Exes and Foes by Amanda Woody tells the story of Caleb and Emma, who were once best friends but had a falling out years ago. Now, they both find themselves interested in the same girl, Juliet.

Instead of dealing with their feelings head-on, they decide to turn it into a competition to see who can win her heart first. It's a quirky exploration of old friendships, rivalries, and navigating romantic feelings when the stakes are high. It felt a bit cringe to me that they seemed to be treating Juliet as a prize not a person and ar times their dialogue bordered on rudeness.

While this book didn't quite resonate with me personally, I can see how it would be a hit for other readers who enjoy a mix of humor, competition, and romance. The premise is unique, and if you like lighthearted stories with some drama, this one might be perfect for you.

A big thanks to Viking Books for Young Readers and Netgalley for providing an eARC of this book!

It started out amAHzing, made me giggle and go "dawww" up to halfway in the book, but, sadly, the vibe somehow sputtered out by the end... Solid good YA, but I didn't like as much as I thought I would, unfortunately. Little heavy on the moralizing as well, as in "Respect your peers' pronouns", "Take your parents to therapy", "Support your siblings even if they are in the wrong", etc. stuff.

Relevant info: I am a neurodivergent demi queer autistic person so I might have a slight bias towards liking this book more than others lol
Pro: depth of character, aroace rep (!!!), POC main character, besties turned enemies turned lovers
Con: Juliet didn’t get her own pov so it leaned a little towards her being a pawn in their competition and considering she’s the only POC in that situation it made me slightly uneasy at times.

This was super cute and I love all the representation and diversity. Each character brought something to the story and the relationships were adorable. Emma and Caleb's chemistry was undeniable and even though it'd been years since they last hung out, it was like no time had passed. They just got each other in ways that no one else did. I love that meeting juliet helped bring them back together, while also helping each other deal with past traumas from their parents. The story was relatable and the characters were likable and made you feel like you could be a part of the story as well.

Emma and Caleb are adorable. Ex friends to lovers. The premise is an interesting one. I will say I’m not a fan of competition where one has to kiss first. But I still enjoyed this book. Well written and adorable.

Going into this I knew two things:

1. I adore the cover and it makes me want to read this book.
2. This was either going to be messy in a not good way or really fun.

Thank goodness I can say this was fun! It was definitely messy but in a good way and you very quickly learn it's not actually a love triangle. This book definitely went deeper than I expected and has excerpt representation. I really appreciated that! It definitely had some cringey moments but I like to think it's because they're teenagers. Overall I do recommend this book!

Thanks to NetGalley and Viking Books for Young Readers for the advanced copy of this book!
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Emma and Caleb were best friends growing up, but their relationship fractured just before high school and now they are both fighting for the affections of the new girl at school. While they both think that they could be her perfect match, they might actually be perfect for each other. I really loved the on page representation of two ace-spec characters, especially a male demisexual character. The queer representation overall felt really authentic and natural, perfectly set up and explained for teen readers who might be figuring out their own journeys through the world. There was also an honest exploration of emotional abuse, especially coming from a parent and how Emma chooses to handle this despite no clear path for her to navigate. This is one of those books that packs in more than meets the eye and is all the better for it.

What a treat this was! It is sometimes hard for me to get fully wrapped up in a YA romance these days, but Amanda Woody won me over from pretty much the first page. We follow Emma and Caleb, ex-best friends competing to win over the same girl while maybe falling for each other in the process. It's a fairly juvenile premise, but allows a lot of room for growth, and grow they do! Emma deals with an emotionally abusive parent, so trigger warning for that, and Caleb has an absent father. Both are handled well and allow us to really connect with these two. They are relatable, which is something I find deeply necessary in YA lit. Another huge plus for me is the joyful, positive queer rep. Both leads are queer, and their friends are too. I adore reading about a big queer friend group, and this book definitely provides that. Also, this is pretty funny. I honestly laughed out loud at one point. These teens are awkward, clumsy, sarcastic and have great inner monologues that add to the reading experience. The only minor issue with this is the problematic premise of competing to date someone, but both characters acknowledge this is weird fairly early on. I would've loved this as a teen and can't wait to recommend to teens now.

Thank you to Viking Books for the eARC and PRH Audio for the free audiobook.

Did Not Finish.

Mini Review:
I made it to about 40% when I realized that the FMC and MMC were still enemies and both waxing poetic about another character. I had hoped for a throuple kind of situation, but at this point, there’s no romance between anyone. And it hit me that I was forcing myself to listen without any enjoyment. Thus, DNF.

fFriends…and their story. This book had me on the edge of my seat The writing was amazing and the pacing is something I’m comfortable with!

Exes and Foes has its moments, but it didn’t fully deliver for me. The premise is great—enemies-to-lovers with a history—but the execution felt uneven. The characters had some fun banter and sweet moments, but their chemistry wasn’t as strong as I’d hoped. The pacing also dragged in parts, and some of the emotional beats felt rushed or underdeveloped. That said, Amanda Woody’s humor and charm still shine through, making it an enjoyable, if not unforgettable, read.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

This novel follows Emma and Caleb as they fight over Juliet, the new girl at school. Emma and Caleb used to be best friends, but had a falling out a few years ago. They make an agreement that whoever Juliet kisses first gets to date her. In this competition, they start to fall for each other.

I thought the story was entertaining, but it gave me some secondhand embarrassment and made it clear that I would like to be more picky when it comes to reading YA novels. I found the conflict somewhat stressful to read, so I was not as excited to pick it up.

I think both characters had a nice amount of development throughout the novel, and the emerging romance was sweet.

If you enjoy a YA (friends-) enemies-to-lovers novel where there is history between the characters, you might enjoy this one.

This friends to enemies to lovers story is definitely worth a read. The characters are relatable and their journeys to find themselves and and find their way back to each other will have you routing for them all along the way. I love the representation in this book, from the LGBTQIA characters, to children of abuse or absent parents and those being raised by single parents. No two families look alike in this story and I find it so heartening to see that reality in this story.

I went into this with the expectation that it would develop into a poly relationship so I was at first disappointed when I realized what was really happening. But once I adjusted my expectations I really enjoyed it. The characters felt like genuine and relatable high school students. The building relationships (friendships and romantic relationships) were well done and believable.

Caleb and Emma were easy to love and I really felt for both of them with their struggles with their parents. They felt very real.

I did wish Juliet and the other two friends (Jaz and Alice I think? I'm having trouble remembering their names now which isn't a good sign) were better developed. Jaz and Alice were only barely there and Juliet was treated as a convenient excuse to get Emma and Caleb in the same room a lot of the time. Also their "competition" to get her to kiss them first was kind of gross. They sort of forgot that she was a real person with real feelings and then forgot about her entirely. I guess it's convenient that she ends up being aro/ace, but that's not a good thing. She should be a real character regardless.

The audiobook was excellent (although Juliet's voice was a little *too* bubbly and high pitched) and kept me immersed in the story.

*Thanks to Viking Books for Young Readers for providing an early copy for review.

I am reading less YA these days, so when I read it, I want it to be good. Luckily, Exes & Foes delivered. It was a fun and light read for lovers of the genre.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

Very cute YA story of self discovery. I was worried it would feel too cliche, but it felt very authentic I really liked the characters too.

Two ex-friends meet Juliet and both want to date her. So they decide to create a competition to see who earns the right to ask her out. Of course Juliet is unaware this is going on, which seems kind of creepy to me. The immaturity of Emma and Caleb during this part of the novel is a turn-off. But once they started genuinely interacting, it turned around. There were a few funny moments, and I liked the author’s writing style.

A perfect teen rom-com novel! Just what I needed when I went looking for a fun teen romance to read! Such a compelling and funny and yet also sweet love triangle! I would recommend to a friend!

Was this a bit cheesy? Absolutely. But did I love it anyway? ABSOLUTELY

I was a bit iffy at first and worried I wasn't going to like it, but I quickly fell in love with these characters. The premise is so funny and it lived up to it in the best way. The interactions between the characters were perfect. But this book also holds so many great messages as well and I loved following these characters on their journies. I also loved how throughout the book we slowly start to piece together their friendship from the past and how it ended. I really enjoyed getting to read this story.

A cute yet predictable book! It felt a little too long and I really had to push through to the end. Standard ya romance, 3 stars!!