I liked reading this and actually read it within two days! It took me a while to get used to the third person dual pov as I usually prefer books in first person, but when I got used to it, it didn't bother me.

The characters of Gracie and Dean and felt they were both written with enough depth that I could feel that attachment you would want in a book. I usually jump right in when there is 'fake dating' involved and when I realised it was the "brothers best friend trope" I was even more committed.

However, I did feel the storyline jumped around a little, and because of the third person pov, I found myself having to backtrack to chapters before so this put me off from reading it in one sitting. But apart from that, it was such a fun read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

This was a cute YA story, had I been younger I would have appreciated it a lot more because it did read young, it did a good job and having the characters feel young, feel like actual teens. So being around that age would definitely make the read more relatable.
I really like fake dating so I appreciate the fact that this book had that trope
Overall a nice cute read with great representation and diversity (Jewish and LGBTQIA+)

Fake Dating is always a good choice when in a reading slump and i was not wrong here
Loved this so much

This was a very fun and light YA romance read. I liked the premise and the diversity in the characters, especially the Jewish and LGBTQ+ representation.

With that said, I think this book was too young for me personally. It felt very surface level to me. The book was very conversation heavy, the world building didn't quite hit the mark, and the characters fell flat at times. The idea behind this book is great, but for me it just felt like it didn't take off fully. I know this is a YA book, and if I read this 10 years ago I would probably give this a much higher rating. However, there are YA books out there that have much more depth and development to the writing and the book, hopefully the next book in this series will have more of that.

Thank you Netgalley and SnowRidge Press for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

The concept of this was fine but the writing wasn't very good unfortunately. Its definitely not terrible but it felt a bit too forced and there was a lot of showing instead of telling. The pov changes were super confusing too.

This was what I expected. A fake dating book based on a bet between the MC. Everything was just average to me. The plot, the characters, the supporting characters all just average. It's a good book if this is what you are looking for with no real variety or surprises.

Congrats to Allie Sarah on her debut novel. When I was 19 I could never have written a novel.

I thought the plot was fun and everything you’d expect from a cute high school romance, and def an easy, light read. I appreciated the diversity in the characters and the Jewish and LGBTQ representation.

That said, I think it was just a little too young for me.

I enjoy a good YA book every now and then but you could tell the author still has more learning to develop her writing style but she def has a bright future in the writing world and look forward to seeing how her writing progresses.

Character development really fell flat for me and the story was too predictable and kind of boring at times, but again that’s subjective. If I read this 8-10 years ago I would have loved it. This just wasn’t for me!

3.5/5 rounded to 4/5 (due to Goodreads lack of .5) The Gossip Games

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A new YA romance from debut author Allie Sarah, there's a lot to like about this book.
Full of the 'brothers best friend' and 'fake dating' tropes, this book is an enjoyable, relatively short read. Set in the modern day, I particularly enjoyed the references to popular books, such as 'The Cruel Prince,' as well as a reference to a 'Hamilton' (the musical) song.
Characters were established well and I was not confused as to which character was who, despite the fact that many were described to be similar in appearance. The story progresses and ends well, although there are quite a lot of convenient sudden plot changes which allows romance to happen, which could have been more justified.
Another problem with this book for me was the writing style. Although this is more expected in romance, I did find that the writing style of the book was rather akin to fanfiction, with a lot of 'She blushed' and 'He smirked,' which personally I struggle to read once those words are used one (or in this case, 10) too many times. I did also find that some of the supposedly 17 year old characters, specifically the character of Zara, behaved a lot younger than she was which I thought was strange.
Despite this, an enjoyable read!

This was a cute, quick read. The overall pacing was okay and the character development was age appropriate. The whole fake-dating scenario was fun but I feel like it could have gone deeper, plus totally predictable. Which is fine, we all know how these type of tropes end, but it was just in your face predictable.

I was confused by the characters ages as it wasn't set up well with setting. Other than they went to a private school, which could easily have been a college, it was unclear until 70% when someone finally mentioned they were only 17. By the immaturity of the characters and writing style, I definitely felt it was very much a young young YA novel.

Overall though, it was a cute read. A good cleanser for those needing a break from heavy fantasy.

DNF this story at 22%
I'm really sorry. I like the fake dating trope but I just found out that I don't like fake dating in a YA book.
I'm still going to save this book though because maybe, one day, I'll finish it.

I seriously loved this book. The banter between Gracie and Dean was so much fun to read, I loved the friends to lovers trope in this one. I fell in love with Allie Sarah's writing, and it just made me want to keep reading, I loved the other characters, too, Jesse, Theo, and Zara. I honestly couldn't put this down.

This was a very cute well written debut by Allie Sarah.
It's a fake dating, enemies to lovers and best friends brother romance about Gracie and Dean who are rumored to be dating. The book covers many important subjects young adults deal with. I did not like descriptions like 'the redhead', 'the blonde' and such. The timeline was a bit confusing at times.

I am a sucker for a fake-dating plot, and The Gossip Games was no exception! Before even reading the book, I was in love with the premise and I was not disappointed. Moments between Dean and Gracie had me laughing and smiling all throughout the novel. I felt myself really rooting for them from the start.

I enjoyed that the author chose to write this book in 3rd person rather than a 1st person point of view that you often come to except in this genre. I think it actually helped benefit the story in that we, as readers, could see the points of views of both Gracie and Dean. The story did not suffer at all from this written perspective, which was a worry of mine at the beginning of the book, but really, I think we still get to see the characters become rounded.

Another thing I loved was that the focus wasn’t ALL on the romance (though, of course that is the main goal of the book). But by this, I mean I loved reading about Zara and Dean’s family, the struggle with Raina and Nicole once she returned, and other subplots within the story. It made the novel more complex to read and really aided to the reader experience as a whole.

Some of the plot points I did find predictable, but with reading so much in this genre, I think it is only natural. For example, [spoiler alert], Blake being the thief of the school. Though, this didn’t make me like the book any less; in fact, I think it was a good moment in the story. Seeing how differently Gracie viewed him at the start as opposed to how Zara and Dean felt real, showing how different people can view others in real life, and it was nice to see this in the narrative.

Overall, if you’re looking for a fast-paced fake-dating novel to read, then The Gossip Games might be perfect for you! I truly enjoyed reading every page.

This was an ARC I read through NetGalley! It was a quick read that was easy to follow. I would’ve liked to see more plot development. I feel like it kind of jumped around a lot and the “fake dating” wasn’t fully planned throughout the entire book.

Gracie was the good girl who has a pretty decent home life and has to work hard to keep her scholarship and stay in school. Dean was the rich boy who has a troubled home life but has so a heart of gold. It took a LONG time for them to admit they had feelings and start actually dating, the slowest of all slow burns. Overall still a good book and ends with an HEA!

*A special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced copy of this book.*

I really enjoyed this book. It was a cute, quick read that was perfect for a lazy day. It's a totally different spin on the fake dating trope, but it was still just as fun and lighthearted as you'd expect from a rom com.

The lead characters were great, but I feel like there could have been more development for them.

I thought the characters were great—they were fleshed out enough to feel real and relatable, but not so much that I felt like I was getting too far into their lives. They were fun and quirky without being over-the-top or unbelievable. The plot was well-paced and interesting without being super complex or confusing.

I would like to know more of this world definitely!

ok so fake dating is one of my favorite tropes and this book did it so well!! Gracie and Dean were such good characters and I loved their relationship! I loved the friend group aspect of this book as well! I can’t wait to read all of her other books!! I believe I heard there’s a second book coming and I can’t wait!! Thank you netgalley!!

1,5⭐️

There were so many things that went wrong in this book. The premise was shaping up well, but it failed to take off. The plot was, unfortunately, all over the place, I had an impression that the book included every trope possible. There was a museum trip, some shopping, a stay in the cottage, and a wedding. I think a lot of these things could‘ve been replaced with something more essential to the story - too much was happening☹️ I don't think the plot was Dean and Gracie-centered, it felt like the story wasn't theirs. It would be much better as a friend group-centered book with a romance subplot, not an actual romance.

Ugh, and the nepotism, or whatever that was, basically, the school was run by MMC’s uncles, and it was so precious that even some of the Ashcrofts spent their Christmas there. The Ashcroft children were practically royalty there. I get that they were rich, but this was just weird.

I found this book extremely immature, even though I’m almost the same age as the main characters. The characters were super childish, and if not for the sex talk at the begging, I would recommend this book to middle schoolers.

I know that the author is really young, so there’s a lot of time to learn and get better. The cover and synopsis really caught my eye, so I’m genuinely disappointed that the book wasn't for me.

Thank you NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Gossip Games is a Young Adult romance which combines both the fake dating trope and the best friend’s sibling trope. Dean is Gracie’s best friend’s brother and when a rumour about them dating starts up around their boarding school, they dare each other to go along with it to see who would give in and reveal the truth first. This really takes a different spin on the usual fake dating stories and sets The Gossip Games apart from other YA novels featuring that trope.

Allie Sarah has done a fantastic job of creating some characters which are far more complex than we often see in YA fiction, which is no mean feat in a debut work. There were other characters which were under-developed but I think this was down to the battle between a lack of page space and the very large number of characters introduced throughout the story, many of whom weren’t really relevant to the overall narrative but were included to world-build ahead of the rest of the series.

We have strong bisexual and gay representation in the supporting characters and the book explores teenage experiences of coming out in a brilliant way. There is a storyline surrounding a character being outed by a member of their family, which is worth noting if that content is likely to be triggering for you as a reader. There is also some good mental health representation through Gracie experiencing panic attacks and my heart melted for the incredible way Dean supported her through them.

I liked Trinity High as the setting for the book and I also thought the Ashcroft family dynamic was a really interesting one and it added a unique element to the story. I would have loved further exploration of the inner-family workings and relationships as all interactions between the Ashcroft adults and teenagers seems rushed but hopefully this is something that can be further explored in later books in the series.
The romance between Gracie and Dean was very sweet and a good exploration of first love. Outside of the fake dating plot, their love story is a good example of a slow burn romance and I was really rooting for them. It did feel at times like their romance would have been more fitting in 14/15 year old characters rather than 17/18 year olds as it was quite juvenile at times.

The Gossip Games is a short novel and in trying to keep it short and sweet I think we do miss out on getting an in-depth exploration of some aspects of the story. The fake dating plot is introduced to the story really quickly and it probably would have worked better to have at least a few chapters worth of character development and build up first. Time could also jump forwards suddenly in the middle of the chapter – moving the story on by days or weeks at a time – and this on top of the frequent paragraph breaks mid-conversation to change character perspective really effected the overall flow of the story and made it hard to follow at times. The writing style and plot points could also be quite juveniles at times and some aspects of the plots were very predictable. I also did find some interactions between Dean and Gracie frustrating and repetitive at times, although some of this could be put up to teenagers experiencing love for the first time and not knowing what it all means.

Overall, The Gossip Games is a good debut YA romance which I know teen readers will love. More mature fans of the YA genre may struggle with some aspects of the storytelling as I did, but if you’re just after a fake dating story which is an easy read and features a cutesy romance than this is the book for you.

I have posted an extended review on my blog www.yourschloe.co.uk and the post is linked.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thanks so much to Snowridge Press and Netgalley for an ARC of this debut novel! The Gossip Games by Allie Sarah was a brother’s best friend to lovers novel set in a fancy-pants boarding school. Gracie Adams, our lead, falls asleep in the common room of her dorm hall one night and is carried to bed by none other than Dean Ashcroft, an extremely popular classmate who just happens to be her best friend Zara’s twin brother. Sparks fly as they attempt to outwit each other with pranks and games and completely non-consensual kisses. I don’t know if the vibe of this book was off, but I will admit I struggled getting through it — even as early on as chapter 4. Add in the fact that not a single character was interesting, the pacing was entirely too slow, and the weird lack of consent (the surprise kiss trope was always weird and overdone, especially in this book) I’d rate this book a 2.5 out of 5. I am honestly surprised that Allie Sarah’s next novel is a companion, following none other than Jesse — Dean’s mischievous cousin. I would have loved to see a sequel about Theo coming into his sexual orientation but I think I’d be better off counting my chickens before they hatch.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Gossip Games is a YA book that follows the story of Gracie Adams and the Ashcroft cousins. Gracie is best friends with Zara Ashcroft who has a twin brother named Dean. The book also stars Jesse and Theo who are Zara and Dean’s cousins. The Ashcrofts love playing pranks on each other and Gracie winds up being the center of one of those games when it’s assumed that her and Dean are dating and Dean encourages the rumors spreading around.

I enjoyed reading this book. I think the story idea was solid and I’m a sucker for the fake dating trope and best friend’s brother trope which were both included in this story. I thought Dean and Gracie had good chemistry. I also liked the anxiety representation in the book, although I wish it had been touched on a little more.

The reason I only gave this book 3 stars was because of the writing. The book jumped around a lot which made it very confusing. There were multiple times when I had to go back and reread because I couldn’t figure out how the characters got to the place they currently were. There was also very little description of the characters and places so it was really hard to imagine the story in my head while I was reading. The characters were all introduced quickly and sometimes very randomly with little explanation of who they were.

Overall, I liked the plot of the story, but I think the writing could have been a little more developed.