I’ve been unable to stop thinking about this book for days. Samantha Markum writes soft romances and messy teenage girls like no other, and her beautiful sophomore novel left me breathless!

Maybe I wasn’t the right audience for this book? I mean, I don’t know. I wanted to love it because I adored this authors debut. This one just wasn’t for me. I really hope that it finds its audience!

What I loved:
The love interest. He was patient, kind, hilarious, persistent, and steady. The friendships were sweet and I love the summer setting.

What I didn’t love:
The MC was kind of the worst. She was so selfish and mean. Her wit came off mean instead of funny and I just spent the whole book wishing she would be knocked down a peg for her behavior. Also, she never really takes ownership for anything.

The depth and hard things in this book added an interesting level of depth, but nothing was resolved or talked about. It was hard things that were glossed over by the end of the book.

After reading and loving This May End Badly, I was so excited when the author announced she was releasing a new book. I immediately requested an ARC and I’m so grateful to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for sending me a copy to read and review.

I adored this book so much! It was just as good, if not better than the author’s debut novel. The main character Junie was so funny and chaotic. She reminded me a lot of myself with her flair for the dramatics. Although sometimes she could be a little dense and blow everything out of proportions, she never does it out of spite. Throughout out the story, she really matures and learns to be more understanding and honest with herself and her feelings.

Samantha Markum might be my favorite author when it comes to writing friendships. Lucy, Milo and Graham were such amazing supporting characters. The banter between the four of them was hilarious and perfectly written. It flowed so well and never felt awkward.

I’m usually not a fan of the friends to lovers trope, but I really liked how the author did it in the book. It had a second chance romance feel to it, which is very different from most friends to lovers books I’ve read. Junie and Graham had a relationship of sorts in the previous summer, but a secret ruins it. Now, they are working to be friends again, but both still have lingering feelings for each other…
Graham was so sweet, thoughtful and funny. Between him and Wells, it is hard to pick which of Markum’s love interests is my favorite.

I also didn’t expect the Shakespearean aspect the book had, but I’m not complaining. It worked really well in the story. All in all, this was another excellent book by the author. She has definitely solidified herself as one of my favorite YA authors. Definitely keep your eyes peeled for this book! It releases March of next year and will be the perfect summer read, especially for Sarah Dessen fans!

A review will be posted on my bookstagram and Amazon closer to the release date! Thank you again for the ARC!

I was thrilled when I got the email to review this book! I absolutely loved her debut novel and was so excited to read this one! You Wouldn’t Dare follows Junie and her friends trying to figure out how to have the perfect summer! The small Florida town feels warm and inviting and the characters are so well thought out. Friends to lovers is always a winner and a community that feels like family is even better. Also, I could talk about Graham forever!!!!
Definitely a reread for sure!