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asha_reads's review against another edition
4.0
I love Rebekah’s romance books and was excited to hear that she’s releasing her young adult debut, Her Good Side. This YA contemporary romance contains fake dating, late bloomers, self discovery, and friendship. This was my first read of 2023 and I thought it was a cute read. I loved the budding relationship between Bethany (a star basketball player who wants to be chef) and Jacob (a skater boy/want to be filmmaker) who decide to fake date for a homecoming dance. Bethany and Jacob’s families and friends were all wonderful supporting characters and really loved how the author showed healthy relationships among them. I also really liked the dimension that the author gave to each character. I also thought it was pretty cool that Bethany loves Chef Evie’s show (Evie is from Cowboy to Remember). Definitely recommend picking this one up if you’re looking for a fun high school romance read!
Thank you Penguin Teen for the free ARC.
Merged review:
I love Rebekah’s romance books and was excited to hear that she’s releasing her young adult debut, Her Good Side. This YA contemporary romance contains fake dating, late bloomers, self discovery, and friendship. This was my first read of 2023 and I thought it was a cute read. I loved the budding relationship between Bethany (a star basketball player who wants to be chef) and Jacob (a skater boy/want to be filmmaker) who decide to fake date for a homecoming dance. Bethany and Jacob’s families and friends were all wonderful supporting characters and really loved how the author showed healthy relationships among them. I also really liked the dimension that the author gave to each character. I also thought it was pretty cool that Bethany loves Chef Evie’s show (Evie is from Cowboy to Remember). Definitely recommend picking this one up if you’re looking for a fun high school romance read!
Thank you Penguin Teen for the free ARC.
Thank you Penguin Teen for the free ARC.
Merged review:
I love Rebekah’s romance books and was excited to hear that she’s releasing her young adult debut, Her Good Side. This YA contemporary romance contains fake dating, late bloomers, self discovery, and friendship. This was my first read of 2023 and I thought it was a cute read. I loved the budding relationship between Bethany (a star basketball player who wants to be chef) and Jacob (a skater boy/want to be filmmaker) who decide to fake date for a homecoming dance. Bethany and Jacob’s families and friends were all wonderful supporting characters and really loved how the author showed healthy relationships among them. I also really liked the dimension that the author gave to each character. I also thought it was pretty cool that Bethany loves Chef Evie’s show (Evie is from Cowboy to Remember). Definitely recommend picking this one up if you’re looking for a fun high school romance read!
Thank you Penguin Teen for the free ARC.
khebebebe's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This was such a cute fake couple turned real couple romance. I didn’t realize it was YA which is quickly turning into one of my fave genres and Rebekah one of my fave authors to read. I love the underlying message of how refreshing it is when you finally see the beauty someone else sees in you. Bethany is super funny yet slightly awkward and owns it. I love that. Jacob is kind of spending his life just floating along doing what he thinks is expected in the love department. I’m glad they happened upon each other. Even the way they got together was unconventional but I love that her friend was so cool about it and showed a true understanding of friendship.
jen286's review against another edition
4.0
OMG this was so freaking cute and I loved every second of it! Bethany and Jacob were just adorable together!
sogladtoreadyou's review against another edition
4.0
Bethany is amazing at basketball all thanks to her 2 moms, who are both in the basketball industry. She eats, sleeps, and breaths basketball, but her love life is going nowhere. The homecoming dance is coming up and she asks 2 guys who have both rejected her. Her nickname, Crybaby Bethany, doesn’t help her situation either.
Jacob is Bethany’s classmate, who is dating Bethany’s friend, Saylor. He’s been dumped by 2 popular girls because he wouldn’t have sex with them and he’s “too nice.” Saylor comes up with the idea for Bethany and Jacob to go to the homecoming dance together and they agree to go together. Then, Saylor breaks up with Jacob.
Jacob comes up with the idea for Bethany and him to practice dating. Bethany really needs people to know that she isn’t scared of boys anymore and Jacob wants people to know that he’s not that nice guy that no girl wants to date.
How does this work out for both Jacob and Bethany? Does their plan work?
This was a cute story to read and it is very YA appropriate, but also fun for adults to read. The friendship between Jacob and Bethany is really nice and the support from their parents is really nice to read about as well. I did think there were a lot of characters introduced in the beginning without much character development that it was a little difficult to remember who was who. As the book progressed, it was easier to figure it out the characters and the roles they played in the story.
Jacob is Bethany’s classmate, who is dating Bethany’s friend, Saylor. He’s been dumped by 2 popular girls because he wouldn’t have sex with them and he’s “too nice.” Saylor comes up with the idea for Bethany and Jacob to go to the homecoming dance together and they agree to go together. Then, Saylor breaks up with Jacob.
Jacob comes up with the idea for Bethany and him to practice dating. Bethany really needs people to know that she isn’t scared of boys anymore and Jacob wants people to know that he’s not that nice guy that no girl wants to date.
How does this work out for both Jacob and Bethany? Does their plan work?
This was a cute story to read and it is very YA appropriate, but also fun for adults to read. The friendship between Jacob and Bethany is really nice and the support from their parents is really nice to read about as well. I did think there were a lot of characters introduced in the beginning without much character development that it was a little difficult to remember who was who. As the book progressed, it was easier to figure it out the characters and the roles they played in the story.
balletbookworm's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars rolled up to 5 bc Oh, these sweet, awkward babies. Being a teenager is so weird and you could not pay me enough to go back. Plus the process of figuring out yourself when you've got parents who are super good at something you are also naturally good at but don't particularly like or love. Also a great group of friends in this book which is always super fun in a YA.
CW for some implied fat-shaming/food-policing because Bethany is told she needs to fuel her body better (paraphrasing) for elite basketball.
CW for some implied fat-shaming/food-policing because Bethany is told she needs to fuel her body better (paraphrasing) for elite basketball.
janeeivorie's review against another edition
4.0
Very cute YA. I usually try to stay away from YA but I needed a palette cleanser since the excitement in the last book I read fizzled out so quickly. I found Bethany and Jacob incredibly loveable and cute.
chloreadthat's review against another edition
5.0
two cute high schoolers decide to fake date to practice for when they get into a real relationship but ofc they end up falling in love
reading_while_fat's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars rounded up to 3
I recognize that I may not be the target reader for this one, but you know how some YA novels may *technically* be for a teen audience but the writing is so beautiful and the themes so utterly human that it sort of transcends the age target? This was not that.
The writing felt forced and choppy and like I was being spoon fed every detail because the author didn’t trust herself to convey themes and emotions well. The characters were fun and overall we had a decently cute book but it did just fall flat for me. The middle bits as the characters were falling for each other were fun and sweet, but by the end of the book, I was skimming just to get to the end of it.
Fat-friendly rating: 3.5ish/5, I picked this one up specifically for the fat representation which, unfortunately, also fell flat. I appreciated that there was representation at all, and that she was also a talented athlete in a bigger body demonstrating that “athletic” isn’t a body type - but unfortunately the conversation around her fatness was “I like food and I eat food so therefore I am bigger than my friends and other athletic sisters”, upholding the notion that fat people are fat because we just can’t put the fork down. Didn’t work for me personally. There was also just way too much emphasis on bodies as the driving force for attraction for my tastes.
Recommend?: not really. I mean it wasn’t a *bad* book, but there are many others out there I’d recommend over this one.
I recognize that I may not be the target reader for this one, but you know how some YA novels may *technically* be for a teen audience but the writing is so beautiful and the themes so utterly human that it sort of transcends the age target? This was not that.
The writing felt forced and choppy and like I was being spoon fed every detail because the author didn’t trust herself to convey themes and emotions well. The characters were fun and overall we had a decently cute book but it did just fall flat for me. The middle bits as the characters were falling for each other were fun and sweet, but by the end of the book, I was skimming just to get to the end of it.
Fat-friendly rating: 3.5ish/5, I picked this one up specifically for the fat representation which, unfortunately, also fell flat. I appreciated that there was representation at all, and that she was also a talented athlete in a bigger body demonstrating that “athletic” isn’t a body type - but unfortunately the conversation around her fatness was “I like food and I eat food so therefore I am bigger than my friends and other athletic sisters”, upholding the notion that fat people are fat because we just can’t put the fork down. Didn’t work for me personally. There was also just way too much emphasis on bodies as the driving force for attraction for my tastes.
Recommend?: not really. I mean it wasn’t a *bad* book, but there are many others out there I’d recommend over this one.
chloecamillewittenberg's review against another edition
5.0
This was so wholesome and cute. I love the fake dating trope, and this was a great take on it. Supportive parents, emotionally mature male, body positivity and love, I’ll definitely read more from this author!
zikeyag's review against another edition
5.0
This was soooo cuteeee!!!!! I’m glad it wasn’t long and drawn out.