Unnecessary Drama

Featured
Unnecessary Drama
Author(s)
Age Range
16+
Release Date
August 08, 2023
ISBN
9781250894441
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From the award-winning author of It Sounded Better in My Head comes a deliciously entertaining enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy about two high school nemeses who end up sharing a house together their first year of college.

Eighteen-year-old Brooke is the kind of friend who not only remembers everyone’s birthdays, but also organizes the group present, pays for it, and politely chases others for their share. She’s the helper, the doer, the maker-of spreadsheets. She’s the responsible one who always follows the rules―and she plans to keep it that way during her first year of college.

Her student housing only has one rule: "no unnecessary drama." Which means no fights, tension, or romance between roommates. When one of them turns out to be Jesse, her high-school nemesis, Brooke is determined she can handle it. They’ll simply silently endure living together and stay out of each other’s way. But it turns out Jesse isn’t so easy to ignore.

With Unnecessary Drama, Nina Kenwood perfectly captures the experience of leaving home for the first time, dealing with the unexpected complications of life, and somehow finding exactly what you need.

Editor review

1 review
A+ Rom Com
Overall rating
 
5.0
Plot
 
5.0
Characters
 
5.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
UNNECESSARY DRAMA by Nina Kenwood is a YA/NA Contemporary Rom-Com and is so much fun. Brooke has just gone off to her first year of college, where she’s going to totally reinvent herself into a perfect human, but her plans get derailed when her high school foe, Jesse, moves in as one of her roommates. It’s impossible for her to leave the past behind when he’s there in front of her all the time, and despite her best efforts to ignore him… he’s not quite as bad as she remembers. In fact, he’s trying to make amends, which to Brooke, may be worse. There was a time when the two of them truly cared for one another, but after Brooke got hurt, she’s determined to not allow that to happen again.

This novel has voice with a capital V! Brooke has a lot to say, or better put, think about, ad nauseam, and from every angle. In other words, she is extremely relatable for us socially anxious, type-A folks. Despite the fact that she can’t get out of her own way, she is full of quirk and charm, like most of the characters in this book. Brooke’s family is especially hilarious — I love her mom and grandma’s quips — and Lauren, her sister, despite being the polar opposite of Brooke, grounds her. All of the people Brooke meets, or re-meets, at college, bring a unique element to the story as well. I enjoyed getting to know this entire cast of characters.

While the end of this book is obvious from the first couple of chapters, getting there is an enjoyable journey. Sometimes I really just wanted to shake Brooke and Jesse into talking, but I could understand why both of them were hesitant to be fully open with one another. Friends-to-lovers and enemies-to-lovers will forever be my favorite tropes, and this book does both of them justice, and then some! I also like the dimension Kenwood adds with the different family dynamics, so we can get a sense of why Brooke needs so much control, and why Jesse feels so compelled to fit in.

Overall, UNNECESSARY DRAMA is not only a sweet read, but it’s hilarious in its situational comedy and dialogue, heart-warming as the characters come of age, and butterfly-inducing as the romance unfolds. It’s the perfect read for the last days of September or any time you want a nice pick-me-up.
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