Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

"Cupid's Revenge" by Wibke Brueggemann is a witty and engaging exploration of love and heartbreak with a fresh, modern twist. Its sharp dialogue and relatable characters make it both entertaining and insightful.

This book was different from my normal queer romance. These two teens were falling hard, fast, and a bit out of control at times but also showed the reality of these big life events and the decision we make, even if they are not the best. I also did not expect the setting to be post lockdown from COVID but it works and is very modern to those of us living it.

There were a lot of heavy topics hit upon, loss of work, familial loss and grief, new careers and more that were addressed well. I do not know much about the theater world as I was a sports gay but I can imagine it was as chaotic and challenging as this sounds. That being said these topics can be very stressful to people and I found it a more tense book than a usual romance.

i would like to thank the publisher and netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the e-arc!
An absolutely fantastic we are young adult story! Tilly feels so much like a real young girl dealing with so many unexpected and difficult things. She isn't perfect and makes mistakes and issues along the way. Overall the story has a perfect balance of romance and focus on character growth without it being overdone or boring.
I could definitely see this being a really fun movie or show! It kept me laughing at times while also having a great amount of emotional impact.

A cute, quick read that was both humorous and heartbreaking. This is the second book of Brueggemann's I've read, and I really appreciate her ability to write unlikable teenage girls. Tilly is skeptical and sometimes downright mean and often makes questionable life decisions, which makes her a really interesting protagonist. As someone whose family has been deeply effected by a grandparent's memory loss, I really appreciated that story line. I will say that the cover and reference to Cupid in the description made me think this was going to be a contemporary fantasy novel, so I did spend the first few chapters waiting for fantasy elements.

Absolutely loved this book! Engaging plot, well-developed characters, and beautifully written prose. Couldn't put it down! Highly recommend to anyone looking for a captivating read.

A whimsical and humorous story that explores the troubles of adolescence with a twist of a forbidden-like crush. I love it when Cupid becomes unpredictable. While reading about Tilly's feelings for Katherine was sweet (and eye-widening-), there's always that painful remembrance that someone's going to get hurt. That is conflict that was bond to happen and I had emotionally prepped myself to be aware of that when it comes to love triangles. There is also the confrontation (oh we love each other, actually) and I felt the building up to the moment in the novel. Cupid's revenge has everything you need: found family, hopeless romantic, chaos, donkey pajamas, and a sweet ending.
Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Netgalley for the arc!

This was a cute book and story. It was just alright. I’d definitely like to see future works to determine if I like this author.

I really wanted to like this one as I will try any sapphic book. However the characters were not that enjoyable in this one and the overall plot line was not to my liking. I do like the writing style and will be giving this author a chance in the future.

Cupid’s Revenge is a sweet little story about a girl who falls for the girl her teddy bear of a best friend is crushing on , and in my opinion, it is truly delightful. Our main character is Tilly, who joins a summer theater club in order to help her friend Teddy seduce the girl of his dreams after he experiences an intense heartbreak. We find out that their best friend died years back, and Teddy was in love with her, so Tilly wants him to find love again. Unfortunately, Tilly boards the hot mess express and falls for his new crush, Katherine.

While the romance element is fun, what makes this book great is the cast of characters. They make several new friends over the course of the summer, and Tilly has a totally messy family, who often leave her to care for her grandfather who has been recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. This is a big plot point, and we learn fairly quickly that Tilly is a very competent and fairly practical main character. She cares deeply about her grandfather and Teddy, but also makes moronic choices when it comes to her crush. She feels like such a real teenage girl. Some reviews say this tries to hard to be funny, but I laughed a lot anyway, and enjoyed the fanfic references, and Tilly’s nutso internal monologue. My one complaint is that Tilly’s parents needed to be held more accountable for how absent they were as caretakers, but other than that, I had a great time.

I should note this is definitely for older teens and even veers towards new adult. The sex scenes are not explicit, but the references to sex are, and there are several raunchy jokes.

I find myself looking for more stories about love, and some say that you’re looking for loving all the wrong places, and I would agree in this instance now I will say that the main character was starting to get a little annoying, and it was frustrating me with all of the choices that were being madeI wasn’t able to relate to the main character so maybe that’s where the disconnect was

this book was really cute and funny and just so entirely british which i never thought could be possible and was. it’s v much for gay theatre kids, so yk cue war flashbacks. but there was some heartfelt moments with family so it’s not always about romance which was /fun/.

This book first caught my attention with a gorgeous cover and a storyline that any good former musical theatre kid could get into, and then slammed me in the face with a main character dealing with personal issues that hit really close to home so basically I was attacked repeatedly by CUPID’S REVENGE. The book has the classic feel of a 2000’s teen romcom while also feeling reminiscent of Alice Oseman, and is British in the way that I technically understand the references but not enough to truly get them. I enjoyed it although I can’t say that I absolutely loved it, it has all the charm to be a beloved book if it checks all the right boxes for someone. It’s a little bit ridiculous and a little bit hard sometimes, but enjoyable nonetheless!

A word that comes to mind while thinking about this book is shenanigan. It’s got a cinematic quality of feeling so much and also being limited in what you can do about it. It’s casually queer and has such a wonderful supporting cast that is as weird and quirky and fun as the main characters. But Brueggemann does a good job of balance and not letting the story fly off the rails, grounded in the seemingly overwhelming seriousness of teenage emotions and things like a grandfather with worsening dementia.

Truly if I can say I loved anything about this book it’s all the characters that inhabit the actual showcase of Cupid’s Revenge. There’s community and joy and hardship and individuality that made it fun to hear about all the people while uplifting and making the overall story better. Some parts are better than others, but overall, I would recommend it!

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for this early e-arc!

Unfortunately I had to DNF this book after the first 5 chapters as the best friend character was just really off putting. I know I'm not a teenager anymore, but are we really still lying about ourselves in 2024 to get a relationship? However it wrote me off more because the guy best friend all he talked about was SEX, SEX, SEX. I don't get it from a male perspective, only having been a girl growing up, but ugh it was just so annoying.

He also was more focused on trying to get this girl to like him, than maybe helping his best friend deal with the stuff she was going through with having to move in her grandpa who was getting old and dementia. I don't know if this would have been flushed out more, but after reading with what I did I was afraid it wouldn't be so I DNF'd.

The cover is beautiful, and I'm sure there are going to be readers who will love this book and story, it just wasn't for me.

I loved this story so much and all the characters! Id recommend it to anyone. I can’t wait to read more from the author in the future. 😍😍

Tilly's best friend Teddy convinces her to help him romance Katherine Cooper-Bunting. Unfortunately, Tilly also wants to romance Katherine Cooper-Bunting. But Tilly is a good friend, so Katherine is off limits. Teddy convinces Tilly to audition for the play, but Tilly isn't, much to her parents' disappointment, creatively gifted. Tilly is dealing with a lot: feelings for a girl that's off-limits, auditioning for a play, regular teen drama, as well as her grandpa's Alzheimer's.

I wasn't able to finish this one - the secondhand embarrassment was too real. The cover is absolutely beautiful, and the idea of the book is fun. I'm sure someone will love this book, and we definitely purchased it for our collection, but this one wasn't for me.

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I have to say this book brought me back to teen rom-coms of my youth. I did find there was a lack of communication or miscommunication in this book. They should have just talked to each other. I know this could have been because Tilly was helping her friend who has some problems with relationships in the past. But the heart loves who the heart loves. That is just how it happens sometimes. It is not like Tilly when there to fall for Katherine. It was her friend who wanted her help to get the girl of his dreams. It was a fun and enjoyable reads.

I read this just over a month ago and I barely remember any of it except how annoyed I was at all the characters. They infuriated me. They were all so annoying and selfish and stupid and during the entire book, I just wanted it to end. This was very much not for me and I'd give more details except I've clearly erased it from my memory to put more interesting things instead.

Book Review of Cupid's Revenge by Wibke Brueggemann

Cover Story: Montell Jordan Award
BFF Charm: Big Sister
Talky Talk: Character-Driven
Bonus Factors: Community Theater, LGBTQ+ Representation
Anti-Bonus Factors: Alzheimer’s, Clueless Parents
Relationship Status: Benefactor

Content Warning: Cupid’s Revenge features a grandfather in the early stages of Alzheimer’s who goes missing at one point, discussion of the loss of a childhood friend, and absentee parents.

Cover Story: Montell Jordan
I adore this cover, from the style of the art to the unusual “tumbling” position of the people. I have no idea who’s supposed to be who, character-wise, but that doesn’t matter so much as the emotion passing between them does.

The Deal:
Matilda Taylor is the only non-creative in a household full of creative people. Her father’s an orchestra conductor, her mother a dancer, and her older sister a concert pianist. So when her best friend and neighbor Teddy asks her to tag along on an audition for a community theater production, she’s not interested. Teddy’s not a creative, either, but he’s got his eye on Katherine Cooper-Bunting, and he needs Tilly to be his wingwoman. Tilly agrees, when she gets a funny feeling after seeing Katherine at the audition, she realizes she’s going to have to put on a the performance of a lifetime if she’s going to pretend like she’s not interested in Katherine, too.

BFF Charms: Big Sister
Tilly is fun. She might not think so, but I liked her quippy sense of humor and self-deprecating nature. She’s a little too obsessed with the idea of sex, but it’s not only teenage boys who are allowed to think about that often. I appreciate her attempts to keep away from Katherine just as much as I understand her inability to do so. Her parents are terrible and haven’t been half of what she needs from them, but she’s doing surprisingly well on her own. I would love to be an older influence in her life who actually gives a damn.

Swoonworthy Scale: 7
Tilly’s attraction to Katherine is all-consuming and friendship-threatening. She can’t stop thinking about her, fantasizing about her, dreaming about her. She keeps it in her pants, so to speak, when they’re together in public, but Tilly isn’t sure that she’s going to be able to continue like that forever, even though she only met Katherine because of Teddy. Their stolen moments are filled with electricity, and even when it’s not clear what’s going to happen, you can’t help but root for them as the OTP of the novel.

Talky Talk: Character-Driven
Cupid’s Revenge is a story about disparate people and unexpected connections. Although I’ve never been an English teen, especially one who’s lived through a pandemic and come out the other side, Brueggemann’s writing made it easy to imagine. Her characters are fully realized and complex, if a little precocious, and spending time with them was fun.

Bonus Factor: Community Theater
I’m not an actor, and I’ve never wished to be, but I love the idea of theater productions that feature amateurs who do it for the love of the thing and have a wide variety and level of talents. The show in Cupid’s Revenge is a cabaret situation in which people sing, dance, and act out scenes of plays. It’s a bit messy, especially since there are only a couple of people in the group who can actually sing, dance, or act, but as a whole, it’s truly delightful. I wish I could have been in the audience to see the final show.

Bonus Factor: LGBTQ+ Representation
In addition to Tilly, who’s a lesbian, there is also a non-binary character and a few gay men in Cupid’s Revenge. The book is about the theater, yes, but Brueggemann made sure that no one in the “cast” felt like a stereotype.

Anti-Bonus Factor: Alzheimer’s
I lost my dad a few years ago after a short battle with a fast-moving form of dementia. Reading about Tilly’s grandfather, who moves in with her family at the start of the book and is dealing with the early stages of Alzheimer’s, was really hard. I had to put the book down a few times when situations felt far too familiar. Dementia is a terrible disease, and my heart goes out to anyone who has to deal with it, in any form or any way.

Anti-Bonus Factor: Clueless Parents
Tilly’s parents are two people who maybe should have never had kids. They’re not abusive or mean, but they are absent and clueless. There’s some hope for her father, who makes some improvements by the end of the book, but I’m not sure her mother will ever get better. It’s a terrible situation for Tilly, but she handles it like a champ.

Relationship Status: Benefactor
Consider me shot (with a love arrow), Book. You weren’t the easiest read, due to your difficult secondary plot line, but overall I think our time together was very well spent. I only wish I could have been in the audience to see your show, rather than just reading about it. It sounded like a hoot!

This was one of those books where the main character is constantly making very bad but very relatable decisions, a format I find excruciating! While, not counting the grandfather, the family stuff was kind of bewildering (how bad can a family be together without it ever being resolved or even really addressed? Here you can find out!) all the stuff around friendship was very good.