Cameron Lund

When popular high school senior-to-be Penny Harris kisses her best friend's boyfriend at a summer party hosted by Penny's boyfriend, she spends the summer trying to set things right.

Heartbreakers and Fakers

Sarah Williams

Beth Livingston

I'd like to thank NetGalley for this eARC. This book was a super cute read. I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Samantha Bass

I’m going to need Cameron Lund to keep writing books for the rest of time, I’m addicted to them. There’s a cinematic quality to her books that makes you feel like you’re not just reading a story, but you’re also watching one of your favorite 90s/early aughts rom-coms play out on screen. I can’t quite describe it, but I’ve felt this while reading both of her books now—that warm feeling you get, the butterflies in your stomach, when you’re watching movies like She’s All That, 10 Things I Hate About You, or Clueless. With both THE BEST LAID PLANS and HEARTBREAKERS AND FAKERS, Lund has captured that magic in a bottle.

HEARTBREAKERS is a delightful YA rom-com with enemies-to-lovers, fake dating, and lots of tension-filled moments and banter. After drunkenly kissing her best friend’s (Olivia) boyfriend (Kai) at her own boyfriend’s (Jordan) party, Penny Harris wakes up the morning after the party to find herself the new pariah of her friend group. Penny can’t, for the life of her, figure out why she would have kissed Kai—she loves Jordan and she’d never dream of hurting Olivia. Also, there’s the whole matter of Kai being her worst enemy. When Jordan and Olivia get together, Penny and Kai hatch a plan to earn their friends’ forgiveness and win back their respective exes: pretend they’re in love.

Although I couldn’t relate to Penny insofar as I was neither popular in high school nor part of any elaborate fake-dating schemes, I could relate to Penny’s insecurities and struggles about her sense of self and sense of worth being tied to her friend group. Penny’s willingness to overlook Olivia’s cruelty and eagerness to stay in her orbit was painfully realistic, and this book was as much a fun romance as it was a story about Penny figuring out who she was outside of her friendship with Olivia. With Penny, Lund perfectly captured the stomach-churning insecurity that has made so many of us accept love beneath what we deserve all in the name of being accepted.

I would have liked to see more about Olivia and Kai (and Olivia and Jordan, for that matter). As it was, I was a bit confused by his relationship with and loyalty to Olivia because it felt somewhat inconsistent with his character. I think the story would have benefited from exploring that more and from a dual-perspective narrative. As much as I loved Penny’s voice, I would’ve enjoyed reading Kai’s perspective, at least as far as his relationship with Olivia and some of his motivations were concerned. For those reasons, HEARTBREAKERS fell a bit short of THE BEST LAID PLANS for me.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. This has not impacted or influenced my review or my opinions.

Raavee 

Holly

Debbi

From the author of The Best Laid Plans comes another fresh voiced, hilarious rom-com perfect for fans of You Have a Match and The Rest of the Story. Penny Harris just ruined her life. As one of the most popular girls in school, she's used to being invited to every party, is dating the Jordan Parker, and can't wait to rule senior year with her best friend, Olivia. But when Penny wakes up on Jordan's lawn the morning after his first-day-of-summer bash, she knows something went terribly wrong the night before. She kissed Kai Tanaka. Kai, her long-time nemesis. Kai, Olivia's boyfriend. Penny can't figure out what could have inspired her to do it--she loves Jordan and she would never hurt Olivia--but one thing's for sure: freshly dumped, and out a best friend, the idyllic summer she pictured is over. Despite the fact that Jordan seems to be seeking comfort (and a whole lot more) in Olivia, all Penny can think about is winning him back. Kai wants to save his relationship too, so they come up with a plan: convince their friends that they really do have feelings for each other. After all, everyone forgives a good love story, and maybe seeing Penny and Kai together will make Jordan and Olivia change their minds. But as summer heats up, so does Penny and Kai's relationship, and Penny starts to question whether she's truly faking it with Kai, if he's really as terrible as she always thought he was, and if the life she's fighting so hard to get back is the one she really wants.

Heartbreakers and Fakers

Reviews

Highlights