Arthur is in New York but only for the Summer. Arthur loves Broadway and if it has taught him anything it is that the universe can gift you with a show-stopping romance when you least expect it. Ben believes the universe needs to keep its nose out of his business. If the universe cared about Ben, he wouldn’t be on the way to the post office with a box of his ex-boyfriend’s things. When Ben and Arthur meet-cute at the post office, what it is that the universe has in store for them?

When I found out that Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli were writing a book together I was ecstatic. I had read all of Adam and Becky’s work previously and adored them all. The idea of two of my favourite authors coming together to write a book made me incredibly happy and I was so excited for this book to me released. It is easily my most anticipated release of 2018.

I went into reading this book not knowing what to expect. I was terrified I wouldn’t enjoy the story and would come out of reading it being disappointed. I was not disappointed at all; this book was extraordinary!

Arthur and Ben are adorable and I formed a love for them both whilst I was reading this book. Arthur and his love for Broadway made me so happy. Ben was a lot more chilled out than Arthur and I loved that about him, he is just adorable all the way throughout the book. I loved all the other characters in What If It’s Us as well. This book incorporates family and friendship in such an amazing way. I loved Arthur and Ben’s family and enjoy every time they were a part of the story. Friendship also plays a big part in this story. Both Ben and Arthur’s friends were excellent additions to the story. Dylan, who is Ben’s best friend was easily my favourite of the friends. Dylan’s input in the story were always hilarious and fun, even when the issues being tackled were serious issues.

Becky and Adam’s writing in this book is incredible. When I first started this book, I was worried that the book and its chapters wouldn’t flow very well and the voices from the different authors would clash. I was so wrong to think this. The writing flowed so well between characters and chapters. The voices of the characters are different but aren’t took different to clash with one another. They still manage to make the character’s flow together and be unique at the same time. Adam and Becky have done an excellent job of writing such a wonderful, unique and lovely young adult contemporary book.

I loved all the pop-culture references throughout the book. Especially the references to Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen. I can see thought how these references could be annoying to those who don’t enjoy pop culture. I loved all the references and feel they added something to the story.

I enjoyed the storyline overall. Although it does seem to me that their relationship moves incredibly quickly and becomes serious incredibly quickly. This didn’t stop me enjoying this book and its story though.

Overall, I loved this book. I cannot recommend it enough. It shares the joy of LGBTQ+ stories and the happiness the can bring. I have my fingers crossed that Adam and Becky will write together again in the future. This book is extraordinary and I loved it so much!

The story is told in multiple pov's and that makes it even more enjoyable. The characters are just amazing, written with so much care and detail, I loved everyone of them. A perfect story, not just for teens and the perfect Christmas gift.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK!

A heartwarming love story, What If It's Us? captured me and didn't let go. Set in New York, Ben is at the Post Office with a box of his ex-boyfriends stuff, Arthur is only in NY for the summer but does the universe have a grand romance in store for him? Ben and Arthur have an electric first meeting, but don't get each others details. What if they never see each other again? What if they do and it doesn't work out?
I loved the premise of the book and the characters jumped off the page. Ben and Arthur, plus side characters Dylan (a joy), Samantha, Jessie and Ethan are all excellently written and their witty banter and tender relationships made me want to keep reading. Loved it.

This was the cutest, loveliest book I’ve read in a while, and I honestly felt head over heels for all the characters in this and all the love stories being told. I did not want to put this book down and I absolutely flew through it, enjoying every moment of my reading experience with it.
Love.

Arthur and Ben are both great in different ways - at first I felt like I liked Arthur better (he definitely reminded me a lot of Simon Spier, and I hope Becky somehow makes them related to one another), but gradually I found myself really falling for Ben and how on the outside he seemed like this hot, tough, cool dude but he was really a massive nerd on the inside who wrote fan fiction and played the Sims (when he made an Arthur Sim, I almost lost it, I swear).

One of my favourite characters in this book was actually Dylan. Just his general demeanour had me laughing out loud so many times, and I loved his easy, acceptable friendship with Ben which definitely bordered more on brotherhood than just friendship. It was honestly so lovely to read. Both boys had really wonderful relationships with their parents and they were all open and honest with one another which I so appreciate because I think for many average teenagers, that is the type of relationship they have with their parents. Not everything is cagey all the time.

Even though this was very cheesy romantic at times, I do think it had a wonderful dose of reality put into it that helps the reader think that stories like this could happen in real life, and not everything also has to have a clear cut ending.

This book made me laugh, it made me aww, it almost made me cry and it made me warm with fluttering butterflies for Arthur and Ben. I loved it.

I was quite excited to read this book because I really enjoyed Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli and I’d heard lots of good things about Adam Silvera’s books. My expectations were pretty high which may have been the reason What If It’s Us fell just a little flat for me. I certainly didn’t hate it, it was an enjoyable read, but I found myself not feeling particularly attached to any of the characters. I really wanted to love it and unfortunately I just didn’t.

The story follows Arthur and Ben through the many stages of their relationship but by the end I wasn’t that invested in their romance. I liked them both as characters but I also found them a tad moany and annoying at times. I do feel like I’m perhaps being a little harsh because cutesy romance is so not my thing unless it’s unbelievably well done so I’m not an easy person to win over in this specific genre. To be fair, there were also things I did really like about What If It’s Us. I loved all the references to Harry Potter and pop culture in general even if they were maybe a little too frequent. I also liked the fact that friendship was just as important as romance in the lives of these characters - that felt real and provided a break from the romantic hurdles.

Overall I think a lot of people will love this book even though it wasn’t quite my cup of tea. The melodrama and teenage angst just got a bit much for me personally but there was enough I liked about it that I definitely don’t regret reading it. If you are a fan of young adult or romance then I think it’s worth giving What If It’s Us a shot.

From the very first page I knew I was going to love this book. The pairing of Albertalli and Silvera is just perfect and while you can tell their writing apart, their styles complement each other perfectly.

I am an absolute sucker for YA romances set in New York so there was always a fair chance I was going to love this. It is however the sweetest and funniest romance I’ve read since Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares. I loved the meet-cute at the start, I loved watching Ben and Arthur trying to find each other again and I loved the way their relationship developed. I thought it was wonderful how realistic their relationship was. They have this epic, incredibly romantic start but it’s not all smooth sailing. They each have their own issues and insecurities, they both make mistakes and everything seems to go wrong for them. It keeps you wondering whether they can make it work or if they’re just too different.

Character wise I loved both Ben and Arthur but have to confess of the two it was Arthur who made me the happiest. He’s just so earnest and enthusiastic and gosh darn likeable. I feel like I really need an Arthur in my life, he’s just a little ball of sunshine, but possibly not as the office intern. Ben was a little harder to love, he’s quite negative and closed off, but once he starts to open up he’s kind of adorable too. They really are a great match and I was totally rooting for them to make it.

The secondary characters are also wonderful. Dylan in particular, pretty much stole the book, as he had me laughing in pretty much every scene he was in. (Can he be my best friend?) I also loved the diversity in the characters – Ben is part Puerto Rican, Arthur is Jewish and takes medication for ADHD and Dylan has a heart condition – it’s fantastic to see so much representation in such a natural way.

The writing is as brilliant as you would expect, the pacing is spot on and the story is packed full of feels. I was supposed to be packing to move house and instead I binge read this in a day, I just didn’t want to put it down.

Overall, if you haven’t figured it out, I loved this book and would recommend to anyone looking for a feel good contemporary romance.

Essentially this book is best described as a modern day gay Sleepless in Seattle and it was an absolute joy to read from beginning to end. Throw in tons of references to Hamilton, Dear Evan Hanson and fantasy novels and I was in heaven.

If you know me you know how partial I am to a love story set in New York and I was heavily invested in Arthur and Ben's relationship from the beginning of their meet cute right to the end of the book. Arthur was like an adorable puppy dog and I honestly LOVE him, whereas Ben was a little more guarded and standoffish. I like both of them but at times I was annoyed at Ben for hurting my poor baby Arthur. I really enjoyed the fact that they had to work at their relationship but they were prepared to do so.

In addition to Ben and Arthur, their friends were also wonderful to read. Dylan is my second favourite character (after Arthur), I loved his friendship with Ben, his slightly crazy approach to his own relationships and his general outlook on the world.

I'm so sad I've finished reading this book, I really wasn't ready to leave their little gang. I foresee a lot of rereads in my future.

This is the perfect blend of an exciting, beautiful love story and the more realistic portrait of how hard relationships can actually be. It's a romance to gush over with Arthur and Ben seeming to be so, so perfect for one another; meeting through a twist of fate; finding one another again against all odds, but it doesn't shy away from the fact that dating is hard. Dates can go wrong easily, the stuff you planned can be something the other person isn't good with, the restaurant you picked can be all wrong and in the end, there may be compatibility issues that need to be worked out. But despite showing all the roadblocks that can come between two people starting a relationship, What If It's Us continues to keep a hopeful feel to it that one day, these two wonderful boys can work it all out!

I loved Arthur and Ben so much. Their individual lives and family and friends were so well built up around them. It added so much to the story to see what their lives were like. Sometimes in books like this I find that the characters can be whisked very quickly from their home lives or have vague friends and family who are never really built up. I loved the fact that not only did Arthur and Ben have such well built up families, they spent time with them, they informed their characters, it showed exactly where they came from and the differences between them.

I loved the ending. I can't go into why I loved it without spoiling it and I don't know how happy other people are with it, because it could have disappointed some people, but personally I thought it was brilliant and completely in keeping with the whole style of the book.

This is definitely the big LGBT release of the year and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did (though we need more LGBT books about girls!!!!!).

I received a free ebook version of this through Netgalley. Thankyou to both Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the chance to read this! My review is still honest.

So, I like Becky Albertalli’s stuff. They’re all feel good, happy reads that I can be sure I’ll at least have a good time reading. Adam Silvera is an author I’m less familiar with, and as far as I can tell, his books are a little more on the sad side of contemporary. I can’t speak for if this is like Adam’s other works, but this was nothing like Becky’s and I ultimately am finding myself ambivalent.
What I think worked well with these two authors collaborating is that I only learned about 20% in that they split the chapters by POV-Adam wrote Ben and Becky wrote Arthur. I didn’t notice the distinction at all and was surprised when I found out, so they definitely gel well together. I think there were some cool discussions about healthy relationships.I really loved the inclusion of Dylan. He’s the epitome of what a supportive ally should be! This is how all straight friends should react to their queer friends. He’s my favourite character by far. I thought Arthur was adorable, and there were some really cute moments in this book. I did like the diversity and I am always on board with more gay relationships in YA. This one was different to anything I’ve read before.
So, I think the issue with having 2 authors is that there are two sets of ideas crammed into one book, and it was too much. There were things in this that I would have liked to be explored more-the discussion of the diverse elements was limited and could definitely have been utilised more, I wanted more of Hudson’s underlying issues and Ben’s issues. It was a little too long for a contemporary of this nature for me and I found some of the conflict just ended up being exasperating and didn’t really add anything to the story. I also found a lot of Ben and Arthur’s time together to be uncomfortable. They weren’t a natural fit, they really had to work for it, and I guess if that’s a point the authors were trying to make, fantastic, but their dates and moments could be awkward and I ended up not really shipping them. I didn’t think they worked that well together, and so I wasn’t really that into it.
I suppose my problems boil down to that I wanted an easy romance. I don’t mind a little conflict, but there were more awkward times than good times in this one, and that’s not what I personally read contemporary for. I expected a really fun read I could fly through and feel great about at the end, and this book is something entirely different. A victim of my expectations, unfortunately, but that doesn't mean I won't read everything Becky Albertalli writes!

I wanted to wait for my physical copy, but NetGalley gave me an ARC and I couldn’t resist...so now I’ll get to read it again, soon.
This did not go where I wanted to, it didn’t do a lot of the things I hoped it would but I still fell for it hook, line and sinker.
When Arthur and Ben meet one day in New York, the chances of them seeing each other again are pretty slim. But where would the fun be in that?
Through a varied range of ingenious actions they find each other and have a date. It doesn’t work brilliantly, so they try again...and again. There’s lots of other factors impacting on their attempt to have a relationship, but they keep trying. Even when things are clearly heading into car-crash territory these two come out of things smelling of roses.
Every character in the story sparkles on the page, and this was a gooey lovely thing. For the most part. Not always - because nobody’s life could be that amazing - but it came fairly close.
Even the ending - which totally goes against what part of me really wanted to happen - was perfect.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an Arc in exchange for an honest review!

4 Stars!

I cannot handle this what so ever. I literally loved it, I as grinning the majority of the way through this and the dual perspective was everything! You could tell which author wrote Ben and which one wrote Arthur and honestly they were both just such lovable characters, like I would want to do anything for them both.

We see a lot being brought up; Social Classes, Homophobia and what it means to Ben being Puerto Rican. I can’t really talk on behalf of this, but it was in the sense of speaking up about the topic and it was so well done!

Some Minor spoilers aheads but only the sense of one teeny tiny bit.

Arthur has only recently come out as gay, and has gone to New York to take part as an Intern. He adores all things Hamilton, will literally go above and beyond for anyone. Literally he loves to do little things to make someone happy, and this is just so ridiculously cute. The boy has No Chill, like zero. Which is brought up multiple times. I loved him as a character, BUT I cannot stand jealousy and Arthur was so jealous it was kind of frustrating because he wouldn’t listen to any sense of explanation.

Then we have Ben who is Puerto Rican and has this sense that he isn’t good enough (due to a number of reasons), Hen has recently split up from his boyfriend and is trying to move on but he has to see him in summer school. We see him create something really special to him, playing The Sims and he’s such a Harry Potter!

The two characters contrast quite a lot, we get a sense that Arthur is very rich, he’s never had a boyfriend and doesn’t know when to stop talking. Ben on the other hand doesn’t have as much money, had a boyfriend and often holds back on a lot of things. I really enjoyed the two trying to make things work. The sense of the “do-overs” and finding out what worked and what didn’t. With this you get such a strong sense of when you first start a relationship and try to make everything as perfect as possible, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out.

On another note, I kind of low key loved both parents along with Dylan and Samantha. The parents were just so open and welcoming and tried to do what was best for them both. They both knew about the others love interest and figuring out what to do for them. Just the sense of support from them both made me so happy! Then Dylan with his names for Ben were just too funny, and just how warm and welcoming Samantha was made me slightly happy. Arthur has two best friends at home Ethan and Jessie but for me, they didn’t really add anything to the story and were just kind of there I guess.

I’m also going to broach on the topic of sex here. Like in books when it’s someones first time it can be soon unrealistic and it kind of bothers me. But this, there’s a moment where things are getting heated and Ben keeps on asking Arthur if he’s okay, and when he says no he’s super chill about it, and literally just hugs him to make sure he’s okay. Even in later chapters he’s like it would of been nice, but what’s more important is that he’s ready. THIS WAS EVERYTHING

Now this is where I’m very very bitter. That ending. Guys. I cannot believe that ending. I am so unbelievably dissatisfied with it. I know it was the more realistic way things would of gone, but meh, not here for it.

Overall I really did enjoy this, slightly cheesy, the ending MEH but it was SO CUTE and it broached some thought provoking topics. I really really needed this in my life because although it has some tough subjects it’s still kind of soft a fluffy.

"What if it's us" is the tender story of Ben and Arthur, two teenage boys living their best summer in NYC, and finding themselves over and over again. Is it destiny, is it fate, or is it just them? Is it just love?

I have come into it with ZERO expectations but I found this book to be entartaining, hilarious, sweet, and even very profound at times. I did NOT have a little bit of hope, as I said, but THIS PROVED ME WRONG. Mea culpa and all that jazz.
The two main characters were two very lovely guys /even though Arthur and his jealousy sometimes really bothered me.

I still found them enjoyable though, and I was rooting for them really hard. I think they had a good chemistry, and I really enjoyed the fact that they learned to fall in love along the way, and that they even made some mistakes. It felt more realistic that some insta-lovey-dovey stuff.

The side characters were really good, I really enjoyed Dylan, but I could NOT stand Hudson and her friend whose name I do not remember but she was just unsufferable.
The ending left me with a bittersweet taste. But I expected it. They silvera'd it with a touch of Becky's magic. And I think for one time I'm okay with that, I really am.
I have hope.

Okay, I'm done writing and tearing up about this book, I'm really glad I've read it, stupid me for judging things way too fast.

What If It’s Us is a realistic and sweet romance that is so well written and genuine. I haven’t read anything by either of these authors (shocking I know) but their writing styles blended together seamlessly and I couldn’t really tell the difference between the two. Each of the two main protagonists have their own distinct “voices” and styles which helps distinguish between the two narrators.

I really enjoyed the relationships between the characters, in particular Ben and Arthur, as they felt honest. This wasn’t written as a perfect love story and there were plenty of ups and downs. I thought the portrayal of a young, gay relationship was brilliant as it demonstrated that it is the same as any young, straight relationship: they have the same hang ups and worries and experience the same myriad of emotions.

This does feel very much like a teen read, with some extra teenage angst, however I’m not a teen (and haven’t been for some time 😕) but I still really enjoyed it.

What If It’s Us is a cute, young adult read with plenty of emotion and a well structured storyline. Well worth a read!

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What If It’s Us will be available from the 18th October 2018.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher (Simon & Schuster) for providing a copy. All opinions are my own and provided willingly.

First of all, I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Before this book, I'd read all of Becky Albertalli's other novels, but nothing that Adam Silvera's written. I didn't actually know how they'd split up the writing of the novel, going in, so I spent the first chapter thinking "Wow! This is so great! The exact same joie de vivre and humour in all of Becky's other novels! I love this! I love Arthur! " and then, about 2 lines into the next chapter, which is from Ben's POV, I was just like "...aha so THAT'S how they divided it, this is very clearly not Becky Albertalli's writing", and felt like a fool for not realising sooner that OBVIOUSLY the two writers were writing from two alternating POVs. And I also have to admit that, at first, I really didn't enjoy Ben's POV chapters as much - they were much closer to stereotypical 'moody teenager' lit, which I'm generally not a fan of (as I hinted before, my favourite thing about Becky's books has always been the underlying sense of pure joy, which never dissipates even when the characters are absolutely being moody teenagers). However, over the course of the novel I definitely found Ben's POV growing on me, and by the end I was enjoying both halves of the book equally.

Overall, I had a great time with this novel - on occasion it definitely strayed into overblown teenage drama that had me rolling my eyes in exasperation, but that's really quite inevitable in this genre, so it didn't bother me too much. And the good parts were just so good! If I had to pick one word to describe the book, it would be "soft", because the majority of it felt like a warm hug enveloping me and reassuring me that not only will everything be just fine in the end, it'll be full of joy. Almost every time I picked it up to read a chapter when I had a few minutes to spare, I put it down again with a huge grin on my face - and yet, there's a kind of realism to the novel as well. Even the happiest moments aren't idealistic, they just show the world in its best light, in the same way that a person's favourite memories take on a halcyon glow in their mind. In a lot of ways, this book felt like the record of a cherished memory - which is very fitting, given the epilogue - and as a big fan of cherished memories, that was definitely right up my street.

The story of an unexpected romance for two boys, What If It’s Us, highlights just how important Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera are to young adult and fiction as they release this just fantastic book. (People on mobile, be warned spoilers ahead).

Ben and Arthur as characters are just, right. Beautifully developed throughout this book, they have personalities that anyone can connect to in this book. The insecurities and worries of being young and also being in love are written so well by these two authors throughout this book. The supporting characters too, particularly Dylan and Samantha also add to the development of the story.

Set in New York, the perfect location for many romances, What If It’s Us uses an incredible landscape to to add to the story and if it was a movie, it would have such an awesome setting to be made in. The romance develops beautifully and I feel realistically, it’s not instalove, it blooms in this book and that ending is kind of crushing, however suits this book perfectly and leaves you hoping for them.

Albertalli and Silvera are some of the best young adult writers around and this book proves it to me, as they drag you into their characters in this book with such brilliance. Never miss a book by these authors, especially this one.

I am shamelessly biased about this book and even if there are any weak points here I will not notice them, as I loved "What if it's us" sooo much. It also gave me Hamilton and almost made me cry at the end (while listening to Wait for it, which is officially my best favorite song ever). It was a perfect summer romance, story of missed opportunities, second chances, friendship, love and what ifs .With very believable flawed characters and amazing ending. I can only gush about this book, sorry! I'd kill for books like these when I was a teenager. So happy that YA books are getting so much ore diverse. That they talk so openly about LGBT issues, homophobia, racism, class prejudice and first heartbreaks. That they are not all full of lovey-dovey stuff, but also not full of misery. Just a perfect balance. I wish I could reread it first time.

This book is ten levels of cuteness, if you're not into first love naivety put the book down and slowly walk away. If you love budding teen romances then keep reading...

I really loved this book, it had a slightly slow start and I honestly did start to wonder what all the hype was about?! But then it picked up and as soon as I hit half way, I was hooked! There's no way you're putting this book down for anything once you're in.

Becky Albertalli, I can say from experience, is a PHENOMENAL (yes, that requires caps) teen/ya author. She nails it every single time, she 100% understands the inner turmoil of a young adult during the most difficult situations.

I've only read one novel by Adam Silvera (so far), but he's also a brilliant teen author and his writing has a knowledgeable air to it. It feels as though he's lived through some rough teen years and is able to express his emotions through his characters.

So team these two authors together and you've got a young adult novel that is pure perfection. Both main characters have unique and individual personalities, I have a feeling the authors each wrote their own characters scenes but I could be wrong there.

It's impossible to choose a favourite out of Arthur and Ben because each have their own quirks, traits and flaws. Both are charming and yet their personalities come across as complete opposites. Arthur is naive and innocent while Ben is a pessimist who's full of self-doubt.

This novel in no way packs a powerful plot but it makes up for it in emotional detail. These characters express their thoughts so clearly I felt connected to them and immersed in the romance.

I've seen many a complaint about the ending of this novel *no spoilers* but I'm quite pleased with it myself. As a young woman who isn't currently part of a fairy tale romance it was incredibly refreshing to read this paticular ending.

If you're a fan of either or both of these authors I wholeheartedly recommend this as your next contemporary fix. If you've yet to experience the delightful works of these authors, throw yourself in head first with this co-authored book!

Thank you Netgalley for sending me an e-copy of this book, I also managed to grab an physical arc in a trade!

Okay, so, I gotta begin this quick review by saying that this is such an amazing, adorable book! I absolutely loved it and I want more!

There are two points of view in this book, Arthur and Ben. They have their meet cute in a post office in New York but they never get each others contact details so they both end up trying to look for each other, Arthur does try a hell of a lot harder than Ben does though but they finally get to meet and have their summer of romance!

I was so excited to read this book that I actually ended up hesitant for a hot minute because what if I didn't like it? What if it didn't live up to my expectations? TURNS OUT IT WAS EVERYTHING I WANTED AND MORE! I've not actually read a single Adam Silvera book before this so I know I need to get to his other books (I only own History is all You Left Me) but I have read all of Becky's books prior to this!

I very highly recommend this book, I just flew through it, it was absolutely everything! You are all going to love it!! The ending was perfect, wasn't predictable in the slightest as it wasn't how I thought it was going to end whatsoever so I love how well rounded the ending was :3

Buy it. Read it. LOVE IT! I'm excited for my full cover copy to come next week and I'm hoping to eventually read Adam Silvera's books soon.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I am a fan of both Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli and personally I thought that their voices blended together to form this narrative.

There is so much to love about this story, but what really captures your heart is the love story between Arthur and Ben. They are both such engaging and empathetic characters and you find yourself cheering for them to succeed.

As well as being a touching love story, What If It’s Us also touches on more serious issues of racism, homophobia and class prejudice. Both authors deal with these issues in a sensitive manner that is woven into the main body of the story so they are brought to the reader’s attention in a subtle way.

If you are a fan of either of these authors I would definitely recommend this read!

Well, that was a rollercoaster and a half of a read. Since the announcement that Becky and Adam were going to write a book together, it seems like every YA reader has been desperate to read the end result. I was fortunate enough to have an awesome friend who booked us tickets to meet both authors in London later this month [so stay tuned for that] and we get a copy of the book with the event. I was planning on just waiting it out, but then Netgalley had e-book ARCs to request and I went and hit the button…

Anyhow. Prepare for all the feels. Honestly, this book will make you laugh and then sob and then repeat that process over and over again. Honestly, I was expecting it a bit, especially considering Adam has a knack for messy-cry books, but I feel like Becky has gone and joined the dark side of authors who wish to crush my heart with feelings.

The book is very funny, I’ll give it that. I loved seeing so many nerdy jokes in there, alongside about a gazillion Hamilton references. There was so much culture packed into the pages, that you really couldn’t help but be swept along by it. I almost felt like I was in New York right alongside the characters. And then there’s all the meet cute bits that made me die a little inside [in a good way] because it seems like Arthur is the most cinnamon roll character ever. Like, I thought Simon from Simon Versus… was a cinnamon roll, but this reaches new heights and OMG. Obviously, as with every other Adam and Becky book, the characters are one hundred percent awesome and lifelike and you kinda just want to wrap them up in a giant blanket and smother them with affection [again, in a good way]. I liked how they seemed so like real people, in fact they reminded me of my own friends.

Also, I just love that this book is simply about two boys having a romantic relationship. Sure, there are moments when issues like ‘coming out’ and homophobia are tackled, but it’s clearly not a book that’s meant to deal with that. Which I am really pleased about. We have lots of books about characters discovering their sexuality, or about them braving telling parents etc, and while I love those books too [including ones written by Adam and Becky] I’m also pleased that there’s an LGBTQ book which is just about the gloriously fluffy romance. Both characters are already ‘out’ in the book, both sets of parents already know. And that’s just great really.

On the slightly more critical side, I do think some of the drama was a bit overblown. I won’t get into it too much in this review, because the book is only just coming out now and I don’t want to have spoilers for people, but some of it made me roll my eyes a bit. I’m not sure if its just that I’m jaded and that I’m now in a long-term relationship, but some of the arguments and the secret-keeping and the jealousy just seemed… unnecessary. Some of it really wasn’t a big deal, but the book turned those molehills into mountains. I get that its a YA book, and that almost guarantees a certain level of angst, but maybe dialing it down a notch would still make it a brilliant book.

Overall, I’m giving What If It’s Us? 9/10 stars. I loved the fluffy romance and the characters, but I do wish that there was a touch less drama going on.

I’m definitely recommending this book if you want your dose of cute, fluffy LGBTQ romance with a big scooping helping of ugly crying. Trust me, keep the tissues handy. What if It’s Us? will be released in the UK on the 18th October.