This was so good! Jamie and Axel were so cute, and I just really had a great time reading this. I loved that they were both Arab and Axel helped Jamie connect with her heritage a bit more.

i'm an full grown adult but i will always love the bubbly feeling of first love in a ya book. i adored To All the Boys I Loved Before and i kept getting the same happy kicking my feet feelings i got from that series, So i'd say this is a perfect book for fans of Jenny Han.

Fake dating is always a top trope for me, so when it started in this book i was PUMPED. I also just love the slow burn of realizing they actually like each other.

I really enjoyed the representation in the book, i have been trying to diversify my reading the past few years so really making sure to read books about or written by people of color and lgbtqia+ communities. So Axel was a welcome change to the generic love interest in so many other books. He felt fully realized and well rounded, and while some of the moments of internalized racism were emotionally hard to go through i felt it was important to experience with the character.


I'd never read anything by this author before so i can't want to read more!!

Alright, let’s talk about Jamie Taher-Foster, the girl who has her life planned out down to the very last "Winter Formal fairytale moment." But then, BAM—her boyfriend of three years, Ben, goes full plot twist and dumps her out of nowhere. And the kicker? She finds him cozying up to Olivia Chen the very next day. Like, excuse me? Jamie's not about to let this slide, and thus begins her epic (and slightly unhinged) plan to get him back, which includes fake dating TikTok-famous Axel Dahini. Yes, that Axel Dahini—the guy whose bike she accidentally destroyed.

Now, if you’re thinking “fake dating trope? Sign me up!”—same. But this book isn’t just your usual rom-com chaos (though there’s plenty of that). Jamie is a whirlwind of anxiety, lists, and messy Type A energy, while Axel is this calm, laid-back, TikTok-dancing sweetheart who couldn’t be more opposite. And somehow, their oddball dynamic just works.

The fake dating starts as a “means to an end” kind of thing, but it quickly evolves into something deeper. Through their forced hangouts, Jamie starts to learn that life isn’t always about ticking things off a checklist or chasing perfection. Axel? He’s not just comic relief or a "plot device" to make Ben jealous—he's got layers. Their cultural connection as Arab teens adds another dimension to their relationship, grounding the story in shared heritage and giving it a depth that’s refreshing in a rom-com.

What I loved most is how Jamie’s anxiety is portrayed. It’s raw and real, but not her entire identity. Khalilieh balances the heavy stuff with laugh-out-loud moments (Axel’s TikTok antics are gold), making it a story that feels both relatable and fun.

And the ending? It’s not your predictable “let’s wrap it all up in a perfect bow” vibe. It’s realistic, heartfelt, and leaves you rooting for Jamie to keep growing—whether or not it involves a boy.

You Started It is an absolute must-read if you’re into chaotic love stories, characters who feel like your messy best friends, and just the right mix of swoon and self-discovery. Plus, Axel Dahini might just be my new favorite book boyfriend. Sorry, Ben—you had your chance.

This was one of the cuter YA books I have read in a while. I loved the chemistry between Axel and Jamie. The complexity between the dynamic of her feeling unlovable and Axel's ability to shows love adds a level of character building that helps to keep the story flowing. I prefer characters when someone feels at their worst they can still be worthy to someone else. The fake dating trope definitely gives the characters more to work with. The one thing I loved about this book was the fact that they told each other they had crushes pretty early on! As much as I love a good pining over someone else, I appreciated how the characters just let each other know how they felt and had room to grow their relationship. It felt so much more relateable since I would be the type to say it straight out when I like something.

This book follows Jamie Taher-Foster who has big plans for her last year of high school. She has a bucket list of places in Toronto for her and her boyfriend to check off. But then, Ben puts a wrench in the plan by coming back from a summer camp and breaking up with Jamie. When she sees Ben with another girl the next day, Jamie is determined to get him back. Which might even mean fake-dating the younger, cocky TikTok dancer Axel Dahini. When she accidentally runs over Axel's bike, she feels obligated to pay him back and give him rides to school in the meantime, but they quickly use this as a cover for a fake-dating scheme. Though the two have very little in common, their forced proximity leads them to understand each other better.

"Be scared. Be uncomfortable. It means you're challenging yourself. You can't put fear on a checklist, Jamie. You can't write it down and cross it off. You have to live through it. You have to experience it. You have to take that risk."

This is very much a coming-of-age story that is compared to Better Than the Movies and the Sour album from Olivia Rodrigo. I really enjoyed the fake-dating aspect, and I feel like it was really well done. I saw myself in Jamie, specifically with the anxiety representation, so there was a lot of the book that really cut deep. I think this book would be perfect for teens because of the Gen Z references. I didn't feel so unconnected from all of it, but I do think I'm not the target audience.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. This book had so many unique attributes. I really liked how the book was set in Toronto, CA. I have been there many times before and it's just so cool when a book was set somewhere that you know. It just makes it all the more special! (lol) The characters had depth and this is definitely one of my favorite YA books right now!

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me a digital copy to review!

When I was younger, I couldn’t get enough of books about love and finding myself—they were like candy, something I craved without question. But no matter how many stories I inhaled, I never saw someone like me in them. As someone half-Palestinian, growing up near Toronto and now married to a fully Lebanese husband, I was always searching for a reflection of my world in those pages, but it never appeared. Until now.

Reading this book felt like reconnecting with a younger version of myself, like offering her a story she always needed but never had. I smiled constantly as I read, not just because the characters felt so familiar, but because Jackie masterfully shattered the tired stereotypes about Arabs—especially Arab men—in a way that was refreshing and overdue. Even as an adult, I couldn’t put it down, and by the last page, I felt something unexpected: healed.

I adored her first book, loved this one even more, and I’m already eager for whatever she writes next. The characters are beautifully flawed, their struggles real and nuanced. If you’re looking for a story that blends heart, humor, and a breaking of old narratives, this is the book you didn’t know you needed.

In this YA novel we have our main character Jamie who gets dumped by her boyfriend and decides to try and win him back by fake dating his next door neighbor and new kid in school Axel.

I love a good fake dating but I never understood why she wanted to get back with her ex when he literally cheated on her. Jamie a lot of the time in this book drove me crazy, I get the teen angst and the anxiety but at times she was just mean especially to her mom. I also never understood why she wanted to win back Ben for so long, like girl the boy cheated on you. He’s not worth it
Axel, I love love love him. I like that he was just down with the plan to fake date and he tried so hard to get her to realize that she could do better and I loved that he helped Jamie discover who she was and wanted to be and helped her with her heritage.

The ex boyfriend I couldn’t care less for there were so many times that I just wanted to smack him in the back of the head and tell him to leave everyone alone.

There were a couple of times when I thought the book was a little bit cringe but that’s just me being older than the target audience.

I want to thank Tundra Book Group and NetGalley for the Arc and the opportunity to read this early.

5 stars//
After wading through the struggles of her parents' divorce and moving with her mom into her uncle's house, Jamie is ready to tackle her senior year of high school with her longtime boyfriend, Ben, at her side. Plans change as Ben, upon coming back from his summer counseling job, decides to break up with Jamie. The next day, she goes to his house to try and talk him into getting back together and sees him kissing their classmate Olivia. In a fit of embarrassment and anger, she drives off only to run over Betty White (the bicycle, not the person). Axel comes out and before he has a chance to shake her down for money for repairs, she recruits him to be her fake boyfriend to make Ben jealous enough to want her back. The lines between fake and real get blurry for Jamie and Axel and she has to try and see whether she still wants her original goal of getting her best friend and ex Ben back or to explore a real relationship with TikTok dancing star Axel.

This book blew me away! I read Something More back in 2023 and knew that Khalilieh would be an instant buy author from then on for me. The humor in this book and the showcasing of the truths of being an anxious teenager going through constant changes just really spoke to me. Seeing Jamie as she is at the beginning of the book and the realistic arc she has to become the girl she is at the end is incredible. I also really appreciated that Khalilieh didn't fully villanize and write off Ben and Olivia as side characters- they had more depth to them than just "girl who stole my man" and "guy who dumped me and immediately got with someone else after" which I feel like is rare, especially in both romance and YA. I am truly excited to see what her third book Everything Comes Back to You is going to be about.

this is a YA book about Axel and Jamie.

This was honestly such a cute book that also touched on serious matters. It’s an opposite-attracts, breaking free they both help each other romance.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, the only thing i didn’t like was the third-act but i can see why it happened i’m just not a fam of them! I would recommend it to anywho who wants a lighthearted book that has diversity!

Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes so I knew I had to read this when I read the synopsis. It definitely didn’t disappoint either. This was such a fun cute read! I loved the writing and the characters so much! Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of the arc in return for an honest review!

With a female protagonist fake-dating but torn between who she loves, and an overall lighthearted, crazy, and fun feel, You Started It made it feel like Ali Hazelwood had written To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before–except better. With YA tropes like fake dating, opposites attract, and the boy next door, it's that book that makes you curl up and grin as you soak it all in. Jackie Khalilieh took what we all loved and didn’t recycle it, but made something refreshing and new.

The language and especially sexual innuendo are mainly why it’s 4/5 stars for me, but I also had a problem with the main female character, Jamie. She often had a justifiable reason to get frustrated but could have focused on kindness and humility instead of letting off steam and getting snarky every moment. However, I loved Axel, the ultimate definition of a golden retriever! (Seriously, it should be a law that you should be able to look up "golden retriever person definition" and find his picture underneath.) His behavior and actions carried the spirit of story and filled it with bliss, silliness, and warmth. Man, I think I'm starting to have a crush on him!

Just what I needed, and definitely not Khalilieh’s last book I’ll read. I hope You Started It makes it to the Goodreads Choice Awards! Thank you so much, NetGalley, for the eARC copy!

This is my first read of Jackie Khalileh's books, and I wasn't disappointed, plus the cover art is so cute!!

4☆

Jamie’s senior year takes a wild turn when her long-term boyfriend, Ben, dumps her, and she ropes Axel, the carefree new guy in town, into a fake-dating scheme. Along the way, she learns life doesn’t have to go exactly according to plan.

This book nailed the anxiety representation—Jamie’s stress, and big emotions felt so real. Axel is confident and genuinely caring, making him such a fun love interest. Watching them grow and learn about themselves together was really nice.

Even the third-act breakup (well, mid-way), which can sometimes feel forced, was done really well. It actually helped the characters grow instead of just added to create drama and predictable discourse.

The lost star is because I am too old for a lot of the references, the book is written for a younger audience - totally a me problem, but I did struggle to relate at times, and I did find myself pushing through to get to more relatable moments.

Between the humor, heart, and great representation, I would definitely recommend to younger audiences 16 and up.

Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada and Jackie Khalilieh for eARC, in exchange for my honest review!

Jackie Khalileh is a Palestinian-Canadian author. You Started It is perfect for fans of Olivia Rodrigo and is different from her book Something More.

it is cute, sweet and above all else a very simple read. It is not a masterpiece of a book but it does get the job done.

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC of this book.

4/5 stars. This book was an absolute delight! I felt like the FMC, Jamie, was a great and realistic teenage character. Her struggles with her mom, navigating high school, relationships, and anxiety were all really relatable from a teen perspective. Our MMC, Axel, is adorable. Such a golden retriever of a human. The story was fun and wonderful, it just didn't give me that five star feeling. I struggled a bit with the extended conflict throughout the story (although understandable within the story), and the romantic development with Axel and Jamie fell just a little bit flat for me. There were so many wonderful moments in the story and I will absolutely read more books by this author.

P.S. Free Palestine.

Review 8/10💗 This was my second book by Jackie Khalilieh and my favorite of the two! Although it did hurt me when they called baby by Justin Bieber a retro song lol

What I liked:
💜Even though it wasn’t stated in this one the MC was definitely autistic and that’s always a plus to me!

💗The characters in this one were older than the last book but still genuine to their age in a way that most contemporary YA isn’t. For a good chunk of YA age is just a number, they could be 15 or 20 and it makes very little difference to the character outside of the setting. That’s not true of Khalilieh’s books! They write so true to age that it sometimes has me remembering things about myself as a teen and feeling that embarrassment so strong lol The characters make mistakes, say the wrong things, and aren’t 100% likable all of the time. But it makes them feel human and I like that.

💜The plot in this is top tier, but I love fake dating so it was always going to win me! I really like the amusement park date and going to the outdoor concert was also cute. The book had a lot of fun moments. On the flip side there were also serious themes about finding yourself and family.

What I didn’t like:
💗Okay I’m going to lump all this together as one dislike and that was a handful of weird/uncomfortable dialogue choices. I get that characters are young and flawed, and there were many good examples of this in the book, but some moments just didn’t work and felt like an out of tune note making me wince and wish a different line had been chosen. The characters were often called out in these moment but never seriously enough that it seemed like there was a point to it at all.

For example the love interest makes a comment about his sisters cycle and her mood, which gets pointed out but then brushed off likes he’s allowed because it’s his sister? No, it’s still not funny or appropriate.

CONTINUED IN COMMENTS

CONTINUED: There was an instance where the love interest mentioned he likes dancing and the MC asks if he’s gay, which he calls her out on but I’m still like why have this be the dialogue? They just moved on from it right after but I didn’t like it. Later in the book the MC is introduced to some queer people and in introducing herself announces that she’s straight in a kind of oh do we share our sexuality way. I felt like that was a good example of an awkward/embarrassing exchange that was done well as opposed to the first which just had sour undertones.
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At the start of the book the MC is looking for her shoe, he uncle find it and she says “yas queen” and I was like that was weird. Until a few pages later when the mention the uncle was gay and I was like okay I see why she said that but it was definitely unnecessary. Yas queening a gay character to signify their sexuality is not the way to go. I hope they take that out for final print😅
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At the end of the day I enjoyed the story and characters! Like I said, there were just a few off moments in dialogue that felt like bad choices and read out of character for characters who were overall considerate people. Generally the book had bubbly vibe that I liked!
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The book comes out May 20th! If you’re a fan of fake dating or quirky YA romance I definitely recommend giving it a go! Thanks to netgalley and Tundra books for a copy of this book.

Jackie has a way of writing characters that really resonate with me. I absolutely loved the characters in this book - they were loveable while also being flawed and messy because what teenager (or human) isn't? At the heart of this book is a love story, but it's also about the relationships between Jamie and all the characters - from her love interest(s), to her friendships, to her parents and Amo, as well as her relationship with herself.
This book also touches on some deeper topics within Jamie's family - an absent father, a struggle to feel connected to her culture and her mother - as well as her anxiety and IBS. We see the way these issues seep into Jamie's life and affect her relationships, both romantic and familial. Still, in the midst of all that, we get such a cute love story that had me both laughing and crying. I really fell in love with all of the characters in this book, major and minor, and can't wait to read whatever book Jackie writes next!

Thank you to netgalley for the arc!

Love the representation in this book- always love reading books that have different representation and cultures. I'm new to the YA game kinda stumbled in but happy to be here, our girl Jaime is a sometimes anxious mess- honest for a teenage girl and she likes to check the boxes the next thing is the winter firmal.but Ben has other plans he comes in the summer wanting a break she then catches him with olkvia determined to get him back with jealousy she fakes fate Alex but is there more there than she bargains for - anytime fake dating comes into play you know what's gonna happen! Hi jinns- I could have delay without some third act drama but over all the ending was good i recommend it especially if you have young adult enjoyers!

Thank you net galley for the arc- in exchange for an honest review!

You Started It" by Jackie Khalilieh is a delightful young adult novel that explores love, friendship, and self-discovery. Jamie's relatable struggle with anxiety and her fake-dating scheme with Axel made for a charming, heartfelt story. The author does an excellent job of portraying Jamie’s inner world and growth throughout the book. Axel’s character, with his passion for dance and cultural background, added a unique and refreshing dimension to the plot.

What I loved most was the chemistry between Jamie and Axel. Their banter was fun and realistic, and I found myself rooting for them from the start. The book also touches on deeper topics like cultural expectations and mental health, which added depth without weighing down the lighthearted feel of the romance.

Jackie Khalilieh’s writing is fresh, engaging, and full of emotional moments that made me smile, laugh, and even tear up. I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys fake-dating tropes and stories about personal growth. This was a solid 4/5 stars for me!