Blog Tour: Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute

Title: Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute

Author: Talia Hibbert
Genre: Young Adult Romance
Publishing Date: January 3, 2023

Synopsis: From the New York Times bestselling author of the Brown Sisters trilogy, comes a laugh-out-loud story about a quirky content creator and a clean-cut athlete testing their abilities to survive the great outdoors–and each other.

Bradley Graeme is pretty much perfect. He’s a star football player, manages his OCD well (enough), and comes out on top in all his classes . . . except the ones he shares with his ex-best friend, Celine.

Celine Bangura is conspiracy-theory-obsessed. Social media followers eat up her takes on everything from UFOs to holiday overconsumption–yet, she’s still not cool enough for the popular kids’ table. Which is why Brad abandoned her for the in-crowd years ago. (At least, that’s how Celine sees it.)

These days, there’s nothing between them other than petty insults and academic rivalry. So when Celine signs up for a survival course in the woods, she’s surprised to find Brad right beside her.

Forced to work as a team for the chance to win a grand prize, these two teens must trudge through not just mud and dirt but their messy past. And as this adventure brings them closer together, they begin to remember the good bits of their history. But has too much time passed . . . or just enough to spark a whole new kind of relationship?

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Review

Ah Brad and Celine... I love them. Talia Hibbert has written the sweetest romance with Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute. I began rooting for Brad and Celine at the very beginning and this book just made my heart happy. Their relationship is one of the most genuine I've read in a book in a very long time. Not only that but I enjoyed both Brad's and Celine's flaws. They felt realistic and I connected with them a lot - especially Brad's obsessive-compulsive disorder. Hibbert wrote realistic, sympathetic characters and I cannot say how much I loved this story.

The plot was quick-paced and the time skips added to the story. Everything made sense, which is always an issue I have with time skips. Brad and Celine's relationship had enough time to marinate so by the end, I truly felt that their relationship meant something to both of them. I felt the depth. It felt real. Honestly, Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute is YA but at time reads more maturely than some of the adult romances I read. Our characters may be younger, but they grow so much over the course of the story.

I've already gushed enough about our characters but I loved the BEP storyline. I expected a bit more around this since three scholars would win a scholarship at the end, but the focus between high school and this felt just right. I fell in love with the other scholars and this helped our characters grow a lot. I was so happy to see Celine making friends with Aurora. My heart was happy to see a band of characters supporting and rooting for each other. One of my favorite scenes in this book was the birthday party for Aurora. I almost cried at how sweet it was, and I loved that Brad planned it all. He's a really great guy.

This romance is great for ex-best friends to lovers fans. I loved seeing the dynamic at the beginning of the book between Brad and Celine only for the swoon worthy romance at the end. I was literally cheering while reading the end of the book.

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute is a five star read for me. The representation was fantastic. Hibbert did great with the mental illness factor in this story, and the family aspect was *chef's kiss*. I was fully immersed in our two young lover's story. I highly recommend Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute - you will not regret it, and I think I just found a new favorite author.

About the Author

Talia Hibbert is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author who lives in a bedroom full of books. Supposedly, there is a world beyond that room, but she has yet to drum up enough interest to investigate.

She writes steamy, diverse romance because she believes that people of marginalized identities need honest and positive representation. Her interests include makeup, junk food, and unnecessary sarcasm. Talia and her many books reside in the English Midlands.

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