This book was very interesting, especially in terms of the concept. To think just answering a few questions could lead to a proper relationship and completely change what you think about a person is almost unthinkable. But the progression of the book really showed how feelings can just pop up out of the blue and how certain interactions can lead to more.

The book mainly follows Hildy and Paul, when they both decide to take part in a university psychology study, in which the main focus is to see whether love can be engineered. Both of them have completely different reasons to why they agree to answer questions and join the study; Hildy actually knowing what the study is about and deciding to push herself out of her comfort zone and Paul only focused on the $40 he will make after taking part. However they are then paired together to answer the 36 questions.

This was much more exciting and funny than I thought it would be. To be honest I was expecting a fluffy, only partially believable romance with not much depth but I didn't get that at all. It was interestingly different in terms of the way it is written, with the points of perspective and the structure in which the book is written. There was a lot of depth to the characters separately and they definitely stood apart from characters in other books. Often its hard to find authors whose protagonists really bring something different to the table but more recently I have been surprised by the character development and the progression of the romantic relationships in the contemporary genre. This book was no exception to that.

I found Hildy very relatable and the author really did a great job painting a picture of her life without blurting everything out at the beginning of the book. Information was slowly uncovered throughout and I think that it worked well. That said, I did have a problem with certain family relationships not being explored more. I feel as though it could have added a lot of depth to the story and possibly given the plot what it was lacking and even upped it to a five star read. My main problem with the book was that it was too short. Some things only scratched the surface and I wanted to dive into that drama. I needed more interactions between Hildy and her family and friends. We didn't really get to see how everything was resolved. However I do give praise to the ending. I very much enjoyed the way it came to a close and it really made me smile.

Back to the writing. The way in which it is written is a little jarring and took a bit to get used to in the beginning, however I don't feel like that was a bad thing; because I quickly got used to it and it was a great reading experience. I loved the humour, some of the dialog was really hilarious, I was in a literal fit of giggles at one point. I just couldn't believe the author had actually written some of the things she had. It was unfiltered, yet not too much so and the innuendos were fabulous.

I however do wish we could have got more from the psychologist Jeff's perpective, perhaps after the end of the study, it would have been interesting to read. Although at the same time I feel like if we had, it would have made the relationship in which the protagonists had built seem a little less real and kind of cheep so I think I am kind of glad we didn't at the same time.

Overall I thought the format was pretty weird however I really liked it at the same time and found it really quick to read. I enjoyed the way the idea was executed. The plot was very fast moving and the characters were well fleshed out, which made the progression of the relationship very exciting to read. It was a very enjoyable read and would definitely recommend picking it up and giving it a go.

Thank you to Running Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 Stars

"Betty" and "Bob" are participating in a psychology experiment about love and attraction. They are required to ask each other 36 questions, which must be answered truthfully. "Betty," or Hildy is trying to recover from a romantic issue and "Bob," or Paul just needs the $40 they get for participating. The two bicker back and forth, but there does seem to be something more there. Until, Paul goes over the top in frustrating Hildy, who storms out of the experiment. The two are carrying of family baggage Developing feelings lead these two characters to seek each other out to finish the questions and potentially have a new flame.

I enjoyed the concept and the story. I did have issues with the dialogue between Hildy and Paul. They were more frustrating and annoying during the dialogue portions, but they were likeable in the narrative portions.

What a cute read! Definitely a great title to keep in mind for everyone who likes contemporary romances, bad boys with a soft side, and a sweet girl with a seemingly perfect life. This has the makings of a Netflix series!

Oh dear. Why the comparison to Eleanor and Park? It wasn't warranted.

By all accounts, this book should have been right up my alley. Unfortunately it *completely* missed the mark for me. Texting and email communication is one of my favorite things when it's tucked into novels. I think it's a fun and very efficient way to move the story folder and allow the characters to engage with each other in a way that feels natural and...well, fun. This book took things a little over the top, however, in that all dialogue was written like a text dialogue (even when it wasn't) which read more like a play script than an actual story. I missed getting insights into how the characters felt or what they thought. It kept me from feeling like I was relating or forming a connection with either of the main characters and it didn't take long before I just wasn't interested in moving forward.

In the end, I chose to DNF at 20%. The premise had a lot of promise, but the execution did not work for me at all.

I love the idea behind this young adult novel; based on the real-life psychological study of matching individuals based on a series, of questions, '36 Questions That Changed My Mind About You' explores the budding relationship between Hildy and Paul based on this matching process. The idea is great and I immediately warmed to the characters, despite how obtuse Paul seems to be and Hildy highly-strung.

Straight away the book moves into a sort of instant message dialogue, almost reading as a script, with 'PAUL:' and his dialogue followed by Hildy's. This isn't a natural way to read a story and after quite a few pages of this I found it quite hard work. I understand with this being a YA novel it is told through various modern mediums of communication, but this is taxing way to read nonetheless. Not only that, but when you get to reading about Hildy and Paul's responses to the questions, you realise that 36 is a LOT to get through.

I will admit that I DNF this book at about 30%, as the format was hard-going and I just could not find myself getting invested in these characters' romance. For others however, such as younger readers and those more comfortable with the instant message style format, I imagine this is an enjoyable and snappy read.

Great story which takes its inspiration from the study by psychologist Arthur Aron. Both characters have a secret that unfolds as the story develops. I loved the dynamic of the story and the characters. Cute read!

Oh I just loved* this! It was a fascinating read, seeing Hildy and Paul get to actually know each other through the questions (and beyond), when they'd started Q1 as complete and utter strangers.

The saga of Kong the fish was a great subplot too ;)

*I did NOT love Paul's terrible spelling/grammar and text speak though when they had the IM sessions :( That was painful to read.

I study psychology so I knew that this is not the right way/potrayal to do experiment but I love Hildy and Paul so much 😍😍 They are not interesting character at first but the more I read (the more I knew about them), I love them, The story is really character based and I love it. ✨✨

This book certainly has a target audience. I would give this to any teen looking for a romance and/or a quick read. The book would also appeal to a reluctant reader due to the text message and transcript format. However, the dialogue was predictable and formulaic.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from the publisher, which has not altered my opinion of this book.

This book was very cute. I enjoyed it because of the sweet and innocent romance along with a very uncomplicated storyline. This was a typical, and quite predictable, story about the good girl with family issues who meets the bad boy with equally bad family issues. I did appreciate how much this story played with how the digital age has become so interesting and necessary in some parts of our lives.

As far as the characters go, they both felt incredibly predictable and I could nearly always predict what they were going to do or say. While I didn’t fully predict what happened with Paul, but it does make sense. I wasn’t incredibly impressed with Hildy, she felt pretty generic, same as Paul. I’m not saying this is a bad book, not at all! It’s well written, just predictable. The most interesting part of this book is that it’s written almost like a play, with the name of the person and then what they say, almost like an messaging conversation. My favorite what the small role that a psychology study played in the beginning of the story.

If you’re looking for a cute, honest, and differently written contemporary story in which psychology has a contributing factor then this is a wonderful book for you. This is great for a contemporary story lover. 3.5 from me!

I was excited about this one, I was eager to start it, but I had many other books so I had to wait. :)

Today I started this one, and sadly, I couldn't continue. I got a bit over 10% and then I was just annoyed with the characters. They seemed fake, plus I disliked both of them. Hildy (or Hilda) for how she always seemed to be touchy and acted like some old mom from the 50s. Paul because his attitude and how he seemed to love making remarks about things. He is an asshole, and she is just too touchy and bubbly. Can't they just answer the questions, and be done with it? Do they really need to keep on going on and on about things?

I generally like it when books have a bit of an alternate format (like with this one with dialogue), but sadly that really couldn't hold my attention. If anything I had rather see some questions and dialogue, then a bit of normal text, and then back to questions and dialogue. I can't imagine going through 36 questions like this.

So I am sorry, but this one apparently wasn't for me. :(

OWN

The idea is cliche, but it's the kind of cliche that I welcome in my life because normally forcing two people to get to know each other generates funny and sweet moments. This books also Innovated this trope which made me enjoy and keep reading until the end.
The two main characters are lovable, but Paul didn't catch my attention from the beginning because he was kind of a bastard at first impression. But I think that's what the book proposes, we as readers also get to know both characters (Paul and Hildy) through the answers and interactions. I found myself also answering the questions so it's a very interactive book to read.
As I say at the beginning, the idea of the book is cliche BUT it surprised me too. The characters were very unique and I loved to get to know them throughout the book. The Sweet moments were just too adorable to talk about, and the angst moments were....heartbreaking.

I was really interested in the idea behind it, but I couldn't connect with the characters at all. I couldn't quite get the rhythm of the story and got really confused on where on the timeline I was (part of it was because of the format the ARC was sent with barely any structure, which made the reading a lot more complicated).
It was really disappointing since I really liked the idea of a "falling in love method", but it turns out 36 questions is A LOT and it took forever for the characters to actually communicate instead of bicker each other.

Imagine that you are two 18- or 19-year-olds who have agreed to participate in a psychology study. You are in a room together with 36 questions and you have to answer them honestly to each other. What do you think would happen? In the story, the study is testing to see if a sense of connection can be fostered by this type of communication. Bob and Betty (our test subjects' code names), seem to be such total opposites that they may not make it through all the questions without some sort of violence. It doesn't help that Betty is dealing with a tense situation at home and isn't eating or sleeping well. The fact that Bob seems to be there only for the $40 stipend, and is sarcastic and grouchy, isn't helping. In classic rom-com style, opposites make sparks fly and also make progress on the questions despite all the interruptions and delays that come up. Everything from tropical fish, snow storms, and doodles on a restaurant table play into the final resolution of the question. Can a connection be fostered by requiring two people to be honest with each other?

Based on an actual study that used this type of organization, the story of Bob and Betty (aka Paul and Hildy) will have you laughing, wincing, groaning with despair, and perhaps even suffering from spillage out of tear ducts that are too small. The characters of Hildy's friends Ziu and Max are entertaining as support cast in the drama unfolding between the two test subjects. And I must say that Kong, for a nonverbal fish, manages to add quite a bit to the mood of the story.

A great pick for fans of tales such as "Ten Things I Hate About You," The Only Thing Worse than Me Is You, or YA romantic comedies in general.

Format is unreadable and therefore was not able to finish. The way it is formatted made the reading experience choppy and therefore I was unable to connect with the story.

I feel like if I'm honest my actual rating would be 2.5 stars. I was so excited to read this because of the promise of "texts, IMs, drawings, etc;" but they weren't really as frequent nor were the images in the copy I received. As for the actual story I found the writing to be a little wishy washy. I hated how the author treated Max (he's basically a stereotypical GBF) and I found the interactions between Hildy and Paul to be slightly childish, predictable and at some points quite cringy. But tbh? I read the whole book in a day and as a whole I didn't completely hate it, it just didn't live up to my expectations. I don't think I'd read again nor would I recommend it to anyone but I also don't regret spending a day on it.

Told through a unique text style, girl meets boy as a part of a psychological study that has them ask and answer 36 questions ranging from different topics. First, you have Hildy, the clumsy, goody-two shoes, with the picture perfect family that is slowing crumbling down. Next, you have Paul, the tough guy with a hidden soft side and a dark past. Complete opposites from each other.

I did enjoy the premise of the story especially since I am heading into my second year of Uni for a degree in Psychology and it baffled me to learn that this story was based on a real study I have not heard of. The characters were nicely written and completely lovable in my opinion. I loved reading how their chemistry increased throughout the book to beyond physical attraction.

The writing style is unique and easy too read, but I was not a big fan of the way the dialogue was written (think of reading text messages, ex: Paul: *enter whatever he said* Hildy: *enter whatever she said*). Also, the questions asked seemed a bit too much (36 is a lot of questions).

The romance was a bit prolonged and was cut off short at the end. Also, we only heard about Hildy's side of things, not so much from Paul. I would have loved it if they interacted more or included more of Paul's perspective. I felt like the book could have ended differently too and possibly be a bit longer instead of well, that's all folks! See ya! type of thing. 

Overall, I did really enjoy it and in my opinion it was a cute and quick read. Rating: 3.5/5 stars

I found the premise of this book interesting and I enjoyed the writing style.

Hildy (17) and Paul (18) take part in a psychological experiment which is supposted to show if two complete strangers can fall in love with each other after answering 36 personal questions. At first glance the girl and the boy have nothing in common, but what brings them closer together is the fact that each of them has a secret, and none of them has ever talked about it til now... '36 Questions That Changed My Mind About You' is a heartwarming novel about ordinary life that's not always perfect , second chances and love. If you are curious wether 36 questions are enough to fall in love with a stranger then you need to give this novel a go!