Lover Birds was in my opinion, a knockout of a YA sapphic romance novel.

Both of our main characters were truly so dopey and flawed and human and I really found myself seeing parts of teenage (and even adult) me in both of them. Despite their tendencies to be clueless at times, they had excellent chemistry and the banter never missed!

The ADHD rep felt so real and feeling seen in that way wasn't something I expected in a queer YA romance! I absolutely loved this book and surely will be adding it to my at home queer library.

The Liverpool setting and fierce friend group add an immersive flavor to this queer coming-out Rom Com which uses Pride and Prejudice as a framework for the story. The exploration of ADHD has a major role in Eloise's development and was handled honestly through a neurodiversity-positive lens, while Eloise's exploration of her sexuality initially resists labels, feeling authentic and messy in the best way. While the Pride and Prejudice framework may offer little easter egg moments to the most committed Austen fans, the retelling is so rooted in the contemporary YA space that it reads well without any prior knowledge. (I actually didn't pick up on the Pride and Prejudice connection until 3/4 of the way through, at which point I felt a little silly since so many names lined up.)

🐤 Lover Birds Review 🐤

Highlights:
🐤 Enemies to lovers
🐤 Sapphic teen romance
🐤 Sixth form (HS senior year) setting
🐤 Pride & Prejudice-inspired
🐤 ADHD rep
🐤 Tutor-tutee dynamic
🐤 Classism explored
🐤 Misunderstandings galore
🐤 Importance of friendship

Lover Birds reminds me of everything I love about Becky Albertalli and Alice Oseman. It captures the messy, sweet, and relatable emotions of sixth-form life with an engaging enemies-to-lovers arc. I appreciated the story’s authentic ADHD representation and exploration of classism and how they affected the characters’ relationships and lives. Misunderstandings and the importance of friendship play central roles in the story, making it as much about personal growth as romance. It was exactly what I needed to break my reading slump.

Content warnings: sexual harassment, homophobia, emotional abuse (side character), drinking (note: drinking age in the the UK is 18).

Eloise (Lou) and Isabel as basically polar opposites. Which immediately leads to them clashing from day one, or so Lou thinks. But, with Lou's unmedicated ADHD (Her choice) and her teacher's concern for her success, she finds herself being tutored by her newest enemy, Isabel. As they work together, things start to smooth over, which Lou realizing maybe her initial impression wasn't the most accurate.

This tale features friendship and relationship drama, coping with your own brain, and standing up for what, and who, you love, even if it gets hard.

I thought these characters were a lot of fun to follow, though some of their actions were a tad infuriating. I also really appreciated the ADHD representation, as we got some fun non-cis things thrown in there too. Overall I had a fun time with this book, and would definitely recommend it if you're looking for a neurodivergent lesbian romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic for an e-ARC of this book in return for an honest review.
This book stole my heart and squeezed it, and I mean this in literally the best possible way. I mean it. The angsty teenage pinning, the awkward longing that teenagers seem to just all inherit. Their little found family that had me cackling, screaming, and crying within the same breath at times. I honestly would love to see the story continue with the side characters in this book. But gosh I relate so much to Eloise so much. As someone who was diagnosed later in life with ADHD (20), i totally understand the frustration of not understanding why you can't do things that seem so simple for everyone else to do. And I can also understand not wanting to have to take meds to function, especially as a teenager. And I'm so happy we got to see so much growth with both Eloise and Isabel. Even the background characters grew throughout the book. I truly love this book so much and highly recommend it if you want to swoon for days.

60/100 or 3.0 stars

This was a cute YA sapphic romance. I think it can be a great book for people who are looking for that kind of storyline. It also has really great ADHD representation in here. Unfortunately, outside of those things, the story is pretty basic and not memorable for me, however, I am not the target audience which definitely changes my enjoyment of the story. To be honest, if it were not for the great representation overall, I would have probably not finished this one.

TW: Homophobia, Underage Drinking (drinking age in the UK is lower than in the US), mentions of blackmail

Elouise aka Lou is from Liverpool (where this story takes place) and from what I gather, she is a junior in high school. Isabel aka Iz is from the posh side of London and finds her world upended when she has to move to Liverpool. Lou is given the task of showing Iz around the school so she could get familiarized with it. From that moment on, Isabel is giving Lou continuous glares and is constantly cold to her even though Lou and her group of friends try to welcome Iz into the group.

It takes one day at the beach for Isabel to let a little ray of sunshine through but she closed that door as quickly as she opened it. This understandably leaves Lou confused. There is undeniable sexual tension between Isabel and Lou but do they realize it?

I really enjoyed reading this book. This book had a lot of distracting things going on, in a good way. It kept the book flowing from the first page to the last. Not only did the author build the relationship between the main characters but the author gave a glimpse into high school life. There was a side story with some of Lou’s friends who were having issues of their own. Lou was also fighting with her own demon, ADHD. All of those pull together nicely to give a story with heart.

I know that I was able to relate with this book, especially with Lou because ADHD is not a joke. I wish when I was in high school, it wasn’t so taboo and people weren’t afraid to have their kids diagnosed. Diagnosed as an adult and seeing signs and thinking back when I was in high school, I really could have used the help. I felt for Lou because I experienced the same things but I’m glad she had the support there for her to help her get through.

I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley and from the Author Leanne Egan for my truthful review.

A story about a girl with ADHD and a girl who comes and changes everything. Lou’s always been the way she is, living life the way she wants to. Even though she struggles she doesn’t want that to change, especially not with ADHD medications. When Isabel moves into Lou’s class, and the teacher puts them together as study buddies, things start to change for Lou. Her thoughts on sexuality, and how her ADHD affects her.
I’ve never read a book that so accurately depicts how my brain works. Like it’s crazy, the similarities I am to Lou and how her brain works. I’ve never seen a book with this kind of representation and I absolutely loved reading it (even if it made me overthink life sometimes…). This book helped me realize that one day my person will be there for me, and that is incredibly rewarding for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collin’s for an eARC of this book.

Really fantastic enemies to lovers story! Perfect as a light read with a great dynamic between the main characters

This book was a delight from start to finish. From the queer frenemies-to-lovers storyline, the friendship bond between 5 schoolgirls, the love of a place and where you're from, the insight into someone adjusting to their ADHD and wrestling with how to manage, and the shifts from judgement to radical acceptance of all things. There was school drama, friendship drama, relationship drama, family drama, but it was all sorted and talked through, and the slow fall between Iz and Lou was so sweet.

Cute rivals to lovers romance between Liverpool native and posh new girl from London. Great representation of ADHD and the struggles behind school focus, deciding to medicate, and the physical and mental strain it can cause. This book is great for anyone looking for a sweet lesbian romance that ALSO talks about the importance of close friendships and just how hard it can be when those platonic relationships are on the rocks. Add in the love for Liverpool history and sites and you've got yourself one great page-turner!

Thank you to Scholastic and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Lover Birds follows Lou, a teenager in Liverpool who meets new student Isabel from London and despite their differences the two can’t help but unknowingly fall for each other.

I loved this book. By the third chapter, I had trouble putting it down and was excited to see what Lou and Isabel would do next that in terms of how definitely not gay they were for each other. The enemies/academic rivals to lovers worked really well and thought the perfect amount of time was spent on the enemies/rivals part. I also really liked all of Lou’s friends, and Isabel’s friend Wil and her brother Benji. It was a big group but I think they all were very needed in the story and I enjoyed their side plots almost as much as the main story. I’m really not a fan of the miscommunication trope in books but it made a lot of sense with Lou and Isabel considering they didn’t communicate very well from the start. I did think the book slowed down a bit once Lou and Isabel started fighting in the second half and I didn’t enjoy that bit quite as much as the rest of the book.

Overall, I think this was a great YA romance and such a great and unexpected Pride and Prejudice adaptation!

Thank you Scholastic and NetGalley again for the chance to read this.

oh hello representation!! this phenomenally well done enemies to lovers KILLED ME. i love these kids so much it pains me, the way mental health was treated in this book is going to make SO. MANY. people feel seen and appreciated, as well as serving as a perfect queer romcom for alllll ages 💖 i can’t wait to read her next book!

This was adorable! A tender reminder of just how tricky it can be to navigate the typical struggles of adolescence on top of a mental illness and trying to determine one’s sexuality. This was a delight to read.

This UK enemies to lovers YA sapphic romance story, follows both Isabel Williams and Eloise Byrne as they navigate the streets of Liverpool and sixth term at their public school. Isabel moves to Liverpool from London for her mother’s job and is not happy to be leaving her old life and friends behind. Which is why when she meets Eloise, she cant help but criticize everything about her, from her weird accent to her constant running mouth. Nothing seems to impress or even make the posh, stuck up, Isabel smile. Heart pulsing and plagued with an endless amount of frustration, Eloise can’t seem to understand why her ADHD is more out of control than usual and why the new girl is constantly on her mind. If they could just stop trying to one up each other and get over this childish rivalry, maybe Isabel and Eloise could actually be what the other needs. A steady hand to hold, a boost in confidence, a lesson in the humble department, and above all else, learning how to trust someone else with their heart.

The biggest hurdle for me was that both Lou and Isabel started out as unlikeable characters and that never really changed for me by the end. I hated how Lou almost always looked for the worst in people and hardly gave Isabel a chance to change her mind once she determined Isabel to be a stuck up, posh, bitch. I also didn't like how self centered Lou came off and how little she seemed to care about her friends even though they were clearly struggling. The one thing I did appreciate about Lou though was her very realistic feelings and management/struggle of her ADHD. She was at least honest and upfront about her symptoms, habits, and hesitation with taking medication. Isabel had a big hill to climb with her judgmental, better than everyone, personality. I particularly enjoyed the scenes where Lou showed her around Liverpool and she learned to appreciate her new home. Even though she was extremely shy and embarrassed easily, I felt like she was too overcompensating by picking fights with Lou and not telling her the truth about her feelings sooner. The banter between them was funny at first, but then it got old real quick and I just wish they could have moved past that stage faster and we could have seen more of them with their feelings for each other. So therefore for me, the chemistry and believability of the relationship was hard to get behind because they spent more than half the book bickering and are almost polar opposites.

The side characters were for the most part good, except I wish some of them would have been a bit more fleshed out. For example why does Jas think she always has to be a mediator and feel the need to keep the group together? Why is Mel always studying so hard? Why is Lily so stubborn and self centered? Why did it take so long for Katie to reveal her real feelings to any of her friends? Why is Henno such an ass? Why is Benji so happy and the total opposite of his sister? Why is Wil so amazing and Caroline such a bitch? Clearly I have several unanswered questions that I think could easily have answers to but much of the details we were given weren’t exactly helpful towards figuring out backstories and motivations. I did, however, love the conversations revolving around friendship and how important it is to have people who support you and have your back, especially in times of need. Sometimes it's hard to accept new people into such a tight knit friend group, but I was glad to see them very welcoming of Isabel. It felt very realistic between the boy troubles, school stress, personal drama, and navigating new relationships.

Something I wish would have been explained at the beginning before reading were all the UK public school references that are completely different from the U.S. For example what does sixth term mean and what are A-levels and why does it take a whole year to prepare for them? In terms of the pacing I think the beginning was way too slow and once it did pick up, I didn’t like how fast Lou and Isabel seemed to 180, like they spent the whole first half bickering and practically hating each other, and then all of the sudden they are fully into each other. Besides the excellent ADHD representation and realistic friend group drama, overall, the story just fell flat for me, mostly because I was unable to fully get behind Lou and Isabel’s romantic chemistry.

As a fan of Pride & Prejudice who is fascinated by the process of adaptation, I end up reading a lot of Pride & Prejudice re-imaginings, and this was one of the best I've read in a while. Egan did a good job hitting the important elements of a Lizzy & Darcy-inspired romance while knowing when to let this unique story take precedence over making it a strict beat-for-beat retelling. It was also refreshing to see a British book picked up by an American publisher without the setting being changed because Liverpool is such an important aspect of the book. I also really appreciated the way Lou's ADHD journey was incorporated into the story. A Lizzy Bennet-inspired character having rejection sensitivity just makes sense.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free arc!

I have a mixed review of this book, an enemy to lovers romance novel. I enjoyed the setting of a school in Liverpool, England and learning new English phrases. The author gives a good portrayal of a character with ADHD through the main character, Lou. The relationship between Lou and Isabel develops in an interesting way.

However, at times, especially during the first third of the novel, the story gets bogged down in details about issues within Lou’s friends group, without an understanding of what is really going on. (That is revealed later in the book.). Lou’s character is well developed. Since the book is written only from her point of view, at times, the storylines of other characters feel a little bit flat. The story would probably have been better developed with multiple points of view.

I love enemies to lovers, so make it queer AND specifically sapphic, and you've got my attention. LOVER BIRDS by Leanne Egan was exactly what I would've wanted for a story like this and I loved it! Thanks to NetGalley and PUSH for the advanced copy!

I adore this spin on the classic Pride and Prejudice tale. Even though NetGalley provided a synopsis that was a bit off, I was hooked by the description and wasn't disappointed. Isabel and Lou's journeys together and separately exhibited such care that I was wholly invested in the story. All the kudos to author Leanne Egan for her honest portrayal of ADHD and its complexities. The addition of the LGBTQ+ representation added another layer to this YA rivals to lovers story that also included a wide range of supporting characters that you come to love. Overwhelmingly enjoyed!

Thank you to Scholastic | PUSH and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

fantastic choice if you’re a fan of heartstopper! i loved the banter and the tension between isabel and lou, as well as the ADHD and LGBTQ rep. had a bit of a hard time believing lou being *that* clueless for *that* long, but other than that, this is a great debut novel!