This is a wonderful book about a group of school girls who are trying to “out prank” the boys school across the road. Through all the hijinks, friendships are tested and formed. The story shows how you need to look deeper and not judge people by face value.

This was so fun!! I loved this. It had an adorable romance, the fake dating trope, badass girls, and a prank war between two rival schools. This was a fast and super fun read and I would totally recommend it to anyone looking for something sweet and snarky. 10/10

3.5/5

** I received this as an E-ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review, Thank you!**

I had a really good time reading this book. I thought the romance was cute and I liked the fake dating trope used. I also like the whole school rivals thing we had going on here. I also really enjoyed the way the students came together for justice. That all being said I do feel like there was something missing. I'm sure this has to do with the fact that I'm not the intended target for this book as a grown woman. I just wanted a little but more chemistry between the two main characters. I would've liked them to be more emotionally invested. I felt like they knew very little about each other so it felt a little insta love here. Overall I had a great time and would recommend this book

such a light-hearted read! A prank war between two rival schools? What more can you ask for? Definitely recommend for anyone looking for a quick and fun book <3

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC. This was such a cute read! I havent read anything set in a high school in a while so it was fun to go back.

I adored this book. It pulled me out of a 5 month reading slump! It deals with heavy topics but in a great way. If you love new takes on fake dating and enemies to lovers, this is the book!

This was a cite book book with the fake relationship turned real feelings trope, but sprinkled with some heavy content that may trigger some people. I thought it was a great book with just enough of the light hearted vs. The heavy content and I really enjoyed seeing Doe's story unfold.

2.5 ⭐️

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted eARC, all thoughts are my own.

I was excited to read this one because I love enemies to lovers and fake dating. Also the school rivals and the prank wars sounded so fun!
Sadly this one hit the mark for me.

Let’s start with our MC Doe, annoying and completely selfish. Very much a self centered, privileged white girl. I was over her immediately. It took way too long for her to see how harmful her way of thinking was.

I also didn’t like the plot about the teacher. I don’t understand why it was necessary and even worse I don’t get why the girls never told anyone. It doesn’t make sense to me at all. I believe this could set a poor example for young teens .

Overall this book was just okay to me.

This was a wonderful YA read. Two private schools in a prank war for years, Doe is intent on winning for the girls. She begins fake dating Wells from the boys school to up the ante. Shenanigans ensue. It was well done and a fun read. I felt there were too many characters to keep track of at times, but overall it was a fun read.

If you enjoy a story set in a private school, fake dating tropes, and YA novels this one is for you!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

This book surprised me in the best way! A fake dating, boarding school book with endless pranks and ending on a high note fighting for something that truly matters. I definitely felt it naive that Doe thought she could actually reverse the school merger at the beginning but her arc going through challenges with relationships as she was singularly focused played out well and was engaging the entire way through.

The fake dating trope truly turns me into a grinning mess and my cheeks now literally hurt from binging this book, lol.

THIS MAY END BADLY had me in a chokehold. I had an exam at 9AM but I stayed up until 2AM to finish this amazing debut. It's so much fun, even with the serious themes woven in. I loved everything this book explored, from friendship to the girls vs boys thing to senior year of high school to... disgusting teachers and how schools try to cover up for them. It was all just done very well.

Doe is an amazing and passionate main character, despite and because of her flaws. Her character growth was so nice to see, too! She cares really deeply and I just wanna give her a hug at this point. My favourite thing about this book, though, was the romance...

A few days have passed and I'm still thinking about Doe and Wells. Their relationship was... so good, and I say this as a full on lesbian who is not easily satisfied with a male love interest, but Wells is amazing. I LOVED their banter so much!!

I'm actually really surprised by how much I loved this book. There were a few things that didn't make me enjoy it like a five-star read, but I'm still gonna be thinking about this one a lot. I need more fake dating books now lmao!!

This was such a fun book! I loved the rivalry between the two schools, and the romance between Doe and Wells. It has the perfect balance between humor and more serious topics, but overall this is a light, fun read.

Dorothy (Doe) and her gang are determined to carry out the legacy of their school, including the rivalry between their school and the all boys school next door. When a merger between the school threatens that, they are determined to break it, especially given that Doe will have to deal with her arch-enemy Three. When the opportunity comes up to annoy Three, Doe runs head first towards it.

Wells is one of Three’s 7 cousins and he definitely does not get along with Three. Seeing this restrained relationship, Doe proposes fake dating to get on Three’s nerves, but Wells also wants something from Doe.

It was a pretty cute book. Doe with a bit annoying with her tunnel vision on legacy and stuff but it think she worked it out good towards the end. There is nothing I would change with Wells though. He was swoon-worthy. They story was also pretty fast paced but I did think it dragged out towards the end. Also it seemed like the book couldn’t pick a struggle (aka plot line) and stick with it. It had way too much going on and honestly it could have ended 50 pages earlier than it actually did.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that likes YA romances, since it had all the components of a cheesy, rom-com.

4/5 ⭐️ to This May End Badly by Samantha Markum. Thank you to Wednesday Books for an egalley to review! This follows high school senior, Doe, and the long-time rivalry between her all-girls school Weston Academy, and the all-boys school across the road. It kicks off with a hilarious first day of school prank and we get to know Doe and her friends' group. Soon Doe feels her world turning upside down and the prank war with the boys escalates after it's announced the two schools will merge next year. Making things more intense and adding to the drama is a personal rivalry Doe has with a boy at the other school who is from a very prominent family. As part of her "revenge" on him, she starts to fake date his cousin...and we all know how that ends up! I think this is a fabulous debut full of life, teen drama, rivalry, and crushes. Doe is messy and relatable with a good heart, and I like how she was not only allowed to make mistakes (and some hurtful ones at that), but she makes things right in the end and it is balanced with her passion for her school, her love for her family, and her loyalty to her friends. Speaking of, the author did include diversity in our secondary cast of characters including LGBTQ+ rep and having POC characters in the two main friends' groups (Doe's and the LI's). Please read own-voices POC reviews in terms of that specific representation. I liked how the queer representation was expanded with conversations around improving on how to intentionally include trans & non-binary students in what is an all-girls or all-boys school. What really made this book fun was both the prank war itself but also the fake dating! I loved watching them create their fake dating plan, make everyone around them believe they are actually dating, getting to know each other, and then slowly but surely falling for each other. It was adorable and angsty as many fake dating relationships are. Finally, I wanted to speak on an element that was included a) to bring awareness to the issue and b) is used as a plot device to finally have the two student bodies work together. Now, this comes with a trigger warning for SA, particularly in a student-teacher relationship. I think that it is important to recognize that this happens, and the fact that too often these instances are covered up by administration (they never should be) but I don't know if it should have been used as a plot device. I'm glad it resulted in the two student bodies working together towards something good and preparing them to merge into one school, but I question the use of that storyline specifically. Take this questioning coming from someone who hasn't experienced anything like this, and please read other reviews if you're unsure. This book is out now, and I would recommend checking it out! Looking forward to what Markum writes next!

"This May End Badly" has the same thing going for it that also drove me crazy: it's YA, and the characters refreshingly act like teenagers. Theses are not teens that I imagine in 20+ year old bodies- which I guess says something about the type of YA books I've been reading recently.

Doe, short for Dorothy, has been struggling to accept that her all-girls school will be merging with an all-boys school the following year, and even though she's currently a HS senior and won't be at the school, she intends to do everything she can to stop the merger. Which ends up being equal parts funny and embarrassing.

I enjoyed this. I think Samantha Markum did an excellent job with character growth and self-reflection. There was a pretty large cast of characters, but each character felt unique enough that I didn't confuse them with each other. The romance is mostly PG, with some at-times heavy kissing.

I've been in a rut with a lot of books lately, but "This May End Badly" was a quick and fun read.

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin's Press for an advanced e-copy of this book. It is well-past publishing day, but that just means it's ready to be read right now! :)

I enjoyed this YA boarding school novel full of romance, fake dating, and prank wars. I think my students will love it, especially those who liked The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks and Truly Vicious.

strong female characters. strong friendships. a funny dialogue and wonderfully developed plot. this book delivered everything it promised.

I love fake dating and ‘enemies’ to ‘lovers’ so I knew I was going to enjoy this one. There is lots of humour, growth and emotion and it even touches on some more serious topics. I enjoyed the characters and the banter is hilarious. Definitely worth picking up.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for an e-copy of this book.

I found this book enjoyable especially because the premise was so fun (a prank war between rival schools? Yes please). It’s cute to see how the pranks and relationships escalate over the course of the story and I think it will be a fun summer read for a lot of people. My only issue with it is that there was a tad too much going on. That being said, I will recommend this to all my YA loving friends!

Fake dating and a prank war between an all-girl's school and an all-boy's school? Yes, please! I loved Doe and Wells and the chemistry between them. And the female friendships (even when tested) that really spoke to the sisterhood that's built at an all-girls school took my back to my own high school days in the best way.