My favourite Talia Hibbert book is "Take a Hint, Dani Brown," and dare I say this is a close second. Hibbert’s YA debut is fantastic, and I will continue to read anything she writes. I highly recommend this sweet and hilariously real book. Crystal: Thanks for that awesome interview Jessica! I also searched and found some of her videos. Fell down a rabbit hole for a bit. 😉 Overall, I already can’t wait to reread this. The audiobook is going to be perfection and I can’t wait to see how the narrator(s) interpret the humor. If you want a major serotonin boost and/or the feeling of eating a maple blondie brownie with butterscotch icing and vanilla ice cream from Apple Bees, read Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute. It’s delicious. Jessica: I ended up reading the book as an audiobook, ebook, and physical book since I was traveling. And I have to say, if you want your 6 hour flight to go by in a snap, listen to the audiobook. It is truly such a great experience. And I needed that glossary, lol, so it was much appreciated.

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.) LIMBONG: Before I let you go, I know this is a Y.A. novel, so, you know, it's aimed at younger readers. Is there, like, a specific teen in mind that you had in mind as you wrote this book? And what is it that you hope they take away from it? Nothing, really." Her fingertips brush against my wrist finding the gap between my gloves and my coat with heat-seeking precision. In our Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute book review, we want to examine how Talia Hibbert perfected the modern romance for young adults. With dialogue that juggles both laugh-out-loud humor and pull-at-the-heartstrings vulnerability amid an outdoorsy premise, Hibbert attentively captures Celine’s feelings of abandonment and resentment, and Brad’s mental health struggles while striking a quintessential balance of romance and comedy in this lively romp.”— Publishers Weekly

Books Multibuys

Book Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Health, LGBT, Mental Health, Romance, Young Adult, Young Adult Contemporary, Young Adult Romance Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute follows two main characters Bradley and Celine who were once best friends, but are now essentially enemies. The two can barely stand to be around each other. However, after an accident, Bradley is forced to help Celine around and he inevitability takes her to a seminar where she plans to sign up for a survival course that takes place in the woods. The grand prize is a scholarship which Celine could desperately use. Surprisingly enough, Bradley also becomes intrigued by the prospect of getting a scholarship to uni so he, too, signs up. What ensues is a such a heartfelt, fun, and sometimes emotionally scary journey for the two characters who find that they may have more feelings for each other than they expected. HIBBERT: So here in the U.K., it's a funny status quo, and it has been highlighted to the rest of the world more recently with the treatment of Meghan Markle. I've always, from the start of my career, noticed and been unsurprised by the fact that American readers, they make up a much larger percentage of my readership. And... LIMBONG: And so the other main character in the book is a guy named Brad. He is, you know, he's like that guy, right? He's popular. He's charming. He's handsome. And we learn early on that he and Celine used to be really good friends. But then, you know, high school drama gets in the way. Tell us a little bit more about Brad. I have the urge to say that both Brad and Celine changed a lot from start to finish, but it was more like they found themselves again. The ending was perfect and shaped up exactly how I’d been imagining. (It was fun betting with myself on which three would win the scholarship.)

HIBBERT: So one thing I did was at the time, I was having like, cognitive behavioral therapy to try and deal with my OCD. And a lot of the time, I would leave a session, and instead of being like, how am I going to apply that in my life? I'd be like, ooh, Brad would do this or that. And I - you know, I think actually, in the end, that helped me kind of remember and prioritize and process things for myself because I'm just a bit more passionate about what I'm writing than I am about the boring day-to-day realities of taking care of myself. So it was a useful kind of intertwining of research and experience.K. Imani: As one who goes camping with her students twice a year I loved it. I feel like taking both characters out of their comfort zones allowed them to open themselves up to each other and to others. Celine definitely grew at each of the camping weeks and Brad learned he was much more of a leader than he thought he was. I also liked that it opened up Celine and Brad’s world as they were away from their friends and had to be on their best behavior as they developed new friendships. I feel like this allowed them to also get to know each other as who they are now rather than who they were when their friendship ended. 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.

Crystal: I don’t know about you all, but I have read quite a few of Talia Hibbert’s adult romances and have really enjoyed them so I was very excited to see that she was trying out writing for young adults. There were probably hearts dancing above my head when I saw her name on the cover image. Speaking of the cover, what are your thoughts about the use of illustration and the colors? An effervescent, funny, tender, and joyous story' YAMILE SAIED ME ́NDEZ, award-winning author of FuriaLIMBONG: Yeah. She's the type to wear, like, Docs, you write, with a dress. Like, she's that type of girl. A razor-sharp, witty enemies-to-lovers rom-com. Readers will laugh out loud and swoon at the same time. Simply unputdownable' EMIKO JEAN, New York Times bestselling author of Tokyo Ever After HIBBERT: So this book is published in the U.S. with Joy Revolution, and the mission essentially is to show people of color having these joyous love stories. And I was just really inspired by that idea. And they reached out to me and asked if I had ever considered writing YA because they felt that my adult novels sort of fit the bill. But obviously, this imprint is for teens. And at the time, I hadn't, and I told them as much. But I started thinking about it, you know, and after a few days, I went from I've never done that before, and I don't know if I can do that, to, well, I really like YA, and I think this sounds really cool, so why shouldn't I do it? And so I asked if I could, you know, come up with some ideas and pitch them. And I thought about it, and when I came up with the pitch for "Highly Suspicious And Unfairly Cute," I was like, you know, I really want to write this, actually. You know, I really changed my mind. An effervescent, funny, tender, and joyous story.”—YAMILE SAIED MÉNDEZ, award-winning author of Furia and Twice a Quinceañera