This was such a cute, fun , quick read !
I loved the diversity and LGBTQ+ representation that was in the book. It definitely gave me some cultural insight which I always love.

The love story was very sweet but it was a bit cringe at times.

The Heartifacts exhibit was also a bit cheesy but I thought it was a cute idea! I liked reading the difference stories that came with the boxes.

It’s definitely a YA book , it’s a clean romance so nothing explicit.

A very easy-going and cute romance!

If I could summarize this book into one word, it would probably just be “cute.” The main character, Chloe, is a young girl who moves from New York to LA with her family after her grandmother begins to have health problems. Her boyfriend dumps her over the mail as soon as she gets there by shipping their relationship items back to her. The initial concept was super interesting, and I liked that Chloe was trying to make a heartbreak into a success, but it all just felt very fake. I am unsure how many 16-year-olds can plan an art exhibition and go to school. She also ran an extremely successful YouTube channel at the same time. It just seemed too extreme/busy for it to be realistic.

That aside, the relationship between Chloe and Daniel lacked something for me. I understood why Daniel wanted to wait for her to be over her ex-boyfriend before getting together, but it felt like a constant uphill battle. When they finally got together, though, it all felt rushed. I wish we would have seen them go on dates as a couple. Side note: I also do not understand how Chloe got rejected twice and kept returning to him. Very much delusional, but I can relate to her.

Although this may seem like I am being very critical, I still enjoyed this book a lot. I like the fast-paced plot. This book benefited a lot by cutting out unnecessary stuff. For example, I knew Chloe went to school, but I liked that the book never focused on it. It always felt like the action was happening, and progress for the storyline was being made. Another thing I enjoyed was the different cultures that were shown in this book. It was highly diverse and inclusive, which represents the present day.

Overall, I think many people will enjoy this book, especially if they want a quick and easy romance! This book will be released on November 14th, 2023. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/5
REVIEW📖
Chloe takes matters of heartbreak into her own hands. When a package from her boyfriend arrives she is harshly dumped. Using her artistic and creative passion she seizes the opportunity to Host a gallery of "Heartifacts" from other heartbroken people. But when she catches a guy videoing a reaction to a Heartifact, she makes a friend and possibly more.

This cutesy romcom is adorable and a feel good read. If your in the need for a quick read, this is the one! I love Chloe's character and how she takes something so emotionally hurtful and turns it into a tool to grow from.

Daniel is a guy trying to refrain from becoming another rebound and helps Chloe realize her feelings and in turn learns a thing or two himself.

So cute. I will be buying the physical copy just so I can read this when I need a sweet romcom.

This is a sweet story about Chloe, a planning obsessed teen art curator who moves to LA from NYC. Fresh from a break up, she is inspired to create an art exhibit featuring failed relationship mementos. In the process of adjusting to life in LA and making friends with fellow creatives, Chloe meets a cute film maker—Daniel. He’s as sweet as the pineapple cakes Chloe’s ahma used to make but convincing him to date her isn’t easy because of his preconceived ideas about love.

The side characters add additional interest and depth to the story and the way Chloe’s family dynamics were interwoven with the narrative worked beautifully.

This story is a nod to falling in love with LA, finding your artistic tribe, and the ups and downs of all the stages of love.

A fun read! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday’s Books for allowing me to read a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All the opinions and views expressed are purely my own and not affiliated with any brand.

This was such a fun book! This story was a light and easy read that kept me interested throughout. It made me sit back and wonder what artifacts from past relationships I might have. Jennifer Chen does an amazing job writing a compelling story with interesting and relatable characters. The story was full of humor and was overall just a joy to read! I do recommend this book if you love a good rom-com!

Chloe and Daniel meet at the night of her art exhibit. She has chosen to transform her recent breakup from her boyfriend into art. Instead of destroying everything she collected from her ex, she instead collects the break up boxes from others and reimagines them into new significance. On the night in question, Daniel is filming the viewing of one of the boxes and Chloe confronts him. The relationship between them is sweet. As Chloe and Daniel create and develop Heartifacts into a true art installation, they learn to trust each other and open themselves up to love.

What do you do with all the reminders of a relationship that has ended? In this book, Chloe is struggling. Her boyfriend broke up with her when she and her family moved to LA from NYC to take care of her ailing grandmother. When her ex-boyfriend breaks up with her via a box of memories of their relationship, Chloe suddenly has an idea. She uses her social media following to get others to send their mementos of their relationships of the past, and puts together an art exhibit. In the meantime, Chloe is trying to figure out how to move on from a past love to a potential future one.

I really enjoyed how this book brought back the nostalgia of being young, in love, and broken hearted. Everyone can relate to having their heart broken, or at the very least, and unrequited crush. This book really spoke to the time in a young adult's life when they are growing into who they will become. I loved that Chloe was able to find a tight-knit group of diverse friends who love and support each other despite their differences.

I would recommend this book to those looking for a quick and fun read. It has The Summer I Turned Pretty vibes. It's wholesome fun that is easily digested in one sitting. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy!

'Artifacts of An Ex' is a fun, fluffy quick read, a feel-good YA Contemporary. Recommended for YA readers.

Love love love this book. It's a super easy read, a cutesy YA romance. Which was exactly what I wanted out of it. The main character, Chloe, is an aspiring art curator (in high school somehow?? jealous.) and has the genius idea for Heartifacts. The idea of Heartifacts was why I originally requested this book off Netgalley. It's something I'd love to go to in real life, and I think would've helped when I was going through my own heartbreak. It's such a cute idea, and everyone has a box of stuff from their ex they just can't seem to get rid off. What's a better thing to do with it than put it in a art show. The guy main character, while not really a main character (which I didn't mind at all), had some hardcore guts for sticking in his position of a no because he knew Chloe was still getting over her ex. I think it really set the tone for a healthy relationship and this is one of a few book couples I could genuinely see lasting. The way he treats her Ahma also just melted my heart. The bits of the book with her in it just gave me so many emotions. This book also has such incredible representation, it made my heart happy. Anyways, I loved the book and will probably be reading more Jennifer Chan.

I really enjoyed the concept and creativity of this storyline, however I’ve decided to not continue with reading all the way through. My reasoning for this is it just felt too unrealistic for the age of these characters. This cross country romance / breakup and multiple business ventures just didn’t seem like a teenage story. It felt mature yet also childish at the same time. This would have been more plausible as an adult storyline so it just didn’t fit for me.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Wednesday Books and Author Jennifer Chen for the digital arc in exchange for a review.

A very cute, light, easy read about a girl named Chloe and her love for art, her family, friends, and a boy. This story has heartbreak, friendships, family, and art. This book is a nice breath of fresh air! Very enjoyable.

I want to start off by saying that I did like this book, and I will likely recommend it to younger teens looking for a contemporary romance novel in the future. THAT SAID, I do feel like this book would make more sense if the characters were adults (at least like in college). It was just hard for me to believe that ANY of these highly accomplished artists, or someone one who was able to curate her own show at the Met, were in high school. I also agree with some other reviews that there are significant portions of this book that just fee like product placement. However, overall I do think that this is a pretty sweet YA romance. I like establishment of friendship between Chloe and Daniel, and the realistic timeline over which their relationship develops.

Artifacts of An Ex is a sweet YA romance. When Chloe’s grandmother suffers a health scare, Chloe and her family move out to California to be with her. Unfortunately, this means Chloe and her boyfriend Jake are going long-distance. Then Jake sends a shoebox of Chloe’s belongings without warning. Heartbroken and confused, Chloe is inspired to create Heartifacts- an exhibit of items from broken-up couples. There she meets Daniel, who is filming his best friend’s reaction to his personal relationship box. As Chloe and Daniel pursue their artistic goals, what happens when Chloe begins to have feelings for Daniel?

I really enjoyed Artifacts of An Ex! It was a lighthearted and enjoyable YA romance. Chloe is a driven and creative character who is determined to make art out of her heartbreak. Daniel is also very driven, but much more guarded due to past bad experiences where he was the second choice romantically. One of my favorite things was the relationship between Chloe and her grandma; it felt very realistic and loving. I only wish I could try some of the delicious pineapple cake that Chloe painstakingly recreates with her ahma! Chloe’s family was always supportive and encouraging of her art, which was great to see. Readers who enjoyed Rent A Boyfriend (Gloria Chao), I Love You So Mochi (Sarah Kuhn), and A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow (Laura Taylor Namey) will love this book.

Thank you to Jennifer Chen, Wednesday Books, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc

a cute and charming romcom that was delightful.

thank you to netgalley and to the publisher for this review copy.

This one was just meh to me. The scenarios were a little unrealistic and the conversations could be cringey at times. While I love YA lit, this one just felt off. It felt like some parts were really mature, while others were too young. It’s a quick read, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to suggest it.

Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.
The plot was creative and I can see why others would enjoy this one. Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. Their were too many gaps in the story and voids for my liking. The characters were very immature, and I couldn't relate.

Many thanks to the Publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Although this book had many of my favorite ingredients (Art world-I have an Art History background and I'm a photographer; YA-LOVE YA books!; LGBTQ+representation), the recipe just didn't work out for me.

I felt there were so many contradictions while reading this: The characters were both too mature, and too immature. Meanwhile, there was too much going on and not enough happening. I also didn't relate to the main character, Chloe. Despite being somewhat of a type A perfectionist myself, I found her to be overbearing and pretentious. Her planner/sticker side hustle/influencer role was also distracting and really didn't fit in with the story. Also, when did these kids go to school? It would have made more sense if they all went to a Fine Arts Magnet School where their level of experience and their attitudes would have seemed more justifiable.

In terms of the friends to lovers trope, there just wasn't enough tension and the path to getting together was frustrating. I don't want to spoil it, but I didn't like the advice of her friends at the end of the book and felt the grand gestures were awkward and uncomfortable.

Interesting premise, but just not for me.

This was a delightful YA novel. I loved the concept of using heartbreak and exploring the art and message behind the emotions. Chen was able to create true growth in the character of Chloe, and I love the message that popularity and followers are superficial and do not really fulfill a person.

This was such a cute, light, fluffy read! It was enjoyable to watch as Chloe became more confident in herself while going through such big changes in her life.
This is not my usual kind of read but I enjoyed every minute of it.

Inspiration strikes Chloe when she gets dumped by her super hot, talented artist boyfriend Jake through a shoebox that he mailed to her filled with items from their relationship. With her planner, stickers, and many Post-It notes, she forms the idea to collect these boxes filled with artifacts from people's exes and curate an exhibition to reveal the universality of heartbreak. Opening night is filled with less people than Chloe would have wanted, but it gets even worse when she spots a boy filming his best friend's reaction to an artifact box when she explicitly told people not to take photographs or videos of these highly personalized boxes. She confronts this boy, Daniel, and it simmers down to a fiery partnership that has the two going on not-dates to create a short film to accompany Chloe's Heartifacts exhibition. Chloe falls hard for Daniel, but Daniel is dead set on not becoming another rebound. Through mistakes and imperfections, Chloe learns about all the forms of love and heartbreak, updating Heartifacts to be even better and maybe even getting the boy who has his heart guarded.

Artifacts of an Ex has such a fun story line! Chloe's idea of Heartifacts is such a beautiful showcase of young love and what it means to learn about love. My favorite part of the book was reading about the art pieces in Heartifacts. I'm mind blown by the artistic interpretation and ideas of these characters. Heartifacts would surely be a hit if it was real! I also loved the description of the foods. (I really want some pineapple tarts right now) Jennifer Chen's writing style is so fun and polished, it's a balance that I really enjoy reading about.

I didn't really like how fast paced this book was. It felt kind of boring to read after a while because I'm just following what Chloe is doing without anything eventful to look forward to. I think that the relationship between Chloe and Daniel is cute, and they seem perfect for each other, but I just can't stand all the constant friendzoning. It just felt repetitive, and I wish we could have explored Daniel's reluctance to relationships more.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for sending me an e-copy of this book for an honest review!