Thank you Little Brown Books for Young Readers and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. Another cute story from L.C. Rosen! Gray had his heart broken by his closeted ex so when a wrong number texts him and they seem to have things in common he’s happy. They spend the Summer getting to know each other more but they like the idea of keeping their names and where they’re from a secret. Soon wrong number learns that he will leaving the city and moving to a small suburban area. Gray promises him that they aren’t all bad and in Gray’s town they even have a Halloween contest for Halloween decor. Wrong number learns they have one in his small town too. They make a date to FaceTime and show each other what they’ve designed. Gray’s friends come back from their summer vacation and are hanging out with him at his parents store where they sell tea, herbs, and spells, among other things. In walks a new guy Gray has never seen, he’s cute and has a great Goth aesthetic, but he says some rude things about the store, and Gray instantly dislikes him. When school starts they learn his name is Malcom. As they get to know him more Gray finds him to be condescending jerk. On top of that his closet ex is still trying to get back with him, and Malcom has entered the Halloween competition so they are competing against each other. Another thing Gray isn’t taking to seriously, but his friends are, is that 4 queer kids have disappeared from the surrounding area. His shining light is his conversations with wrong number. They have a good connection but Gray misses the physical touch. His friends are cautious believing that wrong number could be a killer. Will Gray’s wrong number be his great gothic love story? Will he win the competition or lose to Malcom? And what about the 4 missing boys, are they alive? There are a lot of fun elements to this story! A little bit of mystery, a sweet romance, a rivalry, beautiful aesthetics, and some very funny dark humor! I loved both Gray and Malcom’s Halloween concepts, plus Lenore’s cooking and all their outfits sound amazing! I loved Gray’s relationship with his moms and his relationship with his friends! Also The Graveyard sounds amazing, a goth Burning Man carnival thing with an amazing sounding haunted house! I enjoyed everything about this and highly recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!!

This was cute. I love a good goth/halloween themed story. Gray was a good MC and I like his relationship with his Moms and friends. A few points in the plot seemed sort of flat, but it didn’t really take away from the full story. Falling in love with a wrong number texter seems straight out of a fanfic and I love the idea. I don’t really see it happen in books as much. I need more of that. I also liked all the goth makeup and fashion talk. It was fun. I love L C Rosen so I’ll read everything he puts out. The cover for this is also so beautiful! It really pulled me in.

I read Emmett last year and I absolutely adored it so when this became available, I knew I immediately wanted to read it. It did not disappoint. L.C. Rosen writes characters in such a humorous and relatable way that make you want to not put the book down. I did not realize it was another Austen adaptation but that made it even more enjoyable and the author was able to make it his very own. Gray was such a fun character to get to know and I enjoyed his friendships and how loyal he was to them. I also loved how protective they were of him. He has a great relationship with his moms - it was very supportive and refreshing to see so much mutual respect. I think this book was delightful, fun, and clever. I cannot wait to read more from this author. Thank you, Netgalley for the ARC!