This book is in fact, ridiculously cute! I loved it! Celine and Bradley were best friends, then enemies, and then friends again and more. The evolution of their relationship was delightful to watch, the banter is top-notch, and the ending was great. The way mental health was represented was thoughtful and real, as was the way ambitious teens can struggle with the weight of their parents' expectations. I will be adding this to my classroom library without hesitation!

As soon as I saw Talia Hibbert had a new book out, I was so there! And then I heard it was going to be a YA romance???? Featuring bffs to rivals to lovers??? Aka the best trope????

I was pretty much over the moon!

Talia’s distinctive wit and charm is all over these characters, but more than the countless giggles this work provides, is at the beating heart, the stark true to life-ness that turn her stories from mere words on a page to something so relatable you end up in tears.

In other words, this story was a fun time but also reading about the vulnerabilities that we all share on the page like that, sort of cracks you open sometimes, in the best way!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Is it too cheesy to say Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute was… unfairly cute? Talia Hibbert’s YA debut was the sweetest YA romance. I love Brad and Celine and will protect them with everything I have. They were best friends, until they were enemies, and then they were kind of friends, and then they were really friends and then they were… possibly more. Their friendship was so sweet and the side characters were adorable. The plot was well done and the over arching themes spoke to my soul. This story was complete with Talia Hibbert’s humor and I found myself laughing out loud more than once.

Thank you, #netgalley for an early read of #highlysuspiciousandunfairlycute in exchange for my honest review!

This was a delightful palate cleanser of a book, like most by Talia Hibbert. I thought the pacing was a bit clunky and choppy in the first half, but the second half of the book was beautiful and touching. The portrayal of OCD felt sensitive and well done. Celine and Bradley felt legitimately teenage in their foibles and decisions. Overall a delightful read!

As a huge Talia Hibbert fan, I was thrilled when I received an e-arc of this book from NetGalley and Joy Revolution. I always appreciate Talia’s ability to write about the complexities of mental health while keeping a book upbeat. This book is no different, Brad suffers from OCD while his estranged childhood best friend Celine suffers from abandonment and perfectionism. The story follows them become friends once again after years apart and eventually more than friends.

I found this to be a cute read and I cannot wait to gift my teenage niece a copy so we can talk about it together.

I love Bradley and Celine so much. This story follows two high schoolers as they figure out who they are and what they want, despite feeling pushed in another direction because of—or in spite of—a parent's influence. Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute is hilarious in some parts and emotional in others, and so much fun throughout.

Thank you to Joy Revolution and NetGalley for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

highly suspicious and unfairly cute was an absolute delight! both celine and brad are very well-developed characters and very realistic teenagers. talia hibbert's writing is perfect for a YA romance: she's funny, flirty, a little messy at times, and very honest. brad's experiences with OCD are frank and great representation of teenagers with mental illness. celine's hard-headed, tunnel-vision school and career plans show how dedicated and passionate she is, and her desire to hate brad despite all the evidence showing she really doesn't is so teenager-ish of her. i love it. the two of them are so earnest yet stubborn, i immediately fell in love with them and their "rivalry." i committed a major public transit faux pas and laughed out loud on a silent bus because of this book. it was that funny. full of heart, humor and a little bit of hate, talia hibbert's YA debut is not to be missed!!

I have read Hibbert's Brown Sister series so was interested to see how she would transition to a YA story and I think she did an excellent job. Bradley and Celine's story was so cute! They use to be best friends in their younger years but have since become enemies, though. When circumstances lead them both to sign up for the same wilderness retreat, they are forced into proximity and agree to a truce but soon that truce starts to develop into something more. A perfect light-hearted romance.

“What am I going to do, put my hands on his cheeks and kiss his annoying face? Of course I’m not. You have to be sensible about feelings like this, or they’ll run away with you. Liking someone this much is a dangerous game because what do you do when they’re gone?”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is—in fact—unfairly cute. I want to pinch its cheeks, buy it a cozy blanket, and protect it from all the bad things in the world. I don’t read a ton of young adult, but I loved every page of this read. The witty back-and-forth banter between Celine and Bradley is infused with Hibbert’s fun genius, and I screamed like that one Kermit the frog meme at every single interaction between these cuties. Celine is a lot how I imagine Hibbert’s Dani Brown would have been as a teenager—quick witted, sarcastic, scowling, and doing everything she can to hide her soft, scary feelings.

Bradley and Celine were once best friends, but now they hate each other’s guts. Bradley abandoned Celine to become a popular jock (according to Celine), and Celine refused to be anything but the center of the universe (according to Bradley). But when the two must work as a team on a survivalist retreat in the wilderness, they dig up their messy past too. Can they heal their friendship, or will fear keep them apart?

FAT REP: Celine’s fatness is clearly stated, but not at all the focus of the story! Which I love in a YA format. Other fat girls will read about Celine and love her. They’ll also see how loved she is by Bradley.

🌲 Friends to enemies to friends to lovers
🌲Academic rivals to lovers
🌲 Grumpy/Sunshine
🌲 Hero with OCD
🌲 Young Adult Romance

HIGHLY SUSPICIOUS AND UNFAIRLY CUTE releases January 3, 2023. It will be an EXCELLENT read to kick off the new year 💘 Thank you to Joy Revolution and Netgalley for the ARC!

Format - E ARC Netgalley

Rating- ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Spice-💋

Series- N/A

Troupes/Representation- Childhood Friends- Enemies- lovers, mutual pinning, YA novel, OCD, TikTok creator

CW-Perental abandonment

I’m not a YA reader, I don’t know why I’m not usually drawn to them but I’m not. That said, this YA romance from Talia Hibbert was freaking Fantastic! I loved Hibbert’s writing style and character development and general story telling in the Brown Sisters novel, and it all carries though in this book.

Celine is your typical TikTok Gen Z teenager she’s got a lot to say about a lot of stuff and her many TikTok followers are ready to listen. She’s smart and caring but also struggling with the after effects of her father leaving. Bradley is the popular boy, on the football team and everyone loves him and he used to be Celine’s bestfriend. Now they snipe at each other every chance they get, and can stand the sight of each other. Can they get along well enough do this explorer camping thing and win scholarships? It’s not looking good.

The banter and longing between this two, is adorable and so sweet. Right on brand for Talia. And while there is no spice in this there is plenty of heated moments and steamy kisses.

I think its safe to say that Talia Hibbert can get me to read and love most anything she writes. Don’t miss out on this one!

Talia Hibbert once again proves she is the queen of romance! I’ve read several of her adult romance books and was very curious to see how her writing transitioned to the YA genre. She did a fantastic job! The two main characters, Celine and Brad, are both lovable and you feel like they’re your friends by the end of the book. I loved the idea of the plot and thought it was executed very well. I do wish we had gotten a tiny bit more time of them in the woods during the program but I can see how it might feel repetitive. Brad has OCD and the way that it is described is so well done. I felt like I was having the same thoughts and emotions he was having right along with him. On the other side, this book, like all of Talia Hibbert’s books, made me laugh out loud on multiple occasions. Celine reminded me of a young Chloe Brown from her Brown sister trilogy and I absolutely LOVED that!

I was also excited to see that this is being published by a new publishing imprint called Joy Revolution that focuses on love stories written by and about people of color. I’m looking forward to seeing what else comes out from this imprint!

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute

This is the first book I've read of Talia Hibbert's but I think I'll definitely be reading her more adult books after getting this book! Her writing was funny, full of character, and just what I needed in terms of an enemies-to-lovers romance. I could feel how tense things were for these teenagers and sense how much they were trying to get right with themselves and also find the love that they deserved. This story was honestly so great, and I enjoyed learning about the author as well through how she wrote about Bradley and his OCD (later learning in the acknowledgments that she too has OCD). I enjoyed that these characters felt real to me, even if I'm a bit older and removed from teenage troubles. It was a fun and quick read, easily consumable, and I'm excited to read more of her work.

Quirky. Fun. Sweet. Adorable. REAL.

Bradley and Celine are the cutest characters who you can’t help but fall for. In this friends to enemies to friends to something more(?) story I love that issues were discussed that real people deal with. The characters were not perfect model humans, they deal with real stuff. They are so relatable! And on top of day to day things they have futures they have to figure out.

And the side characters are the best! So hilarious and fun loving. (We all need a Raj in our lives!)

Don’t skip this one! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

This novel is absolutely adorable and tull of important content that will be so helpful for teenagers who need to see themselves in literature. There is some fantastic mental health representation, conversations on the impact of divorce/absentee parents, and more. I think this is a fantastic read for teenagers and adults alike.

Check this one out for:

✨️ mental health rep
✨️ a curvy fmc
✨️ friends to lovers
✨️ summer camp but make it yearround vibes
✨️ boy next door energy

Thank you netgalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The title is exactly how I would describe the book- it was so dang cute and everything you would think a YA enemies to lovers romance should be. Hibbert always does a fantastic job at adding representation in her characters and she explores their abilities in such a descriptive way; I have always appreciated that about her writing. And these characters were so good for each other.

My only complaint is that I wanted to read more about the final adventure in Scotland that they prepped so much for, it would have been fun to have had that added to the plot. But that’s just my opinion!

Also shout out to putting the trigger warnings in the beginning of the book! I am not sure if it will be that way when it is printed and published, but I loved to see it on my version.

Talia Hibbert has been a go to romance author for years now and I was so excited to read her YA debut! Even though I don't read as much YA anymore I knew Hibbert would do a fantastic job and her signature banter between characters and how she crafts a love story would be fantastic. Such a fun read!

THIS BOOK IS SO SO SO GOOD PLEASE READ THANK YOU

<b>Quick Stats</b>
Age Rating: 13+
Over All: 4.75 stars
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
Writing: 5/5

<i>Special thanks to Joy Revolution and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.</i>

SO many things to say, but we’ll start with my one singular issue with this book, and why it has 5/5 on everything, yet I gave it 4.75 stars.
The Kanye praise.
There’s a scene about 20-30% in the book where Celine (FMC) is bonding with another camper over their love of Kanye’s music. They talk about his talent and how much they love him. Instant ick. There was no mention or condemning of the disgusting comments and actions of Kanye over the last few years.
I’m honestly so disappointed that Talia Hibbert would write anything complimentary about Kanye. I understand that, for the scene to work she needed a famous Black music artist (preferrably rapper) that would be well known both in the UK and the USA, but there are plenty that would have worked in the context that aren’t violent antisemites. Jay-Z, Tupac, Drake, just off the top of my head.
I sincerely hope that the Kanye praise is not in the final copies of this book, but I am not optimistic. His most recent string of horrifying rhetoric would definitely be reason enough for a last minute change, but I believe by that point final copies would already be in production. I do understand that they likely could not have been changed by the time of Kanye’s newest remarks, but he his statements and actions have been problematic and harmful for years. A book that isn’t even out yet shouldn’t be praising him in any way, let alone without condemning these actions.

Now, that is literally the ONLY bad thing I have to say about this book. Other than that, I found it to be utter perfection. It’s one of the best books I read this year, and I truly could not recommend it more. I’m a lover of the Brown Sisters trilogy, and I’ve read and enjoyed some of Talia’s indy books as well, however they tend to fall a bit on the spicy side for my taste. I was really excited to see what she could do in the YA space. I was also curious to see whether or not this book would fall a into a more upper YA category in terms of sexual content, and I was admittedly surprised that it didn’t…at all.
Despite following two high school seniors (or whatever the British equivalent is) the sexual content in the book is limited. There are general references to sex and such—I mean, they are teenagers—but all Brad and Celine do is make out, and even the descriptions of that are brief. There is some swearing—again, they are teenagers—but I think this book is solidly appropriate for younger YA readers as well as older ones.
This book just made me fall more in love with Talia Hibbert. Honestly, what can’t she do? She can write five star books with immaculately witty humor, swoon-worthy romance, and incredible, diverse representation for both adults and teens, in both third person and third. I have yet to meet a Talia Hibbert book that I do not adore—but Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute may just be my favorite yet.
Brad and Celine were unique characters with distinct voices. They’re so different, and yet I found them both to be so relateable. Brad’s OCD, especially, hit home for me. It’s some of the best OCD rep I’ve ever read, but I wouldn’t expect any less from Talia Hibbert. The chemistry, banter, relationship between Brad and Celine was also impeccable. I mean, it had all the best tropes executed to perfection. Grumpy (her) x Sunshine (him); childhood friends-to-enemies/rivals-to-lovers; forced proximity (while camping). I ate this book up. I read it in one sitting because I could not put it down. It’s the kind of book that will have you squealing and kicking your feet because it really is so Unfairly Cute.
But just because it’s an adorable swoony romcom doesn’t mean it doesn’t have hard-hitting emotional aspects to it as well. Both Brad and Celine are dealing with personal hardships that they grapple with throughout the book.
Celine has to face her father’s abandonment, and acknowledge that her coping methods and the ways she’s allowed it to affect her life are… not the healthiest. There were scenes in this plotline that felt like someone had reached into my chest and squeezed.
Brad, as I mentioned before has OCD, and though it is under control, it still affects him and the way he interacts with the world and his family. Again, Talia Hibbert nailed every single aspect of this representation. Alongside that, he’s struggling with his own hopes and dreams for his life, and how they come into opposition with what his family has expected of him. This is something that I think is so relateable for teens and young adults, and I really appreciated how it played out in the book, and how this struggle interacted with Brad’s OCD without being “because of” his OCD.
Every single aspect of this book is better than I could have asked. I cannot recommend it more. I can’t wait to see what Talia Hibbert does next, and I really hope she continues to write more romcoms, both for adult and YA.

Sorta relatedly—this is the first book put out by Joy Revolution, a new imprint of Penguin run by NICOLA YOON! I believe it will be putting out books that focus on Black joy, and this one was so amazing; I can’t wait to see what comes next from them!

I mean, it’s Talia Hibbert. So right away you know it’s going to be funny yet heartbreaking, sophisticated yet silly. Hibbert easily steps into the YA world and creates a couple who are adorably flawed and undeniably lovable. So do yourself a favor and read this book.

Just like her adult romance titles, Talia HIbbert's new book is sweet, funny, and filled with distinctively nerdy characters. As always, she doesn't shy away from writing people who are flawed yet still manage to function effectively and find true friendship and love.

Brad and Celine were once best friends, right up until middle school, when Brad began to hide his nerdiness in order to fit in with a more social crowd, while Celine went the opposite way and embraced her own inner nerd. Now in their final year of high school, on the cusp of adulthood, they both secretly pine for each other and their lost friendship under the veneer of antagonism, but in public they are firmly "enemies". When a scholarship competition brings them together on a camping trip, they finally acknowledge the yearning toward each other that they've always felt and start inching back together.

I loved Celine's confident, "take no prisoners" approach to life and how willing she was to buck convention. It paired neatly with Brad's sweet eagerness and willingness to try to get along in spite of his OCD tendencies. He also showed a surprising amount of strength by being willing to push right past his comfort zone and deal with the negative voices in his head. My only objection to the book was that it was YA, a genre I'm not particularly fond of due to the tendency of teenagers toward unnecessary emotional drama (something that was on full display here). However, I like pretty much everything Talia writes and this was no exception.

I have long since been a fan of Talia Hibbert, reading and rereading most of the works they’ve written. Knowing all those books have been adult romances, I was really curious how their writing would transition into the YA demographic. I have to say that not only was this YA debut “unfairly cute” but immensely heartwarming and charming. This book was easily one of my favorite romance reads of the year! Both main characters were endearing, and from page one I was invested in watching them learn, grow, and come together. I always appreciate the disability and queer representation Hibbert incorporates into each work, and this was no exception. Hibbert’s depictions of things like OCD and bisexuality in this book make me feel seen and connected to so many communities, even if I don’t belong to them. I can already tell this is a book I’ll reread for years to come.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Joy Revolution imprint at Random House Children’s Books for an eARC of this book!