{Review} Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert

Page count: 315

Publisher: Joy Revolution

Published on: January 3, 2023

Genres: YA romance

Format: paperback personally purchased

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Rating: 3/5 ✨ 

Tropes:

- friends to enemies to rivals to friends to lovers

- grumpy heroine x sunshine hero

- OCD rep

- daddy issues rep

Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Brown Sisters trilogy, comes a laugh-out-loud story about a quirky content creator and a clean-cut athlete testing their abilities to survive the great outdoors--and each other.

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?

Review: 

Hey, guys!

        While I wasn’t really in the mood to read a YA romance, I still had so much fun reading this book with my book club. I really loved Bradley. He was the best character in this book and I was constantly giggling at his affection for Celine was just so heartwarming and sweet. Celine, unfortunately, was not my favorite. I found her to be unnecessarily mean at times - however! her feelings and motives end up making sense and her backstory and eventual vulnerability really caused me to warm up to her. The characterization was so nicely done and the characters were so realistic. I loved the romantic bits throughout & the characters passion for their hobbies was so nice to read about. 

        I had a hard time plowing through this book at times because of the pacing. It just felt like this story was just missing that extra layer of depth that I’m used to in Talia Hibbert books. I really wish that there had been more of a focus on their friends and family. 

        I also really love Bradley’s love of writing. It was quite evident that Hibbert took inspiration from her own feelings. It was so relatable. Celine, however, just didn’t feel as connected to her love for the law. Her desire to go into law just didn’t seem as real. 

        Overall, this was so sweet. I loved the banter and the awesome one liners. Swipe to see my tabs! If you’re looking for a sweet YA rom-com that will make you laugh and possibly shed a tear, this is for you! 

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More Talia Hibbert Reviews:

• Get A Life, Chloe Brown 
• The Princess Trap
• Take A Hint, Dani Brown

Happy reading, friends!

Olivia

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