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A review by pennydistrict
This May End Badly by Samantha Markum
3.0
Of all my favorite romance tropes, fake dating might top the list. Throw in enemies to loves and I’m hooked, so I was very excited to start This May End Badly. Right off the bat, I absolutely loved Doe’s friendship with her Weston girls and her love of her school was so endearing. I was also a little bit in love with Wells from his very first appearance, so I couldn’t stop grinning once their fake dating plot was hatched.
Based on the blurb, I was expecting a lighthearted YA romance, but was surprised and impressed with how many weighty issues this book covers! In addition to the fun and boys vs. girls boarding school rivalry, This May End Badly tackles gender parity in education, sexual harassment/assault, and gender identity and inclusion. Doe’s reckoning with each issue and her evolving stance on the merger was very well done. When a main character makes a couple bad decisions, it can sometimes be hard to keep rooting for them, but Doe had so much humility that I was never frustrated with her. I did feel that some of the time spent covering these other issues detracted a bit from the main plot. There was a lot going on and I was sometimes impatient to return to the rivalry and romance. I think even removing one of the side plots would have made the book a bit easier to follow and better paced.
I do wish more time had been devoted to Doe and Three’s rivalry and that we’d been able to see them interact together more often, but that’s a testament to how well they were written. The ending was perfect and I can’t wait to re-read!
Based on the blurb, I was expecting a lighthearted YA romance, but was surprised and impressed with how many weighty issues this book covers! In addition to the fun and boys vs. girls boarding school rivalry, This May End Badly tackles gender parity in education, sexual harassment/assault, and gender identity and inclusion. Doe’s reckoning with each issue and her evolving stance on the merger was very well done. When a main character makes a couple bad decisions, it can sometimes be hard to keep rooting for them, but Doe had so much humility that I was never frustrated with her. I did feel that some of the time spent covering these other issues detracted a bit from the main plot. There was a lot going on and I was sometimes impatient to return to the rivalry and romance. I think even removing one of the side plots would have made the book a bit easier to follow and better paced.
I do wish more time had been devoted to Doe and Three’s rivalry and that we’d been able to see them interact together more often, but that’s a testament to how well they were written. The ending was perfect and I can’t wait to re-read!