Ex-best friends Caleb and Emma are both drawn to stunning new girl Juliet. Caleb is determined not to let Emma swoop in and steal Juliet, as she has many times before. Emma is equally as determined not to let Caleb win. But is it because she wants to be closer to Caleb or Juliet?

I loved how much positive LGBTQ+ rep there was in the book, including bi, demi, non-binary, and ace rep. The vibe of Exes & Foes almost feels like a John Hughes movie, like 16 Candles or The Breakfast Club. While Emma and Caleb initially compete for Juliet, they soon realize that this isn’t very respectful to Juliet. Amanda Woody includes lots of banter and funny dialogue.

Emma’s relationship with her mom was extremely toxic and my heart absolutely broke for what she was forced to do. Fortunately, Emma’s found family (Mrs. Daniels!!) and her scrappy attitude help bring her through this tough experience. Caleb also deals with an absent dad who is more interested in the idea of being one. I loved how Caleb and Emma eventually found their way back to each other in friendship (and maybe more- no spoilers!).

Readers looking for a funny, YA rom-com with deep themes of queer found family and strong friendship should check out Exes & Foes.

Thank you to Amanda Woody, Viking Books for Young Readers, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc.

I'll give the author credit; her characters acknowledge how scummy the plan they come up with is. Doesn't stop them from going through with it, but at least they have that much going for them.

Part of the problem here, I think, is that I didn't connect to the characters. I can see what Amanda was going for, but I found Caleb and Emma irritating in different ways. Caleb’s uptight and overly tidy nature often felt too rigid and unrelatable, while Emma's chaotic and mischievous behaviour came across as too disruptive. Juliet's manic energy added to the mix, creating a dynamic that just didn’t resonate with me.

However, I did appreciate the LGBT+ representation, and there were genuinely funny moments, mostly provided by Emma. This isn't a bad book by any measurement. We just didn't suit each other. I'm sure that other readers will enjoy this far more than I did, and I really hope they do. For those who enjoy a chaotic love triangle with well-represented diverse characters, this book might just be perfect.

Exes & Foes

Caleb and Emma used to be best friends before a major falling out. When new girl Juliet turns both their heads, they decide to compete for her affections. As they all spend more time together, Caleb and Emma find themselves feeling more than friendly towards each other.

I am having a hard time forming an opinion on this one, because I went into it expecting YA and I would never expect to see the word c_ _ t in a YA novel. There was also a lot more cursing than I would expect from YA. The characters were firmly high schoolers, though, and at times annoyingly adolescent.

Overall this was mostly a miss for me. There were some highlights, like the friendship flashbacks and rekindling between Caleb and Emma. I just don’t feel like the language used was YA and I would have a hard time recommending to young readers.

I only started getting into this and enjoying it around the 45% mark; getting there was rather painful at times. The cringey dialogue and silly moments throughout the book took me out of the story every single time. Like the time Emma threw candy at an adult’s face in the middle of a cafe during a serious conversation. That entire sequence was so unserious. Actually, every cafe scene was unserious, and there were a surprising amount of them. They would always behave as if there was nobody around to see them act like buffoons. The amount of second hand embarrassment this book gave me was too much for my poor little anxiety brain to handle.

However, the strong point of this book is actually the complex relationships being portrayed, both romantic and parental, which I absolutely enjoyed. The lead up to the main characters getting together and actually talking through their issues was also quite scrumptious, I will give credit where credit is due. Which is is exactly why I'll keep reading everything the author publishes. While this book just didn’t work for me very much, I can really see the potential for a 5 star from this author in the future, because when this book was good, it was GOOD.

(I would've also preferred this to go the poly direction, but alas.)

This was a hard book to review. On the surface, it's a queer, high-school version of the typical two people compete for the affections of one woman trope. Under the surface, it's a story about how two ex-best friends navigate the way their personal traumas impact how they relate and interact with each other (and fall in love!)

The beginning of this book really struggles. And I mean really struggles. I almost stopped reading after the first three chapters because they are not... good. I think part of it was the premise (did not love!) and part of it was introducing these characters was a challenge, but I think an editor should have helped Woody with it a lot more.

However! And this is important! I'm glad I didn't quit because once you get past the principal's office scene, the rest of the book is really quite good. Like night and day difference in enjoyment and writing.

Emma, a hot-headed delinquent and former best friend of Caleb, who is an awkward beanpole sweetheart, are competing for the hand of Juliet, anxious new-girl (who is never really developed much beyond that). As I mentioned before, the premise struggled, mostly because you know someone is going to end up hurt and that looms over you during the read. However, Woody picked pretty much the only option to salvage that piece of the plot and things turn out... okay.

The REAL heart of this story, however, is Emma and Caleb's relationship with one another. This by far was the best aspect of this book, and both characters were written so heart-wrenching convincingly. Each deals with some aspect of trauma -- Emma her abusive mother, and subsequent homelessness, and Caleb with his fair-weather semi-absentee father. Each of them navigate their world differently because of the way love / care was modeled for them and on them, and finding each other and growing past and through that makes up the majority of the book. I really, really enjoyed reading it, and I thought Woody did a really, really good job with the nuance.

The rest of the characters do not get the same depth, and are more or less interchangeable. Not a deal breaker for me though since Emma and Caleb were written so well. If I had one wish it would be that there was never the competition for Juliet and the author instead found a different premise to bring Caleb and Emma back together because I think their story would be compelling all on it's own.

I thought this was very cute, but there are a few things that irked me. One being the competition aspect of the plot, in reality it is a shitty thing to do, but I will say that the book does address that it’s shitty. Two being the character of Juliet, they were literally just a plot device to bring our two main characters together, I didn’t feel like enough time was spent on their character. Overall, I would still recommend this book, it was silly and fun, while also addressing heavier topics.


Thank you PENGUIN GROUP/Penguin Young Readers Group for this ARC!

3.5. This has a lot going for it and also a lot that falls flat. The premise is fun—two former best friends who have a crush on the same person compete to see who she will develop feelings for first. The representation is also great. There's a ton of diversity with gender, race, and sexuality. It also tackles some complicated familial dynamics.

Unfortunately, the premise fell flat and lost steam partway through. I also think a book about friends falling out doesn't work as well when the characters are already so young. I had a hard time buying into 8th graders having these complicated, big romantic feelings that led to them falling out with each other the first time. And with the way Emma acts, I also have a hard time believing she and Caleb went four years without speaking to each other. It almost would have worked better for me if their time apart had been shorter.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC for my honest review.

I think this was a case of right book, wrong time for me.

I was excited for this book but I was just kind of bored throughout, which is so unfortunate because I love the plot idea.

I will give this a try again though later on!

I didn't love this one. I thought Id like the competition between the 2 main characters, but I didn't enjoy the way they went about it.

If you’re looking for a story about two high schoolers who are trying to navigate making friends, dating, and some challenging relationships with their parents (keeping this a little vague so as not to spoil anything), you might enjoy this book! It’s not a predictable sort of romance book - relationships of so many different forms (both good and not so good) are woven into this story.

I would categorize this as a Young Adult book. If you like the found family trope, you might really enjoy this book! As the story unfolds, you learn so much more about each character’s childhood, which I found really endearing.

Caleb, one of the MCs, is a lanky, awkward, golden retriever just trying to make it through high school. Initially, I felt like he could be the dorky but well-meaning male lead of a high school drama from the 90’s or early 2000’s - slightly cringy at times but kind and considerate! If you’re looking for a change from morally grey MMCs, Caleb may be just that! However, as the story went on, I realized that there’s much more to Caleb than I initially realized (in the best way! He’s definitely a kind little golden retriever though).

The story is told partly from Emma’s perspective and partly from Caleb’s, with some flashback scenes sprinkled in. The other characters are great too!! I focused on these two MCs in this review, but they aren’t the only ones you’ll meet in this book. Emma was my favorite character, and gave me fantasy book heroine vibes. Multiple times in this book I just wanted to give her a hug! Being young can be hard, and watching her story unfold kept me reading and rooting for her.

There’s something very 90s nostalgic about the way the characters communicate, particularly early in the book - messages ending with “lol”, and words I can’t recall hearing in the last decade. I found this really fun and felt like it added to the story.

I had no idea where this book was going to go for a while, which I think is so fun!! The characters have complex backstories, family dynamics, and histories with each other. The plot and how the story developed were so different from other books I’ve read. I loved the queer characters, the plot twists, and I think my favorite parts were the flashbacks to key moments in the past. These were interwoven and added something so special to the book.

P. S. This book had one of my absolute favorite epilogues. It fit perfectly and felt like A wonderfully cozy ending.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an electronic ARC of this book for my honest review.

I loved the cast of characters in this book! I fell hard for both the main characters Caleb and Emma! This was my first young adult LGBTQ+ story. Growing up in a conservative Christian home these types of characters were not ones I was familiar with or allowed to feel comfortable to know. As adult that feels like she missed out on getting to know people because of how she was raised I felt like with this story I got to go back and meet people that would have benefited my life. Aside from my personal experience I loved this story because Emma was a tough badass that didn’t take any crap and was fast to defend her friends. And Caleb was that kind steady presence that every badass needs in their life. They were best friends that one day just stopped being friends and speaking to each other to both liking the new girl and competing for her attention and that ensues.

2.5 stars
I went into this book with high expectations. I knew that the throuple option likely wasn’t going to fly, given the YA/publication imprint. I was worried when it was just Emma and Caleb’s POVs because maybe that meant that Emma wasn’t going to get the girl. I continued on with growing sadness as I realized that this was going to be yet another book where the bisexual female character was going to end up with the guy. I’m really sick and tired of this being as far as most books go to be inclusive. Gay guys get the guy but bisexual women almost always get the guy. Boo!! It’s actually almost worse than just reading a M/F romance where at least the orientation is established, without the unpleasant surprise of yet another book that basically writes a straight romance under the guise that something else had even a remote chance of happening. I was going to say that it was better than nothing but, at this point, I’m not so sure anymore.

I read this in one sitting—it's THAT good. I loved the relationship between Emma and Caleb; friends to lovers (especially if they're estranged) is one of my favourite tropes. A few negatives that come to mind: I did think the ending was a bit rushed—conflicts between the MCs & parental figures are resolved a little too abruptly and unnaturally—and I think there are some lines that feel younger than the reader's age. As well, there are some scenes that felt like they were catering to "new" readers of queer fiction—since some lines didn't feel like what a queer character would say in that context (although I only know of myself and my circle & what I've seen on the internet!). However, the voice, romance, comedy, and emotion are SO well done. I inhaled this story, it had me hooked from the very first page!

Exes and Foes was a great young adult read! The storylines were great with some complicated family relationships and friendships. The story of how your early friendships can drift apart and find their way back to each other..

Normally we see the MMC being the dominant and strong one and the FMC being reserved and quiet but in this book, Caleb is quietly strong and Emma is outwardly strong but with some soft spots. They truly bring out the best in each other. The competition for Juliet rekindled their friendship and Juliet was a breath of fresh air and a great coming of age character that was finding herself and expressing herself in a new school.

I love Caleb’s mom she’s such a strong and self-confident character and such a good mom to Caleb and to Emma. It shows that our maternal guardians don’t always have to be our birth family and who is rather there for you and loves you wholeheartedly!

I enjoyed this book it was great for a coming of age and about finding yourself and confidence in yourself and sometimes your best friends see things differently than you do and can stand by you through the hard times.

This story was so cute. I loved the flashbacks that is shows of the two main characters starting from when they are kids..I love how accepting the kids in the story are if each other's sexuality. I couldn't put this story down. I love that even though Emma broke Caleb's heart he still is there for her and she does the same. Fantastic

Exes & Foes didn't quite live up to my expectations. It's always a bummer when a book you've been excited for isn't what you hoped it'd be but Exes & Foes did pick up by the end and I really enjoyed the last part of it.

I really enjoyed this. I also learned a lot!! I am a bit older and so many gender and sexual terms are a bit new for me. This story actually help me define some of those and I really enjoyed the characters!! Their struggles felt genuine.

A perfect book! Amanda never disappoints. I laughed and cried and felt all the emotions for the characters the entire book. A superb sophomore novel for Amanda.

I found this to be a really fun, and refreshing read. The characters were very likable, and they were written quite well in my opinion. I thought the story flowed well, made sense, and did a good job of not rushing things too much. The story also managed to delve into serious topics with its characters as well, and it never felt as if the story was clashing with itself. I would definitely read more from this author, and I wouldn’t complain about a sequel if the author felt there was more story to tell with these characters.

Now this isn’t to say that everything is perfect, I felt that maybe there were perhaps too many flashback chapters. Towards the end of the book, I felt like I just wanted to stay in the present timeline rather than continually going back. However, this is just a minor gripe. I also feel like Juliet’s sexual & gender identities could have been explored more, but again that is still just a minor gripe from me. Some would perhaps even accuse me of nitpicking.

I really enjoyed this story, and would recommend it to everyone. 4.5/5 stars & leaning toward 5.

There are many stories within this book. A parent - child relationship. A sister's relationship. Friendships. And romantic friendships. All of these were great stories on their own and when you wove them together they made a complex intriguing read.
The character development was so well done. You really felt like you knew them and could almost guess how they would react. I loved how the author didn't make any simplistic solutions or unrealistic expectations. It made you really think about how teens could be in these situations.
It's worth your time to read.
Enjoy!