***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
An all-girls school faces off against the rival all-boys school until they realize they're going to be merging. Can they set their differences aside to join forces against a predator among the staff?

Boarding school rivalries and romance make this a fun read. The characters are interesting, the dialogue is snappy, and the issues addressed are timely.

My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This YA novel, set in an historic prep school is by turns charming AND alarming. The pranks that the students of the rival schools pull are indeed hilarious. However, one of the side stories - a teacher who is preying on vulnerable young female students - greatly perturbed me. In fact, this part of the story evaded and thwarted any attempts I could ever possibly make to suspend my disbelief and support the decisions and actions of the student ringleaders. In short, the female students eventually band together with the male students of the opposing school to expose this teacher's evil doings.

Spoiler alert - which I am not going to hide because this is a very serious issue. When the parents of these girls asked their daughters REPEATEDLY why they hadn't come to them for help about this "sexual predator," I was right there with them, totally dumbfounded and appalled. This "self-help" story line is a very bad precedent to set for young teens. No teen should EVER feel or believe that their concerns about sexual misconduct by a teacher will not be heard. This is criminal behaviour on the part of a teacher, and a gross breach of trust. This is a matter for a police investigation. The flimsy - in my opinion - excuse for not involving their parents or the police (that they girls didn't want the parents to "over-react" and pull the girls from the school and endanger its existence) just horrified me.

Yes, great, their actions unified the majority of the warring female and male students (solidarity forever!) and there was hell to pay, but I am not comfortable with ANY of this. I also couldn't help thinking that soliciting all those letters from past students could actually hurt a police investigation. These letters could be attacked by a defense attorney as attention-seeking attempts to join the crazy, mixed up protest that would go viral when, or if, it aired on the internet. So many things were just so wrong with this part of the story.

Despite the excellent writing and characterization, I'm only rating this YA novel a 2.95 out of 5.

It has a great hook in the beginning of the book, its interesting, and I overall liked this book. Its fast pasted, has amazing tropes, and so much more. I would most definitely recommend this book to anyone and everyone, though its a great book it does not compare to my favorite books of which get 5 stars which is the only reason of why this was given 4. I can not wait to buy the physical copy when it is to come out.

If there was any way to pre-order a million copies of this book or camp out at the bookstore until the release day I would. It was that good! This May End Badly is the spectacular debut novel by Samantha Markum about The Weston School- an all-girls boarding school- and its epic prank war with its rival, the Winfield School for Boys. But when it is revealed that a male teacher is sexually harassing girls on Weston’s campus, the Weston Girls and Winfield Boys must put aside their rivalry to protect both their schools and their fellow students. This May End Badly tackles themes of identity, sexual assault, and sexual harassment, all while providing an exuberant and entertaining story. Markum balances heavier topics with fast-paced humor in a delicate balance that most writers fail to achieve. Readers of any demographic will leave feeling empowered by Doe and her friends’ accomplishments. I enjoyed the setting of boarding school, I think it’s every kid’s dream to be whisked away to a boarding school and plan shenanigans like these. My only critiques of the novel are that some character introductions felt too rushed. It was difficult to keep up with who’s who for a while. Also, I wished there had been more emphasis on acknowledging the privilege these characters have, especially in their pranking. While these characters are pranking experts who never get caught, they do hold major wealth and racial privilege that allows them to get away with most of their pranks. All in all, This May End Badly was a fantastic read and I can’t wait for its release in April. Book? Pre-Ordered.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was fast paced and contained most of my favorite tropes and I also adored the author’s writing. If you’re looking for a easy and fast paced book to get you out of a reading slump this book is perfect for it. I give it a solid 4/5 stars. I would have liked this book even more if we had gotten more backstories on three and his family.
Overall I really liked this book and I’m definitely looking forward to purchasing a physical copy!

arc provided by netgalley. wow, when i started the book i really didn’t expect it to be this good. i thought it would just be a cute romance but it was so much more!! fake dating? rivalry between schools? boarding school? light academia? it has so many good tropes. you should definitely check the trigger warnings before reading it tho. but overall it was really great and i really loved how it has a touch of comedy! i also really enjoyed the writing.

I thought that overall this book was really great! It had some of my favorite tropes- fake dating, enemies to lovers, found family, etc. I also loved the boarding school/prank wars vibe! It felt pretty realistic and reminiscent of my high school experience to a degree. I also thought the characters were really great- they were all flawed, including the narrator, so at times you were really frustrated with her but understood that she is a high school girl that is learning and growing. I also LOVED Wells!!! I did find myself skimming some parts but I liked how it touched on some serious and difficult topics. This was a nice easy read- will make a great beach book!

Doe is a senior at the Weston Academy, an all-girls boarding school. Doe and her group of friends have been working hard to keep the prank war going with the all-boys boarding school across the street, Winfield Academy. Things start off with the traditional pranks and fun until the headmistress announces that Weston and Winfield will be merging into one school starting the following school year. This breaks Doe's heart since she has come to see Weston as her safe place after her parents' difficult divorce. Now even more determined to win the century-long prank war, Doe decides to strike back at her nemesis, Three, by acting like she is dating his cousin, Wells. Pretty soon, Doe finds that her "fake" feelings for Wells are turning into real ones. She also starts to see how her desire to win at all costs is starting to cost her more than she realizes, including her close group of friends. When a freshman reaches out to Doe for help, Doe comes to realize that there are more important things in life than simply winning a prank war and she decides to use the skills she gained from pulling pranks to help all the students, both past and future, find a safe place at Weston. Such a well written and fun novel!

I have to wait 9 MONTHS for this book to come out?! I am so frustrated that I cannot physically have this book in my hands at this moment. I decidedly randomly that I start this book last night at 10 pm. Do you know what it got me? Staying up way past my bedtime and reading throughout my workday.

I couldn't put this book down. I was obsessed with the characters, the romance, and the plot. I fell for Wells the way any girl would do and I'm not mad about it.

I loved the pranks that each school did. I loved the growth of the characters throughout the book. I'm a sucker for the faking dating trope and this book did not disappoint.

I cannot wait to read this book again, and I will probably re-read it soon.

The prank wars have begun!

Doe is a senior at Weston, an all-girls boarding school and she's leading the charge to out prank the all-boys school across the street, Winfield. Specifically to out prank Three, the snooty rich kid who thinks he rules the place. But Doe takes things a little too far, as she has a tendency to do. She strikes a deal with Three's cousin Wells. In exchange for a fake romance, she will steal an heirloom from Three for him.

This whole book is entertaining and so captivating. Very few books have made me cry (some may say I'm even a bit cold hearted) but BOY was I tearing up at the interactions with her parents and just so many of the scenes.

Characters: 5/5
Doe Saltpeter: The thing about Doe is that she has a pretty intense one-track mind. Once she is set on something, it will take quite a lot for her mind to change. Its admirable in some ways and, as the reader, you get completely caught up in it too. She has such a strong drive and tenacity.
Gabe "Wells" Wellborn: Despite the completely ironic last name, Wells is actually traumatized by his Wellborn upbringing. He's sarcastic, nerdy but with a devil may care outlook, and, of course, handsome as all hell.
Doe has a close group of friends who all add something great to the dynamic.

Plot: 5/5
I loved this story. Markum touched so many critical topics; divorce, homophobia, trans/nb exclusion, and sexual harassment from teachers. The actual plot ramped up to pace with Doe's increasing panic and desperation.

"World": 4/5
The concept was so cute but the whole town of Delafosse is very Halmark. It's just a bit unrealistic but for the sake of the story, it worked well.

Style: 4/5
Overall, I did like the style but it wasn't totally perfect IMO.

Other: 5/5
Doe is completely against the two schools merging and is sacrificing everything to stop it. But there are lots of girls that aren't opposed to it. The theme of creating a safe space for everybody is so prevalent and really well crafted.

Overall: 4/5
This is definitely a must read and I will be buying a physical copy when it comes out!!

Wow, this book had me hooked from the beginning. I have read a lot of books so far this year and this is definitely my top book of the year so far.

Following the protagonist Doe on her quest for Weston to continue to be an all girls boarding school was real, believable and I found myself sucked into the plot quickly. This book has everything I love a enemies or friend plot, fake dating to real dating and a strong friends group.

This book is fast paced and also has a lot of depth. I loved Doe and Wells relationship and found myself smiling and rooting for them throughout the story.

This book is by far the best YA book I have read in at least a year. Thank you Net galley and publisher for the advanced read. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. I am hopeful there will be a sequel soon.

This May End Badly is a very solid debut novel from Samantha Markum and I'm very grateful to have been given the opportunity to read the ARC before it's official publication in April 2022. We've seen the fake dating trope time and time again in contemporary romantic comedies, especially in YA, but Markum comes at it with a very fresh take, bringing in outside rivalries, complex family dynamics, and real world issues.

I think one of the strengths of this novel was the conflicting morality of the main character Doe. Doe started out the novel as headstrong as the come with only one goal in mind: stop the merger between her school, The Weston School, and the all boys school across the street, Winfield Academy. Caught up in her interpersonal vendetta with her rival Three, she soon loses focus on what she originally hated about the merger. It's easy to write a main character who can do no wrong and faces the world with a completely flawless moral compass, but Markum challenges that idea with Doe. Watching her realize her mistakes and work to mend relationships she has hurt is much more gratifying to the reader than if she was a classic Mary Sue.

There are a few things that I think could be stronger. When it comes to Doe's rivalry with Three, I think the backstory is a little weak. The explanation given seems pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things, especially seeing the lengths Doe goes to in order to spite him. Along that same vein, I would've loved a little more information about Wells and Three's family. It's briefly explained during the Thanksgiving scenes, but I think it needs a bit more development to help the reader fully comprehend the extent of the tension. I was very suspicious of Wells' intentions when he agreed to the fake dating situation at first because it seemed as if Doe knew something we as the readers did not. She spoke vaguely about a sort of hierarchy between the cousins, but that was not touched upon again until the end. I think we just might need a little bit more of that at the beginning, not any of the specifics, but just to make it more understandable for the audience. Finally, this book contains many plotlines. They are all very interesting, but because of the sheer number of situations going on at once, the main plot seemed a little jumbled between the dynamic of Wells' family, Doe's relationship with her parents, and the situation with Mr. Tully.

Overall, this was a fast-paced and interesting novel. The jokes landed perfectly and the emotions were conveyed beautifully. This May End Badly was a very good read and I'm excited to see it on shelves next year!

This May End Badly is an instant recommendation for readers who love enemies-to-lovers.

There was so much chemistry between the couple and the friends involved in this story that I would recommend it to any fan of that trope. It was a strong YA novel with excellent dialogue and a heartfelt story overall.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, This May End Badly, is a good story. I enjoyed the characters and the main plot, which was two different boarding schools trying to one-up each other with pranks. When the plan to merge the two schools into one is revealed, the prank war to end all prank wars begins. Throw in a fake love story (reminiscent of To All the Boys I've Loved Before) and it's a good book.

My problem with the book is that there were way too many subplots going on. The author brought in way too many social issues. It was almost like she was trying to include every political opinion she had on every issue she could think of. It was distracting from the main story.

This book was the funniest I have read, while still wincing at the truths of some of the situations that I'm sure most of us have experienced.
It's a book about growing up as a woman trying to define feminism and make the world better for those coming behind you, whether you want to or not, and whether others like it or not, and whether you are terrified of it, or not.
Set in the senior year in a prep school, Doe and her fierce posse of girls takes a prank of a fake dating scheme to new heights, and resulting lows. I would love to have these women in my circle of friends.
the book is fun, well written and I love the dialogue. Snappy, sassy and real.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this in return for an unpaid, honest opinion.

So good! It had almost all of my favorite tropes. Enemies to lovers, fake dating, boarding school, and dark academia. A fast paced read. Seriously so amazing!

I thought this was an excellent book. It was so much more than a fake dating trope and a high school prankster. The characters were great. The plot was fantastic, the premise unique. Great writing. The opening scene was hilarious. It definitely set a certain tone for the rest of the book. The feminist Girl Power vibe I got from the brief Weston school history lesson early in the book was especially satisfying when it circled back around in a big way at the end.

Doe’s first person narration is great. She’s witty and sarcastic and makes a very enjoyable narrator. I really appreciated how the author seamlessly blended typical teenage drama with much heavier topics. It gave gravity to a story that could easily have been frivolous and ridiculous. It’s peppered with important lessons that even grownups often still need to learn without feeling too preachy.

I really liked Doe’s friend group and her (not so) fake boyfriend, Wells. Their relationship is pretty sweet and they’re really great together even when they’re not “together”.

Doe deals with all the typical teenage stressors like friendship drama and feeling like she’s expected to know what she’s going to do with her life, but she has to deal with much more than just that, which is what makes this book so interesting and, I think, unique. Doe’s got more issues than Vogue and they all come creeping up on her in the 11th hour of her time at Weston. She loses nearly everyone close to her because of her behavior. This is relevant not just to teens but pretty much any person who is alive and breathing. We all need to check ourselves before we wreck ourselves. And she done wrecked herself. Doe then realizes she needs to engage in some much needed self reflection.

Every character is well written. The dialogue is excellent. I’m pretty impressed with this author. I will definitely be up for reading anything else she writes.

Side note: At one point, Doe recounts a conversation she had with someone at school where they talked about what food they missed most from their hometowns. Hers was Provel cheese which is the bat signal that means not only is she 1) from St. Louis, but 2) a fan of Imo’s Pizza. That’s my girl!  🙌🏼 😂  All the authentic St. Louis references made this native St. Louisan happy. ❤️

I would recommend this to anyone.
5 stars out of 5

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of This May End Badly in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fun, fast YA read with all of your tropey favs. We have: boarding school settings, tight-knit friend groups, prank wars, high school rivalries, fake!dating, the list goes on and on. It's not necessarily the most unique thing you'll ever read but it's fun regardless, especially if you're looking for something fun and familiar to get you out of a slump.

I received an arc from netgalley.

I have mixed opinions on this book. I didn't hate it but there was something off about it. First off, I felt like she should be with Three, I didn't think that by the end but the way it was written made it seem like that was where the story should go. I also couldn't stand the main character for most of the book. She was just so caught up in the rivalry that it made her unbearable at times.