katievallin's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Mental illness, and Bullying
Moderate: Medical content, Toxic friendship, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment, Racism, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Infidelity
vaguely_pink's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
While this book made me realize I have major distaste for stories that romanticize overachieving teenagers burning themselves out (definitely not because of my own high school experience why would you even say that), Talia Hibbert has made me cry over disability rep once again.
It's also made me realize that British narrators with terrible American accents is my favorite audiobook genre.
It's also made me realize that British narrators with terrible American accents is my favorite audiobook genre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Mental illness
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Alcohol, Medical content, Racism, Sexual content, and Classism
ktv's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Soooo good they’re so cute and wholesome
The third act conflict was a misunderstanding and not my fave but it makes sense bc of Celine’s childhood and unresolved trauma. Anything but a simple misunderstanding / miscommunication would’ve been weird too since they’re teenagers.
Loved both narrators so much, they were extremely expressive and made listening to this so engaging
The third act conflict was a misunderstanding and not my fave but it makes sense bc of Celine’s childhood and unresolved trauma. Anything but a simple misunderstanding / miscommunication would’ve been weird too since they’re teenagers.
Loved both narrators so much, they were extremely expressive and made listening to this so engaging
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Abandonment
Moderate: Cursing and Toxic friendship
Minor: Alcohol
bexi's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
First off, I'm not the target audience for this book since I'm an adult, so keep that in mind.
I thought I'd love this, but it was just fine for me. 😭 It was a bit repetitive and honestly I was kind of bored for half of it. I wish there was more time spent in the woods. Also, I don't think the format worked well for an audiobook.
However, I thought it was cute overall and it seemed appropriate for the audience it was written for. I bumped up my rating a bit for the OCD rep. I thought the author did a good job depicting OCD despite not having it; you can tell she did research and I always appreciate that as an OCD girlie myself.
I thought I'd love this, but it was just fine for me. 😭 It was a bit repetitive and honestly I was kind of bored for half of it. I wish there was more time spent in the woods. Also, I don't think the format worked well for an audiobook.
However, I thought it was cute overall and it seemed appropriate for the audience it was written for. I bumped up my rating a bit for the OCD rep. I thought the author did a good job depicting OCD despite not having it; you can tell she did research and I always appreciate that as an OCD girlie myself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Mental illness
Moderate: Infidelity and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Toxic friendship, Bullying, Cursing, and Sexual content
lauraleamariereads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The final thoughts:
- I would have hated this book if it was set in America. British slang and lifestyle is so much more likeable. The setting between England & Scotland made this book.
- I really never want to be a seventeen year old again. The teenage years are an angsty mess I want to leave behind — YA contemporary usually isn’t for me but see above.
- Talia Hibbert is lovely and hilarious. I want to devour anything she writes.
- The OCD rep and character diversity were enjoyable additions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
zombiezami's review against another edition
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Medical content and Cursing
Minor: Sexual content, Classism, Blood, Alcohol, and Bullying
takarakei's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a super cute and cozy ya debut from one of my fav romance authors. Talia was able to write really interesting main characters in such a short novel.
- Ex best friends
- Enemies/academic rivals to friends to lovers
- Dual pov
- The wittiest snarkiest banter
- They annoy each other into love
- British
- Black teen joy
- Great mental health rep
I do think that because it’s a very character driven book that the two POVs were sometimes hard to distinguish, because they didn't break between chapters and both characters had similar inner dialogues. On audiobook this is obv not be a problem and I would reread this on audiobook!
1/5 🌶️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Alcohol and Cursing
Brad has OCD. Celine’s father abandoned her & her family.arthur_ant18's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Many thanks to NetGalley and Joy Revolution for providing me with an eARC of Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute in exchange for my honest review!
As a reader who adores Talia Hibbert's work, I was pumped to find some incredible charm in her first YA romance. It starts off strong, putting an intriguing twist on the enemies-to-lovers trope (a favorite of mine) by turning it into best-friends-to-enemies-to-lovers. Then it goes further on to introduce us to these two tremendously relatable teenagers who instantly get you to root for them to make up and kiss already (literally and figuratively). The wildly witty banter, the entire scholarship element, Celine's struggles over her absentee dad, Brad dealing with his OCD (Hibbert has shown herself to be highly skilled at weaving physical and mental health into her romances), all of these things are fleshed out by Hibbert in a way that really does get me vibing with the story. Not enough for me to rank it higher than her Brown Sisters series (which are truly splendid), but still, I've got plenty of love for this YA novel. We get bisexual rep through Brad, too, and that's something I always appreciate seeing in fiction—M/F romances where one or both of the leads are bi so that it validates their bisexuality and counters the belief that M/F romances don't involve queer partners.
Overall, Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute is another lovable banger in Talia Hibbert's bibliography.
As a reader who adores Talia Hibbert's work, I was pumped to find some incredible charm in her first YA romance. It starts off strong, putting an intriguing twist on the enemies-to-lovers trope (a favorite of mine) by turning it into best-friends-to-enemies-to-lovers. Then it goes further on to introduce us to these two tremendously relatable teenagers who instantly get you to root for them to make up and kiss already (literally and figuratively). The wildly witty banter, the entire scholarship element, Celine's struggles over her absentee dad, Brad dealing with his OCD (Hibbert has shown herself to be highly skilled at weaving physical and mental health into her romances), all of these things are fleshed out by Hibbert in a way that really does get me vibing with the story. Not enough for me to rank it higher than her Brown Sisters series (which are truly splendid), but still, I've got plenty of love for this YA novel. We get bisexual rep through Brad, too, and that's something I always appreciate seeing in fiction—M/F romances where one or both of the leads are bi so that it validates their bisexuality and counters the belief that M/F romances don't involve queer partners.
Overall, Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute is another lovable banger in Talia Hibbert's bibliography.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, and Mental illness
Moderate: Bullying, Medical content, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Alcohol and Cursing
theespressoedition's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing and Bullying
shaipanda's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I love Talia Hibbert’s writing and I loved this book!! It did have more of the miscommunication trope than I usually prefer but since they’re 17 I’m giving Brad and Celine a pass especially bc they for the most part actually communicate fairly effectively given their ages etc
Anyways I absolutely loved this, loved the characters and I’ve been in a book slump for like over a month and I think this might’ve just gotten me out of it :)
Anyways I absolutely loved this, loved the characters and I’ve been in a book slump for like over a month and I think this might’ve just gotten me out of it :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, and Bullying
Minor: Alcohol, Cursing, and Sexual content