Kasie West books are kind of a go-to when I need a sweet, fluffy romance. Usually, the characters’ families are involved in the story– especially their siblings. The romance tends to be sweet (as opposed to spicy), and the stories lots of times grapple with fear, vulnerability, and navigating changing relationships. I love all of that and BORROW MY HEART hit all the notes of those things that I was looking for.

I enjoyed the relationship between Wren and Kamala. Everyone needs that no-nonsense friend in their lives who tells them the things they need to hear, even if sometimes they’re not ready to hear them. Someone who sees who you are and decides that person, warts and all, is a person whose friendship they cherish. So I loved that about those two girls and their friendship.

I also thought the scenes where Wren works at the animal shelter were sweet. While I’m not a dog person, I thought it was really cool that she loved the dog, Bean, so much and worked so hard to try to find the right home for him. I liked that he wasn’t just a misunderstood sweetheart, either, but that he was pretty spunky.

The dynamic between Wren and Asher was sweet, too. I liked the way that he didn’t pressure her to do things she wasn’t comfortable with, and anytime she communicated her discomfort, he was quick to make space for her feelings and support her in what she needed. But he also made space to let her process things and come to him when she was ready rather than pressing her to admit things she wasn’t ready to talk about yet.

All in all, I think fans of Kasie West’s other books will love the fun, fluffy romance of BORROW MY HEART. It’s a great summer read to take to the beach or read poolside.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

I’ve been looking forward to this June release! It’s been a while since I’ve read a Kasie West book but she immediately pulled me into the story with her engaging writing style. Borrow My Heart starts out light but with meaningful moments. Wren’s character was my style of sarcasm and I got her right away. Despite her prickly nature, she reached out to help a guy by pretending to be his online crush and so, starts a relationship that turns out to be full of surprises… and might even turn out to be more?

My favorite character was the beloved, grouchy, grumpy, darling Bean! He was awesome and he totally gets bonus points for being choosy with people. I loved him. He was the best part of this book. I loved how Wren took care of him and adored him. Now for the love interest, Asher appeared to be the perfect boyfriend and he was good to Bean as well.

The plotline was steady and well-paced, with laughable moments and of course, Kasie West’s signature style—moments that tug at the heartstrings. I did not see that huge plot twist coming until it hit me like a punch and all I can say, is well-played, Miss West.

I adored this book! It starts with a deceit so you know it all has to come to light at some point. But the development of Asher and Wren is just so sweet! Add in the scene stealer Bean, and you just can’t go wrong. I should say, I watch so many instagram reels of dogs. Dogs being funny, being mean. All of it. It brings light into my life. So to have a hilarious dog that is mega grumpy made it all better.

I loved that it wrapped up in a satisfying way. It was honest and real. Kasie West is a master at YA romance!

Wren has a lot of rules for dating, but really...they're rules for life. She doesn't like not being prepared for situations and if that makes her a control freak, then so be it. But Wren also has a huge heart. She loves animals, especially rescues, and she doesn't like to see people being made fun of so when she overhears a guy being mocked by his friend about being catfished, she pretends to be his online crush.

Asher turns out to be a genuinely nice guy, and a great hugger. It's worth pretending to be the girl he was DMing if she's saved him from embarrassment. And now...she's fake dating him. When Wren's rules start getting broken over this guy, she has a hard time keeping her rules for other things...like her absent mom.

This story really didn't get going for my until the last third of the book where we really get into Wren's head and why her rules matter to her so much. Up until then it was just a cute story with not much else going for it. But by the end, I came to really appreciate Wren and her heart.

I've heard a lot about Kasie West, the author of this book, but I've never really read any of her works. With its adorable cover, I couldn't help but sign up when I discovered that "Borrow My Heart" was open for sign-up. Thanks to the @kasiewest @tbrbeyondtours and @netgalley for this copy.

Everything about this book was fascinating. The plot was simple yet not dull. This book really is wonderful. It helps me out of my reading slump. Also as a great way to freshen my mind after exams. It didn't take long time for me to finish it. I really enjoyed the relationship of Wren and Asher and I just can't wait for the next book to be released. Getting ready for the next journey with them. If you enjoy fake identity (while they didn't remain forever, the reveal moment is adorable though), a guy that got catfished by a mysterious girl, a cute dog as a buddy, and sweet teen romance. Then you should read this one.

This was a decent YA romance. The premise was really cute. Asher was getting stood up by a catfish, so Wren pretends to be the girl he's waiting for to save him from embarrassment. Wren learns a lot about her unrealistic rules for a potential boyfriend and the walls she's put up around herself. I enjoyed the animal shelter aspect. I didn't love the viral video/tiktok conflict.

Wren works at an animal shelter and is hoping to get Bean, their longest resident, adopted. With a big heart, Wren jumps in to save a random stranger, Asher, from public humiliation by his best friend, Dale. When she can't figure out how to tell Asher that she is not the match he made on the internet, Wren finds herself semi-dating him but is guilt ridden over not telling him the truth. Through all of this, Wren is still working hard to get Bean adopted.
Opinion
This is the perfect summer read for young adult romance lovers. The romance is innocent enough to be put into the hands of a pre-teen yet intriguing enough to keep the older teens interested. I personally loved the animal aspect of the story (considering I have four dogs and just as many reptiles living at my home.) The book was a quick read with high interest.
My only question is can you really delete something off of TikTok and it be gone? With so many options that TikTok offers, such as duet, once the video is released, it is out there for good. (Of course, that seems to be the way with the internet in general anyway.)
Many thanks to Net Galley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for providing me with an ARC of this book.

I have read most of Kasie West's books and there are some that I really love. Unfortunately, this was not one that I REALLY loved.

Borrow My Heart was light, fluffy, and easy to read. It was, however, somewhat forgettable. I did not really see where the story was going and when I did realize where it was going, was not particularly fond of the turn it took.

Overall, this was an easy, cute read.

Cute YA novel. I generally love a fake dating trope, but Wren and Asher felt like very surface level characters who I didn’t love.

This book is a little fluffier than some of the other books I've read by Kasie West, and that's okay. Wren and Asher meet in a non-traditional way and get caught in quite a few misunderstandings along the way, but everything ends well...for them, their friends, and even Bean the dog.

Look at that cover! *heart eyes*

Kasie writes characters that are good and kind, but flawed and trying. I love them. I loved that even thought there were predictable parts, there were also surprises and growth. Her story make you laugh and it makes you smile. I loved the emotions and the genuine characters. It felt a little more edgey than some of her books, but I still loved it.

3.5/5 Stars

This was a super cute read. I adored the fact that this book advocated for the adopt don’t shop, and helped promote animal rescue. I also really enjoyed the fact that this story goes a lot deeper than the surface. There is a lot of heart in this book. I will admit it was tough to read parts about zoey’s family, her mother and sister left me very frustrated and annoyed. Overall another wonderful book from Katie west, I would absolutely recommend.

Like I am said before, I am a fan of the author's prior work. I was really drawn in after reading the first two chapters. Wren is guarded, but a likable and relatable character given her experiences in her past (with her mom being very unreliable). Asher himself came across as a big sweetheart, like a teddy bear. He was a good opposite to Wren. Where she was closed off and guarded, he was open and friendly. I also enjoyed the inclusion of the dogs from Wren's job at the shelter and the social media games to get Bean a home. And there were typical teen romance trope...like to love to misunderstanding to happy ending. Very enjoyable.

Adored this book! I have loved all the Kasie West books I have read so far and this was no exception.

Wren and Asher will make you fall for them even with all the mistakes you can see coming for each of them. They had their issues sure but were able to work through them eventually (sometimes to quickly leaving me to think something else was going to happen …and it did). Even Dale quickly grows on you. I did think Chad was an odd character, he didn’t quite fit the story for me…

However my favorite part of the story was Bean!

Can’t wait to read more of this series and catch up with these characters.

I adored this cute YA romance! What initially drew me in was the adorable cover art featuring the main characters and a bunch of shelter animals. I'm a sucker for dogs, but especially rescues, and I love a good rescue story.

Wren and her bestie Kamala witness a catfishing scheme in a coffee shop and then Wren swoops in and poses as "Gemma" to save Asher from hurt feelings and utter humiliation in front of his friend. Asher shows up at the dog shelter where Wren works and volunteers. They bond over Bean, a shelter dog that has been there the longest, and together they make it their mission to find Bean a loving home.

Wren has a set of strict rules that she follows about relationships, but over time she finds herself bending those rules for Asher. She is liking him more and more every time she spends time with him, but she feels like their relationship is doomed from the start since it started with a lie and she doesn't know how to break the news to Asher that she's really not "Gemma."

All of the characters are likeable. I loved the lighthearted nature of this book. There are some dysfunctional family themes embedded within the pages, but it's not enough to weigh this book down. I will recommend this book to my book-loving high school students or mature middle school students. I will also recommend this book to all my animal-loving friends and family.

Special thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Borrow My Heart by Kasie West is my first by this author. It is a super sweet story with some underlying pain. Wren's Mom left when she was young and she has navigated that pain by controlling everything in her life that she can-right down to making rules about dating that may be so difficult to reach so she doesn't have to feel the pain of being left or hurt again. When she hears Asher being ridiculed, she thought she'd be able to help - one and done right? But of course, nothing goes as planned and soon she is breaking every single one of rules. Will she eventually grow up and realize that not everyone in her life will hurt her? Super sugary sweet and sometimes we just need something like this as a palate cleanser with all the dark, difficult stuff going on around us. I would definitely read this author again.

Have you ever wished you could jump into a book so you could adopt a fictional dog because they’re the absolute best dog ever? Well that just happened to me.

Sure Bean is particular, but he’s the world’s goodest boy and the true star of the story.

Fans of West’s previous books (like me), will enjoy this one a lot. Her books are always a good escape.

Katie West has become a ya author that I am excited to read. This book follows the story of Wren and Asher. They meet following a catfishing and their relationship grows from there. The book is also about family and friendships. Their upbringings couldn’t be more different. I liked the main characters along with all of the side characters including Kamala and Dale. I enjoyed this book and finished it in a day.

I don't read much YA anymore, but I always keep an eye out for new Kasie West books. I haven't loved her last couple books as much as I did her older books, but Borrow My Heart did not disappoint.

I liked the characters and enjoyed the sarcasm and banter. The friendships between Wren and Kamala and between Asher and Dale were also fun to read. Beans, the dog, was also a fun addition. And, of course, the romance was super cute. While I did like the initial meet cute, where Wren pretends to be the girl from the internet Asher has been talking to, with the intent to keep him from being made fun of by his friend, I got frustrated how she continued to lie about it, instead of coming clean to Asher. One of my biggest pet peeves in books is when one simple conversation could solve everything. However, that part of the plot ended up resolving a little differently than I thought it would and I liked that.

There was also some angst with an absent parent, abandonment issues, and - of course - the big relationship misunderstanding. Usually when I'm reading a light and fluffy read like this, I just want everything to be cute and happy, but I found myself enjoying the more angsty moments and wishing they lasted a little longer than they did.

Overall, Borrow My Heart was pretty cute and exactly the type of experience I want when I pick up a Kasie West book. Fans of her will definitely enjoy this one!

I will never give up on Kasie West! I enjoyed a lot of Borrow My Heart but it just lacked so much. The whole story could have been fleshed out throughout to add more substance.