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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
This was so cute!! I loved the entire cast of characters and the setting.
I wish Harper's vocabulary words had been explained in the book-- it was annoying not understanding a lot of them.
I also loved all the Taylor Swift references. They were sneaky!
Felix deserved better, though. I loved him and he didn't deserve to be brushed off like that.
Song to describe the main couple: Sucker by the Jonas Boys
I wish Harper's vocabulary words had been explained in the book-- it was annoying not understanding a lot of them.
I also loved all the Taylor Swift references. They were sneaky!
Song to describe the main couple: Sucker by the Jonas Boys
How Not to Fall in Love was an adorable, quick, easy read. The characters were younger than I initially expected, but I enjoyed the book anyway. Thank you, NetGalley, for the eArc!
Harper is WAY to straight laced and serious for a teen, but I have known teens like that, she is absolutely a believable character! She works in her mom's bridal shop, helping with alterations, and trying to straighten out the business end of things, after mom made some not great business decisions. She has dealt with too many "bridezillas", between her past love life, and her experiences in the shop, Harper has become skeptical as to if love is a real thing.
Harpers best friend is Theo, the boy next door. Theo is a "word nerd", he plays the accordion, he is a LARPer, and he wears his heart on his sleeve. Theo falls in love, instantly, with every girl he dates, and gets his heart broken over and over again. Harper is there to pick up the pieces each time, but she decides that Theo needs to learn how to not fall in love, to protect his heart. However, the lessons start to backfire, and Harper finds herself falling in love.
Harper is WAY to straight laced and serious for a teen, but I have known teens like that, she is absolutely a believable character! She works in her mom's bridal shop, helping with alterations, and trying to straighten out the business end of things, after mom made some not great business decisions. She has dealt with too many "bridezillas", between her past love life, and her experiences in the shop, Harper has become skeptical as to if love is a real thing.
Harpers best friend is Theo, the boy next door. Theo is a "word nerd", he plays the accordion, he is a LARPer, and he wears his heart on his sleeve. Theo falls in love, instantly, with every girl he dates, and gets his heart broken over and over again. Harper is there to pick up the pieces each time, but she decides that Theo needs to learn how to not fall in love, to protect his heart. However, the lessons start to backfire, and Harper finds herself falling in love.
Quirky yet predictable best friends to lovers, honestly a great read if a little slow at some points. It lacked a strong antagonist though, which I think would have made it more angsty!! Interesting take for Harper’s mom to not be interested in romantic relationships and not want a father figure for her daughter. While it was incredibly cliched, there were some small specific moments that were original and authentic. Overall enjoyed!! I pictured Maude Apatow as Harper and Timothy Chalamet as Theo :)
This was a heartwarming new adult romance featuring jaded at love Harper and her best friend Theo. Whereas Theo seems to fall in love instantly and constantly has his heart broken, Harper has a hard time opening up to the possibility of love after getting burned by her first serious boyfriend. When the two friends make a pact to help each other out, Harper to get Theo to try to go more slowly, and Theo to help Harper finally take a chance on love with her new crush Felix.
This one gave me a lot of Better than the movies vibes and Rachel Lynn Solomon's We can't keep meeting like this. Very sex positive, with a beautiful mother-daughter relationship. I fell hard for Theo and Harper and was cheering them on to get their HEA. Full of laughs as well as some tears, this is a great YA love story geared towards older teens. Great on audio and definitely recommended!
CW: closed door sexual activity
This one gave me a lot of Better than the movies vibes and Rachel Lynn Solomon's We can't keep meeting like this. Very sex positive, with a beautiful mother-daughter relationship. I fell hard for Theo and Harper and was cheering them on to get their HEA. Full of laughs as well as some tears, this is a great YA love story geared towards older teens. Great on audio and definitely recommended!
CW: closed door sexual activity
I didn’t realize it was young adult when I started. It’s a cute story but I wasn’t looking for young adult at the time.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
editing this review a week later because i thought about it and i’m actually very upset that she didn’t end up with Felix he was so much better and their chemistry felt more real and Theo kinda made me mad the whole book he was such a pick me anyways still a cute book
childhood best friends to lovers, coming of age, jealousy, miscommunication,one bed trope omg
this book was so cute, the only thing is i cannot imagine a hot seventeen/eighteen year old guy who does fencing and goes to medieval fairs???
this book was so cute, the only thing is i cannot imagine a hot seventeen/eighteen year old guy who does fencing and goes to medieval fairs???
I was pleasantly surprised with this book. It wasn’t the typical enemies to lovers trope but best friends to true love. Harper is frustrated with all the pomp and circumstance that comes with wedding planning, which is ironic since her mom owns a bridal shop. Theo is her best guy friend, one who loves rom-coms and cries at the drop of a hat. What Harper is unable to see is that Theo is her true love, the guy who is passionate about fencing and Larping, who cannot make it past the first date without falling madly in love with the flavor of the week. Harper tries to teach him how NOT to fall in love, while trying her best to come to terms with becoming over attached with someone she dates. I liked how the parents were super supportive, no one called Harper out for tying up all her time helping her mom with the bridal shop and no one made fun of Theo’s quirkiness and how Felix, who Harper thought was IT, turned out to be an ok guy, not calling out Harper for dumping him. Definitely one for HS collections.
Harper doesn’t believe in love and romance. Her best friend Theo, on the other hand, is a hopeless romantic. After yet another heartbreak for Theo, Harper offers to teach him how not to fall in love. He agrees but with one caveat: Harper has to prove she can date without falling in love herself. But holding her end of the bargain ends up being a bit more challenging than she anticipated.
This was such a charming YA love story filled with wedding dresses, medieval tournaments, and SAT words. I loved Harper and Theo’s friendship, and how it progressed throughout the story. This one is definitely predictable so don’t go in looking for a big surprise, but it is a sweet journey to get to the end. I really enjoyed that this book had no unnecessary conflict - really all of the conflict was internal within the character’s own personal battles with their feelings (which is so accurate for teenage feelings). I really enjoyed this one more than I expected to!
Thanks to Clarion Books for the advanced copy!
This was such a charming YA love story filled with wedding dresses, medieval tournaments, and SAT words. I loved Harper and Theo’s friendship, and how it progressed throughout the story. This one is definitely predictable so don’t go in looking for a big surprise, but it is a sweet journey to get to the end. I really enjoyed that this book had no unnecessary conflict - really all of the conflict was internal within the character’s own personal battles with their feelings (which is so accurate for teenage feelings). I really enjoyed this one more than I expected to!
Thanks to Clarion Books for the advanced copy!