Loved this book, the story of Bradley and Celine. Once best friends, now enemies, but stuck together as they try to win a scholarship.

If Talia Hibbert writes it, I will be reading it. I have read almost her entire adult romance backlist and was willing to follow her into YA. Celine and Bradley both are such cutie pies and I loved their story. Celine reminds me a lot of Talia's other FMCs in the best way.

Reviewed for blog tour ❣️
Review: OMG this turned out to be so much more fun than I thought it would be???!!!! I haven't read a lot of academic rivals-to-lovers novels from both YA/Adult romance genre, but the ones that I've been picking up recently have been so good! I have only read Get a Life, Chloe Brown from Talia Hibbert, and I really enjoyed reading it (2/3 years back) I loved Talia's YA debut ~ it was spectacular, addictive and OH SO ENTERTAINING. 5/5 ✨ I started reading HSUC in 2022, but finished it in 2023. It's the first book I finished this year, and I am soooo glad. We're starting the year with a BAM! 🤧🎉


Celine and Brad were absolute cuties! I loved their banter so, so much. The back-and-forth in their conversations ~ I screamed!! The humor in this book shined through in the brightest way possible. I never felt bored while reading it, and I wouldn't not have kept the book down for 2/3 days if not for my exams 😭 I was literally thinking about the characters constantly while I was away from the book. :') Best friends-to-enemies-to-lovers is always a tricky trope to navigate, but Talia did so effortlessly. The transition between their relationship was so seamless! I liked how their dynamics and the changes in it weren't rushed. The development was spot on. :')

I also adored reading about Brad and Talia's relationship with their families. It filled my heart with so much warmth ❣️ The OCD representation through Brad's character was really well-written as well!

I cannot recommend this book enough! Go read it ASAP, fam!

So much swoon. Talia Hibbert always melts me with her adult romances, and this new YA one doesn't disappoint. I love how Celine is smart, and wholly herself. She and Brad had a falling out when she felt like he chose popularity over here, but the two of them clearly have not been able to forget their friendship. I love Brad's earnestness, and that he is the one who more easily shares his emotions.

The best thing about Hibbert's writing is how sensitively and truthfully she writes about all of her characters. Brad has OCD that doesn't stop him from being the beloved kid in school and on the soccer field, but does have him anxiously checking on things and counting. He sees a therapist, and works on his positive self-talk. Celine is still dealing with abandonment issues from being left by her father when she is younger. The way Cel and Brad deal with being regular teenagers, with their families, with mental health, with each other--is heartfelt and beautiful.

Plus, there are fun hijinks as the two of them try to earn a scholarship by joining an outdoor leadership competition. Who doesn't love outdoor hijinks?

I highly recommend this delightful book.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book.

What a great YA story from the great Talia Hibbert! Her Brown Sisters trilogy is *chef's kiss* so it's no wonder I wanted to pick up this novel.

Bradley is pretty much perfect (as billed) and Celine is such a fun character! I'd love to see more of them down the line.

Thank you to the Author, Publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Talia Hibbert is kind of a genius, and if you didn't believe that after the Brown Sisters books, you will after this. Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute follows Celine and Brad, past friends-now enemies, as they compete for the same scholarship. The scholarship is awarded after a totally unique wilderness retreat, where Brad and Celine reconnect over tent building, scavenger hunts and illicit birthday parties. Their romance is super sweet, and one you can not help but root for. Talia writes complex and relatable characters who deserve happy ending despite their mistakes. To me, this is what makes her books shine.

Both Brad and Celine are amazing, but Brad really shines. He has to be one of my favorite YA romance leads ever, mixing a totally soft side with charm and wit. Brad is also bisexual, and suffers from OCD. The bi rep is delightful, and I thought the mental health representation was good, but I would listen to reviewers that have OCD on this. Brad is such a simp for Celine, and his inner monologue really made laugh out loud. He's extremely dramatic and I really connected to his "woe is me" vibes. Celine is great too. She runs a Tik Tok account about conspiracy theories, but mainly cool, anti-capitalist ones. She reminds me of Dani and Eve Brown combined into one loud, thoughtful and determined girl.

Hibbert also writes a cast of likable supporting characters. I wanted more of Rory and Raj throughout, and I wouldn't mind Brad's brother or Celine's sister getting their own book. The parents in this are kind and caring, which is very refreshing. I think most teens who love romance will love this one. I'm giving a 4.5 out of 5 stars because I wanted more from the friend group, because this was pretty much perfect.

I could not have loved Talia Hibbert’s first YA book more if I'd tried.

Celine Bangura is in high school, is TikTok famous for her conspiracy-theory videos, and wants is to be a kick-ass lawyer when she grows up. She finds out that her idol is running a leadership program with a scholarship attached, and she’s determined to win it all—even if it does mean being outside (blech) and competing with her nemesis Bradley Graeme.

Bradley is a clean-cut, football star, top student, and Celine’s ex-best friend. These days he’s managing his OCD well and he’s also determined to win that scholarship for himself so he can study what he wants at university without putting any financial burden on his family. Or better yet, he can get his own apartment and not have to share with revolting roommates.

The program means Celine and Bradley have to interact more than they have since they stopped being friends, and confront a lot of misunderstandings they’ve been holding onto. It also forces them to think about what they really want, and if they’re forging this path for themselves or doing it for other people.

I don’t know how she does it but Talia always manages to write characters that are real, diverse, and you can always find commonality with. By the end of the book I felt like I knew Bradley and Celine in real life and I didn’t want to let them go.

Talia’s dialogue is always on-point too, I think I’d go so far as to proclaim her the Queen of Witty Banter. I could listen to her characters ‘speak’ all day.

The story was heartfelt, funny, perfectly-paced, and I can’t recommend it enough.

I adored this first YA novel from Talia Hibbert! Prior to this I had only read Chloe Brown which I confess, I enjoyed but it wasn't my favorite. Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute however, SHINES. I didn't have the usual problems I have with YA stories here and I felt the characters were all properly developed and felt REAL. I really could not get enough of Bradley and Celine. PLUS, I think Hibbert did a fantastic job representing mental health. I will definitely be recommending this to all romance fans!

Ah Brad and Celine... I love them. Talia Hibbert has written the sweetest romance with Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute. I began rooting for Brad and Celine at the very beginning and this book just made my heart happy. Their relationship is one of the most genuine I've read in a book in a very long time. Not only that but I enjoyed both Brad's and Celine's flaws. They felt realistic and I connected with them a lot - especially Brad's obsessive-compulsive disorder. Hibbert wrote realistic, sympathetic characters and I cannot say how much I loved this story.

The plot was quick-paced and the time skips added to the story. Everything made sense, which is always an issue I have with time skips. Brad and Celine's relationship had enough time to marinate so by the end, I truly felt that their relationship meant something to both of them. I felt the depth. It felt real. Honestly, Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute is YA but at time reads more maturely than some of the adult romances I read. Our characters may be younger, but they grow so much over the course of the story.

I've already gushed enough about our characters but I loved the BEP storyline. I expected a bit more around this since three scholars would win a scholarship at the end, but the focus between high school and this felt just right. I fell in love with the other scholars and this helped our characters grow a lot. I was so happy to see Celine making friends with Aurora. My heart was happy to see a band of characters supporting and rooting for each other. One of my favorite scenes in this book was the birthday party for Aurora. I almost cried at how sweet it was, and I loved that Brad planned it all. He's a really great guy.

This romance is great for ex-best friends to lovers fans. I loved seeing the dynamic at the beginning of the book between Brad and Celine only for the swoon worthy romance at the end. I was literally cheering while reading the end of the book.

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute is a five star read for me. The representation was fantastic. Hibbert did great with the mental illness factor in this story, and the family aspect was *chef's kiss*. I was fully immersed in our two young lover's story. I highly recommend Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute - you will not regret it, and I think I just found a new favorite author.

Bradley Graeme is the star football player, an exceptional student, and pretty much perfect! He’s able to keep his OCD in check and can come out on top of almost any situation, except for when it involves Celine Bangura. His ex-best friend. Celine is obsessed with conspiracy theories and is fine with being unpopular. However, she’s not fine with how Brad abandoned her for his new friends. Now, they’re enemies. When they both sign up for a survival course in the woods, could this be the start to a new relationship?

I’ve heard such good things about Talia Hibbert’s books, I couldn’t help but want to try out this one! The cover is cute and I appreciate the representation of black characters portrayed by black authors. I appreciated the author included a list of British colloquialisms in the book's front. It was nice to flip back if needed. This book had a lot of opportunity, but it fell a little flat. The characters may be in High School, but the conversations seemed way too immature. Also, the character development was lacking, especially for Celine. There was a lot to unpack for both characters, and it just did not happen until about 60% of the way through the book. The pacing of the story almost made it a struggle to get through, too. While I appreciate there was some representation of a character with OCD, I wish the author would have explored that more. Overall, this book unfortunately didn’t work for me.

I’ll be honest, I started this book 3 times. The third time I really had to push myself to get into it. The first quarter of the book was hard to read. In the beginning I found the characters odd (but not in a charming way) and unlikable, luckily this perception did change for me. Also, you’re thrown right into the plot with no introduction and it’s hard to keep track of what’s going on and who is who. Once the story picks up speed and I had a better grasp on the characters and their relationships I was able to enjoy it more.

Celine and Bradley are both complex characters. At first I wasn’t the biggest fan of them but I soon grew to love them. I found it really interesting how they have certain personas they present to the world and certain aspects they try to keep hidden. I enjoyed watching Celine and Brad rebuild their friendship. The two of them knew everything about each other and were not able to hide from the other. Often YA books have instalove and it was a nice change to see a realistic, slower approach to having a crush and being in a relationship.

My favorite aspect of the book was the Breakspeare Explorer Program (BEP). The concept of the BEP was really interesting and I wish it was more of the focus. The central focus is really Celine, Brad and their growth. I would have appreciated it if more of the plot was about the program or Celine’s relationship with her estranged father. BEP is used as a vehicle to get Celine and Brad’s relationship rolling. The program was made out to be this rigorous camp but from the little that we read about it it didn’t seem that extreme.

I really enjoyed the friendship dynamics throughout the book, especially at the BEP. Everyone gets along (for the most part) and brings different assets to the group. It’s nice to see Celine be accepted for who she is and even admired. It’s also nice to see Brad be more of his true self and less of the jock front that he puts on in school. The kids at BEP seem like they might be the “outcasts” of their school but while in the program they found friends who accept them for who they are, quirks and all.

I can’t speak to the representation of OCD because that isn’t something I have personal experience with. The author did note that she has OCD so I’m guessing she gives an accurate description of what she has dealt with in her life. It was nice to see OCD being normalized and not stigmatized. Overall, it’s a really cute book that I think will resonate with many teens. I know there will be plenty of people who are able to connect with the characters. I would recommend this book to be added to most YA collections.

First, I'd like to thank NetGalley for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute is Talia's debut young adult novel, and even as someone who doesn't gravitate toward YA I thought it was good! I will be honest, I don't think this is a genre I'll make a point of dabbling in very often, but I really enjoyed how diverse the main and supporting characters were. I know that this story came from a personal place, and that was evident in the way she wrote Bradley, who lives with OCD.

It definitely felt geared toward young adults. As someone who is nearly 30, I had to keep reminding myself that, yes, when *I* was seventeen, I thought my giant crush on a boy would blossom into a beautiful love story and we'd live happily ever after. Of course, reading it doesn't feel realistic now with my years of heartbreak and experience, but I remember those feelings once upon a time, and Talia did a great job writing for that audience. Although I will say, these teenagers felt WAY more mature than most people at that age. But I've always been an old soul myself, so I get it.

The one thing that really missed for me was the absent father storyline. The buildup vs the payoff was just nowhere near even. While I love the journey Celine goes on from wanting to show her dad her worth, to realizing that her dreams have all been motivated by a need to prove something to a man who doesn't care, we don't really get a resolution in the end. And maybe that's the point! But it felt like we built up this entire moment of them seeing each other at this ball...for it to not happen. It's COMPLETELY possible that the final printed version was edited differently from the copy I read, but it just felt odd to me that the book ended and we simply stopped mentioning the dad. Even if it was just him watching Celine accept the internship with Katharine, I just think the resolution for that particular plot line was missing.

Overall, a pretty good read if you like YA! I've rated it a 3.5, rounding down to 3.

✔️ grumpy x sunshine trope
✔️ forced proximity
✔️ ex best friends
✔️ mental health representation
✔️ academic rivals to lovers
✔️ Dual POV
✔️ Figuring out life goals


the title lives up to its content! It's by far the cutest YA ever. I mean I've only read a couple of YAs but this made me giddy a lot!

Celine and Bradley used to be best friends and now enemies. Celine decides to sign up for a survival course in the woods that is offering a scholarship for uni to whoever wins. Brad decides to join her in the competition.

I kind of relate to these two because it's really hard to figure out what you really want in life. I’m 23 and i’m still figuring out 🧍🏽‍♀️

i’m so sorry talia, but i didn’t love this one. :(

Enemies Bradley and Celine are forced to work in close proximity together during a survival course in the wilderness, which leads to the rehashing of pasts, confrontation of true feelings, and reevaluation of futures that were previously unquestioned.

The premise of this was so compelling! I went in with such high expectations, but I found I was a bit let down. There were a few elements that did this in for me: pacing, setting, and repetition.

The story dragged for the first…maybe 60%? After the initial inciting incident, I was thinking to myself, “Okay, let’s get on with it, shall we?” But we didn’t really get on with it! Long-winded scenes made the chapters feel like such an undertaking, and I found myself spacing out constantly.

What a cool setting that I was so excited to experience through the eyes of Brad and Cel! But did I know where we were half the time? Nope. On multiple occasions I was wondering if I missed the part of them finishing the wilderness program? But they were in it basically the whole time? But it didn’t feel that way?

There was a lot of back and forth that ended up feeling so repetitive. The do-they-like-each-other-or-not, are-they-enemies-or-not, are-they-friends-or-not…all of it felt exhausting to keep up with.

I will say I loved that Brad and Cel each got their moment of clarity and got to grow as people, separate of one another. They inspired each other to uncover their deepest wants, but when it came down to it, they were their own independent people, and I think it’s important to write characters that way in a YA.

Thank you to Random House Children’s & NetGalley for the eARC!! (Sorry I didn’t finish the book before release.)

this was just pure happiness! The characters were so adorable and individual, I was so invested in Celine and brads relationship, and their journey towards each other. The chemistry between Celine and brad was stunning they were so perfect together and their banter had me laughing out loud at times.
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the mental health representation was written in the perfect, caring way that is the signature for Talia and I am so here for it. I am always down for a good adventure story and I was obsessed with all of the hiking and adventures that took place.
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overall I am obsessed with this, so excited to have started the year out with a banger.

Tysm to net gallery for the arc and letting me review this cutie of a book for my honest opinion!

First off i loved how cutesy this was and made me laugh at times, I love how we get some rep not only POC but OCD and getting help with having a therapist!
Celine is such a baddy with a huge following on tiktok, but definitely needed some therapy and needed to come out of her shell.
Bradley is a football hunk who has OCD and trying to get into law school.

When there’s this chance to get a scholarship from this BEP the two join and become enemies? Friends? Lovers? Just everything through this and realize what they “wanted” after highschool isn’t what they truly wanted, and they both made changes for better which made me so happy!

hope this is the future of YA literature. Talia’s Brown sisters series is one of my favorite adult romances, and I did everything I could to get my little gremlin hands on an ARC of her first YA—my favorite genre.

Firstly, I cannot express enough how much I love Joy Revolution. The premise, the creators, and the execution are absolutely phenomenal. These are stories that need to be told and loved and cherished, and HSUC is the perfect beginning.

Secondly, I saved this book for my first read of 2023 because I knew it would feel like home going into an uncertain year. And it did—even more than I anticipated. Brad is one of my favorite male leads to date. He is a ball of sunshine while still remaining appropriately teenaged. I have yet to read a representation of OCD as natural as Brad, and I’m in admiration of how Talia chose to use him as a conduit for her own experiences. Celine, as well, is unique and wonderful and wholly herself, flawed and self conscious and seventeen. Making her a conspiracy-theory-debunking TikTok star was brilliant. Putting these two in a forest was even better.

Everything about their relationship was gentle and healthy and heartwarming. I expected to enjoy this, and the result exceeded even that.

Now my librarian notes: With confidence I can recommend this book to teens of any age. It is sex-positive but still wholly appropriate for even younger teens (there is no sexual activity between the two main characters). Brad and Celine are both seventeen and feel maturely and realistically their age, though a bit of that may be because they are British, making it an easy transition to adult romance readers. The premise is fun and fresh and creates a clear plot timeline. Side characters are lovable (though Celine’s friend, Minnie, does seem to fade into the background), and reminded me of the Heartstopper group cast. The writing is exquisite, as always, punchy and thoughtful and humorous. I highlighted in equal amount lines that I want tattooed on my body AND ones that made me laugh out loud.

Overall, I loved this. It’s the new romance I’ll be pressing into the hands of my teens who love romance. Fills the same role as books by Nicola Yoon, Alice Oseman, Jenny Han, Sarah Dessen.

I was disappointed by this book. The description and title lead me to believe that it was a fun rom-com, but it was not. Brad had the potential to be a great male romantic lead, but Celine was a prickly main character that was difficult to care about. The contest both characters were participating in felt like an afterthought. Also, for a shorter book, the plot moves very slowly. I'm sure there are readers who will enjoy this book, but I am not one of them.

As a huge fan of The Brown Sisters series, I've been patiently waiting to read Talia Hibbert's young adult debut. Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute was a really adorable read. As always, I enjoyed Talia's writing style — the witty banter and the quirky humour. I enjoyed the setting and the premise — although, I do wish we had more of a focus on the "survival course" aspect and was hoping for more outdoorsy activities. The romance was sweet and cute but I do feel like it fell a little flat for me — while it was sweet, I wanted a bit more chemistry between the two characters.

It was still an enjoyable read and I'm definitely looking forward to picking up more young adult books from Talia Hibbert in the future!

Celine Bagura is in her last year of high school and she has a plan: Make her father regret leaving their family when she wins a law scholarship at a competition his firm is sponsoring. What isn’t in her plan is her former best friend and now nemesis Bradley Graham back in her life, and she’s not hating it. Could she even be falling for him?

I’m a Talia Hibbert fan, and as an own voices author I also appreciated how she accurately represents OCD. Often in her books she represents and normalizes some form of neurodiversity and I love it. This was a great teen read.