Name: This May End Badly
Rating: 4.155172413793103 (29 reviews)
ISBN: 9781250799180

Samantha Markum

When a high stakes boarding school prank war leads to a fake dating scheme, two teens must decide if they are ready to take the ultimate risk--falling in love--in Samantha Markum's This May End Badly...

A Novel

This May End Badly

Aparna 

The second half of this book annoyed me so bad. It was the second coming of The Edge of Seventeen where everyone does the main character so dirty, and they have to have an apology tour and apologize to everyone else when the best friend themselves does the worst friendship crime, but it's forgotten because the small thing that the main character did is supposed to be worse. 

I'm sorry, the main character wants to stop the merger and fake dates someone, but that's worse than what Shawn does? I think not. It's literally foul and I wanted to rip the pages out the friend characters were annoying me so bad. I didn't want Doe to apologize, she didn't have much to apologize for. Sorry she can't read everyone's minds when they want the merger. They literally didn't even tell her.

Despite all of this, I did enjoy the read. I really liked Wells. It was enjoyable to read besides the apology portion. Only things I like could bring this much wrath out of me. It's because I care.

Sarah Campbell

The second half of this book annoyed me so bad. It was the second coming of The Edge of Seventeen where everyone does the main character so dirty, and they have to have an apology tour and apologize to everyone else when the best friend themselves does the worst friendship crime, but it's forgotten because the small thing that the main character did is supposed to be worse. 

I'm sorry, the main character wants to stop the merger and fake dates someone, but that's worse than what Shawn does? I think not. It's literally foul and I wanted to rip the pages out the friend characters were annoying me so bad. I didn't want Doe to apologize, she didn't have much to apologize for. Sorry she can't read everyone's minds when they want the merger. They literally didn't even tell her.

Despite all of this, I did enjoy the read. I really liked Wells. It was enjoyable to read besides the apology portion. Only things I like could bring this much wrath out of me. It's because I care.

A full on comfort read! I loved this book, I think it has a good message and a lot of character growth. I am also a sucker for prank wars (granted this was a different pairing than I expected)

Holly

sydney

I received an arc from netgalley.

I have mixed opinions on this book. I didn't hate it but there was something off about it. First off, I felt like she should be with Three, I didn't think that by the end but the way it was written made it seem like that was where the story should go. I also couldn't stand the main character for most of the book. She was just so caught up in the rivalry that it made her unbearable at times.

Siena Grace

This is a well written book that I 100% enjoyed reading. There was a whirlwind of hate, love and learning that drew me in from the start and kept me reading until the end. Miss Markus did a beautiful job at showing character development in all of the characters while also making them fun and relatable. This was the perfect book to draw me out of my reading slump.

i had a BLAST this book was literally so much fun. i loved the cast of characters and i like how there was depth to each of them, small as individual roles were, and the romance was just. top tier !!! yea there was a lot going on but tbh it just added to the chaos and i found it entertaining idk!!

ayah ♡

When a high stakes boarding school prank war leads to a fake dating scheme, two teens must decide if they are ready to take the ultimate risk—falling in love—in Samantha Markum's This May End Badly...

I'm usually not one for the fake dating trope but I read another review that convinced me to pick this up, and I am SO glad that I did!

Plot: It had a central plot and several subplots which I really liked. The author was able to bring in a bunch of themes and ideas without them sticking out like a sore thumb and blended seamlessly into the storyline. 

Characters: GOD, I loved all the main characters. I would sell my soul to have a friendship with the girls, and this book really makes sure each one of them have a distinct personality and by the end of the book they all really come into their own. And an A+ for diversity too, it always shocks me when I find a brown girl in a book I read but I'm so happy for the rep too. 

Writing: Relatively simple writing but with lots of witty banter and humour. I had a lot of fun reading the book, and didn't find a dull moment to put it down.  

Other thoughts: I loved Wells and Doe's relationship but to me, the highlight was the girls' friendship. 

This was a fun, light read, and I'd def recommend it to anyone looking for their next YA read! 

Genesis (@whisperingchapters)

This May End Badly is such a fun YA! I loved the witty banter and humor. And don’t get me started and the strong female friendships. I loved their bond so much, but what I loved more is how they’ll be real with you and call you out if needed. The fake relationship was so swoony! Where can I get a Wells? Asking for a friend. 

But then, what I loved the most is how these Weston girls have each other's backs. There's an issue with inappropriate behavior from a teacher to a female student and the way the girls pulled out every stop... I had tears in my eyes! The author did a great job with this book!

READ IF YOU LIKE:
- prank wars between rival boarding schools
- fake relationship
- swoony male mc
- boarding schools
- humor and banter
- strong female friendship group
- defending what you believe in

Taylor Sedona

Thank you NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for the ARC of This May End Badly in exchange for my honest review. 

What a stunning debut for Samantha Markum. 

Doe and her friends enter their senior year at Weston determined to win a century-long prank war against the rival all-boy Winfield Academy. Enter Three who leads Winfield’s efforts in the war, and is also Doe’s biggest nemesis. There is nothing Doe wants more than to beat Three and end the war with Weston on top. So when it’s announced the two schools will merge the next year it’s Doe’s worst nightmare. Her focus shifts to protecting the one place she feels at home. 

Determined to both end the prank war and show that Weston girls and Winfield boys should not be merged, Doe decides to fake date the cousin of her long time rival. But not everyone views change as a bad thing, and there’s more pressing matters going on in Weston’s halls. Readers follow Doe as she tries to save her school, win a war, keep a boyfriend and decide what her future after senior year hold for her. What could possibly go wrong?

Boarding school theme? Check.
Fake dating? Check.       Enemies to lovers? Check.

This May End Badly checks all the boxes in what I could possibly want in a YA romance these days. Markum wastes no time getting into the thick of the action and the pacing of this novel is definitely strong. At no point did I feel like it dragged, and I hungrily finished it in two sittings. 

What makes this book a very solid and promising debut is that everything in it just felt authentic and real. The problems that Doe faces and the emotions she goes through are relatable and engaging. The outcomes aren’t far fetched the ending is satisfying and the conflict comes to a nice conclusion. I often have trouble reading YA romance novels, because I feel like they become a tad unbelievable. 

The tension and banter in This May End Badly are so fun and definitely added to the overall enjoyment. She creates strong characters who jump off the page, are complex in their identities and who I honestly liked spending time with. This is a group of friends that I would really look forward to reuniting with in a sequel.

Speaking of characters I want to talk about Doe, the female protagonist. I absolutely adored her. Doe is far from perfect, she’s messy, she’s wrong and a little narrow-sighted, which honestly makes me love her even more. Doe is relatable in her emotions and decisions as a senior not sure what future she has outside the walls of a school that gave her a place to belong. It’s also really nicely shown, that you can have nothing but positive intentions but can still fail to be right. The world changes and sometimes, as hard as change can be and as hard as it hurts, it can be good change. While Doe isn’t really fighting on the “right” side, she is honest in her intentions and when it matters most she puts aside her personal desires. You’ll want to shake some sense into her, but you’ll also want to give her a hug, and I hope we get to see more of her in the future.

I also really enjoyed the romance. Wells was a great love interest and the fake dating trope was perfect. The enemies to lovers tone only added to the tension, and the banter between him and Doe kept me laughing. Their relationship doesn't feel forced or like it progresses too fast which can also happen in fake dating scenarios.

This May End Badly was a 5-star read that I can’t wait to recommend. I had very few issues with it, but I will note them. I loved the role that Christian came to play later in the book, but I wished he had gotten a little more character progression earlier in the story so that he had a bit more impact. I also wish that Doe would’ve gotten a bit more of an apology from her friends. While she was 100% in the wrong, her friends were far from innocent, and I think an apology would have added more emotional payout to their reconciliation. 

There does need to be a TW for mentions and discussions of sexual assault. I was a bit nervous for this plot line. It was heavily hinted at for most of the book, and I wondered how exactly it was going to be used as a plot device. I think Markum did a good job, however I do hope that younger girls especially know that it’s okay to get help from your parents in this situation and that trauma does not need to be handled on your own to mean something.

This May End Badly A Novel

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