But harder to get into than the previous book by the same author but it's so many young lesbian rep being horny and typecast as mean girls and still so lesbian

This book satisfied by nostalgic need to relive the early 2000s high school dramas that I grew up on. Like Mean Girls, but make it queer... In other words, it was perfection.

While the three main characters are simmering in rivalry, revenge, and other kinds of tension, the hyperbole of teenage emotions are displayed in a very realistic way that makes me cringe (in a good way) remembering how equally insufferable I was at that age.

Freddie and Stella were once inseparable. Now they’re staging a glittery, yoga-fueled comeback to take down their shared ex-best-friend, Levi. But beneath the power plays and glossy plotting, Maggie Horne gives us something deeper: a story about the ache of being left behind, the pressure to become someone you’re not, and the slow, shaky path toward figuring out who you want to be.
Freddie is a fantastic narrator—funny, awkward, quietly brilliant, and painfully relatable as she tries to keep up with Stella’s wild schemes while grappling with her own loneliness. Stella, on the other hand, is a walking firecracker of ambition and chaos, and watching her unravel is both delicious and a little heartbreaking. And Levi? Levi is the surprise emotional anchor of the book, with a character arc that left me rooting for her way more than I expected.

The writing is fresh, fast-paced, and packed with razor-sharp dialogue. I especially loved how Horne brings the school’s social hierarchy to life—it’s exaggerated just enough to be fun, but still grounded in recognizable teen experiences. The queer representation is fantastic, especially the slow-burn sapphic tension between Freddie and Levi, which builds in such an honest, sweet, and satisfying way.
While some of the character dynamics lean into the dramatic (these girls can be mean), it always feels purposeful. And Horne does a great job showing that forgiveness and growth don’t happen in a neat montage—they’re messy, vulnerable, and sometimes a little bit magical.
I flew through this in one weekend, and I already can’t wait to recommend it to my friends. Equal parts hilarious, cutting, and heartfelt—Freddie and Stella Got Hot is a total win.

Following shortly after a dress mishap at a school dance, Freddie and Stella decide they want something more for themselves this year in high school - to be noticed. Except, rather than stop at new hair, makeup, and clothes, they decide to take down their high school queen bee...and ex bff. What other way than to knock out her loyal friend squad one-by-one just in time for the upcoming prestigious scholarship nominations?

I really loved this one and had a hard time putting it down. I truly loved Freddie and think that many girls of any age (myself included!) can relate in the sense of struggling between wanting to fit in, being yourself, and doing the right thing. It definitely plays homage to the early 2000s cult classic, Mean Girls, Freddie reminding me a lot of Cady as she starts in a seemingly innocent plan that ends up majorly backfiring and hurting the ones she loves most. Plenty of relatability and representation, this book brings up a lot of opportunity for reflection and conversation.

I won't lie, the ending left a bit to be desired but it was cheesy and corny and cute! I definitely expect to see this hit the top of the lists upon release - thank you for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy!

This is exactly the kind of YA novel I love, with teenage characters who feel oh so real and messy, and all the chaos and earnest moments that go with it. You get to see the full closeness, toxicity, dependence, conflict and beauty of teenage girl friendship on display here, and I very much appreciated that friendship and romance are all deemed of equal weighty importance here.

So let's get into the main characters: Freddie, Stella, and Levi. Freddie is our viewpoint character, and while she agrees at first to join in on her best friend Stella's revenge scheme against Levi who apparently abandoned them for popular-girldom in high school, she quickly realizes that Stella is willing to go to some pretty awful lengths to obtain said revenge and that there's a lot about Levi and Stella that she doesn't know either. I really enjoyed Freddie as a main character; she does start as extremely passive, very much the side-kick to Stella's schemes, but it's lovely to see her grow and push back against that role, and it makes it all the more meaningful when she finally grows past it. Even when Stella is awful, the banter between her and Freddie is absolutely top-notch and made me laugh (I knew at the start of the book when I read Freddie asking Stella, "Wait, sorry. You're upset because you <i>weren't</i> made fun of for bleeding like a Civil War amputee in the middle of homecoming?" that I was in for an excellent time.), and Stella is awfully brilliant in her own right, running a scheme to rise to the top of Coral Cove, the all-girl's elite high school they go to.

Which at last brings us to Levi Preston, the seemingly perfect girl who abandoned Stella and Freddie. At first she just seems a caricature of the perfect prep school girl who is of course the front runner for the BG Awards and automatic acceptance into the Ivy Leagues, but as Freddie unravels the mystery of why Levi left them, she comes into focus as a much more normal girl. It's a beautiful sometimes bitter push-and-pull between Levi and Freddie, with Levi saying lines like "I know you--I know you don't think I do anymore, but I never unlearned you," while Freddie's POV is "You don't fucking know me, Levi. You remember me. That's what happens to people you leave behind. You remember them." No spoilers, but their relationship is the highlight of the book for me, and I appreciate the complicated dynamics of a bestie group of three, especially when everyone is kind of in love with everyone.

Speaking of bestie groups, Levi's current hot popular girl squad are also stellar side-characters. They seem to just initially slot into their assigned roles: Seema the sunny, cheerful one, Ramona the sporty one, and Hannah, the maybe girlfriend, but as Freddie gets sucked into Stella's schemes and trying to ingratiate herself in the group, she gets to know them better as well, and they all are their own full characters. I liked Seema especially with how complicated she is underneath all that sunny charm.

If you want to read a book with scheming sapphic high school girls, you HAVE to read this. Even if you don't like YA, I would say you should definitely give this one a try just for it's witty banter, fast paced story, fully developed complicated characters, and great story.

I have a lot of feelings about this book. First of all, it was very millennial mean girls type stuff. So that made me wanna keep reading. It was also sapphic which is amazing! I genuinely could not stop reading this book. I didn’t know what was going to unfold next, and it was so good. It was interesting to see how Stella was ready to climb to the top but how messy it became. Then it’s even more complicated with all of the relationships and friendships going on. This book does so well with the mean girls vibes. I didn’t really get the Jenny Han vibes but still was really good. I’m also glad of the growth Freddie has in the book. This is seriously such a great book!

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy.

first off, thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc! what follows will be a reflection of my honest thoughts about the book!

the thing that immediately drew me in about freddie and stella got hot was the sales pitch, which was "jenny han meets mean girls". jenny han is one of my favorite authors and mean girls is one of my favorite movies, so i already knew going into this book that i was going to enjoy it. and i did, actually!

freddie and stella got hot reads to me as a love letter to the messy teen drama movies of the early 2000s, complete with characters that are hard to love but easy to root for, schemes that seem absolutely ridiculous but somehow just... work, and cute, cheesy sapphic romance that makes you giggle and kick your feet. i think this book perfectly hits the nail on the head, and it really does make me happy that the new generation of teenagers (just hit me as i was writing that sentence that i'm turning twenty soon... woah?) have a fun, messy book to read. so many bonus points that its sapphic. i could not tell you how many times i told myself i had a little crush on regina while watching mean girls, so... book hits all the marks for that too.

as for the writing itself, i think it did what it needed to do. it was the perfect mix, in my opinion, of a teenagers messy brain while holding up enough literary merit that it didn't just sound a mess, which is also a plus. there were a few editorial errors in the latter half of the book (like in chapter 28 for example, when stella is speaking when levi isn't around, the dialogue tag says levi and it confused me so bad LOL) but nothing that impacted the story overall (this is mainly a note for my netgalley review, but i don't want to remove it here because i know i will forget to rewrite it.)

as i briefly mentioned above, the characters were not, in the slightest, lovable. they were all selfish, rich assholes, but i think that's why i actually liked them. every character having flaws, being able to turn on each other with the snap of some fingers, being messy and vulnerable... it made them more relatable. none of the girls in this book are good people, and that's what makes it a good story. i love flawed characters, and the book delivered on that end 110%. if i had to pick one thing to truly, truly praise, it would be the characters of the book. freddie, though the most sympathetic character, wasn't as innocent as she tried to be. though we rooted for her romance with levi, it was also hard to really excuse her actions because of how they impacted everyone else. stella... i did not like her, but i also came around to her by the end. so on, and so forth. they were all messy and dramatic, which was perfect for what the book was trying to do.

the only glaring "negatives" that i really have are few and far between. for instance, i think some background information at the beginning of the book might've helped with hooking me into the book. i felt, when we started off, that we were just thrown right into the scheme that takes up most of the book, and it made it hard for me to get into it at first because i didn't entirely know why we were supposed to hate levi and side with stella. however, people might disagree with me here and i can understand why: intentionally omitting the reasoning behind the plan hooks readers in (typically) and keeps them reading so they can find out. and i definitely enjoyed how everything was revealed, it was just hard for me to get immersed at first.

i also wish we could have gotten more out of the academic setting. the book takes place in an all girls school, but the academic setting is lost and we don't get more than a handful of actual interactions with teachers or adults (and the adults don't do much for most of the book anyway. you'd really think they'd have caught on sooner to everything going on. they were useless, literally.) for what it was, i enjoyed it, but i do just wish it leaned a little heavier into the academia side of the setting.

but overall, definitely a very enjoyable book that i think a lot of people could likely digest in one sitting if they wanted to. it was messy, dramatic, silly, serious, swoon-worthy at times, and everything in between, and i really did love it.

i’m pretty sure i accidentally eavesdropped on a high schooler’s conversation. that is to say: lots of secondhand embarrassment and yet i still hung onto every word.

this book hits all the feel-good boxes of reading a ya contemporary. coming-of-age cuteness? check. banter, banter, banter? check, check, check. characters who felt so realistic that i curled up and cringed? …check.

(that last one is a pro, and, ohmygod can this book banter.)

i LOVED the characters. they were so funny and so witty, which helps tie the very dramatic and unrealistic story into a nice little quirky ribbon.

this was fun. messy! but, fun.

(thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the arc!)

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Feiwel & Friends for providing this book, with my honest review below.

Freddie and Stella Got Hot is a book I feel like many younger adults need to pick up. This has the appeal of Mean Girls, a bit of a universal experience, with the same brand of humor and ‘I didn’t see that coming’ turns of plot. While Freddie and Stella may be in the book’s title, the plot really starts with Levi who is the unicorn popular queen bee who is different from the MC in so many teen movies because she truly is nice, though Freddie and Stella don’t think so given she abandoned their friend group a few years ago. When remaining BFFs Stella and Freddie decide to ‘get hot’ and infiltrate Levi’s friend group with the aim of winning a prestigious prize over here (and for Freddie, revenge for the abandonment), Stella turns into the real villain and Freddie soon realizes Stella is the one who actually needs to be brought back down to earth - something she can’t do without Levi’s help. This is where the plot warms up (though it doesn’t depart from teen romances, subbing in two girls vs. the traditional boy/girl romance), and the plot gets some genuine heart.

I loved the story, the romance, and the ending. Unlike movie teen romances these characters stay wholly themselves, just made better (so really, very much like Mean Girls). The lessons taught and experiences in this book will surely resonate with teens, but with the flawless writing will also translate nicely to all readers.

This book was the perfect representation of if Mean Girls was a sapphic drama comedy set in a private school! I absolutely fell in love with the characters and was on the edge of my seat to learn more about Freddie’s journey with self love and her relationship with Levi! This book had me genuinely laughing out loud and has been the only NetGalley read that had me highlighting multiple passages throughout it just because they made me crack up!

I really love Horne's writing and I mostly liked this a lot, but the characters were SO mean and terrible that it made the book difficult to read sometimes. The level of cruelty that they exhibited also made Stella's change of heart at the end feel unrealistic and out of nowhere, and the characters all ending up totally fine with each other at the end also felt unearned and unrealistic and I didn't actually feel like it was the healthy outcome? Horne is still an auto-read author for me, but this was a little bit of a letdown.

Thank you Netgalley and Feiwel & Friends for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Maggie Horne’s “Freddie and Stella Got Hot” is a sharp, funny, and emotionally charged YA story set against the cutthroat backdrop of Coral Cove Prep, where loyalty, love, and ambition collide in spectacular fashion.

Freddie and her best friend Stella start off on a mission to dethrone their former friend Levi Preston, the reigning queen bee of their elite prep school. Their plan centers on stealing Levi’s shot at the coveted Beaumont-Gardiner Award, an honor reserved for the school’s coolest, smartest, and hottest girls. At first, it seems to be working, as Freddie and Stella slip deeper into the glamorous world of shopping trips, salon sessions, and hot yoga classes.

But the more popular they become, the more Freddie sees how much Stella has changed. Once goofy and loyal, Stella morphs into someone manipulative and ruthless, determined to get her way no matter who gets hurt. As Stella’s schemes grow darker, Freddie finds herself trapped in a toxic friendship built on control, secrecy, and emotional manipulation.

Horne writes this unraveling with a blend of biting humor and genuine vulnerability. The story is both hilarious and unflinching, capturing how mean girls operate beneath their glossy exteriors. The scenes drip with tension and cattiness, yet the book also finds moments of tenderness and hope, particularly in Freddie’s journey of self-discovery.

Freddie is a fantastic protagonist, relatable in her insecurities and deeply human flaws. She begins the story completely wrapped up in Stella’s orbit, unwilling to see how damaging their friendship has become because she fears being alone. Watching her come into her own and choose healthier connections is incredibly satisfying.

At the same time, Stella is a fascinating character. Her desire for power and popularity makes her cruel, yet she also carries vulnerability and jealousy that hint at deeper struggles. I do wish she faced more consequences for her manipulations, but there’s no denying she’s a compelling and complex figure. However, I can’t get over how she just went back to how she was in the beginning without facing any real consequences as her parents could pay off any of her wrongdoings, and she is immediately forgiven for her extremely problematic behavior. More of a discussion needed to be had, maybe some time apart. If I were Freddie, I probably would never have forgiven Stella because she had been manipulating and isolating Freddie for years.

The sapphic romance between Freddie and Levi adds another engaging layer. Their chemistry crackles throughout the story, offering a sweet, sometimes messy counterpoint to the bitter schemes around them. While the romance brings plenty of swoon-worthy moments, it never overshadows the central themes of friendship, identity, and personal growth.

Horne’s writing sparkles with wit and energy. The dialogue is sharp, frequently laugh-out-loud funny, and the ensemble cast is vibrant, each side character possessing distinct quirks and voices. Even the meanest characters feel believable rather than cartoonish, revealing glimpses of humanity beneath the surface.

Overall, “Freddie and Stella Got Hot” is a wildly entertaining blend of humor, drama, and heartfelt emotion. It examines how toxic friendships can masquerade as loyalty, how power can corrupt even the closest bonds, and how discovering your self-worth can be the hottest glow-up of all. It’s a perfect pick for fans of “Mean Girls” with a sapphic twist and for anyone who loves YA stories full of sharp edges, genuine warmth, and characters you can’t stop thinking about.

This was a lot of fun. What happens when you add a third to an already existing duo? And what happens when dynamics shift because everyone is gay and emotionally stunted. Queer tensions are high at Coral Cove prep where Stella (and Freddie, but really mostly Stella) has decided she will exact revenge on Levi Preston, ultimate Coral Cove it girl.

Overall, this book is a delightfully entertaining read—funny, sharp-tongued, and surprisingly heartwarming. It strikes a perfect balance between biting wit and genuine sweetness, delivering a story that’s both laugh-out-loud hilarious and emotionally satisfying. The characters are vibrant, the dialogue crackles with sass and charm, and underneath all the cattiness is a sincere warmth that gives the story real depth even if it was unhinged at times.

I really loved this one, it was so much fun! Everyone in this book is either hot, rich, mean, or some combination of the three. The way everyone treats each other at points throughout the book is so awful that you can't look away. But at the same time, there's so much going on behind the scenes with real deep emotional ties for many of the characters. I loved that everyone was flawed but also had periods of honesty and reflection where they saw themselves and the situation more clearly.

As well, the book is so funny, some of the dialogue had me genuinely laughing out loud. The romance, too, was spot on. I loved that it was so obvious and plainly out there and that Freddie was just so oblivious. It was incredibly sweet. There were several points that gave me "giggling and kicking my feet" vibes. Also, the ending was one of those incredibly satisfying ones where you get pretty much everything you are hoping for, and I loved every second.

Overall, this book is such a wonderfully funny, catty, and sweet story, I think it's perfect for YA readers and adults alike. 5/5 stars!

wow this mean girls were insane!!! who would’ve thought! inspired by mean girls, i truly don’t know if i could’ve put up with these groups when i was in school 😳

i DID enjoy the sapphic romance although it really took the back burner this time around *and* without getting spoilery, if my best friend had done THAT even to me and someone i cared about i don’t think we’d be okay after that!!

Thank you @netgalley for allowing me to get an ARC of Maggie Horne’s Freddie and Stella Got Hot! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. It reminded me a lot of the cult classic Mean Girls! Levi Preston is Cove Coral’s IT girl. She is beautiful, influential AND kind which is why everyone in the all girl academy loves her. She’s a shoo-in for the BG Award.
That is until Stella decides to become HOT and creates a plan to destroy Levi and all her closest friends reputations in order to prove she is more beloved. I was on the edge of my seat and stayed up so late to see how it unfolded. The character development was incredible and I really was rooting for them all to tattle on the person who was doing a lot of unthinkable things just to win!

OMG this was a good read! I loved how it started off with good intentions mainly and eventually Freddie saw what was happening. I felt for them because I was bullied a lot in school and I can see their side of it. It was hard if not impossible to put this down!

Really, really loved this novel, especially the characterisation of the protagonists. I deeply enjoy Maggie Horne's writing style and humour.

Freddie and Stella Got Hot is definitely a recommended cute romance for young adults!

I love love loved this book! I couldn't get enough of Levi and Freddie the entire book! I love how down bad they were for each other. Another thing I loved was how everyone was their own person/was by the end of the book. I loved that Levi and Freddie both knew who they were apart from each other. I really liked the ending and the epilogue was really cute! I would totally recommend this book for a fun YA romance book that doesn't feel like a cookie cutter of other novels!