Cover Image: This May End Badly

This May End Badly

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Member Reviews

This book was just sadly not for me! I was hoping for something different but it turned out to be something I was not expecting, which is okay and I'm sure someone else would love it!

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I liked this book. It was a typical high school romcom type of story with witty and engaging characters. However, once again, I found the plot to be a bit far fetched. I feel like I have this criticism of a lot of contemporary stories because so many are based on some derivative of the miscommunication trope and the entire story could easily be resolved if the characters just decided not to lie to each other. But, in this case, I thought the way the MC handled her problem was really outlandish. She fights to keep her school a certain way and despite all the other things she says, doesn’t really consider any other opinions until the end of the story. It seemed out of character to be super open minded about 99% of things but THIS was the one thing she just couldn’t hear other opinions on?

Other than that, I liked the side characters, the fake dating trope, and the setting so that’s why it was a 4 star read for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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This was a cute little rom com! I thoroughly enjoyed it and the main character was totally relatable. Thanks to Netgalley and the author for sending me this ARC!

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Tons of fun! A quick, entertaining read with just the right hint of humor, romance, and heartwarming.

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Thank you to Netgalley and the published for giving me an advanced copy of this book to read and review.

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This was a sweet YA novel! I would’ve loved this even more 10 years ago but think many will love and relate to.

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This was such a good book! I loved the banter between ALL the characters, not just the main fmc and her love interest. The writing was also great, and made it easy to turn the pages. The themes touched on were also important and done beautifully, especially with what’s going on in the world today. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends & fellow readers!

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While I enjoyed this book, and liked the setting and premise, it was VERY ya. I found the main character annoying to a point, and since the entire story is told from her POV, I was looking forward to it concluding.

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I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun YA with boarding school and fake date tropes. Doe was a likeable and interesting but flawed character and her relationship with her friends, family and Wes was very well developed. Talking about Wes he was my favorite thing of the whole book. He was charming and funny and had a great character arc as we got to meet him more.
There’s a few trigger warnings to check before reading the book, but overall it was a light, fun and quick paced book, and it had everything you want in a YA.

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Y'all!!! I had so much fun reading this book. I loved Doe,
Wells, and all the Weston girls. I seriously couldn't put
this baby down. I'm pretty sure I read it in 2 days, if not in
one. This book has all you need, including the fake dating
trope, which I'm beginning to realize is one of my faves.
Not only was the book funny, but it was sweet as well.
There was a lot of growth in each character, especially in
Doe. I am so excited for Samantha Markum's newest book!

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So I have come to realize that I really can't read YA romance genres. I find the characters a bit childish and they should be since it's ya genre. I just need to step back from ya romance, and stick with ya fantasy instead.

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This was a really fun young adult rom-com set at a boarding school. There were plenty of laugh out loud moments and cleverly written dialogue. I have never read a book by Samantha Markum before, but I will certainly be on the lookout for what she does next.

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"But maybe Wells is right -- maybe it's natural for us, in our final year of school, to feel strange in our own skin. 'It's the end of an era no matter how you spin it.'"

What a swoony debut. Like, for real, if I was rating this purely off the banter between Doe & Wells and the battle scenes between Weston & Winfield this would be a 4-5 star read. I enjoyed the pranks, the fauxmance, and the friend group that held each other accountable. And watching them navigate first love, family drama, and the dreaded "what comes next" stage post high school was incredibly relatable.

What didn't work for me was the sexual harassment subplot mentioned in the synopsis. Not only does the inciting incident not occur until the last fourth of the novel, but it also is handled more as a redemptive arc for the friend group rather than as its own standalone issue. The students involved aren't taught how to speak up (although the importance of doing so is thankfully stressed), and they weren't really listened to when they did. And while I appreciate how the girls -- and guys -- bonded together to take action and where the group landed in the end, the subplot that got them there just felt like a puzzle piece being forced to fit.

This subplot aside, I really adored Markum's debut and can't wait to see what she writes next.


Thank you to Wednesday Books for sending me an earc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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I requested This May End Badly as soon as I saw that it was being marketed as a YA dark academia rom-com, and I truly think it lived up to that comparison! While I'm admittedly in the minority in that I'm not usually a fan of the fake-dating trope, I found that I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it in this book. The prank war aspect was really fun as well and I loved seeing how creative some of the students got with their prank ideas!

Furthermore, I also loved how, while this book was in many ways a cheesy and fun teen rom-com, it didn't shy away from discussing important and timely topics such as sexual harassment/assault and the outdated practice of segregating private schools by gender (i.e. all-boys schools & all-girls school). I personally went to an all-girls high school and this was something that I actually thought about a lot from time to time.

Overall, while this wasn't a jaw-dropping book by any means, it was still truly a delight to read and I would easily recommend it in a heartbeat. Four stars!

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DNF at 53%

I committed six hours to This May End Badly and still ended up DNFing it. I really liked the idea of a school rivalry and thought the author played that up really well, but it should have remained the focal point of the story. There was just too much going on. And what was the deal with the pervy teacher? That subplot seemed REALLY unnecessary. The students kept bringing him up, so I'm sure something would have eventually happened with that, I just didn't stick around long enough to find out. I do think it should have been left out altogether.

Fake dating is usually a trope that I like, but it didn't work for me in this one. There was no chemistry between Doe and What's His Face. I think there were more sparks between her and her archnemesis than the guy she likely ended up with.

I think this book would have been better if it had been simplified just a little. A school rivalry, some teenage angst, and boom. Unfortunately, I was having to force myself to listen to this one "hoping" it would get better as it progressed. (Spoiler alert: It didn't.)

I also wasn't thrilled with the narrator. She wasn't bad per se, but I did find her voice to a be a little distracting.

Additionally, Doe was incredibly unlikeable, and I always struggle with books when I can't relate to - or at least understand - the main character. She was so selfish and never considered how her actions affected others. She wanted to talk about her friends and how close they were, yet she didn't think twice about them before doing whatever she wanted.

Some notes I made while reading:

Missed the mark
Immature
Didn't like why they were fake dating
Doomed to fail
No friendship would survive the fallout

It a nutshell, This May End Badly had too much going on and the main character was a selfish brat that didn't actually know what she wanted. She was too absorbed in herself to see what was happening around her, and her fake boyfriend clearly had ulterior motives of his own. Weird teacher subplot. (★★☆☆☆)

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I really enjoyed this book. I liked the premise right from the start but was hooked by the characters. Doe and Wells were simply amazing, and I really enjoyed their journey. The writing was great, the pacing perfect, and the cast of characters very well done. This book tackled heavy issues in an approachable and intelligent way, and ended up being a heartfelt read that made me laugh and cry. I honestly wish this had been a series instead, because I don’t like the idea of not seeing these characters again.

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This YA romance was such a surprise hit for me!

I thought for a minute that this would be an enemies to lovers romance, with a side of school pranking, but it turned out to be so much better than anticipated. From the fake dating relationship (with a character I didn't guess from page one) to watching as our female main character grew up, without giving up her passion; I enjoyed every single second of this book.

I can't wait to see what comes next from this author, and I can't stop recommending this book!

reading vibes: boarding school, rival boys school, pranking, fake dating, best friend groups, small towns

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This book gave everything I thought a YA romance book about a prank war would give. It was cutesy, funny, and the boys school vs girls school is just hilarious. There was fun romance, though there were a few elements that I could have done without (cough the weird teacher cough), but I enjoyed this quick read overall.

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Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the gifted copy of This May End Badly! All opinions in this review are my own.

I really enjoyed this YA romance! Fake dating is my favorite trope so I was drawn in immediately. I loved the prank war mixed with the boarding school setting. I also liked that there is quite a bit of character development. You see the main character grow over the course of her senior year and be able to use her influence for good.

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4 stars

This was a fun YA read. I’ve always enjoyed books with boarding school/academic settings, so this one appealed immediately, and the contemporary story was fun and interesting. The protagonist was kind of the worst at times, but I was glad to see (some) character growth by the end of the novel. The ultimate conclusion was a bit of a surprise as I didn’t anticipate the direction the ending of the book was headed in, but I did enjoy it. It’s one that I’ll probably get a copy of in the future for my classroom library.

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