This book's protagonist is very relatable, filled with confusion about career and romance and family like ao many 30-somethings out there. But the romance fell really flat for me and, while I don't mind suspending disbelief for some screwy rom-com antics, there was just too much chaos going on and too little character growth or focus on quality dialogue. I think many people will like this, but it wasn't quite for me.

Julie Tieu's latest romance novel weaves together past and present in this nostalgic second-chance romance that explores the complex intersection of career ambitions and matters of the heart. Set against the backdrop of a twentieth high school reunion, the story follows Rachel Dang, former "Most Likely to Succeed" who finds herself newly unemployed after dedicating eleven years to a career that defined her identity. When she receives a personal invitation from her old frenemy Danny Phan, Rachel reluctantly agrees to attend the reunion, setting the stage for an evening filled with unexpected encounters and long-overdue conversations.

The novel's strength lies in its authentic portrayal of millennial career anxieties and the weight of unmet expectations. Through Rachel's journey, Tieu masterfully captures the particular sting of realizing that sometimes doing everything "right" doesn't guarantee success. The dual timeline structure, alternating between present-day events and early 2000s flashbacks, provides rich context for Rachel and Danny's complicated relationship while treating readers to a delightful dose of Y2K nostalgia, complete with AIM chats, Napster references, and LAN parties.

Danny Phan emerges as a compelling love interest whose character arc demonstrates significant growth from high school. The role reversal between him and Rachel – with Danny now thriving as a career coach while Rachel grapples with unemployment – adds an interesting dynamic to their reconnection. Their chemistry, built on a foundation of late-night online conversations and unspoken feelings, feels genuine if somewhat understated.

While the premise of cramming major relationship development into a single evening might seem ambitious, Tieu manages to make it work through a series of well-crafted encounters with former classmates and mishap-laden adventures that force Rachel and Danny to confront their shared past. However, some readers might find the pacing uneven, with certain plot threads left unresolved in service of the compressed timeline.

The novel particularly shines in its exploration of Asian American family dynamics and the pressure to succeed. Rachel's drive for academic and professional excellence, rooted in her family's struggles with their business, adds depth to what could have been a simple reunion romance. The author thoughtfully examines how cultural expectations and family responsibilities shape both Rachel and Danny's choices and relationships.
Though the romantic development occasionally takes a backseat to Rachel's personal growth journey, the story ultimately delivers a satisfying exploration of second chances – not just in love, but in redefining success and finding the courage to pursue happiness on one's own terms. Tieu's writing balances light-hearted reunion hijinks and more serious themes about career disappointments and unfulfilled potential.

"The Girl Most Likely To" will particularly resonate with readers who came of age in the early 2000s and those who've ever questioned whether they've lived up to their potential. While it may not break new ground in the romance genre, it offers a warm, authentic story about finding love while navigating the messy reality of adult life. The novel serves as a reminder that it's never too late to reconnect with old flames or reimagine what success looks like.

Julie Tieu delivers a delightful reunion romance in this captivating, frenemies-to-lovers story! Rachel Dang, once the ambitious go-getter, is now navigating a career crossroads, only to find herself face-to-face with Danny Phan, the "almost-friend" of her high school days, at their twentieth reunion. Tieu's narrative shines in how she develops Rachel and Danny’s chemistry, carefully woven from past late-night AIM chats to present-day second chances.

The setting—one charged, make-or-break evening—adds a unique sense of urgency, humor, and nostalgia as Rachel and Danny move from misunderstandings to confessions. Their night is peppered with mishaps and endearing encounters with familiar faces, making their journey back to each other feel authentic and beautifully messy.

This is a quintessential feel-good read that blends humor, heart, and a little chaos. With well-crafted tension and characters you can’t help but root for, Tieu's latest is a must for rom-com lovers.

This was a quick second chance romance that had the ability to be a great read, but it really missed the mark for me. I connected to the MFC, Rachel, in many ways, but was frustrated by her in both present and past storylines. The story was set in 2003, when both the characters and I graduated high school, and in the present day at their 20th reunion. I really enjoyed the nostalgia of the 2003 storyline and could totally relate to Rachel’s high school persona. The present storyline was all over the place and had too many unbelievable events happen in one night.

Thank you to Net Galley, Avon, and Harper Voyager for the ARC.

Rachel and Danny were super cute. Liked how we got to see the blossoming romance of more mature characters and not fresh out their teens. Loved the 90s slang and boy did I resonate with the career focus aspect of the book. Time to live your life and not live to work!

This was a very cute book. I really liked the entire premise of how people are so focused on their career, at times they let love pass by without second thought, only to be hit with a stunning realization that your life is not what you imagined it to be. Imo, the author did a great job with that aspect of the plot and I'm very glad about it. I didn't get a lot of the nostalgic references cause we didn't grow up with the same pop culture, but I loved the callbacks nonetheless. The romance could have been developed better imo but it was a fun read!!

Super cute! Loved seeing a couple not in their early twenties but more mature adults that find love in the less than normal of places.

The early 2000s slang and chat rooms was also so real from someone who knew EXACTLY what that time was like. I loved seeing these two blossom into a beautiful relationship that would last another 2o years. and gimme a bathtub scene any single day!

Rachel Dang fell into a trap that so many people do, putting off their personal life in exchange for career success, hoping it will still be there in the end. Rachel was burned though and she got laid off after over a decade of dedication. We see her and Danny between two timelines, present day and the reunion approaches and early 2000s when they were initially friends and had a falling out. Between Rachel and Danny; their attributes, struggles, etc., there is something for almost everyone to relate to (be it past or present). The book is full of nostalgic references from the early 00s. With the pressure of previously being voted 'Most likely to succeed' we see Rachel struggle with having "nothing" to show for it and trying to figure out how to take this chance to reconcile with Danny. There were a lot of loose ends that I wish we had answers for but overall enjoyed reading this cute second chance romance.

Hello All! 💕

When I read this book I feel like I went back in time into an '80s movie! I'm a sucker for all things flashback when it comes to literature or films and this book definitely gave flashbacks! The characters were written in a very good way that grabbed my attention! 🍾

I felt really connected to Rachel! I was voted most likely to succeed! I couldn't believe the character was as well! And then reality hit and a lot of crazy things happened after high school lol 😂 everything is great now! But it was nice to read about a character with realistic issues that definitely she did not see coming. Very grateful to the author for writing Rachel like this!

Danny is a really awesome character! He definitely has some mystery to him! I totally dig that in a guy especially a character LOL☕ he was like a cup of coffee but I definitely had to guess the flavors. In a good way! I was totally intrigued!

Both characters used to be best friends but had a super falling out! That's a great basis for a novel past and present colliding really grabs the reader's attention! This book is going to shine on the Barnes & Noble bookshelves! 📖

Bravo! 🎙️

The girl most likely-
2.75/ 5
Thank you so much to the author and Avon and Harper Voyager for the arc <3
ೀ⋆ What I liked ೀ⋆｡
✩ This book was fascinating, and I loved seeing all the things Rachel and Danny got up to
✩ I loved the flashbacks to when they were high schoolers
✩ Rachel's friendships and her relationships with her family were amazing.

ೀ⋆ What I disliked ೀ⋆｡
✩ I didn't connect with Rachel's and Danny's characters very much I would've loved to get to know them better in the book
✩ I don't think Rachel and Danny's romance worked very well they were always fighting and had a lot of communication issues. And I wasn't invested in their romance that much.
✩ I had problems with the writing style at some points

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Voted Most Likely to Succeed, Rachel Dang always believed that hard work equals success. That is until she gets laid off from her job after 11 years of putting work before her personal life. Now faced with her high school reunion, she has to come to terms with the fact that for the first time, she doesn’t have her life figured out.

Danny Phang had a hard time in high school. Working two jobs in high school to help support his family, left little time for his studies. Twenty years later, he’s become a successful career coach, but he hasn’t been able to forget the falling out with his former BFF, Rachel. The looming reunion is his chance to make things right, but can they move on from the hurt they brought on each other?

Rachel is your typical overachiever. No matter her success, she still doesn’t feel content with her accomplishments, always striving for more. I think Ms. Tieu did a great job of creating a complex character who’s need for accomplishment stems from a very real concern. Her family is forced to close their family business and the only way Rachel can pay for college is through scholarships. It’s a very real dilemma that those from working class families face. I had great sympathy for her situation and admired her work ethic.

Danny is trying to keep his head above water. I felt that his background was a little more murky as were told his brother owes a lot of debts, but it’s not too clear what his parents do for a living and why the sole responsibility of income falls on his shoulders. He was very elusive at times, but I found it drew me into wanting to know more about him rather than be turned off. In a sense it mirrors Rachel’s need to want to get to know him on a deeper level. While they were best friends in high school and he confided in her some, there was still so much more she didn’t know about him. Still waters run deep with him. They had great chemistry as friends, but I don’t know if that translated as well in a romantic sense. There was something missing that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

There are a lot of fun hijinks that occur as Rachel helps Danny with last minute preparations for the reunion. As they encounter these obstacles, they work through the falling out they had from high school. We also get flashbacks that help to paint the picture. I enjoyed these flashbacks as they had a bit of nostalgia to them. I also was a teenager during the AIM era and it was nice to be brought back to that time period.

While the romance wasn’t as fleshed out as I would’ve liked, I still enjoyed this very much!

I put off reading this ARC after I received it, as the premise hit a little too close to home - late 30 year old woman who put her career first is laid off from a job that she gave everything to.
This was a therapeutic read in the sense of relating to Rachel who was a workaholic, always in control and with a plan, but finds herself feeling down wondering what’s the point of working so hard and having nothing to show for it, while also figuring out what’s next and how to navigate going back to a work without making it her whole life.

What really drives this story is the dual timelines between the present and early 2000s. Danny was her online best friend, and tutee, who overnight became ex best friend after a massive falling out just before HS graduation. Filled with AIM, Napster, Internet cafes, Counterstrike/LAN parties… and all the early 2000s references put me in full nostalgia mode.
Rachel is working through coming to terms with being laid off, with support from HS friend and roommate Nat, and last minute decides to attend her 20 year HS reunion after finding her invite from Danny with a personalized note.
Voted ‘Most Likely to Succeed’, she fixates on impressing everyone despite not having a job — and hoping to fix things with Danny after 20 years of silence.

This was a cute, quick second chance romance read. There was more character growth for Danny, but I don’t feel Rachel had a full redeeming arc around her immaturity in HS to being 38 year old adult. Her character growth was a bit minimal, but I guess that’s what made it easy for them to reconnect and fall back into things quickly. There are a lot of loose ends that aren’t tied up, but I really was sucked in through the early 2000s nostalgia, a need to know what happened between Rachel and Danny to cause a falling out, and where they end up.

3.5 ⭐️
1.5 🌶️

Thank You NetGalley and Avon for this eARC.

The protagonist Rachel is a hardworking, career-oriented late 30-something whose life isn’t going as planned. As a late 30-something whose life isn’t quite as she dreamed in high school, I can relate and I’m sure many other readers would be able to as well. Recently laid off from her entertainment-industry job, she decides to go to her 20th high school reunion. After all, her old friend and crush Danny did personally invite her via message. Even if she hasn’t spoken to him in 20 years and their situation-ship ended awkwardly. I thought this was a cute book and I truly liked both main characters and thought their chemistry believable, as I was reading it. I really like a well written friends to lover trope. I kept imagining it as a romcom on a streaming service. I hope I see it there in a few years. Thanks to NetGalley for the Arc.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I have read all 3 of Julie's books and this one was my favorite by far. Being 30 I enjoy reading romances with older MF protagonists. You would imagine all of the miscomm tropes would be for younger set characters so it was super clever to build the relationship from when they were high schoolers and crushing hard without ever fessing it up. Really loved this one!

I didn't like Rachel because she gave me weird vibes but I did love Danny for his personality. Overall book was okay.

Rachel y Danny eran amigos en secreto en la secundaria. Se gustaban, pero ambos no sabían cómo comunicarse y temían perder su amistad, por lo que ocultaban sus sentimientos. Con el tiempo, se acumularon tantos secretos que su relación terminó explotando y perdiendo su amistad.

Veinte años después, se reencuentran y finalmente hablan sobre todos los malentendidos, cómo han sido sus vidas y qué hicieron durante todos esos años.

La historia fue entretenida, pero no sentí que Rachel hubiera madurado. Al leer los capítulos del pasado y del presente, no percibí una diferencia.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel has just been fired from her job and now has to confront her high school classmates (and all their successful lives) and her high school reunion. And - most importantly - her high school best friend, Danny, with whom she shares a mysterious history.
The tension between Rachel and Danny was boiling - even if the writing style to get there left something to be desired. I also expected more about the actual reunion, based on the cover, description, and overall marketing of the book - but it seemed like a minor factor in the end.
The flashbacks to Rachel and Danny in high school made the book for me. It was fun to see their dynamic and how it’s changed (and also stayed the same).

"A frenemies-to-lovers contemporary romance by Julie Tieu which takes place over the course of one make-or-break evening, almost entirely at a high school reunion...."

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and the author Julie Tieu for letting me read & review this advanced book copy. This is a four star second chance romance read that releases Tuesday February 18th 2025. I really liked the small town place with miscommunication but were really cute.

✨ARC Review✨

Rachel Dang is a Type A go-getter who has just been let go from her job of ten years. Just in time for her 20 year high school reunion. She really only wants to go so she can reconnect with Danny Phan.

When they were 14, they found each other anonymously in an AIM chat group. When they were 18 and in their senior year, they met IRL and realized they knew each other and went to the same high school. They had bared their souls to each other for four years and then had to reconcile their true selves and the front they put on for school. They became closer until being young and immature brought an end to their friendship.

Twenty years later, Rachel wants to re-establish their friendship or maybe more. Does Danny?

You’ll find out as they navigate the night of the reunion which you may guess does not go according to plan.

Definitely put this book on your radar. It’s a slow burn, tender, funny story of young people who don’t know how to navigate their feelings and the grown people they become who are moderately better at it.

I received the eARC via #netgalley @AvonBooks and @HarperVoyagerUS. All thoughts are mine alone.

#romance #contemporaryromance #romcom #romancebooks #thegirlmostlikelyto #juliettieu #bookrecs #bookreview #bookstagram

With a fresh take on the frenemies-to-lovers trope, Julie Tieu’s The Girl Most Likely To pulled me in with its nostalgic high school reunion backdrop and relatable humor. Rachel Dang, once voted “Most Likely to Succeed,” finds herself face to face with Danny Phan, her former frenemy and high school AIM chat buddy, for the first time in years at their 20th high school reunion. Sparks fly and conversations are had to uncover the real reason their flame fizzled out so long ago.

I enjoyed this story. It had elements that were reminiscent of my high school experience—awkward fails, humor, and the tension of still trying to prove yourself to your peers after two decades. I liked that the author didn’t try to paint a perfect picture of adults who are 20 years out of high school. The characters are still very much figuring out their lives, careers, and goals, which felt authentic. The feeling of returning to the place where your adulthood began, with the intent of giving false pretenses of success, is something many of us can relate to. I enjoyed watching it all fall apart, seeing the masks slip, and the facades shatter.

Then, of course, there’s the romantic energy between Rachel and Danny. The tension of unspoken feelings and the unresolved emotions lying in wait for years was well done. The author did a good job of encapsulating this experience, especially as the two are thrust back into each other’s lives for an adventurous evening.

However, while I enjoyed the nostalgic trip down memory lane and the humor sprinkled throughout, there were moments where the pacing felt slow, especially during scenes that seemed to meander without adding much to the plot. That said, it’s always tricky to maintain tension and action when the majority of a story takes place over one day, and I can appreciate Tieu’s attempt at this challenge.

Rachel and Danny’s chemistry is believable, but I would have liked to see more charged, emotional moments to pull me in sooner. While their reconnection felt natural, I didn’t quite find myself passionately rooting for them—though I did appreciate the happy resolution.

If you’re a fan of second-chance romances, this one is a fun, relatable read, especially if you enjoy humor, diverse characters, and loads of nostalgia. I look forward to reading more from this author. Thanks to Avon, Harper Voyager, and #NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review. #TheGirlMostLikelyTo