Was very happy to be able to finish a story that an ad online sucked me into. Story has a happy ending. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book(s).

Publishing date: 01.12.2024 (DD/MM/YYYY)
Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

TLDR: A deeply insecure FMC, lots of fat-shaming and bullying, a very toxic relationship

Keily has just started highschool and is struggling. Struggling with her self image, others judgement, and her crush ... who is also bullying her. This is, in short, the best description of all the books (in my opinion). It has all the usual events of a high school setting too. Drama, classes, struggling with grades, a ball, a sporting event, after school events, and parties.

The characters were engines for the story and for our two main characters and their romance. Main characters are a little shallow with glimpses of a person beneath their flat surface. They also have their ... reasons for their behaviour. While I don't find them that believable, it is at least a reason.
Pacing is fine, not too quick and not too slow. The story beats hit where they should and get mostly resolved in time with each other.
Story wise ... It is really not that much of a story. it is character driven, there is some development, but the characters tend to fall back to their usua. bad habits between books. Keily was mostly the same person from book 1 to 3.

I had a few issues with this book. The character is so insecure and it has become such a main focal point for her. Several times per page she will internally comment on her own weight and compare herself to others. Remark on how no one likes her, how she has no redeeming qualities ... it gets a bit much. Writing an insecure character is hard, but managing self-deprecation is key.
The relationship seemed very one sided feelings-wise. She seemed so into him while he seemed very not. Like he didn't care, as if she was something he settled for. This also continues throughout the book. While yes they get a "deeper" relationship for each book, the vibes were mostly the same. Lukewarm.
Finally, the writing style. This had a slight "first wattpad fiction" feel to it. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I think I have outgrown my wattpad era.

I would say the intended audience here is young adults, possibly even teens. It is a high school romance. Narrow it down to wattpad readers in highschool and we have the audience.

Sadly I am giving this one star. It was not for me, the time I spent with the books was close to miserable, and I was tracing my path back to my own insecure highschool era and having thoughts I really shouldn't. I found the amount of self-deprecation almost triggering.
Cannot recommend

I kept seeing ads about Galatea and Keily and so when I saw that the books were available to read on Netgalley I jumped at the chance to read them. This is a bully romance with a smart-a$$ jock, James, and a plus-size heroine who is trying her best to ignore the outside noise and focus on herself. An unlikely pair at a glance, but they fit so perfectly.

Keily is at a new school and is hoping to start off on the right foot. She is a plus-size character and is used to getting bullied because of her weight, but it never stops hurting. I mean you can only take so much. But it helps that her cousin attends the school and helps her make friends. All but one in James. He is the star football player and makes it his mission to point out Keily's weight and make fun of her every chance he gets.

After seeing them interact a few times besides the times James was spewing hateful words I could sense chemistry. It felt like they could have something but because of other's views and opinions, I felt it would take a while if anything did blossom as a romance.

This romance did in fact come to life and it was beautiful, tragic, and full of redemption. While I didn't enjoy people tearing down Keily, I did see it as part of James' redemption arc. I thought the ending was a bit rushed but it felt like overall it was the right ending for the pair!

**Book 1:**
I can’t completely relate to Keily’s struggles with her self-image, but Manjari captured her emotions so well. I definitely felt her insecurities, and this book gave me some valuable insight into that. The writing, the tension, and the characters—especially Addison and Lucas—were all fantastic! Keily really impressed me with her strength, especially when she didn’t let her emotions completely rule her decisions regarding James. I usually dislike books where boys bully girls just because they like them, and James frustrated me at first. But by the end, he did show some growth, which made me feel a bit better about him. Overall, I highly recommend this series, and I’m thrilled the next two books are already available!

**Book 2:**
I’m a bit torn on this one. The plot had great potential, but it didn’t quite hit me emotionally the way I hoped. There were two main storylines—Chad’s jealousy and fat-shaming issues, and James’ struggles with football, college, and his dad—that felt disconnected, like two separate stories. Still, I enjoyed it and am eager to see where the third book takes us. I was hoping for more Lucas, though. Despite some disappointments, I’m looking forward to the final book!

**Book 3:**
What an ending! The trilogy wrapped up perfectly. The shift from high school YA to more adult and college themes was a nice evolution, and I really loved how everything came together. However, I would’ve loved to see more of Lucas and Addison. I think they could have their own books! Keily’s journey was filled with intense drama, especially with the bullying and body-shaming. I was frustrated at times, but I admired her strength. I do wish she had stood up for herself sooner, but in the end, she learned to love and appreciate herself. As for James, his early actions were tough to handle, but his growth throughout the series made me understand his struggles with self-worth. Keily’s supportive parents were a great addition to her story, and the conclusion was satisfying. I’m happy to have read this trilogy in full and can’t wait to see where the characters go next!

Erm. What the sigma.

I can’t believe this is actually getting published. I only knew about this because of the adds I kept getting, and it always made me uncomfortable.

I think the best thing about this is that it gives me hope that I can one day publish a story of my own. Despite having to prior experience.

Like, this has to either be a joke or the first draft.

In other words: burn it.

Keily's journey through school is filled with lots of drama as she battles with her perceived self image. The bulling and taunting of fellow school mates was really intense. At some point, I was seriously exasperated! However, I have observed in some certain cases that such bullying and body shaming especially among teens can go overboard. Keily was quite strong to take it day by day. I just wished she stood up for herself and didn't have to wait for others to do so. Her interactions with James was quite infuriating at the beginning and to say he had feelings for her and did what he did could be seen as childish but then again, as you read further you see him as a teen with perfect image before others, struggling with his own low self worth. Glad I got to read the full collection once and not have to wait to read each.
I am glad that Keily had understanding parents who supported and handled her with understanding. Yes, James changed for the better but the impact of his words affected Keily. However, it was good to see that Keily moved on, forgave and learnt to appreciate and love herself the way she was.

This was, sad to say, very repetitive. One book is enough! Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

3⭐️ a low three stars at that. It was satisfactory, met expectations in terms of it being a closed door high school romance.

I came across this book as a targeted instagram ad. I fell for it and started looking for how to download the story. Came to the reviews here and found it on Netgalley. Maybe the edition on Netgalley is still in the editing stages because my download had several errors. Words were not spaced out correctly. An entire sentence would be all one word, no spaces. The chapters did not start on their own page and the first letter of the first word to start that chapter was by itself and the rest of the word and story was entered below.

Before I jump into spoilers troupes:
-enemies to lovers
-high school romance
-closed door romance but lots of make out sessions
-LGBT representation
-plus size representation
-high school football

Spoilers below:
Story itself was repetitive. New girl to school Keily is immediately bullied by the hot jock. He calls her disrespectful names targeting her body appearance: Piggy being his favorite burn of choice. Keily has low to zero self-confidence. She doesn’t stand up for herself but she can’t stay away from the attraction she feels for him and can’t get away from him since they have mutual friends. Well, James, the Bully took the second grade approach and is bullying her because he finds her beautiful. Love at first sight and he didn’t know how to control himself so he made fun of her. The bullying itself doesn’t last too long in the book before they get together and James tried to show and tell her just how beautiful she is. Keily remains insecure but the two of them fall for each other hard and fast.
What I found repetitive was her commentary of being self-conscious, of being worried, of worrying will James just make another hurtful comment? It was repetitive without moving the story along. The scene that was part of the targeted instagram ad wasn’t even in book 1. This is a 3 book series which I was able to download through Netgalley. I’m not sure I will continue with the series. I started book 2 and it was a highlight reel of book 1. It’s unnecessary. Also he’s not her bully anymore. Continuing that title tag isn’t an accurate statement anymore.

I found it challenging to complete these books due to the writing style, which I felt lacked strength and did not motivate me to continue reading. Additionally, I felt that the storyline contained an excessive amount of bullying, which I found concerning.

Bullying is a reoccurring theme in this novel surrounding issues of weight. The MMC falls for the FMC and quickly backtracks on his bullying ways. I enjoyed this book overall, Keily was hilarious!

I think this is more suited for younger readers. As a woman in my mid-20s, I found this a bit difficult to get through but other people’s opinions may be different. The idea is really good so give it a go

I had high hopes for this book, but unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me. I ended up DNFing it around the 50% mark of book one. The story had an interesting premise, but it felt like the execution fell flat. The main character wasn’t compelling, and I struggled to connect with her. She didn’t feel well-rounded, and the emotional depth I expected wasn’t there.

The dynamics between the characters didn’t engage me either. I found the interactions a bit forced and lacking in authenticity. As the plot unfolded, it just didn’t captivate me, and I found myself skimming through parts rather than truly enjoying the story.

The writing style wasn’t strong enough to keep me interested. It felt repetitive, and I had trouble staying engaged with the plot. There were moments where I thought it might pick up, but ultimately, I couldn’t push through to the end.

In the end, this book wasn’t for me, and I couldn’t bring myself to finish it. I’m disappointed because I really wanted to enjoy it, but it just didn’t deliver the connection and depth I was looking for. Therefore I give this book 1 aka 0 ⭐.

Recently I was advertised Keily mini series online and I was very intrigued, I didn't watch more than the clip but I was very excited when I saw this book. There were many moments I enjoyed in this book and I love a plus size protagonist but the book felt more geared towards a younger audience,

great book and I loved the action and the romance . I loved seeing the friends and family. I loved that they were able to figure things out. Overall a great book .

Overall I enjoyed these books.

The name calling in book one and two made me uncomfortable, which I guess is the point!

The end did have me smiling.

I first saw Keily as a web series and I was interested in how the story would compare in print. While the names were mostly the same, there was a lot added to the web series and I think those changes made for a better story. I found myself most disappointed with how different Keily was as a character in the books. On video, she is sassy and funny, not afraid to clap back when James insults her. She has so much more personality. In print, Keily says absolutely nothing and even when she says she’s going to start standing up for herself, she never does. Her constant thoughts about her body and her weight were often repetitive and I think her struggles could have been more relatable if the writing was more subtle.

However, there were aspects of the story missing from the web series that I really enjoyed! I loved Keily’s friendship with this version of Lucas and the carnival scene and was a twist with a level of seriousness I was not expecting. Keily and James finally coming together was a sweet moment, something both versions of the story have in common.

Overall, I gave this series three stars. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy of the story.

So I'm not entirely sure I'm the intended audience for this book, the wording and everything really felt like it was meant for very early teens (very repetitive, more telling than showing).