Ann Liang has done it again with the most perfect academic rivals to lovers story arc that made even my cynical heart absolutely swoon. Sadie Wen and Julius Gong are co-captains at Woodvale Academy and their academic rivalry has fueled them both over the past ten years. Sadie absolutely despises Julius and vents about him and the rest of the school in her personal emails. When those same emails are sent out to the entire Woodvale population, Sadie finds herself at odds with everyone, except maybe Julius.

isbn: 978-1338827156 | pages: 309
       publication date: February 7th, 2024 | source: physical / tour
      genre: young adult, contemporary, romance
     rating: 7.8/10

     A M A Z O N    |    G O O D R E A D S    
       B O O K S H O P *    |    B A R N E S A N D N O B L E S
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I received a physical and digital arc from the publisher for the purposes of this book tour -  I was not compensated for this review and all thoughts are my own honest opinion.

Excuse me if I sound dramatic but I have been WAITING for this book and all the feelings that it gave me. Ann Liang has been an instant "like author" since her debut, but I've been itching to really fall in love with one of her stories and I Hope This Doesn't Find You absolutely did that. This novel had the perfect balance of academic rivalry and a budding tension that kept me invested from the start. Sadie is easily likable and I was getting defensive for her almost immediately when we're introduced to her social dynamic with the rest of the school. I found myself relating to her desperate need to succeed in everything she did for the sake of creating a better future for her family and it was quite adorable when she vented about the injustice of Julius thwarting her plans.

Sadie's desire for a conflict-free life that she has worked so hard to curate means that her most private emails being sent out to their recipients is a literal nightmare and it's at her most vulnerable that she begins to find a different connection to Julius than just academic rivalry. The dynamic that Ann Liang creates is one that balances the feeling of hot and cold with a lot of back and forth between the characters as they process their feelings towards each other and themselves. Yes, this never felt overdone or like it was going around in circles because of the characters' established history and fleshed-out personalities.  Their tension is honestly one of my favorites in a while because we get to see the rivalry in action but also witness the sweet moments that begin to blossom.

It's been a minute since a YA contemporary has left me absolutely giddy and now I'm desperately wishing we could get more of Sadie and Julius together. I've admittedly reread the last chapter at least 5x since marking this book as "read" and it still gives me butterflies and the biggest smile every single time. This was truly such a fun read and absolutely perfect for the Valentine's Day season and I'm proud to declare Sadie Wen and Julius Gong supremacy because they are quite possibly one of my new favorite YA couples. 

~ p l a y l i s t ~

huge thanks to Colored Pages Book Tours, Ann Liang, and Scholastic Press for the opportunity to participate in this book tour! be sure to check out all the other stops by clicking HERE!