I wanted to love this but there were so many pain points for me.
Grant was his own worst enemy, which I understand was part of the plot. But the immaturity was cringeworthy.
Most of the time, I forgot that the characters were 18. But then they would be petty and annoying and I would be reminded.
The fact that all of the drama stemmed from when they were 13 year old children drove me nuts.
The miscommunication, drama, and immaturity had me rolling my eyes constantly.

Thank you to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers for an advance copy of this book in exchange for a honest review. I did enjoy this book, but felt slow to me in spots. I would still recommend this book.

I never want to miss an Adam Sass story, because I know it’ll bring me joy, laughter and just enough heartbreak to make me feel alive again.

‘Cursed Boys and Broken Hearts’ delivered and might end up being my favorite queer romance of the year. A second chance romance, magical rose garden, and endless banter fill the pages of this story making your heart melt endlessly. Can our main characters work together to break the curses placed on their love lives? Or did the rose garden save them from settling for a love that wasn’t as real as their first?

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group| Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for an E-ARC copy of this book.

I really enjoyed this one. It definitely gives a lot of context to a young person trying to discover themself. I enjoyed the aspect of a curse, and how the main character has to overcome his fears about love to truly understand that he himself was the cause of the curse with his own actions. I love the idea of a childhood friends to lovers situation also, so this was very cute in that way. I definitely enjoyed this one!

Cursed Boys and Broken Hearts by Adam Sass is a witty and heartfelt queer YA romance that flips the script on enemies-to-lovers tropes. When former best friends Emma and Caleb discover they’re both vying for the affections of new girl Juliet, they turn their rivalry into a competition: whoever Juliet kisses first wins her heart. But as they spend more time together, old wounds resurface, and unexpected feelings emerge.

Woody masterfully balances humor with emotional depth, tackling themes like family dynamics, identity, and personal growth. The alternating perspectives between Emma and Caleb offer readers a nuanced understanding of both characters, making their evolving relationship all the more compelling.

With sharp dialogue, relatable characters, and a plot that keeps you hooked, Exes & Foes is a must-read for fans of queer romance and coming-of-age stories.

Sweet beauty and the beast remake featuring a character whose story Sass fans deserved to hear! Silly and lovely. Sass surrounds readers with his environment, in this case a struggling vineyard, and he’s them cheering for things to work out! Perfect for odor fans of Mason Deaver or anyone who loves a flawed MC! Highly recommend!

I love the cover!

Love love this story about Ben and Grant well written with great character build!

Loved every minute of this book and will read more from the author

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review

Content warning: depression, mental health struggles, trauma over coming out to family

Ok so based on the synopsis and the cover art, I was expecting this to have some magical realism elements to it, so it was a bit of a bummer that it didn't. However, Sass gives readers such a powerful depiction of mental health struggles in a young adult. Grant is infuriating at times, but I can see his story really resonating with readers.

Given that Grant and Ben are out of high school, I do feel like this is really a New Adult book rather than YA - especially for how much sexual content happens on the page. This isn't a spicy romance, but it's much more than just fade to black, so this isn't a title I would put in the hands of younger teen readers.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, Viking Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review.

Super cute MM contemporary romance. Love the relationship between Grant and Ben. This is a very well written book with beautiful characters. An enjoyable time.

I had such a hard time connecting to this story. It felt so over the top and dramatic, and not just in the typical "this is a young adult and teens make bad choices" kind of way. I found Grant's obsession with the rose bush to be ridiculous (as were most of his reactions) and I really feel like the second chance romance would have worked much better if the characters were much older. The fact that their first almost romance and consequent falling out happened when both MCs are 13 and they are only 18 now made it incredibly difficult to fall into the story and hindered my believability in their big emotions.

Just eh wasnt for me.

The book was well written dont get me wrong, the characters were thought out, the plot was there! And just the writing style alone was *chefs kiss*.

Butttt i didnt like grant- he annoyed me. I know hes young but he is also in his first year of college!

This book was cute and fun! The over-emphasis on him being a beast and how much he was cursed got old fast. Mentioning it once or twice every few chapters would have been enough; I didn't need it mentioned multiple times in one page over and over. Other than that, I really enjoyed the story. I liked the characters and felt invested in their growth and relationships. I will admit that it took FOREVER for it to click how Grant tied into The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers, but once I realized the connection I appreciated the subtle continuation of the story.

I can see and appreciate what the story was trying to get at, but unfortunately, I just couldn't get into it. I'm not exactly sure what it was, whether it was the characters, the way the story was told, or an unfortunate mixture of both. But this one just wasn't for me.

I finished this one earlier today and I’ve been trying to decide how to rate it and I’m still going back and forth between 4 and 4.5 stars 🙈 I really really loved the concept of this story and it ended very well but the journey there was so frustrating that there were points that I had to pause and do something else for a little bit. I’m not someone that minds the miscommunication trope as much as most people seem to but this was like miscommunication on top of miscommunication on top of miscommunication and it got pretty annoying. It’s one of those books that made me want to yell at the characters to just talk to each other and be honest about how you’re feeling while knowing that if I was in a situation like this, I probably wouldn’t follow my own advice 😂 so on one hand, I thought it was a very realistic way for them to handle things but I was also just annoyed lol besides that, I really loved Grant’s family, especially his aunt & uncle and I think it was a great representation of how difficult and isolating it is to grow up queer! So I’m going to go with 4 stars, just because of my frustration with Grant but I do think it’s a really great book besides that!

While not specifically a series, I would definitely recommend reading The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers before this book, as this is the continuation of Grant’s story.

I was not a fan of Grant’s when I first met him, but I don’t want to get too much into the previous book for this review. Grant’s behavior in this book still bothered me at times, I found him kind of selfish and a bit obnoxious. But I also gained a lot more insight into his character and why he acted the way he did. So while he is still not my favorite hero, I was rooting for him in the end.

On the other hand, I did like Ben throughout. Even though he hurt Grant badly in the past, he felt incredibly genuine and it was obvious that he had a good heart. I mean Ben didn’t have to work for Grant’s family, and Ben also didn’t need to come back to the US to help his dad after his cancer diagnosis.

The side characters, mostly Grant’s family, were funny and supportive. And I enjoyed the cameos from some of the characters from the previous book.

I loved the setting of the winery and the story behind the wishing rose.

All in all, this was another fun read and I look forward to the next story from this author.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book through Net Galley on behalf of the publisher for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This romance was so good. I was rooting for everyone the whole time! I loved the themes of self discovery, finding your own self worth, and getting to know your true self. I loved the family and seeing them all come back together. It was a beautiful story

I got to be honest Adam Sass is one of those authors that for me I enjoy his books but none of them end up being favorites if that makes sense. This one fits right in with that for me. I think it's a great second chance queer romance book that really highlights depression respectfully and honestly but I didn't love it. I also didn't even realize it was a sequel technically to the 99 boyfriends until the actual author's note at the end. Oops. And I've read that book.

For me I just wanted more. The characters aren't bad and the setting is fun and the idea is there but none of it really grabbed my attention wholeheartedly.

Took me a while to read this amazing books because life got busy but i’m glad I took some time to read it, i loved it and loved the characters as well.

A boy cursed to never have love, and a summer spent to save his family's vineyard from financial ruin with the help of his childhood best friend turned crush turned enemy.. you can see the tropes now right?

This was a wonderful slow-burn read, with lots of vulnerable and raw scenes, very real depictions of what it's like to deal with anxiety and depression and self-loathing, and a very wholesome ending. I really liked how the MC's journey was written, and the second-chance friendship + romance was so >>>>

-- ty to the author the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

This was a sweet book. The main characters used to be best friends until an incident happened when they were 12. The main character is determined to find himself and create a new portfolio at his aunts property.
3.5 stars