Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have to start this review off by saying that I did think this book was quite beautifully written. There were some really pretty turns of phrase that made me smile, and the plot was solid.

What got me, however, was how much I did not like the main characters. As many other reviewers have noted, their relationship was so co-dependent and toxic, and while a lot of that was resolved in the end, reading it was a little difficult at times, especially when they were both being so self-absorbed and not taking their alleged best friends’ feelings into account.

But, overall, this book was pretty decent, and I liked the characters exploring their queerness and discovering who they were outside of each other’s orbits.

Jillian and Henry's story is complicated.. and not just because their relationship is being pulled in opposite directions by their recent revelations. They're also smart, messy, complicated individuals who are prone to allowing their feelings to dictate their behaviors.

Both Jillian and Henry are extremely driven, college-bound students. It seems as if they've shared everything since they met, been absolutely in-step with one another all the way. Here those steps are starting to falter.

From a character standpoint, they each are alternately flawed and frequently relatable, if somewhat hypocritical. Unfortunately, this aspect of Jillian's personality is heavily frontloaded in the story, which made me dislike her for awhile.. but as things evened out, I began to root for both of them.

Generally speaking, the characters are diverse and adorable. I liked the supporting cast as much as the leads, sometimes more. I cared about them as people and their struggle resonated with me. It's not always easy to do what's right for oneself without causing collateral damage to those in our immediate circle, try as we might.

Initially this author had a small habit of interjecting really cringe internal monologue in what appeared to be an effort to use niche modern vernacular. While that would be fine for me if the rest of the book's tone matched it, the lines would come out of nowhere after a flowery description or more standard stylings. It just felt, out of sync with the writing as a whole.

I promise you though, it gets better. If it throws you off at the beginning, push on. Nissley does ease up on those kinds of phrases. Once they become fewer and farther between, softer even.. they stop jarring the reader out of the moment.

The story itself is inherently cute, filled with themes of self-discovery, hope, and perseverence. I was pleased to see important topics discussed as well, like the flaw in idealized allyship over the importance of an individual's needs and wishes. I read it through in one shot and enjoyed it immensely.

I really enjoyed reading this YA, coming of age book. The main characters were highly relatable, realistic, and complex. It was a great story of self-discovery, growing up (and sometimes apart) and navigating one's identity through personal choices amidst a breakup and shifting of friendship. Finding yourself as a teenager is hard, especially when you start questioning your preferences in a potential romantic partner. This book was easy to read and a well thought exploration of identity/self and how our paths can change even when we think we have it all mapped out.

Jillian and Henry are rarely apart -- in class, in after school activities, and in most of their spare time, they are always together. They are planning to go to college together, and they have applied for a prestigious scholarship program to help them do so. After junior prom, Henry comes out to Jillian, and Jillian does as well. They breakup, but remain committed to staying best friends and their path for the future. But as each explore new romantic relationships and new interests independent of the other, they find their once unbreakable connection fraying -- making them wonder what it all means for comes next.

This is a perceptive story about learning about yourself and the impacts of that in your life.

Highly recommended!

*Thank you to TBRBeyondTours, NetGalley and Random House Children's, Labyrinth Road for providing me this book in exchange for an honest review*

The premise was really good but the execution wasn't good, at all. I couldn't connect with the characters, and all the decisions that they made were pointless. I actually dnf it at 60% to be honest, hence the 2.5 stars.

Rating: 2.75 /5⭐️

Publication Date: May 29th 2023

Author: Jennifer Nissley

Review: I have come to realize I am out of the YA era, teen romance just isn’t my thing anymore that doesn’t meant this was a bad book by any means it just wasn’t something that completely help spark my interest. It is a very sweet book but I personally didn’t feel like people really resolved anything by the end of the book and for a book that is about learning your sexuality as a teen and learning who you are they really portray them being very dependent on each other.

This was a super cute, YA, coming of age story about gender identity and loving yourself.

Best friends Jillian and Henry decide to end their romantic relationship when they both confess that they might have feelings for people of the same sex. Henry feels confident in his identity while Jillian spends the majority of the book in crisis mode trying to figure out who she is. In the middle of everything both she and Henry are shortlisted for a major scholarship they’ve worked their entire lives for.

I appreciate this story being told through the lens of a high school student who is just trying to figure herself out. Jillian definitely got to be too dramatic for my taste (I understand she’s high school but geez) and lacked self awareness for her selfishness for most of the book.

The side characters were so much fun and I loved the ending!

The biggest thank you to #netgalley, #randomhousechildrens, and #labyrinthroad for an eARC of this story in exchange for an honest review

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Sweet, quick read that was a probably more geared towards the younger age group.

This book has a good premise too bad it's terrible. They are so codependent on each other and it doesn't really seem like that's completely fixed by the end of the book. I also really don't understand why they had sex with each other even after knowing that they don't have feelings for each other. I liked the stuff about her figuring out her identity but that's it.

I received an arc through netgalley.

Okay, so when you're an adolescent, every issue feels monumental and feelings are overwhelming. That's basically the thesis and the point of this novel, so it makes sense that it would highlight it so much. And the changing nature of the previously all-consuming, codependent relationship between Jillian and Henry is in fact a big deal. But most of the other issues in this novel don't make sense in an actual reality—for example everything around education and Jillian and Henry's plans and preparations for their educational future (from scholarships, college choice and applications, down to what classes they're currently taking in school and haven't taken in the past) kind of indicate that two excellent students have somehow gone through most of high school without ever speaking to a guidance counselor, or teacher, or in fact any adult. Beyond problems of like, being distracted by how fantastical these situations and problems are, I also think the narrative suffers from containing only Jillian's perspective. Both Jillian and Henry are going through some massive upheaval in how they were expecting their lives to play out, their situations affect and are massively important to one another other, and Henry's experiences are relayed belatedly and secondhand, while his perspective is completely missing from the novel. It was just missing the target, for me.

DNF @ 40%

This book seemed really promising! And I'm sure someone else is going to love it. But I went in expected softness balancing out the general "mess", and a vibe like Late to the Party, and what I got just wasn't something I could really get myself into. Maybe I'm just not in the headspace to enjoy teen drama and back sliding exes.

I liked that this story offered a bit of a coming out/coming of age perspective, but that’s about where my enjoyment of this story ended. The story dragged and the I found that characters obnoxious. The MCs went through some growth throughout the story, but the story seemed a bit without a point and it frustrated me to get to the end of the story and to feel like I wasted time.

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

Two friends have been dating for a while, but they both come out to each other and try to figure out their new identity and explore their sexuality. Even though they break up, somehow it's just not that simple.

I think this would be great for readers of Emma Lord; the writing style is similar. A bit chaotic, frothy, and heavily detailed, full of inside jokes.

This isn't really a romance, more a coming-of-age story.

The Rules of us is an interesting and unique coming of age lgbtq+ story, because of this I wanted to love it so much but it honestly fell flat for me. I was frustrated and annoyed with the characters, they seem incredibly toxic and like they do not work together well.

I can’t even put into words how much I loved this premise. One of my biggest weaknesses is a friendship story between a lesbian and a guy, so I was excited to read!

Unfortunately, I struggled a lot with this one. None of it really hit for me, so I can unfortunately not really recommend it.

For a while I didn’t like this book. The characters were to dependent for their own good. But then I realized that’s what being a teenager is like. And I liked that at the end of the book they realized that they have to learn to stop relying on the other person for everything.

The other thing I disliked was the fact that there was only one scholarship that they could get? I don’t buy it, especially if they’re the smartest kids in their school.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

Look this was messsssssy but not in a way that felt unrealistic. It felt like it was framed as something of a romance, and so if you went in with that assumption you might hate it--but as long as you think of it more as queer coming of age, i found it really enjoyable.

I struggled a bit with this book.

I really enjoyed the journey both Jillian and Henry went on by exploring their relationship and also their relationships with others. The crewing information was so interesting. This was all new to me and I really enjoyed it.

There were some parts that just made me feel uncomfortable and grossed out. I almost felt like Jillian's relationship with Henry wasn't sexual but creepy. In fact, there was nothing sexual about it.

So its a 50/50.
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This was a weird one for me. I think where this fell short was I just did not like either character, and I didn’t care if either one of them succeeded. Jillian was just…annoying. Every move she made was to further what she wanted, and took very little consideration for Henry and what he needed. Once the pair break up, I do also think Henry isn’t very considerate of Jillian’s feelings either. I think their both egregiously selfish kids that need to focus on themselves, but instead focus on their rather alarmingly intense friendship. The book very nearly totally lost me with THAT scene about a quarter of the way through as well. I didn’t enjoy where the story was heading and I almost gave up on the book, and I’ll be frank, it still didn’t lead to a very good place. This one’s a miss for me, but there’s a lot of potential with this author I’m looking forward to more reads from her.

3.5 stars. This is a tough one to review because I had a very strong emotional reaction to this book; it made me so, so sad at points! The entire book you are in Jillian’s head watching her life turn upside down, and it’s a lot. The ending is emotionally satisfying and hopeful, but it’s also a heartbreaking journey to get there. Overall I think teens will feel like this is an authentic portrayal of disentangling yourself from the person who is your everything.