Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book!

This is such a adorable story. Talia Hibbert is known for some steamy romances on the adult market, but she kept it sweet and PG for her first YA novel. The book follows two friends turned enemies as the go through a competitive scholarship process their final year of school. The book is told from multiple dimensions which is great for this age group, as you get a chance to get into both characters heads. I appreciated that Hibbert used phrasing and situations that matched the age of the characters. I was worried that she would "age" the characters too far, but she didn't. There's a decent amount of humor mixed into the book, which keeps the characters feeling real, and not too polished. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Hibbert continues her trend of mixing in real life issues (OCD, parental separation) into her main characters. I love this, especially for this age group, as it grounds the characters into something that the audience can understand and relate to.

It IS highly suspicious how cute this book is. (I'll see myself out now).

I loved this. We got a teenage coming-of-age, second chance best friends to enemies to friends again to lovers romance that was so incredibly adorable. All that with a POC cast, queer and bi rep, and mental health/OCD rep.

The first part: coming-of-age. Cel and Bradley are dealing with a very relatable experience of "holy cow what do I do next?!" as they prepare for university, scholarships, and choosing what they want to study. They are both so driven by their expectations of what they *should* do that they are both blindsided in this book by what they *want* to do. And I loved seeing this. I love the idea of YA readers seeing themselves and their dreams and fears in this book.

The second part: the romance. Cel and Bradley were best of the best friends who had a huge falling out roughly 4 years before the book begins. What I especially loved about this second chance trope is that we get to see how both characters have grown so much both since the incident and because of it. I appreciated that by the time they became friends again it was because they were both ready to move past their (and the others') mistakes. It just warmed my soul how this was all done (Talia you big ole writing genius!) NEXT was the friends-to-lovers progression and it just warmed my heart. The balance between them, their new friendship, and their budding relationship was so well done and... intentional (this feels like the best word). Cel and Bradley both expressed and maintained each other's boundaries as they figured out this transition. The third-act breakup was stupid, though. I need romances to realize it just is not always needed.

My BIGGEST complaint is that the side characters were so underutilized. I really really liked what we got to see of them but they existed purely to tease Cel and Bradley about their ~*~feelings~* toward each other. And they were too cool to be that far on the sidelines.

I'm a fan of Hibbert's adult romances, and was really excited for this one. Unfortunately, it was difficult to get into, primarily because I just couldn't root for the main protagonist, Celine. There was a lot of bickering between the two leads, and it felt a little too juvenile for me. We will still be procuring a copy for our collection though, because while this book may not have been for me, I'm pretty sure we'll have readers who will enjoy it.

I requested this because I love Talia Hibbert's adult romance novels. While I did enjoy this, as expected, I did not enjoy it quite as much (probably because it is YA). This is a super quick and cute read, but the characters are incredibly immature for parts of this book. This makes sense since they're in high school, but the bickering at the beginning reminded me more of middle schoolers... I also really liked the concept of the book, so I wish we got a little bit more plot surrounding the expedition part. All in all though, I'd recommend if you usually enjoy YA because it was cute!

This is such a cute romance. Their banter and relationship was fun to read. Having her be a conspiracy theorist was a fun twist and set up more comedic moments. I thought they mental health representation was well done. Overall the academic rivalry piece felt secondary but still worked out well.

Cw: parental abandonment, living with OCD
Trope: friends-enemies-lovers

Talia Hibbert has been one of my favorite authors ever since I read her Brown Sisters trilogy, so it's not a surprise that this was enjoyable for me.

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute was a quick and adorable read that had me smiling and laughing the ENTIRE time. Like the title says it all!

The book has well-developed characters, dealt with the themes included really well, and there were wholesome friendship moments that just made you smile and swoon.

I love how this book highlighted the ways Bradley took care of himself and how he has a relationship with therapy. Since mental health is sometimes a stigma in the black community, I appreciate Talia Hibbert for showing a light on how helpful therapy can be.

Though it took me a little bit to get into this book, by the end I adored both Brad and Celine and their story. Their love and care for each by the end was really heartwarming. This book was my intro into the author's work, and I'm excited to check out more of her books now!

I am a fan of Talia Hibbert but this book didn't do it for me. I couldn't engage with the characters, and I don't think Ilike Ms. Hibbert writing in the YA genre as much as her adult stuff.

I admit I was a little nervous when I heard that Talia Hibbert was writing a YA book. Excited, but slightly nervous because her adult romances are so deliciously spicy, was this going to be completely different in style from her others? Happy to say, I was wrong. This book combined a lot of the things I love about her other books, while still being firmly rooted in the YA genre.

This book was a friends to enemies to friends to lovers and explored a lot of the stress involved with being a teenager. I loved the rawness and realness of these characters and loved watching them discover themselves and their relationship.

I continue to be a fan of the fat rep in Talia Hibbert’s books. There’s never any negativity surrounding her fat characters’ bodies. They’re just fat people living their lives, and I LOVE her for it! Her books always also contain exquisitely done mental health representation and this book was no different. OCD isn’t something you see frequently in romance books, but I applaud Talia Hibbert for spotlighting it, and doing it in such a realistic and wonderful way.


I was given and ARC by NetGalley and Random House Children’s. All opinions are my own.

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute was one of the cutest YA books I’ve read in such a long time, maybe ever. It’s funfetti birthday cake with extra sprinkles. Hibbert’s humor sparkled and her characters jumped straight off the page, right into my heart. Everything about this book was utterly, unspeakably, unfairly cute.

The plot was set up a bit differently than I expected—less nature survival than the summary makes it seem—but I found myself so invested in Brad and Celine‘s journey back to each other. I really enjoyed the dual POV sections, which I haven’t encountered a lot in YA.

I have the urge to say that both Brad and Celine changed a lot from start to finish, but it was more like they found themselves again. The ending was perfect and shaped up exactly how I’d been imagining. (It was fun betting with myself on which three would win the scholarship.)

The side characters were also super fun (at least the ones we were supposed to like). Celine’s mom was such a bad ass, Aurora was adorable, and their best friends back at school were the perfect support.

Overall, I already can’t wait to reread this. The audiobook is going to be perfection and I can’t wait to see how the narrator(s) interpret the humor.

If you want a major serotonin boost and/or the feeling of eating a maple blondie brownie with butterscotch icing and vanilla ice cream from Apple Bees, read Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute. It’s delicious.

Warning: You will suffer a 336-page sugar rush with the side effect of smiling into your pillow and fizzing like a pop rock.

A cute and quick read centered on mental health, anxiety, and what happens when overachieving becomes the cornerstone of your life. Thoroughly enjoyed this one! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I went into this book unclear that it was a YA book. While I enjoy some YA, this book just wasn’t for me. I found it to be juvenile and I struggled with focusing on it. It took me so long to read because I would stop and read other books in between. I do commend the author for tackling a character with OCD without making it only a story about OCD and without making OCD his only characteristic. I am sure there are people who will love this story.

Celine and Bradley have been friends, but now they are enemies. Navigating this relationship has been difficult for the both of them, because there are unresolved feelings. When they both decide to enter a program, for the opportunity to win a scholarship, they begin to discover even more about each other than they ever intended.

There is so much about this story that really resonated with me including friends growing apart, hiding your true feelings, and dealing with metal health. I thought all of these topics were handled beautifully. Brad quickly grew on me as we followed him on his journey of coping with OCD, but still dealing with everything a teenage boy has to handle. It took me some time to understand Celine, but I found her POV refreshing, because she was so unlike any other female protagonist I've read.

Ultimately, I thought the story was written well, but it could be slow at times. I also hoped that the competition would have a big part in the story, but sometimes it faded into the background.

I was so excited to read this one - thanks to @netgalley, @randomhousekids and @joyrevbooks for early access to this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

✔️ Friends to Enemies to Lovers
✔️ Forced Proximity
✔️ Mental Health Rep

Highly Suspicious & Unfairly Cute by @taliahibbert was delightful. I loved that it tackled a big coming-of-age question "What am I going to do with the rest of my life?" and the feeling that you're behind on answers. I loved watching the main characters (Bradley and Celine) zealously pursue their set plans for their academic life which mostly succeeds in them getting in each other's way. I love when annoyance turns to attraction in YA. 🤣

I loved the characters and how they went from misunderstanding each other to really getting each other. The romance and mutual pining was sweet and earnest and also funny and awkward - I adored it.

The setup was fun as well - going on outdoor excursions to compete for an exclusive program where scholarships are the prize. It was fun to see Bradley and Celine try to win and figure out each other and make friends along the way.

Highly recommend this one to all the YA readers out there! 4.25⭐️ - pub date Jan 2, 2023!

Cute, Quirky, Romantic. Dual POV held back the plot, but not overwhelmingly. OCD rep was good and well written. The UK slang was guide was very useful.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert

Thank you so much to Random House Children's Books for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

I loved this novel and couldn’t put it down! It was something that I had to keep reading. I’d recommend it to anyone. I really like how the characters were written and the overall story.

I love dual pov and the romance in this book. Can’t wait to read more from Talia Hibbert!

This is a cute YA romcom from Talia Hibbert, the author of the Brown sisters trilogy. I really enjoyed this one. There are two points-of-view in this novel: Celine and Brad, former friends turned enemies after a falling out. The two end up in the same scholarship program, an outdoorsy adventure competition testing leadership skills, and the two are forced to interact and figure out where their friendship went wrong to survive out in the wilderness.

I loved this one, Celine is smart, nerdy, loyal, and an all around boss. Brad is mr. popular, sunshine, but hiding his difficulties dealing with his OCD. Celine also has difficulty trusting others because her father abandoned her family, and in part, this leads to the fall out between Brad and Celine. The story essentially goes from former friends now enemies back to friends and then to lovers once Brad realizes he has a huge crush on Celine. I also appreciated that Celine is a plus size main character but that feature isn't the central storyline it's just that yes plus size people exist and are beautiful and are intelligent and are funny and have interests and can do what other people do because they're just normal people who are plus size! (hopefully the reader can now tell that this is a sticking point for me, as an overweight person myself).

The friendship between these two characters is so well-developed I really just wanted to scoot right in and join them. I got choked up a bit because they were so sad without each other, and it wasn't a silly fight either. The two of them really hurt each other but I felt like the repairing of their relationship was ultimately well-earned.

First I want to thank netgalley for the chance to read the arc for this Talia Hibbert’s debut YA romance.

Celine & Brad were once best friends but had a falling out once they went to high school. Of course that turns them into enemies. Celine is a smart girl who has trouble expressing her emotions while Brad overthinks his emotions due to his OCD diagnosis. They both embark on a expedition to win a scholarship and what more could you ask for in romance that forced proximity! They learn a lot about themselves throughout the novel that a lot on YA readers will connect with.

Hibbert did great with the story line and the relationship between the two MCs with dual POV and proper banter. A cute romance read for all ages!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert

Thank you so much to Random House Children's Books and Joy Revolution Imprint for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

*This story involves parental abandonment and portrays living with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).


Talia Hibbert outdoes herself in her YA debut. ABSOLUTELY.KILLS.IT

Bradley is a struggling writer yet successful nerd cosplaying as a jock, + Celine is a brilliant and overconfident student who also happens to be a successful TikTok devoted to conspiracy theories. You had me at hello.

Three things that should put this on your “I desperately want to read this” list:

1. The chemistry/banter between Bradley and Celine is so sharp and full of wit and plays up the BFFS to enemies to lovers relationship.
2. The exploration of both characters’ respective emotional and mental struggles combined with miscommunication trope gave the story an “I cannot put it down” investment into Celine, Bradley, and the story.
3. How absolutely hilarious most of the characters were, especially Bradley (i.e., whenever he can’t figure out what he’s feeling between two emotive words, he’ll combine them into one word…I cackled)


Nicola and David Yoon created the imprint Joy Revolution. It is devoted to love stories written by POCs about POCs. I was affected by the Mission Statement, and I cannot wait to read more of their works that will focus not only center love but also joy.

I want to shout from the rooftops how much I loved this book! It. Was. Adorable.

I’m the first to admit I’m not a YA reader but I’m officially a Talia Hibbert reader. This book was so fabulous and so well done. I might not love a lot of will-they-or-won’t-they in an adult romance, but when the teenage characters are written by Ms Hibbert it is absolute perfection! This book brought me right back to my own teenage angst and first crush (who sadly was no Bradley Graeme).

I loved these characters so much. Brad is an absolutely adorable heartthrob and Celine is my grumpy sarcastic spirit animal. This was easily the cutest book I’ve ever read but it wasn’t sugary sweet. It had depth and heart and humor and I can’t recommend it enough.

Thank you so very much to netgalley and joy revolution books for the ARC.
PUB DATE: JANUARY 3rd