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queergoth_reads's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.5
Do you ever just have an author that you'll instantly buy their latest book without question? Talia Hibbert is definitely one of those authors for me. I'm not sure if I even read the blurb before I bought it. Which did mean I was a bit confused for a second when I realised it was YA but I love YA romance too so it wasn't an issue.
This book follows Celine and Brad, ex-best friends and current enemies. Celine is following the Plan and signs up for a prestigious survival course and she is not happy when Brad decides to join too. Slowly the two redevelop their friendship for the sake of completing the course but it soon becomes more than that.
I really loved this. The story itself is good but the characters are what make it. They are so rich and real. I love how much Talia Hibbert draws on her own experiences for characters and she does it again with Brad and his experiences and management of his OCD. It's always wonderful to see positive representation of mental health conditions. Was also a huge fan of Brad being bi. I feel like I don't see a lot of bi men in "straight" romances. I was also a huge fan of the introspection of the characters. They get criticisms and they learn and grow and realise things aren't always black and white.
My only real criticism is that I feel like the romance blossomed pretty quickly. There are a lot of time skips for the story so it is totally believable that it was naturally developing but it felt quite quick from my point of view.
I needed a book like this when I read it and it really helped me relax and enjoy reading when things have been going a bit awry.
This book follows Celine and Brad, ex-best friends and current enemies. Celine is following the Plan and signs up for a prestigious survival course and she is not happy when Brad decides to join too. Slowly the two redevelop their friendship for the sake of completing the course but it soon becomes more than that.
I really loved this. The story itself is good but the characters are what make it. They are so rich and real. I love how much Talia Hibbert draws on her own experiences for characters and she does it again with Brad and his experiences and management of his OCD. It's always wonderful to see positive representation of mental health conditions. Was also a huge fan of Brad being bi. I feel like I don't see a lot of bi men in "straight" romances. I was also a huge fan of the introspection of the characters. They get criticisms and they learn and grow and realise things aren't always black and white.
My only real criticism is that I feel like the romance blossomed pretty quickly. There are a lot of time skips for the story so it is totally believable that it was naturally developing but it felt quite quick from my point of view.
I needed a book like this when I read it and it really helped me relax and enjoy reading when things have been going a bit awry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying and Medical content
abby_can_read's review against another edition
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
5.0
This was adorable. Friends to enemies/rivals to lovers with a medium burn. There were some parts that I found slow. I loved these characters and their antics and banter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Medical content
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: Mental illness and Abandonment
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism, Sexual content, Medical content, Alcohol, and Classism
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: Mental illness and Abandonment
Moderate: Infidelity and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship
lizziaha's review against another edition
funny
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
I can see where there might be criticisms of this book (the “enemies” aspect at the beginning was a bit over the top imo—but teenagers can tend to be a bit dramatic) but I was grinning ear to ear for the whole second half of the book. And as someone with OCD, Brad’s internal monologue had me dying the whole time because of how simultaneously accurate and hilarious it was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Abandonment
Moderate: Bullying and Injury/Injury detail
kotahlotah'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
4.5
I think this a perfect YA romance - if I was 15 when I read it I would have been obsessed.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying and Infidelity
discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I know I say this every time, but I love the way Talia Hibbert writes masculine characters. They’re always so tender-hearted (even when they’re stubborn), and Bradley is no exception. I loved the relationship in this story—the way that Celine and Brad care for one another is so precious. This was just the sweetest
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Abandonment
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying
rickireadss's review against another edition
4.25
talia NEEDS to write more YA because this was amazing!!! i love the brown sisters trilogy, so i didn't doubt i would like this. i loved the representation sooo much - plus size fmc, OCD/mental illness rep, Black romance!!! just so good. also i'm a friends-to-lover WHORE and i ate that part up. the addition of them being friends-to-strangers then lovers was just *chef's kiss* i will say it was missing something that didn't make a 5 star read for me - idk what it was but i still had a great time reading!
⚠️: abandonment, mental illness (OCD), injury/injury detail, medical content, panic attacks/disorders, bullying, alcohol, infidelity (not mcs)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Abandonment
Moderate: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity and Alcohol
beckyremillard's review against another edition
adventurous
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Mental illness, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
marymason's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
brad and celine are so cute 🥹 i love talia hibbert
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Bullying