This was a cute book about two friends who are arill in love with one another even after having not been friends for a few years. Instead of admitting their feelings and confronting each other about why they stopped being friends they decide to compete over the new person at school. I identified with both Caleb and Emma in regard to their familial issues. It was also nice to see that sometimes we don't always get the happy resolution with our parents. Sometimes we have to say our peace and set a boundary and let them know our worth. I look forward to reading more of Woody's work.

I really loved this book. As a teacher in high school I’m always looking for books to give to my students. This one is perfect for them.
It’s a lovely story about being good enough and being loved. As a plus I really liked the character development. A big plus for me!

Amanda Woody's "Exes & Foes" is a rollercoaster ride of emotions that hits all the right notes for fans of rivals-to-lovers tropes. From the first page, you’re sucked into the delicious tension between Emma and Caleb, two ex-best friends turned sworn enemies, each with their own vibrant quirks and undeniable chemistry. Woody masterfully balances humor and heart, making you laugh at Emma's chaotic antics one moment and feel for Caleb’s struggle to maintain his orderly world the next. The competition for Juliet’s affection is less about winning the girl and more about discovering the complexities of love and forgiveness. By the end, you'll be rooting for Emma and Caleb to not just mend their fractured relationship but to embrace the messy, beautiful possibility of something more. Perfect for fans of chaotic bisexuals and endearing grumps, "Exes & Foes" is a heartfelt, witty must-read that feels like a warm, comforting hug.

This was such a fun, emotional read! I saw myself in both of the main characters because of their internal voices telling them they aren't good enough and that was me thru all of school and early adulthood. This book is sooooo good at showing the different type of toxic relationships people can have and how to stand up for yourself and just being accepting of different people and their sexualitys. It's definitely a perfect young adult book with amazing lessons! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC!!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group for the eARC. 2.5 stars. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t my cup of tea. I initially liked the concept but it just didn’t sit right with how they were treating Juliet and how they would talk about her. I feel like it had so much potential but fell a little flat with the character development.

I really liked the cover and the concept (I do love a bisexual love triangle), but unfortunately after three weeks of trying to get into this book, I ultimately DNF at 22%. While what I read was well written, the voice wasn’t distinctive enough and the characters fell flat for me—I found them unlikable and couldn’t connect to any of them. Unfortunately, I need to be invested in at least one character to keep reading.

I also didn't like how Juliet was being treated like and object or prize instead of a person, but I suspect the book would've eventually addressed that and had the characters wise up about how that behavior was wrong.

While this wasn’t my cup of tea, readers who bond with the characters will probably enjoy this more than I did.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher and am voluntarily leaving this review.

This charming, fun, and fast-paced rom-com touched on some tough topics (definitely read the trigger warnings) while keeping a primarily light tone. I appreciated that the MCs had realistic relationships with their parents and had to come to accept that they did not deserve how they had been treated by their families.

I love the childhood friends-to-lovers trope, and I appreciated how the reflective chapters gave us a window into Caleb and Emma's past friendship so that we, as readers, could understand how they worked so well as friends. Their enemies-to-lovers journey was also dealt with very well, as they were forced to confront their problems and deal with them head-on.

The representation in this book was fairly well-written, although I find it frustrating when the MCs are white and have a diverse group of friends who are there to assist their journey. This book very much fell into that trope, which was probably the worst thing about it.

Some of the writing felt a bit dramatic, but I think that style will work well for actual teens reading this book because when you're a teen, you do feel like everything is the most dramatic thing happening.

Honestly I would give this 3.5 stars!

Exes and Foes is a cute, queer, romcom about a set of best friends, turned enemies, turned rivals, and ultimately lovers. I liked this book a lot and I would read from Amanda Woody again. (I read almost the entire book in one day) I felt at times like it was a little young for me, namely some of the dialogue –mostly Juliet made me feel like the book may be too young for me. I thought the characters were charming and funny, and Emma especially reminded me of a childhood friend that I had.

I thought that the heavy topics of the novel were handled with grace, including absent parents, and emotional abuse from a parent. I also appreciated that these things weren’t necessarily resolved in the book. That there wasn’t some silver lining bow on top, and everything wasn’t great as a family. Because often, it doesn’t work out that way. People are capable of amazing growth, I believe that. But I thought that the way these subjects were handled was very realistic, and I appreciated it.

Tremendous thanks to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for the opportunity to review before publication!

I freaking loved They Hate Each Other and sadly this book didn't live up to second book hype. I felt like the characters were a bit 2 dimensional and some parts of this felt over dramatic. I wasn't the biggest fan of Emma's character and I wish we found out the reason why her mum was so horrible towards her.

I liked Jas and Alice and Caleb's descriptions of himself made me giggle (gangly squid). There was plenty of queer rep which I loved. I will give it to Amanda, they have made me cry in both books they've written.

Overall this was an ok book but sadly not as good as the first one.

Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for the eARC

EXES & FOES is a YA romance about two ex-best friends who set their sights on the same girl and decide to compete for her affection. as you can probably imagine from the premise, things get messy and complicated, especially as we learn more about caleb and emma's past and what led to the end of their friendship. i was kicking my feet, giggling, twirling my hair the whole time. i loved how caleb and emma seemed to bring out the worst but also the best in each other. their connection was so deep, despite having fallen out four years prior. to put it simply, they were each other's person. this was such a fun, heartfelt and swoony YA romance and i had such a great time reading it!

read if you like:
- bi/demi x bi
- small angry gf x tall gentle bf
- queer found family

thanks to netgalley and penguin teen for the advanced copy! EXES & FOES is out july 23.

Exes & Foes, written by Amanda Woody, is a charming and unique young adult romance that follows the journey of two former best friends as they vie for the affections of a new girl. This heartwarming tale is filled with endearing supporting characters that captivated me with its delightful storyline.

I cam e for the queer threesome-potential, but stayed fro Caleb and Emma's adorable friends-to-competitors-to-lovers arc and Juliet's charming (though mostly offscreen) journey to identifying as nonbinary. Originally I was a little upset at the het-presenting conclusion, but as a bisexual woman I appreciate that the book still validated this option as queer. And I absolutely loved the friend group dynamic with all characters, even when in "competition mode" over Juliet--and especially when this included supportive calling-in of the potential ramifications of this competition!

Overall, would recommend and I will be looking for other books from this author, who was new to me.

Strait-laced Caleb and spitfire Emma used to be best friends, but they haven’t spoken since eighth grade, when she dropped him with no explanation. Now seniors, they crash back into each other’s lives when Caleb attempts to save new-girl Juliet from a creep’s unwanted advances, and Emma saves *him* from getting beat up with a well placed knee to the creep’s groin.

Realizing that they’ve both developed a crush on Juliet, the two former-friends agree to a competition. They’ll both pursue Juliet until she kisses one of them. Loser has to back down for good. Except, bubbly Juliet seems more interested in hanging out as a group (She’s never had such supportive friends before!) and the more time Emma and Caleb spend together the more unresolved feelings begin to resurface.

Caleb and Emma’s opposite’s attract dynamic makes sparks practically leap off the page. Their friendship has been complicated by past hurts, but their shared history keeps drawing them together. It’s this magnetic tension that propels readers through the story’s somewhat overdramatic premise through to it’s raw, beating heart.

There are moments, especially at the beginning of the book, where Juliet comes across as very one-dimensional. This is somewhat a side effect of Caleb and Emma viewing her through a lens of romantic competition. As we get to know her better, we begin to uncover some layers. Her struggles with past toxic friendships and subsequent negative self-image aren’t central to the plot, but they provide a nice counter-point to some of Emma’s own fears about being a toxic friend.

And now for some less composed thoughts:

- If I had a nickel for every time I read and loved a 2024 YA release about ex best friends healing their damaged relationship while simultaneously falling in love I’d have two nickels and I’m very pleased that it’s happened twice because I love friends to ???? to friends again to lovers
- (nickel no. 1 was This is Me Trying by Racquel Marie)
- these two have big “animals that bonded together at the shelter and can’t be adopted separately” energy except the animals are a greyhound and just the angriest kitten in the world
- Caleb’s mom goes straight into the Awesome YA Parents hall of fame

I knew this book would hit close to home as soon as I read the dedication. I'm not usually a big fan of books that include competing for a love interest, but this one was an exception. I loved the characters and their relationships so much and saw so many little pieces of my own life reflected throughout the characters and their struggles. Caleb, Emma, Juliet, Alice, and Jas make such a cute little friend group. I love how even if scheming ensues, they are still always sweet and supportive of each other, no matter what! The bi rep really pulled me into this one, but I loved all of the other representation that was included! Emma and Caleb's past friendship and slow reconnection was done in such a realistic way and I loved seeing all the little ways they were undermined by Juliet.

I really loved this book and especially adored Caleb's mom. She was easily a highlight of the book and everyone deserves to have someone like her in their life.

Thank you to Netgalley, Amanda Woody, and Penguin for this arc <3

Terrible name, great book.

This is a book primarily about finding happiness despite what horrible things have happened to you and what trauma you carry it from them, and yet it also stays relatively light throughout. I was thinking while I read it about my high school circles of friends, how we'd all have a good time together and then go home to families and partners who were mentally, physically, and even sometimes sexually abusive. I think both of these things can exist at one time, it just causes cracks that lead to damage. It makes me happy that there are people and books acknowledging these things so the cracks aren't as bad as when these issues existed in silence.

Did I mention this book made me laugh aloud at times? And the romance is so cute.

Amanda does it again. They somehow write a story that hits me right in the childhood trauma, but in a good way. This story is very healing for someone who was also a teen living in their car. We’ve got some silly dating competition hijinks, simultaneously along side some deep rooted familial issues. Each character is so strongly written, and I love how plainly you can see the love and care between them. There’s excellent character growth, second chances, diverse characters, phenomenal LGBTQAI+ rep, and an immense amount of bravery.

This book is a very fun and flirty read. Ex best friends, Emma and Caleb, compete to earn the affection of new girl Juliette. Through their competition their friendship is rekindled and turns into something more. This book covers a variety of topics such as identity, self expression, family trauma, verbal abuse, and homelessness to name a few. While I did really enjoy the characters and story line I feel like this book tried to jam as much as they could and at times I lost track of the plot. There were so many events and side stories that it felt muddy. Overall I think that this book would be great for older teens and young adults who are looking for a fun read. Thank you so much to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for giving me early access to this book for an honest review!

I want to root for them and scream at them simultaneously!

I loved this book, from the storyline to the characters and everything in between. Most of all, I loved the way these characters loved. The way they took care of each other, even when they didn't want to or felt they shouldn't. I want more of this cast, please.

Not for me unfortunately. I don’t particularly like Woody’s writing style or voice, and the characters fell a bit flat, especially Juliet, who I felt we never really got to know. I didn’t like the competition aspect very much either.

An enjoyable book with funny parts and sad moments that I loved and were 5 stars, and other parts that had me cringing away from the story and feeling like it was a 2 or 3 star read because of how painfully certain characters were written.
Love triangles in any form are inherently difficult to do well in this day and era, with many readers now expecting a triad, or even a poly romance to come out of it instead. Inherently fighting or competing for a girl feels so old fashioned and out of place now. Exes & Foes turns this on its head by having the two main characters competing instead for a side character, and instead focus more on each other.
There are moments in the beginning where I laughed out loud, and felt I was in for an enjoyable read;
"She's way too cute and I'm the pinnacle of mediocrity stuffed into the body of a linguine-limbed behemoth."
I was having a good time, and then the love interest that Caleb and Emma compete for enters the scene, and my feelings quickly became mixed.
Everything to do with Juliet is giving "manic pixie dream girl", and shows the pitfalls many white authors fall into when writing a BIPOC character, being so afraid of writing them flawed that they are instead written so flat and perfectly that they give little to the story other than a plot device. Juliet's only purpose is to bring Emma and Caleb together, and from the moment she comes on page she is both sexualized greatly and also infantilized in her interactions. (She also 100% does not read as a BIPOC character) Everything she wears is described in great detail, far more than even our MC's. (It's very clear Juliet is meant to be neurodivergent coded, or even autistic, yet it felt more like someone writing how they wish they were treated by others) Everything she does is viewed as quirky and cute, and our mc's swoon over her and everything they do do. To make matters worse, at the end it is revealed that Juliet [ knew the whole time that Caleb and Emma were competing and in fact worked to bring them together. Truly taking further away from the character who is only used as a plot point to bring others together, a magical BIPOC godparent that authors so love to include. There is nothing else to their character. While I did enjoy the inclusion of ace and gender figuring out rep, the way it was written just felt...not cohesive, and even at times the shifting to their character felt so out of place amongst everything else happening. (hide spoiler)]
There were times it almost read like a y/n story in the beginning with every cringey thing Juliet did. I felt physically pained during every finger gun. Physically. Pained.
"'Can't',she gives me finger guns."
'"She gives me hoarse, flimsy laughter. And more finger guns."
Even when Juliet plays video games everyone in the chat just swoons over the physical aspects and how amazing they are. Great job, y/n.
The second chunk of the book is a complete shift in the story, and I truly wish the author had just given greater attention to Emma and Caleb instead, and spent more time on the more serious topics because that is where this book shined. I felt like I was reading a completely different story. I didn't expect to be fully sobbing with how painfully real and well emotional abuse and neglect was written, nor did I expect to see how well it translated onto page. It almost felt like a disservice to have so little of the story devoted to the true meat of the matter, and I wish it was different.
Everything Emma goes through, how her mother treats her, I was sobbing, and added more money to my therapy jar.
"...'Just because you don't hit us doesn't mean you're not abusing us in other ways.'"
Emma and Caleb finally coming together felt so beautiful and raw. I really wished they were given the story they deserved. Though there were moments later in the book where it almost felt like everything was so neatly wrapped up and a lot of the conversations almost felt a little like...someone writing conversations with how they wish they would have gone instead, or moments from their life that they wish had happened. I truly hope that makes sense, dear reader. I did have a lot of difficulties with how many points were just forgotten about by the end. [ We are just disregarding that Emma seemed to really care about soccer, is still in an abusive situation, among other things. Quite frankly it almost gives the message in a way that there is nothing that can't be done if you are in an abusive situation like that and if you just talk back to your parent everything will be fine. I was surprised that Caleb and his mother didn't immediately invite Emma to live with them, an abusive parent doesn't just stop being abusive after a lifetime after being told off once. (hide spoiler)]
It was so difficult to figure out how to rate this book, because the second chunk I was like, TAKE MY MONEY, FIVE STARS! While the first chunk felt like quite frankly a 2 to 3 star read, and I foresee many readers potentially dnf'ing it just because of various moments in the story that just feel like a 'and everyone clapped moment.'
Writing this review out, I feel I should have perhaps given it 3 stars instead of 4, but I have already committed, and I am biased because of my own mommy issues, so I am sticking with 4 stars.
Personally, I say take a look at some of the reviews before you dive into this one. It might be to your tastes, or it might not, but this one isn't for everyone.
This was my first book by Woody, and I am currently on the fence if I were to read anything more of their work. It is clear they can write, and well. But the flat and at times y/n style that Juliet was written really keeps sticking with me, even though I loved all the great queer rep and the trauma writing. If their next book is different, I might try it.
Complete side note, in the beginning of the story, Juliet's body is mentioned being round, or wide several times. The cover doesn't convey that, so I am at a loss if they are meant to be a plus sized character or not. And if she is, I wish the cover showed that.

Thank you Penguin for this arc
Quotes are subject to change because this is an arc