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jennp28's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.25
Really cute book. Lots of dogs (and as the dedication at the front says, no dogs die in this book!) Themes of consent as it relates to videos on TikTok. And a sweet love story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment
jenheitland's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
britwalsh16's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really like this book. I like all of Kasie West’s books. They’re easy to read & get through, they’d easily be a go to if I’m in a reading slump. And this book wasn’t any different. I loved the characters & Bean is just the cutest! & the trouble that usually happens at the end of the book, wasn’t what I expected, so that always give it a plus. I also love Wren coming out of her comfort zone & dealing with her past traumas, that hits close to home with me & it’s always nice to read about it to help me feel better.
The only thing I have against it is the fact that we never found out who catfished him! Inquiring minds want to know!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
bellebookcorner's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Just because you’re particular doesn’t mean you’re not loveable.”
If you’re looking for a fast-paced cute and funny YA romcom with fake dating and hidden identity then you can give this one a try!
What I love the most from this book is the friendship between Kamala and Wren, I love their interaction with their sarcastic jokes and how they support each other.
I also love the animals, especially Bean – he definitely steal my attention throughout the story when he pops up. I love the games they plan to help Bean find a forever home.
As for the romance, I like Wren and Asher growing relationship, how Wren started to fall for Asher by breaking every rules on her list and 'let loose' for a while when she's spending time with him.
I can’t blame Wren when Asher is a hilarious and kind human being!
Not just a romance story, it also discussed some deeper issue like family abandonment and the positive and negative effect of social media towards teenagers and I think the author handled it really well.
Overall, this is a really good read and I finished it in one sitting, it’s sweet, funny, enjoyable and highly entertaining.
This is my first timer reading from this author and it's not gonna be my last! Looking forward to read more books from this author in the future!
Thank you to TBR and Beyond Tour, Netgalley, author and publisher for giving me an e-ARC of the book and for having me on this book tour. I’m leaving this review voluntarily!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
eemillers15's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
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
4.0
This was such a cute, heartwarming, YA story, AND it has dogs! YES!
Wren lives by her rules (mostly for dating) after she's abandoned by her mom at a young age. She needs the order and control that those allow for. However, when she hears Dale threatening to publicly embarrass his friend, Asher, because of a failed online date meet-up, Wren finds herself being spontaneous for the first time in her life: She pretends to be Asher's online date. Soon she finds that even though she's breaking all of her rules, she's enjoying this time with Asher, even though she's living a lie. When Asher starts volunteering at Pawstacular, the local animal shelter where Wren works, she has to figure out how to keep her lie hidden as they grow closer or come clean and risk losing his friendship and relationship.
My biggest reason for this not being 5 stars is that it felt like Wren was too jaded for an 18 year old. She acted like she had nobody when she was surrounded by a best friend, a dad who loves her, and her sister.
The side characters make this story so much fun (especially Wren's best friend, Kamala). I also loved that there were shelter dogs as a key plot point and how amped up Wren and Asher were to try and find a disagreeable dog a home. Using social media to show how amazing a shelter baby can be is almost always a smart move.
The ending was a fun wrap up that didn't feel rushed and was incredibly touching.
Overall, this was a fun summer read and would definitely recommend it!
Thank you to #netgalley, Delacorte, and Random House Teens for an eARC of this story! All opinions are my own!
Wren lives by her rules (mostly for dating) after she's abandoned by her mom at a young age. She needs the order and control that those allow for. However, when she hears Dale threatening to publicly embarrass his friend, Asher, because of a failed online date meet-up, Wren finds herself being spontaneous for the first time in her life: She pretends to be Asher's online date. Soon she finds that even though she's breaking all of her rules, she's enjoying this time with Asher, even though she's living a lie. When Asher starts volunteering at Pawstacular, the local animal shelter where Wren works, she has to figure out how to keep her lie hidden as they grow closer or come clean and risk losing his friendship and relationship.
My biggest reason for this not being 5 stars is that it felt like Wren was too jaded for an 18 year old. She acted like she had nobody when she was surrounded by a best friend, a dad who loves her, and her sister.
The side characters make this story so much fun (especially Wren's best friend, Kamala). I also loved that there were shelter dogs as a key plot point and how amped up Wren and Asher were to try and find a disagreeable dog a home. Using social media to show how amazing a shelter baby can be is almost always a smart move.
The ending was a fun wrap up that didn't feel rushed and was incredibly touching.
Overall, this was a fun summer read and would definitely recommend it!
Thank you to #netgalley, Delacorte, and Random House Teens for an eARC of this story! All opinions are my own!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
alibookedup's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A cute and lighthearted YA romance about Wren, a girl who has a wall around her heart and an extensive list of rues, and Asher, a boy who comes in to knock down that wall and re-write everything. Their meeting is unlike any other as Wren steps in to save Asher from being duped by his online crush (and possible catfisher) by pretending to be her and accidentally becoming a catfisher herself. She gets sucked further and further into the lie as she starts to care about him and begins to wonder how much longer she can keep up the charade.
I would say I liked this one and thought it was cute with its somewhat simple plot line. I liked Wren and Asher - they played off each other well and were actually surprisingly funny together. I also thought the author did a good job at showing conflicting sibling relationships and issues that come along with each of them dealing with a missing/flakey mother. I was actually surprised because Wren and her sister, Zoey, made me tear up because their personalities and their conflicts reminded me of my sister even though our parental situation is nothing alike. Kami was a great best friend and I loved how she dealt with Wren with patience and love even if she disagreed with the whole insane catfish situation.
The entire social media and TikTok storyline was also interesting as I think it is good commentary on how it is affecting current generation's relationships and views of the world. However, I don't think the author fully committed with the full consequences of using social media to gain followers/fame without the person who is being filmed giving explicit permission (no matter how much is meant well by it). I think Asher and Dale were too easily forgiven -- I think it was good for Wren to forgive them and move on, but I felt like the issue was never really discussed past "I'm sorry". Again, I know that Asher and Dale meant well, but never felt the full impact of how social media can hurt people other than Wren being mad at them for a couple of days. This could also be the fact that I'm a millennial so the idea of Wren just jumping in to save a random dude in a coffee shop from embarrassment from his best friend about maybe being catfished (it's his best friend, not the entire school...I think dude would've been okay) is just absolutely crazy and unbelievable to me. Letting the lie on both sides go on so long did also not scream cute to me and gave me more of a "this is a REALLY hurtful lie", but again, I'm in a totally different social media generation so maybe I don't get it and that's what kids have to do nowadays (wow I sound old). I think it would've been better if Wren came clean early on and worked together with Asher in a fake relationship to either keep Dale from knowing Asher had been catfished and/or to find out if he had been catfished by finding the girl online.
All in all, an enjoyable and sweet read that might not blow your socks off, but is definitely entertaining. I would say it is a perfect, light palette cleanser if you are in a book slump and/or just read a long, intense book.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's for early access in exchange for an honest review.
(****Spoiler ahead*******-------------------------> I think it was also crazy that Wren said ily directly after what happened and after only knowing Asher for a month. I personally did not think that was the correct ending. Their relationship was perfectly fine without having to throw that in and felt like it was just thrown in because it's a romance book and it has to be said.)
I would say I liked this one and thought it was cute with its somewhat simple plot line. I liked Wren and Asher - they played off each other well and were actually surprisingly funny together. I also thought the author did a good job at showing conflicting sibling relationships and issues that come along with each of them dealing with a missing/flakey mother. I was actually surprised because Wren and her sister, Zoey, made me tear up because their personalities and their conflicts reminded me of my sister even though our parental situation is nothing alike. Kami was a great best friend and I loved how she dealt with Wren with patience and love even if she disagreed with the whole insane catfish situation.
The entire social media and TikTok storyline was also interesting as I think it is good commentary on how it is affecting current generation's relationships and views of the world. However, I don't think the author fully committed with the full consequences of using social media to gain followers/fame without the person who is being filmed giving explicit permission (no matter how much is meant well by it). I think Asher and Dale were too easily forgiven -- I think it was good for Wren to forgive them and move on, but I felt like the issue was never really discussed past "I'm sorry". Again, I know that Asher and Dale meant well, but never felt the full impact of how social media can hurt people other than Wren being mad at them for a couple of days. This could also be the fact that I'm a millennial so the idea of Wren just jumping in to save a random dude in a coffee shop from embarrassment from his best friend about maybe being catfished (it's his best friend, not the entire school...I think dude would've been okay) is just absolutely crazy and unbelievable to me. Letting the lie on both sides go on so long did also not scream cute to me and gave me more of a "this is a REALLY hurtful lie", but again, I'm in a totally different social media generation so maybe I don't get it and that's what kids have to do nowadays (wow I sound old). I think it would've been better if Wren came clean early on and worked together with Asher in a fake relationship to either keep Dale from knowing Asher had been catfished and/or to find out if he had been catfished by finding the girl online.
All in all, an enjoyable and sweet read that might not blow your socks off, but is definitely entertaining. I would say it is a perfect, light palette cleanser if you are in a book slump and/or just read a long, intense book.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's for early access in exchange for an honest review.
(****Spoiler ahead*******-------------------------> I think it was also crazy that Wren said ily directly after what happened and after only knowing Asher for a month. I personally did not think that was the correct ending. Their relationship was perfectly fine without having to throw that in and felt like it was just thrown in because it's a romance book and it has to be said.)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment
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