Sidekick Short Review: I Was Told There Would Be Romance (2024) by Marie Arnold

cover image of I Was Told There Would Be Romance, published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2024.

The Basics

Page Length: 224

Audiobook Length: ~5.5 hours

Grade Reading Level: 7+

Target Audience Age: 13-18

Goodreads Score: 3.60 out of 5

Buy it HERE

Setting: Contemporary American city

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Topics: High School, Dating, Haiti, Voodoo, Friendship, Humor

Plot: Fancy Augustine is a precocious, fun-loving 15-year-old whose spirited personality constantly lands her in trouble. Obsessed with romance novels, she often romanticizes her life—whether it’s accidentally following her crush Rahim into the boys’ locker room or putting off homework to spend hours book shopping. Her parents are at their limit and have threatened to send her back to Haiti if she doesn’t get her act together—something Fancy is determined to avoid at all costs.

Beyond avoiding her parents’ threat, Fancy’s biggest goal is to secure an invite to Imani Parker’s birthday party, the most exclusive event of the year. She and her best friend Tilly have never been invited before, a fact that has long united them. But Fancy is devastated when she discovers Tilly has been hiding a secret boyfriend—and that Tilly is invited to the party while she is not. Suddenly, Fancy finds herself without a best friend and without a ticket to the party she’s dreamed about.

Determined to get in, Fancy begs Imani for an invite and is told she can attend—if she brings a boyfriend. Serendipitously, Rahim approaches her locker. Due to her Haitian background, rumors at school suggest that Fancy practices voodoo. Rahim proposes a deal: he’ll pretend to be her boyfriend to get her into the party, if she provides him with a voodoo potion. There’s just one problem: Fancy doesn’t know anything about voodoo or potions.

As Fancy scrambles to maintain the ruse, she must navigate her fake romance with Rahim, repair her fractured friendship with Tilly, and try to achieve her ultimate dream of attending the party of the year—all while avoiding the dreaded trip back to Haiti. With her lies piling up, the story asks: can Fancy juggle friendship, romance, and family pressure without everything falling apart?

You might like this book if you like:

• Rom-com movies marathons

• Book clubs, especially romance book clubs

• Books/movies/shows like: To All the Boys I've Loved Before; The Summer I Turned Pretty; Heartstopper, The Kissing Booth

• Books like: Blackout; Imogen, Obviously; One Last Stop; Perfect Chemistry; Counting Down with You

• Shows like: Never Have I Ever; On My Block; Love, Victor; Ginny and Georgia

• Movies like: The DUFF; Tall Girl; Easy A; John Tucker Must Die

  
  

Other books written by this author: The Year I Flew Away, I Rise, Split the Sky, A Place to Shine, They Will Not Save Us

Content

• Language: Mild language throughout

• Sex/Romance: This book involves serious crushing, obsessing, and daydreaming. There is some kissing. The protagonist talks about her body a lot, specifically how she wishes it looked different. A little bit of innuendo, but nothing is graphic. It's a very PG/PG-13 romance

• Violence/Scariness: None

• Drinking/Smoking/Drugs: None

  
  

Book Talk Read Aloud Section

*What is a book talk? (Watch a how to video here. Read my blog post here)

If you have the physical book, read pages 1-4 (through the 5th paragraph from the bottom after "I'll try")

If you don't, read the same pages in the Kindle reading sample here.