Lara returns from summer vacation in the Philippines to discover that her best friends all have boyfriends, leaving her the odd person out. Pressured by her mom, Lara tutors long-time-frenemy James. With her friends otherwise occupied, she spends more and more time with him. They couldn't be falling for each other—could they?

This is the second book I've read by Wattpad Books. The things they have in common are a strong voice, good writing, great storytelling—but they fall short in terms of reader expectations for the genre.

This is meant as more of an observation than a criticism. This is an enjoyable book if you know what to expect:

- This is a bittersweet romance. There's no HEA or HFN—the ending is ambiguous. That's perfectly reasonable for YA, but the publisher describes this book as romance, and it's not.
- There are too many characters. One of the friend couples should have been cut. The number of family members was a little dizzying to me. As a reader, you don't need to mentally keep track of all these people. This is Lara and James's story. Just focus on them. The side characters don't matter that much.
- The inclusion of so much of the Tagalog language became confusing to me because I primarily listen via text-to-speech. Entire conversations took place in Tagalog with the English translations in parentheses. I understand the author's impulse to include this cultural aspect of the book, but it creates a challenge for visually impaired readers.
- The characters seem young to me, more like high school sophomores than seniors. They do mature a little during the course of the book.
- The physical pranks between Lara and James were a little off-putting, which made them not very likeable in the beginning. Again, this tapers off as the book progresses.
-There is some other-woman drama (or in this case, other-girl drama) but no actual cheating.

If you can overlook these things, this is a book worth reading. It's a pleasure to see how Lara and James grow. The ending is gorgeous and heart-wrenching. I hope the author will give us a sequel when these characters are a little older.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This book was exactly what I needed to get out of a book hunch. The story follows Lara who has just come back from spending her summer in the Philippines. Lara is a quirky teenage girl who came back to town knowing the world she knew before is gone.

How to Be the Best Third Wheel is a classic rom-com story that follows the life of a group of teenagers before they head in different directions. Overall, I loved how the book captured the highs and lows of dating and what happens when suddenly all your friends get entangled in their own relationships and then start ditching you for their boyfriend and you find yourself alone. Even though I haven't been in high school in some time I could read this book and feel all the raw emotions.

The book had depth and all the characters were really well-sketched with some real issues that teens struggle to go through. I'm glad I read this book, it was a special journey for Lara, about discovering herself and finding what makes her happy the most!

This book was really funny ! So many moments I laughed out loud. I’ve been a third wheel plenty of times we all know how it is 🥲but I don’t like it when the hero is out with people while the heroine “pines” over him. That turned me off real quick but besides that the book was a good book !

“We were never perfect and a lot of times, we are far from it. We’re just two teenagers, trying and failing, hoping to eventually find what’s ours.”

In the best way possible, this book was like plunging headfirst into all the youth, angst, and drama that so characterizes high school. The emotions and turmoil (mostly marked by the constant questioning of one’s purpose and possibly subsequent existential crises) of those years were both pretty spot on in this book and the nostalgia had me reeling in the aftermath of reading it.

Lara Dela Cruz is your typical teenaged high schooler, but with a zinger for every occasion and a low tolerance for all things James Bryer. Good thing her upcoming senior year is meant to be one final hurrah with her three besties and no James in sight. Unfortunately for Lara though, things don’t always happen the way we want them to.

With her best friends all tied down in new relationships, Lara is stuck navigating what was supposed to be the greatest year ever on her own. It doesn’t help that she has to do it with James stuck to her side, as both a tutee and a fellow third wheel. But maybe she’ll find that there’s more to James and her last year of high school than she previously thought.

At its heart, Loridee De Villa’s debut novel How To Be the Best Third Wheel is a powerful read with a diverse POC cast and a young heroine navigating the difficulties of growing up in a world you wish would slow down long enough to include you in it. But as Lara realizes that growing up may mean letting go, she also reminds readers that there is a place out there for everyone. You only have to be patient enough to find it.

Pre-order this book now to make sure you have your copy by May 3!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I started this book and just couldn’t get around to finishing it. I felt like I just couldn’t jive with it as much as I expected to. I did read the ending and I’m a sucker for HEA so this just wasn’t the romance I was fully looking for.

I loved this book. It brought me back to my high school days when I was often the third wheel. It SUCKS!!

The parts that I loved the most were the dialogue with her family, especially her Lola. The dialogue is in Tagalog and the author includes the full translation with it. I've never read any books that did that, and I totally appreciate it. I don't really speak Tagalog, I can understand the basics when spoken, and reading it... I gotta take it real slow to hear the word.

I feel for Lara and how she's losing her relationships with her friends. Some of that made me angry. Lara's cousin, Eliza, was infuriating. I hated how she inserted herself between James and Lara.

The antics with James were a little childish, but then again it's high school. James is such a sweetie though. The way he remembers things about Lara (teary eyed emoji)!

There were a lot of things about Lara that I could relate to, both now and back then in my high school years.

There were some errors, like notes the author made, but it wasn't deleted. I hope it was fixed in the final print.

This is just very, very...young. The characters read young. Their concerns and conflicts are very young. They handle them more like kids than almost-adults. The writing itself is promising but unpolished. There were definitely some funny moments and snappy lines, and I liked the peek into different cultures, but the book was ultimately unsatisfying, though the author definitely has potential.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

I found this book to be super cute but extremely predictable and typical for a YA rom-com. I definitely found it relatable. Lara’s problems are the same problems that many teenage girls go through in high school. It was kind of nostalgic because it seems like every problem/minor inconvenience in Lara’s life is life-changing and I remember thinking the same thing at that age.
I loved that the book was set in Toronto.
“Fries over guys”, “all foods before dudes” are my new life mottos.
Rated: 3.00 stars

Read this book if you like: Clean romance, enemies to lovers, cute cheesy stories, Filipino representation

This is a clean teen romance comedy about figuring out where you belong when all the constants in your life begin to change.

This book centers around Lara. She's a highschool student. She returns from her summer vacation in the Philippines with family only to find all of her besties are in relationships. To make matters worse, Lara’s long time frenemy, James, won’t stop bugging her in class and eventually forces her into tutoring him everyday after school.

This book is cute, a little cheesy, and written in a juvenile way. The main character was very immature. The teens actually acted like real teenagers. This book is a really good representation of teen romance. Lots of cliches. Lots of up and downs. It was entertaining. I liked it. I think it's probably more for actual teens though.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author Loridee De Villa, and Wattpad Publishers for my gifted copy. ❤

I started this book an never finished it I found I just couldn’t get into it and felt a little childish while reading this specific title.

I wasn't into the main character and struggled reading the story because of it. She was a bit of a know it all and I just didn't care for her personality. When you read a book, you are spending time with characters and there just has to be something likable about a character in a romance.

How to Be the Best Third Wheel by Loridee De Villa, 336 pages. Wattpad Books, 2022. $11.
Language: R (39 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: G
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Getting back from summer vacation with the fam in the Philippines, Lara is surprised on the first day of senior year that all three of her best friends got boyfriends. Even worse, the three boyfriends are friends with Lara’s mortal enemy: James. With betrayals stacked on top of being guilted into tutoring James and pressure to prepare for her future, Lara feels more out of place than ever.
The vomit of background information in chapter one introduced the book as amateur writing. With that knowledge up front, De Villa’s silly and ridiculous writing style was able to be more entertaining than annoying – though still in an eye rolling kind of way. Lara’s story feels exaggerated, like it’s not meant to be realistic but just continual funny scenes as Lara tries to figure out what she wants to do with her life.
Lara is Filipino, James is half-Filipino, and De Villa wrote a very diverse set of supporting characters: Jasmine is Chinese, Carol is Indian, Kiera is White, Logan is White, Mark is Peruvian, and Daniel is Black. This diversity is shown on the front cover. The mature content rating is for alcohol use, innuendo, and mentions of sex.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Recommended: yup!!
For a trope-y book that ends up going way past the tropes, for a lighthearted yet fairly deep story, for a whirlwind set over 3 months but feels like so much more than that

Thoughts:
What hit me most with this story was how much more there was to it than I expected. From the silly title and cutesy cover, I figured this would be a lightly angsty YA book about discovering oneself that would probably end in a romance. While that wasn't totally incorrect, there was so much more to it. Amazingly, it never felt crammed or forced to me. It was more like a three-act play, where one arc of the story would resolve and a new one would begin.

Beyond that, there were also so many lines and sentiments that I really enjoyed reading. The kinds of lines I savor. I paused and thought about them and luxuriated in the messages they carried and the thoughts they inspired. One particularly poignant one hit me when a character laments how folks think saying "I love you" will solve all problems people might have, and how that's such bullshit. Experiencing that last ditch effort from a new ex during a breakup, I felt that one.

There is, of course, no lack of silliness in this one. Even though it grows into heavier topics and more serious angles, there's a wonderful levity to it all. I adore books with chapter titles, especially when they're as good-natured as these, formatted with each chapter listing a rule to follow in order to truly achieve the title's promise to become the best third wheel. One of my personal favorites was "Tip Twenty-Seven: I Really Have No Advice For This One." The situations the characters deal with require some suspension of disbelief at time, but I was fine with it. Most rom-com style stories have to contrive some absurd circumstances at some point in order to get to the best bits, right?

In the nature of details, I like that all of the Tagalog is written out entirely with an English translation after worked into it naturally. It's a nice bilingual adherence and a true show of love to the culture and the characters. No one feels alienated by not understanding portions, but that aspect of the story retains its shine and is allowed to feel authentic instead of shoehorned in for a checkbox or personality trait.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad Books for a free advanced copy. This is my honest review.

Read if you like:
-Romcom
-Reading Diversely
-Young Adult Books
- Being the Odd man out storylines

Overall, this is a book I would have loved so much more if I was younger I think and in the target demographic but feel as though YA may not be a fit for me as much as it used to be, as I was looking for maturity that just simply couldn’t be there because of the age of the characters and their life experiences up to date.

As the author said be ready for cringe, loss of brain cells from facepalms, and relatable moments from when you were a teen or if you are now a teenager falling in love.

This was a cute, enjoyable story. It was sweet, funny, a little cheesy, but altogether a nice teen romance that I finished pretty quickly. The story follows Lara as she comes back from a summer vacation to find that all three of her best friends now have boyfriends, and I think it captures that feeling of being a third wheel in a relatable and funny way. She's a bit of an anti-romantic, but she's got her own slow building romance full of tropey but adorable moments. I love that the story put an equal emphasis on sweet as well as slightly satirical romantic moments, fun and impactful friendship moments, and warm and cozy family moments. I felt like I was able to get a full look at Lara's world and really get in the experience with her, and there were so many great relationship dynamics. The book is definitely a little cheesy, and there were a few times that characters said or did things that felt a little unrealistic, or like it would take a really big coincidence to happen in real life. Like the fact that basically all of the boys in one friendship group perfectly matched up with all of the girls in another friendship group. Despite that, I still found the story really cute and think anyone looking for a quick, sweet teen story will enjoy it.

I loved Lara as a character. Her sense of humor is great and there's a lot of funny commentary as she is narrating that I really enjoyed. She's a little sassy and snarky, makes great references, and is definitely overdramatic but in a way that's fun. She definitely feels like a teenager, the kind you want to shake your head at but also love to death. In addition to romance and humor, I also found her relatable in her feelings about being a senior in high school and that scary stage in life where everybody expects you to know exactly what you want to do next. Definitely a great protagonist.

I also liked the elements of diversity and culture in the story. In addition to Lara having a diverse friend group, Lara is a Filipina-Canadian character, and we get to see her family's culture in many ways throughout the story. The book has a lot of dialogue in Tagalog, along with translation so that readers get to understand, but also get a real picture of what conversation can look like in bilingual families. I loved seeing Lara's relationship with her grandmother (her Lola) and her parents especially.

Overall, this book is perfect for anyone wanting a sweet, clean teen romance. Definitely a little corny, and a few moments of having to suspend disbelief. But it's a fun story that has a great depiction of ups and downs of first loves, friendships, and family.

Summary: After a summer spent in the Philippines with her family, Lara de la Cruz is eager to start her senior year and, most importantly, reunite with her three besties, Carol, Jasmine, and Kiera. Of course summer is the season of change, and Lara knew she’d have to get caught up on the major updates, hot gossip, and other shenanigans she may have missed. But what she did not expect was to show up on the first day of school to all three of her friends now in relationships.

The mushy public displays of affection and lunches spent gushing about their new “boyfries” has Lara quickly realizing her last year of high school is nothing like she imagined.

I thought this YA novel was very cute and realistic! The teenagers actually act like teenagers, which is always refreshing. They’re dramatic, make dumb mistakes, and blow everything way out of proportion.

Some parts dragged on and the dialogue almost felt like a K-Drama. I didn’t like how one character called another character “Sweetheart.”

I loved Lara’s relationship with her family, especially her Lola (grandma). Also appreciated the spotlight on anxiety. Most of all, I loved the ending (no spoilers!).

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

How to Be the Best Third Wheel will be published on May 3, 2022.

If you are into quirky teenfiction stories with epic comebacks and adorable pop culture references then this your pick !

The Lara-James dynamic of 'friends to enemies to lovers' is a amusing treat, LKJC embodies the zest of female friendship yet I wanted a more serious confrontation between them after the fallout Lara had to suffer. The third wheeling **correction** seventh-wheeling situation is undeniably relatable ("How is it possible to have upgraded to a Seventh wheel?") as well as the crossroads of becoming adult under pressure and confusion of life changing decesions.

For me the highlight of this novel was the use of regional language and homely depiction of cultural instances, the whole Asian family thing was transparent and sweet at the same time.

One will fall in love with Lara and James messing around and adoring each other simultaneously. ( Taylor Swift concert, He ain't Harry Styles or the disease of Cardiophotoneuroblastoma)

Though I not getting an epilogue was a down thumb for me. I had to shuffle through the Wattpad version to satisfy my thirst for a closure or a future plot building. The story had clichéd rom-com troups and highschool plot, so no high hopes for plot twist.

Eventually, I'm a sucker for rom-coms and this one is filled with whims and fancies of a perpy Y/A novel with realistic scenes.

After all everyone had been a bit of third-wheel at a point in their life. And for James and Lara ? "They'll always be the best third wheels !"

Cute young adult book that takes us through Lara’s path in finding herself. Showed some of the things young adults go through now and how they navigate the changes they go through. Something every young adult goes through and should be understood instead of shamed. Cute moments between the characters, but overall liked seeing Lara navigate these changes.

This book took me on a roller-coaster from page one!
I absolutely adore Lara. I relate to her dramatic inner monologues and external freaking out more than I'll ever admit! I saw a lot of my younger self in her personality so it was easy to love her!

She went through so much in this book and my heart honestly went out for her. She was treated really unfairly over and over, but she remained a kind, caring, loving person despite all the hurt.

I love the relationship development and growth between her and James and with her and her friends. Once, you read it, you'll know why it was so good. There were plenty of ups and downs and I devoured this book in just over a day.

This was a great emotional read and I really recommend it!

I received and advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you Net Galley and WattPad Books for this arc.

Lara Dela Cruz comes home from summer vacation expecting a great senior year with her three best friends. What she finds is that they are all in relationships. Making her the third wheel. To make matters worse all her friends’ boyfriends are best friends with her mother’s best friend son James. James who even though she grew up with him all they do now is bicker and pull pranks on each other. In addition she is ask by his mother to tutor James this semester. In this book you go on a journey with Lara to learn about, friendship, love, family and figuring out how to accept the changes in life.

I have a hard time rating this and while the beginning and end where average for me. The middle of this book I can honestly say I never related more to a book in my life. It’s not just the Filipino main characters like me. But it’s some many of the things Lara and James went thru. I was in tears a good 40% of the book because I related to it so much.

Firstly I love seeing Filipino rep in books. Growing up with so few of that and seeing it proudly shown here was fabulous. Next, Lara’s journey with everything just pulled at my heart strings. With her friends and feeling left behind to thinking of her future to her family it just was a great to read. I related so much to James as well especially with the dynamic he had with his grandfathers. I honest really liked all the characters in this. The story of Lara and James I thought was a special young love story that I really liked. They had good banter, love their romantic scenes, and I was just pulling for them. But I can’t help be a little disappointed at their ending, I completely understood why it happen that way but wish it didn’t end like that. Although I thought the end scene was gorgeous..

The beginning was a little to chaotic for my liking. I also feel like I want to know what happen to these character after the ending. Not sure if a sequel is plan but it just felt a little incomplete. But I thought this was a good book that I related to very much. I would definitely recommend this one for people want to read a young adult book.

I am giving it 3.75 stars (upgrading to 4 on the rating system here).