For Wyn, college is going…okay so far. That’s why she’s so determined to beat out Three, her fellow newspaper grunt and rival, for the open reporter role on their college’s paper. The two of them push each other too far, but ultimately have to work together when Three starts writing a story on something close to Wyn. Meanwhile, she’s met someone on campus’s hottest new anonymous app, so her freshman year is finally starting to take off.

I loved Samantha Markum’s last novel, and I was so excited to read her next one! I actually didn’t know going in that this book has a character from her debut novel, This May End Badly, just because it’s been so long since I’ve read it. You don’t have to read that book going into this one, but you may miss a few Easter eggs if you haven’t.

Wyn is a little lost at college, if only because she’s so lonely and finds it hard to meet people. Her roommate makes it clear they aren’t friends, and her suitemates have their own things going on. Over time, she has to realize that you can, in fact, be friends with people who have other groups of friends. I liked reading about her getting closer to her suitemates and forming friendships.

I also loved her dynamic with Three! They’re rivals, competing for the reporter role that recently opened up. As much as Wyn loves writing and coming up with stories, it’s hard to compete with Three and his constant work ethic. When she begrudgingly agrees to investigate his new story with him, they’re forced to spend even more time with each other, and worse, to trust each other. I liked their banter, both when they hate each other and when they begin to like each other.

This book does have a bit of a You’ve Got Mail-thing going on, which I usually dislike, but I think it worked in this book. Maybe because the conversations actually felt like real ones you’d have on an anonymous app, like talking to an Internet friend. Obviously I won’t spoil anything, but I’m sure you’ll have an inkling on who the other person is when you read the book.

Overall, Love, Off the Record was a fun college-set book about finding your footing in a new environment. I loved the characters and the romance; this book has really cemented Samantha Markum as an auto-read author. If you’re a fan of rivals-to-lovers and/or hate-to-love relationships, you should definitely pick up Love, Off the Record!

I was excited to read more of Three’s story and thrilled to meet Wyn. Even more fun was the discovery of all the little things that placed this story at OSU even though that isn’t specifically stated in the story. Markum didn’t shy away from tackling all that happens on college campuses - the good and the bad - as well as the battles we fight on a personal level.

Cute and sweet enemies to lovers romance. Love the voices of both main characters and the obvious joy in the writing.

I have had Samantha Markum on my radar for a while now but haven't had the chance (taken the time) to read any of her previous books. I really liked this one! I loved her prose, I loved the banter between characters and I loved the characters themselves. Having an author who is willing to write about what she has experienced as a plus sized women really hits home for me and is so wonderful to know that others have experienced the same things and thoughts I have while still loving/trying to love the body they were given. I can't wait to read more from this author! An overall fun read that wasn't all fluff.

I have read this author before and I did like her book enough to try another again.

The book is about Wyn who is a freshmen staffer on her university paper. She is going up against Three who also wants a position that is opening up. It is very much enemies-to-lovers and was enjoyable at times to read about. Sometimes I feel like Wyn needed to lay off a bit since she seemed to be the one who was pushing the enemies thing and it felt one-sided. At least it leads to them working together. It’s where I enjoyed the story a lot more.

I liked the rep that was included and thought that it was well done!

Overall, this was good.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of <i>Love, Off the Record</i> by Samantha Markum.

If you like rivals to lovers and hidden identities then this is the read for you. This older YA book was cute and fun but also showed some heart in the friendships of the main characters. I also loved the positive mental health aspect where the characters were proud to go to counseling and ask for help. By the end of the book I was hoping for a further in the future epilogue because I am dying to know if these two make it long term.

#NetGalleyARC I’m loving the YA books with unique and fun characters and this book did not disappoint. Another great YA read!

Markum’s enemies-to-lovers romance, set in the newsroom of a college newspaper, is exactly what many of us are looking for in a romance novel: it’s funny, two people fall in love (with plenty of miscommunication along the way), and they both work through their insecurities as they grow into themselves. The setting also captures the first-year-of-college experience, with all its ups and downs, that isn’t too far away for most of our students.

Wyn (short for Eowyn, and yes, she’s named after Lord of the Rings) and Three (the “third” in a wealthy family) could not possibly hate each other more. They started out friendly, but as soon as a staff position opened up on the school paper where they both worked as grunts, they became bitter rivals, sabotaging one another’s every move in an effort to get the best stories and staff position, both of which will help their application to the school of journalism.

When she’s not fighting with Three in the newsroom, however, Wyn is struggling to find her footing at college. She struggles with low self-esteem (in part because of her weight, which she’s both fine with and insecure about), and as a result, she has a hard time making friends and feels really lonely.

In a moment of intense loneliness, Wyn joins Buckonnect, an anonymous campus dating app, where she meets the mysterious Hayes who’s smart, funny, kind, and gets her in the way she’s always longed for. But she’s afraid to meet him in person, fearing that when he sees her, he’ll be disappointed.

All these threads in Wyn’s life build to a head as her freshman year goes on, and while you can probably guess where things wind up, it’s a fun read that we think many students will enjoy.

The novel does include profanity (and a few sexual references), underage drinking and drug use, and some steamy makeout sessions, so it’s probably most appropriate for high school students; however, it’s a good classroom recommendation for students who are fans of the much steamier adult romances that we wouldn’t feel comfortable recommending from the front of the classroom.

Thank you NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, and Margaret K. McElderry Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are our own.

Will be posted at https://threeheads.works/category/blog/ya-books/ on June 3, 2024.

This book made me fall back in love with reading! I’m not exaggerating! It gave me all of the feelings I got when I first got back into reading after not having read for seven years. It has also made me crave YA romances more than ever because there is just something so special and beautiful about those romances!
This is probably my favorite hate to love stories! I love a good The Shop Around the Corner retelling, so I was already destined to love it, but then the chemistry between Wyn and Three was just so amazing! I wasn’t sure if they were going to kiss or kill each other at any moment and that was kind of beautiful!
I also just loved the characters so much! Three was just honestly adorable! Everything he said/did for Wyn after finding out about their conversations was just honestly adorable!
Wyn’s body image issues are something I can relate a lot too and I think they were so well done! I think I could have benefited from reading this book when I was 18.

Overall, go read my top book of 2024!

Wyn is the newest member of the university newspaper staff with big aspirations. Except it seems another new staff member (Three) is in her way. A rivalry quickly ensues to find the best stories to make themselves known. In the meantime, Wyn is also navigating a potential relationship with a campus dating app. And then there's the usual campus relationship stuff and such. This one had some good layers - I definitely didn't expect the investigative journalism to go so hard, but liked that as part of the story. I also liked the campus dating app communication as Wyn tried to figure out who it might be (and obviously as a reader you can see where it goes). This was a solid YA read all around. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this June 2024 release!

This book was an absolute gem! The tension crackled on every page, and the chemistry between the characters was positively electric. It transported me back to the dynamic energy of Logan and Rory's interactions in the bustling newspaper office. The main character's relatable insecurities resonated deeply, offering a mirror for many girls and women navigating similar challenges in their own lives. The college setting provided a rich backdrop for not only character growth but also the development of authentic friendships. And let's not forget the incredible chemistry between the characters, which sizzled and sparkled throughout the story, keeping me thoroughly captivated from start to finish.

On the record, this book was great. Off the record, my patrons will love this book too. I cannot wait to see their opinions when it's published!

If Samantha Markum has a million fans, then I am one of them. If Samantha Markum has ten fans, then I am one of them. If Samantha Markum has only one fan, then that is me. If Samantha Markum has no fans, then I’m no longer living.

THIS BOOK! I don’t know how to convey how much I loved this book! I have been searching for the feelings I felt while reading back in 2022 (after rediscovering reading) and THIS gave me those feelings of absolute joy and like I couldn’t put the book down for even a second! I literally sat in my car in the rain while reading it because I didn’t want to go inside and be distracted.

I really need to read more YA romance, especially if it’s like this book! Do you want a book where the main characters threaten to strangle each other but really end up kissing? If so, READ THIS BOOK! The tension was honestly masterful. It made me laugh and feel giddy and it was just so amazing! Their tension was palpable that it was practically leaping off of the page. Hate to love has never been so sweet! I also love how that tension led to them feeling like two halves of a whole, rather than in other books where the relationship doesn’t feel like a payoff. Basically, their lovey dovey moments were just as good as their death stares at the beginning!

I need to rant about how much I love Three. He’s just like a puppy that was made mean by his former evil owners that I want to take care of and make a happy puppy! In Doe’s book, I kind of loved how they weren’t the couple because that felt too easy for both characters. They were too similar in the ways that wouldn’t have made them a terrible match. Which is why I LOVE that each of them did find their good match that balanced them out while also still giving them that challenge that each of them craves! And now Three gets to be adorable with Wyn in this book! There were so many times that something Three would do would have me swooning, awwwing, kicking my feet giddily, etc. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that Hayes reveal scene just because it broke my heart for him and how much he clearly already cared/loved Wyn!

Wyn is the book character that I wished I had read about my freshman year of college. Like Wyn, in retrospect, I think my lack of self-esteem would often push people away because I just couldn’t fathom how people would like me if I barely liked me. I loved watching the people in her life slowly work their way into her heart while she slowly started to let them in. I also loved the usage of mental health and therapy. I think if I had seen therapy normalized like this in media when I was 18, I would have been better off in life!

Samantha Markum’s writing is also so clever. Even with this being single POV, she does such a good job at conveying the actions and emotions of the other characters ( especially Three) without letting Wyn know what’s truly going on. It makes the book feel more like a movie that I’m experiencing from all of the characters rather than just Wyn. I also think that she does such a great job at adding layers to the characters that make them feel so real. For example, her lore about the relationship between Three and everyone from the other book. Like how in this book, (slight spoiler that I’ve decided is headcanon)” by him stating that he seems to have a thing for girls that hate him, he’s implying that he had a thing for Doe, who ended up being another person that chose Wells over him. But then she wrote him Wyn, who always wanted him first, she had just pretended not to.

Overall, this is the best book that I’ve read this year. It’s made me feel in a way that I have not experienced since the era of my life when I read Doe’s book two years ago. I’m rediscovering why I rediscovering reading and I can’t thank Samantha Markum enough for helping me with that!

(Side note: this review is very very long in part because of how much I loved this and in part because I saw my review for Doe’s book (which I keep referring to that way because of the SMP strike) and found it horrifyingly lackluster since it’s like a paragraph and doesn’t even mention my love for Wells or Three.)

This one was cute and had a lot of good chemistry between the characters. I really didn't like Three (what kind of name is this?) in the beginning. But their chemistry helps you feel a little more liking to him.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH I WANT TO CHOP MY OWN ARMS OFF.

A collage YA romance filled with hate chemistry, fighting as a love language, journalism + reporter shenanigans, and so much chemistry it practically burns itself off the page, I almost started crying multiple times while reading simply because my love was so all consuming. It has the perfect amount of snark, banter, and messiness while also being so earnest it it's depictions of insecurities surrounding friendship and self-image.

Also, personally, it was so special to read about a fat main character who is so incredibly kickass, but also deals with her own insecurities. She struggles with her self-image, yes, but she is never anything less what makes up the core of herself. She's intense, and beautifully so. And she, with everything that makes her, her, is romanced and wanted and it makes my heart kinda want to explode.

Samantha Markum truly is the queen of yearning. Her books feel like a hug in the best possible way.

Love, Off the Record by Samantha Markum is a captivating blend of rivalry, romance, and self-discovery that will leave readers utterly enchanted. Set within the competitive world of a university newspaper, the story follows Wyn and Three, two determined freshmen staffers, as they engage in a battle of wits and sabotage for a coveted reporter spot.

What sets this novel apart is its authentic portrayal of the struggles faced by its characters, particularly Wyn, who grapples with body image issues and the fear of rejection. Samantha handles these themes with sensitivity and insight, creating a protagonist who is both relatable and resilient.

The dynamic between Wyn and Three crackles with tension and chemistry, drawing readers into their complex relationship and keeping them hooked until the very end. As they navigate their feelings for each other amidst a backdrop of competition and secrets, readers will find themselves rooting for their love to triumph.

But Love, Off the Record is more than just a romance. It's also a captivating mystery that keeps readers guessing with its twists and turns. The introduction of an anonymous campus-wide dating app adds an intriguing layer to the story, leading to unexpected revelations that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

At its core, Love, Off the Record is a tale of acceptance, forgiveness, and the transformative power of love. With its engaging plot, well-drawn characters, and heartfelt message, Samantha Markum's novel is a must-read for anyone who enjoys contemporary romance with a touch of mystery.

This book was perfect. Filled with such emotion, absolute heartbreak at times and joy at others. It really captures that first year college experience of finding yourself and your people. I also enjoyed that it touched on body image and projecting onto others. These are real issues many youth and young adults struggle with and its great that it is showcased in this book. Thank you for the opportunity to preview this book, I can't wait to add it to my shelf!

Samantha Markum can actually do no wrong! Love, Off the Record was top tier YA. I loved Wyn and Three’s chemistry and how their stories played out! I didn’t think anything could top Wells or Graham but THREE!!! This book is a must read for a fun, swoony time.

This has everything to love about a Samantha Markum book: wit, humor, heart, friendship, romance. In her previous two novels, the friends there served as an existing support group - they already knew the heroine well and could be her foils, accomplices, or sounding boards as needed. But here, Markum takes a new approach, showing a character who is a little more unmoored socially find her footing, and what a feat it is to pull this off so seamlessly. I know that fat rep will mean a lot to young adults in bodies similar to Wyn’s, and the loneliness of freshman year of college will resonate with anybody who’s been through it.

Now, the romance. I think I’m a certified Samantha Markum Stan, and I’m happy to say that Three and Wyn are my favorite of her couples yet. The banter is perfect, the tenderness exceptional, and I found myself desperately wishing I could’ve had a heated rivalry/anonymous text relationship with a hot entitled coworker at that age. What I’m saying is I want to live in this book, and when you read it, you will too.

Usually when someone describes something as “it made me want to chew drywall” it’s typically taken as an insult and when I say that Love, Off The Record made me want to chew drywall I mean it in the best possible way. I was screaming and giggling and kicking my legs through this entire book and I am heartbroken that I will never get to read it for the first time again. When I read This May End Badly, I absolutely despised Three like this man absolutely sucks hated him. BUT… THIS MAN HAD ME STRAIGHT UP BLUSHING SO HARD. I loved the intense banter and the genuine Rivals to Lovers arc so much and I will be thinking about this book for the next 3000 years.