Scan barcode
blewballoon's review
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
A cute and fun teen romance. I had a little bit of a hard time getting into it at the start, but then once I was into it I was able to enjoy the humor and be charmed by the characters. I would recommend this to readers who like the friendships and lighthearted aspects of Alice Oseman's books. I was a little annoyed with the third act breakup , but it was a much less frustrating instance of the trope than I've read in other books.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness
Minor: Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, and Medical content
mari1532's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
I listened to this audiobook through my library with Libby.
Brief Summary: Celine and Bradley used to be friends. However, after a misunderstanding led to a fight several years ago they have become rivals. Now in their final year of high school Celine, a conspiracy-obsessed internet sensation, and Bradley, a popular footballer managing his OCD, are thrown back together by one fateful accident. As they are trying to navigate the boundaries of their new relationship they both begin to realize that maybe they are not better off without each other. Perhaps they are meant to be so much more together.
Thoughts: I absolutely one hundred percent loved this book!! Hibbert is an excellent and engaging writer and I am so mad at myself that I have not read any of her books sooner! Everyone should read this book. It is the perfect combination of teenage angst and falling in love for the first time.
Celine and Bradley were such interestingly written characters and I enjoyed their character arcs throughout the book. The way that Celine comes out of her shell and starts to let her guard down with Bradley and her new group of friends is heartwarming. I also love how Hibbert tackles the emotional trauma that Celine is navigating throughout the book.
Bradley's growth throughout the book is also so beautiful. The way that he finally was able to stand up for his dreams could be a whole motivational talk.
The secondary characters were also great throughout the book. I loved the best friends, and the new friends, Celine's sister was the perfect combination of a wise older sister giving you advice and giving you a hard time. I would honestly read a whole series of books that focus on each of the side characters.
If you love reading heartwarming romance novels this is the book for you, but honestly, if you just love love and joy read this book!
Brief Summary: Celine and Bradley used to be friends. However, after a misunderstanding led to a fight several years ago they have become rivals. Now in their final year of high school Celine, a conspiracy-obsessed internet sensation, and Bradley, a popular footballer managing his OCD, are thrown back together by one fateful accident. As they are trying to navigate the boundaries of their new relationship they both begin to realize that maybe they are not better off without each other. Perhaps they are meant to be so much more together.
Thoughts: I absolutely one hundred percent loved this book!! Hibbert is an excellent and engaging writer and I am so mad at myself that I have not read any of her books sooner! Everyone should read this book. It is the perfect combination of teenage angst and falling in love for the first time.
Celine and Bradley were such interestingly written characters and I enjoyed their character arcs throughout the book. The way that Celine comes out of her shell and starts to let her guard down with Bradley and her new group of friends is heartwarming. I also love how Hibbert tackles the emotional trauma that Celine is navigating throughout the book.
Bradley's growth throughout the book is also so beautiful. The way that he finally was able to stand up for his dreams could be a whole motivational talk.
The secondary characters were also great throughout the book. I loved the best friends, and the new friends, Celine's sister was the perfect combination of a wise older sister giving you advice and giving you a hard time. I would honestly read a whole series of books that focus on each of the side characters.
If you love reading heartwarming romance novels this is the book for you, but honestly, if you just love love and joy read this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Classism, Grief, and Mental illness
Moderate: Alcohol
apple_atcha_reading's review
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
3.75
Talia Hibbert is an auto-buy/auto-read author for me. This was my fourth Talia Hibbert novel and I intend to read the rest of her backlist asap.
This was a cute YA romance, with young people ignoring their feelings and pretending their friends can’t see how much they like each other. We follow Brad and Celine on their journey of enemies to friends to lovers, learning they used to be friends until something changed their relationship forever. The romance was cute and sweet, but I also enjoyed reading about Brad and Celine figuring out what they want in life. They were both living lives and aiming for futures they thought they wanted, instead of being honest with themselves. It might be cliche, but I always enjoy reading about young people realizing their dreams and aspirations instead of their parents or other adults.
I read this for the Diverse Baseline Challenge, for the prompt “Fat Main Character”.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Abandonment and Alcohol
aurora4847's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Abandonment and Medical content
Minor: Alcohol
bzliz's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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 book was in fact Highly Cute and made for a perfect palate cleanser as I’m reading some heavier books as well. Talia Hibbert always delivers adorable characters and she really captured the feeling of teen love here. The supporting cast wasn’t super fleshed out but Celine and Bradley felt so real to me. It’s hard to toe the line between gritty realism and YA romance but I think Hibbert did a damn good job.
I’d hesitate to call this enemies to lovers- can someone really be your enemy if you have to trade witty barbs while sitting next to each other in Philosophy class?- so I’ll call it ex-friends to friends to lovers instead. I don’t know if there’s a tropey name for “school age people who have to do an activity outside of school so they have a reason to be away from their parents for plot to happen but they still ultimately get to be young and innocent” but if that exists, this is a perfect example of it.
I’d hesitate to call this enemies to lovers- can someone really be your enemy if you have to trade witty barbs while sitting next to each other in Philosophy class?- so I’ll call it ex-friends to friends to lovers instead. I don’t know if there’s a tropey name for “school age people who have to do an activity outside of school so they have a reason to be away from their parents for plot to happen but they still ultimately get to be young and innocent” but if that exists, this is a perfect example of it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Abandonment
Minor: Alcohol
Abandonment-jennipea382's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
texcajunlibrarian's review
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
4.0
I listened to this book as advanced copy from Libro.fm because I'm a big fan of Talia Hibbert's adult novels. I did not love this book but that is partly my fault because I hadnt realized it was a YA novel. I mostly didn't love the drawn out enemies to lovers plot. I found the story cute overall but less exciting than her other novels. Albeit I'm not the target audience of who YA is supposed to be written for, so that's worth considering.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Abandonment, Cursing, and Injury/Injury detail
midnightverde's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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
5.0
I adored Celine and Bradley. It was nice to see a character who had intrusive thoughts because I have them too. Celine reminded me of a friend I had in high school, which was also really cool to see in a story. A really great romance that just makes you feel good and laugh a bit (the quick wit and humor were wonderful). I highly recommended!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Mental illness
Minor: Sexual content, Cursing, Alcohol, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail
bree_h_reads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Abandonment, and Mental illness
Moderate: Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content
Minor: Lesbophobia, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Child abuse, and Alcohol
thaliareads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
This wasn't my favorite of Talia's books, but it was still a cute read. I really enjoyed seeing the angst as Celine and Bradley actually came to an understanding over the course of the book over what had actually transpired in the events that led them to stop being friends.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Alcohol