(4.5 Stars)

This is such an incredibly sweet romance! Reading this book gave me the same feeling as reading and watching "To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before" for the first time. It has that same earnestness and hopefulness while also playing with the fake dating trope in similarly endearing ways.

At the end of the day, what I find so delightful about this rom-com is that the characters kind of Uno-reverse themselves into experiencing a super healthy and safe relationship where they set clear boundaries and establish opportunities to openly communicate with each other.

Both of these characters have been judged by their peers in different ways for not having enough romantic experience, for not having the "right" kind of dating experience, or not being seen as "boyfriend/girlfriend material." In that way, I really appreciate how this story is opening up a conversation about how teens, especially, often end up in these relationships that don’t last very long, not because their feelings are any less real, but because so much of it is often based in these unspoken rules or expectations.

When it comes to having healthy relationships—romantic or otherwise—there is no such thing as an unspoken rule. Nothing is a given. Every dynamic is different. Everyone has different comfort levels, needs, feelings, and experiences, and in order to have those kinds of dialogues, all partners involved need to make themselves a safe space. Without even realizing it, Jacob and Bethany *are* that safe space for each other. They don’t feel this pressure to perform as something they’re not. Because they tell themselves their relationship is not “real” and nothing’s at stake, they’re not afraid to be their regular awkward, bumbling, imperfect selves.

Again, I think a lot of young folks experience this pressure to not only date in the first place whether they want to or not, but they also deal with this expectation that they’ll just naturally know what to do—which again, is just paving the way for unhealthy relationships. But with this arrangement, Bethany and Jacob are actively making space to admit, “No, I actually don’t know what I’m doing.” They make time to debrief, and ask permission, and give feedback—which might seem silly, but actually makes a world of sense.

So I think this story is not only so incredibly valuable in the young adult space as a celebration of what good communication and healthy boundaries in romantic relationships can look like, but it’s also just one of the sweetest, most wholesome romances you will ever read. I adore Bethany and Jacob with all my heart, and I cannot recommend this one enough!

My PB & JAM SANDWICH COUPLE ♥️🥪

STARS: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I'm a sucker for fluff and this story gave me what I wanted! Bethany and Jacob have become one of my favorite book couples! (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)⁠❤

I really love how the author included so many diverse characters. I also love that the author shows us that we need to follow what we love and not what makes other people happy. I found Bethany's and Jacob's friends so relatable because I see my friends in those characters.

There were so much laughter and even a little bit of tears when I read this book. I might even buy the final print to add it on my shelf because I really really enjoyed this book!

I definitely recommend if you're looking for fluff a tiny bit of angst, fake dating, and supportive besties!

Thank you NetGallery for providing me a early copy of this book!

Loved!! Rebekah grasped the gentile insecurity of puberty wonderfully and articulated some things I WISH I had when I was a teenager. Highly recommend!

A fantastic YA debut from Rebekah Weatherspoon - I really enjoyed this book. Bethany and Jacob were adorable, and I'm a sucker for a fake dating trope. The story was great, and the characters were well developed - definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a YA romance.

I love reading this book, couldn't put it down. I love how diverse the friendships group was, it was amazing reading a book where you and your friends are represented. Wish i had books like this growing up. The story was so cute, was smiling the whole time reading it.

This book was so stinkin cute!! I was in the mood for a really cute giggly romance and this was just the thing I needed. I really loved the diversity in this book. I feel this book was effortlessly diverse and it was a treat to read. This was one of my most anticipated books of 2023 and I'm so happy it didnt dissapoint <3
Thank you NetGalley for the arc!!

Okay this was ADORABLE!! Her Good Side is a YA romance where two friends who are bad at dating fake a relationship for practice, and in the process catch feelings.

Bethany Greene is the daughter of two WNBA stars and her moms have pushed her into basketball too. Even though she secretly hates it and wants to study cooking instead. She's plus-size and usually good with her body, has a great group of friends, and is a late bloomer who has never had a boyfriend.

Jacob Yeun is a talented photographer and aspiring film-maker who went from scrawny to hot over the summer and isn't sure what to do with the newfound attention he's getting. After getting dumped twice in a matter of weeks, he's realizing he needs some practice with how to interact with girls.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. Both characters have their own growth & coming of age arcs, but they also slowly develop this really sweet love for each other. It's so joyful and supportive. And I loved how thoughtfully this handled tentatively exploring your sexuality for the first time- the importance of consent, be able to really take your time, and having a person you trust. The characters don't even have sex in the book, but you see this really healthy progression of figuring out what they might be comfortable with and having conversations about it.

Rebekah Weatherspoon really nailed this in my opinion. It's exactly what a good romance written for teens should be, and it really is swoonworthy. I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I don’t read a lot of romance, but I do love a good rom-com every now and then, and there is something about the fake relationship trope that just works for me. So basically what I’m saying this book is absolutely what I needed in my life and I’m so excited I got to read an advanced copy. The first thing I loved about this story was how great the representation was. There was racial diversity and diverse queer representation. It was wonderful. I loved the characters (not just the two love interests but their friends and families were great too). Bethany and Jacob are both struggling to get into the dating scene and strike upon the idea of fake dating so they can practice and give each other constructive criticism. But of course they make this deal before their first friend date and of course they both develop secret crushes on the other. The story was so sweet and I was cheering for both of them but especially Bethany.

"𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶."

𝗛𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗸𝗮𝗵 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗻

𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪
After two failed attempts at locking down a prom date Bethany goes to prom with her best friends' boyfriend. Jacob is socially awkward and especially doesn't know how to be around girls. Together they hatch a plan to fake date, helping Bethany tarnish the rumours about her and Jacob gain confidence around girls, what they didn't expect was to fall in love and learn some hard life lessons along the way.

There is no word or phrase that could truly describe how much I adore this book. Fake dating trope, body positivity, diversity, peer pressure, social anxiety, LGBTQIA rep, Donor dad rep. This book is relatable on so many real life aspects and what anyone could possibly be struggling through at any given moment. Thank you so much to the author because I felt myself, my insecurities my doubts as the teenager represented here.

"But sometimes people don’t want to touch you when you’re fat. Like they’re afraid your fat is gonna rub off on them." - Bethany

Rating
5/5⭐

Thank you so much @rebekahweatherspoon @penguinteen and @netgalley for this amazing E-arc.

All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Enjoyed this book! The characters are so sweet and relatable. This story is a sweet cozy read perfect for summertime reading. Highly recommend.

I'm glad I started this on a weekend because it was fun, and I didn't want to put it down. Bethany and Jake are great characters with fantastic families, good friends, and individual hobbies and interests. I feel like the author did a great job showing how to be friends while dating (even "fake" dating) without losing yourself to the other person. Surprisingly clean for a romance author -- with just a few references to content above a PG rating.

To say I love Rebekah Weatherspoon’s books is an understatement. She’s definitely one of my favorite Romance authors out there and will read anything she writes. So when I heard she was writing a YA contemporary romance, I knew I had to read it.

As with any other Weatherspoon book, there are a ton of queer characters and I expect nothing less.

There are a few (possibly under five) mentions of the COVID-19 pandemic and everyone doing virtual school at one point. At first, I thought there was going to be more of a significance especially since I’ve seen the author do this a few times in her previous books. In the end, it feels like setting the story in a place in time more than any other meaning.

In the past, I’ve enjoyed the fake dating trope, but there’s something about this book where I’ve gone absolutely feral and said “Yes, this is absolutely one of my favorite romance tropes.” I do love that Bethany and Jacob were aware of each other beforehand so it went from “acquaintances to friends to fake dating to ???” I won’t spoil it but it’s a romance novel so we know where it’s going. The whole time I was giggling like a schoolgirl at the romance and I love when I feel like that.

I loved the progression of Bethany and Jacob by themselves and in a relationship (platonic and romantic). The stakes were a lot lower than I thought they would be, but there was a comfort in knowing how it was going to end when I was so invested in how Bethany and Jacob’s individual arcs were going.

Verdict: If I didn’t require sleep, I would have read this in a day and would have been happy about it. If Rebekah Weatherspoon is going to write another YA contemporary romance, I AM THERE.

REBEKAH‘S FIRST YA BOOK AND I LOVED IT. Mind you, I‘ve read 90% of her adult books and she‘s definitely one of my fav romance authors ever. This book really did not disappoint. It was so cutesy & fluffy. I adore the couple so much! The friendships depicted in the story made me really happy too.

Okay, I'm in the minority with this one. I've seen a bunch of high ratings but I just can't get into it. The writing feels really childish - definitely the lower end of YA - and the plot just doesn't work for me. There are way too many characters clogging up the book, the writing feels clunky and cringey, and the whole premise in general is too flimsy to sustain itself. Plus, the focus on the whole late bloomer thing feels weird when the characters are sixteen. They're children; that isn't a late bloomer so the focus on dating and kissing just doesn't work.

I recently read and enjoyed another book by this author and was pretty excited to get this ARC and see her work for a younger audience. I liked it, for the most part.

I enjoyed the overall story, it was sweet and cute. Fake dating and its adjacent tropes are an easy way to my heart and it was done well here. A lot of positive representation that I imagine is going to mean a lot to kids who find themselves reading this.

I did have a hard time with the writing, however. Her Good Side is set in a school, meaning there’s a huge cast of side characters and I really struggled with the introductions. It felt like I knew 20 people’s full names, interests and parents’ occupations before the main characters even got to be in their presence. There was so much exposition I couldn’t pinpoint if it was writing for a younger audience or… childish? A lot of infodumping that could’ve been a dialogue or just cut altogether; and a lot of general retelling of what happened in a dialogue instead of actual dialogue. It got way(!!) better once we got most of the introductions out of the way but I was really put off by the rush to get out as much background information as possible while summarizing many important conversations.

(I would’ve probably chalked it up to the age range had it not been something that bothered me in the other book too.)

Overall though, the pacing was alright, the relationships healthy, the message positive and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about these kids finding happiness, and I really can’t be mad at it.

Thank you to Razorbill and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a cute, quick read. I liked reading both of the main characters' perspectives. Though I was a bit skeptical of how their fake dating situation began, seeing them both develop feelings for each other that they don't think the other can possibly return was frustrating in an endearing way. I also liked how encouraging and supportive they were of each other, without losing sight of their own issues/goals. I would love to read more romance from this author, whether YA or adult.

Her Good Side was such a cute love story. I really enjoyed getting to know each character and getting to see their relationship developed.

Bethany and Jacob are both high school students. Bethany has never been on a date and is heroic about it. Jacob has been dumped twice since school started and is worried he doesn’t know how to be in a relationship. So what do they do? They fake date so they both can practice! This was so cute and swoony. I read and loved Xeni so I was excited to read a YA romance by Rebekah. It was very much YA but fun to read as a 30-something. Their romance was so cute and I loved seeing them grow both in their relationship and in their hobbies and confidence. There’s a slew of friends that were hard to keep track of at first but I loved them — especially Heaven!

This book was too cute! I loved the dual povs and being able to watch the relationship grow between Bethany and Jacob on both parts! I’m glad we saw Bethany’s happy ending, however, I just wish we could have had a final chapter over Jacob and his filmmaking. All-in-all, the books was amazing!

Thank you NetGalley and Rebekah Weatherspoon for giving me an e-arc of Her Good Side!

I devoured this book - it was so good and wholesome. I never wanted it to end Bethany and Jacob have been unlucky in love and they have a solution - they can start a relationship so they can practice with each other in a safe space

I loved the supporting characters, the main characters and the great communication, growth and banter. I don't know how to put into words how much I enjoyed this book = I was I could give it a 10 star

brilliant! I will be recommending this one to everyone if they are looking for something to lift their spirits and give them a lot of aww moments - this is your book