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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
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!
Reader’s Notes:
– this is told from Harper’s point of view
– there is some innuendo
– there are about 16 curse words
– there are a few mentions of a character having had sex before the story’s events
– there is two scenes of almost sex on the page (almost all clothing removed and working up to it but not getting to that point)
– there is one scene of characters having sex (not much detail but still enough that it is understood what is happening and it fades to black after a bit)
Review:
I personally was not a fan of my last two points mentioned above. With the frequency of the events (for me one time isn’t ok, but more than that is really not ok) I removed two stars instead of just one. It made the story not as enjoyable for me.
Overall I enjoyed the premise of the story: trying to teach your best friend how not to fall in love and instead accidentally falling in love with said best friend. I loved how Harper and Theo were together as friends and how they had their own things (knowing embarrassing stories from their childhood, having a shared treehouse, having a way to talk to each other without the other laughing at them, etc). And I liked that Theo was the romantic who wanted every girl he was interested in to be ‘the one’ for him. Plus, he was the emotional one. He was so adorably eager to find ‘the one’ for him and it came through on how he went into dates, but it also would scare off those who were just starting to get to know him.
– this is told from Harper’s point of view
– there is some innuendo
– there are about 16 curse words
– there are a few mentions of a character having had sex before the story’s events
– there is two scenes of almost sex on the page (almost all clothing removed and working up to it but not getting to that point)
– there is one scene of characters having sex (not much detail but still enough that it is understood what is happening and it fades to black after a bit)
Review:
I personally was not a fan of my last two points mentioned above. With the frequency of the events (for me one time isn’t ok, but more than that is really not ok) I removed two stars instead of just one. It made the story not as enjoyable for me.
Overall I enjoyed the premise of the story: trying to teach your best friend how not to fall in love and instead accidentally falling in love with said best friend. I loved how Harper and Theo were together as friends and how they had their own things (knowing embarrassing stories from their childhood, having a shared treehouse, having a way to talk to each other without the other laughing at them, etc). And I liked that Theo was the romantic who wanted every girl he was interested in to be ‘the one’ for him. Plus, he was the emotional one. He was so adorably eager to find ‘the one’ for him and it came through on how he went into dates, but it also would scare off those who were just starting to get to know him.
Every single character in this book—every single one!!!-is insufferable.
funny
hopeful
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
Harper is a teen who is oddly cynical about love given her age and experience. Blame it in years of dealing with Bridezillas at her mom’s bridal shop, she’s just not into the commercialization of love or the concept of “falling” for anyone.
In the meantime, her best friend Theo is her polar opposite. He’s a hopeless romantic who goes all in and gets his heart broken on the regular, only to dive right back in for more. Despite these differences, the two balance each other out, gently pushing the other to see love through the other’s eyes.
So when Harper finds herself crushing on local hottie Felix at the same time Theo gets his heart broken again - Harper vows to teach Theo the art of NOT falling in love, all through the lense of her new flirtation. But the better student Theo becomes, the more the teacher begins to question her lessons. With the rule book out the window, Harper is quickly finding she just might be the one whose fallen….and can’t get up.
In the meantime, her best friend Theo is her polar opposite. He’s a hopeless romantic who goes all in and gets his heart broken on the regular, only to dive right back in for more. Despite these differences, the two balance each other out, gently pushing the other to see love through the other’s eyes.
So when Harper finds herself crushing on local hottie Felix at the same time Theo gets his heart broken again - Harper vows to teach Theo the art of NOT falling in love, all through the lense of her new flirtation. But the better student Theo becomes, the more the teacher begins to question her lessons. With the rule book out the window, Harper is quickly finding she just might be the one whose fallen….and can’t get up.
*this e-arc was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*
I liked this book. This book is about Harper who tries to help her best friend, Theo, try not to fall in love but she notices that her heart is falling in love. I have read Jennifer's debut book and love it so I knew I had to check this one out. The writing was well done and well paced but I do have to say that the story was a little dragged towards the end. The beginning was well done where I was hooked from the first page but then when it came to the ending, the story just dragged. I enjoyed the setting of this book taking place mostly in place in the bridal shop and in town. This book also talks about family relationships and friendships then just romance. Overall the writing was well written.
This book is written from Harper's pov. She is a character who thinks she shouldn't fall in love and develops throughout the story. There were also some amazing side characters in this book like Harper's friend who works at the bridal shop with her. Another side character was Theo. I didn't really enjoy his character not because of who he is but just a personal thing where I don't get attracted to guys who aren't like Rhys if you know what I'm saying. I don't want to really spoil or say anything else so I will leave it at that. This book is a love triangle trope and a friends to lovers trope. For Firkins' first book, I enjoyed this trope but for some reason not in this one. *spoiler* I was rooting for the other guy instead. *end spoiler*
The ending was meh for me just because of the way the romance ended. I still enjoyed the story though and stressed out who the lover could be in a good way. I did have some minor problems with the writing but overall this book was still a great read. I still recommend it but I especially recommend her first novel which was AMAZING! If you still want to check this one out, I recommend it to fans of Anna and the French Kiss and Lady Midnight (for the romance of course).
I liked this book. This book is about Harper who tries to help her best friend, Theo, try not to fall in love but she notices that her heart is falling in love. I have read Jennifer's debut book and love it so I knew I had to check this one out. The writing was well done and well paced but I do have to say that the story was a little dragged towards the end. The beginning was well done where I was hooked from the first page but then when it came to the ending, the story just dragged. I enjoyed the setting of this book taking place mostly in place in the bridal shop and in town. This book also talks about family relationships and friendships then just romance. Overall the writing was well written.
This book is written from Harper's pov. She is a character who thinks she shouldn't fall in love and develops throughout the story. There were also some amazing side characters in this book like Harper's friend who works at the bridal shop with her. Another side character was Theo. I didn't really enjoy his character not because of who he is but just a personal thing where I don't get attracted to guys who aren't like Rhys if you know what I'm saying. I don't want to really spoil or say anything else so I will leave it at that. This book is a love triangle trope and a friends to lovers trope. For Firkins' first book, I enjoyed this trope but for some reason not in this one. *spoiler* I was rooting for the other guy instead. *end spoiler*
The ending was meh for me just because of the way the romance ended. I still enjoyed the story though and stressed out who the lover could be in a good way. I did have some minor problems with the writing but overall this book was still a great read. I still recommend it but I especially recommend her first novel which was AMAZING! If you still want to check this one out, I recommend it to fans of Anna and the French Kiss and Lady Midnight (for the romance of course).
Good, not great. I didn’t go into this thinking it was YA, so maybe that stopped me from loving it. Overall, it was fine. IDK, I think I’m #TeamFelix
It was a nerdy romance. It was good, not great, but not bad. I enjoyed it, is what I am trying to say. I think this book is the book that is going to take me out of my reading slump. That's always good.
xoxo,
Bea
xoxo,
Bea
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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
I was not at all sure of this book going in—I could tell Harper had two *actually* great guys potentially interested in her, and I worried I would be disappointed in whichever choice she made. But wowowowow, this author made Harper’s character growth so compelling and authentic that her choices and feelings read as hard-won and authentic. ❤️❤️❤️