Such a cute book!! I loved the characters, the romance, and the friendships in this book. 10/10 would recommend reading, it was even better than "Always Never Yours". I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for their next book.

Full review on my blog: https://picturethisliteraturecom.wordpress.com/2019/06/14/if-im-being-honest/

Cute transformation story with a sweet romance as part of the story. A few things didn't really add up but it won't matter to most readers.

The character development was so satisfying and the banter was *chefs kiss*

This was so good! I did not want to put it down once I started!

MAYBE: although the beginning was problematic and I didn't think any of the characters would be likable enough to root for, the latter 2/3rds of the book were super cute and Brendan and Paige were everything I needed in side characters. Very cute, but will weigh against the other romances on the list.

4.5 ⭐️

*4.5/5 stars*

If I'm Being Honest was a great YA contemporary retelling of The Taming Of The Shrew, making a lot of observations about the play and Katherine's character - Cameron's story paralleled in some ways the one of Katherine.

Cameron wouldn't be someone you'd call 'nice' per se, and I liked following her all the more for it. I always admire authors who are not afraid to create flawed characters. I didn't always like Cameron, mainly at the beginning, but I understood her behavior at all times.

Her - and her family's backstory - was very well done. I really liked following her story arc throughout the book. Her story was what The Taming Of The Shrew couldn't have been. She wasn't just a one dimensional mean girl 'a shrew', Cameron was flawed and human and never once made lesser and her story arc was amazing to follow.

Overall, I definitely did like her character, she was interesting and a change from the usual YA contemporary MC's. Cameron's character - her story arc - was the reason why I decided to give this book 4 stars instead of 3. I was also very invested in following Cameron's relationship with her family.

I've heard this pitched as 10 Things I Hate about You (which I love), and besides the obvious comparison of it being the same retelling, I don't really see too many similarities. Especially when it comes to the MC - Cameron and the romance. I kind of expected it to be similar to the movie, but am glad the book is it's own thing, it is a retalling of The Taming Of The Shrew after all, not the movie.

There was also cute romance and new friendships. The book itself was very easy to read, grabbing me from the very first page, definitely very bingeable read.

Overall, highly recommended YA contemporary. Cute romance, great friendships, easy to read. But I'd especially recommend it for The Taming Of The Shrew elements and Cameron's story arc.

This teenage drama is a drink I’m chugging down. This had all the hjinks and feels of 10 things I hate about you, which is apt because both it and this book are based on Taming of the Shrew. So good.

honestly... a few too many plots going on at once sometimes but the love story was so DANG CUTE!!! it dragged on a little towards the end but man am i a sucker for the enemies to lovers trope

I did not expect to like this book as much as I did.

I had tried reading this book once before and I hadn't managed to get past the first chapter. Perhaps I wasn't in the mood for teen romance back then. Whatever the reason I decided to give it another chance and I'm so glad I did.

The beginning is difficult to get through. Cameron comes off as a mean girl with no redeeming qualities. Slowly as the story progresses we do see her acknowledge her failings and celebrate that which makes her unique. The love story started with animosity, of course, but again I loved the progression. The book also, didn't lack in the inevitable college decision process, that comes with a YA-Romance set in senior year of high school.

If I had to give one criticism it would be regarding the relationship with her mother. The relationship with her mother improves, but I just didn't like the reason why it improved. I'm going to need to put the rest under a spoiler tag.

Spoiler

It wasn't necessarily the reason, it was more to do with the explanation that Cameron's mom made for her actions. Telling your 17 year old daughter that you left her father because he was a controlling ass who would never have appreciated them, is all well and good. That still doesn't make up for the fat that for years Cameron had been taking care of herself. If it was her decision to leave, because she knew that Cameron's father was an ass, then why did she spend so many years chasing after him? Not even trying to provide for herself and Cameron. Why was she never a mom to Cameron? In the end she explains to Cameron that she left because their life would have been worse under his thumb, and I believe her about that point, but she also didn't apologize for truly making Cameron's teen years so difficult. Let's face it Cameron didn't have parents. Cameron's mom started acting like one, in Cameron's senior year. Instead of explaining why she left and what happened in the past with Cameron's father, she should have been acknowledging her failings, apologizing for not being there, and promising that she would do better and then, actually manifesting that promise by doing better. I'm glad that Cameron and her mom made up in the end. I'm glad that the mom actually started pulling her life back together and becoming strong and independent. I don't like that she never really apologized for being a bad mom. I don't like that the book made it seem like everything was forgiven because Cameron learned that her mom had made one good decision 18 years ago.

**** Great read, 4 stars ****