Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. You Started It by Jackie Khalilieh is a captivating and witty exploration of relationships, communication, and misunderstandings. The story revolves around two characters who find themselves in a tangled situation, leading to both humorous and emotional moments. Khalilieh’s writing is engaging and relatable, with well-developed characters who make the plot feel authentic and compelling. The book offers a mix of humor, romance, and drama, making it an enjoyable read for fans of contemporary fiction. Overall, You Started It is a charming and heartfelt story about the complexities of modern relationships.

Let's start with how beautiful the cover is, it's amazing. This book is a YA romance with fake dating, a girl with a bucket list❣, introvert FMC and extrovert MMC and some dancing 😎😎.
Jamie is a senior high schooler whose boyfriend of three years (Ben) just broke up with her, he wanted to have a "solo experience " for his senior year. Driving in front of her ex's house, runs over a bike aka Axel's bike, who steps in saying he is her "boyfriend" to make Ben jealous. Jamie starts fake dating Axel to win Ben back and in the meantime he's helping her with her bucket list of dates.
That all you have to know😉😉 and the rest is DOT DOT DOT. 🤭🤭
I'm a sucker for a fake dating. OMG!! this one got me all blushed up🙈
This book brought me back memories. Me... my teen years...reading To All The Boys I Loved Before. LOVE👏🏽 IT👏🏽
I loved how much alike Jamie and I are, me buying books like crazy (more specific, the special editions and the signt books 👉🏽👈🏽) or having a messy room.
Personally, I really enjoyed seeing the personal growth of the characters, specifically the mom's and Olivia and Jamie's friendship🙌🏽
I want to thank NetGalley and Tundra Books for giving me this lovely ARC to review and have an honest feedback

Another cute ARC? I am spoiled!

First off thanks to NetGalley and the Tundra Book Group for the opportunity to read this ARC! All opinions are my own.

Not only was this book adorable with the friendships and relationships, but it dove into a few more serious topics that really caught me off guard in the best way.

I will warn I say all of this as a hetero-white woman with a standard family dynamic. But I feel like racial family dynamics, or really any race related topics can either be too pushy for the type of book they are in (YA Rom Com) or they are there but you don't really learn anything. In You Started It, I felt like I really learned a lot about Arabic culture and family dynamics.

There is a lot of discussion of IBS and anxiety which really never felt forced. If anything it just made Jamie more relatable. She has been through so much and just trying to figure out who she is despite all of it.

Now flipping to the romance side of the rom-com here. I adore Axel. He's goofy, and unserious in the best way possible.

Also another book I have read with a bit more messy of a love triangle? But it was still done surprisingly well. There wasn't a big cast of characters but there didn't need to be. It helped emphasize the lack of people Jamie let in. And allowed for more sincere/sweet moments with the characters.

A fairly quick read for me, but it was just so dang enjoyable!

4 stars

This book is adobs! Jamie would never expect for her boyfriend of 3 years, Ben to break up with her and the next thing she knows, he is moving on by dating another girl. Enters Axel, who offers to help her out by fake dating as a means to get Ben back in time for the winter formal. However, along the way, Axel and Jamie falls for each other…will they end up together?

At first, I found Jamie so annoying but she grew on me and I understand why she is the way she is especially coming from a broken family with an absent dad. At first, she was holding on to her relationship with Ben being that it was safe…However, after being with Axel even with fake means, she has the self-awareness to realize why her relationship with Ben is not as perfect as she thinks. She also realizes she suppresses her true self when she is with Ben and at times struggled to connect with her heritage because lack of exposure due to family circumstances.

I really like the flow of the story and how Jamie realizes in order to be continue being in a relationship, she needs to love herself first…It was so wholesome to see her accomplished most of her bucket list dates on her own and via family. This was an ode to the city of Toronto as the book takes place there and the beautiful places Jamie visits such as the rainbow tunnel, ROM, Budweiser stage etc.

Axel is a total green flag dude. The things he does for Jamie such as always putting her first is so adobs. For total opposites, he definitely falls for Jamie first and falls hard. So much so, that for wanting to make her happy, he went behind her back to create an opportunity for her only to realize too late it wasn’t the smartest idea…He respects her so much and I find their relationship so sweet and cute.

There are also mentions of mental health (anxiety attacks), positive therapy rep, pleasing one’s parents (filial piety) and rich culture, loving yourself and friendship.

I did enjoyed this sweet read and it won’t be my last Jackie Khalilieh book.

Jamie and Ben had been together for a a couple of years until Ben gets back from camp and decides he wants to breakup. Jamie wants to try get back together with him so she decides to fake date Axel. This book has lots of cute moments and is will definitely be enjoyed by a younger audience. On the other hand, it was chalk full of drama from start to finish and unfortunately Jamie doesn't have enough character growth for my liking either. This book is a Cute concept but.overall falls flat.

2.5 ⭐️

i am SO sorry to say i don’t think this is the book for me 😭 i knew going into it that this was a YA, but the constant use of gen z slang became too much for me and the influence of social media being so heavily utilized (read: tiktok) it def took me out of the story.

You Started It is an adorable young adult romance book with fake dating, love triangle and finding yourself and your ethnicity. This romance story follows Jamie a half
Arab girl and Axel an Arab boy. It’s a story of finding yourself in your ethnicity, learning to love yourself and your family.

Jamie is a high school student who’s boyfriend of 3 years has just of broken up with. Heartbroken she drives over to her ex house when she accidentally runs over a bike crushing it. When the owner of the bike a fellow high schooler finds his broken bike he decides to help her get back her ex as well as a plan to help fix his beloved bike. As they fake date, fill off Jamie’s bucket list, and accidentally fall love.

This story is a spice free, clean, cute young adult romance book that talks about deeper topics I believe all younger readers should experience. It does have some trigger warnings including anxiety disorders, internal racism, IBD caused by anxiety and an absent parent.

There is also some serious second hand embarrassment in this book including public TikTok dances and just basic high school girl stuff so beware but it is what makes the book seem so real and not just a unnatural romance book.

Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend this book to young and older readers alike who want a sweet romance book inspired by SOUR by Olivia Rodrigo.


Thank you netgalley and tundra books for giving me an ARC to read and review for my honest feedback.

This was a really light and fun YA romance. As a GTA girl myself, I loved reading a book set in Toronto with all the mentioned gems like Budweiser Stage, Wonderland, Ripley’s, etc. I thought Axel was a really sweet character and I enjoyed watching the romance evolve between him and Jamie. I also love a good fake-dating to lovers trope and I feel that it was done well here, especially since it was in a high school setting. My rating is a little lower because I can’t help but feel like this book lacked a certain level of depth. The dialogue was sort of cringe at times which made more serious aspects of the plot feel a little disingenuous. I also had a hard time finding Jamie likeable as a character on her own. I loved finding out she was a book lover and was obsessed with buying books, but at times this felt like a forced quirk. I did like watching her character grow throughout the book but I had a hard time feeling genuinely connected to her.

This book overall was very cute and I’d recommend it to a younger reader as a nice romance story

I loved her last book and this was also so much fun! The fake dating is one of my favorites and I enjoyed how Khalilieh handled it. I also loved learning more about Arabic culture through the characters and their journeys. The main character's bucket list around the city reminded me of Today, Tonight, Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon, which is one of my favorite books, so i really loved that aspect. I also think its a great tactic for fleshing out a city since setting is so important in literature. My one little gripe with the novel is that she fell for the guy a bit quickly for my taste. I usually prefer when characters become a bit closer before they start feeling that attraction. However, I still had a great time and would definitely recommend this book!

There are so many things that I want to talk about that happened in this book. First of all, I didn't even realize that the FMC and MMC were Arab. Literally requested this book because I thought the cover was cute and thought maybe the author might be Arab because of her last name. I was so excited when I started reading, I messaged the author right away.

If my younger self read this book in high school, I would have been so seen and so obsessed. I didn't have a ton of friends in high school, I was boy obsessed and had no idea who I was. I am half-Arab, my mom is from Iraq and speaks Arabic but like Jamie, my mom didn't really do traditional Assyrian things in my home and also never told people what her background was. She only spoke Assryian or Arabic with her sisters and friends but not to us. I can understand my language but can't speak it. I felt like I related to Jamie in that sense or being told I wasn't really "Arab" because I'm only half since my dad is Canadian.

Having an uncle that owns a Shawarma restaurant? I have one of those!
Have a mom that blamed everything on everyone else and couldn't take responsibility or apologize? Same!
Have a mom that married someone their family didn't approve of? YUP!
Was told to stay away from Arab men? lolol yes.

So yes, being in my 30s now, I would have absolutely LOVED this book when I was in high school or in my 20s. I don't think I've ever seen myself represented in a book like this before. I don't think I've read a book with an Arab MMC. The way that Axel is portrayed is so refreshing to see.

Thank you so much Jackie for writing this. You have no idea what it means to me to see themselves represented in a book like this.

The beginning of the book threw me for a loop—if I’m being honest, I didn’t expect to dive into teenage slang so quickly. At first, it caught me off guard, but as I kept reading, I found it more tolerable, and the characters’ actions started to feel more natural.

That said, this book was the cutest thing ever! I haven’t read a teen romance in a long time, and You Started It delivers a perfect blend of romance, humor, self-discovery, and self-love. The added layer of cultural identity makes it feel even more personal and heartfelt.

One of the novel’s strongest points is how it offers a fresh perspective on the new generation and Arab culture without falling into clichés. It beautifully balances characters who break away from past traditions while also portraying struggles like anxiety in a way that feels genuine and relatable.

The only small flaw was the (somewhat predictable) third-act conflict, which I saw coming from a mile away.

Overall, You Started It is a delightful, heartfelt, and captivating read. If you love YA romances filled with humor, warmth, and complex characters, this is a story you won’t want to miss

**You Started It by Jackie Khalilieh – The YA Romance That Just *Gets* You**

Okay, imagine this: You just got dumped, and instead of dealing with it like a normal person, you come up with a *brilliant* (aka totally chaotic) plan to fake-date your ex’s neighbor to make him jealous. Sounds foolproof, right? Well… Jamie quickly realizes that playing with feelings—hers included—is way messier than she expected.

Jackie Khalilieh nails the *Gen Z experience* in this book. Jamie is funny, awkward, and constantly overthinking everything (relatable). The banter is top-tier, the emotions sneak up on you, and Axel? Let’s just say you *will* have a new book crush by the end. But beyond the romance, this story is about figuring out who you are, standing up for yourself, and realizing that love doesn’t always go as planned—but sometimes, that’s a good thing.

If you love fake dating, slow-burn romance, and main characters who feel like your besties, *You Started It* is *the* book for you. Prepare to scream into your pillow in the best way possible.

**Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity 💕**

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Let me start off by saying Jamie and Axel were ADORABLE! I was fully rooting for them and some of their scene had me kicking my feet! There were unfortunately a few things that threw me from the story, though. I will say some of the dialogue felt a bit unnatural, perhaps a bit buzzword-y. Additionally, the back-and-forth nature of the relationships and the miscommunications left me a bit frustrated. I understand that some of this was due to the MC’s anxiety, but I felt like some of this could’ve been cut down while keeping the weight of the story the same. Overall, while imperfect, this book was such a sweet read! I would recommend this to a teen reader who loves the fake dating trope and would like to diversify their reading.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital arc!

I loved the dynamic characters and the representation in this book! The fake dating trope is an immediate yes for me! Axels character is *swoon*. Jamie’s story arch & finding her self was so wonderful! Honestly the growth in this book was so great for each individual character. I love how axel pushed Jamie out of her comfort zone in exchange for fake dating ahhhh!

I loved the banter between the main characters, it made me smile and laugh! I am really glad I got the opportunity with this ARC to leave a review. I enjoyed the representation in the book of people with different experiences and how the main characters move through the book. Jamie is the protagonist, we see the book through her eyes, but we also catch a few glimpses into Axel's life and his motivations. I really enjoyed seeing Jamie come into her own and fight for what she wants in all aspects of her life. Overall, this was a great read though I would have liked to see a little bit more relationship building with Jamie and Axel. Maybe another book when she's in college and he's in his senior year.

Thanks to NetGalley, Tundra Book Group, and the author for this ARC.

When Jamie’s longterm boyfriend, Ben, ends things suddenly, her world feels like it’s flipped upside down. All her plans and check lists feel impossible without Ben. Then she meets Axel, and they start fake dating to make Ben jealous. Through this fake relationship Jamie opens herself up to new ideas and heals parts of her she didn’t know needed healing.

This book explores familial issues, finding yourself through your teen-angst, and that sometimes you need to deviate from your plans to live your life to the fullest.

It was a captivating and charming young adult romance. Axel is truly irresistible—I found myself developing feelings for him right alongside Jaime. He understood Jaime’s anxiety and insisted that Jamie embrace her biracial identity and significance without minimizing it.

I truly valued the depiction of anxiety and panic attacks in this novel. As someone who experiences these challenges intensely, I was grateful for accurate portrayal. That includes my favorite quote “when I'm with you, the anxiety that lives within me is a whisper." ☺️

Read her authors note too! It was nice to see her speaking out on the stereotypes placed against Arab men, their culture, as well as her speaking up for Palestine. It's refreshing to see Arab men and BIPOC protagonist taking center stage as the main characters. We need more of that.

Thank you Jackie Khalilieh and NetGalley for this ARC reader copy. Get it May 20th!

Certainly! Here’s a rewritten version with a different tone and style:

I really wanted to love this book. The concept was charming, and it had plenty of potential. As a YA novel, it touched on meaningful themes like personal growth, navigating hardships, and owning up to mistakes. I also especially appreciated the cultural elements woven into the story.

That being said, I struggled to connect with the characters, especially Jamie. She makes plenty of mistakes, which isn’t a problem in itself, but the way she handles them left me frustrated. Her lack of communication, immaturity, and somewhat judgmental nature made it difficult to root for her. Axel and Ben didn’t leave much of an impression either, though Axel at least had the potential for depth. Unfortunately, that depth wasn’t explored enough to make an impact.

The romance had its sweet moments, but because I wasn’t invested in the characters, it didn’t resonate with me as much as I’d hoped. In the end, while this book had its strengths, it wasn’t one that will stick with me.

First, thank you so much to Jackie Khalilieh and NetGalley for this ARC reader copy.

"You Started It" is a delightful and heartwarming read that perfectly captures the ups and downs of teenage love and self-discovery. It's the kind of book that will leave you with a smile on your face and a warm feeling in your heart.

This story follows Jamie as she navigates the tricky waters of first heartbreak, family dynamics, and finding her place in the world. The author perfectly captures the relatable experience of overcoming those first heartbreaks and the journey of finding love again. Jamie's struggles with anxiety and the pain of her father's departure, coupled with the sting of her first breakup, resonate deeply. It's heartwarming to witness her rebuild her relationships with her mom and uncle, finding strength and support in their love.

One of the things that makes this book so special is its exploration of the challenges faced by millennial children of immigrants. Jamie's journey to embrace her cultural heritage while living in Canada is both nostalgic and deeply relatable. The author skillfully weaves these themes into the narrative, creating a story that feels authentic and meaningful.

The book's easy-to-read pace makes it a quick and enjoyable read. It's a feel-good story with a satisfying happily ever after (HEA) that will leave you wanting more. If you're looking for a sweet, relatable, and ultimately uplifting story, "You Started It" is the perfect choice. I highly recommend it!

You Started It is a young adult novel following 17 year old Jamie who is unexpectedly dumped by her boyfriend of 3 years. Jamie upset from this sudden news makes her want to make her ex jealous and she starts a fake relationship with Axel.

I love how the author made Jamie a type of character that readers can fall in love with and relate to. As readers read this book, they see the growth Jamie goes through and the struggles she deals with such as anxiety, self-hate, phobias etc. I was totally rooting for Jamie and Axel as I was reading the book. There were so many cute banters between the two and I loved how Axel supported Jamie through her struggles. I loved that this book had both characters supporting each other and ugh made me miss young love.

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend this to other readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Jackie Khalilieh for the e-ARC of this book. This review is my honest opinion.