Look, after the YA market over-saturated the fake dating trope, to the point where I couldn't tell if Wattpad or B&N had more titles in that category, I was convinced I'd never want to pick up something with this trope ever again. Well, hats of to Samantha Markum, because I ATE. THIS. BOOK. UP.

What I loved especially about the fake dating trope between Doe and Wells is that it wasn't the main focal point to the book. It was tied in to the rest of the story, to the enemies pranking war, and a way to get under the skin of Three. Markum incorporated so many tropes that I've had issues with in the past... and completely restored my faith in them. The fake dating, rival boarding schools, an insane amount of genius pranks, and a female empowerment moment that gave me the same rush Avengers: Endgame did. (Y'all know which scene I'm talking about ;) )

The story starts off with this intense pranking war and a rivalry between an all girls and all boys school that has been going on for generations. Doe and Three, in particular, have a vengeance to one up each other that puts most other YA enemies to shame. With her group of tight-knit friends, they work on upping their pranking status each time the boys fire back. All that comes crashing down, however, when it's announced that the two schools will merge into one. Doe makes it her personal mission to ensure this doesn't happen, and enlists Wells' help as a fake boyfriend to piss Three off in the process. But as schemes begin getting the best of her, Doe finds herself a little too deep in a sea of deceit and lies that quickly catches up to her.

I tore through this book within half a day. I straight up could not put it down, even with eating or doing my massive load of laundry. It was funny, heartfelt, and a great reminder of how terrifying growing up can be. While going through these pages, I had moments of flashbacks to my own senior year of high school, where nothing felt certain and everything seemed out of reach. For readers that are more of age with the confines of this book, I think it will be a refreshing gesture of reassurance that you DON'T need to have it all figured out when your diploma is handed to you.

This May End Badly is a book I will be camped outside B&N to grab the moment it's released. (I already put an alert in my calendar for it). I look forward to seeing more of Samantha Markum's work, she's converted me back into a YA fiend. I feel even the review I've given didn't hold enough enthusiastic raving to give this justice. But Markum has proven that when the cliché tropes are done, and done well, the YA genre really reigns supreme.

I want nothing more than the ability to go back and read this book again for the first time. I loved every single thing about This May End Badly. The characters were well written, the friendships and romance were fun and exciting, and the issues the students faced were compelling and relevant. This was been my favorite YA read in a long time. I cannot recommend it enough, and I can’t wait to see what Samantha Markum writes next!

*a high 4.5

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with an early copy of this book to review!!

I had so much fun reading this story! It's been too long since I've read a romance that gave me butterflies like this did, and kept me up at night because I had to know what came next. I could not put this down! It played in my head like a movie and for whatever reason, it gave me Parent Trap vibes. I couldn't stop thinking about Hallie and Annie pranking each other at camp in the beginning of the film!

I love Does as a main character; she definitely deserves it. She care so deeply and I love that about her. I love how much she cares for her friends and for what she believes in. You can literally see her development from the start of the book all the way to the end. Her doubts are nothing I haven't felt in my own life and I appreciated being able to relate to her.

If I wasn't sure how I felt about fake dating trope, I'm so sure now. Samantha Markum did it so well. I fell incredibly hard for their relationship and kept smacking the table, desk, pillow in front of me because I just wanted them to confess their real feelings so bad. Wells is absolutely adorable and so one of my new book boyfriends!!

I knocked off 1/2 a star mostly because of the end. It felt like "they all got what they wanted and lived happily ever after." That's not bad AT ALL, and of course I wasn't looking for a bad ending. It just felt abrupt. I think I just needed a little more something.

I can't end without acknowledging the subtle nods toward the University of Michigan. This school is very close to me in more ways than one and I love the way Markum brought it into the story.

I absolutely cannot wait to own my very own physical copy in April 2022!!

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

This May End Badly was so much fun to dive into. I think I might just be a sucker for all kinds of chaos when it comes to rivalries. Plus, a school one where they are right across the street from each other sounds like a lot of fun. Or maybe it's just me?

After meeting the mastermind of almost all the great pranks, it didn't take me long to actually like Doe. The girl had so many secrets throughout the book that I just kept waiting for them to come out to play. Which, yes, they did in a very chaotic way but I was glad that everything was out in the open. It just sucks that all the drama unfolded into her group of friends.

Besides her, I also really liked getting to know Wells. Yeah, he was from the all boys school but together they just made me smile. He definitely helped her out of her revenge shell and I just think they were becoming true friends. Even though they were fake dating and that actually never ends up being fake.

Other than that, I hate the creepy ass teacher and I was so proud of everyone standing up. It honestly went on for way too long and I'm still suspicious of the girls headmaster. Ugh. Then there's the way this book freaking ended and I'm just dying. I can definitely see the rivalry between two schools going on forever and ever.

May their college days never be boring.

What a delightful read! It is hard to find romance books that are not full of eye-rolling moments where the plot is predictable and the characters formed by a cookie cutter. This book was easy to read, yet its ideas were not shallow. From the first few pages, I knew this would be a book I would enjoy. Just a warning though. Dont start it late at night or you might find yourself reading way past your bedtime (speaking from personal experience)

Content warning: mention + description of sexual assault

Well, this was quite a let-down. I wanted to like <i>This May End Badly</i> (I really did!), but it just didn't work for me. All my favorite tropes were present in the novel: rivals to lovers, fake-dating, a boarding school setting with a fierce rivalry, and strong familial relationships plus friendships. It really did seem like the <i>perfect</i> summer read.

At the time.

I've seen other reviews that have given the book 5 stars and you know what? You might like it. At the beginning, I certainly loved it. However, the second half of the book drastically changed, both in terms of pacing and the characterization. I found myself feeling bored by the main romance and highly (!) surprised at how the initial sub-plot of sexual harassment by a teacher became the main focus in the last few chapters. Although I appreciated how it contributed to the overall plot, I still felt like it was barely present at the beginning and it sprung up on me, which I wasn't really expecting. I would definitely recommend having a look at the trigger warnings before reading the novel.

I admit, I went into the novel because of the romance, however the friendships and family dynamics compelled me to keep reading. I didn't really like Wells and Doe's chemistry (shocker, I know) and overall relationship, thus keeping me disinterested about their relationship for the entirety of the book. I especially grew fond of the interactions between Doe and her friends. The scene where Jade confronted Doe and told her that she was in the wrong while knowing that she could take her own decisions and overall having a healthy discussion was so important to me. Not a lot of books have that and I really appreciated how the author designed Jade to be a fiercely loyal friend who was ready to call Doe out on her shortcomings.

I also liked the interactions between Doe and her family, which sadly, I didn't get as much as I wanted. Again, the later half of the book really switched the pacing and Doe's priorities and I started disliking her more than I should. I could see a character growth from her, but it just didn't excuse her past actions with Wells and her friends. I also found the last bit to be quite convenient for the plot and Doe to learn her "true" priorities.

I also liked each character's individuality and how they were able to enhance the narrative. They were complex and made me want to root for each of them! Again, they were side-lined towards the end and I found myself cringing with the abundant page time of Wells and Doe. It was a strong start with a weak finish imo.

In a nutshell, I need to stop glorifying a book to such an extent that it fails to deliver on said expectations. I do think this a good debut and the author has an interesting writing style. It's just that this novel didn't quite work for me like I thought it would.

This book is about an all girls boarding school which Doe attends and their rival with the all boys boarding school across the road. I was pleasantly surprised when I was wrong about where I thought things were going with Doe and Three. Sometimes books are predictable, and this one for the most part wasn't. Overall I really liked this book and would recommend it to other readers.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ any book that I read start to finish in one day gets 5 stars, that’s just the rule, and I am so pleased to be giving “This May End Badly” by Samantha Markum all 5 stars! This story centers around Doe, a boarding school senior who fiercely loves her school, and despises her rivals…the boys in the school across the street. So when the schools announce a merger, Doe takes it VERY personally. This is a really fun book with excellent pranks, important lessons, and great dialogue. I love YA books but I’ve found the dialogue and the subject matter is NOT what happens in actual real life high schools, but this one was spot on. Bad choices, fumbling conversations, fights between friends, Markum got it all correct!

“You shouldn’t learn to want girls to be safe when you get a sister. You should just want it. Because everyone deserves to be safe.” Thank you to @netgalley for providing me this eARC in exchange for this honest, unbiased feedback #bookstagram #netgalley #netgalleyreads #netgalleyreviewer #thismayendbadly #samanthamarkum #speedreader #bookworm

This book was a really great read! The fake dating relationship was well done, and I loved the characters. The writing style sucked me in and left me wanting to know what would happen to Doe and her friends. I loved the pranks and thought that the playfulness in them added a great dimension to the novel. I will say that this one ended up being a little “heavier” than I was expecting. For a book that began so lighthearted, I was surprised with some of the big topics that were tackled. The author wrote about them in way that really made me think , but the way the girls handled the problem in the book made me a little uncomfortable. Otherwise, I thought this was a great read! Thank you to Net Galley for the eARC of this book!

This book was adorable, empowering and relatable.

I absolutely loved the fake dating trope and the added enemies to lovers because honestly, who can resist that? Also pranks between rival boarding schools? Classic!

I absolutely loved the friendship that Doe’s friend group had. They were all so supportive of each other and completely honest. Even when it was hard. The women empowerment promoted by the students was heartwarming to see.

Doe and Wells were adorable together and I honestly can’t get enough. I do wish we would have gotten a more solid ending for their relationship.

I also loved the discussions about gender and identity and how people don’t fit in one box or the other when it comes to gender.

The characters were all frustrating at times but they are definitely lovable.


Thank you to Netgalley for sending me this ARC for an honest review! :)

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with an early copy of the book for review!

4.5/5

I ended up liking this book much more than I thought I would! Usually in contemporary books, I find that a lot of the characters can be very unlikeable, but not in this one.

I really like Doe as a main character, and even though she has her flaws, I loved seeing her development throughout the book and her actually learning from her mistakes instead of continuing to make them. I also surprisingly like the fake dating trope, and Doe and Wells were no exception. I've been finding that recently, a lot of the love interests in books similar to this one often aren't able to stand out on their own, but Wells does perfectly.

I always love when the love interest in a book also has their own problems outside of the relationship with the main character, and I think Samantha Markum does this exceptionally well, bit just with Wells, but with Doe too. Though Doe made some questionable choices in this book, I still really enjoyed her as a character, and found myself rooting for her at every turn.

This book had me laughing, crying, and sitting on the edge of my seat. Every emotion coursed through me while reading and as my first NetGalley ARC, it was such an amazing start. I can't wait to buy a physical copy when the book comes out in April!

A huge thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book was a ton of fun to read. I'm a sucker for the fake dating trope, and snarky Doe and swoony Wells had all my love from the get-go. Both characters were flawed but loveable; they acted like teenagers but weren't unbearably immature the way contemporary YA characters often are. I particularly liked Doe's group of friends, especially the way they held her accountable for her (increasingly) poor decisions. And the pranks, though they were clearly out of hand at times, were hilarious.

I also loved that this was set in the Midwest. I read so much stuff set in New York and LA, and as a Midwestern girl, it's fun to see my little (big) corner of the world in fiction. I knew right away that Doe was from St. Louis when she mentioned Provel cheese (I don't think anyone from anywhere else voluntarily eats that stuff), and the discussion with her aunt over Christmas about schools was so incredibly St. Louis that it had me laughing. Also, boarding school stories are a fave of mine, and having one that wasn't on the East Coast was pretty neat.

Overall, the romantic plotline and Doe's character arc are a solid 5 stars for me. The only thing I waffled on is the ultimate resolution of the sexual misconduct plot thread. I will not go into detail so as to avoid any spoilers, but I was not a huge fan of the way Doe and her friends chose to handle that. Then I remembered that they're teenagers. Whether or not it's a good model for other teens to follow (probably not), I think they did what they believed they had to do.

I'm looking forward to more from this author!

What's not to love! Boarding school rivalries, friendships, first loves and school wide sit ins.....cause you can put a girl in an all female school but you can't keep her from pouring gallons of oil in the boys dorm.

This was a great read. From the start, the book included diverse characters that were authentic and true to themselves. While there is Roman e in the book, this story was more about forgiveness—between friends, family, and for yourself. There are several positive messages throughout this book that would be uplifting to any young adult. I would recommend this for young adults everywhere.

3 Stars.

Doe, short for Dorothy, is a senior at Weston, an all-girls boarding school. Doe is the leader of her pack, and continues on with the century-long war of the school next-door, Winfield, which is an all-boys school. Both groups play pranks on one another. Lots of teenage drama and bubbling hormones.This all changes/vamps up though when the school board announces that next year the two schools will be merging.

This book was cute, but I wasn't a fan of the foul language and the repeated mentioning of a box of condoms. A little too immature for my taste.

I really enjoyed this young adulation novel. I loved the plot line and I also could connect to the characters. I highly recommend this book.

This began as a very lighthearted read that I was super interested in because I am a sucker for fake dating and rivalries but as the book went on I saw how much more there was to it! The cast of characters Markum creates is expansive and they all have such interesting personalities! Doe is a great leading lady with SO much development that I loved!!! Wells was also just the sweetest ever and I was rooting for him from the beginning!! Doe and Wells banter and chemistry just absolutely pulled me in!! I loved them both individually and while at the start the sparks were there I LOVED seeing them develop their feelings into a couple that I just absolutely adored. I do like how the author tackled many issues in todays society but, this can be a bit tricky regarding inappropriate behavior of a teacher. I see the reasoning with how the characters are and how this was used as a rallying event for the friend groups but I held my breath for a few moments as this played out.
Overall, I think this is a great read and a fantastic coming of age book that I can see a lot of YA readers relating to!!!

Special Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press / Wednesday Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest review!

This book was well plotted and the characterizations were spot on. Because of this skill, it basically hides the medicine in the candy quite well. The prank war and fake dating trope are fun ways to draw readers in to the serious issues that the writer addresses that girls coming-of-age in the 21st century need to consider. One of the main points involves a teacher who essentially abuses his position of trust. I got chills reading this arc of the book because of how realistically it played out with the teacher, students, and admin to the point I wondered if the author had connections at my school. The book also addresses how important it is to have men at the table for the discussion of women's opportunities and rights and boundaries. One of the ideas that has been experimented with recently is breaking classes up by gender (again) as a means of improving instruction. This book addresses the pros and cons of both.The main character, Dorothy nicknamed Doe, is VERY intense and dogged. It's her most endearing trait but also her most exhausting one. Also, her last name is Saltpeter, which is nicely symbolic because she is a firecracker and she does have a certain emasculating edge to her. But I just can't read "saltpeter" without giggling.

It has been a HOT SECOND since I read a YA contemporary I liked this much!!! Doe is the most delightful main character. She's funny and intelligent and strong and stubborn and the worst, sometimes. But when she's the worst this book holds her accountable which is awesome. Messy main characters are why we do fiction.

Something else that stuck out to me here is the amazing knack for teens Markum has. Doe's voice never feels weird or out of place or like an adult is writing her. She sounds like a teenager, and acts like one. Specifically the way the characters cursed and spoke about sex was just. Pretty great. And I point this out because it tends to be what authors struggle with the most. Markum never once falters.

This book also nails it with diversity! There are tons of LGBT characters (I specifically loved how Doe's dad is bi just because we never get that in any book!!!! It's awesome!!!), characters from a variety of backgrounds (Shawn is Jewish!!!!!! I feel seen!!!). And when issues of homophobia and racism come up, they're treated with real, deliberate care. I see a lot of authors who write contemporary and try to side step racism and homophobia and sexism etc in their work, because it's easier than facing them head on. Well, Markum wastes no time. We love to see it.

Besides the crafty stuff I mentioned above, TMEB is such a soulful book. At the heart of it is Doe's relationship with her friend group, which was so beautiful and so real. These girls really love each other, which isn't always perfect adoration. Sometimes it's telling your friend what they need to hear, even if they don't want to hear it.

And, as a final point, I'd be remiss not to mention Doe's relationship with Wells. These two--they're adorable. I was always rooting for them.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for letting me get my hands on this book! I can't wait to see what the author brings us next!

It’s a tragedy of our age: media just isn’t fun anymore. Teen movies and shows are dark and gritty, and YA books have followed in the same direction. Bestsellers like Six of Crows currently dominate the genre, and that isn’t to say Leigh Bardugo’s masterpiece didn’t deserve its success, only that teens’ priorities have changed. But I’d be lying through my teeth if I didn’t say I miss the heartwarming teen romcom days of the late 90s and early 00s.

This May End Badly feels like its skeleton was made from that era, with the bones of a boarding school setting, a bitter girls vs boys rivalry, a moving friend group, and a love interest who reads smutty romance novels for the girl he’s supposed to be fake-dating.

Doe is a senior at the Weston School, an all-girls institution that has been her safe haven since her parents’ divorce. She and her friends are the most notorious pranksters at Weston, frequently pulling one over Winfield Academy, the boys’ school across the street and Weston’s longtime rival. Doe’s world falls upside down when she learns Weston and Winfield are going to merge to become a single school, and she acts in desperation: she strikes a bargain with Wells, cousin of Winfield’s kingpin and her archenemy: they’ll pretend to be a couple so that Doe can irritate Three, Wells’s cousin, and in return she’ll help him recover a family heirloom. As their lie gets deeper and the schools get closer to merging, Doe has to cement her priorities in place once and for all: the school she’s given her heart to, or the future she’s been refusing to imagine.

This book was a ridiculous amount of fun. I finished it in the span of one day, adrenaline rushing through me as I sped to find out what happened next. Doe is a refreshing character, and one who is all too relatable to the high schooler of today in a world that wants us to grow up and figure it all out when it feels like we’re still kids. Her mistakes don’t feel like character flaws, but instead like lessons we learn along with her.

A pivotal moment in the story — and Doe’s realization as a character — comes when a freshman at Weston confides in her about the inappropriate behavior of their gym teacher. When this was first hinted at earlier in the book, I was a little concerned, fearing that it would be treated as a footnote or a punchline and then ignored for the rest of the novel. However, when this was instead presented as the climax, I could sit back and breathe. Obviously, I won’t go into detail (find out for yourself when the book comes out in April), but the way Doe and the characters around her react to this revelation was a satisfying culmination to both their individual development and the development of the bond between them.

After rereading my advanced copy as many times as I’m allowed, I’m going to run straight to Barnes & Noble to preorder a physical copy of This May End Badly, and if you haven’t done so yet, what on earth are you waiting for?