Talia Hibbert debuts her first YA novel and gives readers plenty of the sass and snark that she is known for in her adult books but also some sweetness in this teen rom-com. Bradley and Celine are former best friends turned sworn rivals when they are paired up in a wilderness competition. As they learn to work together, they begin to remember all the good parts of friendship and realize that maybe they want more than friendship. Hibbert gives us layered, relatable MCs dealing with real teen issues and also loveable side characters that help round this story out. I definitely recommend.

This was such a tender and sweet young adult novel. Talia Hibbert's writing beautifully depicted the dynamic characters and I particularly appreciated the humor sprinkled throughout. There were moments where I literally laughed out loud. What a delightful read. I am very much looking forward to reading more titles from the Joy Revolution imprint - which is addressing a much needed and valued cause.

Talia Hibbert has never once disappointed me. Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute is no exception. Bradley and Celine are former best friends but now they're sworn enemies. When an incredible opportunity for uni applications sends them and a group of other year 6s to the Scottish woods, Brad and Celine have to reconcile and work together. But what if they fall in love while figuring out what their futures look like? Surely, that's impossible.

Words to describe this book include but are not limited to: precious, funny, heartfelt, and tender.

Tropes included: best friends to enemies to reluctant allies to friends to lovers & he falls first

Rep: OCD, anxiety, bisexual, queer

This book was a very fun light read with all the witty angsty teenage drama. I loved the characters and the supporting cast, specifically Aurora and Giselle. I thought the story was paced well and glad that the book was broken into sections by month; that really helped me understand the timeline better. This book was very British but the glossary in the front was helpful! I’d recommend this book to anyone looking for a light read, enjoys British or gen z culture and clean romances.

This is a great debut YA novel by Talia Hibbert. Characters and the plot were fun. Would definitely recommend as a good summer read.

Thank you to the publisher via NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Fun Fact: Talia Hibbert was the first contemporary romance that I read. For me it all started with Get a Life, Chloe Brown. I loved it and also the third in the Brown sister series. (I still need to read #2!) When I saw I got this book on NetGalley I nearly died of excitement.

Now, what I didn’t expect was for this story to be YA because the Brown sister trilogy is very much…. Not. Hahaha. Also, if you know me, I am not a big YA girl. So I tried to stay objective when rating this book with that in mind. Happy to say, it didn’t disappoint.

I thought this book was very cute and was a very good example of healthy relationships in high school with all of their unique dynamics like family and choosing a college to go to. It was an extremely cute story of friendship and Brad and Celine were just so precious I could hardly stand it. 💕

I would say, enjoyment wise it was probably a 3.5 for me, but I rounded up to 4 because I think objectively it is a very good book. Well written, interesting, and has really great representation and healthy relationship examples for teen.

Thanks again to NetGalley and Random House for giving me the chance to read this lovely book.

-Thank you for the chance to read and review this book.
-This is the first book I’ve read from this author even though I own other books by the author.
-I felt like this started strong, but then I felt like the pace got slow.
-I could not relate to the characters and honestly did not care for them, which took me out of the story.

When I saw that Talia Hibbert had another book coming out I was lit. And then when I heard it was a YA book, I was even more excited. Y’all know that YA is where my heart lies. So seeing this, I was even more excited. And rightfully so, because it’s so good!

The only thing I didn’t like about this was the setting lol I am NOT an outdoorsy person AT ALL. Like at all lol Not when it’s hot, not when it’s cold, not when it’s spring or whatever. It just isn’t my cup of tea. So, I wasn’t really into them being outside or the camping aspect at all. Thankfully it was but a small part of the plot. There was so much more to it, like the development of their relationship.

The two of them were so cute. Celine was so funny! She was weird in the same way that I’m weird. And then there was Bradley who I related to in a whole nother way. I’ve talked about this a few times here, but I also have OCD. I’m “Pure O” so not exactly the same as Brad, but I could relate closer than others. The two of them together felt like an unlikely pair, but the way they were so shy together and warmed up together. It was swoon inducing.

I think what I liked most about this tho was the characters individually. Celine is a conspiracy theorist and yea that sounds weird, but she was the cutest one you’d ever meet. And she had a real reason why she was the way she was. And once you figure out why, you’ll understand. It really hurt a little when I read it. And again, I related to Brad in a whole other way. I did feel like it was a bit like “I found this on the internet in the first link” but I know that me and Brad don’t even have the same thing, AND I know that everyone is different, so I don’t feel I can accurately say it was like that. It’s just what it felt like. But I’m almost positive the reason is because this is a YA book and she didn’t want to go too into an explanation. I don’t know. It’s really hard to explain. All the other characters were fully fleshed out and amazing as well. I loved meeting all of them. They made it seem like a huge party.

There’s also a parental abandonment side plot in this that I wasn’t expecting. At the beginning of the book I didn’t know how much of a big deal it was going to be until it was a big deal. If it makes sense. And it came up unexpectedly. She didn’t have any idea. And I think that was my favorite part about it? This was a huge revelation, and I know she wouldn’t have gotten there by herself. Just be prepared, if you have parental issues, please be advised you might cry or get upset.

I liked literally everything else about this book. The characters and the romance. This was super cute and I really hope there will be more YA in Hibbert’s future.

Calling all romance lovers! Talia Hibbert, the New York Times bestselling author of the Brown Sisters trilogy, has returned with a steamy read, this time dipping a toe into the YA genre. In this enemies-to-lovers romp, ex-friends Bradley and Celine, one a football star and the other a conspiracy theory die-hard, wind up as teammates for an outdoor survival course. Prepare for sparks to fly.

I can't say enough good things about Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute. Talia Hibbert has written the cutest YA romcom that you will never want to end.

I love Hibbert’s adult works so I was beyond excited to get access to an ARC (thanks NetGalley!) for <I>Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute</i>

I loved Celine as a main character! I saw so much of my younger self in her. The ambition and tough shell she tends to wear (but she really is a softy on the inside and can be a great friend when she lets her guard down!). I think Hibbert did a great job showing the insecurities and worries she tries to hide behind that though exterior. Her growth as a character was great imo!

I loved the scholarship/camp aspect too. It made for a really fun plot line that kept me entertained. I also enjoyed the cast of side characters we meet along the way.

I hope she plans to make this a series/ plans to do more YA books!

Abso-freaking-lutely adorable!

I loved Celine and Brad's story. Dual POV for these two was absolutely the right choice, because we really needed to see inside these two heads to understand 1) what went wrong back then 2) what's continuing to go wrong now and 3) why their senses of self preservation are both their BFFs and their absolute worst enemies. Because OMG, do these two have a whole heck of a lot going on in those (adorable yet sometimes kinda dense) heads.

And so much of it made me LOL...though a lot made me want to give them giant hugs, too. And maybe a stern talking to or seven. And then more giant hugs.

Truly, my only complaint here is that the book ended kind of abruptly, though it was nowhere near the worst offender in this department. It was a perfectly fine ending, even though I wasn't ready for it to be over and it theoretically *could* have continued on the next page, though it didn't need to.

(I may also be slightly biased here because her author's note made me tear up again and how dare she? Talk about unfair!)

For Ms Hibbert's regular readers, especially those who loved the Brown Sisters books, all the banter, snark, cuteness, quirky characters, and representation you're used to from her is still here. (We don't have the steamier scenes, but honestly, I didn't even miss them.) For those who are looking for a really fun YA rom com with everything I mentioned above, here you go! It's the perfect intro to Talia Hibbert for YA or adult readers alike.

Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

This book was super cute! My first by the author. I love a good YA rom com. It didn’t disappoint. I would recommend it.

Not as enthralling as Talia Hibbert's adult novels, but still charming and delightful none the less. She just writes great characters! If you are a fan of her work, you'll be a fan of this.

This was such a fantastic coming of age story! I typically steer clear of YA books but the author helped me overcome that with great banter, angst, and sweetness!

This book is SO FUCKING CUTE. I had a huge ridiculous grin on my face almost the entire time I read this book. It made me want to squeal and kick my legs in the air. It made me feel like when you see an animal that is so cute you just want to squeeze it.

The banter between the main characters is impeccable--witty, sarcastic, and never misses a beat. There were so many laugh out loud moments. This is how to write a rom com.

It actually took me a while to finish this book because I got addicted to playing Stardew Valley after I started this. I'm so glad I read this slowly and got to savor it because it was such a bright ray of sunshine I got to slowly enjoy over almost two weeks. I think I also stretched it out because I didn't want it to end.

This is my sixth book by Talia Hibbert and my favorite! I really hope she continues to write YA rom coms because this is perfect. Truly a delight.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley! This was a cute witty read by Talia Hibbert complete with academic rivals in a wilderness program setting! However, the pacing was slow for me and dragged for the first half. Also, the background on why they were rivals wasn't written so the characters didn’t feel flushed out to me. However I thought it was a cute light hearted YA! And I’ll read anything Talia Hibbert :)

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert was a perfect YA romance--earnest but a little sarcastic, sweet but skeptical, & heartfelt with laugh-out-loud moments liberally added. Hibbert has such a deft touch at handling serious issues (OCD, father abandonment) with an innate kindness.

Gah, this book was SO CUTE. I appreciated the representation of different mental health issues, which Talia Hibbert always does so well.. I think the way she does anxiety on page is really great because she shows that it can come out differently in different people. I loved the setup with the couple needing to semi-rely on each other in the woods. Plus how freaking smart they are in different ways and just in general how supportive they are of each other, even when they 'hate' each other. All of that adds up to a book I love. I think Talia's first YA shows she easily can do both adult AND YA.

I am a huge Talia Hibbert fan. She's such a fun author and I love the sweetness of her romance characters. I was really excited to hear she was creating a YA novel. I was really excited for this title and was thrilled I was able to get an advanced reader's copy.

Things I loved:
- Celine and Bradley are absolutely adorable. I enjoyed the dual POV and getting to see they maybe did not detest each other as it appeared to be.
- Love the OCD and Bisexual representation in Bradley. It's always nice in how Talia represents disabilities in her characters.
- How Brad and Celine grew through the BEP program. It was interesting seeing how they had to push themselves in different ways.

Things I was meh about:
- Their Hate to Love was slightly a strange path, like it seemed at some degrees Celine was disgusted with Bradley and then suddenly her feelings just dawned on her. But that's how some enemies to lovers work
- Things were never resolved with the Football Team and Brad being on it. It was something he enjoyed and I just wanted to see that resolved in some
-Pacing was a bit wonky in some areas. It was hard to understand how time was passing in the book. They'd mention dates and timing but I just wish there was a better depiction on how time was passing.

What would have made it better: I think if we had small flash backs it would have given context to their relationship prior to their descent into becoming rivals would have been slightly helpful. It feels like we had to make up a lot of that from context clues and dialog.

Overall: 4/5 stars. It was a fun and cute read, I enjoyed getting to know Brad and Celine and had a good time reading it it. I don't know if it ranks high on my Talia Hibbert list of books though. I do enjoy YA so this was a new area for Talia, I think if she continues in this realm it will be interesting to see her find her voice and footing with the characters.

Thank you Net Galley and Random House Children's - Joy Revolution for allowing me with an advance reader's copy of this book..