I should have known that I was going to love this book from the fact that it had me laughing from the glossary at the beginning of the book. That laughter continued throughout.

I have read some of Talia Hibbert's adult novels in the past and have enjoyed them but I think this might be a new favourite of mine written by them. I loved all aspects of the story and the writing but I also truly loved these main characters.

These two main characters were extremely relatable and although they were mature, I also do think they were realistic for being teenagers.

Additionally, I really valued and appreciated the mental health and representation in this novel especially because I don't think it's shown enough in young adult novels, especially contemporary.

This was an amazing read and somewhat of a trailblazer in the form of a contemporary young adult romance. I can't wait to read more in this new publishing imprint as well as in this genre in the future.

***Thank you to the publisher for supplying me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

This was a super cute and easy read. I feel like a lot of teens will be able to relate to some of the issues addressed and enjoy this one.

3.5 stars

In Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute, Celine and Brad are ex-best friends who have turned into rivals vying for the same university scholarship in a prestigious outdoor survival program called BEP. Once they realize their feelings for each other and mend their friendship, they still need to try their best to win the scholarship of a lifetime to secure their ambitious futures.

This was sweet and had the typical Hibbert humor, but it wasn’t a memorable read for me. Let me explain:

Things I Loved:
-The OCD/anxiety rep
-The bisexual rep
-The family support! Both Brad and Celine had fantastic family support and I just loved seeing the love and support they both had, even though Celine never grew up with her father. She has the most hardworking, supportive momma and the best sisters.
-The witty banter
-The first half of this novel was…chef's kiss!
-Ms. Talia always shows her characters flaws and fears and loves. You really get to know and love these characters, as well as understand their emotional conflicts.

Things I Didn’t Love:
-Their romance developed entirely too quickly. I was also expecting enemies-to-lovers, but it felt more like lukewarm friends to head over heels in love. I never felt their romance or rooted for them as lovers, but I did enjoy their friendship.
-The BEP competition was an odd fit for this story and the whole subplot was unconvincing. I wish there was another route for them to win a scholarship because a weird survival camp with a few tasks wasn’t a good fit to tell Brad and Celine’s love story. I wish we could have spent more time at school because those scenes were SO GOOD and helped to show their rivalry and relationship tension. I also just think the school scenes in the beginning were well-written and drove the plot. Once we hit the first part of the competition, the book takes a turn and the story drags and feels meaningless.
-That brings up the pacing, which was so fast. I love a fast paced book, but it didn’t allow us to connect with their breakneck speed romance and give their relationship time to breathe.

I think if this was aged up to college and we focused more on the school aspect and the rivalry, this could have been an easy five stars. In the future, I would love it if Hibbert attempted a new adult/adult romance in college. SWOON.

I now own four books by Talia Hibbert, but this was the first one I read. I actually wanted to read it before I got the Illumicrate edition (which I got, so that might give you an idea of how much I enjoyed this book). This is also their first YA book, and I always tend to lean more towards YA more than adult, so here goes!

The story revolves around two 17 year old who zigzag between being friends or enemies. And now they're something more! I loved both characters, and I loved that it incorporated OCD. I don't know much about it, there's of course been tv shows like Monk, that had me acquainted with the condition, but this definitely made me understand it more. I hope that it will be the same for others, and we can show some more compassion towards people who deal with OCD.

One of my favorite Talia Hibbert books. A perfect book about two former best friends and how they weave into each other lives, how they team up in challenges. Her debut into YA is well-deserved and a must read. Brad might be one of my favorite characters ever. I couldn’t stop smiling. Her prose is brilliant and poignant.

Took me a bit of time to get into it, but enjoyed it none the less! I’m not much of a YA contemporary romance person, but I have enjoyed the other works by Hibbert so wanted to give this a try!
Very cute!

I genuinely liked this book, it’s adorable and so cute and I love the representation.... I felt like it could’ve been better especially at the end as well as the ending lowkey could’ve been done better but overall a cute book

This was, quite frankly, fuckin’ precious. Bloody lovely. It had me cheesin’ hard! Laughing out loud and deeply in my feelings.

Right out the bag, I need to highlight the writing. I’ve always loved the way Talia Hibbert writes but for some reason, it shined even more in this book. It was so playful, creative, inventive and just pure fuckin’ fun!

I adored our characters because of this and the overall story.

This was my first Talia Hibbert book and it definitely lived up to the hype! I thought the banter was great and found myself laughing out loud at some points. I loved the mental health representation that was included. Not every book does a good job discussing this topic to kudos to Hibbert. I also appreciate the examples of healthy relationships that are depicted in this book.

My one qualm that I had with this one was the incorporation of tiktok. I really hate when this is brought up in any book so I struggled with that in regards to this book in particular. To me it always comes off as an author who is not in their teens is trying way too hard to relate to teens. It just doesn't work for me.

Nonetheless, I would still definitely recommend this one to anyone looking for a quick YA romance!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Talia Hibbert is an exceptional writer. I was glad to have a chance with this, but unfortunately, I am not a fan of YA fiction. For YA readers, this will be wonderful experience and I highly recommend!

*4.5
This was such a cute and fun time. I normally would never pick it up since it was YA and I like spice in my books but I actually really love this. I also loved seeing a Bi male MC in a book. Also I feel like the OCD rep in here was handle very well. I would highly recommend if you looking for a breath of fresh air.

I love Talia Hibbert’s Brown sister trilogy so I was delighted to get my hands in the book. Unfortunately, I found this one lacked the charm and humor of her other novels. Perhaps because this is a YA book, but this one failed to hold my interest like the others. While I suspected a more tame romance due to the younger target audience, the story felt a little convoluted. This was an alright book, but definitely my least favorite by this author. 3 stars ⭐️. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this one,

I ended up reading this book & I will say it was a good read! I love talia’s work and can’t wait to see what she does next!

4.5 stars!!

Seriously adorable, funny, heartfelt, and thoughtful. Each time I pick up a book by Hibbert, I know the banter is going to be hilarious! The MCs have top notch chemistry and I enjoyed getting to know them.

In Celine's mind, her former bestie Bradley is a popular jerk who always gets what he wants while she, a curious and beautiful scholar must work hard for the same. For Brad, it seems like Celine is an effortless genius who is annoyingly judgmental. As these two are pushed together for the survival course scholarship (they are supposed to be competing in) they are forced to confront the feelings that soured their friendship.

These two are really sweet!! I also love the way Brad's OCD was treated in this story as well as his relationship with his dad. Celine's relationship with her dad was understandably painful to read but I think Hibbert handled it with care.

I recommend this book to Talia Hibbert fans, teens and up! If you like snark in your romance, this is for you.

Super cute and fun.
Love the characters, love the setting, love the romance.
This will be a hit with teens.

I think Talia Hibbert did a great job with her first YA novel! Her characters maintain the same witty banter and charming personalities as in her adult novels. I love that she didn't dumb anything down with her writing. She just made the romance bits be closed door and had the characters be younger. I felt like Celine would still fit right in with her Brown sisters, because she had that same amazing, sparkling personality. Bradley was a wonderful hero. I think his OCD was well-represented on page and was just part of him, not made to seem like a big deal, because it was being managed.
This second chance romance between two students getting ready to go off to college and competing for a scholarship via a series of weekend survival courses was just so fun. That's not to say, though, that it is all light, fluffy rainbows. This books still has so. much. depth. It was wonderful to see the characters change and grow throughout their story, both individually and as a couple.
If you love YA or romance, I highly recommend you read this!

Talia HIbbert is a master who's outdone herself with this one. She crafts such well-drawn characters and a sweeping enemies-to-lovers YA romance that rivals any adult tale.

When Celine signs up for a survival course in the woods, she never expects her ex-best friend Bradley to be there. Forced to work as a team in order to win the grand prize, they begin to see why they were friends…and could possibly be more?

I requested this on NetGalley because I loved Tali Hibbert’s Brown Sisters Trilogy. I feel like this one was fine, but I think I just don’t appreciate Young Adult as much as I used to? I listened to the audiobook, and it was fine.

This was such a cute YA romance. A friends to lovers that will warm your heart. The mental health and neurodiverse representation was very well done in my opinion and it was lovely to see these friends turned enemies turned lovers find their way back to each other as they navigate coming of age, high school and post high school plans.

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute

I Picked Up This Book Because: I’m a fan of the author’s work.

Media Type: Audiobook
Source: Library (Have ARC from Netgalley)
Dates Read: 5/7/23 - 5/11/23
Stars: 4
Narrator(s): Amina Koroma and Jonathan Andrew Hume

The Characters:

Celine Bangura:
Bradley Graeme:
Various friends, parents and siblings

The Story:

In interesting friends to enemies to friendly lovers story. Celine and Bradly honestly could have talked and saved a lot of agony but then we wouldn’t have a story would we.

The Random Thoughts: