Fake relationship, gaming, baking - what would you wish for more in a YA rom-com? Well, the first half of the book doesn’t make big promises; it goes slow, sometimes even annoying especially with Samaya being… herself. Then something happens and the story starts to get cuter and more interesting. But not interesting enough for me to not forget about this book quicker than expected. I might have not been the targeted audience.

Overall, average high school rom com.

This was super cute and I enjoyed watching Samaya's growth. Daniel was so cute and such a good person who loves her so much. I loved seeing them bake together and develop their relationship. I understand why she was trying to stay friends with her ex's friends but I wish she would have dropped them sooner.

I received an arc through netgalley.

You know what, that was actually so good. I've struggled with this author before due to the Muslim representation but it was much better in this book Let's talk about the cover. It's so relevant to the so relevant to the story. The book is about baking ,Gaming and young love.

I love the big family vibes and and the South Asian rep. The actual plot was very well executed. We had fake dating mixed with a love triangle.

I love the writing, I found it very funny. I think this would be a great book for a young person.

Short description:
Samaya gets dumped by her boyfriend, who also sabotages her job & hooks up w. her frenemy. To get revenge she finds a fake boyfriend - the handsome jock Daniel .

Rating:
3.5-4 out of 5 stars

Review:
This book was really comforting in a YA rom-com type of way. The book was also very quick to catch my attention within the first chapters, which is a huge plus.

I also liked how non-toxic Daniel was - a nice cinnamon roll in a world of full of bread. All down to earth and adorable with his baking obsession. I do think that he could have had more depth as his character sometimes felt superficial throughout the book. This was also an issue with some of the other characters in the book, which is also why the rating is 3.5-4/5 stars.

Samaya was an interesting character. She was intelligent and strong minded. When I started to read the book, she would sometimes annoy me with how she tried to change everything about Daniel, and was very focused on her own problems. But then I started to think about it, and it's really realistic young teen behaviour. To be a bit selfish and think the world revolves around you.

I did like the plot and the nostalgic teen movie vibes that the book gave. For some reason I kept thinking of the Disney movie Red Panda while reading this book. Maybe it's because the book is also set in Canada, and revolves around a girl and her friend group.

Imagine Red Panda ♥️🐼 but with elements like:
*Gaming 🎮
*baking 🥧
*Hockey🏒
*fake dating 🎭
*lots of diversity (nationality + religion + non-binary rep)👩🏻‍🤝‍👨🏼
* YA rom-com vibes (age of characters are: 17) 📚

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Skyscape, for this e-ARC. This review contains my honest opinion about the book.

Such a fun and cute read! Quite a bit happening in the story which kept it interesting! Loved the STEM and characters from other cultures rep.

How can a book be this adorable, entertaining, heartfelt and full of with joy and not to mention delish food?
I am obsessed with book about baking/cooking and Farah Heron mastered this so well. I have read Tahira in Bloom so I know the inevitable was coming: falling for How to Win a Breakup.

This was so far the best and most annoying (in a super good way) fake-dating scheme I have read - all the drama was hilarious yet so real! Loved the gender-swapped roles about being a gamer and a baker - finally gives a good idea about how you can be anything you set your mind on - no matter your gender!

Diverse, realistic story about what follows a breakup and what length someone goes to heal!

Thank you so much Skyscape for the e-galley!!

Thanks to NetGally for the advanced reader copy of this book. After a pretty devastating breakup with her high school boyfriend of two years Devin leaving Samaya in shambles, our main character decided with the help of her friend to doctor a photo of her and a pretty good looking guy who just happened to be a volunteer at a shelter she also volunteers at!! Um what a coincidence! However, Samaya pushes on and gets Daniel, Mr. volunteer to date her to make it look like the breakup with Devin meant nothing and she will have the last laugh. And therein lies the drama that unfolds in this YA romcom!
Let's start with the good. The representation of different backgrounds, nerds and gamer life, and sexual orientation was well received. I liked the writing and some of the characters very relatable coming from a first generation immigrant, your typical high school scene...and drama! There is definitely a Gossip Girl influence in the story and I love that!! Any book that ties in food and cooking...I think if done well adds another layer to the story and the author did amazing at that.
Now on the other side of the coin, these things weren't bad but the story kinda became boring after the first half of the book. I also felt like Samaya was so easily influenced by her friends..like girl STAND UP!! I do like a fake dating trope but I don't think 17 year olds are equipped with experience and emotional intelligence needed to actually fool anyone! I wasn't convinced sometimes as a reader.
Overall, three star read!

I loved this cute YA novel!

Samaya and Devin are couple goals at their high school, which makes their breakup before the summer all the more shocking. It doesn’t help that Earl’s Whispers, a Lady Whistledown-esque Instagram account, makes it a competition of who is winning the breakup.

Samaya hatches a scheme with Daniel, her new community service partner, that will benefit them both: calculus tutoring for him in exchange for a few fake dates and Instagram posts of them together.

I enjoyed this story, and thought it was an easy read that felt like a classic teen movie. It was really sweet to see Samaya and Devin get to know and grow to care so much for each other, and I loved how Samaya realizes some of her priorities are misplaced.

I recommend this if you like:
📖 Fun YA stories
🎮 Gaming
🥧 Baking
❣️Fake dating

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Skyscape, for this e-ARC. This is my honest review.

Another great YA book from Farah Heron - she writes characters so well that it makes me feel like I'm back in high school. This story was emotional without being overly heavy, and I loved seeing Samaya's growth over the course of the book. Also loved that the lemon square recipe was in the back of the book - I will definitely need to try it out! This book is a stand alone, but if you enjoyed it, Samaya's sister has a book as well (that was also excellent).

After her boyfriend broke up with her, sabotaged her upcoming summer job, and started dating her frenemy, Samaya wanted to appear the winner of their breakup. Of course, what better way than to start a fake relationship with Daniel, the handsome jock and baking whiz at the shelter where she started to volunteer at?

Daniel was so sweet, so cheerful, so supportive, and the cutest pastry-loving (and baking) jock ever 🥰 Samaya got to realise what real friendships look like, and shed off the inherent urge to be a people pleaser. She came into her own, and it was all so amazing. Seeing them fall for each other was beautiful.

All the talk of pies, lemon squares, cookies, made me hungry 😂 I can definitely relate to Samaya on the raisin-hating scale (don't come for me please 🙈😂) I also loved the mystery surrounding who was behind the gaming profile chatting with Samaya.

This was my first book by this author and I loved it. I can't wait to read about her sister Tahira.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for an ARC.

How to Win a Breakup truly took me by surprise - this was everything I didn't know I needed in a YA contemporary. I mean... geeky STEM girls, fake dating, a charming baking-obsessed love interest and an anonymous gossip page???? This was just so much fun! I loved getting to know Samaya as she navigated the chaos that is being seventeen. Her journey of growth during this book was so lovely to witness. And the fact that we had not one but TWO hidden identities - It really made things interesting and kept me on my toes. I was hooked.

Daniel was an absolutely adorable character. I loved him and his backstory was so touching. I've rarely read a love interest like him and I need more male characters like this in my life. It's rare enough we get an Asian love interest but reading about a Filipino one was an excellent experienced. I loved the little nods to his culture and I could really relate as a Filipina. Daniel was 10/10. A soft boy who's also into sports? and baking? Too cute for words. Honestly, he's the best YA love interest I've read about in a long time.

Somehow this book struck a perfect balance of being light-hearted and fun as well as touching on much more serious topics like homelessness and privilege. Also, the diversity in this book was truly incredible and really enriched the story. I loved that we got to see a Muslim Indian MC, a non-binary best friend and a Filipino LI. This book made me remember what I love so much about coming-of-age stories and I can't wait to see more like this one in the future.

I really liked this story. It explores a bunch of different topics I didn’t expect and had an ending I didn’t see coming. I incorrectly assumed she would fall for one character before realizing it was happening with another and wasn’t really sure which way things would go. Both main characters were cool and it was nice to see that the MC was flawed and came to see her shortcomings. Also like how this character ties in to another character from the author’s other book. Overall, a great read that I would recommend others check out.

For a young adult book this is good. If you're into gaming this is very much into that world. Farah Heron delivers an excellent story once again with including so much representation. I

4.25/5 ⭐️

This was really cute. Samaya and Daniel got along so well together and they respected each other so much. The fake dating was really well paced and made sense. Most 3rd act breakups I’m not a big fan of but this one I understood.

I also really liked how Samaya came into being herself not some extension of her boyfriend and friends. The thoughtful discussions of being different classes was pretty thought out as well.

Overall, if you like fake dating and sunshine love interests I definitely recommend this book!

Thank you NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of this book!

This is a true cheesy YA romcom, and it had me kicking my feet and giggling! Our main character Samaya is a grade 12 student dealing with a messy breakup turned messier when she goes back to school to an anonymous gossiper spreading absurdities about her online. With her reputation going down, Samaya concocts a plan to spread false information about her new date just to get everything off her back. Only it backfires massively when she posts a manipulated photo with a guy she’s never met, a guy who turns out to be volunteering at the same shelter she is.

But the guy turns out to be the charming and adorable Daniel Ramos, and he’s willing to help Samaya if he gets help to pass his calculus class. And so the fake relationship begins.

Honestly, this was a clear YA romcom twist to season one of Bridgerton, complete with Lady Whistledown. There was even a reference in the book about the show. While it’s cute and I had the time of my life reading, I felt like some threads of the plot near the end felt incomplete and a bit unsatisfying—who Whispers was, the whole Jayden thing, and even who ended up being LostAxis. I’m aware Samaya was dealing with her own issues and not truly expanding out of herself, but as a reader it would’ve been nice to see those breadcrumbs spread throughout. The only breadcrumb I could think of was for the LostAxis reveal, which I figured out way before it clicked for Samaya.

A bit of the writing also felt a little stilted. A few sentences went on and on. This was a rare case throughout the book, so it didn’t really take me out of the story.

I also felt like the scene hopping in chapters was a little hard to follow. Personally, I think it would’ve been better to add scene breaks rather than seamlessly transition from one scene to the other. Sometimes the reader was at school experiencing a conversation between Samaya and Cass, and the next second, Samaya was at the shelter.

But overall, this had the makings of a fun YA romcom and I had the time of my life reading. I loved Samaya and how she grew as a character! I also loved Cass and how they smacked sense into Samaya all the time. Aimee was fun too, though I’m really intrigued as to why they weren’t that close at the end of the book—I’m assuming the Jayden thing, but none of it was explained.

And of course, the main couple—Samaya and Daniel were absolutely the cutest pair! I adored Daniel and his little quirks. I could tell he cared for Samaya and fell for her hard, but also how much he cared for the people around him. He truly was the epitome of a sunshine character.

A wonderful book! I really recommend if you want to have a good time ☺️

A cute fake dating trope. I loved the South Asian representation, and also the Canadian representation. Yes, it still took place in Toronto, but actual real places were discussed that made it clear rhat the author actually knows that places like Scarborough exist. This makes for a fun, and easy read that will leave you smiling.

I love a good light and relatively fluffy high school-set YA. Bonus points for a STEM-focused MC who knows she's smart and is proud of it, and a diverse cast of main and supporting characters. I loved seeing a school-focused FMC who also games and a friend group where gaming isn't looked down on, and I really appreciated how distinct Samaya's friends are (special shoutout to Cass in particular, who I just adored). I appreciated that even though the setup and conflict of How to Win a Breakup does revolve around Samaya's breakup with her ex, it isn't a "get him back" storyline. The fake dating plotline kicked off in a super fun way, and I really loved Daniel's character and the way Heron crafted an "opposites attract" romance with traditionally opposing high school archetypes (the nerds vs. the jocks). The resolution of the breakup plotline did lose me a bit at the end, but overall I enjoyed Samaya's arc and the development of the core relationship.

I enjoyed this book very much, it was cute and well done and even though I am very much not a gamer nerd and that aspect of the story went a little over my head, I really loved the characters and friendships and the slow romance between the 2 MCs.

YA fake relationship trope - and I loved it! I really loved and appreciated the diversity of the characters - there was a non-binary secondary character who wasn't made a big deal of. Very cute and heartwarming story!

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is YA in both content and age group of the characters. Samaya makes you feel like you have slipped into the mind of a high school girl. She has made real life decisions based on boys and her catty friends and now she has to try and get on track before it’s too late. What’s the best solution for that. Fake dating of course! Make that terrible ex jealous!

Devin is Samaya ex who breaks up with her, leaves for the summer and comes back bearing gifts, but dating her ex. Insert eye roll.

Daniel is here to save the day as her fake boyfriend to make everyone jealous.

The relationships between these kids were a lot deeper than I was expecting and I loved the twists. I was sure I knew who the cat fisher was at least 4 times. I was wrong. The MC grows a lot though the story and I loved to see all the representation!

I love reading YA books set in current times. The troubles of high schoolers are the same as when we all went to high school, but social media and the internet add a layer I never had to deal with when I went to high school a few (cough) years ago.

This was my first by the author, but will not be my last!