Hi there! I’m here to talk about my first advanced reader’s copy of 2023, and it’s an adorable YA rom-com. **And every day we are reminded that discrimination against marginalized communities is still a serious problem, so click here to find a compilation of resources where you can donate your time, money, or whatever you can to support these communities. I still encourage you to research these causes on your own to educate yourself and find the best way to lend your support.**
As someone who has gotten very much into the romance genre in the past few years, I have been very aware of the author Talia Hibbert. She’s popular for her traditionally published Brown Sisters trilogy, but also has a backlist of self-published work. Her banter is always on point and her intimate scenes are well-written and steamy. So I was very interested when she announced a YA title releasing in 2023 – Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute. It definitely turns down the steam factor (most on page are kisses shared between our two MCs, and very age-appropriate discussions about sex), but still the diversity and character work Talia Hibbert is know for. Plus the cover is absolutely adorable. I read this over a few days sick in bed right before New Year’s, and let me tell you it was exactly the cute and fluffy read I needed to get me through it.
Bradley Graeme is a laid-back popular teen on the football (American soccer) team, managing his OCD, and acing all his classes. Celine Bangura is a content creator sharing conspiracy theories on Tik Tok, toping Brad in all classes they share, and living her best life as her authentic self. Brad and Cel used to be friends, until a falling out years left them both thinking the other abandoned them. Now all that’s left between them are academic rivalries and petty insults that sometimes cut deeper than intended. When both are chosen to participate in an enrichment program which involves an outdoor survival course in the woods, and need to work together to win a full university scholarship, they’ll need to sift through their messy past as well as literal mud and dirt. But when they temporarily set their differences aside in order to work towards success, they start to remember all the good parts of their friendship, and it’s possible that a new spark can be ignited just as well as a campfire.
This was just absolutely delightful. From the dual perspective in first person, we get to see both Celine and Bradley’s opinions on each other and their prior friendship from the beginning, and we get to watch as they slowly start to develop deeper feelings of appreciation and love throughout the book. I appreciated how Celine is unapologetically herself, and even when she believes Bradley left because her personality was too outlandish for his new friends, she doesn’t shy away from what makes her unique. She leans into the conspiracy theories and doesn’t let anyone try to dissuade her, while also earning top marks in all of her classes to one day apply to Oxford or Cambridge to study law. While initially Bad only attends the Katherine Breakspeare Enrichment Program information session because he felt bad for *maybe* breaking Celine’s wrist and didn’t want her taking the bus alone, once Katherine herself starts speaking about how people treated her differently because of her dyslexia and how she had to work twice as hard to prove her worth, he connects with the sentiment and decides to apply as well (and if it proves to Celine that he can do anything she can do, well that’s just icing on the cake). I really loved how much development was given to the side characters – Brad’s parents and brother, even his sister who isn’t present because she’s studying in America, Celine’s mom and sister (and sometimes her father when he appears, but not often), Celine and Bradley’s best friends Minnie and Jordan, and the fellow Breakspeare candidates they befriend – Aurora, Sophie, and Raj. It was great to watch Celine and Brad’s banter, which everyone else just interprets as the flirting it truly is (and they’re just waiting for the two to realize it), and the frank discussions about relationships, sex, and not wanting to be left behind after secondary school, which are real fears of teens this age. I think one of my favorite parts of the book was when they throw a party for Aurora at camp, because Celine didn’t want her to feel unimportant when her 18th birthday was away from her family and friends, even though they barely knew each other a week. And when Bradley puts everything together, he doesn’t take all the credit because they know it was Celine’s idea. The two work well as a team, even when they’re butting heads, and it was really great letting them come together in the end.
I really want to highlight two specific aspects that were explored – Bradley’s OCD and intrusive thoughts, and Celine’s experience with parental abandonment. Early on, Bradley says that his OCD is managed (pretty well), but there will still be times when he needs balance, or can’t share a bathroom with anyone so he can keep it as clean as necessary, or will get up earlier than anyone to make sure he’s the only one in the camp bathroom / shower. At one point he does note that before he found medication and routine that worked for him, he thought it made his parents upset to see him and his life in disarray because of it. There are also moments in the book where we see Bradley’s mental exchange with his intrusive thoughts – the most prominent is when Celine throws mud on his shirt during their first survival camping expedition. He takes the time to acknowledge the thoughts are there, accept them for what they are, and breathe deeply while letting rational thinking supersede them. It’s been a while since I’ve seen intrusive thoughts mentioned and discussed in this way, and I really appreciated the depiction. Celine, her mom, and her sister were abandoned by her father years ago, when he came clean about having an affair and another family to tend to. While Celine doesn’t want to admit it for a large portion of the book, even when she declares she’s been fine without a father figure, she acknowledges that she got jealous seeing Bradley’s solid relationship with his dad, and shapes a large portion of her future to a path that will prove him wrong – she wants to become a corporate lawyer at the second largest firm behind his and watch him squirm as he watches her succeed. Throughout the book, Celine has to have in depth discussions with Bradley, her sister, and her mom to work out these feelings and realize that she should shape her future around something she wants, and what she thinks will bring out the best in her. I also appreciated how Celine talks to her mom about seeking counseling, so she can further work out these feelings with a professional.
In conclusion, this was a great book to start the new year off with. This just makes me want to delve more into Talia Hibbert’s backlist and hope she writes more of both adult and YA in the future. This also makes me more interested to see what the imprint, Joy Revolution Books, has in store for the future. Please pick this book up if you’re in need of some cute and fluff in your life, or have loved some of Talia Hibbert’s work in the past. Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute releases on January 3rd, 2023, which is the day this post goes live, so please join me in wishing it a happy book birthday and consider picking up a copy for yourself if you’re interested. *Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Joy Revolution Books, for the e-copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.*
Where to find Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute:
Bookshop
Amazon
Goodreads
Storygraph
Penguin Random House
Talia Hibbert’s site
Thoughts About Things 