I could not put this book down! I really enjoyed "The Girl Most Likely To" and I will keep an eye out for other Julie Tieu books!

Rachel is an excellent leading lady in this book, for all that she isn't "hot enough to make up for her lack of talent" on the screen; instead, she's a Hollywood Girlboss who suddenly loses her way and reassesses her values and her life so far. She is interesting, a richly detailed character with believable flaws and a work ethic that does not need to be fixed, just realigned. Danny is an adorable male lead, and I like that he also has struggles and issues to overcome. As he and Rachel revisit their high school years, they both confront the personality traits that pushed them apart in the past and decide if those can be overcome in the future. I like that the book lets them be imperfect and doesn't force them to wildly change to grow up a little and find better versions of themselves.

I also really liked the "one crazy night" type plot, which took us through the night of the high school reunion-- full of antics, mistakes, and accidents-- with well-juxtaposed flashbacks to give the reader a fuller picture of these characters. The plot moved well, and I could not find a great place to put the book down, so I just kept reading.

Super fun book, recommend for anyone who didn't love high school but is willing to revisit their own mistakes as well.

Rachel loses her job in the entertainment industry just before her 20th high school reunion, where she is invited by her old best friend Danny. She starts to worry when she sees that she will be presented with an award for her contributions to the industry. Rachel decides to go to the reunion to rekindle her friendship with Danny after 20 years of not speaking after a falling out during their senior year. The reunion takes them on a ride around town and down memory lane.
I loved the nostalgia and reading the AIM messages, it was a fun way to bring the 2000s into the book. I enjoyed Rachel as a character as she loses herself to the fun of the high school reunion, and learns to stop worrying about what everyone else will think about her. Danny is charming, sensitive, and wants to win back Rachel. Rachel is an overachiever who works too hard for her job and did the same in school. I relate to Rachel so much for her drive to push herself. I thought Danny and Rachel had a fun story and I enjoyed their crazy adventure to reconnect during their reunion. I loved watching them rekindle their friendship as if not too much time had passed and started to realize they still loved each other as adults. I loved the reunion because it felt so much since my reunion last year when looking back you could see how everyone was worried about how they were perceived.

I really enjoyed this romcom about second chances and discovering yourself, no matter the age.

The majority of this book takes place over one night—Rachel’s 20 year high school reunion—when she runs into her old crush/friend/missed connection. Then shenanigans ensue.

I loved all of the 2000s pop culture references and the flashbacks from their high school years, but more than that is the undeniable chemistry between the two main characters. There is a little spice but nothing overwhelming. Overall, I liked this light read that would be a great beach read or for fans of Ali Hazelwood or Emily Henry.

Thank you to NetGalley as well as Avon and Harper Voyager for this advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 stars
This book was a quick read with lots of throwbacks, personally, as an Asian American. Super nostalgic. I absolutely loved how relatable the book was- from the pressures they felt from their parents to the thoughts of the lead. Most of the story took place during a high school reunion, where Rachel is taken down memory lane. The story is written with a dual timeline.

While it was sweet to witness Rachel and Danny's relationship develop, I felt that it was missing a lot of pieces and it felt incomplete. I found myself invested in their story, but the ending felt lacking in the build up.

This book is so messy, but I love it. It follows Rachel although it is dual pov, as she goes to her 20 year class reunion. She was in a way living the dream, until she got laid off and now wants to go back and see the guy she had a crush on in high school. This starts a whole night of lying and messiness because like always you can’t hide the truth for long. The whole situation was one where you can’t look away because you want to see what happens next. The way their memories are so different, she doesn’t remember half the things she said to this man, and he remembers everything. They were just two immature kids that said/ didn’t say things that hurt the other person and made them think they don’t feel the same way. I love Rachel, she is unexpectedly funny in a way I don’t think she intends. Danny is so in love, I love the fact that his future was based on what she told him and she doesn’t even remember (him yelling at her that it was one of his core memories was so funny to me). Her saying why are you yelling at me when they're in the middle of an argument is so funny to me. I would do something like that. This is a fun quick read, although I will say it does start slow in the beginning.Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager, for giving me this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love how this book was written! It played in my head like a movie and I loved Rachel and Danny's chemistry together. Even after 20 years apart and with some tension from their past! It was refreshing to read about 38 year olds and not 20 something year olds, and that comes from a 20 something year old. I highly recommend this book if you want a cute romcom that highlights the struggle of adult hood and that it's okay to switch things up if it makes you happy!

this was so fun! i really love the succeed thing and high school reunion. it was a classic story with a new twist and i realy enjoyed the chemistry between rachel and danny

I really enjoyed this book. I think the beginning was a bit slow, and needed a little bit more attention grabbing factors. But overall I really enjoyed it. I do wish it was dual perspectives because it would’ve made the reader more aware of the conflicts.

interesting romance that happens over 1 night and figuring out the relationship. loved that 2 friends found each other again. Loved her friend nat and that she was able to figure things out with life.

The Girl Most Likely To by Julie Tieu is the cutest book i’ve read in a while. it flips between the main character’s life at 18 and 38, with chapters set in her senior year of high school in 2003 and her present day life. this back & forth creates a perfect mix of coming-of-age vibes and mid-life crisis moments, showing how much we change (and sometimes, how much we don’t).

i love the romance part of the story. it’s essentially two people with unspoken crushes that finally get resolved after two decades. it’s heartwarming and satisfying—one of those love stories that proves some things are worth waiting for.

this book is especially for the girlies who were in the gifted & talented program at school and then found themselves struggling to fit in when the real word hit - where layoffs, unpredictable events, and adult life don’t follow the neat lines of a curriculum. Julie Tieu nails the mix of youthful nostalgia and the wisdom that comes with age, making it a delightful & relatable read.

Title: The Girl Most Likely To
Author: Julie Tieu
ISBN: 0063245248
Retail Price: $18.99
Pages: 320
Publication date: February 18th, 2025
Genre: Romance
Read📕: Kindle (Netgally)
Rating🌟: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tropes: Second chance, Enemies to lovers

Twenty year high school reunion.... Second chance love, enemies to frenemies to lovers! These two had a hard time in high school with problems between each of their families and misunderstandings.

Rachel in high school was voted most likely to succeed and comes back feeling embarrassed after getting laid off from her job she held for a long time that she gave her all with absolutely nothing coming out of it. On top of that blow she also split with her fiancé three years prior.. She is a planner and has had everything planned out to have it all fall apart and life is nothing as she had hoped.

She returns to her High school for closure.

I Enjoyed this book but there wasn't something that sucked me in and made me feel like I couldn't put it down. Wasn't a fan of the needed and I kinda really didn't like Rachel.

Thank you to the publisher Avon and Harper Voyager, Julie Tieu & netGalley for Advance Copy Read (ACR) IN EXCHANGE FOR MY HONEST REVIEW🤍

As a elder millennial rounding the corner on her 20th anniversary of high school this book both hurt and healed. It was a cute and fun quick read. Listened to Dashboard Confessional to make it feel real.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed and lovable. The pacing was perfect and left you wanting to read more. I can't wait to read more by this author!

The Girl Most Likely To was ok. It was quick read. I think I read it in a day. Not a must read when it comes out next year but something to read when you don’t really have anything else. Really predictable.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I liked this one in general! I LOVED the flashback to high school and AIM chat room situation, the nostalgia was *chefs kiss* for this millennial. The present day part of the book pales a bit in comparison. The ending was also a little abrupt. But overall another entertaining read from this author!

I loved the premise! It's a second chance romance about a super driven and ambitious young woman who is laid off at the age of 38, and wonders why she put so much into work, foregoing relationships, just to lose it all at the whim of a corporate takeover. The AIM conversation flashbacks of her high school crush were so cute; it was surprisingly pleasant to read about someone almost the same age as me, and a story that actually addresses the Internet relationships we formed in the early 2000s!

All that said, there was a little trouble with the pacing. The events of one night, at their high school reunion, took up most of the book. I was starting to wonder if the whole book was just taking place over this one night, like movies often do. But then the plot advanced and we skipped days and sometimes weeks! The ending was very fast and a little abrupt. I would've liked more time with the couple actually being together and finding out what each other was like in the present day, and talking about plans for the future instead of just springing the ending on the reader.

I love this author's books (she's an auto-buy for me) and each one seems like it would make a perfect movie! This one just needs some more tweaking on the last act, I think.

Rachel never expected to be laid off after working so hard in her professional career. And she never expected to say yes to her high school reunion. It’s been so many years since she last saw her classmates, especially her former frenemy Danny.

Rachel has always thought about Danny, just like an afterthought. With nothing to do anymore, Rachel keeps thinking about their time together in high school. And Rachel still misses Danny. The high school reunion is the perfect chance to reunite their friendship again.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes, I did. Did I feel like it’s more women's fiction than romance? Definitely yes. 

I truly think this book is more women's fiction than romance. The main character, Rachel, is a bit messier as a main character. We focus more on her journey about being laid off after putting so many years into her career and what she is going to do next. Being laid off will open Rachel's eyes about her life and what she will do next. 

What she thinks about more is her nonexistent friendship with Danny Phan. She still misses him after so many years. Danny meant so much to her during their high school years that she still regrets her actions. She is more than willing to fix their friendship (romance) again.

read if you like:
👩‍❤️‍👨 friends turned lovers
🏫 high school reunions
🥈 second chance romances

summary:
This book is about Rachel Lang, a woman in her late 30’s, who was voted “Most Likely To Succeed” in high school and finds her life far from a success. She is single, recently laid off from her job, and is working as the personal assistant to her best friend, Nat, a TV actress. As if things couldn’t get worse, she gets a message from her ex-friend, Danny, inviting her to their 20 year high school reunion. The two had met online back when they were younger, only to find out they were classmates and Danny was one of the most popular kids in school. They continued their friendship until a misunderstanding led to their falling out. Can they reunite and move past their history?

The premise of this story is really cute and unique. Boy and girl meet online (a chat room!), find out they connect but run in different circles, boy and girl have a falling out and reunite as adults. The plot went a little slow for me though, as it focuses on the reunion itself and stretches out a day over the course of the book. I also couldn’t really get attached to their chemistry —I’m not sure if it was just me or I just didn’t love their personalities, but I wanted to like their reunion more than I did. It felt like a lot of will-they-won’t-they while Rachel sulked about how miserable her life was. However, I did LOVE the flashbacks to them in high school, and their cute story of meeting and coming together. I just felt like the jump from those two high school students to adults was tough and not as realistic feeling as I wanted it to be.

The ending was a little bit of a letdown. There was hardly any conflict and I wanted it to feel more monumental, but instead it just felt like it fizzled into the end.

This wasn’t for me, but if you like a good romcom with a high school reunion theme, check this book out when it releases on February 15! Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and Net galley for this ARC.

As someone who just had a high school reunion this book felt incredibly relatable! It was a breath of fresh air to have a FMC in the form of Rachel who was struggling with coming to terms with her career falling apart and feeling like she was missing out on all the milestones in life. This book felt like the perfect combo of real life with a romance you dream about!

If Julie Tieu wrote a sequel focuse don Nat and Bo I would absolutely read it!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon publishing for the Arc.

This story had great bones but ultimately I found it a bit lacking. I really wanted to care about the main characters, and at times I did, but there wasn’t enough development up front to make some of the big moments later pay off the way the author intended. In the first half, I want to care that the main characters are fighting and clearly there is a tense history there but there’s not enough built up to have me invested by 50% in. It feels like I’m getting a cliffs notes version of the story.

That said, the flashbacks are great, as is the banter, and Danny in general is really well written.

I think with a little more focus on what the goal of the plot is and a little more development up front, this could be a great romcom.