Love & Other Great Expectations is a completely fun-filled story that features an amazing scavenger hunt across England. My Amazing Race-loving, anglophile heart was bursting throughout this entire book. The adorable main characters, Britt & Luke, and literary culture as well made the book a fantastic adventure of personal growth. I felt completely captivated the entire time! Highly and enthusiastically recommend!

REVIEW | Love and Other Great Expectations
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Thank you @netgalley, @randomhousechildrens, and @beckydeanwrites for the #gifted digital ARC.
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LOVE & OTHER GREAT EXPECTATIONS by Becky Dean (@beckydeanwrites)
Publisher: Delacourte Press, @randomhousechildrens
Pub Date: June 14, 2022 | Available now!
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Britt Hanson has always preferred scoring goals on the soccer field to analyzing dusty old books. But when an injury ends her dream to play in college, she jumps at the chance to compete in a scavenger hunt in England that takes her to the locations of classic novels—the prize money would change her life!

There she meets bookish and very British Luke Jackson. He can’t actually help her with any of the clues (against the rules), but something about Luke compels her to invite him to join her. She wouldn’t mind getting to know him—and listening to his accent.

To win, Britt must outwit three smart competitors who aren’t afraid to play dirty while solving clues and traveling around the English countryside. Along the way, Britt learns that sometimes you have to follow the map and other times, you need to throw caution to the wind and see where the cobblestoned road takes you.
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Read this if you like…
• Riddles and scavenger hunts
• Classic British literature
• Self-discovery through foreign travel
• The Amazing Race
• Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Sherlock Holmes, King Arthur, Canterbury Tales, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkein
• Grump and sunshine (Britt and Al, not Luke ha)
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I thought this book was so fun after my own three-week trip to Britain and Ireland. Not only was I entertained by the features above, but I was so engaged by hearing about locations I just had visited myself! See the slideshow for some pics of Oxford, Bath, Edinburgh, and London.
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#LoveOtherGreatExpectations #NetGalley #BeckyDean #delacourtepress #randomhousekids @randomhousekids @randomhouse #canva #canvadesign

This was a very well written YA contemporary. Not my usual cup of tea, but the author pitched just the right balance between humor, finding yourself, exploring new things, budding romance, and so much more. I loved Britt and Luke. So true on the “opposites attract” trope. She’s the “airhead” athlete, and he’s the nerdy smart guy, but they balanced or complimented each other so well. They also helped each other to come to grips with each other’s life-altering events. This was really cute but deep. Like I said, I loved it :)

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Britt had her whole life planned ahead of her. She was set to play soccer at a local university and a scholarship to get her through it, that is until an injury and a health condition ruin all of her soccer dreams. An offer to travel to the United Kingdom and compete in a classic literature based competition shows up in Britt's locker, and the reward? Enough money to last her four years at college. With crazy adventures and a cute literature loving British boy, this is a trip that Britt is not likely to forget.

If you're looking for a cute summer romance, this book is definitely for you. While I did think that the concept was a bit absurd at first, the way it is explained at the end does make the loose ends tie up pretty well. The hints were small enough that they didn't feel in my face, but when the reveal happens it really makes you go "Oh that actually works!"

The adventures, while beautifully described, sometimes felt bogged down with how many different places that they had to travel to. As a result, half of the book felt like it was just descriptions of locations and places that Britt traveled to for the competition. I did really like how this story, because of the adventures, felt like a love story to anything and everything literature, and while some stories may be unconventional or bizarre, there is always some way to find appreciation for them.

The plot was a tad predictable for me, especially with the ending. I had a feeling from the moment certain traits of Britt started showing that things would go her way, and of course I was right. I felt like there could have been a bit more liberties taken with the story, because it felt a bit too perfect. I know it's a romance and that's the whole purpose of a contemporary romance, but still. There were times where random citizens of the UK would be absolutely captivated by Britt's oral storytelling when that barely even happens in real life, at least from my experience. It was moments like these that snapped me out of the story.

In terms of characters, they also felt too one dimensional. Britt competes with three other competitors, one of which is an ex-friend and the other a rival. Over the course of the clues, we find out why these two people have specific feelings towards Britt. And honestly, they could have been better. We aren't really told the reasons until about 70-80% through the story and one of them is just "oh you embarrassed me in fifth grade and I've held a grudge since then." Seriously, who holds a grudge that long? While these competitors are at least 17-18 years old, there were other actions and decisions that made them come off as immature and sometimes childish.

Britt was the better of the group, because through her lens we are able to understand her complex emotions with wanting to ignore the bad and only focus on the good, which ends with her coming to this realization that she has to confront the bad and stop running away, which I thought was done really well. While her final conclusion on what to do with her life felt very abrupt, I still think she was a well written character.

Britt's romance with Luke was definitely cute, but was I absolutely swooning over him? No. Was he the typical definition of a swoon-worthy love interest? Also no. But did I think that their chemistry was cute and they work well together? Yeah I'd say so.

Love and Other Great Expectations is a cute romance for people looking for a dream trip to the United Kingdom and fantasize of their own British book-loving boyfriend.

I received a copy of this novel as an e-arc from NetGalley. Any and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Can I just say, UGH!!! 😩This book was so cute! Definitely my favorite August read so far and I’ve already started recommending it to my friends.

For whatever reason, I did not realize that this is YA! I have a hard time with romcoms as it is and definitely would have preferred Adult for the added romance aspect. Nonetheless, this was VERY cute! I read it on the plane on my way to vacation. It was fun, light, and refreshing! Definitely pick it up if this is typically the genre you prefer - you'll probably like it more than I did (:

My biggest thing to say about this book is that it was cute. And I think that can be a good and a bad thing. I didn’t get much more than surface level and that was fine. I had a cute time reading a cute little book. I feel like I may just be weening off of YA but I feel like there should have been more.
3.75/5

I really enjoyed this book!
It follows Britt who is surprisingly part of a unique scavenger hunt through London. Planned by her English teacher and running against three of her classmates who are much more enthusiastic about literature than our soccer playing heroine, the odds aren’t in her favor. But maybe she learns some important life lessons along the way.
Having just been to London I loved how accurate this story was of someone visiting the UK for the first time. I highlighted so many lines that I 100% was thinking while there.
This was definitely a coming of age story. It was awesome to watch Britt rediscover what she wanted to do with her life, learn to open up to people again without fearing the worst happening.
I loved Luke. A British boy who’s loves history and literature, wants to be a teacher, and spends his free time reading to the kids at an orphanage. He was the sweetest. Luke and Britt balanced each other out so well and I loved how happy the ending was. 🥰📚


Thank you to NetGalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Cute and easy YA novel! the characters were wonderful with fantastic banter and just the right amount of steam to keep you curious. It was a fun book and i absolutely loved the plot and setting.

This was a cute, easy read. I usually don't care for YA novels because I'm a little older than that genre. I like a little more depth to my stories. Even though it was a YA novel, it was pretty cute.

This was so cute! A wonderful romance, filled with witty banter, delightful characters, and just enough steaminess. A must read for romance lovers!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really fun book. I really enjoyed reading it.

I don’t know… I didn’t love it. I love the plot and setting, but actually reading it I never felt drawn in. I thought the clues were too easy, and it all came together too quickly.

Cute and fun, and easy read with a sweet background and somewhat of a mystery!

3.5 stars to Love & Other Great Expectations by Becky Dean. I love love loved the setting! YA romance set in the UK? I'm in! I was a little sad to find out this is one of my least favorite tropes (insta love) but I admit that is personal preference and some people may love that. It was such a cute and fun adventure and super fast-paced which I enjoyed. I was shocked to learn this was a debut but I will definitely be picking up more from this author in the future!

Love & Other Great Expectations is a very sweet adventure story. This is not my favorite genre; however, it was a very light read with interesting characters and a fun premise.

Britt is fun, outgoing, and on the outside comes off as a confident jock who has her entire future planned out. On the inside, however, she's contending with life-changing news, sorting through past and present relationship/friendship issues, and grappling with what her future will look like all while participating in a challenge of a lifetime and meeting her first love.

I don't want to spoil any details by explaining the challenge, but the premise is super cool, and I thoroughly enjoyed traveling around the UK on this adventure with Britt.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for sharing this digital ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a cute debut novel! A must read for kasie west and jenn bennett fans! This book was fast paced and swoony and i loved every bit of it. the story telling aspect and underlying humor was amazing, and i fell in love with the characters. will totally recommend.

Britt’s not much of a reader, but even she can’t turn down a trip to England to compete in a classic literature scavenger hunt. Her three competitors aren’t the nicest - or the fairest - but she’s determined to look past that and win the 100k prize. Besides, who needs classmates when you have a cute British boy traveling with you to each clue?

This book gave me very Kasie West and Jenn Bennett vibes, and was your typical cutesy ya romance. I would definitely recommend it if you liked Today, Tonight, Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon, or Hot British Boyfriend by Kristy Boyce.

As always with a scavenger hunt romance, I had a blast trying to figure out the clues along with Britt. I recently visited London, so I particularly enjoyed reading about her traveling to the same places that I just visited. The clues were very well thought out and I really enjoyed all the book references.

Britt is an energetic, fun-loving teenager, and she was ready to dive headfirst when it came to finding her next clue. I spent half the book laughing at her shenanigans, especially when she was fighting soldiers and rallying her troops. She really is a people person, and that definitely shone through in her personality. Britt didn’t realize her true potential at the beginning of the book, and seemed to put herself down at times, and I appreciated how Dean allowed her character to grow into herself and realize how creative she can be. Luke helped her realize this, but Britt’s character had a lot of growth, and her journal solution was incredibly creative and fit nicely with the character’s love for storytelling.

There was a lot of traveling and adventures, and I felt that the characters weren’t as well developed due to that. I got a good sense of Britt’s character, but there was definitely more of a focus on the plot. I would’ve liked to know more about her fellow competitors, especially Amberlyn. I did appreciate that they had a realistic ending in the story, and that Dean didn’t try to magically fix everything and have them end up best friends.

This was a perfect YA self discovery book with tons of traveling and romance. The main character finds herself in a predicament after unexpected news that changes the course of her future, therefore, she doesn't know how to come to terms with what this means for the rest of her life. When she receives an opportunity from her teacher to participate in a contest, it gives her a purpose and sense of belonging to find herself. With different locations and traveling with a new friend in unique places, she learns new things about herself while testing her limits. The contest is a scavengar hunt, so there is a bit of competition among the side characters in the story that make the plot more dramatic. It was an interesting, fun summer read that is definitely worth adding to your TBR if you are on the road, or want summer vibes. I also can't forget the romance, as she travels she finds her person and someone who truly understands her. The question is, is it just a summer fling or something that could be more?

Cute romantic read with fun plot and characters. It was not a super complex story, but it entertained me. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion

I enjoyed this book. I loved the setting. I loved the idea of the literature scavenger hunt. I loved the homage to the Canterbury tales. Very cute debut.