For the age group intended this is a cute, relatable story. I enjoyed the writing, the characters and the story overall, but the story felt slow moving at times and nothing grabbed at me. Although I am out of the audience this was intended for, it is relatable to anyone. We can remember going through hardships with parents, losing and making friends, and trying to get the future we want.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

4.5 starsHaving previously read Get a Life, Chloe Brown and giving it a five star rating, I was a bit worried that my love for Talia Hibbert would be a one-hit-wonder type of situation. On top of that, I think Talia is someone that is well known for adult romance novels, so I was curious to see how that would translate to a young adult novel. Reader, this book was amazing.

As my age increases, I’ve found myself feeling more and more disconnected from the YA novels that I normally love to read. Typically, I find myself feeling annoyed at the immaturity of the characters and the poor decisions that are made by them and their loved ones (adults and children alike). Yet every time I begin feeling like maybe I should move away from the YA age group, a book like this one pops up to prove to me that I definitely still can find young adult stories that I enjoy; I just have to find the right ones.

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute follows two teenagers who are currently mortal enemies, but who used to be best friends. The two begin a group competition for a college scholarship and, through these events, are finally able to rekindle their connection and move towards a friendly (or maybe more) common ground.

The romance in this book was so freaking cute, and I’m beginning to think maybe that’s Talia’s signature style. They clearly had amazing chemistry with each other, whether that be through teasing banter or straight out flirtation. The characters were realistic and flawed, but they also maintained decent communication with each other and with everyone else. At no point did I feel like there was unnecessary drama being added to the plot for the sake of shock value. The conflicts in this book were believable and were resolved in nice healthy ways. I really want teenagers (and even adults) to read more books like this. I think there are a lot of valuable lessons about accommodation and compromise to learn from them.

Bradley Graham and Celine Bangura used to be best friends, but now they are sworn enemies. They both enter a wilderness survival competition, the grand prize being a scholarship to the university of their choosing. As they are forced to spend more time together, they start to realize maybe they aren't enemies after all.

This is my first Talia Hibbert book, and I was NOT disappointed. I LOVED THIS SO MUCH. I loved both of these characters! They were so relatable and felt like real people. I loved the banter between the two, and couldn't get enough of their relationship developing. We love a grumpy sunshine pairing, then compliment that with a friends-to-enemies-to-friends-to-lovers trope and I am SOLD. I adored the inner monologue we get from both Brad and Celine, I found them to be hilariously witty and they both had me giggling at multiple points in the story. I loved how Brad's OCD was handled with such care. I also really liked how Celine went through a self-discovery journey along the way and realized that she is more than her accomplishments and her father's abandonment. I loved the supportive family dynamics as well with both Celiene and Brad's families. The supporting characters were also really well done, and all had unique personalities that helped propel the story.

Overall, I really enjoyed this, I will be picking up the rest of Talia Hibbert's books ASAP.

Thank you to @joyrevbooks for the eARC of this through NetGalley! This is available now. As stated in the title, this is in fact a very cute book! I really enjoyed following the two characters’ journeys in this story. This is Talia Hibbert’s first YA book. I’ve read one of her adult romances (Chloe Brown) and want to read more of them!

I loved the character development of both Celine and Bradley! These two former best friends turned rivals who don’t like each other were the perfect combination for an eventually cute romance. In this book, we get the perspectives of both the characters, which I generally enjoy and liked here. Bradley has OCD and Celine has some issues to work with regarding her relationship with her estranged dad who has chosen not to be a part of her life. I enjoyed their own personal character development alongside their growing feelings for each other.

I enjoyed the plot with the wilderness exploring aspect! I found those parts fun to read and I liked the characters that Bradley and Celine met there, especially Celine’s roommate and quick friend, Aurora, who was super sweet. I was invested in the competition for the scholarship associated with this program and rooting for both Celine and Brad.

This was a really cute YA romance! The characters are great and I definitely recommend it. Let me know your thoughts if you’ve read it!

(4.5 Stars)

The number one thing I can say about this book is that it’s absolutely hilarious. No one does sharp, witty, flirtatious banter quite like Talia does, and I’m so glad that part of her narrative voice translates perfectly to the YA space.

In fact, I think that’s one the biggest compliments I can pay to this story: the fact that she’s able to preserve what she does so well in adult romance and effectively showcase that for a young adult audience. If you had never heard of her before and you picked up this book, you would think that this is what she write all the time, which is impressive, because being able to make that shift between audiences so seamlessly is never guaranteed.

Genuinely, I had such a great time with this. I was ugly-laughing for like 80% of the book. I love how Talia is able to craft these characters who are stubborn, infuriating, and deeply imperfect but she also makes them so incredibly endearing and human in really prevailing ways.

On the one hand, this is a super funny rom-com full of absurd shenanigans, but I think it’s also a really necessary interrogation of the astronomical expectations we place on the shoulders of young folks. Both Celine and Bradely want to practice law, because it’s what their fathers do, and they both have very different reactions to those legacies, which causes them to internalize what they think they should be doing with their lives.

In the truest sense, the dreams they have for themselves are not even *about* themselves, and that’s a really hard realization for any young person to come to. I don’t think we see enough stories where young characters are really questioning where their drive and where their interests stem from in this way.

Both Bradley and Celine are at that age where people are always asking them, “What do you want to be? Where do you see yourself in five years? What’s your dream job?” And there’s this really striking line where Bradley says, “Is work the only think people are supposed to dream about?”

I think that’s a really powerful question, especially for young folks, who we expect to make decisions based on a future that is highly unstable for so many reasons, to the point where they don’t even get to enjoy living in the present moment.

That’s a big conversation in this story, especially considering how Celine and Bradley are resisting being together "for real," because with the future bearing down on them, they've decided it’s pointless. They both believe that high school romances are short-lived anyways, so why bother?

I feel like the project of dismantling that mindset is a huge part of this story’s thesis. It’s really about being brave enough to fully experience and embrace happiness while we *have* happiness to experience.

So this was wonderful overall. There’s really strong thematic parallels between the characters. Great conversations about addressing trauma, finding strength in ourselves and our relationships, and discovering what it means to grow. The fact that it’s utterly hilarious, delightful, and heartwarming is just the cherry on top!

my first read from talia and I'm so obsessed with the characters!! they were wholesome and made me smile so wide and I got through the book so fast while also not wanting it to end <3

Ridiculously delightful. I had a huge grin on my face while I was reading most of this lighthearted book. The story shoves oodles of kindness into every nook and cranny.

I adored pretty much every character, but especially sunny bisexual footballer Brad, and brilliant iconoclast Celine. I’m an occasional YA reader, and this reminded me of the best part of the genre, giving people a chance to gently mess up, learn, and be their best selves. If every YA romcom was like this, I would read them every day.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute is a perfectably adorable story about two students who are vying for a scholarship and they have to compete in an Outward Bound like competition that rates different skills to show their worthiness of the scholarship. The two used to be friends, now they are in competition for everything with each other. This was a very sweet second chance romance enemies to lovers young adult romance, with main characters with real experiences of anxiety, divorce, and financial worries among other things. But ultimately, this is a happy book.

Can anything ever really top a Talia Hibbert story? I adored Hibbert's first foray into YA here, with smart and witty characters, a delicious rivals-to-lovers trope, and the perfect setting.

Unfortunately, I did not finish this book. I really wanted to like it and maybe I will another time.
But Hibbert really hasn't worked for me,. The first book in the series was cool but I wasn't blown a way by it and I keep trying each new release and I just cannot get into it.

As a fan of the enemies to lovers trope, I obviously enjoyed this book. It wasn't predictable, as I feared it might be.

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert is Talia Hibbert's first YA novel. It delves deep into the minds and lives of two teens. The story starts out slow but picks up quickly about 14% into the novel. The characters are extremely lovable and I wanted them to win at their perspective goals throughout. Talia Hibbert's humor and wit shine through in many moments of the book. Hibbert really shines here in capturing the mental health of these two teens. I highly recommend anyone who likes YA, humor and two people finding a second chance at best friendship.

Thank you #netgalley for the early read. All opinions are my own.

Talia Hibbert has ventured into YA, and honestly, I am so jealous of every highschooler that gets to read this while they're still in highschool. So good. I loved seeing these ex-best friends figure out what they were to each other, and I liked that we hopped between being out in the woods on adventures and also at school with normal school pressures. I will always be happy for more positive bi rep, and I found the OCD rep to be important as well. Teens deserve to see themselves in books, not just surviving, but thriving. Definitely recommended if you're a fan of YA contemporary romances.

There is nothing Talia Hibbert fails at, and of course this one did not disappoint! Loveddd this book and I hope others do as well!

This book was cute, but I'm not sure if it was for me. Fun and playful high school rom com.
I really enjoyed Talia Hibbert's novels about the sisters and this one just didn't hit the same for me.
Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy.

I just want to say that TH knows how to write characters that you just want to hold and never let go (I LOVE HER FOR IT😍)

Celine and Brad are the definition of enemies to lovers done AMAZINGLY! (And given this was a YA romance I was nervous it wasn’t going to be as good but I’m glad I was wrong!) Not spicy like her other books but the way they emotionally felt for each other and expressed it was enough for me to be ok 🥹🥹

The way they were both just honest and communicative when they had to was refreshing because a lot of books don’t do that. TH did a great job on sharing the way these characters dealt with their issues of anxiety, nervousness, parental abandonment, and dealing with OCD and so much more! She never lets me down and I am so glad and can’t wait for more from her!!

To end this review, I LOVE HER AND MY HEART BEATS FOR CELINE AND BRADLY 4 EVA🫶🏼🥹♥️

(Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children’s, RHCB Educators, and Talia Hibbert for providing this ARC for an honest review.)

Loved this one! It was highly readable and unfairly cute for sure. Hibbert handled heavy topics such as OCD, anxiety and family issues (among others) with so much love and care. ANDDDD I have always been a fan of the enemies to lovers troupe. I will read anything Talia Hibbert writes!

Talia Hibbert absolutely nailed her YA debut. Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute is the charming, heartwarming, hilarious story of Celine Banguar, a social media conspiracy-theorist, tackling high-school drama, college admissions prospects, and a head-to-head battle with her former best friend turned nemesis Brandon for a prestigious internship.

Celine is a jaded, whip smart, high school senior aiming to prove her worth to everyone, including herself, her ex-best friend Brandon, and the father that abandoned her. Her top competition, Brandon Graeme, is trying to find a way to tell his parents that he'd rather be a writer than a lawyer while getting top grades, managing his OCD, and trying to ignore his remaining feelings for ex-bestie Celine. An adorably melodramatic friends to enemies to friends to lovers to enemies to friends to lovers to..... well you get it. There is D-R-A-M-A.

Brandon and Celine are hilariously relatable and that's coming from someone that only rarely reads or is impressed by anything from the contemporary genre. Read it. I know you'll love it.

Thank you to Talia Hibbert, Joy Revolution, and Random House Childrens and NetGalley for the E-ARC.

DNF’d at 34%

I haven’t really vibed with Talia Hibbert in the past, but thought this would be super cute. I just didn’t enjoy this one. I don’t know if it’s her writing style, or if it’s the fact that it is YA. I was pretty disappointed that I didn’t love this!

Talia Hibbert writing YA! And oh, what a delight this was.

Dual POV. Former best friends turned enemies/rivals back to friends to lovers. A competition. Check check check all of my boxes across the board.

Celine and Bradley used to be friends, but now the two find themselves at odds during an adventure/survival competition that will give one of them a scholarship. But things get complicated when their feelings for each other get, well, complicated.

This really was a charming and lovely YA book. There was that classic Talia Hibbert banter I love so much and for it to be with teens? Wonderful. There were some character choices that I felt didn’t totally work for me, like Celine being a conspiracy loving social media sensation. I wanted more done with that, or for that to be a moment between her and Bradley. There were a few aspects like this that bristled just a little bit.

I’d love to see Hibbert do more YA because this was such a strong first showing. I can’t wait to see what she does next.

4 stars