I Think I Love You is a cute, summer adventure about two enemies falling for each other while competing against each other in a film competition. Sophia and Emma, two teens living in NYC, share the same circle of friends but think they have nothing else in common. They start out the novel completely against each other and only talk to bicker and argue. But their friends quickly find a way to make the two girls realize they might be more than friends.

I Think I Love You is a dual narrative told from both Sophia's and Emma's POV and I loved that we got to see each girl's perspective. Both girls are dealing with a more serious subplot--Emma is trying to figure out how to come out to her parents and Sophia is dealing with the aftermath of her parent's divorce. I loved that the author added in some issues that many teens are facing in real life and allowed the girls to work through their emotions.

Overall, this is a light, quick read with a cute queer romance at the heart of the story. It's about mending friendships, growing up. and finding your happy ending. This is an excellent selection for younger teen readers who are new to YA and fans of contemporary!

It's hard to pinpoint what I didn't enjoy about this book, but I just couldn't click with it at all. It felt like there was almost too much going on, the film festival and friendship dramas started to overshadow the romance and it wasn't moving fast enough for my liking. I actually found that I wasn't at all interested in the dynamics of the 2 friendship groups and their relationships, and that definitely never helps. It read a little on the young side and some of the dialogue was quite stilted.

I think if there had been a little bit more of just Emma and Sophia getting to know each other and slowly developing a relationship, this could have been a slightly higher rating. But I was just bored for most of the book, and therefore would not recommend it.

3.5 rolled up to 4

Filled with awe! This book is simply adorable! I am a sucker for a friends-to-lovers romance and this one even though it's filled with moments of misunderstanding, these ladies are super mature in the fact that they don't let that hinder their relationship. They move past it which I thought was super mature of them.

Thanks, Netgalley and Underlined for an advanced copy of I Think I Love You, I do hope you'll check it out, especially if you fall into the LGBTQ+ family or if you're questioning your ability to fall in love, or come out to your parents. Lovely read.

It was a nice read, maybe the characters were a bit annoying and it was the usual unnecessary and forced drama just to create tension and pain, but it was enjoyable and an easy read.

I didn't like that there wasn't much romance. Well, there was, but side plot lines overshadowed it and I wanted more.

A fast and easy read.

I think I love you is a modern-day, sapphic retelling of Much Ado About Nothing, centered around a group of friends trying to win a film making contest! Like Much Ado, this book features the tried and tested miscommunication trope and also the "meddling friends" trope, and it was overall a super cute, light, fun read!

The book is a dual pov story told from the perspectives of both Emma (rom-com aficionado, low-key manic pixie dreamgirl and bisexual disaster) and Sophia (cold cynical lesbian, doesn't believe in love, also is a snob) as they take on the task of making a short film for the contest. Shenanigans ensue. People fight, then they make up, happily ever after etc etc. You know how this story goes.

Like I said, while this book was a light, fun read, I also felt a little disappointed by it, on the whole. The writing was fine, for the most part, but it felt very repetitive. There were a few phrases and sentences that would just show up over and over and instead of the result being an emphasis on the thing the author was trying to say, it just got annoying. The main miscommunication plotline was also a little...I don't know, extra? overly convenient? something like that. Not gonna lie, it *was* hilarious, but I was not sold on it. The character reactions to it also felt ooc. Maybe I would've bought it if we had fleshed out the side characters more so it would feel a little more natural, but they weren't and I didn't.

As for the leads, I really liked Emma as an MC. She was quintessentially YA, and while she could get a lil annoying, I was also taken with her. Girl's adorable, what do you want me to do! Sophia, on the other hand...oof! I absolutely hated her in the beginning. It's a me-thing, though, because I think her character development over the course of the book was actually pretty well done. But, I couldn't stand her for a good third of the book lmao. (I was so annoyed, I wanted to throw things at her.)((I think I have had it with edgy, snobby teens in books)).

One of the parts of the book that I really liked was Sophia and Emma's relationships with their parents! Sophia, being a child of divorce, has a really complicated and rocky relationship with her parents and while Emma's family is very cute and close, she isn't out to them and that's a whole thing. Despite the lighthearted nature of the book, I felt like these conflicts were pretty well-handled! I would've loved to see more of it, but this isn't that kind of book, and I understand that. Bless, there wasn't any overt homophobia against the leads or anything. Which is not exactly relevant, but it was just an added bonus!

The romance between Emma and Sophia was very cute, but I wanted more of it! Also they kept throwing the world love around a lot in the beginning itself, and I know teenagers do that, but it was another me-thing that made me roll my eyes so much. Anyway, yes, we got very cute sapphic yearning moments, and panic-filled hand-holding and BAKING TOGETHER and all that, but I still wanted there to be moreee. Sue me.

Overall, very cute, but also not the best story out there, all things considered! It takes a lighthearted approach to a story about identity and love and friendship and it does an okay job of saying the things it wants to say. I had my problems with it, but I can totally see others — especially younger readers — benefiting from reading this! And, like, it's also just a super quick read and would make for a great book to just chill with. So yay, for that!

I’m a huge fan of rom-coms, so when I heard that this followed a rom-com fan and film maker I knew I had to pick it up. I wasn’t disappointed! Desombre’s writing is approachable and I really enjoyed how she wrote her characters. Her main and supporting characters were all interesting and felt real. I really enjoyed reading from both Emma and Sophia’s perspectives. They both had completely different backgrounds and it was interesting to see how it affected the other. I especially appreciated reading from Sophia’s perspective. If this was only in Emma’s perspective then I would have despised Sophia. She came across as pompous, rude, and self-centered. Not until I got Sophia’s perspective a few times did I really get to know her and understand her better. This really helped added depth to the two characters.

The story is predictable, in the way that all rom-coms are, and I think that’s what I loved about it. It follows the rom-com formula and made it a comforting read. At no point was I worried about everyone’s well-being because I knew where the story was going. Now that’s not to mean that there were no surprises. The “mystery” element of the rom-com was interesting and I wasn’t able to predict the culprit. Once it was revealed it all made sense, but I hadn’t know from the beginning.

I also loved the environments in this story. They visited a lot of parts of New York, but they felt like different environments because of why they were there. The overall plot of writing and creating a 15 minute film was interesting and I loved how it progressed. I did think in the end that this movie seemed awfully long for a 15 minute movie, but then again I know nothing about making one so maybe that is typical.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It would be a great summer read because of how fun it was and how quickly I read it. I managed to read this all in one sitting – a very rare thing for me. I think you would enjoy this if you enjoy Kasie West, Ali Novak, or Katie Cotugno. I can’t wait to see what else Desombre comes out with.

I Think I Love You is told from two perspectives, Sophia and Emma. When it comes to love, Emma is a romantic. Sophia is little more pragmatic when it comes to love. When the two find out that a film festival is holding a competition, the two butt heads with what kind of film they should make. Emma wants to film a gay romantic comedy, while Sophia wants to film a more abstract artistic film with a message.

The story alternates between the two girls’ perspectives. The concept seemed super fun, especially since there’s one of my favorite tropes-enemies to lovers. Unfortunately both of the characters were unlikable. There was something whiny and immature about them that had me getting annoyed throughout the story. I know this is a young adult story, but there was still something a little too melodramatic about it that nagged me. The relationship seemed rushed and poorly built, and felt a little bit unhealthy.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

this book was a little ray of sunshine in a world so dark and bleary. I haven't read a lot of wlw content and that is me thing because I never thought I could relate to the stories. I did'nt want sad coming out stories or angst I just wanted to see queer girls in love and that's what this book gave me.

The story follows Emma and Sophie. Emma is a die-hard romantic and movie lover who wants to participate in this film festival competition where the winner gets scholarship money and a few other things. Sophie recently spent.a year in France and returned back to New York cynical and pretentious but also deeply lonely and desperate to rekindle old friendships. Emma and Sophie always kept each other at arm's length because everyone expected them to date just cause they are both queer. WIth Sophie joining Emma's movie along with the rest of their friends and both of them constantly butting heads they decide to split the friend group in half and make their own movies.

I adored Emma's relationship with her family and how close she was to her friends. I loved her romantic notions and mild insecurities and fears of being a bad person. I also loved Emma's growth throughout the book and how she learns to unlock her heart from the cage she forced it into.

Overall there were a lot of pacing issues and some moments felt rushed but considering this is a debut I am excited for more from this author and it was an absolute delight!!

I Think I Love You was an absolute joy - a celebration of films, romance tropes, friend groups, family dynamics, romance itself, passion projects, queer community, and striving for queer rep in media. You just can't help but root for the frenemies to rivals to lovers and turn into mush when they realize they actually love each other.

An ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a little torn about how I feel about this one! On one hand, I thought it had a really cute plot and our main two characters had some really cute chemistry. Whenever our leads are alone together, this book really shines.

On the other hand, however, I think almost every character in this book behaved really irrationally or unrealistically at least once or twice throughout the book's story, more if we're talking about Matt or Tom...but mostly Matt.

It often felt like, as soon as I would settle in or begin to enjoy myself while reading this, some really stupid misunderstanding would occur and none of the characters would be willing to talk to one another to sort things out.

I do know that this is common when it comes to teenagers, but it happens so often and with such vitriol that it almost always left me wondering why these people were friends at all. They just felt like they were all there to get into fights with each other or disagree and there was very little in the way of actual cuteness.

That said, when things get cute, that's when this book is at its best, but there is so little of it, I certainly had a hard time getting to the finish line on this one, despite some good things being around.

I think things were absolutely at their worst when it came down to the sabotage plotline and, unfortunately, I think that's what I'm going to remember most clearly once I've had some time away from the book, which is unfortunate.

If Desombre is able to work on writing characters with more depth, particularly her side characters, I might be willing to check out more of her work, but as it is now, it's definitely nothing to write home about. Better luck next time!

likes:
- the first kiss scene is SO CUTE
- a fairly light story

dislikes:
- HATED all the drama & deception
- i felt like we were dropped into the middle of the story and didn't really give much background to the characters/their relationships/friend group
- i didn't really get why the girls hated each other so much, then they very quickly went to trading i love you's
- pretty much any of the main characters? i started to like Sophia a little more as the story went on but every one else.....

i do think i'm starting to get away from YA & can see why the targeted age range for this book would enjoy it more than i did.

I picked this up on a whim because of the cute cover, but I was a bit disappointed by it. I mean it was still cute but I just couldn’t get into it? It got a bit dramatic towards the end and some things that happened were a bit convenient I guess? Still, I think this book could work for a lot of people, but for me this wasn’t the case unfortunately.

When NYC high schooler Emma learns about a film competition, she sees an opportunity to make her dreams come true. She enlists her friend group to help her, including Sophia, who has recently moved back after spending a year in France. To make a long plot summary short, creative differences lead to Sophia deciding to make her own movie, which means that now she and Emma are competing against each other for the same prize.

The narrative unfolds via dual points-of-view, and at first, the two girls have nothing in common and are thoroughly annoyed with the each other. But then, thanks to some not-so-subtle intervention—or manipulation, depending on how you want to look at it—from their friends, with both girls being told that the other girl has a crush on her. This turns the sniping into flirting, but they are still in a competition, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.

This book does a wonderful job of capturing the tumultuous emotional range of the typical teenager. I do love a good UES story, but it was rather pleasant to deal with average kids rather than Waldorf-types. These kids are sorting out who they are and what they want, and the effect the film contest has on the dynamic of their friend group.

I would recommend I Think I Love You. There’s a nice balance of lighthearted fun to counter the more serious plot elements, and the conflicts are realistic rather than contrived or exaggerated.

3.5/5🌟: i'm a bit indecisive about this one. it was really cute and i read it in the span of a few hours. the writing style was easy to follow and relatable! sapphic rivals to lovers is always super intriguing anyways.

but, and here comes the big but, both of the main characters were (presumably) white, the definition of bisexuality was once again.. not going beyond the gender binary (i'm sorry, but it's 2021, do we really have to keep talking about only boys and girls?) and a few times it felt like the straight side characters were more important than the actual queer love story...

i love the cover! i definitely think that a lot of people are going to enjoy this one and i'm so happy that we are getting more happy sapphic romance novels!

2.5 stars. This book just didn't live up to its cover. I've read a few YA romances recently where one of the love interests is super genre savvy but still doesn't actually realize that they're in a rom-com (<i>Like a Love Story</i>, <i>Today Tonight Tomorrow</i>, etc). In this case it seemed like an excuse for Desombre to get away with as many cliches as she wants but at the end of the day, a self-aware cliche is still a cliche.

Both of the protagonists are insufferable and tend to repeat their respective viewpoints on love way more often than any reader actually needs to know. Luckily they do get a little more tolerable as they mellow each other out but at that point I was pretty uninvested in their character journeys. The side characters are boring and we're constantly told rather than shown their one (or fewer) personality trait. The one saving factor is that the romance is actually decent, but not quite worth the slog.

I Think I Love You is a heartfelt YA Romance that features enemies-to-lovers, and match making while dealing with topics such as coming out, first love, complicated friendships, and divorce.

Emma is a die-hard romantic, dreaming of her perfect first romance. While she waits, Emma plays match maker helping two of her friends get together without them knowing about her interference in their love life. Emma’s also Bisexual and hasn’t come out to her parents yet.

Sophia has just moved back to New York after spending a year in France with her mother and new step-dad. After her parents divorce Sophia swore off love and she certainly isn’t looking for a girlfriend. Her return to New York isn’t as easy as she thought it would be though, with most of her old friends unsure about their friendship now that she’s back.

Needless to say Emma and Sophia don’t get along too well. So when their bickering threatens to end all of their chances at winning a film competition, their friends decide that all of their problems will be solved if Emma and Sophia fall in love.

Queue an amazing enemies-to-lovers summer romance perfect for a day of reading!

What I loved most about this book was that while the budding romance between Emma and Sophia is the center of the story, Desombre does an amazing job of making their romance only a small (but very important) part of Emma and Sophia’s lives. So in between all the mixed emotions these two have between them, we also get to see Emma struggle with coming out to her parents, and Sophia navigating her way back into her friend’s lives, after basically ghosting them for a year. We also get to see Sophia work through her parents divorce and having her dad start dating again. Lots of readers are going to see themselves in these pages and that’s what makes this a great book.

Some readers are also going to see their own coming out experience within Emma’s. Sometimes coming out goes really well, or it really doesn’t. But often coming out isn’t good or bad, it’s just disappointing. I wish my own coming out hadn’t been disappointing and it meant a lot to see a character who had a similar experience to my own and I think a lot of readers will be able to relate to this experience.

The only part of this book I really didn’t like that much was the match making aspect. Match making in general isn’t my thing. It makes me really uncomfortable in all forms of media because I don’t like the lying and deception that goes on in a lot of match making we see in media.

That being said, Desombre does a great job of handling both the positives and negatives that happen with match making, and those consequences, both the good and the bad, play essential roles in this book. So while I still don’t like it, the match making does fit this book and Desombre’s handling of it was really well done.

I highly recommend I Think I Love You to readers how love romance, enemies-to-lovers, complicated friendships. This is an amazing Queer romance that teens, young adults and adults a like will fall in love with.

I really wanted to like this book! I mean rom-com, making a movie, a bi main character! It's everything that I usually love. Unfortunately, this one just fell flat for me. I got about 20% of the way through before I realized that it wasn't just an awkward start. These characters are just really flat. Each of the two main character girls have 1 personality trait and the fact that they hate each other. I was tolerating it under the hopes it would get better until Emma ends up straight up bullying Sophie. Not that Sophie is much better, but the move felt out of character. it felt like the writer was trying way too hard to set up an enemies to lovers dynamic. I'm fine with that trope, but I don't agree with starting a relationship after the really mean things Emma said to Sophie that was purely mean spirited. The characters just weren't gaining depth and the plot wasn't moving particularly well. I'm just disappointed overall.

I Think I Love You sounded like a book I would end up enjoying and I was right! I read this book in about one sitting and the writing really had me hooked. As a romance fan this definitely made me bookworm heart happy! I'd definitely recommend this book to contemporary lovers.

Emma is an interesting character. She loves love and everything that has to do with it. Her parents' relationship is the way she hopes she ends up and Emma watches every romance related movie she can. So when she sees a movie competition Emma knows that she's going to make a romcom. I had mixed feelings about Emma if I'm honest. Yeah, she's definitely excited and driven to make this movie and wants love to be there for all. Also, she's trying to figure a way to tell her parents she's bisexual. I can't even imagine how it feels to do that. On the other side, Emma can be selfish at times. The movie must go her way and she doesn't even take time to listen to other ideas. I get passion and just wanting to do something, but it did annoy me just a tad bit.

Sophia just came back from France and is still dealing with her parents getting divorced. How is love something you should want when it clearly falls apart? I totally understand this anger and opinion about love. My parents got divorced when I was older, but it's still a hard time. Trying to get used to being back in New York, living in a new apartment with her dad and seeing friends she hasn't for a year is hard. It's hard trying to fit in again when it's clear they moved along fine without you around. I loved Sophia's story and her seeing that love can still be a beautiful thing. Out of both story lines hers was definitely my favorite.

I loved the whole idea of a movie competition and doing this with friends! The ideas were really interesting and I love the few glimpses we got of the scripts. That being said, I have to say it did feel rushed at times. I think that was because of the plot surrounding their friends. While I'm a big fan of romance, I think this story could've done without Kate and Tom. I did enjoy their romance, but it took away from Emma and Sophia. This would've most likely been a five star read for me if we had gotten more time with these two and their developing romance. Don't get me wrong, I loved how it developed and we saw it happening, but I think I would've connected more with them if they had gotten more attention.

Even though I do have some things I would've liked to have seen different, I really did enjoy I Think I Love You. The characters felt realistic, the idea of movies was amazing and the way Emma and Sophia's character developed in this story was so well done! Not only do we get romance and rom coms, but also friendship, family/divorce, acceptance, trust and so much more. This story deals with a lot of things and I'm glad I read it. I'll definitely keep an eye out for more by this author in the future!

Emma loves love. Obsessed with rom-coms, she can’t wait to have her very own love story. If only it could hurry up and happen already. But until then, Emma is content to help her friends achieve their own happily-ever-afters and bring her dreams, a gay rom-com she can actually relate to, to the big screen herself.

Sophia is the opposite. After the whirlwind of her parents divorcing, her mother uprooting them to France, getting remarried, and then sending her daughter right back to where she started all within the blink of an eye, Sophia is well and truly sick to death of romance. The last thing she wants to do is work on a rom-com.

This rift between Emma and Sophia soon splits their friend group in half. And what was once supposed to be a fun film project to submit for the NYC-LA Film Festival soon becomes a bitter rivalry. But love has its own plans, and these plans not even Emma and Sophia can prevent.

I was instantly drawn to I Think I Love You by Auriane Desombre the second I laid eyes on it. The title is perfect, the cover is gorgeous, and the premise? *Chef’s kiss* c’est magnifique! I mean, sapphic rivals-to-lovers falling in love while filming their own sapphic rom-com? I’m pretty sure that’s the most perfect premise I’ve ever heard.

So, you can guess how high my expectations were for this story going into it.

And, oh. My. God. Did it ever exceed them.

This book was literally everything I’ve ever wanted.

Look, I relate to Emma a lot. I’m obsessed with rom-coms. But as much as I love them, they also really bum me out. Because, just like her, I very rarely feel represented in the movies I watch (and honestly, many of the books I read). So often I’ve bemoaned, ‘why can’t there just be a cute rom-com for bi girls?!’ Like seriously, there’s so few, if any.

I Think I Love You just got that need. And boy, did it deliver!

This book was so cute, and heartfelt – and the perfect mix between serious and sweet. I loved every part of it, the colourful, round cast of characters, the drama, the romance. 😍 I found both Sophia and Emma to be very relatable in their own ways, and easy to root for. They both had their own struggles to overcome, and I really enjoyed watching them do so while falling in love with each other. The supporting cast was also great. For a novel with so many characters, I felt like they were all very well fleshed out. I appreciated that not only the two main leads grew and changed throughout the story, but the other characters did too.

I feel like queer romance novel have it doubly hard, because not only do they have to portray an adorable, swoon-worthy romance, they also have to tackle some tough issues – like coming out to friends and family – to be able to really ground the story in reality and make it relatable. Balancing the two is no easy-feat, but Desombre managed it flawlessly! I loved that while this book dealt with some tough situations, it always stayed positive. (All too often queer stories just wind up being depressing – and there’s nothing wrong with that, those stories are important – but sometimes I just want a happy, uplifting queer romance too.)

Overall, this novel just made me so, so happy. In a way so few books can. It was positive, uplifting, and absolutely adorable – and I loved every minute of it. ❤️

Thank you to TBR and Beyond Tours and the publisher, Underlined/Random House Children’s Books, for providing me with an e-ARC of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

Heat Factor: It’s wholesomely sparky, but in a youthful way
Character Chemistry: Emma and Sophia are combative and then cuddly, and it’s extremely cute
Plot: Omg, guys, it’s Much Ado About Nothing but YA and Bi. Hearts just SHOOTING out of my eyes and also I completely forgot how ridiculous teenagers are?
Overall: This is a really sweet and surprisingly complicated book set to the tune of Much Ado About Nothing, and it was lovely.

I haven’t read a Young Adult in a long time, and I know this type of romance is often hotly debated in Romancelandia, but...it was a really fun read.

First, I don’t know how, but I completely forgot how instantly deep, irrationally hormonal, and also, utterly self-absorbed to the point of near self-destruction teenagers are. This is not me criticizing the book. This is the truth about teenagers and younger adults, and I’ll fight you on it if you disagree. Luckily, this book somehow manages to portray this unfortunately very accurate dynamic without making the kids seem unlikeable. They’re kids. They’re figuring out how to fall in love and it’s just a real mess. Add hormones and the gradual awareness that life is completely unfair and you have yourself a nicely done coming of age.

Second, I practically grew up on Much Ado About Nothing. It’s Keanu Reeves’ best movie. This is another thing I’ll fight you on. (I feel like the drama of this book rubbed off on me, or something.) So when I realized we were getting set up for a fresh, new take on perhaps the best of Shakespeare’s comedies (see; fight you), I was instantly into it.

I really loved that the characters examined relationships and their sexuality in raw and transparent ways. Emma is bi, and Sophia is lesbian. The way they intersect ended up speaking a lot to how it must feel to have to keep such a huge part of your identity guarded and safe until you’re able to come out, and I appreciated being able to see the insightful and sensitive way Emma handles it with her parents. It’s illuminating and thoughtfully done. It’s also tender and not at all sexy, which for an adult reading YA was much appreciated.

It doesn’t hurt that Emma and Sophia were practically crackling with witty comebacks and snappy retorts and went from that to some kind of emotionally chemical fusing. You knew things were going to fall apart smashingly, and I wasn’t disappointed. It was charming, funny, and touching.

If you like YA and you have good taste in Shakespeare, you’ll thoroughly enjoy this fresh and fun take. You’ll get as much a kick out of teenagers in general as you will reading Emma and Sophia snipe and then swoon for one another.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.