I Was Told There Would Be Romance by Marie Arnold

ARC, 224 pages
Release Date: October 15, 2024
Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Read from: October 4-11, 2024
Stand-alone
Source: Texas Library Association Conference (I received a copy of the ARC from the publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
Content Warning: Racism, Toxic Relationship
For Readers Interested In: Romance, Coming of Age, Books About Books, Racial/Ethnic Diversity (Black, Haitian), Realistic Fiction, YA

    For fans of Never Have I Ever and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before comes a hilarious and heartfelt YA contemporary about a young Haitian girl navigating high school, friendship, and crushes. Fifteen-year-old Fancy Augustine is a Haitian American girl with simple desires. She’d like to trade in her floppy, oversize boobs for cute, perky ones. She’d love a boyfriend. And she’s desperate for an invite to the biggest event of the school Imani Park’s birthday party. When Fancy learns her BFF, Tilly, has received a coveted invite and has a secret boyfriend, she is (understandably) devastated and wholeheartedly determined to do whatever it takes to get her own happily ever after.
      So what if she makes a deal with the devil (Imani) that guarantees her an invite—but only if she can bring a boyfriend? And what’s so bad about letting her crush, Rahim, believe that she can create a voodoo potion for him in exchange for him posing as her boyfriend? And, yeah, maybe she’s destroying her friendship with Tilly and falling hopelessly behind in her schoolwork, but Fancy knows it’ll all be worth it in the end. Plus, it’s not like Fancy’s parents would really make good on their threats of sending her back to Haiti…right?

*MY THOUGHTS*

This girl was a hot mess lol I sincerely don’t understand how she got away with the 3000 things she did throughout this whole book. But nonetheless it was entertaining lol

Ok so when I say I was worried about her, I was being so for real. This girl was caught following a boy, trying on someone else’s bra, and so much more. Idk how this girl wasn’t suspended or expelled. She spent more time in her guidance counselor’s office than in actual class. And the way she did absolutely NO work? Lol She should have been put out.

I think the best part of this was the plot. It told the actual story of Fancy instead of the story of her finding a romance. I know that sounds weird, but I just mean that we get an overall story of Fancy instead of just her finding someone. And it was a very welcome story because she was a hot mess. From getting involved with a fake dating scheme just to go to a party of someone she doesn’t like, to getting into it with her best friend because YOU lied, it was a lot. I was glad we had front row center to all of it.

I did wish we had dived into those other relationships tho. Like the one with Tilly. It just seemed very surface. Even when she was giving her advice on what to do at the end. And then when we get the information on the love interest, he basically poured his heart out, and she just carried on. Sure there was something that happened, but to me that just seemed surface level too. Especially since she was repeatedly told not to do exactly what she did. And I know she wasn’t the point of the book, but like if you put that part of her having a tantrum, you should put something about the mean girl having a meltdown in there. Maybe the next weekend at school or something? And same with Tilly. If this is going to happen to her and she finally comes to terms with it, I would have wanted to see that happen. She was her best friend. Even when the school was saying all that racist stuff about her being Haitian she was quiet and just went with it. Idk. They just all felt surface level.

What made me not roll my eyes at this tho was the fact that it was hilarious. The whole voodoo thing was ridiculous. And I was yelling at her as I read it. Because GIRL what do you mean you’re getting the goat blood from dinner and what do you mean they asked for a sacred bowl and you said any old one wil do? Voodoo has to be done exactly right. And she left things too open. I’m not surprised that all of these things happened to her lol

This girl was a hot mess but I had so much fun reading it. I laughed, I swooned, I got mad, and more. So basically, if this wasn’t enough explanation for you, go get this book and support this Haitian author! ESPECIALLY while all this racist shit is going on. Support her today, tomorrow, and on and on.

Overall, I give this