Sutanto has become one of the author's whose work I've highly enjoyed reading, so when I saw this new book, I was immediately drawn.

Seventeen-year old Kiki Siregar is a certified gamer girl. But, she has a secret. Online, she has disguised herself as a guy to avoid harassment from male gamers. Even her online bestie, a teen boy who goes by the username Sourdawg, doesn't know her true identity. To be fair, neither of them knows each other's real identity, which is fine since there was no way they'll meet in real life. Until she transfers to a new school and discovers Sourdawg is a student there, too.

From her romcom/mystery mash-up Aunties series to her faced paced YA thrillers The Obsession and The New Girl, Sutanto has showed her writing flexibility. This book further proves that she knows how to write for different audiences and across different genres. The story elements in this read reminds me on an Asian teen drama-you've got an elite school filled with rich kids, strong female character who stands-up for herself and beliefs, and a love triangle-ish between the popular jerk and nice guy best friend. It also touches heavy topics such as bullying and harassment in a mindful manner which is appreciated.

Thank you so much to the publisher for this arc!

I really love the author's previous book in the series, Well, That Was Unexpected. So when I saw she was coming out with this book, I was very excited. This book follows KiKi as she is transferring to a new school. While dealing with a new school and its rules, she has a crush on a boy from one of her games. She finds out that that boy attends the school she is transferring to.

Now, I do not really like the hidden identity trope and I do not really like lying or omitting the truth in books. So this aspect kinda took a little bit away from my enjoyment but not much. I really enjoyed Kiki's journey of rediscovering herself. I was really feeling for her and I am glad she got her happy ending.

I also enjoyed the discussion of girls and women in the gaming industry and topics of sexism at school. I really wish I had this book in high school.

This was a sweet YA romance. The main characters of this story, Kiki and Liam, charmed me. I felt so invested in their happiness and so proud of the way they overcame challenges throughout this book. Their friends-to-lovers story was adorable, supportive, and genuine, and I wish this book had focused a bit more on them in the last 30%. Unfortunately, the author decided to add a twist at the 70% mark that was unnecessary and decreased my enjoyment of this story. I've read enough of This author's book by now to expect some chaos and to be okay with suspending some of my disbelief, but it just didn't work as well as I hoped this time. The third act conflict was already pretty obvious and unavoidable early on the book, and I was okay with that, but the added twist felt like it was written for the sake of creating even more unnecessary drama.
Even though I didn't totally love everything about this book, I do recommend it if you're looking for a YA contemporary romance that's set in Indonesia and revolves around two gamers. This book also discusses very important topics that girls and women have to deal with in gaming communities and in school.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I would have like to have known that this was a companion book, as it references the first one in such a way that it reveals the ending and I would have read Well, That Was Unexpected first. That said, this book stood alone fine.

When Kiki transfers from her liberal-leaning high school to a more prestigious and very conservative high school, she is shocked by the sexism and favoritism that she encounters. She stands up for herself and is bullied for it, which is supported by the administration. She slowly makes friends with the other female students as they reluctantly admit the issues with the school. The ending of the book is fabulous. Recommended for grades 8 & up.

In Didn't See that Coming, Kiki Siregar, who lives in South Jakarta, Indonesia, games under the name "DudeBro" to avoid being objectified by guys in the gaming universe. Worrying that Kiki is too liberal, her parents transfer her to a traditionally Chinese school, where she immediately draws negative attention when she stands up to a bully, Jonas Arifin, and is branded on TikTok as #Crazy Kiki. She confides in her online best friend "Sourdawg," but later finds out he goes to her new school. She wonders if he is her sweet sensitive lab partner Liam, or Jonas, whose delusional attraction to her is making her life miserable. She enlists the help of the Li'l Auntie's dating service to solve the mystery. Although serious subjects of gender bias and STEM related topics are explored, they are dealt with in humorous ways. As Kiki struggles to stand up to aggressors and be true to herself, she also recognizes that she doesn't want to alienate her crush Liam. Readers will find Kiki's entertaining hijinks a fun romp that of course, leads to a happy ending.

Overall though this was a cute read and I can see fans of YA contemporary enjoying it! Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Kiki is a fantastic gamer full of confidence who is starting a new school. She has so much confidence online because she pretends to be a boy when playing.

Her new school is elite and not what she’s used to. Imagine her shock when her online best friend attends the school as well. Who is he? How will he react to learning she is a she? And what happens when she realizes that she might be developing feelings for her online best friend?

Jess Sutanto has quickly become an auto-buy author for me, so I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into her new YA Romance. One thing that was quickly apparent in this book was that there was amazing Southeast Asian representation. I love learning new things while reading, and this one was fun for that while being utterly entertaining. The romance was a little slow cliché for me, but I just remembered that this was a YA book and then it absolutely worked. I do think that this one veers on the younger spectrum of YA, even though the characters are about 17 years old. I did see a note that the suggested age was 12+ and to me it did read to be for about 12-14 year olds or so.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this book was how well it handled some really heavy and important topics. This book had harassment of female game players, and high school bullying. I was unsure how those topics would fit into a rom-com but the author did it and it worked very well which was important to me. We need to bring awareness to these issues in order to get them to stop.

Thank you so much to TBR Tours, @tbrbeyondtours for organizing this tour, and the publisher and author for a copy to review.

As a female gamer myself, I was unfortunately totally able to relate to what Kiki was dealing with. It’s not every day you read a book with people using WhatsApp and Discord, such as I do, to communicate with friends in other countries and other gamers outside of the game platform either, which was cool. I found myself fully laughing and smiling throughout the book. The supporting characters are really great! I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Jesse Q. Sutanto, what I appreciate the most about you is your willingness to write about such a variety of topics in your novels and how authentically you stay true to yourself. You have now written adult mysteries and thrillers, and YA romcoms and mysteries. What's next?! Because I'm here for it!

Also, if you don't follow Jesse Q. Sutanto on Instagram, you gotta! I love watching her author friendship with Lauren Ho! These two women are so supportive of one another! It's a beautiful thing to see!

PRH Audio and Delacorte Press have spoiled me and I am so grateful they granted me access to Didn't See That Coming! I have read quite a few novels about gamers and online catfishing this year and initially, this book felt familiar. However, it was because I got to fall right back in with Kiki Sirigar who was present is Sutanto's last YA Book, Well, That Was Unexpected where we watching Sharlot and George Clooney figure themselves out!

Kiki is a strong willed, independent, no-nonsense young woman. However, due to serious bullying and harassment online, Kiki has resigned herself to playing online as a "bro". What she didn't expect was to make a friend, and when she realizes her gamer friend is a classmate and her new elite, super strict school, Kiki knows it's only a matter of time before things implode.

This novel explores the ramifications of bullying, sexism, classism, racism, and many other still prevalent issues that are present in our day to day lives. I loved the juxtaposition of some of the more lighthearted characters with the seriousness of the content and the novels message. This book made my heart ache at times for Kiki as she struggled to find her way, but ultimately my heart soared for her by the time the audiobook ended.

Can't wait for the next!

Content Warning: bullying

I’ve read a few books from this author, two adult books, and one young adult thriller so I wanted to check out a young adult romance from her.

+ This is very young adult and will definitely appeal to teens. Kiki Siregar has changed schools and now she attends a very prestigious private school Indonesia but it hasn’t been an easy transition for her. She caught the eye of the biggest bully on campus Jonas. To relax she’s a gamer and she uses a handle that suggests she’s a boy because she experienced bullying when she played as a girl. She has a friend online Sourdawg, who she’s crushing on a bit but he doesn’t know he’s a girl on the other side of the screen.

+ Kiki is a very strong character. She’s confident and says what she likes even when it gets her in trouble with Jonas, her teachers and the principal! She feels that her mom put her in that new school to help her climb the social ladder but Kiki hates her new school a lot and misses her old friends and old school. I do like how she tries to stand up for herself against Jonas and his bullying. I thought the scenes when she was with her new old friends were very fun, she’s very supportive girlfriends.

+ The romance between Kiki and Liam is really sweet because he’s pretty much the only who is nice to her at the school in the beginning and he mades an effort to be brave and stand up to Jonas too once he realizes it’s wrong to just stand on the side watching the bullying happens.

+ I love that this story takes place in Indonesia and we get to learn cultural things like how student have to behave at a prestigious school. Also I love all the food references because it’s so similar to filipino foods especially when they talk about desserts like ube and pandan.

~ Jonas is such a punk and such a villain. I hated how he had the upper-hand with Kiki and I’m glad that this didn’t turn into an enemies to lover romance because – NO. I didn’t love that this plot twist came so late in the book also! I think Kiki had enough drama with Jonas that she didn’t need to be forced to date him.

~ Kiki does come off as a brat at times with her parents but I felt it was realistic. The kids at these schools have mostly have money and Kiki’s family did have some, not on the level as Jonas though.

Tropes: online crush

My Thoughts:

I actually thought this was a fun read because I like how we get to see Kiki try to fit in at a new school when she used to be so popular at her old school. It’s a tough transition and she’s being bullied, which is awful but she learns to stand up for herself even when it’s not the thing to do. I liked her moments just being a teen and goofing off with her girlfriends, talking about their drama. She did have some bratty moments though but that was her personality – kind of hot tempered. The romance was sweet too – I love a good online crush romance, that ends in a happily ever after.

Super cute story about a young girl starting a new school and going through the trials of bullying and trying to fit in. Kiki moves to a new school and has a rough start but her escape is gaming and she makes a new friend who ends up being someone she was so shocked to find out. Great story about bullying and stereotypes.

Sweet and cute YA contemporary with just enough culture shock to keep me interested. Rather than a coming of age novel, we see Kiki be tested and confront adversity. This is all through the lens of an esteemed school that values obedience and manners above all, which was a huge change of pace for Kiki. As the story progresses, we get a You've Got Mail style love story, with a matchmaking and MMORPG twist. I really enjoyed Kiki and Liam's character growth and the discussion of bullying and misogyny in society.

*Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review and to PRH Audio for the gifted ALC*

‼️‼️‼️ARC Review‼️‼️‼️

Thank you NetGalley, Jesse Q. Sutanto, and the Delacorte Press publishing team for allowing me to review this book!


Didn’t See That Coming by Jesse Q. Sutanto
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5
Publish Date: November 28, 2023

Jesse Q. Sutanto has quickly become an automatic pick up author for me. I absolutely love the writing style and her ability to switch genres seamlessly.

This book handles some heavier topics such as, sexism and cultural expectations. While also finding a way to stay lighthearted and funny.

I really enjoyed the main character Kiki. She isn’t afraid to be herself and she loves video games.

There are some cheesy moments but there are also adorable and sad moments which I loved.

I highly recommend this book if you enjoy cute, lighthearted, YA romance, that also dives into some heavier topics.

This ARC was out of my normal reading-but it was a cute YA love story. The main characters were quirky and fun. This will be a hit with game loving middle grades.

I am a big fan of Jesse Q. Sutanto, so it was a no-brainer to request the ARC for her newest YA RomCom. A big thank you to NetGalley for providing the digital arc so that I can provide an honest review.

"Didn't See that Coming" follows 17-year-old Kiki Siregar, an outspoken, confident gamer girl who just wants to be herself. Except, she can't ever truly be herself. Growing up in a traditional society where the collective whole is more important than the individuals, Kiki is constantly at odds with the people around her. She tried to find solace in the thing that makes her the most happy – video games – but was met with sexism and harassment until she adopted the handle Dudebro10. She is thriving in this online environment and even considers a guy named Sourdawg to be her best friend. The only problem is... he doesn't know that she's a girl... the bigger problem... he also attends the elite private school where she has been the victim of bullying and a trending hashtag.

After reading "Dial A for Aunties" and "Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers," I assumed Sutanto's YA would have the same storytelling vibes but more lighthearted. What is more lighthearted than a gamer girl falling in love with a boy at school only to discover that they are best friends online, and he thinks she's a boy?

Unfortunately, this book is not a RomCom. Not only did I not find this book funny at all, but our female main character is the most unlikable character I have ever read in a YA book. I wanted to like Kiki because I was supposed to feel sorry for her, but she was disrespectful, spoiled, selfish, and arrogant. What's worse, Kiki's inner thoughts (this is told in the first person) often reveals that she is aware that her behaviors towards others are a problem, but then brushes it off in favor of feeling victimized. Victimized by parents, online, in the classroom, by society, and the patriarchy...

Instead of this book being a cute YA RomCom, it is a message-heavy book about feminism and bullying. The entire book is Kiki whining about how life isn't fair to girls, and that no girl should be called crazy. I can agree with both of those points. However, as a reader, I would like to be able to come to that conclusion on my own, while still reading a cute RomCom, but unfortunately the plot took a backseat on this one.

P.S. This book had more f*bombs and references to d*cks than most adult RomComs and considering this books is for 12-17 year olds, that is pretty problematic.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a sweet romance. I love books with geeky main characters in romance novels. This was a fun and charming book.

Didn't See That Coming was a hilarious book that I enjoyed immensely! The characters were immediately likeable and the whole book had an amazing plot with really well thought out characters. The relationship between Kiki and Liam was adorable, however, the plot was a little predictable. Overall this is a great read that I would recommend to avid YA readers.

What an absolute delight of a read! Well, mostly. Omg, poor Kiki! (as the editor said)

I loved this! I love that it's an own voices story. I think my students will adore it because it can be both a window and a door book seeing as they are living here in NYC, but I have a very diverse student population.

The story was compelling and beautifully written. I love the characters - especially Eleanor Roosevelt! I hope she gets her own book next!!! I hadn't read the previous book and I guess they're technically stand-alones, but I immediately placed a hold for it about 1/3 of the way through when I realized it had to be set in the same universe as another book.

Anyhow, highly recommend! A great "issues book" that doesn't feel like an issues book.

This book somehow kept a very light and funny tone while still addressing major topics of online bullying and harassment. The romance between Kiki and her online gamer friend and then classmate was so fun and comedic. But how she deals with the online bullying and harassment from being a female gamer and then the bullying in school was also really well done. Sutanto's writing style of poignant rom-com is perfect. It was a very quick read, but I really enjoyed it!

Thank you to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I loved the book itself but I do not understand authors using so many expletive's in their work.. I know this is the way our young kids talk but using the foul language in books just condones the use of the language and does not allow them to see that people can talk (Or write) without them. I still have kids point to the bad words in the books (which I witnessed last week). If this was changed I would be happy to have this book in our library. It was very well written and I believe the kids would enjoy it but I can't have it in my library with the word choices. That being said, keep writing more books it was a really great story