tl;dr sapphic enemies to lovers ft fake dating :DDD
Premise
After losing spectacularly to her ex-girlfriend in their first game since their break up, Scottie Zajac gets into a fender bender with the worst possible person: her nemesis, the incredibly beautiful and incredibly mean Irene Abraham. Things only get worse when their nosey, do-gooder moms get involved and the girls are forced to carpool together until Irene’s car gets out of the shop.
Their bumpy start only gets bumpier the more time they spend together. But when an opportunity presents itself for Scottie to get back at her toxic ex (and climb her school’s social ladder at the same time), she bribes Irene into playing along. Hijinks, heartbreak, and gay fake-dating scheme for the ages.
Rating
3.5/5 stars
Review
I liked this one! It had some of my favorite tropes (enemies to lovers, fake dating) and was sapphic hehe <3 I loved all of the cute moments between Irene and Scottie, and the ending *swoons* it was so romantic. I think the ending boosted this rating by a lot lol.
All of the characters were well-crafted, and I enjoyed seeing their growth and depth as the book went on. The side characters were super loveable, and they added a lot to the story! Speaking of development, it was great to see Scottie's journey of healing and finding herself again, and I loved how the book emphasized the importance of loving yourself before loving someone else. I also liked the family dynamics in the book (Zajac family adopt me pls).
However, there are some parts that I didn't like as much. I'm just going to say it outright - I like this book less the more I think about it. I think the transition from enemies to lovers could have been a lot smoother. To me, it felt like a very abrupt switch from the two characters hating each other to admitting their feelings (I was pretty caught off-guard when the change happened). I think that abruptness is because the moments during which Scottie and Irene started understanding each other more were still infused with a lot of bickering and arguing. Basically, I would've liked to see more "I'm falling for this person" moments during the fake-dating scheme to build up the chemistry.
Also, I was kind of uncomfy during the first part of the book?? There are a couple of situations when Scottie and Irene first start fake dating where Scottie is the initiator, but the situation is the most uncomfortable for Irene (when the two start fake dating, it's essentially Irene's coming out to the whole school). And even though Irene consents to everything, I was just kinda uncomfy, I don't know how to describe it. I feel like the fact that Scottie paid Irene to fake date her was also never really brought up again once the two of them were together for real (I think). And last thing - I don't how I feel about the way people treated Scottie and Irene after they started fake dating. Scottie got the popularity boost she was looking for, but it came off like that boost didn't come from Irene's popularity, but the fact that the two of them were in a wlw relationship.
Overall, there were some parts I wish were handled differently, but I thought the book was good!
Other Info
Standalone
13+
CW: past toxic relationship, homophobia, underage drinking
Buy link: https://www.amazon.com/She-Drives-Crazy-Kelly-Quindlen/dp/1250209153
Would I Recommend?
Yes. I think it's worth the read, but just keep my comments in mind.
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