I’m very picky when it comes to YA contemporary romances, but I always wanted to read a book by these authors and I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this one. 

This book follows Alison and Ethan who are rivals at high school. All the same classes, extra curricular and even want to go to the same college. So when they both are given an opportunity to get a recommendation from a Harvard alum, they are forced to work together. 

This rivals to loves was perfectly balanced. It wasn’t too quick nor was it slow. The romantic scenes were enjoyable but my favourite parts were always the banter. Even even they were starting to fall for each other, the banter never stopped. There was some diversity with the side character but would have liked to see more. 

I think I would have liked it more if Ethan has a POV. Allison was sometimes… annoying. A break from being in her head would have made it more bearable. Would have given his character more depth. 

This discussion around adults treating teens like useless children was interesting. It’s clear that both Allison and Ethan are capable l, and they’ve proven that over and over. Yet the adults around them still treat them as incompetent. As someone who works with youth and who’s philosophy is that “children are capable” I appreciated that discussion. 

Thank you to Penguin teen Canada for giving me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.