e-ARC, 368 pages
Release Date: January 21, 2020Published by: Wednesday Books
Read from: January 25-28, 2020Stand-aloneSource: Publisher and Edelweiss (I received a copy of this book from the Publisher & Edelweiss in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)TW: N/AFor fans of: Contemporary, Romance, Social Media, Friendships, Sparkly Covers, Realistic Fiction, YA
A fresh, irresistible rom-com from debut author Emma Lord about the chances we take, the paths life can lead us on, and how love can be found in the opposite place you expected.
Meet Pepper, swim team captain, chronic overachiever, and all-around perfectionist. Her family may be falling apart, but their massive fast-food chain is booming ― mainly thanks to Pepper, who is barely managing to juggle real life while secretly running Big League Burger’s massive Twitter account.
Enter Jack, class clown and constant thorn in Pepper’s side. When he isn’t trying to duck out of his obscenely popular twin’s shadow, he’s busy working in his family’s deli. His relationship with the business that holds his future might be love/hate, but when Big League Burger steals his grandma’s iconic grilled cheese recipe, he’ll do whatever it takes to take them down, one tweet at a time.
All’s fair in love and cheese ― that is, until Pepper and Jack’s spat turns into a viral Twitter war. Little do they know, while they’re publicly duking it out with snarky memes and retweet battles, they’re also falling for each other in real life ― on an anonymous chat app Jack built.
As their relationship deepens and their online shenanigans escalate ― people on the internet are shipping them?? ― their battle gets more and more personal, until even these two rivals can’t ignore they were destined for the most unexpected, awkward, all-the-feels romance that neither of them expected.
*MY THOUGHTS*
As soon as I read the synopsis I knew I would need to get my contemp loving hands on this book! And I knew I would love it. And of course I did. And listen, this was one of the cutest books I’ve read in a long time.
“But you could come down to Penn and visit me,” she offers brightly. The idea would be tempting if I didn’t have this Great Expectations essay and a whole slew of other great expectations to deal with.“1%
The class clown and the valedictorian meet in a Twitter war for the ages over a grilled cheese sandwich. One feels like the other stole a sacred recipe and the other feels they they did no such thing, and they’re duking it out on Twitter. In doing so, they find out so much more about the other and themselves…. And their parents.
“But sometimes even shouting into a void feels better than just staring into it.“6%
I LOVED this. I’m a sucker for a good rom-com, so this was right up my alley. And it most definitely was. There were times it made me literally laugh out loud. I snorted at a couple of the lines and got strange looks from co-workers. That’s just how much I laughed. After finishing this, I went to find the author on Twitter, and you’ll be happy to know, Lord is just as hilarious on Twitter as these two were.
“You know, for someone named Pepper, you’re pretty salty about losing.“38%
The romance in this one was ok, but I wish there was more of it. I mean since I shipped them the entire book. But we don’t get the romance until the end. I know the point of this book is a Twitter war where they’re going at it, but still. If there’s anyone that can honestly say they shipped someone other than those two, I want to know what book they read because I somehow missed it lol
“I feel like you’ve kind of been hiding because of it. ‘Pepperoni, I’m the loudest person in our class. […] Yeah. I think that’s a version of hiding, sometimes.“58%
The only thing I didn’t care for was her Mom. I don’t like saying this about Moms, but her was a JERK. This entire situation was SUPER PETTY. And you listened to your kids for everything else, but not for when she’s telling you something important. It was such a stupid grudge and I really wanted to shake her and say “GROW UP” when it was revealed. I was hoping it was like they were related or something lol
“It’s weird how you can have no idea how far you’ve come until suddenly you can’t find the way back.“86%
I can’t be the only one who was reminded of the Popeyes vs Chickfila war. I can’t help but wonder if that’s where this idea stemmed from? It seems like the weirdest thing to write a book over, but it actually worked. Like really worked. I can’t wait to see what pop culture topic she’ll write her next book on!
“I think maybe you both need to understand that you’re good at different things, and stop beating yourselves up about what you think you’re not good at.“91%
This was such a cute read that I just could not put down. I have been taking 5 and sometimes longer days to finish a 300 page book lately, but this one I blew through. It was an easy read, that was filled with humor, great characters, and amazing dessert recipe ideas. (Also, I need to find a way I can make the Monster Cake but Keto style lol) I hope everyone who reads this book loves it as much as I do.
Overall, I give this
