*I received an e-arc for review via Netgalley. Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity. All thoughts are my own*

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Artifacts of an Ex was my first book by Jennifer Chen. This was a cute YA romance, and good for a debut!

I really enjoyed the art aspect of the story and found that really unique! Chloe and Daniel made a great team, and I enjoyed seeing their relationship develop. I think Daniel was my favorite character, as Chloe kind of annoyed me sometimes. I also liked how the importance of family was talked about in the book. Chloe has a great relationship with her grandmother and her parents.

I would recommend to those that enjoy YA!

Oh I have things to SAY about this book, but I will be withholding any reviews due to the St. Martin's Press boycott that is ongoing (which includes their imprint Wednesday Books).

#SpeakUpSMP

This book was so cute!
It follows Chloe, who gets dumped after moving from New York To California. Instead of trashing her box of memories with her now ex, she decides to create an art exhibit with her own memories as well as the memories of other teens after their breakups.

I will say, it was a bit slow to start but well worth the read. I loved Chloe’s growth as she learns to cope and let go of her ex to open herself up to someone worthy of her.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jennifer Chen, St. Martin’s Press, and Wednesday Books for the digital arc of this book.

I wanted more from this. It was cute but the characters seemed younger than they were. I struggled with the audio. The female voice sounded like a 13 year old girl and the male character was breathy. It made it difficult for me to get though it.

This was a fine ya romance. I think I just wasn’t the target audience for this. I have to accept that ya contemporary romances just don’t hit the same way anymore. If they still did I think I would have enjoyed this book a lot more.

DNF

I was initially drawn to this book by its cover and seemingly up my alley synopsis. However, after I tried reading the first few chapters, I am not enjoying the writing style. And rather than force through the book that I don’t enjoy the writing of, and inevitably rate it lower because of that, I am DNF’ing to spend my time on books I might enjoy more.

This was a cute YA romance. When you say ARTIFACTS OF AN EX, my mind immediately goes to the word cute—cute, cute, cute. Would I reread it? No. Would I recommend it? Sure, it’s cute—a cute book to entertain you.

I like the book’s concept of using a box of breakup memories to create art, i.e., Heartifacts. This gave the cute book some depth and discussion, along with Daniel’s plight of not being the rebound. But I had a love/hate relationship with the FMC, Chloe. I either rooted for her or couldn’t stand her and wanted the book to move along. I don’t think she was intended to be so polarizing.

Minus my feelings about Chloe, I enjoyed reading the book. As I already said, I found this book cute. For a YA romance, it will do well. I may not have been the right market.

Thanks, Wednesday Books and Netgalley, for the arc!

Content warning: dementia

This was definitely a very cute read with adorable characters! I think I'm growing out of the target audience range for YA stories so it felt a little bit young for my current tastes but overall the story was great for the intended audience!

This story was a sweet, lighthearted story. This story sounded so interesting and I was so excited to get into it. It was an enjoyable and quick read but I didn't LOVE it. I will definitely read more books by this author in the future, this one just wasn't the one for me! 3 Stars.

I really wanted to love this one. I read about 15 percent in and I just could not get attached to the story or characters. I really appreciate the eARC and hope to be able to read more stories from the publisher in the future. I think this specific story just was not for me. Thank you! I will not post a rating on goodreads as I did not finish the book and do not feel it is fair to rate stories without finishing them.

this felt very young adult, the awkwardness of this had me struggling to get through this one as there was no real depth.

This was such a cute and endearing story. I’m thankful I was able to get an arc of this. It definitely kept my attention and I enjoyed the characters.

This was very cute! I'm not really the primary audience for young adult books anymore so this fell a bit flat for me but it's definitely not the first ya book to do so recently and I'm slowly reading less of the genre. This book was a good cute light-hearted contemporary friends to lovers romance. I liked Jennifer's writing style and thought the plot played out quite well. It was a fun relatively quick read that I think would've easily been a 4 or 5 star read for me as a teen!
Thank you St. Martin's Press and Wednesday Books for the e-copy

This was an interesting and unique Young Adult book.

I received an e-ARC of the book from the publisher.

DNF at 40%. I just could not continue. For a YA, this felt very young. Close to middle grade, but with none of the charm that middle grade gives you.

a cute, light-hearted story about friendships and relationships told through art. cute cover. i think it would make a good movie.

I don't reach for YA romance often but being that this was on the older end of the genre and could technically be considered more of a NA since it's based on college aged characters as a clean romance, I gave it a shot. The overall premise was a really fun idea and relatable. Hosting an art show based on things from exes was entertaining. I know I've kept random trinkets from past relationships and the idea of putting it on display and talking about the relationship really got me thinking. Honestly, I'd love to go to an actual exhibit of this.

The chemistry between our characters flowed well and their growth independently was refreshing. Side characters were entertaining enough and didn't distract from our mains. Overall a cute feel good read that would be relatable for most readers in high school and college aged.

There is a lot to enjoy about this contemporary YA romance a unique premise, diverse characters and a setting perfect for finding new love. Chloe and Daniel and their unique artist perspectives propel the story in interesting unexpected ways and I thoroughly enjoyed their travels through the LA area and interactions with their friends and family.

I was happy to read this with it's reminders of young love but I admit that there were a few things that I did not enjoy. Chloe is a capable teen with organizer energy, big goals but recently broken up and moved to Los Angeles from New York. I loved her planner energy so much as a fellow #plannergirl and it was fun to recognize planner terms and products however when it came to romance she turned borderline cringe. She is too intense and her romance with Daniel did not feel as organic as the author I think intended, for me it felt like a romance more of proximity and common interests. Chloe is just too fixated on her past for me and all of the characters felt a little too mature and a bit unrealistic. If they were in college already it might make more sense but every teen here was incredibly insightful and talented.

There is a side plot about her family and I loved those parts so much along with most of the art talk but it was a little excessive for my taste. I found the ending a bit hurried and wished there was at least an epilogue. Overall I'm glad I read this as there was lots to enjoy and its a good beach read for those that don't want anything too serious and don't mind reading about angsty teenagers.
Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for access to a digital ARC copy
*You may want to look up content warnings as there is a family member dealing with a serious medical condition in this

From the first page to the last, this book held me spellbound. The characters are so richly developed, and the storyline is beautifully crafted. The pacing was perfect. And the ending... Wow! It left me speechless and eager for more. Overall, Artifacts of An Ex is a masterpiece that I highly recommend to anyone looking for an unforgettable reading experience.

I enjoyed this contemporary romance about heartbreak, moving on, and the power of art. I thought the main character was pretty likeable and even when she made choices I didn't like, it was easy to see how she got there. The friendships were great and I liked the side characters and how they helped with the various projects.

This goes by quickly and is a cute read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the copy.