This was a fun #ownvoices YA enemies to lovers romance about being the odd one out, finding love in unexpected places and figuring out what life after high school will look like. My first by this author, I'd definitely read more. Recommended for fans of authors like Sajni Patel or Tif Marcello. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

I decided to request this book from NetGalley and enjoyed it. Thanks, NetGalley!

After returning to Canada from a summer vacation in the Philippines with family, Lara returns to learn that all three of her girlfriends have gotten into relationships over the summer. And to make matters worse, her frenemy, James, won’t stop bugging her and she’s forced to tutor him. She tries to figure out her own place in the chaos of her family and friends.

I liked Lara, the MC, and how she was independent and not a follow-the-crowd type. She didn’t want to be in a relationship just because her friends were. She also tried to hold on to her friendships, even when her friends were obsessing over their boyfriends.

Although I'm not used to books that the MC isn't from the USA or that don't take place in the USA, this was a good book that felt realistic. As I read further into it, I understood Lara and James's relationship and how they got to where they were. Although the ending was not ideally or perfect, and not everything was wrapped up in a nice red bow, I still enjoyed reading this book.

This book didn't take itself too seriously, but was quite enjoyable and a little bit different. Good for young adult Romance fans.

Ugh. A book that had such a promising cover and synopsis, yet fell fast. I know it’s meant to be a teeny-bopper type story, what with the characters being high school age, but man. It just went on, and on, and on, with a repeat of the same events over and over. It was almost 100 pages too long, and could have been cut short without all the unnecessary content to push the book longer.

I wish I could say better about the book, but I just can’t. Good effort, though!

I tried to read this on multiple occasions, but it ended up really not being for me. I usually love sweet YA rom-com, but unfortunately, I couldn't carry on with this one.

This book was not it... Maybe it's because the characters are so young but I thought it all to be super immature and cringey. I just couldn't deal with that kind of drama.

I was really surprised by this book. A perfect, cheesy, romantic and anti-romantic simultaneously, young adult fiction book for young readers and anyone else who is interested in the cheesy romance genre. Loved it!

Almost everyone in this novel is just the worst. Lara is bitter and jealous of her friends' relationships. She can't seem to accept that people and circumstances can change. Her friends give her every reason to be, constantly ditching her for their significant others and plastering it on social media. I think just about the only decent guy here is James. From the jump, it's clear he still cares for her, and she can't get past something that happens 4 years ago, which is essentially a century in Teen Years. For that reason, this one was a tough read.

The title of this quirky little story caught my attention right away! Though the story was interesting and engaging, I struggled to relate to the MC

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC

I think if I had been a teen reading this I would have enjoyed it more. YA is a tricky genre, trying to appeal to both the younger side and the more grown up side (we're still young at heart, no need for "old").

Lara comes home from a trip to the Philippines to discover that her entire friend group now have boyfriends. A clean, youthful version of enemies to lovers that I think will definitely appeal to readers of a similar age (ie highschool age). That being said, I did find parts funny and really enjoyed the friendships and familial relationships in this book.

2.5⭐
TW: infidelity

How to be the Best Third Wheel had such fun, cute relatable characters but the writing style made it fall flat and downgraded from a full four stars. I know it's supposed to be YA, but I feel like this is 200's cliche YA and now present YA if that makes sense????

Let's start with Lara, I love how bold she is and didn't even mind the overuse of teenage cliches everywhere because she kept it centered. She's a bit of a hot mess, but let's face it- who isn't??? I really enjoyed the representation of this book because I always love a good diverse character mix that didn't feel forced but organic.

I felt it for Lara when she came back from vacation and everyone was living their best lives with boyfriends and she basically didn't get the memo. Third-wheeling is cool with one friend- but three coupled friends? Paired with her lifelong enemy who she is seeing in a new light made for a nice dynamic. I enjoyed Lara and James and their dialogue had me laughing out loud.

The catalyst of this story is simply- how do we move on from our formative teen years? How do we decide what we are going to be? How do we make a life-altering decision when we can't even order a pizza properly?

Thank you to the publishers for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I give it 3.25 stars. I didn't like how the MC was secretly pining for the Male MC having to watch him kiss other girls. *sobbing*

This book did have some funny moments but the worst part was the ending. I need more answers.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me a chance to read this in return of my honest review.

I think this was really cute. I didn't have the highest hope giving that it is a Wattpad original but I ended up really enjoying it. The romance was sweet and there's nothing I love more than a rivals situation. I would totally recommend to my friends. I really liked the relationship dynamics with everyone around her and how it truly was very realistic to the real world.

This was a sweet romance. Although I would be more likely to categorize is as a romantic comedy or a love story over a romance-romance. But that is genuinely just my opinion.

After coming back from spending the summer in the Philippines, Lara finds herself as, effectively, a 7th wheel. Her old frenemy, James, is relentless and finally convinces her to tutor him after school.

I thought this was a refreshing and sweet YA romance. As someone who grew up with Susane Colasanti and Sarah Dessen (I've owned three copies of Just Listen over the years)

The meddling of family and teen drama is well executed in this book, grabbing the familiar feeling of “fear of missing out”, shows the complexity of relationships, the ways you find yourself when you are lost.
Definitely recommending this book to younger teen readers!

For a YA novel this book had potential, but for me it missed the mark. and was a struggle to finish fully.
I didn't enjoy the writing style. it felt very boring and over detailed. Not to mention this book was not memorable in the least. Lara's group of friends felt very generic and cookie cutter when it comes to friends group. I wish there had been a better execution for this book because it could have really been a huge hit.
it was a very run of the mill predictable teen romance.

Wasn't really my style. Although the character development and plot was good, it just wasn't anything in particular that I wanted to sit through and read the whole thing. DNF at 25%

This is a cute YA book about main character Lara who goes away on vacation and comes back to her 3 best friends all boyfriend up, and she’s left alone single. She struggles with the new feeling of being alone as the only single friend and also with newfound attraction to James, her former frenemy that she now thinks is cute. I thought this story was super cringe and cliche and didn’t have me hooked for the most part. Maybe someone younger and less expectant would have enjoyed, but I almost had to DNF.

What a cute little romance read. It was fast-paced but still very interesting and cute. It is an easy read for anyone to pick up. I enjoyed how diverse the book was! I loved how the author threw in some Tagalog words in the novel. Being a Filipino, I always enjoyed reading books that have my representation.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone that wants a fast-paced teen romance!

'How To Be The Best Third Wheel' by Loridee De Villa 4 star
The book follows Lara who came back from vacation and her whole friend group found boyfriends from her enemy's friend group (James ). Which led James and her to be the only ones alone.
At first, I was not too fond of the writing style, it was boring and over-explained everything but it grew on me and so did the story itself. The best friends and their boyfriends along with James helped me develop feelings for this book, I had strong emotions toward them which pushed me to finish the book in a day. In the beginning, they felt generic and like a copy-pasted version of every girl's friend group like the smart one and violent one, etc. The main character also struggles with very relevant problems but they aren't looked into, they are just mentioned and not much is done with them. The story was okay, it wasn't great but I still felt attached to it. Although I didn't like the ending, it felt open and the last three chapters of the book were unnecessary, it would have been so much better without them. All in all, I liked the book, even with its cringy moments it was still enjoyable.
Thanks, NetGalley for the arc.

This book just wasn’t for me. I didn’t like the writing style, was not a huge fan of the main character, and found the entire thing to be a bit disappointing and entirely forgettable. The premise was good, but the execution could have been better. If you’re looking for a short, predictable, and lighthearted ya contemporary romance, this might fit the bill. Just keep your expectations low.