she has meticulously planned. This is a girl who knows what she wants and knows who she is. Bradley Graeme is Celine's ex-best friend. She has successfully cut all contact with this boy who betrayed her. That is, until the new school year begins and she is suddenly forced into his orbit once again. Both these characters have faced struggles in the past which form who they are now. When Celine and Bradley are forced to work together can they put aside their rivalry long enough to meet their goals. Readers will love the journey these two take, I know I did.

I fell in love with these characters and their personalities. I kept a smile plastered to my face as I read through this book. Talia Hibbert writes the kind of characters you hate to say goodbye too. This was a wonderful teen read and I can't wait to see what else she has to offer the young adult community.

This story deals with important issues including parental abandonment and OCD. Talia Hibbert did an excellent job showcasing these issues. As a mother I'm always looking for books to give my teens that can give them a perspective of other peoples trials and struggles.

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A Talia Hibbert book for teens! It's perfect and hilarious and so sweet, I just loved it. If you love the Brown sisters books, you are going to love Brad and Celine. Cannot recommend this highly enough!

I'm going into this review KNOWING that I wasn't the target audience, and that's okay. I'm so obsessed with Talia Hibbert that I wanted to read anything she wrote anyways.
I want to start off by saying, Talia is doing something so special for popular romance novels. Her highlighting of POC and individuals with illnesses (of all types) is miraculous. Characters like hers are rarely represented and they are ALL such gems.
There were some portions that weren't for me, but I think that's because even at 22 l've aged out of things like TikTok references and anything that will age a book too heavily in the next decade.
That being said, I adored the love story. It was sweet and satisfying and I loved both Bradley and Celine so much on their own- which always makes it easier to love them together. Their growth, both of their relationship and personally, was so heart warming to follow. I will read anything Talia writes, always.

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute is a YA novel by Talia Hibbert. We follow the main characters, Celine and Brad who grew up together but after a rift happens between them, they become enemies. After a series of events, they end up in the same wilderness group in the hope of winning a scholarship and they start to remember why they were friends (and maybe more) to begin with.

I was hesitant to pick this up with it being a young adult book. While I enjoyed Hibbert’s Brown Sisters’ trilogy, I worried that her writing may not transfer well to young adult. I’m so happy that this book proved me wrong. This book was delightfully age appropriate, touching in a lot of topics and challenger teenagers go through. Brad has OCD and I felt like it was handled very well in this book. Brad has learned how to cope with it and even though he had struggles, it never defines who he was as a person. Celine is delightfully quirky without it being too much. A lot of the conflict for her in this book surrounds her relationship with her absent father. I thought the relationship between the main characters was appropriately paced and I loved the friends to enemies to friends to maybe more trope.

My only complaint is that I feel like this book wrapped up too quickly. We really started exploring the characters’ feelings about one another as well as their feelings about the future and then we were at the end. I would have loved two or three more chapters to just explore more of the character dynamics in the final act of the book.

All in all, I think this is a solid YA contemporary that anyone in that age range can relate to. I loved all the different representation in this book and seeing a plus size female main character on the cover is always a step in the right direction for me.

Another delightful story by Talia Hibbert. This is a YA novel but for fans of the author it is a must read. Bradley and Celine are super adorable together. They had been friends as children until Bradley became a popular kid. The two were brought back together for the survival course then sign up for to hopefully earn a full scholarship. Bradley has OCD and Talia handles that with sensitivity. Celine and Bradley end up talking about the misunderstanding that caused their rift. I enjoyed this story and would reread it and highly recommend

I loved the Brown sisters trilogy, so was very excited to read this. It is a YA novel, but does not disappoint in the story of 2 teens falling in love and chasing their HEA. This was a funny, charming, easy page turner. I loved both of the main characters Brad and Celine and the dual POV. I’d recommend if you want something light and easy but not at the sake of plot or romance.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my review.

#HighlySuspiciousandUnfairlyCute #NetGalley

Talia Hibbert's young adult novel, HIGHLY SUSPICIOUS AND UNFAIRLY CUTE is an absolutely delightful, heartrending, and endlessly entertaining debut into teen fiction.

With equal parts humor and healing, Celine and Bradley traverse the deadly waters of what used to be all while competing to be the winners of an elite program that will fund their futures. Forced to work together and pitted against each other from the start, Celine and Brad must either confront the ocean of hurt between them or risk losing everything they've built, such as their carefully constructed walls and faux senses of self. What's the worst that could happen in the Scottish wilderness?

Summary:
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.

Forced to work as a team for the chance to win a grand prize, these two teens must trudge through not just mud and dirt but their messy past. And as this adventure brings them closer together, they begin to remember the good bits of their history. But has too much time passed . . . or just enough to spark a whole new kind of relationship?

I have heard great things about Talia Hibbert as an author and this was the first time I was lucky enough to read one of her books. It did not disappoint. This was a fun story of two teens figuring out who they are and who they want to be.