Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry was one of my most anticipated reads. As a lover of YA contemporary rom-coms, I couldn’t pass up on this lovely story about a list-maker getting her journal stolen… and then blackmailed about its contents. I’m happy to say: I wasn’t disappointed by this book, at all. Read my full review below!
Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney Published by Hot Key Books on May 4, 2021
Genres: contemporary, romance, young adult
Format: Paperback
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A passionate, hilarious and heartfelt YA romcom debut full of juicy secrets and leap-off-the-page chemistry about how we choose to live our lives and what it means to live your truth. For fans of Jenny Han, Nicola Yoon and Justin A. Reynolds. Quinn keeps lists of everything - from the days she's ugly cried, to "Things That I Would Never Admit Out Loud," to all the boys she'd like to kiss. Her lists keep her sane. By writing her fears (as well as embarrassing and cringeworthy truths) on paper, she never has to face them in real life. That is, until her journal goes missing . . . An anonymous account posts one of her lists on Instagram for the whole school to see and blackmails her into facing seven of her greatest fears, or else her entire journal will go public. Quinn doesn't know who to trust. Desperate, she teams up with Carter Bennett - the last known person to have her journal and who Quinn loathes - in a race against time to track down the blackmailer. Together, they journey through everything Quinn's been too afraid to face, and along the way, Quinn finds the courage to be honest, to live in the moment, and to fall in love. A razor-sharp, passionate and addictive YA romcom that readers will love.
☂️ TRIGGER WARNINGS:
bullying, racism, slut shaming, blackmailing, cyberbullying, grandparent with Alzheimer’s disease, underage drinking.There are no spoilers in this review.
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I ENJOYED…
☂️
- In Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry, we meet Quinn. She keeps everything on lists in her precious notebook, from boys she’d love to kiss to secrets she won’t ever reveal. When her notebook goes missing and a stranger starts blackmailing her into doing some of her worst fears, everything changes. The idea behind this story was so wonderful and I just loved it!
- Quinn was such a great main character. She’s afraid to admit what she really wants and to show who she really is, at first, but as the story goes on, she grows so much, gains confidence and I loved rooting for her SO much.
- The romance! In this story, we’re getting a slow-burning romance and I really loved how it grew, slowly but surely as Quinn realized her feelings changing, turning into something more. The romance isn’t without its complications, yet I really enjoyed reading it overall and liked where it ended, too!
- The friendships in this story were truly excellent. First of all: I loved how Quinn built new friendships in this story, people who understood her, incredible people I LOVED reading about (Olivia was such a great character!). Second of all: I also deeply appreciated how the story explored past friendships, one that slowly shattered and ended up breaking. I really liked how the book managed to explore both of these friendships within its pages.
- Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry still manages to leave a nice, important place to family relationships. Everything isn’t all sunshine and rainbows in Quinn’s family, between her parents’ fights and her grandmother dealing with Alzheimer. I really appreciated the inclusion of these family dynamics in the story and liked how they shaped Quinn and the plot itself, just as well.
- While I’m not going to comment on the Black representation and this topic further, since it’s not my place to do so at all, I personnally appreciated the discussions about race in this story, too!
I HAD A HARD TIME WITH…
☂️
- There’s one tiny little thing that left me… hanging a little bit, if you will, in this story. Without spoiling anything for you all, I just wanted to see a little bit more of a resolution with one of the characters, Matt. I feel like he was a bit forgotten by the end of the book and, I don’t know, I wanted more!
OVERALL
☂️
Filled with heartwarming friendships, a slow-burning romance and a main character you’ll root for, Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry is a great YA contemporary for fans of the genre. Definitely recommending this book!
FINAL RATING : 4 stars
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Did you read Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry, or do you want to? Do you have any recommendations of books with a unique character’s voice? Let me know in comments!
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I love when family dynamics are included. I’m glad that, despite the fights, it added to the story. Lovely review.
Genesis @ Whispering Chapters
Thank you so much! I hope you’ll give this book a try someday 🙂
I’ve always been curious about this book mostly for the title 😅 but I’m glad to see you enjoyed so many aspects. Seems like all the variety of relationships were fleshed out which I adore!! Loved getting to see your thoughts here 🥰🥰
ahh Sophie I hope you’ll give this one a try, it’s really a great book 🙂
Great review! I loved this one.
Thank you so much! 🙂
You’re welcome!
Lovely review, as always Marie!
Ive never seen this cover before- so pretty! Though im not sure which one I prefer 😅
I had been wanting to read it, and even more so now after reading your review! 💕
Oh thank you so much Kristina! I hope you’ll read and will love this one as much as I do!
This one sounds good, even if it’s emotional. I have to admit that if I hadn’t looked closer at the cover, I would have thought it was The How & The Why by Cynthia Hand because those are the same colors on each half except switched.
Ohhh, I didn’t notice and looked up the cover of The How & The Why and I get it now, these are the same colors ahah it’s a trend! I hope you’ll give this book a try 🙂