We’re a bad idea right? – Past Midnight Book Reviews & More

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating:

Title: We’re a Bad Idea, Right?

Author: K.L. Walther

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 384

Publication Date: 3/3/26

Publisher: Delacorte Romance

Categories: Young Adult, Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Delacorte Romance for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

The business of love gets messy when two best friends decide to fake a romantic relationship in this uproarious and swoony novel by the bestselling author of The Summer of Broken Rules.

Audrey Barbour has had enough of following the rules. Eighteen years of being the perfect daughter—exceptional grades, enviable college acceptances, tame dating history—and still, her parents don’t trust her enough to let her study her passion, glassblowing, on a prestigious fellowship.

So when her best friend Henry proposes an outrageous fake-dating scheme to win back his ex-girlfriend, it feels like the first step to shaking up her perfect life. And the second? That comes when Audrey’s parents go out of town, sparking a high-risk, high-reward solution to pay for her fellowship—renting out her family’s Connecticut mansion online. With the help of her new fake-boyfriend, it shouldn’t be hard to pull off… right?

But when her best intentions start to unravel, Audrey will have to reckon with who she is, what she wants, and what it really means to play life by her rules—all with her heart on the line.

Content Warning: alcohol use

+ This is a wild ride of a young adult romance! Audrey is a glass blower and sells her creation on her own Etsy shop. Henry is her best-friend and he helps her run her shop, but he’s also dating her good friend, Ellie…until recently. Henry wants to get Ellie back so he proposes they fake date to make Ellie jealous, and then maybe Audrey’s crush, Griff, will also look at her in a different way.

+ The fake dating is fun because they are best friends and have their own way of interacting with one another using movie lines or calling each other by character names. It’s very silly, very cute, and I loved Audrey and Henry together. When they do feel something more, which comes really easily and without any real drama – all it takes is a few talks between them when they do have a challenge before they get their happy ever after. I liked how the topic of a long distance relationship was Henry’s hang-up about continuing a relationship, but there was Audrey’s parents in a long-distance marriage that worked!

+ Outside of the fake-dating though is the crazy things happening in Audrey’s life. Her parents are on a trip, and she accidentally pays ten thousand dollars for tuition to a school her parents haven’t agreed to. So…the rest of the story is her trying to come up with a way to make the 10K back before her parents get back home. The plan involves all her friends, but what Audrey learns about herself is that she really is good under-pressure and can actually run a business! It’s kind of crazy but it works, and I thought it made this story pretty fun to read.

+ I found all the characters to be good people, which was kind of nice! Audrey is a chill girl, and nothing seems to get her totally down. And her group of friends, even her parents, seem like really relaxed people – I cannot relate! haha…but it’s nice. I like that everyone was trying to help her out in some way.

~ If you don’t like pop culture references then you won’t enjoy this book because there is mention of Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo and even Gracie Abrams. 😅. Even the title takes from Olivia’s song Bad Idea, Right?

~ There is a moment where Audrey and Henry take their relationship to the next level but it’s closed door, with barely any details except him pulling out a condom. I found it pretty realistic but I did kind of want more of a hint that they were headed that way in their relationship.

Final Thoughts:

I enjoyed this one! I thought it was fun and funny. The characters were all likable and I kind of wish my parents were as chill as Audrey’s. I look forward to reading more from this author.