Jordan Elliot and Mackenzie West met in the summer before freshman year. They seemed to hit it off and had the beginning of a genuine friendship–not to mention an epic crush on Jordan’s part–but it all fell apart when school began.

Mack made the varsity volleyball team and pretty much became popular overnight, hosting parent-free parties and being seen with all the right people. Including Jordan’s equally popular, almost-perfect, older brother, Casey, about whom Jordan’s always had an inferiority complex. Jordan was abruptly cast aside, disparaged for being a hanger-on, surely because she’s a heavy, quirky lesbian who couldn’t match Mack, who’s lithe, blonde, and fit. Mack’s mother, for whom perfection is a state of being, didn’t much care for Jordan’s shabby-chic aesthetic, either. It was totally heartbreaking for Jordan to lose a good friend, and give up on a first crush, within days of high school beginning.

Fast-forward to junior year. Mack’s named the varsity volleyball captain, despite senior girls vying for the spot. And Jordan’s got an editor position on the school newspaper, but she’s assigned the volleyball column, much to her chagrin. In order to prove herself capable of editorial work, she’ll have to attend games and write favorably about the team, including a feature on Mack. So, Jordan’s doubly frustrated, but she’s not going to squander this opportunity. Her newspaper advisor claims Jordan’s the best writer on the staff. With the volleyball team expected to do well, her columns will have big readership, which will build her college-bound portfolio.

In order to get stories for the paper, Jordan digs in deep, interviewing players and learning all about the team. Soon, she’s experiencing the first friendly overtures from Mack in three years. The other volleyball girls seem to want Jordan around to write good stories about them, too. Instead of being an interloper, Jordan’s feeling accepted, embraced, by the team–and her own friends enjoy the reflected caché of being invited to Mack’s cool-kid parties where they connect with other people. Jordan’s mystified by all the attention, especially from Brie, a senior with a long-standing crush on Jordan’s brother Casey–and who’s hoping Jordan will talk him into attending a tournament.

It’s not long before Jordan’s noticing something bigger at work, as the connection that Mack had severed years ago begins to grow back between them. Mack is clearly the heart of the team, and she’s loved by many, but it doesn’t seem like she has a lot of dear friends. Ones she can talk to about her fears, or dreams. Mack’s oversharing creates intimacy between them, and Jordan’s afraid to develop feelings again, only to be abandoned and humiliated. Again. Jordan can’t trust her instincts when it comes to Mack, because she’s too vulnerable–falling hard for a girl who might not like her back is a huge mistake, especially because of all their bad history.

This is an interesting enemies-to-girlfriends, YA romance that doesn’t feature the usual romantic elements. Jordan wants to be professional and aloof, making sure she’s setting up her best-possible future, but she’s also got a scarred heart and deep inferiority complex, fueled by issues surrounding her weight. Jordan’s low self-esteem makes her a target for manipulation, but she’s not sure who’s trying to sway her: Mack or Brie. Or, is she just letting her own issues cloud her judgment? Unfortunately, Jordan believes the worst, at exactly the worst time, leading to writing a feature that calls into question her journalistic integrity and harms Mack in the process. Though her intentions were not revenge motivated, Jordan’s pent-up resentment needed a better, less public, outlet.

As a reader, I really liked the discussion and focus on personal responsibility, and judicious use of power. I thought turning the tables from victim to victimizer was thought-provoking and really allowed the reader to examine a worst-case scenario of potential bullying behavior, and how that would affect a person’s situation–in school, in their relationships, and in positions of power. The difference between public versus private personas was also a big part of this narrative, and how one can’t always trust what they think they know based on social media, or even in-person interactions. I think that nuance in interpersonal relationships is a topic that is not often explored with any depth, for teens. Even skeptics like Jordan can be naive to the intentions of those around them, and Jordan’s misadventures certainly opened ideas.

She does solve her problems, in the end, making amends to Mack, who’s also makes amends for her previous bad behavior. There’s a lot to celebrate in this book, including Jordan and Mack finding their voices to become stronger females. They both had been hiding in the shadow of other people’s expectations–or what they perceived those expectations to be–and they made mistakes by operating within those narrow boundaries. It was good to watch them take responsibility, and find happiness that was entirely deserved. I really liked the book, and would definitely recommend it to readers who like YA sports-related romances.

This book is super cute, fluffy, and fun! At some points, the main characters felt a bit to much like adults, but for the most part I really enjoyed their development and romance. I loved the side characters and I would love to see their personalities and stories more fleshed out in a sequel. Overall, a fun and enjoyable read.

I really enjoyed this second chance YA sapphic romance between a plus-size lesbian high school reporter assigned to cover the girl's volleyball team whose captain is her ex-friend and crush that ghosted her years ago.

Full of teen drama, great Mean girls vibes and a fun romance. This was good on audio and a new fav for me by Jenna Miller. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

“I wanted to preserve the sound of her laugh in a music box. I wanted to make a drink that gave me the feeling of her lips on mine. I wanted a blanket that secured me like her arms. I wanted her.”

Thanks to Jenna Miller and HarperCollins for sending me an advanced copy of Mack and Jordan’s story through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Sixteen-year-old Jordan Elliott is your fat, nerdy lesbian that just wants to survive the rest of her junior year. And that means spending time writing as a journalist for the school paper. But life takes a sudden turn when she doesn’t get the spot for editor-in-chief and becomes entangled with writing an article for the volleyball team instead. And as if life couldn’t be funnier, the new team captain is Mackenzie West, Jordan’s former friend now turned enemy when she humiliated him two years ago. This sapphic romcom is such an unapologetically queer and fat positive coming-of-age story.

I had fun reading this as I saw myself in both Jordan and Mack because of their interests in volleyball, love for writing, and journalism. I definitely was able to relate to those aspects of their personalities and in their passions. The rep here was nicely executed as well. Jordan is your typical nerd who loves Doctor Who, comics, and reading books and frankly, has a very fun personality and is definitely someone who you’d share your interests with. However, I just feel that Mack herself wasn’t given much attention by the writer and didn’t have much of a personality besides volleyball, so she fell flat, and this book didn’t really focus on the romantic aspects.

I genuinely felt that the other two side characters had more romantic scenes than the main ones. I wish we could’ve gotten more tension given that they had a falling out, but it wasn’t really there. Nevertheless, there’s a lot of gay panic in this book with a cute little thing at the end, so for all my girlies out there who love sapphic books, kindly put this on your TBR because it is an adorable and hilarious treat. It also really made me want to watch Dash & Lily.

A fun, quick, well written read. Will recommend this to queer teens I know! Love that it is a fat-positive book.

Thanks for the ARC!

Got the Beat is a new LGBTQ+ YA Romance by Jenna Miller. Before I read this book, I wasn't aware of any trigger warnings but fatphobia should be one. What I love about Jenna Miller is she inspires her main characters on herself. What will this story have in store for Jordan and Mackenzie?

Even though fatphobia is a trigger warning that should be given, this is only a small part of the story. Jordan feels insecure about her body, but it doesn't really show throughout the story. Next to this she is a confident girl who already knows what she wants for her feature. Nothing can set her back, not even the volleyball beat. Mackenzie on the other hand is a perfect girl, but hides a secret.

Jenna Miller has a really nice writing style. This story is fit for young adult readers. I would say this book can be read from the age of 12. Even though the story isn't all about romance, there is a romantic undertone. The story focusses more on friendship, volleyball and the newspaper.

I enjoyed reading We Got the Beat. I love Jenna Millers writing style and am really hoping there is more to come. Because of the main struggles like fatphobia weren't worked out as much as I would liked I give this book a 4 star rating.

An adorable and engaging sophomore novel! I loved Miller's debut, and We Got the Beat has all of the charm, fun, and lovable characters I fell in love with in OOC!

Jordan Elliot is starting her junior year in HS and disappointed to learn her assignment for the school newspaper is girls volleyball. It is the best team in their school but their new captain and she are no longer friends. Mackenzie West is the first junior to be named team captain and wants a successful year for her team. She also knows she messed up a budding friendship with Jordan at the start of their freshman year. She wants a do over to see if they can be friends now.

I really enjoyed the author’s previous book, Out of Character (Feb 2023) and that one hit me more emotionally than this one. This one is a good story dealing with navigating friendships and disappointments. It is realistic that even though Jordan is talented and done her best it doesn’t mean she gets to be editor and chief like she wants. Mack has her own struggles that Jordan didn’t realize from their one summer friendship. I like that the story teaches empathy and has supportive friends, family and teachers. But I didn’t get why the whole original drama was so devastating. Mack didn’t do anything unforgivable and was trying to make her place in a new school. And I didn’t get the build up to the grand gesture. I can easily see this for younger teens and YA’s. It doesn’t move beyond kissing. Thank you to HarperCollins Children’s Book, and Quill Tree Books for the ARC via NetGalley and I am leaving an honest review. (3.5 Stars)

This was a super cute romance about high schoolers that actually gelt like I was reading about people in high school. The characters sounded and acted like they were the age they were supposed to be, something that isn't common in YA romances. The situations Jordan and Mackenzie found themselves in helped propel the story along and even thought the end was predictable, I found myself really enjoying the journey. Highly recommend this one!

I loved this book. It was funny and cute and just everything I wanted. I would definitely recommend this and it was a great palate cleanser between heavier books

I loved seeing a fat lesbian protagonist - yay representation! The teens in this book communicate their thoughts and feelings way better than I have ever been able to do as a 36 year old - inspiring and humbling! I truly enjoyed reading this book and the dynamics between Mack and Jordan.

We Got the Beat by Jenna Miller is a wonderful queer love story.
This is a really cute romance with an extremely loveable cast of characters.
I loved the characters and their relationships to each other and what that represented.
Jordan and Mack were realistic and I loved watching them grow together.
This book is so thoughtful, so engaging. It was a very cute and fun sapphic YA story.

Thank You NetGalley and Quill Tree Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

I loved the author’s first book and this one is also really cute. One of my favorite aspects is that the MC is in newspaper club, something I participated in high school too. All the characters have depth and I enjoyed the chemistry between them.

We Got the Beat by Jenna Miller is a YA Romance between former best friends. Jordan is placed on the sports beat despite hoping to get more responsibilities from the editor of her high school paper. I didn't quite believe the editor's reasoning for not promoting Jordan, but tension and stakes were needed, of course. So here comes Mack, who is a star volleyball player, who was formerly Jordan's best friend. Jordan does not want this beat. She would rather stay far away from Mack, but to impress her editor and get one step closer to her journalistic dreams, she pushes on. And what you get is a push-pull between two people who can't stay away from each other despite every attempt. I felt something was missing. Sure, Mack had a hard time with her amorous feelings, being a top athlete, and having very challenging parents, but I couldn't quite pinpoint why the story didn't move me to root for them as a couple. The author is a wonderful storyteller and has a great voice. I wish I could have connected more to these two talented characters.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jenna Millers We Got the Beat is a sapphic romance, that focuses on second chances, fighting for those you love, and forgiveness. I liked reading this. It was fun, occasionally emotional, and very easy to read.

Overall though, I wouldn’t say that I loved this book. There was just a spark missing for me. The. Nara tears often fell flat in personality, often online having one trait, and that was disappointing. Plots and themes were set up (like Mack’s parental issues) but nothing ever really became of them. Tension was built and then too easily resolved.

While I liked lots of things about this book: the characters, the relationships/friendships, the plot . . . I think so much could have been done with them all — it felt like we were skimming the surface.

All in all this was a decent read, but it’s not memorable.

Thank you to HarperCollins Children's Books, Quill Tree Books for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a super quick and easy read following newspaper journalist Jordan and her ex best friend Mackenzie as she has to follow her volleyball team for the school paper. Jordan must navigate past hurt, resurfacing feelings and new revelations if she is to survive this wiring assignment!
I loved the main characters and I also really loved the side characters and I really enjoyed this story.

This is my first book by Jenna Miller and I gotta say I loved! I though the little dynamic between Jordan and Mackenzie was really well written and so pure. I also enjoyed the fact that Jordan was the kind of fat representation I wish I got when I was in highschool. She acknowledged that she was fat and she didn't let it bring her down. It also wasn't that ONE trait that made Jordan, Jordan. I also thought that the way her friend group was written was so realistic. The always being there for each other, while simultaneously worrying who your letting into said friend group.
One of my favorite scenes was when mack was recovering from her concussion and jojo bought her a stuffed animal when she went to go check up on her 🥹 thought that was a sweet moment.

Memorable quotes:
- “Hey, paper girl."...." Hey, volleyball girl"
- "l'd gotten enough dirty looks over the years for reading in-store without buying anything."
- "Mom told me once that have the kind of face people find approachable. I'd never had the heart to tell her that l'm approachable because l'm fat."
- "Well, I am fat. A doctor confirmed it medically and everything"
- "l'm also a lesbian, so it's never a good idea for me to invite a man anywhere, you know? Would be pretty awkward all around."
- "Mack was smiling. Right, she was joking. Or being cute. No. She wasn't being cute. None of this was cute."
- " I think you have a story to tell, whether or not you agree. And there's more to you than volleyball. You're a great poet. You love and respect nature."
- "Then she winked at me. Mackenzie West winked at me."
- “But you shared your poems with me."... "It's different with you."
- "Are you calling me your friend now?".... "I'd like to, yeah."
- “There was a poetry reading at the Strand. It made me think of you.".... "You thought about me on your fancy New York trip?"
- "You haven't peed since you got here?"..... "I didn't want to wake you."
- "I'm going to keep kissing you until we fall asleep, okay?" .... "Okay"
- "I wanted to preserve the sound of her laugh in a music box. I wanted to make a drink that gave me the feeling of her lips on mine. I wanted a blanket that secured me like her arms. I wanted her."
- "I kind of love her. It's infuriating."
- "And just like that, I was going to get my girl.
Or humiliate myself trying."
-" We'd had victories and many, many failures. But if I knew anything for sure, it was that Operation Heart Eyes would go down as our greatest success."

This was such an enjoyable and sweet story, I absolutely loved Jordan and her bond with Audrey and Issac this was the perfect friends to enemies to lovers story and honestly any book with a nerdy sapphic mc is enough to draw me in, getting to know Jordan and her hopes, dreams and struggles was so fun because she was so real. getting to know her relationships between her parents was honestly my favorite part because I find it a little rare having a queer book where the parents are open, and happy with different identities. overall this was such an enjoyable book I finished it in less than 24 hours and I couldn't put it down I was sucked into Jordan and Mack's story

Thank you so much Harper collins for the e-arc all opinions are completely my own!

Last year I preordered Jenna Miller's debut... and I admittedly still haven't read it, for no reason whatsoever. I've clearly been missing out though, because her sophomore book is sooo good. I'll be picking up Out of Character ASAP as well!

I started We Got the Beat and immediately got sucked in by the fun, engaging writing. We immediately got to know the main character so well, and she truly carried the book. It's impossible not to love Jordan.

This book also felt like such a tight hug. Sure, there is conflict and messy situations arise, but underneath it all everything about this novel feels so incredibly kind, which made me feel so safe while reading it.

And one way this book really won me over was the MC's love for Doctor Who!

Soooo....enemies who never enem? If I'd been Jordan, and Mack started being friendly and bubbly as soon as I was assigned to her beat, I think I'd have been a bit more suspicious than Jordan seems to be. There's no concern or worry about how truthful any of this is, they just go back to being friends with barely an apology from Mack.

It's the outside the story problem again, isn't it. From out here it's easy to see what's going on with an uninvolved eye. It would be harder inside the situation, I can understand that.

I loved Jordan's friend crew - it's something Jenna does really well - and I enjoyed the unusual setting; we don't get much volleyball in contemporary novels, so that was interesting. I just wish the characters had seemed to react more honestly. But I can set that aside for a fun read like this one.