Dear Ann Liang,

I’d appreciate it if you would stop using your time-traveling powers to observe me as a high schooler. Blatantly copying my personality into a book is kind of creepy.

Sadie is the perfect student, daughter, and school captain. She goes out of her way to make sure no one can hate her. Yet, beneath that perfect facade is someone breaking under the weight of self-imposed expectations. Her only stress reliever is hate drafts, most of them directed toward Julius Gong, her academic rival. That is until all her emails are accidentally sent to the whole school. When all her schoolmates shun her, Sadie is desperate to regain favor. Julius is the only one who seems to appreciate the real her, even as he continues to be a thorn in her side.

Ann Liang doesn’t know how to write a bad female main character. Sadie was too relatable; it was like reading about sixteen-year-old me. She craved being loved and valued by everyone, even people she hated. In her head, love and usefulness correlate. When things went wrong, she immediately took the blame and apologized to keep the peace. This innate desire to please formed when her dad left, and she thought she was the cause. Everything she did was for everyone else, her own needs and wants put aside. Her stress rubbed off on me when her drafts were accidentally sent. It also convinced me to buy a physical diary and delete all my hate drafts from my email. Despite the chaotic repercussions of her misstep, she grew from the incident and learned to stand up for herself.

While Julius wasn’t my favorite Liang love interest (Henry Li for life), his and Sadie’s interactions were hilarious. I wasn’t completely sold on how they became enemies, but the level to which they hate each other was quite funny. They are both very snarky and downright hateful towards each other. No insta-love for these two. I enjoyed watching them go from hate to respect, then something more.

So why only three stars?

While I love what Ann Liang has created, it’s repetitive. I Hope This Doesn’t Find You was a wash, rinse, and repeat of her other novels. Yes, you could chalk this up to Liang finding her niche, but there are different things you can add so your books don’t read the same. All of her books are academic rivals to lovers, perfectionist protagonists, and boys who fall first. Even the dialogue was giving me a weird sense of de ja vu. At this point in her career, I would like to see her branch out, whether through a new setting, genre, or flavor of characters, I don’t care. She is a great writer and has the potential to write books for different audiences. I knew going in the I Hope This Doesn’t Find You had a similar synopsis, but I was still hoping for something fresh.

If you are a die-hard fan of academic enemies to lovers, and like Liang’s previous works, don’t worry, you’ll like this one too. I just felt dissatisfied at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic Press for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Ann Liang never misses, but she continues to deliver in this newest novel. The story of Sadie will resonate with teens and adults who have ever struggled with feeling like they are enough, and those who poured themselves into being the best. Rivals-to-lovers has never been so potent. Sadie and Julius pop off the page and bring you right back to your high school days. Recommended for teens 14 and up, as well as anyone looking for a romance that is a real roller coaster of emotions. Give to fans of dramas like True Beauty.

The enemies/academic rivals banter you've been looking for!

Sadie and Julius are the co-captians of their school and - naturally - cutthroat, unforgiving, vicious academic rivals.

Sadie takes her frustration out on Julius by writing him angry emails about how she'd like to throttle him and how annoying it is that his hair looks so soft. She keeps these emails saved in the draft folder of her email. Until all the emails she wrote Julius, along with a few to some teachers and other classmates, get sent to the entire student body.

If you really love the enemies to lovers trope, you will not be disappointed. The quick, witty banter that Liang is so good at writing is at it's best in this novel. These two seem to really genuinely hate each other, and yet... that chemistry is UNDENIABLE.

Along the way we also get a heart warming look into family, friendship, academic pressure and all the pressures we put on ourselves. An addicting, swoon worthy, read that I finished in an afternoon because I couldn't put it down.

(5 stars)
Thank you to NetGalley for providing this digital review copy!

Let me first preface with something I’m sure many of us can agree with: Ann Liang never misses. Ever.

Something about her writing style is so captivating I could literally drown in it. I finished this book in one day (as was the case with This Time It’s Real and If You Could See the Sun) and I absolutely love it. I related to Sadie’s character so much- the complexity of her flaws, her drive and passion, her fascinating need for external validation- that oftentimes I found myself predicting her own words or actions. What I love about Liang’s writing is the fact that she has this innate ability to create characters that feel truly human- in every sense of the word- that represent so many people in her diverse reader demographic.

Sadie’s character development is logical, and it’s the type of development I found myself paying overt attention to. There’s a large emphasis on family, and I specifically enjoyed how, although usually cliched, the theme of adhering to conventionality is something that feels very fresh in this book.

Julius is such a remarkable character, if not one of my favorite MMC from a YA novel I’ve read this year. He’s competitive, but obviously, we see him grow to care deeply for Sadie (if he hasn’t already from the start lol). His scenes with Sadie don’t feel flat or forced, and their interactions feel natural and make me giggle and kick my feet (sorry not sorry).

My only real complaint with this book is that it is definitely! not! long! enough! While most (if not all) parts felt realistically paced, I couldn’t help but feel that some other parts did feel slightly rushed (but not enough to change my views overall). 100 more pages definitely would not have hurt if it meant that we got to see more SadieJulius scenes.

In the best way possible, my favorite part of Ann’s books are the closing lines- they always leave you with something to spend the rest of your day pondering over, and I would totally attend a workshop from Ann on concluding your writing properly.

I will most definitely be picking IHTDFY up when it comes out in February. This is some gold right here, especially for all of my rivals to lovers enthusiasts out there.
2024 is about to be ANN’s year!! I CANNOT wait to see where she goes with her other books. All the best to her and her team!

Thank you Netgalley & Scholastic for this ARC!

I absolutely loved If You Could See the Sun and I was so excited to read this one… and I wasn’t disappointed. I absolutely love the academic rivals-to-lovers trope so I might be a bit biased, but it was SO well-written that I think anyone would enjoy it. I loved Sadie’s character and the depth behind Julius as well.

The way the two developed in their relationship as well as outside each other was so beautiful, I loved seeing them come to terms with their feelings for each other. I read this book in one sitting cause I just loved the cutesy romantic rival relationship.

I was also an academic-validation girlie in high school, so I felt for Sadie so much. I loved this book, it was a cute, simple romantic read and I really enjoyed it.

Liang has written a captivating story of two high- achieving rivals whose competitiveness builds to romance. Sadie's perfectionism is deep-seated, stemming from her father's abandonment, and Julius has his own reasons for striving as much as he does. While I would have liked to see more development on Julius's end, Liang did an excellent job of writing I t Sadie's character.

sadie and julius are academic rivals at their school, where both of them fight for the top spot in literally everything. sadie tries hard to be the perfect student, friend and daughter, but in order to do this, she has to push down her own needs and feelings. the only real way she gets them out is by writing emails to the people who piss her off and never sending them. but when the emails get out, suddenly everything she's worked so hard for is gone. her classmates hate her, the principal doesn't like her anymore, and julius - who received more emails than anyone else - is suddenly in her life more than he ever was as they're forced to work together.

i really enjoyed sadie's growth in this novel as she works on not being such a people pleaser. although she wasn't the most likeable character, she was very real and i think her progress was interesting to read about. her relationship with julius was a fun enemies to lovers, although by the end i didn't feel like there was enough to warrant how serious their feelings were. all the tension was very well executed and i was loving the back and forth between "i HATE you" and "wait i don't hate you at all." there was a bit much going on at times, especially with sadie's family, but it did all build up nicely. the embarrassing high school cringe is very present, too.

You know when you read a book that’s just an absolute JOY to read? A book that you spend countless hours reading and giggling over? I Hope This Doesn’t Find You was such a fresh read.

So many books nowadays give students that range from 16 to 19 such a god complex. Like they’re perfect. Flawless. Unbeatable. Frankly, that’s a bit of a bore.
Sadie and Julius were such kids, and, as a (almost) seventeen year old, it made me so happy seeing book characters acting the way I would if I was in their place. Julius isn’t perfect. Sadie isn’t perfect. They’re both so desperate to hold on to their rivalry, because it’s the only constant thing in their life.

Even as I was reading I was starting to get a little embarrassed for myself because SADIE IS ME!

Yes I did give it a five star. Is it on level with some other five star books? No, probably not. But it made me FEEL things, and I’m a pretty simple girl.

Emotions? BAM. Five stars.

Ann Laing crafted a perfect YA romance novel in my eyes.
(Thank you for an early copy!!)

4.5 stars.

Ann Liang continues to serve.

Sadie Wen has dedicated her entire life to being the best: the best student, the best athlete, the best classmate, and of course, the best school captain. Her trick for maintaining her sunshine-y, accommodating exterior? Vent email drafts. She'd never send them, of course... until somehow all of them leak. Suddenly everyone knows exactly what Sadie thinks of them - and she's not exactly kind in her drafts. The worst of them are addressed to Julius Gong, Sadie's only academic competition. But somehow, the emails don't scare him away. Instead, they start to spend more time together, and Sadie starts to question everything she knew about him.

Oh my god y'all. This is academic rivals to lovers to the MAX. When I say Sadie hates Julius, I mean Sadie hates him to the point of tears. At certain points I was almost in pain from how deep her hatred was. Their development towards a romantic relationship was equal parts tension from their hatred and appreciation for each other as people, and I loved it so much. There are scenes and lines that actually made me gasp from the tension.

Though this book is primarily a romance, the emotional throughlines of family and duty were amazingly well-done. Sadie's internal pressure to provide for her family was painful and cathartic to read about, and Julius's constant comparison to his brother was also heart-breaking.

My only critique for this book is the length. I feel that some development and scenes could've benefited from a little more time to breathe, since this book moves at a breakneck pace to finish within 320 pages. Ann Liang's other books are of a similar length, but somehow this one felt the slightest bit rushed. Although, maybe I just want to read more of Sadie and Julius...

Thank you so much to Scholastic Press for an ARC of this book!! All opinions are my own.

Unforgettable, snarky, and romantic, I Hope This Doesn't Find You is Never Have I Ever meets To All the Boys I've Loved Before if Lara Jean wrote hate emails instead of love letters.Sadie Wen is perfect on paper: school captain, valedictorian, and a "pleasure to have in class."

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of his YA fiction.. this was one were it has an enemies to loves trope but was done in cute way. Slow to start but got better.

This book is a lot of fun, great for people who liked To All the Boys and Never Have I Ever. It's based around Sadie Wen who is an anxious, people-pleasing over achiever who writes but never sends email drafts when she is frustrated with someone. The target of most of her emails is Julian, who is her main competition.

Sadie and Julian are fun - constantly challenging each other while and trying to one-up each other. The stress they feel from their family and their desire to be the best puts them at odds with each other and yet is the thing that brings them closer.

I love any book with letters written in them, starting from my love of Ella Enchanted and then Divine Rivals most recently. This book is a lighthearted read, very easy to start and finish and this has Ann Liang up my list of authors I'd recommend to high school students.

I didn't think that Ann Liang could top This Time It's Real, but she did with this book. God, it was hilarious.

Though I was extremely excited to read this book, before going into it, I was worried that the premise would be too unbelievable, and result in a wishy washy main character, but I was so wrong, and was genuinely so surprised by how much I loved it.

I Hope This Doesn't Find You, is a true academic rivals to lovers, with the main characters constantly trying to one up each other. I found that the situations that they ended up in throughout the book was so ridiculous yet somehow believable. And though sometimes I really wanted to punch the main character in the face for being such a people pleaser, it was so satisfying to watch her character arc.

Finally, I have one more very important thing to address. JULIUS GONG. He was perfect, and I'm officially obsessed.

Love the enemies to lovers trope - I know my students will absolutely love this one! Books such as TATBILB, Summer I Turned Pretty, and Sarah Dessen fly off the shelves of my online classroom and I plan on adding this one to my collection to share with them as well. A cute, quick, feel-good read that any YA reader will love!

There aren’t many books that I can binge in a single day, but Ann Liang’s books will always fall under that category. Her writing style is so easy to read and doesn’t drag on where you feel like you need to skim the book.

The only thing I wish I had more of was character development. I wish that there was more character building and conflict in the book. Everything seemed to resolve quickly without much build up, and I didn’t feel necessarily attached to any of the characters.

Overall, I really did enjoy and love the book (and already have it preordered from B&N)! The book cover is beautiful and is going to look great on my shelf!

new favorite book alert 🚨!! i've NEVER EVER thought that i would love a romance book this much but ann liang said "challenged accepted 🫡!!"

the plot moves at a perfect pace; it's a page-turner, but the little sweet moments are also shown. i also just love ann liang's writing style. she's not flowery with her words and descriptions, but she's still able to make the world of sadie and julius come to life.

speaking of sadie and julius, WOW. their rivalry, their banter, their yearning for each other—them. their dialogue was never cringey or excessive, it felt so real. in between their "i hate you"'s and "i hate you more"'s, they both love each other so so much. their confessions are so heartfelt and true. i just want to cry now that i'm done reading this book for the first time.

words cannot describe how much i love this book. it's the perfect romance.

First of all, thank you so much to NetGalley and Scholastic for this ARC! I discovered Ann Liang earlier this year, and now three books in, she will always be an instant-read author for me. Though I've gravitated more towards contemporary and adult romance in recent years, I would have died for Liang's books when I was a teenager, and still find her characters relatable and love interests swoony, even as an adult.
I Hope This Doesn't Find You is another captivating Ann Liang book that I read in one sitting. It follows compulsive people-pleaser Sadie and her academic rival Julius. Outwardly, Sadie is nothing but the polite, perfect student, but she is able to maintain this facade only by writing private emails that she never sends to air out her grievances with the world. The only problem is that these emails get accidentally released and she ends up being forced to spend a whole lot of time with the focus of most of her ire-based emails, her hot rival Julius, in order to even start to try to fix things.
If you like Jenny Han's books, or any of Liang's other works, this will be an instant 5 star for you!

I Hope This Doesn't Find You proved yet once again that Ann Liang is the queen of YA academic rivals to lovers! I enjoyed seeing Julius and Sadie go toe to toe at every single aspect of their academic career, including homework, exams, group projects, and extracurriculars. Their banter was well done and I really felt like the two hated each other for a good portion of their time together in school. I did really love seeing Julius slowly start showing hints of his feelings for Sadie. I wish we got to see more of their time together once they confessed their feelings for each other because they were so cute! I can't wait to read what Ann Liang writes next!

ann liang never disappoints me !! 4.75/5

— characters:
sadie wen: she's the pathological people pleaser (like me) and an academic achiever. i've read ann's first two books (if you could see the sun & this time it's real) and absolutely loved it, mainly because i could relate to the fmc very well. she's so precious </3

julius gong: he is very "i'm your rival, but i'd win a medal for you". i liked that his story was also mentioned in book! it gets the readers to understand why he wants to be the top.

— plot:
the academic rivals to lovers is at its peak. the hating?! this is the real deal 😭 it wasn't the "oh i hate you, you're so annoying." but it's the "i hate you to my core and i hope you die"

not going to lie... i'm not sure what i was expecting but something felt missing, that's why it's not a 5/5! towards the end, i was expecting more of them but i was still satisfied with it !

— overall:
i would definitely recommend this to everyone !! everytime i read ann liang's books, i feel seen, represented. and i love her characters so much.

Ann Liang is the QUEEN of writing books with romcom cdrama vibes!!!

This is a bold statement for me to make but this is literally hands down the best rivals to lovers book I’ve ever read so far in my life. This book has definitely become a new favourite and that now means I would read ANYTHING she writes.

Her writing absolutely blows my mind with how addictive it is and how it flows so smoothly that I managed to speed through the book without realising I’d already read so much of it because I COULDNT STOP MYSELF FROM READING.

I loved every direction the story went and the dialogue made me squeal and go delusional because of the tension that radiated between Sadie and Julius. The slow burn progressed so perfectly I could feel the tension through my phone screen. I loved how the ‘rivals to lovers’ trope was a huge part of the book and not like just 30% of the book and the payoff was so worth it in the end.

I kept envisioning Julius Gong as Zang Lurang from When I Fly Towards You and honestly that made my reading experience even more better because they feel so alike and it just made sense lmao.

So many of Sadie’s personality traits low-key hit home to me and it was so easy for me to empathise with her character (almost had me tearing up in some scenes).

Honestly, after reading the last page, Ann Liang had left me wanting more of Julius and Sadie because I love them so much!!! I’m sooooo excited for this book to release and I’m gonna go beg everyone to read this book.