Rebel Hearts

by Tanya Byrne

We can't wait for someone to save us. I guess this is what happens when the world's burning and it feels like you're the only one pointing at it yelling, FIRE . . .

An irresistible 'enemies to lovers' queer romance set against activism and influence by the highly acclaimed author of TikTok made-me-buy-it, Afterlove.

Praise for Tanya
'A talented writer with attitude, and a fresh, original voice' Daily Mail

For Ren Barbosa (5 million followers) and Pearl Newman (GreenGirlPearl) the feeling's mutual - deep, undeniable loathing. Ren hates Pearl's calmly righteous perfectionism just as Pearl can't stand the 'burn it down' disruption Ren carries out with her wildly popular climate crisis activists, Out of Time and her former situationship, Tab. A loathing that's complicated further by Renée's prickly mother being an OG eco-activist turned government influence and Pearl's idol. Plus Renée being only one arrest away from serious trouble.

But when fate brings the rivals together for a sweltering summer under the guidance of vivacious rebranded influencer, unexpected sparks begin to fly. Increasingly cut off from the outside world, tensions rise as activism and personal lives collide. . .

Genres: Lesbian, Romance, Queer, LGBT, Contemporary, Young Adult

338 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 17, 2025

About the author

Tanya Byrne is an award-winning young adult author.

She was born in London where she spent forty years before moving to Brighton in 2017 with her dog, Frida. After eight years at BBC Radio, she left to write her debut novel, HEART-SHAPED BRUISE, which was published by Headline in May 2012 and earned her a nomination for New Writer of the Year at the National Book Awards.

Since then, she has written three young adult novels, including FLOORED, a unique collaborative novel with six other bestselling and award-winning authors: Sara Barnard, Holly Bourne, Non Pratt, Melinda Salisbury, Lisa Williamson and Eleanor Wood.

She has also contributed to several short story anthologies including A CHANGE IS GONNA COME, which was named Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week and was honoured with a Special Achievement Award by the YA Book Prize.

As a brown, queer, working class author, she is determined not to pull the ladder up after her so she is passionate about encouraging authors from marginalised backgrounds to tell their own stories and making publishing more open to everyone.

Her next novel, AFTERLOVE, is published by Hachette Children's Group in August.

Reviews

[lara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well I feel like I just aged 10 years by reading this absurd book. I don’t have any energy left because this book made me so unbelievably angry the whole time so im gonna keep it short :

WHY would anyone think to create 3 ABSOLUTELY INSUFFERABLE CHARACTERS IN A STORY and still think that this book is still enjoyable ??? ITS NOT. TAB, RILEY & ESPECIALLY MELODY CAN FUCK OFF TO NOWHERE.

FUCK INFLUENCERS, FUCK THEM SO BADLY. I’ve had already enough of them in RL but unfortunately I had to encounter AN ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE OF AN INFLUENCER ( aka MELODY ) IN A BOOK AS WELL. HONESTLY THIS WOMAN DESERVES TO GET CANCELLED AGAIN.

I thought climate change would be the main topic of this book but all I got was a GROWN ASS WOMAN BULLYING A 16 YEAR OLD TEENAGER JDJDJDJDSKSKJ.

At least Ren & Pearl were cute ( even though the romance subplot also was almost nonexistent) and I dedicate this one star to them. Also as a vegan myself : I LOVED THAT REN WAS VEGAN & PEARL A VEGETARIAN!!! We need more vegan / vegetarian characters!!!!

[Mirte · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, i really really did. I LOVED in the shallows, and i still want to read afterlove. This book however? I have a lot of qualms.

Firstly, for what i can say, the climate activism and self-sufficient off the grid living is very well researched. However, this books tends to feel like a very ranty infodump about someone their special interest. Which is NOT the place in this book, honestly. The part about teenagers feeling helpless because of the world they are inheriting from the older generation while they do not seem to care about the state of our world bc they want to make a profit? Immaculate. Really the most amazing part about this book.

(Could have done without the random name dropping, making this take part in the current universe but like, an alternate one bc obviously the influencers like Rebel Ren do not exist)

Second, the different plots were all over the place and because of this, none of the plots really took off. The switch from nonviolent protests to digital activism? Not explored enough. The romance? Fell very flat. Ren’s relationship with her mother and her feeling like she does not have anywhere she can call home? Where IS she?? It wasn’t even that when the romance kicked in, Pearl was her “home”, which is cliché but could have fixed this part of the book.

SPOILERS:
Ren being betrayed by her friends? NOT TALKED ABOUT ENOUGH.

Honestly, i was expecting a book about a very cute romance with some activism sprinkled in there. And while the “educational” side of the book was very nice, all the other stuff that was off about this book could honestly not fix it for me.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS;;

Third, melody ending up being, like, Disney villain levels evil? VERY weird given how she was set up. She was like completely turned around and then she fell back in her old ways?? If Mel was the way to lure Ren into the Community farm, you could have just as well let Celeste be the reason Ren ended up there (with Pearl). Let Mel just be comically evil and clout-chasing from the beginning, or like, let it get worse while Ren is there bc you know, Mel was jealous of her anyway.

[♡ J U L I A ♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

1,5⭐️ if you would ask what this book is about i couldn't answer you that. there was genuinely no plot whatsoever and everything the blurb is bullshit cuz nothing of it actually happens. it wasn't even that much about the danger of climate crisis/fight against it (the bits we got were actually so good but only in the first 70 pages unfortunately) and just about SO much drama, to a point where i was so excited to just finish this awful book and be done with it.

there are three certain characters that are literally THE worst ever but i hate one of them (the influencer) especially a VERY high level.

to call this a romance is a joke even though ren and pearl are the ONLY characters i really liked/loved and they are so cute and adorable. please don't read this and if you do go have fun by wasting your money, yes i'm that serious.

[c · Rating 3 out of 5]

my thoughts about this book are all jumbled up like the book felt at many points so i will just say a few 😭

-i picked it up for the climate change debate & only felt like i got good talk about it at the start but ig it was the point that ren moved further away from the activism on the farm?? it still felt like the plot was completely dissolved halfway through
-loved the country side & farm vibes though, i’m a huge sucker for that & the feel good summer atmosphere was fitting because it’s summer rn
-i wish there had been a better exploration of ren’s relationship with her mother because i was interested in their varying activism. this probably hadn’t fit during the end but i wish we’d gotten her moms opinion on her changes
-the relationship between ren & pearl felt really random when it picked up. i thought it would’ve been more rivals to lovers & that they would talk more about their different views on activism & that it would lead to some changes but it seemed like they just dropped everything & suddenly got together. they had a few really cute scenes though & i was just happy that pearl was ren’s supporter in the end
-Major scenes were often completely cut & only talked about afterwards?? maybe this is just a stylistic choice but i was severely confused when scenes like their court case, half of the trios conversation in the pub, ren’s final phone call with tab & other things were fade to black & then summarized in ren’s thoughts
-but i must say… when i thought the book was going nowhere & it was just a happy farm story i was suddenly Gagged by melody’s character arc
-i loved how angry i got at her & the satisfaction i felt when her entire family called her out. maybe i just live for the drama but the last few chapters were the absolute best to me & it felt healing to see her get called out. it did feel like a complete switch & left me wondering if we were supposed to guess that melody would turn out bad or if we were supposed to be blindsided like ren but i don’t really care about it that much because i loved feeling so shocked after not feeling that much at all

i’m definitely not a book critic (this is the longest review i’ve Ever written) & all i want is for a book to make me feel something so it does get points off for not making me feel that much for the romance or the climate change activism but i’m always craving countryside vibes, drama & a plot twist which is why i think i’ll leave it at 3 stars :)

[Ashli Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.5*
“that’s how you start a revolution, one bored teenager at a time.”

I loved the importance of this. It spoke about: climate change, the impact of fast fashion, the complacency of our government, the impacts of AI, how the world is running out of time. It had modern day references to on going issues that I think will make a lot of younger readers stop and reflect on what’s happening around them. on top of that it had discussions around the dangers of social media, parental issues, influencer culture and how dangerous it can be and complicated friendships.

sapphic relationship where two young girls are on the same side fighting with different methods (empathy vs anarchy) and coming together to realise they’re not all that different, they can achieve more working together than apart. I think I would rate this higher if we got more depth of their relationship and into the other characters, it felt a little shallow at times which I think let it down compared to the importance of the plot.

overall I think this is a great read for younger audiences and spoke about sm important issues.

[dzeni · Rating 1 out of 5]

stopped reading at page 200 something, this is probably not meant for me and instead for 13 year olds who have never heard of climate chnage before, and thats okay. annoying mc and even more annoying love interest (grumpy x sunshine very poorly written… anyway)

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m desperate to see a lot more publicity for this book, because ‘Rebel Hearts’ is worthy of Rachael Lippincott or Becky Albertalli -level hype! Tanya Byrne has bested my expectations of YA Sapphic Romance and crafted a piece that captures the richness of young people’s compassion, their razor-sharp acuity, their mindfulness and openness, and – above all – young people’s fierce sense of responsibility.

The activism Tanya Byrne writes about manages to walk a tightrope between well-researched expertise and well-rooted plot line. Every snippet of new information to me (and there was a lot of new information) came across with heart and depth. I never felt overwhelmed. In fact, I feel like Byrne tuned me in to the beating heart of climate crisis issues. An author that can prick readers’ empathies like this is a gifted storyteller.

I was tempted to say this is a sugary wee novel, but when I reflected upon my lasting impressions, they comprise insightful critical comment upon influence and debate, including a significant assessment of the influence of family and caregiving adults in young people’s lives.

Certain scenes, I know, are going to stay stamped upon my memory. And they are all scenes where Ren and Pearl are together. Their chemistry is the definition of the enemies-to-lovers trope, but it is crafted so delicately by Byrne that if you hadn’t picked this up as a Sapphic Romance and were only aware of it as a novel about activism, you’ll find yourself squealing and yelling at the ups and downs of the rollercoaster ride of their relationship.

All the characters made me feel! They gave me physical reactions! Melody made my blood boil; Ren made my eyes sting; Pearl made my heart constrict. As for character development, it’s truly something, the way Byrne can flip your feelings for a character utterly. She does it repeatedly and whole-heartedly for numerous characters here (who shall remain nameless to avoid spoilers!), and I was genuinely sucked in every time.

Overall, ‘Rebel Hearts’ is a love-letter to all the best traits of teens and young adults.

My great thanks to Hodder Children's Books and Hachette Children’s Group for a copy of the eARC via NetGalley.

[Moon Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC REVIEW

Tanya Byrne has done it again!!
I’m such a fan of her writing and the fact that it is accessible and compelling whilst tackling huge topics.

Rebel Hearts is about activism at its core, which is a topic that everyone hears about, but it difficult to engage with due to the taboo certain activist groups have caused (not a judgement, just a fact).
But Rebel Hearts will be hugely inspiring for young people (and beyond), offering insight into what we can do to help save our planet.

As usual, Byrne characterisation and character development are sublime. Ren is such a powerful main character, Pearl is a classic, well written rival-turned-love interest, and the other characters each have their own personalities and quirks and do not blend together at all.

Despite being fiction, it taught me as a 26 year old a fair bit I didn’t know about the climate crisis, so I imagine it will be more impactful for teens and young adults.

This is a brilliant, factual, trope-filled novel and I can never fault Tanya Byrne’s craft (but I would have liked to see Ren and her mother’s storyline be a bit more well rounded, but you can’t have it all!)


Thank you to Hachette/Hodder Children’s and Netgalley for the ARC!

[Neha Garg (thereadingowl_) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved reading In The Shallows by Tanya last year. So I jumped at the chance to read another sapphic YA from her. #RebelHearts revolve around Renata and Pearl who are both environmental activists with huge internet following. While Ren is more anarchic in her approach, Pearl wants to fix the world with empathy. They are essentially rivals working for the same cause. And their rivalry slowly blossoms into romance when they get to spend time together on a farm.

Given the condition our world is in, I feel it is a highly timely and relatable topic. Activism is no more restricted by physical boundaries. While internet is a great space to spread awareness, it also comes with its own issues. This story tries to shed light on various aspects of what climate influencing might look like.

While I really liked the concept, it sadly didn’t work for me as well as I wanted it to. I found the tone whiny. Ren has a great many good things in her life but she choses to focus on the wrong ones. It was also a bit repetitive which made it slow for me.

One thing I really liked though is that it urged me to be a bit more present and to be a bit more conscious in my consumption. I planted tomoto and courgette this year, and rust me harvesting the fruit has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. But that's just one small thing in a million small things we can do for our environment.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Marit · Rating 2 out of 5]

nou, de plottwists en de personages in dit boek waren allemaal niet zo geloofwaardig...

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

RTC

Thank you so much to the publisher and PrideBookTours for including me in the Instagram book tour for Rebel Hearts by Tanya Byrne.

[ruby ann౨ৎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

For some reason this book was advertised like it was a romance and don’t get me wrong, there is some romance in here, but it’s very minimal.

This book should’ve been advertised a little better for what it really is. For me, it felt like the majority of this book was about climate change and activism, the romance was only 5% of this book.

[Georgina Power · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I’m glad the world didn’t end before I met you.”

An utterly gorgeous YA LGBT romance with real emotional weight, Rebel Hearts is one of those books that doesn’t just tug on your heartstrings — it challenges your thinking and makes you reflect on the world around you. Tanya Byrne has delivered a powerful, timely novel that I devoured and will be recommending to everyone.

The story centres around Renata Barbosa — Ren — a passionate climate change activist whose voice, courage and vulnerability leap off the page. Ren is fiercely adored, not only by those closest to her, but by the reader too. I found myself offended on her behalf at times, especially with how often people gaslighted, insulted, or diminished her. And yet, she remains so grounded, her drive and empathy unwavering — I was rooting for her from page one.

The inclusion of Portuguese in Ren’s conversations with her mother was a beautiful touch of authenticity. While I did need to translate the occasional sentence, it only enriched the experience — a true ‘own voices’ story that doesn’t shy away from heritage, culture, or complexity.

Byrne weaves in thoughtful, well-researched climate issues — from fast fashion to the devastating realities of places like Old Fadama — and I genuinely found myself deep-diving into topics after reading. It’s a book that educates as much as it entertains, and I deeply admire that.

Then there’s Melody. Oh, Melody. I loved her at the start — she was refreshing, candid, and held herself accountable for her past as a performative influencer. But wow, the twist in her character arc had me reeling. Byrne brilliantly explores the toxicity of online fame and that all-too-familiar mentality of “any attention is good attention”. Melody’s descent is hauntingly realistic, and a sharp commentary on the influencer culture and ‘reality star’ mindset so prevalent today.

Tab, on the other hand, was deeply frustrating. The worst kind of best friend — manipulative, bitter, and constantly undermining Ren. Her attempts to fracture the friendship group were painful to read, and I honestly wish we’d had more from Riley by the end to balance things out.

But shining through it all is the tender, heartfelt romance between Pearl and Ren. Their connection is sweet, gentle, and beautifully paced — their first kiss felt like a quiet triumph. Pearl brings out such warmth in Ren and is the kind of secondary character who quietly carries half the emotional weight of the book.
That closing sentiment — “No, it ends when I meet Pearl, because that’s when my life started again” — just broke me in the best possible way. Absolute sweethearts.

Rebel Hearts isn’t just a love story. It’s a rallying cry. A mirror to the social challenges we face. A reminder of the strength of youth activism and the fragility of our digital lives. It’s bold, tender, and unafraid to hold a mirror up to society.

[Rach · Rating 2 out of 5]

I took an unexpected long time to read this but when I actually sat down a day or so ago to read this. It was actually a quick, disappointing and messy read. I have read many of the authors other works and as this was an eARC which I thank the team at NetGalley and the publisher I generally hope that this was not the finished published article!

Set in the world of green polite activism we met Ren protesting and getting arrested, Ren is privileged enough to be able to be a lead in her out of time group think Greta Thurnberg (ish). We met another activist Pearl who is I think a smaller platformer of what Ren is, they don’t seem to get on. There are two others in Tab and Riley who honestly might as well have not been in the book. Then we have a 30 something Mel also jumping on the activism platform but having being a YouTube sensation earlier in her life then losing said platform due to her ego I would presume.

Ren goes and stays at Mel’s farm, gets closer to Pearl which is probably the best part of the book and we meet a gang of minor characters who make up this eco commune. Then some things happen which I’m going to boil down to the 30 year old is jealous of a 16 year old platform and presence. Long story short it’s petty and ridiculous! Also there is so much left unexplored for example what’s up with her relationship with her mum!

Honestly this was a mess, I really don’t know what happened having a protest, sent to court, life at a farm, idiotic plot that had nothing to do around saving the planet, disappointing end, honestly it wasn’t even a end it was a poor epilogue told via an online article where still the 30 year old was spewing nonsense and Ren was basically an 18 year old rolling her eyes at it.

I really don’t want to write much more as it feels like I am bad mouthing this a lot, I would advise read but don’t have high hopes and if you want to read this author there are two other books that are fantastic. Read them instead, skip this and read them!

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really liked this!

I loved how Byrne engaged in the topic of climate change, particularly with how young people view the state of the world, and all the mixture of hope, despair and anger that comes with it. I loved the discussions on what the ‘right’ thing to do is, and how it often feels, even when trying your best, how you’re not doing good enough or you are not enough — and how this can be weaponised by climate deniers, or people with a lack of hope, against you.

Byrne creates a really good, well rounded character in Ren. She’s great. I loved how she was thoughtful, and how we got to see her character life through this world and grow and engage. The best thing was seeing her take a moment for herself to regroup and recoup her energy and her sense of self. I loved Pearl too, and how she challenged and contrasted Ren and her views, yet complimented her too. I loved how their romance slowly formed as they got to know each other better.

I loved the side characters of Pearl/Rens family of Aunt Celeste, Jacinta, Iris, Oren and co., and I can’t forget the two best — golden retrievers Buffy and Willow!

I liked how this book also engaged in conversations of social media. It took a glance at troll culture, online bullying, whether an online platform is enough, and how social media can change a person. I thought it was a sha,e that all went down with Melody, especially since Ren also lost a few people in her life, but I thought it was all well built up to.

Thank you to Hachette Children's Group | Hodder Children's Books for this e-arc

[Kaylee ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I unfortunately had to DNF this at 59%. I am gutted about it as I loved Afterlove, I wanted to love this one too. I just couldn't connect with it, it felt non cohesive and rather long winded. I didn't find myself wanting to pick this back up, I was just forcing it as I loved the author's previous work. At almost 60% there was still barely any romance, I had hoped to witness an epic love story like Asha & Poppy, but this was not the case within what I had read. I was enjoying the enemies to lovers vibes in the little interactions we saw between them, but honestly that was probably my favourite part. I think the plot of this book being very focused on climate change is really important, it is something people need to educate themselves on. I liked the tid-bits of information that we got throughout and the speeches. They were powerful and insightful. I struggled with the pacing, the constant jumping didn't feel cohesive at all. I didn't like Melody's character, I feel like when reading all I could focus on was the fact there was no way she was as good as she seemed. So after reading some reviews and proving my theory, I just didn't feel like this story could surprise me or entertain me the way I had hoped.

This book honestly wasn't for me, I wasn't invested and it just didn't have my full attention. Everybody is so different when it comes to books. Just because this wasn't for me, doesn't mean it wouldn't be for you. I'm super upset that I couldn't vibe with this one, but I am super grateful to have been given the opportunity to read it.

[Jodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️: 3.5/5
💬: "One day, we'll be food for the wildflowers, but not today. How lucky are we that we get to see this?"

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

I adored Afterlove, so was so excited to read the latest book by Tanya Byrne 💖

💜 What I liked about it 💜

🌎 The theme really stood out to me and is definitely very topical - fears about the climate crisis and what society is doing to tackle it echoes concerns a lot of people have, particularly younger readers, so I appreciated Byrne exploring it in this book

🌎 It was interesting seeing the different types of activism, and the pros and cons of them, such as digital activism, sustainability influencers and protesting

🌎 I enjoyed seeing Pearl and Ren together and the way their relationship develops, despite them having differing ideas on how to handle the climate crisis and get people on board with the cause

🌎 I always love found families in books, so I enjoyed seeing the community of people that were based at Melody's farm

🌎 I visit Brighton frequently, so I loved all the references to places like The Feminist Bookshop, terre á terre and the Marina - it was fun being able to recognise lots of places that were mentioned throughout

I do feel like various aspects of the plot needed more time spent on them, as they weren't as fully developed as I would have liked, but this was an engaging read overall.

✨️ What to expect ✨️

💘 Enemies-to-lovers
🌍 Discussions about the climate crisis
🪧 Exploring how to be an activist
🏳️‍🌈 Sapphic romance
🤳 YouTubers and social media influencers

💫 Many thanks to Pride Book Tours and Team BKMRK for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

💌 Follow me on Instagram and TikTok at @jodierosereads

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very kindly sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as part of a book tour hosted by Pride Book Tours.

Reading Rebel Hearts this summer during yet another unprecedented heat wave in the UK felt like some sort of pathetic fallacy. The planet is on fire, and no one is coming to save it, so that is where Ren comes in. Eager to dismantle the systems that are killing the planet, Ren advocates for a better tomorrow by disrupting the norm to create change. Pearl however hates this form of advocacy, taking a less disruptive approach in her efforts to change the way things are done. When the two meet in person at an off-grid eco farm, they soon find they can meet in the middle and sparks fly between the two former enemies.

Something that is so good about Byrne's writing is her way of moulding characters you can really get behind. While Ren and Pearl were fantastic imo, I also found that there were some characters cough Melody cough that I found myself furious at. This book is trope filled, easy to read and while it wasn't an all time favourite book, I enjoyed it a lot. It did move pretty fast and I would've loved to spend more time in the enemies to lovers portion of the book but as I said, it was a great read for what it was. It had some good information about climate change and while it can seem preachy in parts, it was quite informative.

[Blue · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the time I properly started this novel, to the time I finished it, it was probably about 48 hours. It took me a bit of time to get used to the writing style again, and for me to get a good feel for the characters, but once I did, it really wasn't a hard read, in the sense of it didn't take much effort to follow the story and the narrative arc.
~
There was a lot of moving parts with this story. You've got the romance element, then there's the Out of Time drama, as well as the personal drama between Tab, Riley and Ren, the issues that start to become known with Melody, and obviously the whole climate crisis issue that underpins the whole story.
~
Personally I would've liked more of a resolution on the whole issue between Tab, Riley and Ren, but it is what it is. I did like the fact that Melody got some of what she deserved for everything that happened though. I also really love that Ren got a good resolution, and that her relationship with her mother seems to have improved somewhat from where it began.
•
Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC copy of this book.

[andshe.reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Activism is the core of Rebel Hearts, not once did I feel overwhelmed with information, in fact I feel like I came out the other side with a greater amount of empathy and the need to do more of what I can to help our planet. Clearly Tanya Byrne has the gift of being able to invoke such feelings through her storytelling. Hence why this book would be a great read for everyone but especially for our younger generation.

Ren our FMC is a force to be reckoned with especially as she's only 16. She voices her opinions loud and proud and shows that its okay to have your own opinion / stance on serious topics. Her rival / love interest Pearl was the complete opposite of Ren and I think that's what made them such a great match. All the characters were unique in their personalities however were all supporting the same cause.

I found this book highly impactful with a message in the words I read. I look forward to seeing what Byrne writes next.

[Lily Golding · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting look into climate change activism and the lives of teens who put themselves in the spotlight to try and make a difference. I really enjoyed the perspective on it, though it was a bit limited at the start with Ren’s biases.

This was a book in two halves to the point where it kind of felt like I was reading a different book in the second half. Which was a bit off-putting. It worked for the plot though as it looked at the toxic way influencers tear each other down.

The romance was spot on. Slow burn, enemies to lovers. The slow progression was really fun to watch and it was really refreshing to see an enemies to lovers that doesn’t fall into the trap of having instant attraction.

Overall it was a really good read.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Cross-posted to thewhisperingofthepages.co.uk

[molly ⸆⸉ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars

i felt like this book focused on the wrong topics compared to the blurb .
the climate activism was mentioned about twice in the whole book when that was lowkey the whole point .
the relationship felt very insta lovey.
the friendship really confused me as the had like one argument and there the worst rivals ever ?!?!
also why did melody lowkey turn into a villian ?
and wtf did the mum not care about her daughter what so ever ?
i do like the cover and the extended family dynamic ( not melody )
it was a very easy read but wtf was she melody lying like that for ?

[Ashley Hana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went in expecting romance; like how moved I was by Afterlove and In The Shallows. This one barely focuses on romance at all. More on drama. Sure, the romance is still cute, but it didn't feel like it bloomed. It was just suddenly there. And as a gay myself, I know how fast wlw relationships can go. But even for that!
Also, the first third of the book was pretty heavy and a bit of an infodump. I really expected something different. Though, luckily, it became a lighter read later on. And I found myself quite enjoying it from then one. Mostly the friendship between Ren, Pearl and Oren.

[fhmltn · Rating 1 out of 5]

i don't know if it is just the actual anarchist in me but the self-important preaching from multiple privileged characters who about which ~polite~ form of activism works better pissed me off so bad. the self proclaimed 'anarchist' MC spent most of the time worrying which polite disobedience was the most legal..... be so for real.

i also didn't care about the romance storyline at all because all of these characters are insufferable.

dnf 50%

[Rach Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t know how I felt about this when I first started it, but then it suddenly gripped me about a quarter of the way in. I wish there was a little bit more romance, but it’s YA, so I can see why there isn’t… and I would’ve liked a bit less Melody.. But again, I think her character was quite important when considering how social media and our over reliance on it can shape our own selves.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

great storyline following very real issues but kept light enough for an easy read. Good wlw enemies to lovers romance that made me have to hide my reaction behind the book as I was reading it on a coach. My only wish is that it ended slightly later in the story as it had a very abrupt ending and would have been good to see the ensuing events of the last chapter.

[Sharky · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This was nice. I liked the messages about climate change and how you shouldn’t care about what others think. However the time changes in the first half up to when she got to the farm was confusing and then it ended abruptly. Melody was a hypocrite, she was nice at first but then i guess becoming popular got her back to how she used to be

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, probably need to reread it to gain the whole story, I feel like I missed a few things and maybe accidentally slipped a part without realising. Either way, really enjoyed and read within two day, it was the right length; although I do wish I could know what happens next…

[Justine AnnaH · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5