Okay hi. Hello. I hate myself.

Somewhat.

Let me paint you a picture: god knows how long ago - a teenage girl (me) sitting in a lecture hall bored to tears decides to surf through her favourite website, NetGalley. And what does she happen to find? A cute-looking YA romance that is Read Now. And so she says to herself, this book sounds fun, I bet I’ll like it, I bet it’ll be an easy read.

LIES.

Reader, it has been a year and a half. A YEAR AND A HALF. It has been so long that I am no longer a teenager. I am almost 21! This book has sat in my goodreads TBR for so fucking long that 100+ books have passed it by!

So yes. I hate myself.

For various reasons, one for being enticed by that stupid read now button and two for not having the guts to force myself to sit down and read this book until the very end.

Because yes. I still have not finished it. I would like to finish it, simply so I can say I have, but just looking at this book gives me debilitating depression. I think finishing it would send me to an early grave.

According to my kindle, I’m 57% of the way in. That hurts me. That really hurts me, because reading this book felt like I was plucking out my hair strand by strand until I was fully bald, and the book STILL WASN’T OVER.

I joke, but this book was the Epitome of pain.

Okay, I’ve waffled for too much. Let’s try to, y’know, REVIEW this book.

Let’s just get the hard stuff out of the way first. This book was BAD. First-attempt-from-a-brand-new-writer bad. And I feel mean saying that. I really do. I’m not trying to be an asshole – much – but I cannot sugarcoat how bad this book is. That would be me Lying. And I try not to lie. I feel gaslit whenever I check the reviews on goodreads and see so many absolutely glowing ones because there is no way in fucking hell we read the same book, you are a FOOL.

Anyway.

I have many notes, so let’s follow them, shall we?

The first thing I noted was the dialogue. It was very stiff, very unnatural, quite literally forced and as if Sarah doesn’t actually know how people talk, never mind how teenagers talk to one another when there’s no adult nearby. It seemed as if she’d surfed through TikTok and found exaggerated examples of how teenagers are and ran with that. The banter was so exaggerated so the point where it never felt real. It never felt like something I would actually hear anyone say.

/“Oh, Gracie, you don’t love us?” Jesse teased, throwing an arm around her shoulder.
Gracie ducked under his arm. “Not particularly.”
Jesse looked shocked for a moment, before bursting into laughter. “I like this one, Z!
“Yeah, yeah, I don’t think she likes you very much,” Zara said sleepily, cradling a mug of coffee./

This sounds like something I would have written when I was thirteen and I’d just written my first book. It does not sound like something that should be in a published book, because why is Jesse ‘shocked’ that Gracie just… I don’t even know, talked back? Are you an idiot? Every single action was exaggerated. The word ‘said’ was barely used as a dialogue tag. Or if it was, there was always something added onto it: ‘x said casually’, ‘x said soothingly’. It was rarely on its own. This is bad writing because the word ‘said’ should be your most used dialogue tag as it’s the most realistic. General speaking is not exaggerated other than a few lines per conversation. Your characters should not be ‘exclaiming’, ‘fuming’, ‘teasing’, ‘squealing’ every single time they speak in a conversation.

I could go on and on about the dialogue for days, but I feel I need to mention another one that’s genuinely awful.

“What will you be doing? Pre-calculus? Spanish?”
“Committing murder,” Gracie said casually, as if it were something she did every day.
Zara nearly choked on the gum she had just popped into her mouth. “Who-who’s the unlucky victim?” she asked finally.
“Oh, he’s no victim.”

I feel like the act of threatening to commit murder in a light-hearted way is something most teenagers do because they’re frustrated or whatever. It’s never serious. It’s a joke, and I feel like it’s one we’ve all heard in some way or another. It’s literally never anything to be shocked by unless you do not know one another.

Also: “Man, that was awesome. No homework and we spent half of class talking.” Tell me you have never interacted with teenagers without telling me you have never interacted with teenagers.

I could say so much more about the dialogue but I fear if I pulled up literally every bit that I hated we’d be here for days.

And the inner thoughts too were just a tad bit too dramatic for my liking. There would be moments where the characters were acting as if someone wronging them was going to lead to the end of the world. Genuinely. “How dare his cousins prank him? Dean was the king of pranks.” Just… no. Every single fucking sentence does not need to be weirdly exaggerated to an unbelievable degree. Sometimes just talking normally works fine.

This was also full of random cliches that don’t really get explained because tell me why at the end of chapter two a new character burst into the scene literally yelling ‘I’m back bitch’ like what is this 2010s Wattpad energy and why is it in a published book? Teenagers do not act like that and even though I am quite literally not a teenager anymore, I am offended on their behalf. (I was a teenager when this book released so I feel as if I am right to claim offense.) And why the fuck are the adults also shocked? I’m telling you no one gives a fuck. They’d give a fuck about her yelling and swearing to a whole dining hall. But other than that, they do not care.

I also would like to mention that I gave up on this book almost a year ago and I am just now—October 2024—writing the review.

There was also an unnecessary amount of girl hating in this. It’s 2024 (2023 when this was published). Why are our main female characters—who are supposed to be likeable—openly hating on another girl literally just because? They hated Juliet simply because her voice was high? Or she liked to ask questions? Get out of here.

This book is supposed to be a fake dating book, but I’m not going to lie this is literally the worst way to start a faking dating scheme like there’s absolutely nothing in it at all. Usually there’s something either side stand to gain from fake dating, but here it was simply a prank that got out of hand. Dean ‘admits’ for everyone that he and Gracie are dating and then once he does that, everyone refuses to take Gracie seriously when she tells them they’re not. And let me tell you, as someone who’s been the victim of some truly absurd rumours, this would piss me the fuck off.

“Are you going to ask how I’m doing?”
“No.”
“Well, you’re a feisty one.”

Genuinely, get out of here.

Dean himself was also just really weird and kind of creepy. Definitely not the kind of guy I’d like to spend time with. When Gracie is – rightfully – mad at Dean, his first thought isn’t to apologise or to explain himself. It’s to ‘shut her up’, and to do that he kisses her. And then when Gracie decides to get her own back and ‘admit’ to the fake dating to mess with him, he gets annoyed at her. Like why are you annoyed that she played your own game back at you? Also, at 57% -- where I got up to -- he takes a photo of her sleeping. Like. C'mon dude, stop being such a CREEP. Also, since there is so much more that I just haven't mentioned, I feel the need to mention that Dean is also a biphobe.

"Can I bring someone also?" Zara blurted out. Dean groaned, dropping his head into his hands. It was an open secret and a taboo topic in the family that Zara was bisexual.
[...]
Dean sighed. "Did you really have to antagonise him like that? You could've been a little nicer, Zar. I know it's not easy and they can be real assholes sometimes--"
"It's not my--"
"But," Dean continued loudly. "We're about to be stuck with them for a full weekend and I'd rather it not be arguments and fights the whole time."

Instead of sticking up for his sister which he should have done, he berates her for asking a fair question to a homophobic man. Dean is horrible and I really feel the need to acknowledge that again.

“We all know you’re in love with me. It’s only a matter of time before you admit it.”

And then another cliché gets thrown into the mix that actually infuriated me so much because like if you choose to write a young adult romance, why are you so insistent on making it full of misogyny and cliches and literally the worst people ever?

Behold: “The boy shot her a smile, and suddenly she had a sudden urge to spill her deepest, darkest secrets. “Sadly, I’m kinda used to girls throwing themselves at me.”

Get. Out. Of. Here.

Also why is the teacher 1. Asking about the rumours, and 2. Asking if they’ve used protection. Like? Seriously. What the fuck?

“Since I’ve been working here, there have been several girls wanting revenge on various boys. Have you heard of the Mean Girls incident?”

I am going to kill myself. You are going to find my body in the middle of a fucking forest and the only thing I’m gonna have with me is a copy of this book so that everyone knows what fucking killed me.

Also, Sarah is very insistent on using hair colours to describe who they’re talking about. Instead of ‘he’s not sure what Gracie wanted’, it’s ‘he’s not sure what the brunette wanted’. And this happens so often. Like stop. Please. My sanity is already half gone I can’t keep doing this.

Okay. I think you get my point. This review is already too fucking long. I hated this book. I couldn’t even finish it. I don’t think I ever will. I definitely don’t think I’ll be picking up any more of Sarah’s books because if I couldn’t stomach one I definitely will not be able to stomach another.

I genuinely had nothing nice to say about this and for that I’m sorry, but I am finally letting this book go so you won’t hear anything more from me about it. (This may be a lie as I fear this has actually taken the number one spot as the worst book I have ever read so I apologise.)

Anyway. Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc, please add a function where I can dnf a book and not have it negatively impact my review rate because I can’t keep doing this.

Goodbye.

This was a relatively short read which was fine but made it difficult for the story and characters to make a real impact.

I didn’t find it easier to connect with the characters or the story to be honest.

It was ok in my opinion.

When Dean decides to play a prank on his sister's best friend, telling everyone at school they are dating, he doesn't expect it to explode the way it does. Gracie doesn't just take the joke, she throws it back into Dean's face by playing along with the fake dating ploy. We all know what happens then right?

I love fake dating. This book was cute too as it was a YA setting so not so over the top. It did annoy me that both characters took so long to realize how they felt however I am sure the author attributed this to the age of the characters and not having felt that way before. I would be interested to read more of this series.

This book was pretty cute! It was nice and short so I was able to read it in just one day. I loved Gracie and Dean they had great chemistry and I was rooting for them the whole time. It read kind of like a wattpad book or fanfiction which I did not mind because I love both but I would be aware of that. Overall this was cute and worth the read.

I'm sad to say I was disappointed, it seemed like a cute, fun read but it needed some seriously strong editing and less of the slowest burn in the world.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

Such a cute story and an easy read. Definitely recommend if you're looking for something lighthearted.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was cute and a lighthearted read. The characters had good chemistry too but a lot of the book felt rushed and there was too much going on and should just focused on one bigger problem over a lot of little issues.
Wasn't for me, sadly.

Such a well written debut novel which I devoured in 2 sittings, I was gripped and couldn't put it down! I really enjoyed Gracie and Deans relationship it was so cute, such a fab spin on the fake dating.

Predictable bool that had me twirling my hair at times nonetheless. I wish the characters weren't once again a copy-paste of the typical female main character and male love interest. The love story is cute, but that's all. Cuteness is all this book has going on for it. And it's not that I'm against that, but it can't shine in a sea full of "cute books" like chick-lit is.

I really enjoyed the story. It is such a fun and short read, where you can relate to the characters and the things that are happening to them. The writing is easy to follow and makes you want to keep on reading.

This was a really cute read and I think would be a great book to help someone dive back into reading - especially if there aren't used to romcom style books. The way the characters were written and the storyline makes this a great YA romcom book - which are honestly hard to find. Overall cute and it made me smile.

Thank you for the ARC of this book.
This story was a good read, it's likely to be aimed at a younger audience and didn't quite hit what I was hoping for but this is for no reason other than personal preference.

I enjoyed this book. It was a quick read. It was predictable and a good comfort read. I do think it could have benefited from a couple more revision passes to smooth out some of the transitions. Overall a cute book though.

Unfortunately another story that just felt mediocre. I love the cover and the premise was promising but I did not really care for the characters and their relationship. Maybe it was just not the right time for me to read this book but I have read so many great romance books in the last few months that this one was just a bit boring to me.

I found this to be a cute Ya novel with nicely written characters. A book that I will definitely recommend to those looking for a cute novel.
This is my first novel by this author and will read more from her.
Thanks again
3/5 stars

a cute, sweet, but, to be honest, entirely unimpressive debut from allie sarah here. I love this concept but the execution was subpar at best.

Book boyfriend - check, cute funny moments - check, love story you wish would happen to you - check. Romantic comedy perfection - check check! Gracie and Dean are the couple you root for, swoon worthy plot.

DNF at 49%
This just wasn’t for me. I couldn’t keep the characters straight. Dialogue is a little immature but at the same time, these juniors in HS are talking about some adult behavior. It just didn’t all vibe together like I needed it to to continue. Also some manipulative pranks (kissing not Dean-Theo- in the library) not a fan.

Special thanks to Netgalley and SnowRidge Press for this digital ARC.

This was a cute and easy read, but seemed a bit shallow and underdeveloped in terms of characters and setting. I was really excited about the concept as it was really promising, but I felt like the execution of it left a lot to be desired. It could be that I am not the target audience for this novel anymore, but I think that there could’ve been more work done to have the story become more enjoyable and less frustrating to read. I think it just needed more polishing to fulfill its potential, but it would definitely be a good read for others.