This was a book that I wasn't so sure if I would like it. I think it was a pretty cute story. I mean nothing amazing. I thought the writing was pretty good as well.

My thanks to NetGalley and Viking/Penguin Random House for the ARC of 'Exes & Foes' in exchange for an honest review.
Even if the journey of the love story here is as inevitable as the sun coming up each morning, you won't find a sweeter, more heartfelt YA romantic triangle. It's loaded with hugs, tears, long overdue emotional showdowns and a sigh-worthy ending you can't wait to wallow in even if you knew it was coming anyway
Caleb and Emma, were lifelong best friends until something dire and unspoken split them apart in 8th grade. But yet their undeniable attraction and unspoken love for each other has continued to make them battling frenemies through high school . Caleb, gentle, gangly and easily bullied, still finds himself often protected by the fiesty, hot tempered Emma, whose reputation for not suffering fools (and bullies) gladly lands her in trouble over and over. Each of them copes with their parental woes....Caleb, from his indifferent divorced dad who can barely spare the time to meet him and Emma from her toxic mother, who's spent a lifetime belittling and denigrating her.
Now a new complication comes between them - they're both fallen hard for Juliet, the new girl in school who's almost criminally adorable.
They agree to engage in an all out competition for Juliet's heart, with the winner declared as the first one who kisses her..
The ongoing drama in Caleb and Emma's home life throws all kinds of bumps in the road for them, so readers should be prepared for multiple tender, "Awwwww" moments, right up through the final pages. No real surprises here, but if you can't resist a book that literally envelopes you with warm, fuzzy feelings, look no further.

I had mixed feelings about this book. For the first 100+ pages I was bored. Much of the dialogue felt really awkward and unrealistic, which put me off immediately. I also found all three main characters to be pretty annoying at first (Juliet, who repeatedly insisted "oh, I'm so annoying, haha!", Caleb, who appeared to have no backbone, and Emma, who couldn't seem to control herself and often resorted to violence). I almost DNFed the book. However, the narrative picks up after page 150 or so and I'm kind of glad I stuck with it. The romance element was pretty good, but it's the side relationships that really make this story sing. Emma's struggles with homelessness and her fraught relationships with her mother and sister carried the narrative. I was invested in what was going to happen to her, which is the main reason I kept reading. Caleb's relationship with his mother (and Emma's relationship with Caleb's mother) was so special and heartwarming. I also ended up loving the friendship group that formed around Juliet. With a ton of queer rep, mental health rep, and its message of unconditional acceptance, this book would be great for anyone who's struggled to fit in or who's ever felt unlovable.

The premise of this book was really cute. Caleb and Emma were lucky the plan of their competition didn’t blow up in anyone’s face. They had enough to deal with (ie: abusive parents). I loved the friend group that formed and every character within it. Thank you so much for net galley and this author for giving me this e-arc.

Thank you NetGalley for the aRC of Exes & Foes by Amanda Woody

I feel like the book is relatable for the reality teens are dealing with, mixed emotions form friends turned enemies but also the competition to win the girl, while I do not necessarily like that the treat Juliet , the girl both former best friends Emma and Caleb are interested I feel like that is reality for liking someone, as a side note I do love that the included a story line regarding the mom & a relationship that was scandalize at school because I do feel like these are reality life issues kids face love that the book is based on queer . bisexual relationships because 100% representation MATTERS this is the conversations and story's we should be having in rom-coms.

ARC REVIEW: Exes and Foes by Amanda Woody

Release Date: July 23, 2024
Genre: YA Romance (with Bi and Demi rep!)
Format: eBook
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book # for 2024: #64

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

SYNOPSIS: Emma and Caleb are ex-best friends, who are both interested in the new student at their high school, Juliet. When they decide to hold a competitor for Juliet’s heart, they don’t expect to fall for each other instead.

MY THOUGHTS: I really enjoyed reading Amanda Woody’s debut, They Hate Each Other, last year, so I was super excited to have the opportunity to read an ARC of this book! I was not disappointed! I loved this book so much. The main characters. Caleb and Emma, are precious even if they’re oblivious to each other’s feelings towards the other.

This book also deals with some heavier topics. At the beginning of the book, Emma is essentially living in her car due to her toxic home life with her mother. Caleb’s dad basically comes in and out of his life when it’s convenient for him. The main trio deal with bullying as well.

I definitely recommend getting a copy of this book when it releases on Tuesday!!
.
.
.
Q: What is a book that is releasing soon that you are looking forward to?
.
.
.
#booksbooksbooks #arcreader #exesandfoes #amandawoody #netgalley #rainbowreads #ireadya #yaromance #ya #demirep #birepresentation

Unpopular opinion, but I wish this was either a single pov or added in snippets from Julia every now and then.

Overall this was a cute read.

there was a few things I didn’t like:
The competition over Juliet. I wish they would have talked to one another instead but I do understand they are teenagers so they aren’t as mature.
And I would have loved if there was more character development for the side characters.

I did love the ending, and despite the few things I didn’t like - I couldn’t put it down.

Overall, I would recommend.

Thank you for the arc!

What do you get when 3 queers walk into a cafeteria? This and more might be answered in this book. On the surface this is a cute Ya second chance romance. Under the surface the book inspires the reader to be themselves and not let other peoples judgement affect the way they act. Emma Caleb and Juliet are all great characters. Juliet was personally my favorite personality wise. I think the balance between the dual pov and flickered in flashbacks was done artfully. If you are looking for a cute read to get you out o feeling bad about yourself, or relationships around parent/chid relationships I would pick this up.

The quick cut: Two former best friends compete for the affection of the new girl at school.

A real review:
Thank you to Penguin Group for providing the arc for an honest review.

Friends come and go through life, but have you ever lost one on bad terms? For former best friends Caleb and Emma, that is very true after their falling out in middle school.

Caleb used to be best friends with Emma, but she's a consistent problem nowadays. When Caleb gets romantically interested in someone, Emma seemingly beats him there and wins their affection instead. He wishes she wasn't such a persistent presence in his life. Now they're both interested in the new girl at school named Juliet. To finally end their rivalry, they agree to compete for Juliet's love. Who will win?

This book was refreshingly cute, surprising, and enjoyable. I expected Juliet to play a bigger role than she did in the story, but was pleasantly surprised by the result! Caleb and Emma really are the heart of this story.

The chapters here feature alternating narrators in Caleb and Emma. In many ways, they are opposites that complement each other. That's definitely the reason why they fight so much (along with their childish parents).

Caleb is the kind of person who is type A in the way that he likes a clean organized environment and rules to be followed. He's on his own a lot, but gets along with his mother. His biggest wish is to have a real relationship with his father though. In many ways, it's his biggest blind spot.

Emma is a mess and has always been that way. She has a very negative relationship with her mother and really has never had a positive one with her at all. Honestly, I'm surprised that Emma is as strong and capable as she is. She's truly overcome so much to be where she's at. As impressive as that is, no one should have to endure that much emotional trauma.

Juliet at first comes off as flighty and slightly brainless, but she wins me over by the end. She's so much smarter than she appears and uses her appearance of being happy all the time to learn subtly about what's around her. Her role in the plot put a smile on my face (and made me wish she was my friend in real life!).

A cute romantic story with a twist.

My rating: 5 out of 5

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!!

I was a huge fan of Amanda’s debut and this one showed all of her talents yet again. A bisexual love triangle where 2 ex best friends realize they are actually made for each other. I love those types of stories! The characters are lovable and easy to sympathize with. I always enjoy how Amanda writes romance. This is definitely a sophomore novel you will not want to miss!

This book had so much representation in it which is a big pro in a YA romance. I like the idea of it but the execution took too long to get into. I found some of the dialogue to be a bit cheesey and I think YA readers would see that as well. The book was better toward the end but I don’t know if all readers want to stick around for it.

Thank you NetGalley and Viking Books for Young Readers for the opportunity to read an ARC of Exes & Foes!

This book managed to be super cute while still talking about really hard conversations about how parents’ actions have a wide reaching and lasting impact on kids.

Juliet is the new girl in town and Caleb and Emma have huge crushes on her. Instead of asking her out, they take the most logical approach - they make a competition for her hand. There’re only a couple of problems though 1) Caleb and Emma had a massive falling out years ago and 2) they don’t tell Juliet they like her.

I had a hard time getting into this book, because the idea of having a competition where the winner gets the girl made me more uncomfortable than I was expecting when I went in. But I loved Amanda Woody’s debut, so I pushed through. And I’m glad I did! It helped a lot that the inherent creepiness of the competition was addressed on page and that while they wanted to date her, they were also really interested in being her friend.

The characters were all vibrant and had distinct personalities, wants, and goals. And that made reading this a lot of fun. Unfortunately this does mean I have to fight a lot of their parents and former friends (unfortunately because I’m about as good at fighting as Caleb is).

Overall if you like queer stories about found family, friendship, and falling in love and you don’t mind it coming with a supersized serving of bawling your eyes out, you should check this out.

I was happy to discover this book didn't delve into toxic him versus her territory. It was actually a thoughtful, YA age appropriate examination of friendship and romance. Amanda Woody impressed me with her characterizations and present/past timeline.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Exes & Foes follows two ex best friends turned enemies. They both like the new girl and decide to hold a competition for her. However in the process, they spend more time together and old feelings resurface.

The synopsis of this book caught my attention as it sounded fun and entertaining with the premise of best friends fighting for the same person but falling in love with each other instead, so I decided to pick it up. At the beginning, I wasn’t really enjoying it. The first chapter was heavy on dialogue that felt weird and cringey. There were also scenes that were meant to show the characters were awkward but combined with the dialogue it felt repetitive. However, the dialogue and writing improved after that. There were still some parts where I felt the writing wasn’t great and the scenes felt out of place but it wasn’t common. As the story goes on, you get to know more about the characters and the two main characters are built up with great detail.

More than just a romance, this book also explores friendship. I really liked the friendships in this book. I loved the scenes where the friend group interacted with each other. Those were the best parts of the book. I also liked seeing how the relationship between the two main characters, Caleb and Emma, improved. I liked when they interacted because it was funny and entertaining while also serious at times. The peeks into the past friendship between Caleb and Emma were moments of enjoyment for me as it helped me understand their characters better. While the other friends are a part of the story, the book remains focused on the main characters, Caleb and Emma and their relationship. I wish there were more of the other friends in the book and I think they could have contributed more to the story. This book also does a good job of handling heavy topics of emotional abuse and family issues through the characters.

Overall, the book improved towards the end and proved to be entertaining. If like me, the synopsis piqued your interest, go ahead and give it a try!

Emma and Caleb used to be best friends, but when Emma ghosted him in 8th grade, they both found new friends. During their four years apart, Emma made a move on anyone Caleb was interested in. Every. Single. Time. Caleb likes to move slow, and has a type A personality, so he's not as confident as Emma. So when they both are interested in the new student at school, they decide to let Juliet pick who she's interested in: whoever Juliet kisses first gets to ask her out, but until then they both try to make friends with her. Somehow, Emma and Caleb usually end up both hanging out with Juliet at the same time, which puts a bit of a dent in their plan; however, it allows them to grow a little bit closer despite their complicated past.

I haven't read a YA romance in a bit, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this novel. Caleb is adorable and the storyline is super engaging. There were a couple of tougher topics covered in the book, and they were handled really well. I will definitely be suggesting this for teens who want romance with a little bit of angst.

This was such a precious story to read. I laughed, I got teary eyed and most importantly, I smiled throughout the entire story... Jas was definitely my favorite character.
Thank you netgalley, the publisher and author for my ebook arc!

I was immediately drawn into this book by the explosion of fisticuffs in the high school lunch line. I wouldn’t exactly say things went downhill after that, but they did sorta flatline. This book read very middle grade to me. If you removed the few references to blow jobs and the shower scene, it would be very middle school. The plot was predictable and the characters so “different” that they come across stereotypical.

But I did enjoy the latter half of the book where the emphasis on Juliet fades a bit (she’s not like other girls) and we can really focus on Emma and Caleb’s relationship, past and present. Their rough past seemed very relatable and I was so hoping they could get their acts together by the end.

As an adult reader I would like to also add that I appreciated Caleb’s mom’s presence in the book and the wisdom she passes on to the youths. (I said youths, I really am getting old.) Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this arc, as always opinions are my own.

4.5 stars! Thank you to NetGalley, Viking Books for Young Readers, and Penguin Young Readers Group for this advanced copy. You can pick up Exes & Foes on July 23, 2024.

I expected this to be a fun romp, and while it had several hilarious moments, Exes & Foes was also surprisingly tender and heartbreaking. Our main characters, Emma and Caleb, have several individual trials and tribulations to overcome, and I didn't expect their relationship to be filled with as much pain as there was love. I loved the flashbacks depicting their growing relationship as kids, and how those contrasted with the animosity between them in the present day. Both teens' growth was phenomenal, and by the end I wanted to cry tears of happiness for them. The found family was also incredibly sweet, and I loved how the five of them bonded over shared interests and identities and just pure love for one another.

If you're looking for a rivals to lovers romance, this def fits the bill! But more than anything, it feels like a second-chance friends to lovers connection between two broken souls trying to feel whole again. Don't hesitate to pick this one up!

Thank you PENGUIN GROUP/Viking Books and Netgalley for the eARC!

I didn’t realize how much this book would charm me the longer I read it—at the beginning, I thought it was only going to be a YA contemporary romcom about two exes competing to woo the new girl. However, it is truly a character study and relationship study. These teenagers sound like actual teens, I love the meaningful yet casual moments talking about queer sexuality and gender identity, and Caleb’s mom is the best.

Caleb and Emma’s character arc—both individually and together—is really beautiful and aching. Juliet, Alice, Jas, and Ms. Daniels also have their moments. I definitely cried quite a few times over the writing and the fact this book maybe hit a little too close to home.

The only thing I wasn’t too crazy about was the third-person memory scenes of “back then.” I think this could have been accomplished in first person or woven into the general narrative of the story.

Also: hooray for a MF bi4bi story. We need more of these.