I loved every minute of this YA novel! What's. not to love?
~Two schools fighting over a rivalry that has been around for generations
~Multiple school pranks
~Two people working towards one goal (fake dating to get under someone's skin
~A close-knit friendship between a group of girls
~An unwanted/suspected romance
It had me laugh out loud, holding my breath in suspense This novel had two main characters, Doe and Wells, who separately, were intriguing, fun, and dynamic. But together, they bring out the best of each other. This is a book I will read over and over again just t enjoy the chemistry between the characters and amazing writing.

The one thing that I didn't like in this story was the PE teacher and how the students felt so uncomfortable around him. It made for an interesting side story, but the fact that this was happening for so many years and no one said anything, or the ones that did, it got pushed under the rug.

I rate this book a 5/5!

I'd like to say a huge thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I greatly enjoyed this novel from start to finish. It touches on so many important concepts, such as bullying, LGBTQ relationships, and sexual harassment. Doe is a strong, independent young lady and her conviction knows no bounds. She will risk everything if she believes it to be the right thing to do. Although her decisions are questionable at times, her morality and sense of right and wrong are pretty on point. I think the author explores so much about being a teenager in today's society, and for a debut, she does it expertly. I was, however, a little disappointed in all the f-bombs. I appreciate that this is how people talk, but it makes it more difficult to recommend this novel to a younger audience for that reason.

*Actual rating is a 4.5*

I love any book that gives my stomach butterflies and this definitely did. Plus, I love a faking dating trope. The story follows a pranking war between an all girls school and an all boys school that has been going on for generations. But it specifically focuses on Doe and vengeance over Three. But things begin to unfold when the decision is made to merge the two schools together. Doe doesn't want this to happen and she enlists Wells as her fake boyfriend to piss Three off and to stir up trouble. But the deeper Doe goes in with her lies and deceit the more difficult for her it is to get out of her lies.

While this had lighthearted elements there also were difficult topics addresses in the book and I appreciate how Markum addresses those topics.

Overall, I couldn't put this down. It was a funny, warm, heartfelt book that kept me interested from the first to last page. There were so many good twists and turns too!
Samantha Markum really nailed this particular genre and trope. I will definitely plan on purchasing this book once it releases next year. Like I said, who doesn't love a good fake dating trope especially when it is done well.

Thank you to Samantha Markum and Netgalley for giving me permission to read this!

This is a well written book that I 100% enjoyed reading. There was a whirlwind of hate, love and learning that drew me in from the start and kept me reading until the end. Miss Markus did a beautiful job at showing character development in all of the characters while also making them fun and relatable. This was the perfect book to draw me out of my reading slump.

This is an absolute must-read if you like fake dating. The rivalry and ‘games’ played between characters really adds a level of questioning what’s really going on and what’s going to happen next. The story as a whole is just funny while bringing up serious subjects while still being light-hearted about it. Honestly very good read and highly recommend.

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!!

This May End Badly is a take on a classic rivalry between two schools. Doe and her close friends at all girls Weston School are constantly participating in a prank war against all boys Winfield Academy, with Doe being the most heavily invested. A school merger throws a twist in everything, and fake relationships, lies, arguements, and many other events make for an unforgettable time.

This May End Badly is pretty much the perfect title for this book, and a frequent outcome of the school rivalry. Doe is a bold character with a lot of pride, and her actions and hijinks shape the book. The fake relationship added a fun layer to the story, and it was interesting to read how it played out. I must admit I thought the plot would be mostly lighthearted, but there was definitely a heavier side for the second half of the book. I wasn't sure how I felt about the angle at first, but ultimately I ended up really appreciating the believe survivors message that the book presented. This May End Badly is a good YA read with a lot of twist and turns; the reader will not be disappointed.

Trigger warning for the topic of inappropriate teachers and sexual assault.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC; this is my honest and voluntary review.

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.

Fun, enjoyable, and fast read. Very refreshing and easy to read. Lovely characters and romance. And above all, a riotous and clever prank war. Perfect for fans of Foul is Fair.

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)

Boarding school life, ongoing rivalry with boys school across the road, prank fights, calls to principals offices, budding romance, difficult relationships with parents, college applications - this book has it all. The narration got me hooked and the characters are relatable. I finished this book within a day and it is a joy ride. It is entertaining and fast paced. Although I can’t imagine myself in the shoes of Doe, I would love to be her friend, be an audience for the drama unfolding in front of me and I don’t expect to have a single dull moment there.
I would recommend this book to all YA romance lovers out there.

**This books trigger warnings include: sexual assault**

This May End Badly really delivers on the Fake Dating Trope (which I'm always a sucker for.) Our main protagonist , Doe, and her group of friends are a part of Weston, an all girls school. Just across the street, is Winfield, an all boy's school. Together, they have a war that has been going on for generations, a pranking war that is. Ever since Doe and her friends started at the school, they have been the main group striking against the Winfield boys. It's their senior year, it's suppose to be amazing and include some of the best pranks out of their four years. Until their headmistress tells Weston that the two schools are merging. Something Doe isn't happy about, and her nemesis, Three, is. To try and knock him down a peg, Doe decides the best way to get back in the race is to fake date Three's cousin, Wells. And Wells agrees- under the condition she helps him too.

Until Doe starts to like Wells, actually liking him. Until the pranks go too far. Until a teacher targets the girls. Until it's all too much. And Doe has to decide how to deal with everything in front of her and what really matters to her.

I really enjoyed this book, it was one of the better fake dating books I've read. Going into this, you'll find yourself thinking how immature Doe is, like I did, but it's definitely important to the lead up. There's so much more here than just the fake dating trip- Doe grows up A LOT by the end of the book and I was very happy with that. I don't think the book would've been as good if she hadn't. Doe faces serious consequences but of course it's over within a few pages, even if a few months have passes. In usual young adult fashion, mistakes are made, lessons learned, apologies all around.
The side characters were fleshed out about as much as you would expect characters in a single young adult book, but they were one of the best parts.
One of my favorite parts of This May End Badly was Doe's anger. She mentions it throughout the book and we get to see it and the consequences of it. It's real and relatable, it's not the empowering anger; it's the anger that can ruin a life if it gets it's hands on you. I don't think I've read a young adult book that I connected to that much in that sense.
I appreciate the commentaries on gender when it comes to girl and boy only schools, and how it makes everyone in the story rethink their motivations. I found the characters very realistic, in the sense of their motivations, even Doe. None of them are bad people, their motivations change, get stronger, and get weaker as the story goes.

**Spoilers start here**
I see a lot of people who have a problem with the ending. The story goes into the direction of the creepy teacher who messes with one of the younger girls (as it says in the summary here.) This is at the very end of the book. It's a storyline but it's used to bring all of our characters together for one cause. I see reviewers who have issues with the way that the girls handled it. While it is concerning that these girls did not go to their parents or straight to the school, instead deciding to stage a sit in, they say many times rumors say many girls have gone to the school about this teacher and nothing has happened, that some girls have even transferred or even just dropped out because of him. It scares them, especially the younger girl who lets our characters know what happened to her. They think it will just get tossed under the rug. I didn't find it unrealistic, the only part I didn't understand is why they didn't call their parents about it, but they even say they don't want girls pulled out of the school, but in the end, this happens anyways. I understand why some people find this ending concerning but I never had the thought that this was unrealistic. There are many schools, especially boarding schools, prep schools, and colleges, that have covered things up like that in the past. In real life, many survivors are not believed. I didn't like the ending regardless, it felt very rushed to me, which I talk about more below.
**Spoilers end here**

I'm going with a 3 star rating, because I loved the fake dating, Doe and Wells, and the prank war. I'm leading on 4 stars, but the pacing of the ending wasn't the greatest, everything felt very rushed, like the author needed something to tie all of our characters back together quickly before the story ended.

I recommend listening to Taylor Swift while reading this, especially since there's a line that is possibly Taylor related. I recommend: Betty, August, possibly tis' the damn season(?) for vibes.

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!