I found this to be such a cute young adult read! The writing definitely reflects the ability to be read by a younger audience and I love that the themes brought into the story are so relatable to teens today.

Sofia has been in love with Mark for years. After watching him at the school dance with another girl, she decides that she needs somewhat with an unbiased option to weigh in as to why he never looks her way.

The school player, Holden, seems like the perfect person to ask as he has plenty of dating experience and because of that she’d never be interested in him anyway.

Holden sets out to help her create a new and different image for herself like he has done with everyone around him. Along the way he begins to fall for who she truly is and starts to wonder if he should be encouraging her to be someone else & by the end of her transformation Sofia has to decide if Mark is still who she truly wants?

I loved the theme of identity in this book. Through the characters you see how easy it is to want to change who you are to better “fit” the needs of those around you, but learn with the characters how exhausting that is when you were made to be uniquely yourself :)

What If You Fall for Me First is a cute middle grade romance book about a painfully shy girl's quest to get her longtime crush, Mark, to notice her as girlfriend material. Like in the movies, Can't Buy Me Love or She's All That, Sofie enlists the help of a popular boy, Holden, to remake her image into what she thinks Mark wants. What happens after that is a journey of self discovery and a lesson in being true to oneself. Who ends up with the girl? I'm not telling, but there is a satisfying happily ever after that will have every reader cheering for this fun, squeaky clean book.

I received an advance reader copy for free. All opinions are my own..

Sofia has had a crush on Mark forever and asks Holden,an influencer, who’s considered a player to help her get Mark to like her. He agrees if she’ll help him with his videos. As the two hang out and help each other, Sofia thinks Holden is nice, and Holden is beginning to like Sofia. She doesn’t tell her friends because they’ll be shocked. Mark tells Holden he knows Sofia has been after him for a year. Holden says he’ll pay Mark if he’ll be nice to Sofia. Mark says yes. Sofia asks Mark to the dance, and Holden is actually jealous and asks someone else. When Sofia finds out that Holden has been paying Mark, she leaves the dance. What happens now? A great rom-com seeing Sofia stand up for herself while gaining confidence.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.