I’ve read quite a few books from this author that I’ve really enjoyed and this one is no exception! I love how she really dives into mental health issues and normalizes them in her novels

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute follows Celine (a conspiracy theory content creator) and Bradley (a clean cut athlete at the top of his class) as they navigate being ex-best friends in a high school setting. They can just avoid each other, right? Wrong. Because the hallways are just not that wide, and even the great outdoors isn't big enough if they are forced to work as a team at a wilderness survival camp.

Celine and Bradley have top tier banter, and I am rooting for these characters the whole way through. Obviously Talia Hibbert has a gift for writing Young Adult, and this was a delightful read.

This book was written for you if:
1) You are looking to read quippy, darling YA
2) You love the friends to enemies to lovers storyline
3) You love Talia, because she doesn't disappoint with this one!

Check out Highlighly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute...

If you like books featuring…
Teen drama
Camping adventures
Enemies to lovers

Great for fans of…
Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean
Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney
Sex Education (Netflix)

I've been a long-time fan of Talia Hibbert's adult romances - they're always a sure thing for me. And her debut YA did NOT disappoint. I flew through this book, and loved every minute of it. There may be less spice than her adult romances but the (subtler) heat and FEELS are still there, as well as the utter charm I adore about all her characters. This one was a hit from start to finish, and I can't wait to see what Talia writes next.

While it does make me cautious, it always brings me a little joy when I get to add one of my favorite authors to the YA collection at my library. Talia Hibbert's adult romances are so fun and enjoyable with diverse, positive representation. I had the highest of hopes for "Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute" and Hibbert delivered with Celine and Bradley. This friends to enemies to friends to lovers had all the quirk I love so much about her adult books with YA themes and dialogue.

Hibbert's foray into the young adult genre is a success! I felt the characters' behaviors felt natural and realistic for high schoolers. There was also commentary on mental health as one of the characters has OCD. If you're into YA and second chance tropes, this one is for you!

I personally love stories of precocious kids in a battle of wits. Celine and Bradley are top of their class and have a mild enemies-to-lovers trope of former best friends, the mystery of what caused them to fall out, their undeniable chemistry, and the setting of a competition in the wilderness.

The competition was really interesting and exciting. I wish we could have seen more of that in detail, but the romance of this is so dang cute that it was enough.

So I have heard sooo many great things about this author and this sounded like a cute book so I gave it a chance as my 1st book to read of hers and I also find out that this is Talia Hibbert's 1st YA book. So we both have Firsts :)
This book too me a bit to get into and it dragged a bit but it was good
Childhood BFF to enemies to friends to lovers is the trope(s)
The 2 main characters have a great journey in this story and it all stems from them joining a scholarship competition
Bradley - has massive OCD and wants to study law like his dad
Celine - has unresolved dad issues, a curvey tiktoker who is kinda "famous" and always has an inward conversation aka monologue
They might do and think a bit differently but they both have goals that they are working towards and have a plan in life

I got the chance to read this book as an ARC and I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley. The above review and comments are my own, honest and volentary.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an eARC of this book.

Overall, this was a cute story. The characters do seem extremely immature for the age they are in this book. I wish they would have been written slightly different. The way they act makes this a very young adult book. There was a lot of self discovery and growth with the characters and you do see them mature a little. The writing style was banter was great. I wish the other characters would have more of a part in the story as well.

This was a really, REALLY cute book with adorable characters and a fun dynamic. Loved the mental health rep and the complicated teenagers with big feelings. I just wish we got more from the plot! It was predictable and low-stakes to me. I really wanted more fun in the woods lol. Still very sweet <3

Adorable.

That's my one-word summary for Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute. This book was beyond endearing, from friction between our main character and her love interest to their banter and eventual love. I also adore the addition of familial healing and the expression of autonomy and identity that both engage in as the book progresses.

This was SO CUTE! I loved this YA rom com. It really reminded me of being a teenager and falling in love for the first time. I thought the story line was great and both Brad (hate that name though) and Celine were fun characters. I loved their banter back and forth and loved how they had such a sweet relationship.

-wholesome YA romcom (but uses the F word a lot which I can appreciate)
-OCD representation
-Bi rep
-top tier young love banter

So cute!!!

This was definitely a YA romance it was so relevant to what teens go through- and I thought it did a good job of showing how hard it is to be in a relationship as a teen. I did find it a bit slow in the beginning but once the story got going, I felt a little bit more invested in the characters! I did not LOVE the love interest haha but I did enjoy Celine and really felt invested as her character grew throughout each page. Definitely a cute YA!

I would love to talk to Talia on my podcast, Raise Your Words. Highly Suspicious & Unfairly Cute is such a swoon-worthy book. I loved reading about Bradley & Celine. I’ll post a more in depth review on Goodreads after Ramadan but I thoroughly enjoyed it!!

I just adore Talia Hibbert’s writing style and while I prefer her adult books, this book it totally adorable. I enjoyed this balanced with the more serious aspects of the story like having OCD, anxiety, and Daddy issues. A completely charming story and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading YA . Talia Hibbert writes the best grumpy heroines and Celine was no different. Celine is unapologetically herself, determined, fierce and loyal. She had the best comebacks and was constantly putting high school bullies in their place. Everyone should walk through life with a little bit of Celine energy. And then we have the softest MMC Brad who has the sunniest disposition (for everyone but Celine). I adored his internal dialogue about Celine- it was beyond adorable watching him fall for her. This book deals with some heavier issues including parental abandonment. Hibbert handles these conversations with care and respect. The moments of vulnerability in this book were done so well.

I thought this was a good first foray into the Young Adult genre for Talia Hibbert. However, I wish there had been more scenes and more exploration of the actual explorers program the protagonists participated in. I didn't quite believe that Celine was totally ok at the end not having won. I did not buy some of the conflicts either. However, I realize I am not the intended audience. I appreciated the plus size and OCD representation, though. Overall, I gave it three stars but I would absolutely recommend it to a friend or even my teenage sisters.

Talia Hibbert is that girl and will always be that girl and she did what needed to be done.
I'm familiar with Hibbert's work through the fantastic Brown sister series. However, when this book was announced my curiosity was piqued. What would Hibbert's writing look like in a YA book in a high school setting? Would the book still bring me just as much joy with the spice toned down?
Would the female protagonist still be sassy?
I'm happy to report she delivered! Hibbert not only created two characters who delivered on-point fun banter, she managed to create two characters with an incredible amount of depth. Well they may be in high school Brad and Celine have far more insight into their own way of being than most adults acquire through their lifetimes. Celine was sorting through the past trauma left by her father abandoning the family. Brad continues to deal with a mental health condition. Both characters' offered relatable and realistic portrayals of the circumstances they were dealing with and how this affected their lives and relationships.
Plus, there was the usual high school drama of relationships, college applications and mean kids.
If you haven't checked out Hibbert's work yet, what are you waiting for?! GO!

First, I’ll begin with what worked for me in this book. I loved the alternating POVs between Celine and Bradley, although I admittedly could’ve done with less Celine and more Bradley. I enjoyed seeing Celine and Bradley out in the wilderness with the other Breakspeare Explorers since it was in this setting that the two of them agreed to put aside their differences and began to piece their shattered friendship back together. I also preferred these portions of the books because I loved the other students where were taking part in the program, especially Celine’s roommate Aurora. I found her to be such an interesting side character and the few details we were given about her as a person made me want to know more about her to the point I found myself wanting the story to revolve around her instead of the actual female lead.

The other thing that I enjoyed about this book came from a discussion that Bradley and Celine had about his OCD and taking care of one’s mental health. Bradley makes a statement that really jumped out at me about how therapy should be like the dentist, something that everyone does for the betterment of their health. Just as this comment has stayed with me, it stayed with Celine and helped her to realize that maybe she should look into seeing a therapist to deal with her feelings towards her father, why she’s been so driven on the path that she’s set herself and to learn to properly deal with her anxiety.

As for what didn’t work for me. I could not stand Celine for the first two-thirds of the book and found her to be such an unlikeable character that were it not for Bradley and the side characters, I probably would’ve stopped reading the book. I found her to be overly rude and the fact that she found her behavior and attitude to be a positive made her all the more of a horrible person. Some may argue that Celine’s presentation of herself was how she protected herself, but it just makes her come across as a bitch and I found myself questioning why Bradley would not only put up with it but even fall in love with her.

I will say that the eventual romance was nicely done and I thoroughly enjoyed the little moments between Celine and Bradley when they took the time to just be together and let down their guards. The truly best thing about their relationship in the end was that Bradley was able to help Celine reexamine her life and the goal she was working towards and he got her to open up not only to him and her family but to herself.

In the end, I enjoyed: the dual POVs, the side characters, the discussions surrounding mental health and seeking help.

Such a cutie YA romance, and one of my new favorites for sure! As a fan of Talia's adult romances, I was wondering how she'd write YA, especially considering her books are known for their STEAM! But this book was wholly adorable, and as someone with OCD, I really appreciated how she wrote a character with OCD into the book and felt like she accurately represented the OCD experience. Thank you, Talia!

✨Book Review✨
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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I think Talia Hibbert is officially my favorite author. I am NOT an enemies to lovers fan, but this was such a good one. I will read anything Hibbert writes.
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This YA debut was SO sweet and I loved every minute of it. I'm so grateful to be able to share Talia Hibbert with my students now that there is a PG version of her work. :p
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As always, Hibbert's characters are so full and so kind. I loved Brad and Celine so much, even though they infuriatingly refused to share their true feelings for most of the book. The own voices OCD representation in this book was wonderful, and I was so grateful to read about the different ways OCD and intrusive thoughts show up. If you like YA rom coms, I highly recommend this book.

only talia hibbert can make me love ya romance again🥲

✨ childhood friends to enemies to lovers
✨ ownvoices, poc rep, mental illness rep, bisexual rep

❌ CW: parental abandonment, OCD depiction

holy crap you guys, this book was so fucking funny and cute and cozy and EVERYTHING I NEVER KNEW I NEEDED 😭🥺💕 i was truly CHEESING so hard the entire time i was reading it, i ADORED it :)

this had such good character work and representation of so many different marginalized communities; talia hibbert never fucking disappoints and im so glad i read this!! i honestly thought i would hate it since i don't like YA anymore but... i was proven wholeheartedly wrong... talia is the exception of whom i would love to read more from in this genre.

these two adorable, awkward, enemies to lovers mfs were truly everything. they own my HEART. i loved it. *sigh* so cute

if for some reason you have yet to read it, pls go do or save it for a time where you're looking for just the coziest, adorable reads but with a hint of angst and lots of comedy gold :)

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to the publisher Joy Revolution for the e-ARC via Netgalley! Released January 3, 2023!