This was such a fun story that follows Jamie Taher-Foster as she enters senior year. She has all these expectations of how her senior year is supposed to go and Ben, long time boyfriend, really throws a wrench in it by breaking up with her. Jamie was incredibly relatable as she grows up and figures out that her worth is not defined by her relationship, connecting with her heritage, and getting to understanding her mom and her choices. All things that are huge in a teenager's mind. Jamie and Axel's dynamic is just so fun and exactly what I would call puppy love in the best way. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the gifted eARC. All opinions are my own.

Instagram post will be live week of 26May25.

Thank you so much @penguinrandomca for the digital ARC copy for an honest review.

Those two stole my heart from the very beginning ! I just loved them so much. If you loved Better than the movies, then you definitely need to read this one !

Axel was such a great character and so perfect for Jamie. He helps her find herself and accept how you cannot control everything even if it's hard. He accepts all parts of her. His dancing sounds wonderful. Absolutely loved the scene where he dances in front of her.

And Jamie, I relate so much with her. I just knew I would have loved having her as my friend when I was a teenager. We would have definitely connected over books and our bowel syndrome.

This book is also about family, our heritage, prejudices and how you can get in your own way if you let fear dictate you.

Read this if you love :

✨ YA Romances ;
✨ Fake Dating ;
✨ He falls first ;
✨ Opposite Attracts ;
✨ Anxiety Rep ;
✨ Finding yourself.

My favorite thing about this book was how viscerally I reacted to everything Jamie did, both good and bad 😂 There were so many moments where I wanted to shake her, then hug her. Her choices made me cringe, laugh, and yell “Jamie NOOOO” but every time I wanted to scream at her, I reminded myself that I’ve been a teenager before and likely would have incurred the same reaction in someone reading about my life at that age.

In her desperate attempt to win back her (ex) boyfriend, Jamie slowly started to discover who she was outside of her three-year-long relationship. The author did an amazing job of portraying how big and overwhelming Jamie’s emotions sometimes felt. Her joy, stubbornness, panic, inability to let go, the deep ache of wanting to be understood, and how some of those feelings bubbled over into anxiety.

The influence of her environment and relationships was another part of the story I enjoyed reading, as it made for a very thoughtful lesson in grace. Jamie learned to show grace to her parents, others, and most importantly, herself. Although I was more invested in her personal growth, the romantic plot was also super adorable. Axel was the opposite of Jamie in almost every way, but that also meant they balanced each other out well.

thanks to Netgalley for the e-arc and tundra books for the physical arc 💖

If Jackie Khalilieh writes it, I'm gonna eat it up. She is quickly becoming a favorite YA writer of mine, especially now that I've read You Started It! YSI is the story of Jamie trying to get her boyfriend Ben back after he dumps her. Lucky for her, she accidentally smashes up newcomer Axel's bike, and gets herself involved in a fun fake dating situation that will hopefully grab Ben's attention. But, you know, Axel's kind of a bit more fun than Ben ever was.

I enjoyed Jamie's character, even though she was hard to handle sometimes. She is stubborn, has some family issues that she needs to work through, sometimes full of herself, is going through adolescence hard, just got dumped, and has IBS. She felt like a real person, flawed and frustrating, but real, and learning and trying. She does go through a lot of growth by the end and I was proud of her! Axel is a perfect little tootie and I loved his character.

In conclusion, loved. I really love Khalilieh's writing style and the things she chooses to put in her books. (Mini spoiler) Girl gets trapped in an elevator while trying to tackle her fear of elevators? Relatable, happened to me my freshman year of college.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tundra Books for the e-ARC!

As a reader who originally fell in love with books through YA and fantasy You Started It was very soul feeding to that teenager from once up on a time. The adult I am now was also highly satisfied by this story. Axel is so ridiculously charming and I am here for it, Jamie has a satisfying amount of confidence in herself too which is SO nice to see in YA representation. She describes herself as a solid 8.5 at one point and relishes multiple times that Axel is the same height as her, just subverting all kinds of expectations. Khalilieh strikes a unique balance between the high school experience on the cusp of adulthood, first loves/firey loves, and real issues that transcend ages (discrimination, anxiety, cultural identity, betrayal, addiction, and familial estrangement). All in a way that doesn’t detract from the lighthearted story which at its core centers around a fake dating romance. I am interested to see where she goes from here, since she started with a younger teenager book and then into this a senior/junior in high school. Really enjoyable novel overall.

Some random notes:
Oh honey, if only not eating was enough to stave off an IBS flare-up. I feel you girl.
Making a cocky/confident MMC blush is always a favorite of mine especially when you pair an outgoing love interest with a “strait-laced” one. The best pairings bring out the best in each other and challenge the other to be their best selves, even if out of their comfort zone.
Approximate quote of being difficult to be fake around someone who brings out your truth *chef’s kiss* (ARC so exact quote not available).

Thank you Tundra Book Group for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

If the Hot Tub scene in To All the Boys I've Loved Before was a life altering experience for you... This book is for you!!!

If you loved Better Than the Movies, This book is for you!!!

I loved every second of this book! Axel is now one of my favorite MMC's :) Who wouldn't want a boyfriend who accepted your book buying addiction!!!

Thank you Netgalley, Jackie Khalilieh, and Tundra Book Group for letting me read the ARC for this story!

I originally was interested in this story because of the beautiful cover art by Leni Kauffman. I fell in love with the witty writing style that was easy to fall into. I loved the diverse representation, and how it described two different Arab upbringings. The wedding was wonderful to hear about and I was so interested into looking into it further. I enjoyed the chemistry she had with Axel, truly had me kicking my feet and giggling. This is definetly a YA romcom with slang and undeveloped frontal lobes.

My critiques are just that I personally did not enjoy the amount of back and forth between her and Ben, but maybe that’s just high school and I don’t understand.

Overall I enjoyed this and I am excited to read anything else that she publishes! I can see her being BIG!

\\\\\ 3.5 \\\\\

You Started It is a cute story that still broaches deeper topics with a lot of tact. You get all the beautiful bubbly moments but also emotional ones and it makes it such a fascinating story.

Read if you like:
Fake dating
Bucket list
Arab rep
Anxiety rep
High-school setting

I did read this one in 2 days, which for me is super fast. I did get a bit of mixed feelings though while reading because I couldn't seem to put it down but at the same time I was angry at a lot of things that were happening. So even though the story was keeping me invested, there are some things that got on my nerves if it makes sense.

The first thing was that I can't say I was a big fan of any characters except my sweet golden retriever boy Axel. In my eyes he was absolutely perfect, and I adored him from start to finish. So really, he did have this whole book on his shoulder for me. I would have loved to get his POV, it would have probably helped me a bit because Jamie was a hard one to love sometimes even though I enjoyed some sides of her.

I so loved the Toronto setting! I rarely read books with a setup near where I live (near like 9 hours away but for Canada it's near okay), and I loved knowing about everything that was mentioned. Even if it was the Leafs losing yet another game, I could definitely relate to it all HAHAHA.

I particularly enjoyed the fake dating part. The way it all started was so funny, and I loved the moments between Axel and Jamie. It was great to see how Axel was able to get her out of her little bubble while always being so respectful and open about her anxiety and all. Which brings me to the fact that the anxiety representation was spot on. It was relatable, and I truly liked seeing how Jamie was navigating it and all. Well done.

While Jamie is a teenager and I needed to put myself back to that time a bit to try and understand some of her actions, it was hard for me to get on with how she treated Axel. I get that she was stuck on Ben, it was her first love and safe space and all, but after a while it doesn't excuse how she was treating Axel. I would have wished she acted better A LOT of times. The evolution was too slow for me and I hate seeing characters I like being poorly treated like that so it got frustrating to be honest.

The ending was pretty satisfying though on all sides. I loved the new friendships, the way our main characters talked through things and got to a good place together. It was a nice and hopeful end to this story.

Last thing I'll say is I sometimes had trouble with the timing in this story, like it would say weeks went by multiple times... but suddenly it was only Halloween, and it made no sense to me. I also loved that Jamie was a book lover but because we didn't actually hear about her enjoying books or anything relating to her actually reading, it really felt like a forced thing to me, and I wasn't a fan.

Overall still a super fun one with awesome representations, super cute scenes, quirky characters and if you enjoy young adult books you'll want to read it.

Thanks to the author, TundraBooks and ColoredPagesBookTour for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

[I'd suggest adding cheating to the trigger warnings...]

Thank you again NetGalley and Jackie Khalilieh for this ARC. I found myself smiling many times while reading this book. The characters face actual challenges that relate to what people their age experience, but overall they overcome everything and there is some growth throughout. It also gives representation to an ethnic group that we don’t often see in books (arabs) and it was a nice touch that the author put some words in arabic in the book. The writing makes you root for the main couple and love them together. I would definitely be intrigued to read more from Jackie in the future.

There is something about Jackie Khalilieh's writing that is so real and authentic. The way they tackle mental health and everything that comes along with that like the green apples in this book. I enjoyed this book from beginning to end I loved Jamie and Axel and how they brought the best out of each other. I would love this book be made into a movie

This book feels like stepping into an early 2000s teen romcom—in the best way. The funny meet cute, realistic portrayal of teen life, and a tender slow dance in the rain made my heart soft.

It does drag a little around the third-act breakup, but overall it’s a cute, feel-good read perfect for fans of swoony, slightly awkward teenage romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tundra Book Group for this arc in exchange for an honest review

You Started It was so fun! It's full of teenage angst and drama with a side of fake dating and a sweet golden retriever love interest.

I loved Jamie and Axel's relationship! Even though Jamie made some questionable decisions (she's a teenager after all) she showed some growth during this story that allowed her to get her happy ending.
Axel was the sweetest and I loved how he accepted all of Jamie, and allowed her to come into her truest self. The fake dating and checking the boxes on Jamie's to-do list was just the cherry on top!

Thank you NetGalley and Tundra Book Group for the eARC!

thank you colored pages book tours for the arc!

i haven't read a young adult book in quite a while but this one had such a real emotion behind it that i really feel like i could understand while reading. jamie's character embodies these strong emotions of a messy teenage girl's life and she underwent lots of growth through the span of the book. jamie's interactions with those around her were interesting to read about and shows that no relationship is ever perfect. i liked that the book explored her relationship with her parents and family, making jamie's character more rounded and realistic. i also enjoyed reading about her and axel, they were quite cute and their romance played out like an old romcom movie with big gestures and loud emotions. this book was nicely paced so i got through it fairly quickly (i read like 50% of it during my lunch period like hello??) and while it's mainly character driven, the plot was interesting enough to keep my attention. overall, it was a nice book and i look forward to the author's upcoming books!

Honestly, the main reason I wanted to read this book was its Canadian connections—the author was born and raised in Canada, and the book is set in Canada. I also like the diversity in the cast of characters. And guess what? I loved this book! Sure, at first, reading a YA romance as an adult felt a bit strange. But as I got to know the characters, I enjoyed the story. It’s more than just a romance; it’s about Jamie figuring out who she is and what she wants in life.

In many ways, Jamie reminds me of what I was at 17. I didn’t have a group of friends, nor did I have a boyfriend. I was always on the outside looking in, feeling like everyone was looking at me and judging me. Oh, how I would have loved to see characters like Jamie when I was younger! She’s messy and quick to judge. But she’s also fierce! She’s the type of person you want on your side. The caveat is that she doesn’t know that.

The story is told solely through Jamie’s POV. She’s at a stage where she has issues opening up to people because she’s afraid they’ll leave her. Jamie struggles to control her anxiety, and with some help from Axel, she starts to feel like she has that control back in her life.

Living less than two hours outside of Toronto, I found it fun to see some tourist hot spots mentioned. As the book opens, it’s the end of August, so not all of the hot spots are there. But trust me, there are enough that you would almost think you’re reading parts of a visitor’s guide. And I mean that in the best way possible!

Music is also mentioned throughout the book, as Axel enjoys dancing and sharing videos on social media. At the end, there’s even a curated playlist.

Overall, You Started It has plenty of fun and drama! There’s character growth, messy families, and lots of fun. If you enjoy reading Lynn Painter’s YA books, I honestly feel like you would enjoy reading You Started It.

You Started It is a cute YA romance book with the fake dating trope. I ended up picking it up on a whim. I ended up enjoying it. I wouldn't say I was huge into the writing but I enjoyed Axel who was Jamie's pretend boyfriend. He played the part so well. He barely knew her and he was over there giving it his all. It was very cute. I definitely couldn't help but root for the two of them after that. Overall a cute story.

*Thank you so much to Netgalley & the publisher for giving me a free copy in exchange for my honest review.*

the perfect story for those feeling the nostalgia of early 2000s romcom movies. this is so core YA, i really loved it! Jackie has vastly improved in her writing and you can totally tell. can't wait for more Jackie romances!

˚₊ · »-♡→ 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑰𝒕 ˖ . ݁𝜗𝜚. ݁₊
🌸˚˖⋆ ──★ 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝑵𝒆𝒕𝑮𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌
🩰 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚: 14+, 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨: 14+ (𝙁*𝙘𝙠, 𝙨𝙝*𝙩, 𝙚𝙩𝙘) ♡ ⸝⸝⸝
🎀 ‧₊˚ ⋅ 𝙁𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜
🎀 ‧₊˚ ⋅ 𝙊𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩
🎀 ‧₊˚ ⋅ 𝙎𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚
₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊
𐙚˙⋆. now playing: 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠! 🌸⋆.˚
⋆˚꩜｡ 𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙖 𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙤💗
╰› 1:07 ——◦———— 4:50
↠ⁿᵉˣᵗ ˢᵒⁿᵍ ↺ ʳᵉᵖᵉᵃᵗ ⊜ ᵖᵃᵘˢᵉ
₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊

𐔌  ."𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙖 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠"    !  ౨ৎ

🩷⋆.˚ Never have I ever been more PISSED and CRINGED at a single book. Even the worst of the worst books I have read have never been this terrible and infuriating that made me want to throw my entire phone across the room and watch it shatter to pieces. Because when I say that this book was BAD I mean it. The cover had me so intrigued I'll admit, it was really cute and as a fellow Palestinian girlie I was so excited to read this. Sadly all my expectations went down the hill because there is just too much to unpack here so I shall indeed ramble in this review.

𐔌  ."𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙟𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙨, 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙗𝙖𝙙"    !  ౨ৎ

🩷⋆.˚ First I want to touch bases on the small little summary of the book of what the plot is and what is written. We have our main character Jamie who is a half palestinian girl that ends up "sadly" breaking up with her boyfriend of 3 years. And I was like oh, thats sad. (I could care less ngl maybe I'm just shallow) BUT ANYWAYS she meets this guy named Axel and they basically start "dating" to get back at her ex bf (who's name by the way is Ben) and to get him to want her back. And yeah, that's the story. Pretty unique right???? RIGHT???? Well it didn't even matter if it was cliche this book just lacked SO MUCH yet had SO MUCH THAT PISSED ME OFF. I created a little checklist here because I'm feeling petty and want it to look appealing.

✔ Main character that only thinks of herself half the time and constantly whines.
✔ The love interest who is a FUDGING TIKTOK DANCER FOR GOD SAKES WHICH MADE ME CRINGE AT HOW THE AUTHOR WROTE HIS DANCES LIKE THEY SOME KIND OF ITALIAN ART.
✔ Main character constantly chasing her old ex for half of the book even tho THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE CHEMISTRY ABOUT AN ARAB MALE LOVE INTEREST.
✔ Main character is apparently non religious greek orthodox christain, CHRISTAIN AND YET THERE IS A GAY UNCLE THAT SAYS MASHALLAH AND YA ALLAH (YALL THIS PISSED ME OFF CUZ WTF ARE WE DOING HERE HE AINT EVEN MUSLIM.)
✔ Written by a Palestinian author yet there was barely ANY PALESTINIAN REPRESENTATION (NGL WE LEGIT HAD MORE LGBTQ THEN PALESTINIAN REPRESENTATION.)
✔ Main character constantly talking about being independent when she is CHASING AFTER HER EX.
✔ Lots of cringey songs that are apparently "key parts" to the story (Baby by justin bieber, New rules by dua lipa, Treat you better by shawn mendes)
✔ Main character has a liberated mom that was like ashamed of being arab but like wtvr...

AND THE LIST FREAKING GOES ON BRO.

𐔌  . "𝙊𝙝, 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙖 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠"   !  ౨ৎ

🩷⋆.˚ And you know what saddens me? This book HAD POETENTIAL. SO MUCH IN FACT. But no, it chose the route to follow every single trend there is and not be AUTHENTIC and HEARTWHELMING. You literally had the chance to write such a cute romance showcasing the arab culture but instead WE ARE RUNNING AWAY FROM IT????? This book wanted to be "trendy" and it wanted to be "teen-approved" but as a 15 year girl all I felt from this book was pure HATRED. From the cringy slang used, to the fact that we are acting like Axel being a tiktoker is some big freaking deal, FROM THE FREAKING MAIN CHARACTER MAKING EVERYTHING ABOUT HERSELF ANY CHANCE SHE GOT. Yeah sure you can slap on a cute cover on a book and people will say it's cute, BUT I DID NOT BUY THIS BOOK FOR THE COVER. I BOUGHT IT FOR THE STORY. And that was CRAP.

𐔌  . "𝘾𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣, 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙢, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙖𝙙"   !  ౨ৎ

🩷⋆.˚ ON TOP OF ALL THAT YOU ARE OVER HERE MIXING RELIGIONS AND CRAP. Ok, have a gay uncle I don't care. BUT DON'T BE MAKING HIM SAY YA ALLAH AND MASHALLAH WHEN HE ISN'T MUSLIM????? I'm sorry but I just could not take it when we are over here saying he's Christian then saying all these things. God have mercy on me bro.

𐔌  . "𝙊𝙝, 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚"   !  ౨ৎ

➜ 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔⋆
🌷✧˚. 𝐉𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐞: Self entitled brat that only cares about HERSELF and HER FEELINGS.
🌷✧˚. 𝐀𝐱𝐞𝐥: Was adorable but was a cringey tiktok dancer.
🌷✧˚. 𝐁𝐞𝐧: Classic white boy that tries to gaslight any situation then apologize for it.
🌷✧˚. 𝐎𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐚: Classic picture perfect chick that everyone hates and thinks is mean but ends up being a decent girl.
( And of course there are other characters like the uncle I rambled about, the weird slay queen mom, Axel's tiktok friends with weird names (Who names their child diesel??) and etc.)

𐔌  . "𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣"   !  ౨ৎ

₊˚ ‿︵‿︵‿︵୨୧ · · ♡ · · ୨୧‿︵‿︵‿︵ ˚₊
˚.🎀༘⋆ 𝓞𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓪𝓵𝓵
And to wrap up my beautiful rant. I have a simple sentence to let you know if you should read this.
➜ Don't read unless you want a knockoff better than the movies that gives you anger issues. (Esp for my palestinian, arab, and muslim girlies.)

𐔌  . "𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠, 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠, 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠"   !  ౨ৎ

This book is a classic girl trying to get ex back through fake dating and falling for the guy she's fake dating instead. I LOVE a good fake dating trope and I ate this up. When reading this type of trope you can run into the female main character being written as irritating in the ways they try to get their ex back, but I didn't find that in Jaime. She was written well and roundly with depth and not just surface level complexity. Throughout the book, the Arab culture and identity was tackled through different characters in Jaime's life and it was executed wonderfully. It created another level to the characters that can appear when approaching subjects like these.

Thank you to Tundra Book Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

Jackie, Jackie, Jackie.
Just when I think you can't impress me more you created Jamie.
Jamie is amazing and messy and real.
I loved everything about her and throw in Axel?
The perfect juxtaposition to Jamie. i adored the development of friendship (and more) these two found.
Plus it takes place in Toronto🥰
Much love to NetGalley & Tundra Book Group for my ebook.

જ⁀➴ 1.75 stars ⋆⭒˚.⋆

⤿ 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 date may 18
⤿ 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 date may 19

⁀➴ 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬
🩵 fake dating
📚 bucket list
🩵 arab rep
📚 highschool romcom
🩵 tiktok dancer mmc (yes you read that correctly)
📚 mental health rep


𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠: good 4 u by olivia rodrigo (first half at least) and i know it won't work by gracie abrams ‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹


⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲
this book follows our fmc - jamie taher-foster, who’s in her senior year of high school with big plans. she has a boyfriend who she loves and has been with for 3 years. but… after he comes back from summer camp he confesses how he wants to try new things and be more chill and ends their relationship. and after this you would think she would move on, right? turns out she wants to get him back, prove he was wrong to dump her and that they belong together. things happen and then she ends up fake dating the new guy, who’s a year younger than her but also arab. they do a lot of pretending and hang out a lot and slowly he becomes her best friend. lines blur between pretend and fake.

𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞
i just wanna say everyone is entitled to their own opinions and this is mine. if you disagree, it’s okay just be respectful.

↓ may contain spoilers ↓

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
as you may have already realized by the amazing at the top - i despised this entire story. this was supposed to be a cute, silly, fake dating romance. yk full of yearning from the mcs and them falling for each other while pretending. lemme tell you one thing, her ex boyfriend who she’s trying to win back - his name is mentioned 668 times. yeah. she’s obsessed. (the love interest’s name is mentioned more but only like a 100x more.)

okay i just want to say how i did not like almost any of the characters in this book, which is crazy for me especially because i tend to have soft spots for problematic people. in this case, no. 🤗

something i really wanted to point out as a christian specifically - jamie’s family is non-religious greek orthodox and palestinian. her uncle is gay!?? okay, moving on. axel’s bsf - diesel (what in the truck parts are these names btw) is non-binary and they/them. so first you HAVE to make the mcs christian ofc 🤗 and then make them have lgbt+ family/close friends. instead she could've added some bipoc/asian,MAYBE BLACK characters?!! but no ofc most people are white, the fmc & mmc are arab, ex is white, his new gf is asian. which was nice but it's literally set in toronto... where there's SO many brown and asian people...?!! this was the perfect opportunity to add a diverse set of characters.. but no. also all the side characters felt very 1d and no depth. just wanted to share this. there was a lot of mentions of sex and everything, but i wanted to make something clear to authors/publishers whoever - not every teen cares about sex… ?!!


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⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬

𝐣𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐞
do not start with me

her qualities:
✓ biggest pick me ever
✓ very rude daughter
✓ emotionally immature
✓ acts like a 10 year old at 17
✓ loves to read
✓ anxiety/ibs rep

i really really really despised her. first - she’s so annoying. for 3 straight pages she’ll be complaining about her mom and how her entire life sucks, FLIP THE FREAKING PAGE and she is yapping about how amazing her life is and that her mom is not too bad and how everyone is just perfect.

she's just a really rude person and doesn't seem to care about how her actions affect people around her. she has the emotional maturity of maybe a 10 year, but girl isn’t aware of the people around her.

she definitely has daddy issues because her dad left when she was in middle school/before high school started. her ex was someone who was her safety net - someone in her life who she could rely on for stability and once he left she basically crashed and burned. now she's aching for that, she doesn't know who to turn to when things go wrong.

she would start talking about how horrible her mom is, but the thing is she literally acts exactly like her. “oh I'm nothing like my mom guys” like girl you are a mirror image of her - literally same person in a younger body.

kind of in the middle of the book she talked about how she had unhealed trauma from her High School relationship with ben who is her ex. i'm sorry, what did he do to traumatize you? break up with you is that not allowed like please. if he hurt her or did something it would be valid but he's never like done anything during their relationship to actually harm her mentally or physically.

and then she would talk about getting back with ben in front of axel who she's fake dating okay, and then she'd think about axel like all the time daydreaming - kissing him and everything. then she's like oh I need ben. wait he's a horrible person. i want axel. wait I need ben actually. LIKE MAKE UP YOUR MIND. and to give some context, ben had a REAL girlfriend while she’s trying to get him back. first she wants her ex back (who has not interest in doing so) then she’s going after another girl’s man?!!

then there's this one scene where axel does something really nice for her like I'm not going to tell you because it's kind of a big spoiler but he takes on a date, where she meets his friends, and then there's like the surprise. she gets really pissed at him and tells him that he didn't have the right to do this blah blah and then she leaves and him stranded in downtown toronto - he doesn't have a car, his friends already left. like how could you be so cruel and heartless.

“of course i got angry at him. it's what I do. i don't know how to be in a normal, healthy relationship because i've never been around one.”
- what about basic human decency? okay… sounds like you might actually be the problem here.

there’s literally SO much more i could complain about 😭


𝐚𝐱𝐞𝐥
the ✨ tiktok dancer ✨
let that sink in, an 11th grade tiktok dancer guy. okay let’s move on

so basically he's the guy that agrees to fake date jamie and everything. i don’ really have any issues with him per se, he didn't feel that important in the story. while reading there are a lot of moments with him and everything but while I'm trying to remember and recollect what the story was about, he just didn't have a huge significance in the plot in my opinion.

you could tell he cared about her a lot, but he does not deserve that girl like he deserves so much better.

like this guy is very much boyfriend material if we take out the fact he's a “tiktok dancer” because i cannot take that seriously for the life of me… and the fact there’s a semi-famous tiktok dancer at MY school 😭 sooo big no!!

if got his perspective it actually might’ve made the story better


𝐛𝐞𝐧
the douchebag ex who dumped her and ‘cheated’ on her
uh so basically he’s the guy that jamie has loved for years

all i know about him is:
∿ he’s white
∿ taller than jamie
∿ helped her make lists to deal with her anxiety

like jamie would go on and on about how she wanted him back… but where is this dude’s personality? and he’s not even the smart… he needed jamie to tutor him BEHIND HIS CURRENT GF’S BACK!?! 🚩🚩🚩


𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐚
the girl ben left jamie for
she’s not actually evil yk but jamie ofc thought of her as an opp 🙄
she and jamie become friends at the 75% mark or something?!!
pretty sweet, popular, genuinely loves ben but other than that she’s just a side/useless character.

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⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ couple
𝐚𝐱𝐞𝐥𝐣𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐞
hmm what do i say
i don’t care?
like who how long this book felt, it didn’t give me the swoony confession at the end ☹️

THO i did feel a tiny miniscule bit of emotional during the last 5% because she did something sweet for him and etc. like when she pulled her crap together.
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⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥
and in the end - don’t read this

ofc if u did love this, that’s amazing!! all this is my opinion 😙💗


mwah,
joni 🤍