Reviews with content warning for Medical content - Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute

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.

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meganpbell's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful 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

4.0

Talia Hibbert’s young adult debut is a sweet and super emotionally real romance in dual POV that had me rooting for these friends to enemies to lovers. I’m not the target audience and not a big fan of YA books, so I did get a little bored and didn’t have as much fun as with Hibbert’s Brown Sisters trilogy. One thing that bothered me was a positive reference to Kanye West’s music given West’s antisemitism and a MC is into conspiracy theories.

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shaipanda's review against another edition

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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 :)

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citymouse's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful

5.0

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mayareadsxo's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.75

this book is so special to meeee

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ashylibrarian's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring 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? No

4.25

A very cute young adult romance with a ton of depth and character development mixed in.

I have enjoyed Talia Hibbert's work in the past, so I was not surprised when I enjoyed this one, as well!

I absolutely love Celine. She is a strong, independent, determined, badie who may have some self-misguidance at times but works toward learning how to let other help her. With Hibberts stellar history of female leads, I knew Celine was going to hit it out of the park.

And her relationship with Bradley...whew! Friends to enemies to friends to lovers to everything in between. I really, really enjoyed the dynamic between the two. Some of their interactions were predictable, but the ways in which Hibbert wrote their reactions and ways of handing the interactions felt well thought out and planned.

I also appreciate the way in which Hibbert chose to write Brad's character with OCD. It is not the center of Brad's story. Instead, it is a piece of the story that shows how Brad has worked (and continues to do so) with himself and others to manage and combate the intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviors with healthy coping strategies.

I will absolutely be recommending this to readers!

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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

4.0

Well, this was adorable and lovely. It's my first Talia Hibbert book, but you know, I mostly read YA, so. It shouldn't be that surprising. But the way they develop characters and write such a cute romance, maybe I'll have to delve into the adult romance to read Hibbert's other books! I have heard spectacular things about them, after all.

Outside of Brad and Celine, the supporting cast of characteres was just as well developed. Plus, we get to see some great mental health rep, as Brad lives with OCD. Getting to see both of their points of views really helped develop the romance between them, as they are just perfect for each other and have fantastic chemistry.

Teen readers will definitely be drawn to this romance, and I can't wait to recommend it to them!

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