“He looks at me like I’m his entire world, and I feel the galaxies spin around us.”

It’s been a really long time since I’ve been in high school, but YA books always seem to transport me to the rose-colored glasses times of those angsty days. Nellie is ready to graduate and gets her first kiss at school…from her crush…with the luck of winning a game. And unfortunately, it wasn’t all that. Watching the last few weeks of her public education play out in surprising ways touched every string of my heart in so many unexpected ways.

Gina Larsen has a way of writing that drew me into the story and allowed me to feel. There are some heavy and deep topics, especially things that blaze a trail through grief, trauma, secrets, and unknowns, but the hope lining the clouds is sweet. Coming-of-age and adapting to one’s circumstances is always inspiring to me.

This friends-to-lovers tale encapsulates all the emotions and is a story worth reading.

Nellie can’t wait to graduate and get away from her very aloof and difficult to please mother. She adores her dad, but sees cracks growing in the marriage. And her “best friend” is pretty toxic, so there’s that, too.

After Nellie and Jensen work late one night to complete some last-minute yearbook pages (been there, done that), Nellie realizes she hasn’t heard anything from her father all evening. She asks Jensen to go with her to his office at the university and check on him.

Jensen can’t let Nellie know that he has spent hours in that office with her father, his writing mentor who has helped him publish a couple of phenom best-selling fantasy novels.

Both are shattered when they find him dead at his desk.

As they rekindle their childhood friendship in the wake of the tragedy, their relationship becomes stronger and deeper. If only Jensen wasn’t hiding such a big secret from Nellie. He begins to reveal pieces of his life to her, but is unable to tell her all. Nellie takes great comfort from their friendship, and particularly from Jensen’s mom, as her own becomes more and more difficult to live with.

Of course, there are misunderstandings and setbacks on the way to their happy-ever-after, but they make sense.

Honestly, Nellie and Jensen are the best written characters in the story. Supporting characters are a little bit flat, but serve their purposes. Dialogue is natural.

Possible Objectionable Material:
Parental infidelity and death. One character’s family has escaped from domestic violence, which left a sibling permanently disabled. Deception, though well-intended.

Who Might Like This Book:
Those who like high school coming of age stories, especially of the second-chance love variety.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book is also reviewed at https://biblioquacious.blogspot.com/2024/07/lets-start-july-with-bang.html

Fun Fact: I Love You by Gina Lynn Larsen was a clean YA romance. Once I started I had to know how it ended and was hooked all the way to the end. There were a lot of unexpected things that always kept me wondering and guessing. The main characters were sweet and lovable. My heart hurt for the tragedies both faced in their lives.

Some triggers
-Abuse
-Neglect
-Toxic relationships (friend and mom)
-Death of a parent

“Everything is coming at me at a million miles per hour, but not her. Nellie has always been a constant in my life , even when she withdrew from me like an eclipse, even when I hid behind the blinding light of Sterling and Marbles. It took a while for us to gravitate back to each other, but now that we’re aligned, I don’t want to tempt the universe. I’d rather just let the sun and moon rise and fall on us, like it does everyone else. And her plans and my plans don’t need to be fixed constellations right now. Whatever we decide is already written in the stars. At least, that’s my belief.”



ARC PROVIDED BY NETGALLEY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW


this is such a beautiful story, I'm so glad I read it. Nellie's journey is really special to me, because in a way, I've lived the same plot twists she had to experience on her last days of high school.

That moment is full of changes already without everything else that comes at her, so this means more change that what she expected. Thankfully, she's not alone. Jensen had to meet this change as well.

Jensen is going through the same final high school days but his future is at glance different from Nellie's. So this story not only brings us along to see them both mature so much in so little time, but to also witness to paths that can mix and match, alongside the love of Nellie and Jensen. All with love, loss, humor and a good set of side characters cheering them along.




“If Nellie were cosmic matter, she would be Andromeda. Another galaxy, full of light and color and mystery. I’d be a space station.”



“I don’t tell her she’s not in charge of the universe, though I suspect if she wanted to be, she’d find a way. Instead, I lean into this . Today, she’s here with me. Today, there aren’t deadlines. Today, it’s just us, and we’re in a good place, somewhere beyond friendship and light-years away from fear. If I had to place us on a map, we’d be our own galaxy.”

I forgot to write a review when I finished this book, which makes me sad because it was so good and now I’ve forgotten somethings. But, this was just what I needed. I’ve been stuck in a different genre for quite awhile and this was so enjoyable. I really liked the characters and it was one of those books that I stayed up super late reading. If I hadn’t had work the next day I would have finished it in one sitting. I’m looking forward to reading it again.

I got to read this book as an arc from net galley. I never expected to love it this much. It was overall a great book and I feel like it represented very well how a teenager deals with grief and everyday problems.
The romance was epic. I was rooting for Nellie and Jensen the entire time. Their love was represented so well and I loved how we got to see how they helped each other deal with their problems.
****minor spoilers****
This book dealt with quite a few things: the death of a parent ,being perfect, fake friends etc. The way that each problem was presented and dealt with made the book feel so realistic. Due to this I felt so connected to the characters.
****spoiler finished*****
The only reason that this is a 4 star read it's because I felt like it dragged a bit at the ending for no reason. I want to read more books from this author in the future and I honestly was very surprised with how good this book was and that it's actually a debut novel.
I would recommend this to everyone who is looking for a late teen,YA romance that also deals with grief and goes into detail about everything.

This was much deeper than I expected and by no means the light, fun and cosy read the cover (and skimming the blurb) tricked my expectation into. It was surprisingly deep and I loved it even more for it.

My expectation was: the book will be about a YA romance blossoming into a relationship revolving around Jensen slowly unravelling his hidden secret to Nellie. Well, it is, partially. But it is as much a coming of age story as it is YA contemporary romance.

But the other parts, the family tragedy, the false friends behaving towards an obviously neurodiverse (ND) person who's not great at masking (Nellie) the way they usually do, and the struggles with their own family during all that takes up a big part in this book. Which, to me personally, isn't a bad thing, I love books with depth, I only think people who only look at the cover and the title will probably go into this with the wrong expectations and might end up hating the book. This is not a light hearted read all the way through. It is enjoyable, very intriguing and easy to read, but it is not an easy read.

I thoroughly enjoyed all parts of the story. It is well-written, easy to read and get into, the main characters are very relatable (and so obviously ND coded, that this should be an instant recommendation for any ND person but especially for ND teens), the story is interesting, heart-warming and very compelling.

I saw a few people complaining in reviews about Jensen not being a believable teenage boy. As someone who's ND themselves I can assure you he is a perfectly normal teenage boy who happens to be ND. He's only better at masking than Nellie is. There is a reason why the two, and her Dad, get along so well.

This was a very enjoyable book to read and I was a bit sad when I finished it, I'd loved to get to know more about Nellie, Jensen, their parents and what happens in their lives from that point on. Luckily the ending is open, so I can still hope for a sequel...

This is a very impressive debut and I am very much looking forward to reading more from the author in the future.

The one qualm I have with this book is with the price tag of the eBook in relation to the fact that there are still quite a number of typos in my version of it. At one instance the author wrote "hairbrained" instead of 'harebrained' and no one so far has noticed. But that is not the only typo in there. I hope the typos do not end up in the published version, for an ~18€ book that would be totally unacceptable and I would take off an additional star for that if I'd review the published version. For that price tag I expect multiple people to edit and proofread a book before it gets published (yes, that might be because I am a proofreader myself and hence very nitpicky when it comes to that) and the end result to be flawless in grammar and spelling.

Thank you to the author, Shadow Mountain Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC version of this wonderful book.

--

Transparency disclaimer: Receiving a free ARC version of this book via NetGalley did not influence my review in any way, shape or form.

All the teenage feels!

Nellie has never been kissed and when her first kiss turns out to be lackluster and the result of a game, she is heartbroken.

Jensen has had a crush on Nellie for years and when he watches her get her first kiss from his friend, he decides it is finally time to do something about it. The problem is he has other secrets, like he is a best-selling author writing under a pen name, and has no idea how Nellie will react when she finds out he has kept it from her.

When family tragedy strikes, Jensen and Nellie are brought together in an unexpected way and learn to lean on each other as they navigate grief, betrayal, and the anxieties that come with growing up.

What you'll love:
YA romance
dual pov
Childhood friends
teen author/hidden identity
coming of age
best friend drama
Nellie’s speech
teenage angst
grief and loss
found family
sweet romance
“It’s always been you.”

This YA romance is full of angsty emotion! Despite the cute looking cover, this is not a lighthearted, cutesey high school romance. Which is fine - I enjoy angsty books! But if that is not what you are looking for, this book may not be the best fit for you.

I loved the journey and growth of Jensen and Nellie's relationship from friends to solid friends to something more. They have a lot to work through as 18 year olds, from Jensen's secrets to Nellie's grief and betrayal and all the decisions they have to make as they graduate high school, but they learned to communicate and trust and their romance was so sweet!

I did appreciate that they behaved and reacted like normal teenagers! Sometimes YA books make teenagers way too mature, but I have three teenagers and there were so many scenes where I thought, "yep, that's exactly what a teenager would say."

This book gave me all the feels (I definitely cried and oh man, was so angry at a few of the characters!). If you like coming of age books full of emotion, you will love this one!

TW: anxiety/depression, death of loved one (includes brief description of finding the dead boy), implied marital infidelity, parental neglect/abandonment, handicapped family member

I want to start with I loved this book. Finished within the day.

The emotion in this book! It was real. The scene with Jensen at the cemetery was so raw and real. Full on ugly cry here for him.

Nellie’s pain was also crushing because everyone else in her life quite literally sucked. BUT Jensen had absolutely no one to confide in and ugh. Brutal.

I actually was quite relieved there was no break up when Nellie found out about Jensen because this book went through it. I don’t know if I could’ve handle it 😅

Anyway. So good.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

Nellie is 10 days away from graduation. She has her whole future planned out, she has a full-ride scholarship for UNLV, and her whole life ahead of her. There’s just one problem: she’s never been kissed. Her best friend, Britta sets it up, so that she can kiss her crush, Sterling, in front of the whole school. Shortly after kissing Sterling, she finds out it was a prank. Mad at her best friend, she starts dealing with betrayal, lies, and not being able to trust anyone but Jensen. Jensen has had a crush on his friend, Nellie, for years. Everyone seems to notice, but Nellie. Secretly, her father has been mentoring him while he writes a popular romance series under the pseudonym, Jen Dimes. When the unexpected death of Nellie’s father and a last-minute yearbook assignment drive the two together, they start to have feelings for each other. Can Jensen help Nellie navigate the newfound stress in her life or will the stress threaten their new relationship?

The plot is well-written and engaging. The characters are endearing and authentic. The romance between the two main characters is believable and draws the reader into the story. Themes of grief, betrayal, and dealing with people’s lies work well in the story and don’t overshadow the romance. Readers who like romance, realistic fiction, and friendship stories will want to pick this one up. Recommended for most library collections. Gr 7 to 12, 5 stars

Please note: This was a review copy given to us by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No financial compensation was received.

Don’t let the cute cover on this clean YA book fool you. This book is angst filled. Nellie Samsin is driven and will be the class valedictorian at high school graduation in two weeks. Her thoughts are filled with college plans and maybe getting her first kiss. But tragedy strikes her family. Her best friend has recently tricked her so she turns to long time friend Jensen Nichols for comfort and support. Jensen has had a crush on Nellie for years but has been firmly put in the friend zone till now. He gives her a place to escape. He has his own secret. He is actually the author of a national best selling fantasy series.

I understand wanting to love the blooming romance between the pair. They are sweet together. But so many parts of this book feel juvenile to me. She is in shock and is angry, I don’t even think she has hit the grief stage. But she is making very impulsive and reactive decisions. And I didn’t see them as something to cheer and support. She has grandparents and others she can turn to but doesn’t. And his secret doesn’t feel worth the time he spends stewing over it.

The story could take place anywhere but I did enjoy and recognize the Utah real and less real references. I don’t mind sad books but this story didn’t hit me emotionally. It really is a romance that blooms during a tragic moment. With YA books I don’t expect a long term HEA but I really wasn’t satisfied with where the books ends, especially with no resolution with the mother’s storyline. This wasn’t a good fit for me but I can see that others enjoy it more.

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: YA Romance
Spice Level: Kissing

*FUN FACT: I LOVE YOU* is so much more than I expected. Young adult romances aren't my normal fare, but I like to stretch out of my normal reading lane.

The main characters are seniors who will graduate in ten days, and they're facing real issues that are serious. The issues are things teens deal with and are pertinent. You've got friends, bulling, rocky relationships, uncertainty for moving into adulthood. Jensen is keeping more than one secret. Nellie always has a plan until she doesn't and is thrown into the universe in a new orbit. Both of the main characters are lovable but imperfect—yay for characters that make mistakes.

Things I love:
- Smart science girl vibes
- Childhood friends
- Writer nerdy stuff
- Real conversations
- Relationships of parents with teens
- Planning for the future
- Fun car
- Unexpected surprises!

Happy reading!

Content considerations: Past abuse and infidelity mentioned, some kids faced abandonment

Cute , fun read. Tons of kissing.

High school friends to lovers (clean but really lots of kissing scenes ).

Nellie is class president , valedictorian, and has a lot of family issues at home. She has her plans for after high school and in fact they’ve been made for years .
Jensen is a friend and used to be a close friend . He’s a closet writer of a huge fantasy book hit.

All within ten days - there’s a death in the family, an affair , best friends no longer being best friends , drama ,popularity and lots of realizations about love and life .

Jensen is there for Nellie when she has no one else which makes her realize he has always been there for her and he is the one she should be with. Will this change her plans for the future ?
Read to find out.

This was unfortunately not for me - in fact I don’t know that I’ve read anything in a voice as annoying as this one. It felt very odd and out of touch - the kids were doing things that did not seem like things actual teenagers would do. Beyond that, the author was constantly making little references to things involving astrophysics since that’s what the main character is into - it was over the top. Not to mention this whole thing about her best friend’s “colors” and how she kept bringing things back to soda and how that was supposedly so special?? I do not understand. Nothing about this was good from what I read. It’s left me very frustrated.

Thank you to Shadow Mountain publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this title.

This is as much a cute high school YA romance story as it is a story of found family. There are some heavy topics throughout the book that were unexpected. This book is as much about death as it is about life and coming of age.

The pacing is a bit slow, and the characters had some inconsistencies throughout the book.

Nellie is a high school senior who is the class valedictorian and resident smart kid. She has a close group of friends, but like most high school relationships, these are superficial.
When she suffers a devastating lost, to her surprise, one of her childhood friends becomes her closest ally and support system. Jensen is humble and wise beyond his years. Harboring a long time crush on Nellie, he doesn't take advantage of her vulnerable state. He becomes a source of strength and comfort in equal measure.. The author lays out a solid foundation for their friendship and takes their relationship the course of a slow burn. They are forever connected by the grief of an unexpected mutual loved one.
Nellie finds her voice throughout the book and starts to make decisions based on herself instead of others.

I enjoyed this book and think it was worth the read, but am having a hard time finding things that set it apart from other YA novels.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC!

First, while the cover and tagline of this book boast a cute, light, and fun tale of opposites attract… what you get is a very heavy story about grief.

I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with having a ya book about grief. On the contrary, it’s always appreciated… but I wish the marketing was a bit different 😅

Anyway, the grief from the tragedy mentioned in the summary overwhelms the other plots to become the main plot. The “secret writer MMC” plot is reduced to a sub plot. While the grief plot was fine, all the other sub plots lacked significantly and the romance as well.

The first 20% of the book is one night where the MMC and FMC hang out working on the yearbook. And the FMC suddenly realizes he’s a guy. 😐 Their “relationship” is so weirdly sudden. She’s been pining for his best friend for years but when the friend kisses her on a prank and then wants to teach her more about kissing, she moves on so quickly. No feelings of regret for wasting her time on that guy. And what’s funny is that the guy, MMC’s best friend, is rarely even mentioned in the book as a whole.

So the romance was pretty quick and then they latch onto each other during the tragedy and the grief overwhelms the book until like the last… 15% where we get a resolution that barely even makes any sense to the “secret author” plot.

I can tell there were some good ideas here but overall, we get too many ideas all trying to gain attention in a 256 pg book. That’s barely enough to give us a good romance, let alone a grief tale, many mom issues, best friend issues, on top of the romance and a secret plot 😅

Also the best friend plot was my least favorite. I cannot like any book that uses the “my best friend is a witch” trope - how did you go through until the end of senior year with this devil?? It makes no sense and I hate when friends are villainized in books. I wish ya would stop doing that. Can we go back to the “my friends are my life” trope please? 🙏

Overall, this book wasn’t for me. It did have a few things I liked but mostly, I just wanted to finish it.

Title: Fun Fact: I Love You by Gina Lynn Larsen

Release date: July, 2nd, 2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Stars

"Fun Fact: I Love You" by Gina Lynn Larsen is a poignant and intricate friends-to-lovers romance that delves deep into the complexities of high school life, the pain of betrayal, and the joy of unexpected love.

This novel is a compelling exploration of Nellie Samsin's journey from a focused and ambitious high school senior to someone grappling with the realities of love, loss, and the secrets that bind us to those we care about.

Nellie's world is meticulously planned, with her sights set on academic success and a future beyond the confines of her small town. However, a disastrous first kiss and a hurtful prank shake the foundations of her carefully constructed life, leading her into the tumultuous waters of heartbreak and self-doubt.

Jensen Nichols, Nellie's childhood friend, harbours secrets of his own, including a best-selling romantasy series penned under a pseudonym and a long-standing crush on Nellie. His life is further complicated by his mentorship under Nellie's father and the jealousy that consumes him when he witnesses Nellie with his best friend.

As their relationship evolves, Nellie and Jensen must navigate a labyrinth of secrets, lies, and the harsh realities of life, including death, grief, anxiety, and the myriad challenges that come with growing up. Their journey is a testament to the strength of their bond and the power of love to overcome even the most daunting obstacles.

Larsen's novel is a masterful blend of romance, drama, and introspection, offering readers a story that is both heartwarming and thought-provoking. It challenges the notion of what a high school romance can be, exploring themes that are both relatable and profound.

"Fun Fact: I Love You" is not just a story about first love; it's a narrative that delves into the very essence of human relationships and the impact of honesty and trust. It's a must-read for anyone who has ever felt the sting of betrayal, the warmth of true friendship, or the exhilarating uncertainty of falling in love.


Thank you to The Publisher Shadow Mountain Publishing | Shadow Mountain ,The Author Gina Lynn Larsen & NetGalley for an advanced reader copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest review.

'Everyone smiles at Jensen as he works his way toward us. He defies the laws of high school society--students and teachers alike love him. It's like he enjoys getting perfect grades as if to prove how smart he is, but then if dared, he'll light the trash can on fire and pull the alarm."

The writing in this book is so good. I was hooked from beginning to end. I will state that this book contains heavy grief and anxiety content. I was a little surprised going into it thinking it would be a lighthearted high school YA romance. This deals with real life that hits hard.

Despite the heavy topics I was invested. The author's writing style is engaging and addicting. I loved the romance. It was very high school and very on brand with a YA romance. The writer was able to write in a way that throws the reader back to high school allowing you to feel ALL OF THOSE FEELINGS. And I mean all of the feelings.

Jensen's family is a saving grace for this book. Despite hardship and setbacks their love is a beacon in this book. Nellie's family is absolutely heartbreakingly dysfunctional and their experiences were hard to read about. I loved the romance of Jensen and Nellie in this book. It was a fantastic friends-to-more scenario.

Real life isn't perfect and if you love books that aren't afraid to shy away from the hard things like death, alleged infidelity, coming of age independence, secrets, betrayals with some found family and a light at the end of the tunnel I think you'd absolutely love this book.

I would have loved having a content warning at the beginning of this book, and as a reviewer I would only recommend this for mature teens.

Please don't get me wrong, the writing of this book really is impressive but I was completely caught off guard by the content. If this book leads to a book 2 or 3 and becomes a series I would definitely be interested in picking it up...especially now knowing what content I might find in this author's books.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Content: death (also contains a mild detailed explanation about seeing someone dead), grief, anxiety, stress, possible depression, alleged feelings of marital separation/one sided infidelity, handicapped loved ones, friendship betrayals, high school drama, found family, romance-kisses only.

This is the first book I've read by this author. I enjoyed it. I do wish she played around with some different names. There were a ton of s names and it got confusing for me. I also wish that we saw more of Nellie's dad so we felt more connected to him. Other then that it was great!

Fun Fact: I Did Not Love This Book (and that makes me so sad!)


**spoilers below**
Part of it is definitely my fault because I wanted a sweet and breezy YA contemporary, which this most definitely is not. I knew from the synopsis that it touched on grief, but I was not expecting Nellie’s father to die on page of a brain aneurism. From there, it just got sadder for Nellie, with a toxic best frenemy, and angst with her mother that was never really addressed.

This book requires some major suspension of disbelief as well.

I thought the writing was pretty good and the story moved along at at good pace. The story was interesting and I did like both Nellie and Jensen (though at times Jensen would say things that didn’t seem like something a teenage boy would say).

Overall, this wasn’t for me personally, but I’m not the biggest fan of sad books. Those who enjoy more emotional stories would like this one.