Thank you for the ARC!

Sydney was such a fun character to watch grow and develop in her own way! I loved how the story was told through tweets and newsletters, it was so clever! The social discussions woven throughout were so impactful, and they really made me appreciate the perspective and depth the book offered.

Sidney reminds me os much of myself as a young person going off to college. IT was such a cute YA read. I think every young girl going off to school should read this

Hi Again!

To wrap up my reading week, I decided to pick up a book I have seen around before, and I know it has recently come out, but I did not pick up a copy until I borrowed it on Libby. I am not sure why I did not pre-order this book (it might have just slipped my mind in the chaos that is life), but I will definitely be picking myself up a copy because I really enjoyed this read!

SPOILERS AHEAD

Sydney is going off to her first semester of college! She will not be too far from home, but she will be living in the dorms, and her best friend will be going to a completely different school. So it’s time for her to really get out there and find herself. Sydney quickly begins to figure out the campus and her independence. During this exploration, Sydney is tweeting about her life, which results in her meeting people who encourage her to follow her dreams (career-wise) and to make life her own.

I listened to this book in about a day. It was absolutely amazing. The pace never felt slow, and it felt like Sydney’s school year was moving along at light speed, and I was glad that I got to be there to see it as the reader. There were a lot of ups and downs as well as many moments of self-discovery. An additional note before wrapping up this review, I have bought a copy, and I absolutely love the cover. This book will definitely be one that I re-read. I highly recommend giving it a try!

Goodreads Rating: 5 Stars

3.5/5

I think the author does a great job of writing young adults managing their emotional entanglements and their coming-of-age simultaneously in a way that seems realistic and current.

Would recommend for a) budding writers, b) any black American student trying to figure out "HBCU or PWI" and c) any high school senior or undeclared undergrad trying to pick a major major.

I think the slight mystery of who "X" was done well. It wasn't the whole point of the book, but was a nice little side plot.

Because of the parental guidance/pressure + activism/civil rights + college topics, some of this work reminds me (thematically) of People of Means by Nancy Johnson.

I enjoyed Love Requires Chocolate by this author (Ravynn Stringfield) more, but this was a solid novel.

I have mixed feelings about this book.

I loved the formatting and that the ending wasn't predictable.

I didn't like that Syd didn't know who X was. It felt obvious and her not knowing made her seem "clueless"

I also wasn't fond of her reaction to Malcolm's declaration of love. As close as they were to say she didn't trust him with her heart as if that's not a major part of friendship didn't make sense to me.

Overall the character development, formatting, "realness" of the freshman college experience, and unpredictable but well-paced ending were things that I enjoyed and would bring me back to reading another book by this author.

This was such a fun cute read! I am a fan of YA, this book was not like any other book I have read before.

I think this book was cute. It’s honestly not for me though the writing was good. I would recommend it. It just wasn’t my type of read, but that’s OK.

enjoyed this YA romance told through an epistolary narrative (emails, text messages, tweets, blog posts).
Highlights: College Setting ✨Freshman Year Struggles ✨ Coming of Age✨ Digital Age ✨ Finding your crew

This just wasn't the book for me. I DNF'd at 28%. I like the idea of the story but it almost seemed like I was reading someone's journal.

This was my second Ravynn K. Stringfield novel and this book really solidified her as an auto-read author for me.
Told through blog posts, tweets, and text messages from the main character, Love In 280 Characters Or Less is a coming-of-age story about a college freshman learning to find her voice. But don’t let the cute title fool you; this book covers some important, serious topics from racial profiling, to the question of what defines activism and how much of Black artists’ work has to revolve around this activism.

I really enjoyed the format of this book. I thought getting the story through posts and messages was pretty original and it was surprisingly easy to follow along. The story moved at a steady pace and I felt invested in all of the characters. I also really enjoyed the commentary on art as activism and the various viewpoints of how people react following a racial profiling situation. These are such important things to talk about, especially at a high school / college level and I think Stringfield tackles these issues beautifully,

I can’t think of much that I didn’t like in this book. I think there were times the main character frustrated me, but I think this was by design. She’s trying her best to navigate her life and the things happening around her in a way that feels genuine to her with a ton of outside input. Sometimes all we can do is our best.

I really enjoyed this book and I would gladly recommend it. I’m very excited to read more of this authors work. And if you haven’t yet, check out her other book, Love Requires Chocolate!


*Thank you to Ravynn K. Stringfield, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, and NetGalley for providing me with and advanced e-book of this novel in exchange for honest review*

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.


Told in a non-traditional format, Love in 280 Characters or Less is a coming-of-age story that explores big themes—racial injustice, self-discovery, and navigating friendship and freshman year—through blog posts, tweets, and text message transcripts.


While the story delivers on its premise, the title led me to expect something different: a more romance-forward, contemporary novel aimed at a new adult audience. Though we follow Sydney Cierra as she experiences her first love, the heart of the story is really about finding herself. Because of this, the book reads more like a younger YA novel, and I think it will resonate best with readers in late middle school to early high school.

This book was incredible! It’s exactly what it says it is - a YA coming of age story set in college.

The story itself is so realistic and relatable. It’s the perfect read for someone now starting college / uni.

This book had depth, an engaging storyline and was beautifully written.

The format of the book was a bit confusing at first, but by the end of chapter 1 you’ll get the hang of it.

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends and Ravynn K. Stringfield for this ARC.

This story was charming and fluffy, which was exactly what I needed. This is my first time reading a book in a format such as this, but it added to the appeal of the book. This brought me back to my time as a college student, and I loved how relatable it was, especially as a black girl in a college space. Short read but important in this time!

This book was super cute and warm. It gave a great collegiate feel and I loved how Ravynn K. Stringfield writes through blogs and tweets. This book also speaks to insights that college students go through and how navigating the change can be difficult yet rewarding. As a book reviewer I did find myself paying too much attention to the dates and times of the blogs/tweets to see the time frames and it did slow me down a bit but I do feel that they were necessary to keep the book authentic.

A coming of age story for a new college student told through texts and blog posts? Sign me up! I loved this and the journey we went on with the FMC as she navigated her first year of college. I wish we could have had some more development towards the end, it felt like some storylines just ended quickly. I'd love a book two to continue to follow Sydney on her journey of becoming who she's meant to be!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC!

First of all, thank you to Netgalley for the e-arc!

Love in 280 Characters or less is a book told through social media and blog posts about our main character's first year of college exploring romance and identity.

One of the main things I enjoyed from this was seeing the main character's personal thoughts told through her blogs. However, the texting style felt very unrealistic to actual texts due to the frequent use of ellipses which oftentimes pulled me out of the book. It also could be that I read this digitally, but it just wasn't enjoyable looking at the texts or the twitter accounts.

The romance was one of the things I was not a fan of. It was fairly predictable, and I felt like it had way too much of a focus in the story without adding anything meaningful.

Overall, it was a quick read, but unmemorable without many things that made the book worth it.

I enjoyed the format of this book! Online blog posts, Twitter interactions, emails, and text messaging conversations helped establish relationships as well as each character’s personality. Enjoyed jumping into Syd’s world - as a first year college student - as she figured out what she wants out of life. Great read! 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Beautiful book! I will always be a sucker for a YA coming of age love story. This was a fun, quick read that will pair freshly on a beach or vacation read.

I love the way the author used the format of this book. The narrative is made up of her public and private blog posts. It includes both posts shared publicly and ones that are more like diary entries. There are also text messages and direct messages on Twitter. Lastly, there are public social media posts and other accounts interacting with them.

At first, I thought it might be confusing to show both direct messages via social media and text messages, and there were a couple of times I got things mixed up. On the whole, though, it was pretty easy to keep things straight. It was interesting to consider the things she chose to share publicly versus those she kept private.

I love Syd’s voice in her blog posts, and how they showcase her growth as a writer and her increasing self-confidence. The romance arc is really nicely done as well. The relationships feel authentic and believable, and I was ultimately happy with Syd’s choices and her reasons for those decisions.

Aspiring writers will love cheering for Syd through the story, and romance fans looking for a sweet story will love this one.

First off, I absolutely loved the layout of this book. The mix of blog entries, text messages, tweets, and emails kept me engaged from start to finish. It felt like scrolling through Facebook or texting with friends—completely relatable.

Syd’s journey of discovering herself in a new world felt incredibly real. Thinking back to my own college experience, I remember how scary it was. You’re suddenly a small fish in a big pond again, and social media becomes your lifeline. Like Syd, I also made college friends through Twitter.

Throughout one semester, Syd had to juggle her social life, academic goals, career dreams, and tough conversations with friends and family—that’s a lot for anyone. While she did get a bit dramatic at times, I appreciated her self-awareness. She owned her mistakes, offered genuine apologies, and communicated effectively. That’s impressive, especially at her age—many adults are still learning how to do that.

That said, I felt the story got a bit bogged down in the activism plotline and Malcolm’s involvement in it. While I understood how it tied into Syd’s passion for writing, it dragged a little for me. The topic is important, no doubt, but I wasn’t sure it needed quite so much focus in this story. However, I did enjoy making connections to another book I’d read that touched on the same historic writers Syd explored.

The ending truly surprised me—especially the developments with Malcolm and Xavier. The title Love in 280 Characters or Less perfectly captures the theme of how our online personas can begin to define us. In the end, the real journey is learning to love ourselves and stay grounded in the real world.

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I may be a little late to the party, but I’m so grateful to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group | Feiwel & Friends for the ARC of this book!