I ended up liking this much more than I expected. I loved the aspect of a fanfic author character coming to life because it reminded me so much of older disney movies. Overall, I really enjoyed the plot of the book and relationship but my favourite part would for sure be the plot.

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

I love a YA romcom, and Sophie Gonzales writes great ones, but the thing is, you have to root for the romance for it to work. This is such a fun read on all accounts. The writing is fun, and I loved the premise of a fanfic character coming to life, and the shenanigans that ensued. But I just didn't love our main character and Mack together. The way they interacted took me back to high school, and not in a fun way. It reminded me of toxic friendships I was so relieved to be rid of once I graduated. I wasn't convinced by their friendship in the first place, and even by the end I still wasn't. So I wasn't rooting for the romance at all, which affected my enjoyment.

This book was an absolute delight to read! Going into it, I had some reservations about the concept of bringing fan fiction characters to life, as I worried it might come across as awkward or unrealistic. However, Sophie Gonzales once again proves her exceptional talent. Within less than 300 pages, she masterfully constructs an intricate fictional universe, complete with its own fan fiction, and populates it with complex characters and detailed backstories. Remarkably, she achieves this without making the story feel rushed or overcrowded.

One of my initial concerns was the use of dual timelines, shifting between the past and present. Typically, this technique can be jarring, but Gonzales handles it with such skill that the transitions felt seamless. This narrative structure allowed me to connect deeply with Ivy, the protagonist, and experience her journey as though I had known her for a long time. The back-and-forth between timelines enriched the story and added layers of depth to Ivy's character and her world.

Despite the inherently fantastical premise of fan fiction characters coming to life, Gonzales approaches the idea with such humor and affection that it becomes completely believable by the end of the book. The way she intertwines humor with heartfelt moments makes the concept not only plausible but also incredibly engaging and original.

Overall, this book stands out as a refreshing and imaginative read. Gonzales’ ability to blend humor with a unique premise, along with her deft handling of complex character dynamics, makes this a standout work that is both entertaining and emotionally resonant.

thank you to the author, publishing group, and netgalley for this ARC

This was such a fun, YA story! Ivy is home alone for the first time after her parents fly out of state for a few days. She is determined to prove they can trust her and hopefully convince them to stop micromanaging her life. The next morning, she wakes to find a boy in her bed who isn’t quite a stranger. She has somehow magically brought to life her favorite character from a show called H-MAD. Weston believes they are soulmates and something about his stories seems all too familiar. Ivy, her best friend Henry and her ex best friend Mack have to figure out how to keep Weston, and his glowing eyes, hidden and how eaxactly to get rid of him.

What I enjoyed:
- Told in dual timeline
- Full of humor (satire)
- Realistic teen drama focused on friendship, crushes and jealousy
- Representation: sapphic romance + aroace character
- Magical Realism
- Henry was my favorite side character

This book is perfect for those who enjoy the world of fanfic and fandoms. The story was unique, entertaining and had a touch of mystery. I think my favorite part was where Weston became the world’s best barista for the day. I liked the hidden message of hurt feelings, learning to navigate high school friendships, fear of loneliness and just realizing lots of issues can easily be resolved with an honest talk. Bonus points that the cover is super cute and eye catching!!

After devouring other books by this author and being intrigued by this premise I decided to give it a read. Unfortunately, I was only able to make it through 20ish percent of the book and I had to stop. I was basically forcing myself to read. I'm not sure where the disconnect was, but the writing just felt different and the main character to me was unlikeable. This was sadly a dnf for me, though I will always highly recommend the other 2 books I've read by Sophie Gonzales.

Holy Disappointment, Batman.

Okay, listen, I LOVE Sophie Gonzales. She's among my top YA romance writers, period. Only Mostly Devastated was pretty much perfect in every way. And the rest are pretty dang good, too. When I saw the description for this one, I figured it would be an uber-cheesy ode to fan fiction, but at the end of the day, also a sweet romance, because it's Sophie Gonzales.

Now, it was still cute and quirky and fluffy, like her other books, but the plot just did not compare. The characters were alright--like, I didn't *hate* them. Their relationships were believable and the growth was fine. All the pop culture and fan fiction references were a bit too much for me (like I expected them, but it went beyond that expectation). The plot was just kind of weird. The paranormal thing just didn't really work for me in this one.

I'm probably being more critical because of my high expectation for Sophie Gonzales. but overall this was a cutesy read that just didn't cut it for. Definitely won't stop me from picking up more books of hers in the future, though.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC

Despite having many of her books on my tbr, this is only the second book I've read by Sophie Gonzales! I really enjoyed this one. The premise was super interesting, it follows someone who writes fanfic, but her character comes to life. I liked how even though he was "perfect" in her fanfics, he caused a lot of trouble in real life. That helped the main character figure out that she doesn't need someone who is supposedly perfect, what she already has is amazing.

I'd probably recommend her other novel Perfect on Paper over this one, but you should still definitely read this one!!

very cute. i appreciate romances like this and this is definitely worth your time. not life changing but sometimes you don’t need that lol

I will edit to include a full review after the demands of Readers for Accountability are met. #SpeakUpSMP

Ivy is a fan-fic writer, focusing mainly on her favourite TV show H-Mad. Her parents are out of town for a week, and her plan is to hang out with her best friend Henry, and binge watch H-Mad, while actively avoiding her ex-best friend and neighbour Mack. She wakes up one morning to Weston, the main character of H-Mad in her room, claiming to be her soulmate. She decides to team up with Henry, and reluctantly Mack, to figure out why Weston is there, and how to send him back.

This was cute for what it was, but I don't think it was anything groundbreaking. I think this is definitely geared towards a younger YA audience. I liked how this poked fun at the common tropes used in books, and I found it entertaining. I think the conversations on the romanticization of these tropes, and how that may not be necessarily a good thing, was really well done. I liked the characters for the most part. I thought Ivy was a good main character, she was filled with anxiety, but very sweet. I was not the biggest fan of Mack, especially when we found out why their friendship had deteriorated. I didn't like the way she had treated Ivy, and thought the way she acted towards her was very childish. I can't say I was rooting for their romance, but I didn't hate it in the end. Weston was funny, and made me giggle a few times with how quirky he was because of the tropes he was emulating at the time. My favourite though was definitely Henry, he was so sarcastic and he was the highlight of the book for me.

I dont know, I liked it but I also felt like it was missing something. I usually like Sophies books but this kinda missed the mark

I love a YA romance, but I think this one was a liiiitle too YA for me. I couldn't get past the way the characters were written and I didn't love the paranormal aspect. Full of antics and humor though!

Although in theory this book sounded great, the execution didn't grab me as much as I'd hoped. This is a YA with a BFFs to enemies to girlfriends subplot, with the main plot focusing on how the protagonist Ivy suddenly wakes up to find her fanfic version of Weston, the hero of her fav fantasy TV show, has come to life, with funny and then more serious consequences. I liked the material about the friend breakup and almost wished Ivy and Mac didn't get together, as there are so few stories that focus just on (queer!) friendship!

Almost 3.5 stars

The was a very rough start for me. Soooo much introspection and exposition. And the main POV character was not working for me (much teenage dramatics). I ended up listening to the audio of this book and if I hadn't sped it up super fast, I would have DNFed around 12%. But I thought I should see how it played out once the first dramatic milestone hit and in the end it was cute and fun enough that I don't regret listening to it. If you are looking for a YA book with very light fantasy, it's a quick and easy read.

“Another part of me was relieved, and felt lighter, because I’d figured out an important truth about myself. And I love that truth, because it’s me. Sometimes, you really just need to say scary truths out loud to someone you trust.”

In some respects, this story is a romance. There’s a best friends to “enemies” to finally being honestly in love relationship arc, and it’s just as sweet as you can imagine (other than the times you want to punch them because they suck at communication and keep hurting one another because they assume the other couldn’t possibly like them back). In addition to romance, though, this story is about all relationships, the need we have as humans to be deeply connected to one another, to feel loved and seen, and to have people you can trust.

I don’t know exactly where Ivy’s fear of abandonment comes from, since her parents are perhaps a little too involved in her life, but I sense it stems a little from her difficulty in connecting with people she doesn’t seem to have things in common with. When you only have a friend or two, it can be natural to fear that someday even that friend might leave you, too, especially if you suspect they were only friends with you because it was convenient (say, you grew up across the street from one another). So instead of holding tight to the person you love the most, you end up pushing them away before they can leave you, as if that will somehow soften the blow of being alone.

Oh, and add in all the angst of growing up, the queer confusion of having crushes on your friends and not knowing if they like you back, and the fear that you might trust the wrong person with your true self and be betrayed. Even though I hate Ivy and Mack’s fights and separation, I can see how it happened, especially when emotions are heightened and feelings were vulnerable. Even without their romantic feelings for one another, it’s hard to avoid jealousy when your best friend seems to have found a new person to hang out with, someone they get along more naturally with.

I loved Henry, not just because it’s awesome to see aro/ace representation, but because he came into Ivy’s life at a time they both needed some extra support. Ivy needed someone who didn’t make her feel like her interests were stupid, someone to show her there were people in the world who would love her for herself. Henry needed someone who he could be comfortable being himself around, with no expectations. He brought the fun, humor, and real talk when it was most needed, and had Ivy’s back when she needed to vent.

And luckily, Ivy somehow brought some magic intervention into their lives when she wish-summoned the fanfic version of her favorite fictional character into their lives. I felt a little sad for Weston sometimes because he was sort of his own person but not really. He served as both a symbol of what Ivy and Mack thought Ivy wanted in her perfect match, but also a mirror to show them how terrible things are when they aren’t real or earned. I’d almost say it was one big dream sequences except if it was, it was shared by 3 people, haha. In the end, Weston fades out of their lives as quickly as he appeared, but he was essential in forcing them each to be brave in their honesty with one another.

And I have to mention the sweetest scene, at the mall at the end where Ivy and Mack both admit to having secret crushes on one another. Aka what we all knew the whole time. So satisfying.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book, which is out now!

dnf @ 21%

i just couldn’t get into this one friends. it just felt a little too young for me. yall know i love a magical premise but this one just didn’t hit.

I thought this was a cute and fun coming of age story. I liked the idea of Ivy's fictional character coming to life, which threw her world into a tailspin.
It had a good message- while the grass may be greener on the other side, that's not always a good thing.

Ivy likes to write fanfic on one of her favorite TV shows. One day she wakes up and the guy from the show is in her bed. Along 4 days she trys to figure out if she wants to live in a fantasy world or to deal with he rlif won her own

I am... not the target audience for this. This reads very cringy and juvenile, which is fine for younger end of YA readers but I'm suffering.

The story also makes no sense to me - I thought Ivy and Mack had this big fight, shown by the scene when Mack brings food round but a couple of chapters later Mack comes round to pick her up from school as if nothing had happened? I'm so lost.