It wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t anything new. It was a very typical YA love story. But if you love those, this is perfect for you!

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. Did not care for the characters, felt too predictable, and did not finish.

Such a tremendously and beautiful read. I really enjoyed the story and the characters. Kelly has a way with words; talented, I should say.

DNF - I read 40% of this book, but I wasn’t a fan of Fuller and decided to stop reading.

Wren’s life has been so difficult since the night that Fuller gave her that horrible nickname, but she keeps her eyes on her future and continues to work hard. Fuller’s life is so busy and stressful since he became the sole reason the basketball team wins games, but now that he is failing English he might lose it all. When they are forced together this enemies to lovers novel takes a turn. I have read lots of bullying romances, but Fuller seemed less sincere in his change of character so I just couldn’t keep reading.

DNF @ 43%

This was uh…this was a yikes for me. Usually I don’t mind the falling for the bully tropes but this one hit differently. Super cliche and had the feel of something out of the early 2000s, I couldn’t for the life of me get invested enough in what was happening with the characters or the plot enough to see what was going to happen next. I thought this was going to be a super fun and romcom like story, but it really just got on my nerves, especially with the inciting moment being the principle literally blackmailing Wren, our heroine, not tutoring the star athlete of the school.

Yeah not a fan was I.

This was a cute story about boy meets girl. I loved all the humor and first love in this story. It really made the darker themes of bullying a little lighter. It had wonderful characters that you can't help but love and I can not wait for another story by Kelly. I think fans of 10 Things I Hate About You will fall hard for this one!

Cute and fun!

I really liked Fuller and Wren's story. The change in him from his first scene to the last was a bit extreme, but at the same time it was what readers were hoping for and we saw reasons for it, so it didn't seem too out of the realm of possibility (and honestly, shouldn't we all hope to change from 7th grade to 12th? I mean really...)

And his grand gesture? Fan-freaking-tastic...

The "bet" that Fuller makes in the beginning was painfully horrible, though it helped (a little) that even he knew if was wrong as he made it and yes, he did the right thing calling it off in the end. He doesn't make the right choice right after that, of course (and you knew from the start that this would somehow contribute to the relationship black moment) and that was why he needed to pull out all of the stops for the grandest of all grand gestures to make things right.

Hudson (Fuller's little brother) and Wren's grandfather were really solid secondary characters and helped to make this book so much fun to read. This was my first book from this author, but probably not my last!

Rating: 4 stars / B+

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Light and fluffy and so much fun – this was a funny and thoroughly entertaining read.

Being blackmailed into tutoring Fuller James was bad, but then falling for him? That was definitely not part of the plan at all…

I’ve read a fair few young adult romances, enemies-to-lovers romances, and light comedy, but this was a great combination of all three. The witty dialogue between the two main characters was very amusing, and the misunderstandings were believable while still having a fresh take on a well-worn plot. If you’re looking to sit back and laugh through a light read for a few hours, this is definitely worth picking up. Recommended.

It was a very well written book that had a lot of fun characters. I enjoyed reading this a lot and will encourage others to follow suit

"This book was so delightful to read. It was like reading a classic love story. Smart girl teaches the playboy of school trope like I said it was classic but refreshing, I realized it's been ages since I last read a book of this trope and I really liked it. It was well written, Kelly was a new author to me and I'm so pleased of how the story and the characters were developed. Wren and Fuller were lovely characters. Great story."

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.* 

I love the movie 10 Things I Hate About You -- that is what I thought I was getting into! But, well... 

This book and I started off on the wrong foot: it opens with a food fight which I find so unrealistic and stupid. I expect it of elementary students, not high school students. Then Wren is blackmailed by her principal into tutoring Fuller who has an F in one class and they expect that an A on one assignment will give him an A in the class... that... that's not how grades work!
So, that was the first 20% where I'm confused on how this is real life. Also, every single person calls him Fuller James, not just Fuller... why?? 

I also had a problem with the timeline, inconsistencies (again in time that passed, character actions, & characters saying they did one thing when they actually did something else, etc.), and I really didn't like any of the characters. 

While there were cute moments, reading this book ended up being a waste of time.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I Hate You, Fuller James was kind of cute. In it you will meet Fuller and Wren. The whole plot seemed like something you've probably already read or watched on TV. So, it wasn't that surprising with what happened within it. I mean, these two were kind of cute together and they had some cute scenes too.

I just.. I felt like things were kind of repetitive throughout the book which was annoying. Other than that, not much drama within this book either. Yes, it will have some bullying.. but it was okay. I just feel like I've read a ton of bully romances so this was just tame to me.

Other than that, this was very predictable and had a cute ending.

*I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

This book was just okay, and I think a lot of that is because it just wasn't believable. I am more than willing to suspend my disbelief while reading a book; however, it's one thing to do so for, say, the existence of magic and quite another to do so for situations within my own world. The whole premise of this book—the whole reason any of it happened—was something I just couldn’t believe would ever actually happen.

Let me explain.

Fuller is failing AP Lit. He’s the school’s star basketball player. If he doesn’t get his grades up, he can’t play in the first game. He and his friends start a food fight during lunch. Enter Wren, the only girl in school who hates him. Also, she’s really, really smart and is the coach’s niece. For the first time ever, she throws food back. As a result, the principal and coach call them both into the office with a choice: Wren tutors Fuller, or they’re both suspended—this would go on her record and prevent her from attending her STEM camp, as well as some other things. Oh, and in order to not affect team morale, they can’t tell anyone. What do Wren’s parents say when they find out? They’re disappointed in her for throwing food. (Btw, other students who threw food were given detention. That’s all.)

So let’s just look at this in a real-world context, shall we? 1) Wren’s uncle is a self-serving jerk for going along with the plan. 2) What he and the principal did had a name: blackmail. 3) Her parents were disappointed in HER? Did they have nothing to say about the “deal” she was coerced into accepting?

This was not an enemies-to-lovers story. This was a story in which a girl who has been bullied for five years because of a boy and his girlfriend is forced, by school administrators, to help her bully so he can play basketball. And then I’m supposed to believe they fall for each other.

I’m sorry. I just can’t buy into it.

Do I believe people can change? Absolutely. But so many circumstances in this book were beyond my willingness to accept or believe.

Aside from that, it felt like the typical high school-themed movie with stereotypical mean girls and jocks whose sole purpose is to prevent the main characters from being together. They don’t have real personalities. The story itself was predictable.

Also (and I realize this is trite, but it is what it is) . . . A paper written in an AP Literature class is not going to use APA formatting and citations; it will use MLA. APA is used for things like social studies, business, education, and such. MLA is used for literature, history, arts, language, and such.

Good things: There were cute moments. Wren’s friends were pretty solid and supportive. Redemption and forgiveness are always good topics. Parents were generally present in their kids’ lives and not the usual idiots many YA books portray. However, I take issue with Fuller’s parents decision to let their younger son, Hudson (9 years old), watch Deadpool.

Note: A little swearing. Bullying. Hard to believe.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Shannan – ☆☆☆☆
This is a new-to-me author and I have to say I absolutely loved this read. I don't read a ton of young adult, but this one pulled me in from the first page.

We've all seen the this premise before – the nerdy girl forced to tutor the popular jock.

Wren is the overachiever of high school, assignments turned in early, going above and beyond for each class, and acing all her tests. She battles a lot of bullying from an incident in middle school earning her the nickname Wrentainer. Her best friend back then pushed her aside and became one of those mean girls, making people laugh at Wren's expense. When a food fight breaks out in the cafeteria, she's had enough and throws mashed potatoes, earning her a visit to the principal’s office. She either has to give up something she's been working really hard for or tutor cocky jock Fuller James.

Fuller James owns the school. He's the star of the basketball team. The popular kid everyone wants in their circle. He's done everything right except keep his grade up in AP Lit. The only way to play in the biggest game of the season is to get a tutor or sit on the bench. Knowing the scouts will be there to watch him, he'll do whatever it takes to be at that game, even if it means getting tutored by Wren and making the stupidest bet of his life.

I was invested from the beginning to the end. I mean, I knew how it was going to end, we've all seen a young adult movie on Netflix, but I still wanted to see it through. It was an entertaining young adult read.

I received a copy of I HATE YOU, FULLER JAMES on NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to the publisher and author.

Five stars and here’s why:

This was such a fun and fast read! I really loved it and this book hits all the YA points: savvy girl, hella-hot guy, and enough teenage angst to keep me turning the pages all night long! I suffered a serious book hangover! If you like excellent writing and fantastic plotting with a few YA twists, then this story is for you. Highly recommend.

Ok first off, how perfect is this cover?! It is a beauty! Second, if that synopsis doesn’t give you 10 Things I Hate About You vibes (and you KNOW that is my FAVOURITE movie!!) then I don’t know what will!

This is your typical jock-gets-tutored-by-the-nerd-but-then-they-see-there-is-so-much-more-to-one-another-and-fall-in-love, but it is oh so sweet. Of course there is drama and heart break and make outs and so on and so forth, no spoilers here. I thought this story was so cute. It’s definitely very fluffy and bubblegummy with a good dose of first love and heartbreak, jealousy and bullying of the “Mean Girls” sort, a misplaced bet and all the teen swoon you could want.

I loved the main character, Wren. After a bit of an embarrassing mishap in middle school she has been the centre of all of her classmates teasing and name-calling. Throughout the course of the book Wren finds herself standing up to her bullies and not letting them have that upper hand. I admire her strength and resilience and the fact that she carries on living her life in the cruel high school world where even her uncle, who is the coach of her proclaimed enemy, Fuller James, doesn’t even have her back.

There were a couple things that irked me, but that was probably on purpose. Books with bullying tend to do that, but I think this book does a good job of showing that those kind of actions are not appropriate and that even the most popular student can shut it down.

One thing that I didn’t love was that it felt like there was a bit of repetition and redundancy at times. Some moments things were explained right after they happened, thus having us readers reading it twice where it could have been something like, “I then explained to him what had happened”.

The ending fell a bit short for me in the same sense that I feel like it was explained too much. Everything was recapped EXACTLY and the excitement of what was happening really didn’t hit its mark. The story and the idea itself were very cute, but I feel there was some potential lost.

I definitely loved Fuller from the start in that way that you can tell there will be more from him. He’s a bit of a prankster and likes to cause trouble. He knows how to get away with things based on his social status and uses it to his advantage. But he’s also got hidden struggles with his family and is only seen for his basketball skills and nothing more.

Wren begins to see him for who he really is and if this isn’t the part of the story that always gets me, well, I was instantly in love with both of them. If you love a sweet and squishy contemporary YA, this is the book for you!

Oh wow, it’s been a while since I read an innocent YA romance. I’ve been on an adult romance kick recently, and I’d almost forgotten what it was like to go back to my “roots”, shall we say. And I Hate You, Fuller James was a good one to read for that sweetness. Just look at that cover!

This is some light, tropey goodness. And I say that in an affectionate way. I love tropes. I seek out certain tropes when I’m in particular moods, so please don’t get all snobby about the fact that this book has them. Here’s what you have in store for you when it comes to the romance between Wren and Fuller:

1) Hate-to-love (one of my faves!)
2) The nerd and the jock, with the accompanying tutoring storyline
3) A bet gone wrong

The past week has been pretty tough for me, with car (and therefore money) troubles, work stress, and my mental health doing its best to keep afloat. I had to put down a couple of books for a while because they were too intense. But I Hate You, Fuller James swooped in and saved the day. It was just predictable and innocent enough to not give me heart palpitations, but I was still engaged in the story, nervous about the angst (again, in a good way), and delighted by the slightly hotter scenes. (Not too hot, mind you, just some good, old makeout scenes. You know, in case you’re worried.) I squeed internally whenever Wren or Fuller stole a quick kiss. Ugh. So cute.

Bonus points go to Hudson, who was beyond adorable. Seriously, this kid! It was great to see his condition repped in a book, and I loved his obsession with Deadpool. Dude, I get it.

Not everything was up my alley though. I found it a bit annoying that Wren was too good at everything. It didn’t seem possible, what with her extracurriculars plus helping to care for her grandfather (and give up sleep). I was really good at school, too, but my teachers never handed out 100 percents on essays. There was always something. Maybe I’m just envious?

And then, to really drive the point home about how wonderful and perfect Wren was, she had to have the nasty former best friend turned popular girl/nemesis. I’m tired of the Mean Girl stereotype, and it got a little boring having to read all the comparisons both Wren and Fuller made between the two girls.

But you know what? I still ate this up. It was just the kind of thing I needed to calm my frazzled mind, something light and sweet with a little bit of sour thrown in.

Much like Nerds.

This is not the first time I am reading Kelly's work. Kelly has this charismatic and eye catching way with words. Again, I could not put the book down! Fuller and Wren’s journey from hate to love in a whirlwind of emotions: I'm laughing, crying and wondering what’s to come next. Fuller is a complex jock, he wears a mask in front of his friends and is totally different when he's home. He shows this side more with Wren. Wren is kind, caring and complex as well, at school she would rather not be noticed as much by Fuller and her ex best friend. When they both learn more about each other, the attraction has been there all along. They just didn't want to admit to themselves. Loved every page!

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a contemporary YA novel that had all the usual YA tropes...nerd tutoring a jock she had sworn off, mean jealous popular girl, jock betrayal, jock guilt, and happily ever after. There wasn't a lot of character growth, plot twists or page turning witty banter in this. It was a quick read and it was clean which I really appreciated.

Such a great fun read, a lot similar to other YA contemporary romances, but it’s still a great story, well written and entertaining. I loved the characters, well written and developed, the relationships are so good. A fast easy read and fun for anyone who loves old movies.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion