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jessicabeckett's review against another edition
4.0
(4.5 stars!) Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Review can also be found here at Booked J.
As always, a copy of this book was provided by the publisher or author in exchange for my honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way.
How to Speak Boy was such a wonderfully sweet surprise. The kind of surprise that I didn't know I needed in my reading life. The kind of surprise that will keep you up all night, smiling. The kind of book that sets you down a path of warm and fuzzies. The kind of book that gives you all the feels and reminds you why you read to begin with.
The first thing you should know is, Tiana Smith had me at the synopsis. No, really, the entire blurb may as well have read in bold print, "This book was written for Jessica over at Booked J. Shout out to Jessica. You go, Jessica." (To be fair, if it had started that way... none of us would be reading it, BUT, like, c'mon. It's perfect.)
I mean, the simple fact alone that this centers around two speech/debate RIVALS and anonymous note passing, should give you enough of an energy boost to pick this one up, right? Go on, pick up your phone and order yourself a copy. I was wondering what contemporary would fit into the Well Met shaped whole in my heart and here we have it: How to Speak Boy.
Give me all the banter and anonymity and coming of age angst. Give me all the bubbling feelings of youthful love and annoyance. Inject it into my veins. Or, ah, at the very least, get a screen projector and project it on my ceiling or something. There's such charm in How to Speak Boy but I think this is because I find determination, competitiveness and all that jazz to be charming in and of itself. There's a reason I love love-to-hate based relationships so much and that's because of the amount of growth it takes to get to that place of understanding sometimes life is more than just one upping each other.
(I say this from experience and also sappiness. And maybe a little exhaustion because your girl just doesn't sleep enough, apparently.)
All I know is that Tiana Smith pens a charming coming of age story. It is well-written, fast paced, smiling inducing fun. You won't want to put this one down because it's virtually impossible to do so without longing to pick it back up. Curling up in the chill of winter, surrounded by lights and a warm blanket, is always a good idea, but spending it with characters like Quinn and Grayson make it even better. How to Speak Boy is purely sweet and entertaining.
Side Note: I read this little gem of a novel so quickly. I'm pretty sure my dogs loved it too because it meant I wasn't moving for hours. And they love it when I sit still. And I don't sit still for just anything.
As always, a copy of this book was provided by the publisher or author in exchange for my honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way.
How to Speak Boy was such a wonderfully sweet surprise. The kind of surprise that I didn't know I needed in my reading life. The kind of surprise that will keep you up all night, smiling. The kind of book that sets you down a path of warm and fuzzies. The kind of book that gives you all the feels and reminds you why you read to begin with.
The first thing you should know is, Tiana Smith had me at the synopsis. No, really, the entire blurb may as well have read in bold print, "This book was written for Jessica over at Booked J. Shout out to Jessica. You go, Jessica." (To be fair, if it had started that way... none of us would be reading it, BUT, like, c'mon. It's perfect.)
I mean, the simple fact alone that this centers around two speech/debate RIVALS and anonymous note passing, should give you enough of an energy boost to pick this one up, right? Go on, pick up your phone and order yourself a copy. I was wondering what contemporary would fit into the Well Met shaped whole in my heart and here we have it: How to Speak Boy.
Give me all the banter and anonymity and coming of age angst. Give me all the bubbling feelings of youthful love and annoyance. Inject it into my veins. Or, ah, at the very least, get a screen projector and project it on my ceiling or something. There's such charm in How to Speak Boy but I think this is because I find determination, competitiveness and all that jazz to be charming in and of itself. There's a reason I love love-to-hate based relationships so much and that's because of the amount of growth it takes to get to that place of understanding sometimes life is more than just one upping each other.
(I say this from experience and also sappiness. And maybe a little exhaustion because your girl just doesn't sleep enough, apparently.)
All I know is that Tiana Smith pens a charming coming of age story. It is well-written, fast paced, smiling inducing fun. You won't want to put this one down because it's virtually impossible to do so without longing to pick it back up. Curling up in the chill of winter, surrounded by lights and a warm blanket, is always a good idea, but spending it with characters like Quinn and Grayson make it even better. How to Speak Boy is purely sweet and entertaining.
Side Note: I read this little gem of a novel so quickly. I'm pretty sure my dogs loved it too because it meant I wasn't moving for hours. And they love it when I sit still. And I don't sit still for just anything.
tarn's review against another edition
4.0
The ending was kind of obvious but it was still so cute. I do not like how Carter’s character turned out. It’s like the author was dead set on making him unlikable.
diamondgirl2's review against another edition
4.0
This book starts out a little slow, I’m not going to lie! However after the tenth or so chapter, I couldn’t put it down! I got so invested in the characters, and I found myself wanting to see what was going to happen, the entire time! Highly recommend picking it up!
kaeleskrazybookobsession's review against another edition
4.0
It’s like Alex, Approximately met P.S I like You. And I loved that. I love the aspect of speech and debate class, something I’ve always found interesting because I’m so opinionated haha. I liked the characters. I’m glad the book focused on one problem and didn’t go crazy with backstory’s and parent drama. I loved Grayson. I’m a sucker for the sophisticated/kinda nerdy guys (glasses is always a plus) super cute. I needed this.
beautifullybookishbethany's review against another edition
3.0
How to Speak Boy is a fun YA romance that reads like a retelling of You've Got Mail, except involving rivals on a high school speech and debate (forensics) team. Having done speech and debate myself back in the day, I really enjoyed that element of it. Also, it's hard to bomb the You've Got Mail setup with rivals falling for each other, while not realizing they are also writing anonymous letters to each other. It's generally a good time. In this case, I did feel like the later part of the book dragged a bit and this would have benefited from including the boy's perspective, at least some of the time. I suspect the idea was to make it a mystery whether he was really the one writing the letters, but anyone who knows the plot to You've Got Mail will figure it out very quickly and I just wanted something more from this emotionally.
If you want this You've Got Mail style rivals to lovers plot in a YA book but very funny and excellently executed, I would recommend checking out Tweet Cute by Emma Lord. That said, it was a good time and I loved all of the debate related things. Worth picking up if you enjoy the trope! I received an advance copy of this book for review from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
If you want this You've Got Mail style rivals to lovers plot in a YA book but very funny and excellently executed, I would recommend checking out Tweet Cute by Emma Lord. That said, it was a good time and I loved all of the debate related things. Worth picking up if you enjoy the trope! I received an advance copy of this book for review from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
theheartofabookblogger's review against another edition
4.0
This review and more can be found at The Heart of a Book Blogger.
How to Speak Boy is such an adorable rivals-to-lovers story! I loved watching Quinn and Grayson try to one-up each other while their relationship slowly changed. Their banter was fun, and I loved the secret notes they unknowingly sent to each other. Also, there’s speech and debate—this was the first YA book I’ve read with this extracurricular!
*This ARC was provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.*
How to Speak Boy is such an adorable rivals-to-lovers story! I loved watching Quinn and Grayson try to one-up each other while their relationship slowly changed. Their banter was fun, and I loved the secret notes they unknowingly sent to each other. Also, there’s speech and debate—this was the first YA book I’ve read with this extracurricular!
*This ARC was provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.*
saltwater_val's review
5.0
This book had heart-shaped bubbles floating around my head almost the entire time. I loved it. Super well-written, a streamlined plot, and a seriously swoon-worthy love story—that's exactly what I'm here for!