3.5 stars (I'm rounding up to 4)

Perhaps I should start with a disclaimer: This was my first book by Talia Hibbert. I know her adult romances are super popular at the moment and that they feature quite diverse characters. This was my main motivation for picking this one up. I absolutely did not mind this being a Young Adult romance because I don’t necessarily need books to be super steamy and feel like I am still young enough to have good memories of being a “young adult”. Nonetheless, I have considered that I have outgrown the main target group for this book in my review.


This young adult romance was alright, it was a quick, cute and entertaining read but I feel like I wanted to love this book even more, but I couldn’t. Having said that, I initially had a hard time pinpointing why exactly that was. I will start with the positives though:

I found both of the main characters very likable and as someone who was a bit of a nerd and oddball in secondary school, I found it easy enough to identify with the female lead.
The romance trope is friends-to-enemies-to-friends-to-lovers. Subvariations of enemies-to-lovers tend to be my favourite trope and I found this one to be well done. The book is not just about love and romance though, there is also a good portion of the relationship building dedicated towards the heartache of friendships falling apart and reconciliation afterwards.
The book is mostly written well - I say mostly and will refer to the parts I liked less when I list my negatives though. It’s certainly easy to read and moves at a fast pace. There are no surprises or major plot-twists but that’s actually ok. This is not the genre where I would be expecting this and the book moves quickly enough.
One of my major issues with most romance stories is that the “final conflict” (before the happy ending) is completely absurd and badly written. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like our couple in this book have no misunderstandings at all and there is also a conflict introduced at some point but it’s not obnoxious and it does not artificially dragged out. This one is a huge win by the way, as this is where many, many romance books that I have read fall flat for me.
I really liked the OCD representation, it definitely made Bradly a more interesting and memorable male romance lead.

There are some downsides though:

There were parts of the book that felt very bland and did not have a lot of plot. As I mentioned before this is not a genre where surprises and plot twists are necessary but sometimes the next steps were just a little too predictive. Most of the time the reader will know exactly what will happen next and where the protagonists will go next as their itinerary is made quite clear.
Both characters have a personal conflict they are overcoming: Brad and his OCD (although this is less acute, he is at a point where he manages well) and Celine and her relationship (or rather lack thereof) with her father (this she is actively dealing with throughout the course of their book). I found Brad’s challenge much more interesting and well written although there was less actively to deal with. I am not saying that Celine’s absent-father-plot does not matter or is a bad idea but it was just not as interesting overall.
I often felt like Brad and Celine didn’t have super distinctive voices. Their ways of thinking and their feelings for the other read quite similar.
Sometimes there was a bit too much cringe-worthy-feels stuff for me personally and it got in the way of the plot and the two very interesting characters.
I really liked some of the side characters and wish they had received some kind of development or arch. Maybe they could get their own books?

I should add that despite my criticism , I would totally read another book by Talia Hibbert and fully intend to check out her adult romances in the future. Personally, I like the cover of this book but it (wrongly) made me think that Christrmas would play an important role due to the trees. I realise they are not specifically Christmas trees though!

Readers, I don't think Talia Hibbert's books are for me, and I'm SAD ABOUT IT. I tried reading Chloe Brown a couple of years ago and thought it was trash, but I thought maybe Hibbert's YA debut might be better. And, I mean, it was, but it was still just alright.

I thought the romance was cute. I'm always here for ex-best friends to lovers, and Hibbert wrote the trope well. I liked the characters individually but I thought they both sounded pretty similar as I was reading them. I didn't love the snark or the dialogue in this - I had the same problem with Chloe Brown so maybe my humour just doesn't mesh with Hibbert's?

One thing I really liked and appreciated was the portrayal of OCD. According to the author's note, Hibbert has recently been diagnosed with this, and Bradley's character seems to be an exploration of how Hibbert could handle her own OCD in the future. I thought it was a very thoughtful, respectful, and caring portrayal, and I really liked it.

Overall this was just okay, and I've probably got to give up on Hibbert's books now because I have a feeling this it the best it'll get.

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Talia Hibbert and Little, Brown book for the eARC, all opinions expressed are my own.

This was such a sweet book, Bradley and Celine are childhood friends, their families are connected and after a fall out in secondary school, both are still very much connected through their application for the prestigious Katherine Breakspeare programme. Whilst Celine navigated her broken relationship with her father, and Brad battles his OCD, both also need to come to terms with their growing feelings for each other.

Whilst I found the first half a little slow, the story definitely picked up soon after that. I really enjoyed the way Brad dealt with his OCD and intrusive thought. I found the way it was portrayed really resonated with me. I liked seeing the way Brad and Celine transitioned from friends to enemies to lovers and seeing what impacted their relationship to cause this change. I loved seeing the way Celine tried to battle his need to prove her absent father wrong and the pressure to be successful. I also admired the way Brad struggled to figure out whether he wanted to pursue law (like his family) or pursue his passion to become a write - a battle I was certainly familiar with.

I would definitely recommend this read, especially those transitioning to adulthood!

I thought this was quite a cute romance which I happily read and enjoyed. I liked the characters and enjoyed the story

After reading Talia Hibbert’s adult romances filled with steam, I was unsure how her writing would transfer to YA. It is safe to say this book is going to be an absolute smash hit!

Each character is so well rounded and thoroughly developed. Brad’s OCD never defines him but is part of him, along with his love of books and sport. Same with Celine, her family situation is something she struggles with but through her narration we see her grow and begin to process it. Even the side characters such as Minnie, Aurora, Sophie and Raj all feel different and unique and I loved them all.

Hibbert has mastered discussing serious themes without dampening the mood or seeing cliche. She offers fresh perspective and reminds me again and again how amazingly talented she is.

I’ve read the author’s previous trilogy so this was a no brainer.
The positives- predictable feel good plot, enemies to lovers, Brad’s OCD was a great addition as I rarely see it represented to well in fiction, Celines tiktok fame for conspiracy theories, likeable family setup for both characters
Negative- not sure how much Celine’s dad adds- I feel like this should have been resolved/her view changed, story seemed to skim and could have been more descriptive.
An enjoyable read but lacking the magic I have come to expect from Talia Hibbert

Thank you netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. I have loved Hibbert’s previous work, so I was incredibly excited when I saw I was given access to this arc, and it certainly did not disappoint. Just like her previous works, I absolutely loved everything in this novel, from the characters to the plot, and it was everything you would want in a romance book. Taking everything into consideration, I am giving this 5/5 stars, and I cannot wait to see what Hibbert writes next!

I read everything that Talía Hibbert has wrote, or at least everything that I could find.
This story didn’t hit the mark for me unfortunately. I love her writing and the complex characters and the added features to them because it always makes it much more real and reliable and wanting them to be my friends. But the story itself it’s just too quick, too much talk in parts and not much of the deep connection that I am used from her.
My favourite trope is enemies to lovers but these characters just happened to skip so many lines in becoming friends overnight with no real reason apparently. Just because they were forced into a close proximity situation , it felt like they just forgot about all their beefs with one another and now they didn’t care about the old feelings.
And I’ll be honest, I was expecting more spice, because… yes, that’s what I was expecting from her.
Either way, it’s a cute YA romance that many readers will enjoy. It just wasn’t for me but that would never stop me to continue reading the author’s next books.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy , I won’t be promoting this title on my pages because i don’t think it’s fair for the author and her team from my part to promote a negative review.

Wow, this one really missed the mark for me.
Having loved the Brown sisters trilogy, I went into this with high hopes and unfortunately it was very much a disappointment.

For starters, all of the commentary about Celine's dad just felt so unnecessary, it really didn't add to the plot whatsoever. It might have added a little spice if he had actually been at the awards ceremony but he wasn't and so I feel everything else that was discussed about him was pointless.

The whole book seemed to happen at super speed. I understand the chapters are split into months but when reading it really didn't feel like it. It went from Celine and Brad hating each other to then getting along during the Expedition (of which we were given like no insight into apart from one conversation), so when they came home it just felt as though they were both like "hey we're friends now!"... Then all of a sudden they're in love?!

Nothing ran smoothly for me, I didn't like their relationship and I'm usually a big fan of enemies to lovers but this whole thing just felt very childish and confusing. A lot of the conversations between the main characters or the thoughts they each had was so cringeworthy I could feel my face curling up at it.

Unfortunately, this is not a book I would recommend which is unfortunate as I was really looking forward to it.

This book is beautiful. Filled with humour, compassion, drive and love.

Yes, as it’s core it a romance - an friends to enemies to lovers, to be exact - but it would be a disservice to say that’s all this is.

Like we’ve come to expect from Talia Hibbert, there’s a lot more under the service of her romances. Raising awareness of people’s mental health struggles and disabilities, and how you don’t need to overcome them, but learn to manage them and still get a happily ever after.

A fantastic YA debut that left me feeling all warm inside!

Thank you NetGalley and Little Brown Book for the ARC.

One of the main reasons I love reading Talia Hibbert's books, is her talent for writing and handling mental health with so much compassion and honesty, and in doing so, she makes her main characters feel even more real and relatable, which is why I loved reading this so much, and struggled to put it down.

The story was lighthearted and fun, and the camping aspect was really enjoyable, although I would have loved to see even more of it in the story, as some parts felt rushed. Whilst ocd is heavily dealt with in the story, it didn't feel heavy or anxiety inducing, but I would recommend checking the trigger warnings just in case.

Celine was a great main character, she was well written, and had a lot of depth to her, but also made me laugh with her conspiracy theories and wit. All of the characters had their own distinct personalities and brought something fresh and funny to the group dynamic. I especially loved seeing Aurora overcome her anxiety and open up with the group, as she had a great sense of humour. The chemistry between Celine and Brad was perfectly balanced with their friendship, they made a very cute, messy couple that you can't help but root for and I just honestly loved the story so much.

Another great book written by Talia Hibbert. Great palate cleanser between darker books. Light, sweet fun.

I loved this - I read it in one day without really meaning to! It was seriously funny, I was constantly chuckling at both narrative voices. But also seriously sweet 🥰 It’s pretty clean, something I can give to my teenage pupils without worrying which is always a bonus! My only gripe - no epilogue 😫

This book is just adorable with the best banter and chemistry!
Talia managed to capture a great portrayal of OCD. She challenges the stereotypical assumptions of what people with OCD live like.
To top all of this off it's also a childhood friend's to enemies to lovers / academic rivals to lovers which turned out perfect! 🥰 I don't usually read much YA but I definitely would read more from her 🤍
Thankyou NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group

Thank you very much for the opportunity to read and review this book! Full review to come. Love the premise and can’t wait to read Celine & Brads adventures. Love the cover too! It’s so refreshing to see more representation in both storyline and cover art.


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

Could you brave the wilderness with your HIGHLY SUSPICIOUS and UNFAIRLY CUTE ex-best friend?

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 CELINE BANGURA.

They used to be best friends, until Brad decided he was too cool for conspiracy-theory-obsessed Celine and abandoned her for the popular kids' table. (At least, that's how Celine sees it.) These days, there's nothing between them but insults and academic rivalry.

So when Celine signs up for a two-part survival course in the woods, the last thing she expects is to find Brad right beside her.

Forced to work as a team for the chance to win the grand prize, Celine and Bradley must trudge through not just mud and dirt but their messy past. As this adventure brings them closer together, they start to remember all the good parts of their history. But has too much time passed . . . or just enough to spark a whole new kind of relationship?