e-Audio, 07:12:02
Narrated by: Marcella Cox & Daniel K. Isaac
Release Date: May 30, 2023
Published by: Books on Tape
Read from: May 30-31, 2023
Stand-alone
Source: PRH App
TW: Fatphobic Comments, Racism, Body Shaming
For Readers Interested In: Romance, Sports, Fake Dating, Foodie Favorites, Body Positivity, Racial/Ethnic DiversityA swoony, heart-melting YA romance from beloved author Rebekah Weatherspoon about two awkward teens who decide to practice dating in order to be good at the real thing.
Perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon and Jenny Han.
Sixteen-year-old Bethany Greene, though confident and self-assured, is what they call a late-bloomer. She’s never had a boyfriend, date, or first kiss. She’s determined to change that but after her crush turns her down cold for Homecoming–declaring her too inexperienced–and all her back-up ideas fall through, she cautiously agrees to go with her best friend’s boyfriend Jacob. A platonic date is better than no date, right? Until Saylor breaks up with said boyfriend.
Dumped twice in just two months, Jacob Yeun wonders if he’s the problem. After years hiding behind his camera and a shocking summer glow up, he wasn’t quite ready for all the attention or to be someone’s boyfriend. There are no guides for his particular circumstances, or for taking your ex’s best friend to the dance.
Why not make the best of an awkward situation? Bethany and Jacob decide to fake date for practice, building their confidence in matters of the heart.
And it works–guys are finally noticing Bethany. But things get complicated as their kissing sessions–for research of course!–start to feel real. This arrangement was supposed to help them in dating other people, but what if their perfect match is right in front of them?
*MY THOUGHTS*
I don’t even think I read the synopsis when I added this to my TBR lol All I needed was to see Weatherspoon’s name on the cover and I knew I needed it. And it was 1000% exactly what I needed at the time. I had been eyeing it since I saw the cover, so I was happy to finally get my hands on it.
I LOVED this one. And the number one reason why? The writing style. I was sucked into this immediately. I don’t know what it is about dual/multiple POVs, so I was hella excited when I saw we’ll get to be in both their heads. This was just so much fun. It was super cute. And the way they liked each other so hard, even though it was so new?! Ugh so cute. And OF COURSE I loved this…. It was fake dating. Who didn’t know I was going to fall in love with a book like this.
The romance was super cute. Jacob was so cute! His swooning for her is unalived me right then and there. He kept thinking that he was sneaking his feelings for her and no one knew he was really into her. I don’t understand how he didn’t know everyone saw it all over their face. He was in love with her from the very beginning. Bethany was also really funny too. She was basically saying the same thing. They were both terrible actors and it was hilarious.
The other thing about this was the rest of the book. It was a lot deeper than what the cover suggested. I wasn’t expecting it. I knew there was going to be some basketball in there, but I didn’t know there was going to be some thoughts on fat people who play sports and subtle ways they might be fat shamed. By their parents. All it took was Bethany telling him and then he did all he could to make sure her moms SAW her. And like Idk if it’s just me, but I thought that was the cutest thing ever. (Although I DID wish she was more into basketball lol I thought this was going to be a cute sports romance with a bad ass female athlete. Which I got….. Kind of lol)
I knew this was going to be good. I remember getting this near Christmas and being so desperate I was reading a few snippets here and there. When it finally came close to publication, I was able to read it all the way through again and I loved it even more. Definitely a story I’ll be able to re-read.
Overall, I give this
