Bradley Graeme is pretty much perfect. He's a star football player, manages his OCD well (enough), and comes out on top in all his classes . . . except the ones he shares with his ex-best friend, Celine.
Celine Bangura is conspiracy-theory-obsessed. Social media followers eat up her takes on everything from UFOs to holiday overconsumption--yet, she's still not cool enough for the popular kids' table. Which is why Brad abandoned her for the in-crowd years ago. (At least, that's how Celine sees it.)
These days, there's nothing between them other than petty insults and academic rivalry. So when Celine signs up for a survival course in the woods, she's surprised to find Brad right beside her.
Forced to work as a team for the chance to win a grand prize, these two teens must trudge through not just mud and dirt but their messy past. And as this adventure brings them closer together, they begin to remember the good bits of their history. But has too much time passed . . . or just enough to spark a whole new kind of relationship?
Publishing Date: January 3, 2023
Genre: Romance
Age Group: YA
My Rating: 2/5
I love Talia Hibbert so dearly. The Brown Sisters trilogy was my introduction into adult romance, and it's a series I keep going back to for immediate serotonin. So, I was so excited going into Hibbert's YA debut, Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute.
Unfortunately, I was left disappointed and wanting more. I'll be splitting this review into the pros (stuff I liked) and cons (stuff I didn't like). Spoiler alert: I disliked more than I liked.
I do think this book has an audience for folks who are in middle school or early high school of for people who are really into pop culture. I'm in neither of those categories, so the book didn't connect with me. But, if you are an young teen or if you really love TikTok, maybe this could be for you.
Pros:
- The Banter: Talia Hibbert writes the most incredible banter. She is able to bring character interactions to life in the most incredible way.
- The Rep: Brad has OCD, and I think it's handled pretty well in the narrative. Celine also has a parent who's not present in her life, and that's done well too.
Cons:
- The Constant Pop-Culture References: For me, these date a book and make it less enjoyable in the moment. I don't particularly care about TikTok, so I didn't care about the TikTok threads in this book. The characters also reference things that are currently popular - which is just not how I like my books. This is personal preference though, so you may really like HSaUC for this reason.
- The Romance: It was really hard for me to believe the love between the characters. I felt their platonic friendship a lot. Celine and Brad had great moments in that regard. But the romance was just lacking a bit. I didn't feel like they *had* to be dating rather than best friends.
- The "Quirky" Scenarios: I do understand that romance books tend to do strange things in order to get the characters into weird situations. Sadly, I just found these ones to be kind of absurd.
Thank you Joy Revolution and Penguin Random House for the ARC.
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