Take everything I love about Talia Hibbert's Brown sister's trilogy, put an adorable Young Adult spin on the story, and you'll get Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute!

From page one, I loved the characters, especially Celine, the British slag used throughout had me laughing at times and the story is one that will really resonate with young readers.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book.

I love The Brown Sister series from Talia Hibbert, so was excited to learn that she has written a new YA romance. It didn't disappoint. It was sweet and funny with diverse, nuanced characters and mental health representation. Celine is a conspiracy theorist TikTok creator who is hellbent on becoming a corporate lawyer. She joins an outdoor competition to impress her personal hero and hopefully score a scholarship. Her ex-best friend, sci-fi-nerd-turned-jock, Bradly also ends up in the mix, forcing the two of them to spend a lot of time together in the forest. In the process, they work through their past issues and get to know each other again. You'll be shocked to know they end falling in love. Yes, I could have used a little bit more at various points of the plot, but overall it was another winner from a great author.

Talia totally knocks it out of the park with this book! Her first foray into YA is amazing. Very glad to have black British characters from her for a change (esp the love interest) and some young, fresh perspective. They lost some of the lingo on me, but I appreciated the glossary.

I really like Talia Hibbert. Her books just make me laugh so hard and usually cry a bit, too and certainly make me feel enveloped in the places where they are set. I love the British-ness, too. The overt, almost in your face slang and such just make me so happy. I dug it! 💜📚

This was such a delightful book! I love Brad and Celine. They were amazing MC. I am so glad this book was in dual POV so we could see both their perspectives. So excited for this first selection from Nicola and David Yoon’s imprint.

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Maybe I was too out if touch for the UK lingo (even with the foreward glossary) and Tik Tok references to fall in love with this one.

Everything we love about Talia Hibbert absolutely translates to the YA genre. Appropriate steam, heartwarming confrontations with real life people, situations, and adversity. Big fan.

*Thank you to Joy Revolution/Random House Children’s via NetGalley for the ARC*

Before we begin, I have to say I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed all three of the Brown sisters’ stories so I didn’t hesitate to request an ARC for Hibbert’s YA debut, Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute. So I’m enthusiastically biased already but also holding her to a high standard. That’s my disclaimer…

…Ok now that I have officially finished the book and rated it a SOLID 5/5 (I’m so stingy with my 5’s it’s borderline ridiculous! There’s no reason for it!) I can say with full confidence Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute is everything!

When reviewing for an ARC, I like to highlight passages so I can refer to my favorite moments, exceptional passages, or just things that tickle me and let me just say my copy probably looks like one of Bradley’s textbooks! I can’t stress enough how effortlessly Hibbert can bring her characters to life, down to their mannerisms, their setting, their banter, everything!
Small examples include:
“I jerk in my seat, appalled that he would have the gall to speak to me so casually. For God’s sake, we are enemies.”

“I’m not usually this annoying, but she’s infectious. Like the flu.”

“Give me five synonyms for hypocrite, and yes, you’re allowed to use your own name.”

“Very, very quietly, Celine screams.”

“’Aren’t you two cousins?’ Thomas demands in the dark.”

I know, random selection of quotes but my point stands. Hibbert is funny as hell and her characters are so effing delightful! Ok, i’m getting sidetracked with my gushing here. Let’s back it up.

HSaUC is about two former friends, Celine and Bradley, turned enemies, turned competitors, turned lovers, who are in high school gearing up for college. They have an opportunity to compete for a full uni scholarship via an elite explorer’s program that tests their skills as leaders while facing the elements of nature, as well as their own personal battles: OCD, abandonment issues, imposter syndrome, just to name a few. Hibbert does a fantastic job of portraying the ups and downs of high school alongside mental health crises and how to navigate conflicting feelings. I couldn’t praise this book enough for making it ok to admit things are hard, even if it’s just talking about emotions or ambitions that might seem silly or being brave by being honest. But she still manages to show effective ways to overcome and potentially prosper. All while making me snort with laughter. And fall in love cause it’s still a love story after all. Seriously, Hibbert’s writing is a gift! I’m hoping she does more YA books (alongside her regular, more adult stuff), because I would have loved to read about diverse characters like this when I was younger.

I can’t wait to see the reception Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute gets when it publishes in January ’23.

I fully expect to enjoy anything written by Talia. The Brown sisters series made me a fun. So of course, I wanted to read her YA book. And let it be known, I was super excited to see two Black teenagers on the cover.

Talia did not disappoint. She’s such a vivid storyteller. You get lost in the characters’ worlds. Brad & Celine were a funny pair, with their banter and repressed feelings.

I really enjoyed watching their friendship blossom. Even if it wasn’t going to be anything more, I love when old friends can find a common ground and reconcile any differences.

I loved both of their “quirks”. I love “imperfect” characters.

I definitely plan on buying the physical copy when it’s released!

Definitely cute! I love Talia Hibbert's adult romances so I was very curious to see how she'd fare in YA and she didn't disappoint! Her signature wit and humor are all over the page along with wonderful characters and relationships. The two teen protagonists grapple with real issues such as an absent parent, OCD and anxiety, the specter of college, etc.

The romance aspect does unfold in a somewhat formulaic way, but I did appreciate that - in the tradition of Hibbert's other work - conflict wasn't dragged on too long.

Celine and Bradley were childhood best friends until they became teenagers and Bradley started fitting in with the football players, forcing them to become enemies. In their final year of school, they reconnect when they both are chosen to participate in an outdoor enrichment program with the possibility of scholarships for college. As they spend more time together, they fall back into a friendship and something more.

I was so happy to receive an eARC of this book after loving The Brown Sisters trilogy. I was excited to read Talia’s YA debut and it did not disappoint. The characters were strong and I liked their unique personalities; Celine was confident and unapologetically herself, and Bradley was charming and so incredibly kind. They just fit so well together. The side characters were equally compelling. I liked that both Brad and Celine were able to heal in their personal journeys while also healing their relationship with each other. The outdoor enrichment program was such an interesting idea and setting for this YA romance. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this.

This was so darn cute and wholesome! The two heros and their ex-friendship has the book starting off on a enemies to lovers trope BUT then it changed into friends to lovers which is my favorite. I don’t have personal experience with some of the themes in this book (absent parent, OCD) but I’d like to think that Talia Hibbert does justice to a diverse range of characters and their unique differences/personalities in all her books. I enjoyed the whole wilderness competition and that there wasn’t a ton of drama within the group competing. So refreshing. Just such a cute, funny, and sweet read!

Highly Suspicious & Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert is Talia Hibbert’s debut foray into young adult fiction & just like her adult fiction, she absolutely scored a win with her fantastic writing, wit, unmistakable humor & an adorable love story.
This book features an ex-best friends turned enemies to once-again friends to more with the cutest couple. One of the main characters, Bradley, has been diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD. I am always extremely grateful for any sort of mental health or disability representation & Talia Hibbert continues to deliver wonderfully on that front. As I don’t have OCD, I can’t speak to the accuracy of the representation, but I will say that I absolutely loved how his family & friends acted & reacted to Bradley, especially when he was struggling.
The author has the incredible ability to simultaneously pull at your heart strings while also making you genuinely laugh out loud. I also think this book would positively make the cutest movie! This is just the type of story that makes you smile as you read it.
This just proved, without a doubt, that I will happily read & love anything Talia Hibbert writes. I’m so thankful for their incredible writing & their continued representation in the most amazing love stories.

Massive thanks to NetGalley & Random House Children’s for the arc, which I voluntarily read & reviewed. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

Highly Suspicious & Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert comes out January 3, 2023!

Talia Hibbert’s Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute is the YA novel I never knew I needed. Everything from the title and cover art to the deliciously snarky attitudes are absolute perfection. I’ve lived for the razor sharp banter in the Brown Sisters books and this one is just as good, Bradley and Celine were so fun to read!

highly suspicious and unfairly cute, talia hibbert

4/5
this review is hard for me to write for a variety of reasons. as i was reading, i adored highly suspicious and fell in love with the characters and their banter. it was so fun reading, talia hibbert’s first foray into YA being as sweet and as full of banter as i expected it to be. but after i finished and was left to sit with my thoughts for a few days, some things really stuck out at me and left me feeling a little disappointed.

highly suspicious is so quintessentially talia hibbert, her writing style and character work translating almost perfectly into the YA genre. her humor practically melts off the page. but, in a way, i feel like the book being YA almost hindered it to a certain extent. the book couldn’t have been anything other than YA, this is true. and this may just be because talia isn’t necessarily accustomed to building plot beyond what is essential to the main characters’ story, but i really found myself wanting more of the BEP scholarship storyline.

throughout the novel, there are times when the competition are just breezed through with time jumps so we can get to more of bradley and celine. and honestly, normally when it comes to romance i’m a character & romance over plot person but i desperately wanted to see more of the competition, more of bradley and celine’s competitive banter and more of their relationship building during the competition instead of outside of it. highly suspicious is a true academic rivals to lovers romcom, but i would have liked that development to have come out of this academic competition.

one thing that i absolutely enjoyed, however, was the way bradley’s ocd and his relationship with mental health. talia never gets into the nitty gritty of ocd, which i think was a smart decision for a YA novel, but she does make the effort to show how much brad’s mental health affects him and how integral it is to his character and his past. brad’s pov illustrated a very accurate ocd representation, complete with compulsions, thought spirals, and an substantial amount of mental self-soothing. i could really tell that the author themselves has recently been diagnosed with ocd.

celine bangura is also a really special character. she’s a tiktoker that makes videos about absurdist conspiracy theories, a hyperfixation she developed after her father left their family to start another one with someone else. i really loved reading about celine and watching her character develop, her beginning to overcome her trauma and learning how to trust other people again. the friendships she had with other girls throughout the story were so sweet and very true to form.

i think this book is perfect for talia hibbert fans and people who enjoy a good, mildly plotless romcom complete with witty banter, occasional swearing, and very competitive characters.

This book was Highly Enjoyable and certainly Unfairly Cute. This was my first foray into the world and characters of Talia Hibbert, and boy am I ready to pick up another title by this incredibly talented author. She absolutely deserves all of the hype.

Often, I find that I do not gravitate to contemporary YA. I worry as a 37-year-old woman, that I won't relate to the characters. I'm so glad that I cast aside my usual concerns to dive into Celine and Brad's story. There was so much here for me to sink my teeth into, so many chances to see a facet of myself in these characters as they grapple with planning for the future, living with anxiety, and the desperate desire not to disappoint the ones that you love.

Pick this up for yourself. Pick this up for the teen in your life on the cusp of the transition from High School to College. Just pick this up!

I am a Talia Hibbert fan and was thrilled to hear she was writing a YA Romance. This book was so well written and the story was interesting and fun. In some ways I actually liked this book more than Hibbert's adult novels. There was great representation of different relationships, mental health, and young adult struggles. The best part, for me, was that the story is not heavy on angst and definitely leans more towards being a feel good book. I can't wait to tell everyone to read this book and, as a school librarian, especially my students.

3.75 stars rounded up*. This is my first Talia Hibbert arc and I’m so happy to have gotten an arc from my favorite author. Sadly, I just didn’t love this.

Celine is a conspiracy theorist with a TikTok and she has a lot of followers. She is a antisocial nerd who wants to study law.Brad is a nerdy football player with OCD. His dad wants him to study law but he actually wants to be a writer but hasn’t told his family.

I liked the story but I just didn’t like how immature they are (yes I know it’s YA). There was too many pop culture references and use of TikTok which I can’t stand in books. Most of the references would only make sense to British people and it kept taking me out of the book. Celine was a little mean to Bradley but their banter made up for it. Their chemistry was cute but their reasoning for not being friends, was just too immature. And Celine treating him like an enemy was ridiculous. There were scenes that happened off page that I wish were on page because it would have shown more character growth and them bonding.

Tw: Celine’s side plot involves her dad leaving her when she was young and starting another family. I think Talia Hibbert handled that plot line well and didn’t have it take over the entire storyline of Celine.

All in all, 3.75 for TheStoryGraph and 4 for Goodreads

This book has so much sweetness to it, I couldn’t put it down.

The characters have great chemistry, there’s a perfect blend of serious and rom com and the teenagers dialogue and internal dialogue actually sounds like their age! I loved the forced proximity and enemies to lovers trope.

The conversations about the MMC’s OCD struggles and the FMC’s absent father issues were very genuine and real, which was great to see!

I can’t wait to read more YA from this author!

November 17, 2022
They say fuck a lot for a YA novel, but I’m not complaining. I’m just surprised, as SJM taught me that vaguely referencing “vulgar gestures” was as far as authors of YA could go.

Anyway, in typical fashion, Talia Hibberts new book is completely hilarious and devastatingly cute. She writes relationship dynamics like nothing I have ever seen, and I read a hell of a lot of romance. How she knocks it out of the park every time, I truly don’t understand, but I have to assume she has a stunning personality to match all of this wit.

You follow two ex-friends who are now full on enemies in an academic setting and watch as they tentatively become friends again, then potentially more. Bradley is a sci-fi nerd cosplaying as a jock in his real life, and Celine is a Tiktok conspiracy theorist who is too confident in her nerdiness to hide it, which causes strife in what was once a beautiful friendship. I loved getting to see these two slowly come back together.

Ultimately, my only hang-up is that this is YA and I prefer her adult books. I am officially old and I have a hard time relating to anyone below the age of 25. But for the right audience? This is a perfect read. I think thousands of teenagers will benefit from this book.