You know, before this book, I actually thought I had read enemies-to-lovers before. Now, after having read it, I realize that what I thought was enemies-to-lovers was merely two people who have the most vague irritation fueled by UST towards each other to lovers.

This book was exquisitely written, and if I were a different person on a different day, this would hands down be a five star read. But I do find that I prefer less enemies and more lovers, and that the angst factor was higher by several degrees than I like.

Having said that, I can't think of a single other YA (or even adult novel to be honest),where the girl characters were allowed to be as simultaneously ragged, raw-edged, vital, whole, hopeful, fully realized, sympathetic, and likeable. Other positives were casual and positive LGBTQIA and fat rep, positive portrayals of therapy and mental health awareness, and a laserlike focus on inter-feminine relationships, both romantic and platonic.

I'm going to be thinking about this one for a long time.

Enemies to lovers can be a hit or miss trope for me, but online relationships turning out to be real life relationships? That's a trope I will always love.

This book had both. The online relationship completely delivered, hitting all of the points I like about the trope, with its inherent drama. The enemies to lovers was a little shakier in my opinion, though I think the ending wrapped up some things that had been bothering me. Part of the problem with enemies to lovers plots is that there needs to be a real reason that the characters hate each other, and not just a stupid misunderstanding/plot device. It's not until the end of the book that I really understood why Iliana was pouring so much of her energy into a hateful relationship with Rhodes, and only then did it click as a solid enemies plot.

The relationship between the three girls - Iliana, Rhodes, and their shared friend Sarah - was complicated and real. The three of them all take turns being cruel to one another in various ways, sometimes tiny, sometimes not, in a way that felt realistic. This was particularly true of the ways in which the various characters were able to see other relationships as toxic, but blind to the mess of their own relationship. Teenage female friendship is so complicated, intense, and hard to understand from the outside, and I think the author did an excellent job recreating that "feel".

I think it was interesting the ways in which wealthy Rhodes is both aware of her privilege, and yet also surprised when she recognizes the subtle ways money or the lack of it has influenced every aspect of all of their lives. It felt like the very real growth of someone who is realizing that you can intellectually understand something, but you will be learning and growing, and coming to bone-deep feel it for the rest of your life.

A book that worked powerfully on many levels. I definitely recommend it.

Thanks to Macmillan for giving me a digital galley of this book in exchange for feedback.

I'm glad I stayed with this book, because I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would.

At a posh art academy, Iliana and Rhodes can't stand each other. They are rivals for the senior-year state art competition, with a college scholarship at stake. They're social rivals. And they've each hurt each other, in various ways. Each of them wants one thing: to defeat the other, graduate, and never have to see each other again.

Online, Cheshire and Alice are falling in love. Through their long collaboration on an epic work of "Alice in Wonderland" fan fiction, they've gotten close, become friends, and, they're beginning to realize, have fallen for each other.

You can see it coming, right?

At the beginning of the book, I was a little bored, and almost put it down. "I can see how this probably works well for its target audience," I said, "and it isn't a BAD book. I'm not connecting with these characters, though, and it's just so obvious what's going to happen next."

I kept reading, instead of putting it aside, and actually it wasn't quite as obvious as I thought it was, and a few things happened that I did not see coming, and I found myself actually connecting with Iliana and Rhodes after all. I think it was getting to know Rhodes's awful, awful mother that really helped me click with this book.

If you're a nerdy, queer teenager whose heart is a hard ball of cynicism with a soft romantic center, you're going to like this book, I think.

This book will likely appeal to those who like a good hate-to-love romance and those who enjoyed Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda.

This was a drama filled story about high school students competing for the prestigious Capstone Foundation Award which came with many perks. The story was told from the alternating perspectives of Lliana and Rhodes. They were both seniors at the Alabama Conservatory of the Arts along with Sarah, Lliana’s best friend since third grade, who was also Rhodes’ roommate. Initially, Rhodes and Lliana were civil to each other. However, after a campus incident that got Lliana arrested, civility was replaced by outright meanness. A week prior to this incident, Lliana was awarded the Savannah College of Art and Design scholarship which she desperately needed to pay for her college. Now the scholarship was rescinded. Even though Rhodes parents paid for her legal services, from that point on she hated Rhodes, and Rhodes reacted to that hate in kind. But unbeknownst to each other, and using their online names- Alice and Cheshire- they became friends through a fan fiction story they created and illustrated. They also became each other’s best friend…sharing life’s experiences, the good and bad. Alice and Cheshire fell in love while Rhodes and Lliana continued with their hateful ways toward each other.

The characters in this book were interesting. Even though they were friends, they were always hurting each other. Rhodes seemed to be the spoiled rich girl with the attitude to match. Her parent had no qualms at all in handing out money to fix Rhodes’ academic problems. Sarah was the whiny and always crying mediator between Rhodes and Lliana, but she had her own mean streak. Lliana was a hard worker but constantly demanded Sarah take sides against her own personal war with Rhodes, without taking Sarah’s feelings into consideration. This part described in depth the girls’ feeling and animosity toward each other. About the halfway point, there was a turning point which led Rhodes and Liliana to reevaluate not only their academic direction but personal one as well. It was at this point that some of the characters, thankfully, exhibited redeeming qualities. This was also the point where the paced improved and took on a more emotional tone as Alice and Cheshire were unmasked. I was expecting as much depth to this second part as the first, but it wasn’t there.

I did like the fanfic story Alice and Cheshire created, as well as the internet interaction between Alice and Cheshire. It was a nice diversion from all the negativity that was going on in the first part.

Overall, the story was well written. I think young adults will enjoy all the high school dramatics that took place as well as the various faces of friendship.
3.5 stars
ARC given for an honest review.

This is the friends-to-lovers f/f YA of my dreams. Iliana and Rhodes hate each other in real life, and for very good reason, but love each other online. The use of Alice in Wonderland as a theme throughout is sweet and it ties so much together. Everyone in the book is more than she or he seems. It has depth and heart and you will root for both characters at different times.

Excellent. Highly recommend.

I Kissed Alice has such an intriguing premise, and I had been looking forward to reading this for months. While it was an enjoyable read, parts of the story fell flat for me. I would have liked to see more of Alice and Cheshire developing their relationship rather than start the story with them already in love, and I would have liked to see the minor characters explored a little more because as a reader, I was not invested in how they contributed to the plot.

This was a cute enemies to friends story of Rhodes and Iliana. The girls both attend the same art school and they share a friend and a dramatic connection. What they don't know is that they are online collaborators for a fan fiction site for Alice in Wonderland under the alias Alice and Cheshire. Alice and Cheshire have fallen in love but have never met in person and don't realize that IRL they hate each other. This was a cute story but I felt like the first part of story had more depth to it. Overall it was a good read, I just was looking for a bit more from the IRL relationship development. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

3.5 stars

I found the description of this novel captivating and could not wait to read about the crossover art school to IRL relationship between two frenemies turned romantic interests. The fact that the two halves of this relationship are queer, in the South, and making art together sounded extra intriguing.

While the Alice/Cheshire online relationship is pretty charming, I wish that had been bit more developed and expanded with some additional history. Instead, the first half of the novel centers on the extreme dislike between the characters IRL. For me, this back and forth went on for too long. I do enjoy Griffin and the way the Capstone story line evolve, but I found myself getting more engaged in the second half than in the first.

I have really mixed feelings about the ending, which I'll keep spoiler-free. The main twist felt a bit obvious, and I wish there had been an opportunity to work through and resolve that strange turn of events before closing. I'd have rather seen a message about the importance of friendship - not just romance - especially for a teen audience.

Overall, I did enjoy this, but I'd have liked more development of issues in the second half versus the first, a stronger emphasis on the friendships, and even a more solid infusion of the Alice components thematically (since they are so prominent in both main characters' art).