Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
This is genuinely a fun and well constructed debut novel, regardless of the age of the writer. Revord being just 17 makes it all the more impressive! She is clearly a true Rom-Com fan and understands how to write a good one. Is there anything here that we haven’t seen before? No, not really. But it’s the familiarity - the classic tropes and story progression - and the fact that is it poking fun at itself that made this such an enjoyable read. It is funny, heartwarming, and sometimes heartbreaking. I laughed and I cried. I think Revord definitely has a promising future as an author, just as much as she does on-screen.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent
Minor: Eating disorder, Transphobia, Gaslighting, Dysphoria
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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:
No
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
DNF @ 50%
Avery's mom died a few months ago, and she was originally planning on going to Columbia, but she decides instead to go to her mother's university in England for a year before transferring. She hopes that it will help her be able to feel closer with her mother, and understand a last message she left. On the train ride to her university, she meets a girl named Charlie who needs her to pretend to be her girlfriend to keep her from having to sit with her actual ex-girlfriend. Fate keeps throwing Avery and Charlie together, and they eventually decide to team up, with Charlie helping Avery with her mom's scavenger hunt in exchange for Avery continuing to pretend to be her girlfriend.
This book had a really strong start and likeable characters, but I had difficulty continuing the book around the middle. The pacing was confusing, with the plot sort of jumping around. Additionally, the author seemed to forget what had already happened in the book, with the side plot about the relationship with Avery's best friend being inconsistent about what had already happened. The reveal of the fake relationship to Maddi also happened twice, which didn't make much sense. Maddi also had inconsistent pronouns used for them, both they and she, with no explanation that they used both pronouns. There was an additional issue where a boy talks about how he uses both a cane and a wheelchair because of having Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, but he doesn't explain why. It could have been as simple as "my mobility issues are worse on some days", or something like that. I myself have Ehlers Danlos syndrome and have used both a cane and a wheelchair over the course of my life, so I was excited that there was a character with the disease, but it wasn't written well.
Overall, the book was just too confusing and inconsistent for me to continue. I'm hoping these issues are resolved in the final version of the book.
Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Raegan Revord for the ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
Avery's mom died a few months ago, and she was originally planning on going to Columbia, but she decides instead to go to her mother's university in England for a year before transferring. She hopes that it will help her be able to feel closer with her mother, and understand a last message she left. On the train ride to her university, she meets a girl named Charlie who needs her to pretend to be her girlfriend to keep her from having to sit with her actual ex-girlfriend. Fate keeps throwing Avery and Charlie together, and they eventually decide to team up, with Charlie helping Avery with her mom's scavenger hunt in exchange for Avery continuing to pretend to be her girlfriend.
This book had a really strong start and likeable characters, but I had difficulty continuing the book around the middle. The pacing was confusing, with the plot sort of jumping around. Additionally, the author seemed to forget what had already happened in the book, with the side plot about the relationship with Avery's best friend being inconsistent about what had already happened. The reveal of the fake relationship to Maddi also happened twice, which didn't make much sense. Maddi also had inconsistent pronouns used for them, both they and she, with no explanation that they used both pronouns. There was an additional issue where a boy talks about how he uses both a cane and a wheelchair because of having Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, but he doesn't explain why. It could have been as simple as "my mobility issues are worse on some days", or something like that. I myself have Ehlers Danlos syndrome and have used both a cane and a wheelchair over the course of my life, so I was excited that there was a character with the disease, but it wasn't written well.
Overall, the book was just too confusing and inconsistent for me to continue. I'm hoping these issues are resolved in the final version of the book.
Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Raegan Revord for the ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma
Rules for Fake Girlfriends has a heartfelt premise that immediately caught my attention—a grieving teen following a scavenger hunt left behind by her late mother? That emotional hook had the potential to deliver something really special.
While the story started strong, I found myself wishing the scavenger hunt had remained the central focus. Instead, the narrative shifted more heavily toward the romance, which, though sweet at times, didn’t fully land for me as the heart of the story.
That said, the characters were a standout—especially Conor, who brought a lot of charm and heart to the page. There’s clear potential in Raegan Revord’s writing, and it’s especially impressive considering this is her debut. I’m genuinely looking forward to seeing how her voice grows in future books.
A solid debut with a lot of promise. I’d recommend it to readers who enjoy contemporary YA with grief elements and a budding romance.
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Avery decides to move to Brighton where her mother went to college in an effort to complete a scavenger hunt she'd left for her and shortly upon getting there she meets Charlie, a girl she decides to pretend to be a fake girlfriend for.
This book really disappointed me. It started out very strong, I was intrigued by the scavenger hunt, Avery's relationship with both her father and her late mother and how the whole fake dating thing was going to go. The pacing just felt so off though. Things would be repeated like one chapter later, or things would be contradictory where like for example Avery said she texted her best friend to visit but then that was never addressed again. The next convo her friend asked about meeting for lunch. Also at one point Avery was worried about what Charlie would think about something she'd done but they'd already seen each other since that happened so it felt very delayed and confusing.
I didn't let this part affect my review score because it could change in the published copy but I felt it was worth noting, there's some issues with pronoun usage that felt very clunky. Avery's roommate Maddi was misgendered multiple times when it was clear that they only used they/them pronouns. There were also several typos throughout the entire book.
Another thing I did like was the effort to be inclusive. I liked that there was a trans character, a couple nonbinary characters, of course lesbian characters, a character with ehlers danlos syndrome. Seeing people deal with different things not often shown was appreciated.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the ARC to review.
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really enjoy how this book leaned into the rom-com of it all with the titles. Sometimes, I can be a bit of an Avery about romance novels, rolling my eyes at the overindulgence and fantasy of it all, but the humor and self-awareness of this book and how it was structured put me at ease and allowed me to just enjoy the ride. This was such a fun romp along the British coastline. I enjoyed the various representation in the novel, particularly the representation of trans and disabled characters who felt like real and authentic, full characters rather than heavy-handed virtue-signaling. The ending wrapped up a bit quickly for my taste, and I would have liked the project swap to have played a larger role in their reunion, but otherwise, this book was a gem.
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I wanted to love this so much, and while it did have a few squeal-worthy moments, overall it was a little forgettable to me. the tone is very juvenile—more high school than college vibes (which I guess is fair since the characters are freshmen)—and a large portion of the book felt very low stakes and awkwardly paced. I liked the idea of the scavenger hunt, but I didn't find the clues super engaging. I didn't really feel strong chemistry between Avery and Charlie even though they supposedly fake dated so well even Maddi believed them. And I still can't believe we never got a scene at the college's dining hall—the amount of food they bought off campus felt SO out of touch; there's no way I would've been able to afford so many pizza takeaways and trips to the cafe lol. UB has an Eat In scheme, so at least some mention of the hospitality program would've been appropriate... And while I loved all the scenes at the pier, there's never direct mention or description of the Lanes, which are super iconic to Brighton. If they were galavanting around the city trying to figure out the clues and such, it felt like the author should've localized it more. That said, I know the author is American, so maybe a little more research would've been helpful. Also, the Victoria & Albert Museum is free entry unless you're buying tickets for a specific exhibit?? Basically, there lots of moments where I had to suspend my disbelief and just roll with it.
What really made the book for me was the side characters. I loved Maddi and Colin (the EDS rep, woo!) and Rowan (even though she felt like a sudden addition and very one-dimensional) and Leyla. I wish we could've gotten more scenes with Esther, too. Someone that knew Halle really well and could've offered Avery stories about her mom's college experience... Also, when we first meet Esther, there's this whole "we were roommates, we were really, really good friends..." I thought for a second we were going to find out Halle was bi or something!!! which would've been EPIC. Alas, my queer dreams were not to be. It would've been such a unique and emotional way to further connect with her mom; what a missed opportunity...
All that said, I swear I DID have a good time reading it. I just feel like this book is more suited to younger teens, maybe 14-17, and I'm simply too old and critical to really enjoy it lol. Still a solid 3 out of 5 ⭐️s
I wanted to love this so much, and while it did have a few squeal-worthy moments, overall it was a little forgettable to me. the tone is very juvenile—more high school than college vibes (which I guess is fair since the characters are freshmen)—and a large portion of the book felt very low stakes and awkwardly paced. I liked the idea of the scavenger hunt, but I didn't find the clues super engaging. I didn't really feel strong chemistry between Avery and Charlie even though they supposedly fake dated so well even Maddi believed them. And I still can't believe we never got a scene at the college's dining hall—the amount of food they bought off campus felt SO out of touch; there's no way I would've been able to afford so many pizza takeaways and trips to the cafe lol. UB has an Eat In scheme, so at least some mention of the hospitality program would've been appropriate... And while I loved all the scenes at the pier, there's never direct mention or description of the Lanes, which are super iconic to Brighton. If they were galavanting around the city trying to figure out the clues and such, it felt like the author should've localized it more. That said, I know the author is American, so maybe a little more research would've been helpful. Also, the Victoria & Albert Museum is free entry unless you're buying tickets for a specific exhibit?? Basically, there lots of moments where I had to suspend my disbelief and just roll with it.
What really made the book for me was the side characters. I loved Maddi and Colin (the EDS rep, woo!) and Rowan (even though she felt like a sudden addition and very one-dimensional) and Leyla. I wish we could've gotten more scenes with Esther, too. Someone that knew Halle really well and could've offered Avery stories about her mom's college experience... Also, when we first meet Esther, there's this whole "we were roommates, we were really, really good friends..." I thought for a second we were going to find out Halle was bi or something!!! which would've been EPIC. Alas, my queer dreams were not to be. It would've been such a unique and emotional way to further connect with her mom; what a missed opportunity...
All that said, I swear I DID have a good time reading it. I just feel like this book is more suited to younger teens, maybe 14-17, and I'm simply too old and critical to really enjoy it lol. Still a solid 3 out of 5 ⭐️s
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Chronic illness
Minor: Eating disorder, Self harm
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
When Avery Blackwell receives a postcard from her recently deceased mother, she decides to take a leap, leave New York, and enroll at her mother’s alma mater, the University of Brighton. Traveling to England, she sets out on a scavenger hunt her mother laid out before Avery was born. But on the train from London to Brighton, a girl named Charlie asks Avery to pose as her girlfriend for a couple minutes to try to make an ex jealous. Coincidences compound, minutes turn into months of fake dating and then, maybe, something real, until Avery discovers that Charlie is hiding a secret of her own.
All in all, Rules For Fake Girlfriends had plenty of potential. The idea for the story was good. In fact, there were several good ideas there, which is really where things started to go wrong. Yes, the books needs copy editing to address inconsistent descriptions of characters and genders (one character seems to switch inconsistently between she/her and they/them with no explanation). But more than that, it has issues with structure, pacing, and plot. Is it a romance between Avery and Charlie, is it about Avery learning about her mother and in the process learning lessons about herself, is it about Avery finding a community of friendsthat serves as a found family, is it about Avery reconnecting with her father after the trauma of her mother’s death…it tries to be all of these inequal parts, and in doing so, doesn’t really give fully adequate weight to any of them. There also seem to be some moderately significant things that happen off-page, which we really should have been shown.
With all that said, it was nevertheless a reasonably enjoyable book. For me it was probably about 2-½ stars, which on my scale is certainly enough to consider reading more from the author. Given that it’s a debut novel from a teenage author, I’m inclined to be generous and round it up to 3 stars in places where full-star rankings are required.
**I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
All in all, Rules For Fake Girlfriends had plenty of potential. The idea for the story was good. In fact, there were several good ideas there, which is really where things started to go wrong. Yes, the books needs copy editing to address inconsistent descriptions of characters and genders (one character seems to switch inconsistently between she/her and they/them with no explanation). But more than that, it has issues with structure, pacing, and plot. Is it a romance between Avery and Charlie, is it about Avery learning about her mother and in the process learning lessons about herself, is it about Avery finding a community of friendsthat serves as a found family, is it about Avery reconnecting with her father after the trauma of her mother’s death…it tries to be all of these inequal parts, and in doing so, doesn’t really give fully adequate weight to any of them. There also seem to be some moderately significant things that happen off-page, which we really should have been shown.
With all that said, it was nevertheless a reasonably enjoyable book. For me it was probably about 2-½ stars, which on my scale is certainly enough to consider reading more from the author. Given that it’s a debut novel from a teenage author, I’m inclined to be generous and round it up to 3 stars in places where full-star rankings are required.
**I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
funny
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
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.
I want to start off by saying this was a cute debut and I teared up during the 3rd act breakup. The fake-dating plot was so fun, wholesome, and whimsical and I devoured this book. The banter was fantastic, and the main character being a rom-com lover herself makes the characters in on the trope silliness. The tropes were alluded to a bit in the chapter titles! Each chapter title mentioned a romcom rule (the rules for fake girlfriends) that were on-topic for the contents of that chapter. I can’t remember the last time chapter titles improved the reading experience to this degree. It was really well done! The A-plot of Avery and Charlie being fake girlfriends is A++. There was a lot of great representation in this book too, especially with the sapphic, nonbinary, and disabled characters.
Things that could have been better:
The scavenger hunt. I wish it had gotten developed more and had a bigger part in the story. The scavenger hunt is a big part of the synopsis and promo for this book but it’s an abandoned and forgotten about D plot. The plot as a whole gets really scattered in the middle, it suffered for trying to include too many things. Is the book about her fake dating relationship? Is it about navigating her new relationship with her father? Is it about leaving your hometown for the first time and growing apart from your best friend? Is it about trying to befriend and support your roommate who shows signs of depression? Avery and Charlie’s fake-dating romance was well executed but the side plots dealing with Avery’s scavenger hunt, grief-stricken father, bff, and roommate were all half-baked in comparison. I wish the book had been more focused on one or two side plots and really polished them up to perfection.
The editing. I know I know, arcs are early on in the process and the book will probably be fixed before publication (and this won’t affect my star rating), but it took me out of the reading experience a lot. Reading Rules for Fake Girlfriends felt like significant changes were made to the story but not all of the relevant spots that should have been updated were actually updated. For example, Avery and Charlie’s descriptions are inconsistent. Their eye and hair colors change oddly throughout the book, and I think one of the side character’s pronouns were changed from she/her to they/them. There was a really weird paragraph of “they does, they thinks, they needs” where the author obviously didn’t correctly change a “she does” to a “they do” etc. and in two spots at the end of the book the they/them character is randomly referred to with she/her pronouns. It felt like find/replace failed them. I love that they added nonbinary representation that wasn’t previously there, but the author and editors could have been more thorough in making sure the updates were completed. Similar critique of another character where there is one paragraph towards the end of the book where they are mentioned as being trans, again, it felt like the author tried to edit that out and forgot one spot?
All in all, it Rules for Fake Girlfriends has a great foundation and includes creative story ideas, but I wish it was better executed (and maybe it will be by its publication date in September). I'll definitely be interested in Revord's future work as they hone their craft and I think rom-com lovers will still adore Avery and Charlie's A-plot.
I want to start off by saying this was a cute debut and I teared up during the 3rd act breakup. The fake-dating plot was so fun, wholesome, and whimsical and I devoured this book. The banter was fantastic, and the main character being a rom-com lover herself makes the characters in on the trope silliness. The tropes were alluded to a bit in the chapter titles! Each chapter title mentioned a romcom rule (the rules for fake girlfriends) that were on-topic for the contents of that chapter. I can’t remember the last time chapter titles improved the reading experience to this degree. It was really well done! The A-plot of Avery and Charlie being fake girlfriends is A++. There was a lot of great representation in this book too, especially with the sapphic, nonbinary, and disabled characters.
Things that could have been better:
The scavenger hunt. I wish it had gotten developed more and had a bigger part in the story. The scavenger hunt is a big part of the synopsis and promo for this book but it’s an abandoned and forgotten about D plot. The plot as a whole gets really scattered in the middle, it suffered for trying to include too many things. Is the book about her fake dating relationship? Is it about navigating her new relationship with her father? Is it about leaving your hometown for the first time and growing apart from your best friend? Is it about trying to befriend and support your roommate who shows signs of depression? Avery and Charlie’s fake-dating romance was well executed but the side plots dealing with Avery’s scavenger hunt, grief-stricken father, bff, and roommate were all half-baked in comparison. I wish the book had been more focused on one or two side plots and really polished them up to perfection.
The editing. I know I know, arcs are early on in the process and the book will probably be fixed before publication (and this won’t affect my star rating), but it took me out of the reading experience a lot. Reading Rules for Fake Girlfriends felt like significant changes were made to the story but not all of the relevant spots that should have been updated were actually updated. For example, Avery and Charlie’s descriptions are inconsistent. Their eye and hair colors change oddly throughout the book, and I think one of the side character’s pronouns were changed from she/her to they/them. There was a really weird paragraph of “they does, they thinks, they needs” where the author obviously didn’t correctly change a “she does” to a “they do” etc. and in two spots at the end of the book the they/them character is randomly referred to with she/her pronouns. It felt like find/replace failed them. I love that they added nonbinary representation that wasn’t previously there, but the author and editors could have been more thorough in making sure the updates were completed. Similar critique of another character where there is one paragraph towards the end of the book where they are mentioned as being trans, again, it felt like the author tried to edit that out and forgot one spot?
All in all, it Rules for Fake Girlfriends has a great foundation and includes creative story ideas, but I wish it was better executed (and maybe it will be by its publication date in September). I'll definitely be interested in Revord's future work as they hone their craft and I think rom-com lovers will still adore Avery and Charlie's A-plot.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Grief, Death of parent
Minor: Eating disorder, Self harm, Terminal illness, Alcohol