Review: What’s Not To Love, Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka

If you’re new here, there’s one thing you need to know: I am a huge fan of Austin & Emily’s books. Seriously. They all end up on my favorites’ list. So.. how did their 2021 release, What’s Not To Love, measure up to their past work? Let’s find out in my review!

What's Not to Love by Emily Wibberley, Austin Siegemund-Broka
Published by Viking Books for Young Readers on April 20, 2021
Genres: contemporary, romance
Format: Hardcover
Buy on Book Depository, Wordery, Barnes & Noble, Publisher, Bookshop, Blackwell's
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An academic enemies-to-lovers YA with all the nerdy drama, high school antics, and heartpounding romance of the Netflix original series Never Have I Ever
Since high school began, Alison Sanger and Ethan Molloy have competed on almost everything. AP classes, the school paper, community service, it never ends. If Alison could avoid Ethan until graduation, she would. Except, naturally, for two over-achieving seniors with their sights on valedictorian and Harvard, they share all the same classes and extracurriculars. So when their school’s principal assigns them the task of co-planning a previous class’s ten-year reunion, with the promise of a recommendation for Harvard if they do, Ethan and Alison are willing to endure one more activity together if it means beating the other out of the lead.
But with all this extra time spent in each other’s company, their rivalry begins to feel closer to friendship. And as tension between them builds, Alison fights the growing realization that the only thing she wants more than winning…is Ethan.

There are no spoilers in this review.

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I ENJOYED…

☂️

• Alison and Ethan have competed against each other ever since high school began. When they’re forced to work together on organizing a high-school reunion in exchange of a Harvard recommendation, sparks start flying…
• Once again, the authors manage to make their main character shine in What’s Not To Love.
  • Alison’s driven, she’s smart, she’s competitive, she’s studious and obsessed with being the best, always thinking ahead about what the future holds for her, but too rarely looking in the moment and actually enjoying her high school years. I found her very relatable in so many ways, especially in the ways she saw failure and set herself up at the highest of standards ever. Oops. I loved seeing her grow through the story.
• The cast of characters surrounding Alison was wonderful, too. I really liked Ethan, especially how we got to discover a little more of him as we got to know him better. Alison’s parents were a lot of fun as well.
• I need to take a moment to mention the sisters’ relationship, too. They’re off to a rocky start in the book, with a bit of misunderstanding in their way, but I really liked how their relationship grew as they got to know and understand each other and their own life path better, too. I think it was such a good addition to the story!

• Of course, I need to talk about the romance. There’s something I have to say here: this IS what enemies-to-lovers relationships should look like in stories. The authors NAILED everything about that trope. From the hatred to the tension building up to the gradual switch in feelings on both sides… THIS WAS REAL GOOD, friends. Let’s not start with the chemistry here, either, because honestly I LOVED IT. I felt it all and rooted for them so much.
• Aside from being a very good romance, What’s Not To Love also asks important questions about taking a path for college and all the questions you might ask yourself in that turning moment of your life. How, no matter how certain things might be, life might end up being different. How it’s okay to embrace the unexpected, sometimes, too.

OVERALL

☂️

What’s Not To Love was, once again, a hit for me and really comforts me in my forever-fan of Wibberley’s books position right now. I loved the characters, the chemistry, the enemies-to-lovers romance and, most of it all, how the authors always manage to make their characters so alive on page. I can’t wait to read everything they ever write.

FINAL RATING : It’s a hurricane!

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📚 Books similar to What’s Not To Love that I’d recommend:

• For more enemies-to-lovers, academic rivals romance, check out Today Tonight Tomorrow, by Rachel Lynn Solomon.
• For more Wibbroka awesomeness, read all of their books: Always Never Yours, If I’m Being Honest, Time of Our Lives.

Did you read What’s Not To Love or do you want to? Do you have any recommendations of great enemies-to-lovers romance you’ve read and loved? Let me know in comments!

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