This was cute read with a character that is blunt and a bit selfish learning how to care for others. I know that’s a bit bare bones but overall we watch as a driven girl learns to put the needs of others before herself and also finds herself forming deeper connections with those around her. It was a sweet story that had some moments that felt very real and made the story very satisfying.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

High school student, Lynda, has a dream of attending the Rhode Island School of Design, but with her family's finances, she fears she'll never be able to go. Then a rich classmate of hers, Angela, hires her to help design a video game, Lynda sees her dream within reach.

This was a cute middle grade novel and I enjoyed Lynda's development of the video game. I felt frustrated by Lynda's sense of entitlement and at times, bratty attitude. This was labeled as YA but the romance was minimal, though there is queer representation. I might recommend it to my queer middle schoolers who also love gaming.

*** I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. ***

Ace rep in a romance! I thought this one was so cute. Love Points to You is a great romcom about a teenager who wants to succeed in the arts and ends up creating art for a mobile app. I felt like both main characters were well written, and it was a really nice mix of light and fluffy with some more serious issues. I did judge the communication of almost all adults involved.. but sometimes it is just like that lol.

Thanks to NetGalley, Alice Lin, and Random House for the chance to read and review! This one was delightful! (My opinions are my own)

<i>Thank you to Random House Children's /Delacorte Romance and Netgalley for a chance to read an arc this book! 🖤 </i>

<i>4⭐️</i> tropes: rivals to lovers, rich girl x poor girl, asexual rep | digital

<i> "I don’t draw to be liked. I draw to be loved—not that I want Angela to love me. I want her to love Xiao Hua as much as she loves Sung Hong and Meng Li. That’s all." </i>

<i> characters </i>
🩶 Lynda is dealing with a newly remarried father who has uprooted her life in favor of his new family. I loved seeing her self-reflect and grow. She was raised to be hyper independent and you see how that truly affected her and her view of life.
🩶 Angela is a rich girl shoe-in for valedictorian who needs an artist for her otome game. I loved learning more about her character and her love for Otome games. Her story as former popular girl was unique. She had a lot of depth to her.

<i> "Everything about her is vibrant. Like a true performer, she’s screaming at the world to pay attention. To see her.” I’m feeling seen right now... </i>

<i> favorite bits</i>
🖤 I felt do much anger for Lynda. Her Dad, especially was so absent at times and made her so dependent on herself and her dreams. So much was put on her plate so I understood her pain and at times desperation to get to her dream.
🖤 Lynda and Angela's beef was a rivalry so petty that it made it funny to read. It also made their relationship more fun as they realized how much they could understand one another.
🖤 This is the second sapphic ya book I've read with ace representation and I love how much more common it's becoming!
🖤 I liked seeing Lynda and Josie's relationship develop more and I liked that it was complex because of how they were both mistreated in their own ways and their reactions to it. Amy was too invested and involved in Josie's future and passion that it ruined it for her. Lynda's dad was too disengaged from her future and that made her dependent on that for her only future. Two parenting styles that negatively affected their children.

<i> "There it is. That smugness I used to find so grating but now can’t seem to get enough of." </i>

<i> issues </i>
❌ I think because of my own issues, the ending gave a little bit of "Edge of Seventeen" where yes, Lynda was wrong in many of her behaviors towards the end of the book and needed to learn and grow, I also felt like there was not enough acknowledgment by others of what she had to go through. Parental neglect for years, even for a "good" reason, did feel like it wrapped up well enough for me. I often feel in books the endings feel less satisfying because the main healing and that journey are just wrapped up quickly after a big argument when so much of the book was the mistreatment.

<i> "You can know of someone and live your life happily without them until unpredictable forces suddenly bring you together—like a cosmic shift in the universe bridging two vastly different dimensions." </i>

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I enjoyed this delightful coming of age / romance young adult novel. The characters were well drawn out and had various dimensions, especially the main character Lynda and her love interest Angela. I wouldn't classify this as enemies to lovers though, as I never really got the enemies vibe. I enjoyed all the details about the video game design and the graphic art, as well as Lynda's relationship with her new stepsister, Josie. Navigating new family relationships can be tricky, but the girls adapted to it quite well. I think jealousy and bias can be a common theme in newly blended families and that was captured in a realistic and empathetic way here.

While I liked it, nothing knocked my socks off. It was good. It was enjoyable. But I'm not sure I'll remember much of it a few months from now. I did love the representation. I think I wanted just a bit more.

All in all, a good young adult novel that crosses a couple of genres. I think younger teenagers would find it especially enjoyable! Recommended for ages 13+.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up bc sapphics will never be hated by me!

this was a very cute YA romance. it does fall into the YA romance trap of feeling more contemporary than genre romance, but i understand we need that teen life angst in fiction so the kids can relate. nicely written, lynda and angela? MY DAUGHTERS!

Our MC is annoyinggggg in this one. Man is she hard to swallow. Very full of herself.. not so empathetic. Is kind of mean to her family, friends, and girlfriend. What’s that all about?? When she’s not being infuriating though, I enjoyed the storyline and the art and music. Blended family dynamics, grief exploration, ace-rep, and great commentary on the arts as professions.. I enjoyed this light romance story!

This was so sweet!! Overall a cute and very readable but also formulaic and the main character was caught up in her own situation as most teens are! The representation was great and I find myself wanting to know more about Angela, I think I would've enjoyed the story more from her pod but overall 3.5 stars.

The good love story is a plus in this book that deals with multiple deeper themes such as family dynamics in blended families and identity. The characters had good chemistry and the plot was enticing.

This exceeded all expectations. It was so hard to put down and doing anything adult while reading this lovely story of identity, love, and family. I knew nothing of otome, but that didn't pull me out the story at all. Overwhelmingly enjoyed.

Thank you to Random House Children's | Delacorte Romance and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

God I love this book. A sweet, swoon-worthy delight. Lim has a knack for writing real people. Lynda and Angela’s arc is so good, and just hits all the right notes.

Thank you author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book!!

I like the concept of this book a lot and I think it was done well. Normally I feel like the beginning is slow but this book had more than just character and setting in the beginning so I did like that. Lynda also was definitely a believable teen.

I was so mad at the adults in this book! That with the fact that being in a teenage brain was frustrating made me crazy!

Love Points to You was a cute romp of a YA romance/coming of age novel focused on the perspective of a girl named Lynda, who is struggling after her iPad gets broken, throwing up a roadblock to her creative future plans. I liked the diverse representation amongst the characters and I think this will appeal to a lot of younger readers.

When a classmate called Angela offers help, Lynda and Angela find themselves growing closer despite themselves. There is a lot of scenes with Lynda's family, and this really creates a lot of depth for her character. I did feel a lot of the problems were pretty surface level and easily resolved throughout the novel, which gave it more of a cozy vibe. Even though the books seems to be marketed as more of a romance based on the cover (which is very cute) I thought this book was more about Lynda and her own struggles and coming of age. The tone of the book felt aimed a bit younger than the characters, which I think is okay, considering kids tend to like reading about characters slightly older than them. I'm not sure the cover gives the best vibe for the story as a whole. Although it was different than what I expected, I enjoyed reading this one a lot and the side characters felt realistic.

Lastly, I'd like to extend a huge thank you to the author, Alice Lin, the publisher, Random House Children's/Delacorte Romance, and NetGalley for the privilege of reading a digital copy of the ARC for Love Points to You! My review will be shared to Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes & Noble upon release.

3.5 ⭐️I enjoyed this book along with its heartfelt moments and captivating characters, but I unfortunately didn’t love it. The plot centers around a vibrant protagonist who explores the intricacies of love and relationships, providing readers with a blend of emotional resonance and playful humor. I really enjoyed Lin’s writing, but I don’t think it was fully for me! I love sapphic romance novels, but maybe I might be outgrowing YA novels. I still think this is a good book if want a quick cutie read though!!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

'Love Points to You' is a fresh, exciting entry in the YA coming of age genre. With complex familial dynamics, friendships, passions, and romance, Alice Lin does a fantastic job portraying the absolute chaos that is your junior year of high school. While it's woven into everything, the romantic relationship between Lynda and Angela always feels comforting even when things aren't quite so smooth between them. I cannot begin to express how much it means to me to have bi ace representation like this where their sexualities are so normalized and not at all perceived as negative or questionable in any way. Their sexualities are noted in small, purposeful details in their interactions and worldviews bringing startlingly relatable and accurate representation. Every page of this book is laced with so much love and heart. What an absolute joy it is to read!

This is the story of Lynda Fan, a teenage artist going through turmoil in her family life and dreaming of attending RISD. When Lynda meets Angela, they begin working on an Otome game together and maybe also fall in love.

I have mixed feelings about this book, and a lot of that comes from how it's marketed. Lynda is a complex character with plenty of flaws and the romance oftentimes takes a back seat to her character struggles/development. Its biggest problem stems from the fact that we know almost nothing about Angela and much of the book is about Lynda's family instead. This is much more of a coming of age story than a romance, although it did have some really cute moments.

Bi people deserve to have mediocre romances written about them too.

Thank you to Delacorte Romance and Netgalley for the ARC!

Alice Lin is an incredibly talented writer; I just want to get that out of the way, first and foremost. This book spoke to me through every character: Lynda being so driven and unwilling to accept the idea of giving up, even in others, Angela's fear of pursuing her passion as her career and then losing interest in it, Josie being so mindful of everyone else's feelings that she sticks with something she has grown to hate-- every part of it. I love that this exemplified a different versions/stages of burnout through the character's individual struggles. The family dynamic between Josie and Lynda, primarily, but also the dynames that extended to Aunt Mindy, Lynda's father, and Amy's mother were eloquent and realistic. This book was a gift, and I'm so thankful I got to read it. Very excited for whatever comes next from Alice Lin!

I'm so conflicted!!
IT started off so good and I was convinced I was going to LOVE this, but in the end I think I'm going to have to rate this 3.25 stars.
While it was super cute, I wasn't very convinced by the romance, I think from Linda's perspective it was just kind of a snap moment and then she liked Angela, whereas if we had Angelas pov, I think i would enjoy it more.
Also I KNOW that Linda is supposed to be flawed, but she was still annoying to me
there were also some typos, so I hope that they will be fixed when this is published.
I know this review sounds kinda negative, but I still really enjoyed it and had a great time reading it :)

As an ace reader, I LOVED the ace/demi rep in this book. I would have loved to have this and other books like it available to me as a teen.

The family tension in this book is very strong. Lynda is a strong-willed, stubborn character who is not afraid to speak her mind, and she has to learn that sometimes she doesn’t know everything that’s going on with everyone around her. It’s an uncomfortable journey, and I’d say after prolonged conflict it resolves maybe a bit too nearly, but overall it’s a good story with a message that resonates. The message? Learn and practice empathy for others, go after your dreams, and remember that sometimes others have dreams that don’t necessarily help you with yours. Oh, and kind transparency is almost always a good choice.

This is one I’d recommend for people who really love YA and are looking for an emotional journey with family tension, self discovery, and demisexual representation. Oh, and lots of great multicultural Asian American rep!

I am not sure if the open ending of the story worked for me, and some things happened to be a little too convenient. I’m also not sure if the balance of Lynda’s likability is there. Despite these minor flaws, I loved how relatable and realistic the majority of characters are.