I absolutely adore Amanda Woody’s debut book They Hate Each Other and was so thrilled to read their new book, completely sure I’d love it just as much. Exes & Foes had such great potential and amazing representation, and I really, really wanted to love it, but unfortunately, it didn’t blow me away, nor have the same vibes or get me invested in the characters as THEO did.

Exes & Foes is told from the dual POVs of the former best friends/crushes Caleb and Emma. For reasons still unclear to Caleb, Emma suddenly ghosted him four years ago, and now they are foes doing their best to avoid each other at school. But Emma has a way of always getting involved in Caleb’s life anyway, especially to steal his new friends or love interests. When a new girl, Juliet, begins at their school and spikes both of their interest, Caleb and Emma make a bet that whoever Juliet kisses first gets to date her. However, this bet somehow results in Caleb and Emma spending an unexpected amount of time together.

I really loved the concept with the two former best friends/secret crushes competing but ending up having to get to the bottom with their feelings for one another instead. And the representation was, just like in Amanda Woody’s first book, absolutely amazing and authentic. Just like in THEO, there was also an extra layer with abusive/neglecting parents that made your heart break for the main characters.

But sadly, the execution of the concept didn’t quite meet its potential. For being the big love interest of both Caleb and Emma, Juliet was strangely lacking in personality and wasn’t fleshed out enough to make us readers understand how and why she was so compelling to them both. It also took such a long time to establish the whole plot setup that the first part of the book felt very slow and over-complicated.

I would have wished to get Caleb’s and Emma’s backstory earlier and that we’d got more of their interactions. They had such wonderful chemistry and I rooted for them both when I learned about their hardship growing up (especially Emma) and how they’d been each others’ safe place and joy, I just wished that had come sooner. I also feel that the parental trauma parts could have been more explored as to why and how they started (and what about Emma’s dad and how had her mother met the new man becoming Emma’s sister’s dad, who seemed like a nice person apart from ignoring his wife’s first born and his daughter’s half-sister?) Strangely, the story felt both too long and too short, if that makes any sense.

The story had such potential, it just took too long for it to fully rise up to it and let us connect with the characters.

But that said, I still love Amanda Woody’s writing and their wonderful and authentic way of dealing with diversity and representation (there were so many different queer identities in this book and the inclusion felt both refreshing and yet so normal!), found family and mental health, and I can’t wait to read more of their stories. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen/Viking Books for Young Readers for the ARC of the book, which I have voluntarily reviewed.

Rating:
3 stars

Get your own copy:
Penguin Random House
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Author info:
Amanda Woody

This was such a delightful, fastpaced and gorgeous enemies-to-lover story about two archenemies whose friends think they would be perfect for each other! But while it was sweet and fuzzy, it also had a lot of depth with anxiety issues, childhood trauma, parental neglect and alcoholism, all weaved together into a perfect heartwarming and emotional story. Absolutely loved it!

The two main characters, the introverted Dylan Ramírez with a childhood trauma and anxiety issues and the loud, confident and attention seeker Jonah Collins with a huge shameful secret that is almost crushing him, have hated each other from the first time they met as eleven-year-olds and Dylan beat Jonah in Uno. But when Dylan’s best friends Hanna and Jonah’s best friend Andre become the school’s power couple, Dylan and Jonah are forced to spend time together. But the most annoying part is how their friends keep nagging about how perfect they would be for each other just because they are the only two openly bisexual guys at school. ‘Cause there obviously can’t be any other reason for it, right? Well, when they start fake-dating to get their friends off their back they are about to find out…

This book had two of my favorite troops – enemies to lovers and fake dating – plus amazing, fleshed out characters, snarky banter and wonderful friends! But it was so much more than tropes, it was such a deep and special story dealing with trauma, mental health issues and abuse.

“You have to decide if it’s worth the sacrifice of losing him.”

The story had some truly heartbreaking parts, and I truly hated both Jonah’s dad and Dylan’s mother. No matter what they had been through, neglecting your children is unforgivable. I felt that they both got off the hook a little too easy, even though I’m of course happy for the positive turn of events. I also feel that Jonah’s friends could have done more to help him earlier, or hinted to Dylan about his struggles. But that set aside, I loved the friends and their banter. They were such an amazing, lovable and diverse squad!

The writing was flawless, you couldn’t tell at all that this was Amanda Woody’s debut book, and they made an amazing job combining the difficult topics with the lighter ones while still making it a very easy and joyful story to read. 

All in all, this was a sweet, fuzzy and funny read while also dealing with some pretty heavy topics, and with great representation. I finished this book in one sitting, ending it with a big goofy smile all over my face!

Rating:
5 stars

Get your own copy:
Amazon
Add to Goodreads

Author info:
Amanda Woody