ARC Review: Not Okay, Cupid by Heidi R. Kling

I will admit that the cover of this book is what really drew me in. I had previously read a book by Heidi R. Kling and really enjoyed it, so I figured this one was worth a shot. Not Okay, Cupid had some cute moments and there were some things I really enjoyed. But on the whole, this book was just okay for me. I think part of my problem here was simply my age. While I do enjoy YA books, these characters were a bit hard to take at times. 

Hazel McCallister has her life all planned out. Her and her perfect boyfriend Jay will graduate and attend the same college before becoming engaged and eventually getting married. But before she gets the picket fence, Hazel catches Jay with her best friend Kimmy. Embarrassed by the public way it was revealed, Kimmy's brother Felix James offers to help Hazel get revenge on them by pretending to be together to make Jay jealous. But the more time Hazel and Felix spend together, the more the lines between real and fake become. Even though Hazel and Felix start to develop real feelings for one another, in the end it comes down to whether Hazel wants revenge or Felix more. 

I really liked Felix. He was cute and sweet, and I really felt like his feelings for Hazel were genuine. He had always liked her, but he had never said anything. Hazel thought that he was a slacker that was nothing but a player, and yet he had more to him than anyone knew. Hazel had everything planned out and thought she knew what she wanted. As the story progressed though, it became clear that she didn't know herself as well as she though she did though. I liked her and Felix together, and I really wish that these two had talked more. I felt like once they realized that it wasn't just a plot for revenge that they needed to communicate with one another. While some of that is age and immaturity, it was a bit frustrating here since they both made some poor decisions that easily would have been avoided had they spoken with one another.

Another big issue I had here was that there wasn't a lot of depth or development here. For the majority of the story I felt like Hazel and Felix didn't really spend much time together, so their connection while there didn't feel strong to me. I didn't believe that these two could possibly be in love, even having known each other for years. They simply didn't know one another well enough or spend enough time together for it to feel genuine. The other thing that bothered me here was that the dialogue was very repetitive and at times words or sayings used were downright cheesy. A few times wouldn't have been noticeable, but it was for the entire story and it got to the point that it distracted me from what was going on because I just kept rolling my eyes. I did think that this story had some cute moments though, and if you are looking for something light and sweet you might give this one a shot. If you are looking for something a bit deeper or mature though, this one might not be for you.

**ARC Provided by Publisher**

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