4.5 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley, Underlined, and TBR and Beyond Tours for an arc of this book.

Daniel "Rotten" has a completely unearned Bad-Boy reputation in the band he is in--ironic, considering he is demisexual and hasn't been with any of the girls the media says he has one night stands with. Meanwhile, Sasha is working for tabloids trying to build up her credibility as a musical journalist. When she is given the opportunity to get closer to Daniel to unearth his secrets and get a front page story, will she risk losing the boy she accidentally fell for in order to further her career?

This book is SO CUTE! Unfortunately, I felt like it was too short and I just wanted more of these two adorable queer disaster children! There were parts that were really fast paced when I wanted to linger on the relationship and the character development. But overall I absolutely LOVED this book. I love Sasha and Daniel and them discovering more about themselves and learning each other. So cute.

This book has pansexual and demisexual rep, as well as two Brazilian characters and an English Language Learner! I really enjoyed the way all of this was handled except I wish it had talked a little more about what Sasha's pansexuality meant to her.

Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol and Misogyny
Minor: Xenophobia and Outing

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I enjoyed Gabriela Martins’ debut, so I was hyped for Bad at Love, which presented more tropey goodness. It’s another cute, inclusive love story that left me with a huge smile on my face.
Not loving legit “bad boys,” I’m a sucker for someone who has the reputation but is actually a huge softie. Daniel is also demisexual, which makes the playboy image even more ironic, and I love that. There’s also some exploration into the pressure of the “business” side of the music industry and the struggle for creative control many musicians face, especially when it comes to deviating from their carefully crafted “brand.”
Sasha is also compelling. She, of course, is somewhat cynical of Daniel’s image, so that means she’s pleasantly surprised to get to know the boy behind the celebrity. However, her future education and journalism career depends on getting compromising information about Daniel.
Of course, things don’t exactly work out as either planned, and I loved seeing these two get to know each other and find more than what they bargained for (and exactly what they needed).
I love the way the rep was incorporated into the story and baked into the characters’ identities. Sasha is pan, and I love seeing more queer m/f, to dispel the myth that queerness has to look a certain way. I also love the way each of them expresses what it means to them to be Brazilian, and how it’s shaped by their respective experiences growing up. They are also rounded out by a colorful, inclusive supporting cast.
This is such a fun book, and just as sweet as Martin’s’ first one. If you’re looking for a lighthearted, tropey romance with a diverse cast, I think you’ll enjoy this one.

Bad at Love tells the story of two teenagers who couldn’t be more different: Daniel, or Rotten, as he is known by the press, is a rock star, and Sasha is an aspiring journalist who works for an online magazine and wants to attend UCLA.

Their paths cross when Daniel is running from a bunch of fans and bumps into Sasha. She helps him out but reporters find them and she becomes “the mystery girlfriend”, even though they’ve just met.

Her boss takes this opportunity and makes a deal with her: if she can get any dirt on Rotten, he’ll give her a scholarship. So after Daniel makes a bet with his friends—if he manages to stay with Sasha for the summer, his bandmates will add his song to their upcoming album—and asks her out, Sasha accepts.

I love Gabriela’s writing! It’s so much fun and easy to get into. The way she describes her characters is just incredible. They have so much depth. It’s the little details for me, like the characters talking about their origins and how they relate to where they’re from.

Bad at Love is a dual POV story about the perceptions we have of ourselves. For Daniel, his persona as Rotten has taken over his life. And there are so many layers of himself he's living whether it be the lack of letting his bandmates know who he is, and not correcting the world about him. Whereas for Sasha, she is committed to her dream, but what happens when she has the opportunity to make a big break? For her, she has to figure out just how much her dream is worth.

Not only did I love how queer Bad at Love is - hey hey for not only pansexual rep, but also demisexual rep!!! - I love how the characters jump off the pages. They're truly the backbone of Bad at Love. I fell for Daniel's softeness and the way he's afraid of showing his softness. We can have these ideas of what it means to be a 'rockstar' and what happens when they aren't met? Whereas I instantly loved Sasha's drive and how she wants to succeed.

Martins delivers another fantastic romance! Young readers will enjoy seeing the relationship develop among the two main leads. I also appreciated the authentic and honest discussion of diaspora identity. Recommended!

Thanks to TBRBeyondTours, Penguin Random House, and Gabriela Martins for my E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Bad at Love was a fun and fast-paced read that would be ideal for breaking you out of a reading slump. It tells the story of Sasha, an aspiring journalist who hopes to attend her dream school, UCLA. Her moment is approaching faster than she anticipated. When she meets Rotten, a bad boy and member of the band Mischief & Mayhem, her chance to write a story about the boy will make or break her. Since girls want him and he is perceived as a playboy, the tabloids labeled him the group's bad boy. But is that who he truly is?

The writing captured my attention, as did the characters. The author does an excellent job of highlighting the character's sexuality. Her descriptions of her characters are incredible. They have a lot of depth. I enjoyed following the development of Daniel and Sasha's romance; their bond is so genuine that it made me laugh out loud. Daniel is adorable, and I enjoyed watching him fall in Love for the first time. The story touched on issues such as immigration and financial inequality. The short chapters and dual narrative kept me on the edge of my seat, with a smile on my face. I flew directly through the pages and couldn't put it down.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a sweet and delightful love story.

This was a sweet YA story!

Daniel is in a band (that he doesn’t feel he completely fits in with) and labeled the bad boy of the group. This couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Sasha is a waitress/part time photographer for a start up paparazzi company. Her long term goal is go to UCLA but between her single mother and her incomes that dream is looking farther and farther away.

Between a bet and potentially selling the other out these two have their up and downs! As they get to know each other, you’ll want to join them on their rocky journey.

Also. 10 things I hate about you?! 🥰🥰🥰

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for a review!

Bad At Love is the most perfect summary romcom, for all of the romcom movies fan. This one is truly for you. The rep is also so on point, Gabriela Martins did an amazing job

After seeing the author comp this book to How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, I immediately added it to my TBR list. Add that to a “fake bad boy” description, and I couldn’t wait to read this book. Soft and swoonworthy, Bad At Love was an adorable story about knowing your worth and learning to stand up for what you want.

Daniel is a rock star in a popular, up-and-coming band called Mischief & Mayhem. The media has exaggerated his personality into a bad boy persona, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. In pursuit of her music journalist dreams, Sasha interns at a new magazine. When she sneaks backstage at an event, she inadvertently runs into Daniel, who hides with her while on the run from chasing fans. Sasha’s editor offers her a scholarship that would allow her to be able to afford college in exchange for an exclusive that would put their magazine on a map. Thus, she agrees to hang out with Daniel who has his own ulterior motives for asking her out.

I really liked the characters! Both Daniel and Sasha have their own personal character arcs, and their chapters read very distinctly. Daniel wants to get out of the bad boy personality that he’s been boxed into and to have more input in the band. They got a record deal through competing on a reality show, but his other bandmates Penny, Wade, and Sam have known each other for years so he continually feels like an outsider in his own band. I liked reading about him sticking up for himself and gradually getting to know his bandmates more.

Meanwhile, Sasha desperately wants to be a music journalist but knows her inability to pay for college hinders the best path for this. She’s independent and self-driven, so she’s long since accepted this but she can’t pass up her boss’s offer of a large scholarship. I liked seeing her dreams and how she chases them no matter what.

The romance was cute! Although both of them have their own reasons for pursuing a relationship, it’s clear that both of them like each other. Their scenes together were very sweet, especially as Sasha realizes that Daniel is more than what the media says about him. They bond over music too, and both open up to each other.

Both are Brazilian (Brazilian-American in Sasha’s case) although they obviously have different relationships with their identity. Daniel emigrated to the US with his older sister to be on the reality show; part of the reason that he doesn’t talk much is because English is his second language and he doesn’t entirely feel comfortable speaking up. Sasha’s grandparents emigrated, so she doesn’t know as much about their shared backgrounds. They also talk about how Daniel is light-skinned so he has white privilege in Brazil and thus feels weird about being referred to as a person of color in the US. However, Sasha is brown and discusses how she doesn’t have that privilege.

Daniel is also demisexual, which makes his player image even more ironic. Sasha is pansexual. Penny, one of Daniel’s bandmates, is a lesbian, and Wade is Korean-American.

Bad At Love was an adorable story about learning to take up the space you deserve. I liked the characters and found the romance to be very sweet. I can’t wait to see what Gabriela Martins writes next! If you’re looking for a lighthearted, quick read, I think you should pick up Bad At Love!

This one was super cute!! I won't claim it as the best romance I've ever read, but it was wildly entertaining. I don't normally react to books, but this one had me grinning. It was absolutely adorable, and im not ready to give it up.

Really, I think my only complaint about this one is that it was short. 240 pages of Sasha and Daniel wasn't enough. I needed more of their banter. More of their interactions. More of their adorableness. These two were so cute, and they deserved more page time.

Other than that, I really loved this one. I'm a sucker for rockstar romances, so as soon as I saw that this was one, I needed to have it. Having Daniel be fluffy and cute was a fun twist of the trope, it was refreshing. (I would love to get a visual as to what his lumpy crochet scarves look like). Again, I wanted more of this, a slight taste wasn't enough.

This one was so short that there isn't much left to say... I'd definitely recommend it though! It was a super fun romp through LA, with adorable characters and a bingeworthy plot.

Thanks to TBR Beyond Tours for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

Bad at Love is a cute and quirky young adult romance. A must-read for YA readers!

Sasha is an aspiring journalist hoping to get into her dream school, UCLA. Her moment is coming quicker than she thought. When she runs into bad boy bander, Rotten, her chance to write a story on the celebrity will make or break her.

Rotten whose real name is Daniel is in a band called Mischief & Mayhem. The tabloids assigned him the group's bad boy because every girl wants him and he is seen as a playboy. But is that really who he is?

Sasha and Daniel form a unique bond. Sasha doesn't like bad boys so she isn't throwing herself at him. That's refreshing and makes him feel more attracted to her. But they are both hiding secrets from one another. Can they make it once the truth is revealed?

I enjoyed this book so much. I love that the author writes about two personable characters. They are just normal teenagers who happen to be famous or thrown into fame. Their relationship is so genuine that it made me smile so much. The author also does a fantastic job at letting the character's sexuality shine. I think so many readers will enjoy this beautiful love story.

I give Bad at Love 4 stars. I was captivated by this writing and fascinated by these characters. This is one of those reads that reminds me why reading YA has a special place in my heart. The pure, innocent, and genuine nature of the book makes this read a gem!

I loved the journey these characters went on. This book was full of love and overcoming loneliness. It was so emotional. I didn’t want it to end!

i loved this sm!! it was totally fresh and fun, while also tackling difficult issues. gabriela martins is going to be a big new voice in YA romcoms, and i cant wait to see where they go next!

It was definitely an easy, cute, fun and super entertaining read for me. I really liked how the MCs are portrayed; raw and authentic. The story was predictable but super exciting to read about.

*4.5 Stars*

Daniel is the new addition to the famous band Mischief & Mayhem and its official bad boy, well according to the media anyway. Actually, Daniel is pretty shy and it was all a misunderstanding. But even his band doesn't believe that.
Enters Sasha. She is doing an internship for a celebrity gossip magazine and she runs into Daniel by chance. The two are spotted together and pictures of them feed the rumor mill.
Soon after, Daniel is dared by a bandmate to date Sasha the entire summer and he takes him up on it, while Sasha decides to find a story about Daniel so that she can get a scholarship to a university.
But the two have no idea what they got themselves into.

This was very very good. I had a great time reading it and I loved so many aspects of it.
First of all, I loved the American-Brazilian rep, alongside the Brazilian rep. I loved seeing the characters talking about the differences and everything. I also loved the demisexual rep as well as the pansexual rep, as an ace panromantic person myself, this felt great.
I really enjoyed the plot, I was very into the whole journalist vs. rockstar drama and I loved both main characters right from the start.
This was a very fast very enjoyable read and while I did love this in a book, I did feel like some of the issues and some of the plot points were resolved and happened a bit too quickly.
Overall though, this was simply great and it made me long for more from Gabriela Martins. I will without a doubt reread this too.

𝟑 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

**𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.

𝐏𝐋𝐎𝐓

𝐁𝐚𝐝 𝐀𝐭 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 follows the Dual POVs of 𝗦𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗮 (h) and 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹 (H) "Rotten," who unexpectedly cross paths after Daniel runs away from the paparazzi. Sasha helps him by creating a diversion. Daniel is perceived as the "bad boy" in the band Mischief & Mayhem. No one understands that he is not what the media perceives; however, he has let the media run with the stories because it's easier for them to believe the lies than to explain how difficult it has been to adjust to life in the United States. He's been in the U.S for eight months, and life in LA has been challenging. He feels like he doesn't belong, especially among his bandmates Penny, Wade, and Sam, who have been in a close-knit group before joining the band. When he meets Sasha, it feels like she's the first person who truly wants to get to know the r̲e̲a̲l̲ him; however, he doesn't know that initially, there is an ulterior motive to get to know him. Similarly, there's a reason he is originally interested in getting to know her.

The story covers concepts of diaspora, harmful stereotypes, privilege, and challenges of cultural assimilation. However, there are light-hearted moments that will make you laugh and swoon over the relationship that develops between Sasha and Daniel, mainly because he experiences many firsts.

𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓:
X LGBTQ+ representation: main characters are pansexual (h) and demisexual (H)
X Diverse main and side characters
X “Bad boy” but actually golden retriever hero
X Celebrity x undercover journalist

𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐋,
This story is quick-paced, therefore, it does feel like their relationship escalates quickly. However, it was still a cute book to read so it would be something that could get you out of a reading slump. For those of you that live in Los Angeles, it will feel like you are right there with them on their little adventures (I know I did), and for those that don’t, it will feel like you’ve already been. This was a really cute book and I would reread my favorite moments again.

This is a cute contemporary YA rom-com with Brazilian and Brazilian American representation. We follow an up-and-coming rock band and a teen journalist as the lead guitarist and journalist fall for each other. Fun LGBTQIAP+ inclusive YA Contemporary read.

Thank you, Random House Children's, for allowing me to read Bad at Love early.

Aw, I liked this book a lot. It gave me all the feels. It’s heartwarming, adorable, and gave me all the summer vibes I need so much right now. And the dual narrative was so well done! Definitely a hit!