“A witty rom-com reinvention … with deeply relatable insights on family pressure and growing up.” – Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka, authors of Always Never Yours and If I’m Being Honest “An adorable debut that updates a classic romantic trope with a buzzy twist.” – Jenn Bennett, author of Alex, Approximately and Serious Moonlight A fresh, irresistible rom-com from debut author … Moonlight
A fresh, irresistible rom-com from debut author Emma Lord about the chances we take, the paths life can lead us on, and how love can be found in the opposite place you expected.
One of Forbes Best YA of 2020
Meet Pepper, swim team captain, chronic overachiever, and all-around perfectionist. Her family may be falling apart, but their massive fast-food chain is booming — mainly thanks to Pepper, who is barely managing to juggle real life while secretly running Big League Burger’s massive Twitter account.
Enter Jack, class clown and constant thorn in Pepper’s side. When he isn’t trying to duck out of his obscenely popular twin’s shadow, he’s busy working in his family’s deli. His relationship with the business that holds his future might be love/hate, but when Big League Burger steals his grandma’s iconic grilled cheese recipe, he’ll do whatever it takes to take them down, one tweet at a time.
All’s fair in love and cheese — that is, until Pepper and Jack’s spat turns into a viral Twitter war. Little do they know, while they’re publicly duking it out with snarky memes and retweet battles, they’re also falling for each other in real life — on an anonymous chat app Jack built.
As their relationship deepens and their online shenanigans escalate — people on the internet are shipping them?? — their battle gets more and more personal, until even these two rivals can’t ignore they were destined for the most unexpected, awkward, all-the-feels romance that neither of them expected.
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When I saw in the description that this YA romcom features two of my favorite tropes (enemies to lovers, and epistolary) I had high expectations.
The author managed to meet them and surpass them.
The book has had a ginormous publicity push—if you take a fast look at Goodreads, you’ll see that it has ten times more reviews before its pub date than many books get over their lifetime.
So I’m not bothering with a description. Instead, I want to ramble about what made me enjoy this book so much.
First, the voices. Lord differentiates Pepper and Jack’s voices, so reading their opinions of the other was interesting, often hilarious. I thoroughly enjoyed their banter over the social media app that Jack invented, in which schoolmates take on identities as animals. I loved the fact that he designed it to deflect the toxicity that social media can swiftly turn into, especially in highly-cathected circs between the young and hormonally fuel-injected. What that said about Jack (besides his being bright) made him interesting as well as admirable.
The descriptions of the foods, especially the pastries, made me hungry. (Except monster cake. That sounded horrible!)
I loved the side characters. The respective parents and siblings are all complicated as well as sometimes wry, even funny, without either descending to stupidity or overwhelming the story. The attention stays firmly on Jack and Pepper as they negotiate the various landmines they encounter as they inadvertently find themselves drawing closer.
Finally I really loved the backbone of the book: the exploration of what happens to families who find themselves far more successful than they dreamed. While hiding secrets.
I picked this up as a $5 pick at the Barnes and Noble cafe counter and I can’t think of a better reason to have parted with a fiver. This YA novel has overtones of You’ve Got Mail and The Shop Around the Corner and was delightful at every turn.
This was such an adorable book! I loved every minute of it. Not only that, but it made me totally hungry to make my own fancy grilled cheese sandwiches. First of all, how adorable is the title? The play on the whole “meet cute” is perfect. It was fun to see teens using Twitter and totally in the way that so many use it today, to start the wars that these days keep me away from Twitter a lot. But I also loved how Pepper’s family company was trying to do the snarky tweets that a lot of fast food companies like Wendy’s actually have done. Those are the types of things that get me back on Twitter occasionally. It was definitely great for both Pepper and Jack to have their own family and personal issues that not only made them good friends with lots in common whether they realized it or not, but it also kept them from figuring out their connection on the school app, Weazel. Another really great part is that all the characters had their own reasons for doing things, and the stereotypes weren’t always true, and I like seeing that in YA books. For characters to have to see those aren’t right, and for the author to show us that as well. However it wasn’t a bunch of goody-goody fictional characters either. They did real teenage things, got in trouble, had parent issues, sibling issues, etc. Even with the frustrating parental issues, in the end, I liked how all the parents were supportive of what was best for their child, while still holding them accountable for any mistakes they’d made. Definitely one I’ll be recommending as well as purchasing for the students in my school library.
Tweet Cute was a great read. Jack and Pepper are interesting characters. They both help their families run businesses as well as preparing to graduate and go off to college. They both have a lot on their plates. Pepper is focused on grade and getting into a good college, her mom pressures her a lot to get good grade and help with the family business. Jack and Pepper become friends but the are also enemies because their families run competing businesses. There’s a lot going on in this one. We have Jack and Pepper’s twitter battle through the company accounts, they budding friendship, and their friendship through an anonymous messaging app. These two were just meant for each other. I loved every bit of it. This one has teenage angst wrapped up in a cute funny read.
Enemies to Lovers
YA RomCom
Viral Twitter war
All the fast food to fill your cravings
All’s fair in love and cheese…
When I saw the cover and title for this one, I just KNEW I needed to read it. And oh boy, am I glad I made that decision!
Tweet Cute was such a thoroughly delightful read. It was the perfect way to start 2020 off!
This book was everything you could want from a feel-good, YA RomCom. I had such a huge smile on my face while reading this. I also was craving desserts like you wouldn’t imagine (read it and you will see why!)
I loved the whole concept of this book. Two teens in the same small, exclusive high school dragged into a twitter war to help support their family’s business. That alone would be a lot to deal with… but the two are also chatting with each other anonymously on a school app and developing a relationship. Not to mention the bond they begin to form as they spend more time together… and they start to turn from enemies to more than!
Tweet Cute had a ton of laugh out loud moments. It also had a few moments that made me realize, oh crap! I really have gotten old, as I realized I don’t quite get all the tweets LOL! Oh well, I will continue to pretend that I am that cool Auntie anyway! It also had some very poignant moments that hit home. Times as they are talking about how divorce changes a family’s dynamics. Times when they show how we conform to meet the expectations of those around us and in turn just feel on the outside, unseen, different and less than. These are issues that many of us can relate to — whether you are a teen now or were one decades ago.
This book was much more than cute. It was a fun, entertaining read that also dealt with some real life issues for teens (and all of us) of fitting in. I read this one from cover to cover as I was lost in their world. If this is Emma Lord’s debut… wow! I can’t wait to read more from her!
Pepper and Jack have almost always been frienemies, but when their family businesses go head-to-head on Twitter, things change. Oddly enough, they find they have a lot in common. Meanwhile they’re growing closer on an app called Weazel, only they don’t know each other’s identities. When the Twitter war gets more personal and their secret identities come closer to being revealed, things get messy.
This was a wonderful YA romance reminiscent of You’ve Got Mail but with a modern twist involving teens, texting, and Twitter. The characters were fun and relatable and the story had great flow. It was cute and a bit predictable but still an amazing read.
Oh, my cheesy oooey-gooey goodness! This book is one of the sweetest books I have ever read. It reminded me why I love reading YA novels.
Pepper is a straight-A student, captain of the swim team and all around goodie two shoes whose family runs Big League Burger, a huge Burger Chain that’s trying to promote their new Grilled Cheese sandwich. The only problem? The recipe is identical to one belonging to Girl Cheesing, a local deli. Cue, Jack, the hottie computer guy water pole player whose family owns said deli.
A Twitter feud incites among the two restaurants by the two teens, neither of which know they’re basically trying to out-tweet the other. To top it off, they both attend the same school and even have classes together.
There’s a definite You’ve Got Mail vibe going on, which I am totally here for.
This book was an absolute delight! And at times I found myself with a mischievous smile saying “oh, no she didnt!”
I laughed out loud, I “ooo’d”and “aww’d”. It was so much fun to read. The chemistry between the two main characters Pepper and Jack is undeniable. And I was sad to see the story end.
This book is a definite must read!
Audiobook Review
Overall 4 stars
Performance 4.5 stars
Story 4 stars
This was such a cute YA romance! It definitely had some more serious issues woven in about family and being comfortable in your own skin, but for most of the book I had a huge grin on my face. The cheese puns were the best! I loved the back and forth banter and barbs between Wolf and Bluebird and how the relationship organically shifted between Pepper and Jack. It was a true enemies to friends to lovers. Jack and Pepper each have family baggage that they’re dealing with, and I appreciated how the author let them come into their own. As much as I enjoyed the secondary characters, there were a few too many plot lines to keep track of and as a result, the book felt a bit too long. The narration by Dan Bittner and Emily Shaffer was really engaging. I thought they both gave really heartfelt performances, though I did find Emily Shaffer’s voice a bit high pitched at times. Overall, Tweet Cute was a really fun and sweet young adult novel with a lot of heart.
Oh. my. goodness!! This has to be the most adorable YA rom-com ever!!! This book has everything from grilled cheese and burgers to an enemy-lovers concept. I love how the author was able to give us a story with so many relatable attributes (i.e. family pressure, twitter/social media impact, high school endeavors, etc.) and combine them all into this big mixing bowl to produce a story every bit as good as I imagine Monster Cake must taste!! I would definitely recommend this book to my friends, especially anyone wanting to get you started with the YA and rom-com genre!!
Have you ever loved a book so much you wanted to hug it? Well, that is this one for me. It was cute and fluffy and the exact thing I am looking for when I read a YA book. Pepper and Jack were perfectly matched and I couldn’t have loved them more. Their families left a little to be desired, but I just adored them. I don’t usually read YA, but when I do, it is this.
What a fun book! Tweet Cute by Emma Lord was a completely adorable young adult debut and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I loved the concept of the Twitter war between the deli and Big League Burger while Pepper and Jack are also unknowingly talking to each other on Jack’s app. The way Lord executed this book was completely perfect, and while it was super cute and funny, it also had some great themes that I liked seeing in a young adult novel. Of course, there are also plenty of pop culture references and social media related things, and I enjoyed that as well!
I listened to the audiobook which is narrated by Dan Bittner & Emily Shaffer and they made the cutest Jack and Pepper. I really enjoyed their narration for the audiobook, and I would definitely recommend it! I was immediately sucked into Lord’s writing, and I finished Tweet Cute in two sittings which easily could have been one if I’d had the time. The writing flowed very well, and the book was both entertaining and witty, and I definitely had a few laughs along the way. I can’t wait to read Lord’s follow-up novel and I highly recommend this to any romcom readers who also read YA!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
This was very cute and I read it in almost one sitting. It isn’t a new favorite, but I would read it again and plan on reading Emma Lord’s next book.
Pepper and Jack were both great characters. They were well-developed and likable, but flawed. And I definitely connected with Pepper. This took me back to the stress of high school. They both had complexity and felt like real teenagers.
Honestly, before I read this, I was very unsure of the reality of two teens running a company Twitter accounts. But Ms. Lord did a good job making me believe how this happened. And I think it is important to remember there are real human beings behind the handle.
Beyond the tweets, there were a lot of textual conversations. That is one of my favorite things to read in a book. And these were incredibly adorable. They made me smile and were some of my favorite parts to read.
The romance was cute and well-developed. I liked that Pepper and Jack really were becoming friends before becoming a couple. And I thought the conflicts/issues would go a certain way, but they didn’t. I liked being kept on my toes. It also felt organic and like a healthy relationship.
There were other relationships, too. Some were more developed than others, but I appreciate the layers. The changing relationship between Pepper and Pooja was beautiful. We stan solid female friendships in this house.
Speaking of little things: the LGBT+ rep. I loved it! Yes, it’s side characters, but that’s fine. I loved how much of a non-issue it was. Yes, there are still bigots in the world, but I’m team be the change you wish to see in the world. So, I like a book where characters are just living their lives and no one (adult or teen) cares. That’s the world I want to live in.
Ok, this review has gone on longer than I expected. Tweet Cute was such a fun and (fairly) light read. Ms. Lord addressed some serious issues teens face, but it never felt too dramatic. My already anxious mind really appreciated that tone choice. And I’m definitely excited to read another Emma Lord book.
If you are even slightly active within the young bookish internet community, chances are you have seen Tweet Cute somewhere, more than once. I first requested it a few months ago but, too many books and too little time. After re-requesting Tweet Cute recently, I immediately read and throughly enjoyed it.
From the first pages, it is clear that Tweet Cute is a high quality YA contemporary novel. If you are of the opinion that all contemporary YA books are shallow and poorly-written, you are sadly mistaken, but you may laugh at the idea that I am calling such a book high quality, but it is simply true. Tweet Cute is well-written, overflowing with lovable and realistic characters, and possesses an actually interesting plot.
Tweet Cute is told from the alternating first-person POVs of two high-school seniors, Pepper Evans and Jack Campbell. It revolves around a twitter war between Big League Burger (BLB), the Evans’ family business turned franchise, whose twitter account is run by Pepper, and Girl Cheesing (GC), the Campbell family’s deli, whose twitter account is run by Jack. The viral war is sparked by BLB taking the name of one of GC’s signature dishes, Grandma’s Special, a grilled cheese sandwich with a special ingredient. A seemingly innocent beginning to what becomes months of lovely drama.
When we first are introduced to Jack and Pepper, they are attending a New York City private school. Although they are acquaintances, the two of them are certainly not friends. I must say that although I know this book has been marketed/reviewed as an enemies-to-lovers book, I would disagree. They were never enemies, rivals at times yes, but as soon as they got to know each other they were well on their way to becoming friends.
It does not take long for Jack and Pepper to realize that they are warring each other on twitter, and it was absolutely hilarious to read about their exchanges and the lengths they would go to mess with each other’s accounts. It was wonderfully entertaining.
Moving on to characters, when we first meet Pepper she is outwardly perfect, a teacher’s pet with almost perfect SAT scores, who is basically a robot at school. (In Jack’s words, not mine.) At home, Pepper is obsessed with baking and often stress-bakes delicious-sounding concoctions such as Monster Cake. She is also homesick for Nashville and her dad who remains there, she misses her older sister Paige who is at UPenn and struggles with her relationship with her mom, in other words she really is human. Out of Tweet Cute‘s characters, Pepper undergoes the greatest amount of character development. She breaks out of her shell and manages to make friends, as well as realizes that she is done being a chronic people-pleaser.
Now for Jack. He is, simply put, a great guy, hard-working, funny and sweet. Jack confronts a bunch of issues that have simmering for years, such as his relationship with his brother and his parents’ plans for his future, throughout Tweet Cute. In a way, Jack also drops his mask as the story develops and his choice to stop hiding behind jokes. All in all, Jack is the type of character that you wouldn’t mind knowing in real life.
I loved so much of this story, but one piece that I enjoyed most was the featuring of small, family-owned and run businesses. GC was lovely and I certainly would not mind working there.
For a final note, I fell completely in love with Lord’s writing style and I am eagerly anticipating reading her newest release.
Really cute YA contemporary romance set in NYC. #PepperJack4Ever
I love it so much, it’s an amazing story with witty banter and ecerything I love in a book!
The characters are relatable and funny, I really like them.
All in all this is an amazing debut novel and I can’t wait to read more from this author.
Loved the book . Great characters . Modern romance .
I liked Tweet Cute at first and I loved all the food talk minus grilled cheese. I liked Jack and Pepper. They were funny and had their own issues going on. But things were great when they were together competing and getting under each others skin. The friendships the had were great as well.
After a while the twitter war got annoying and I was over it, but luckily it died down. I also think that Pepper’s mom is the worse and I feel that Jack’s father was overly made into a villain to make Peppers mom feel justified in how she acted when it was not ok at all. I don’t like how her mom acted made Pepper feel like certain issues in her life were her own fault.
In some ways I thought Tweet Cute was really cute, but in other moments I got bored and was over the story. The food talk was the best and made it so fun to read.
This was just that cute. Well-written, fresh, light, relateable, and realistic. Pepper and Jack were character with their own issues while facing high school and the dramas of life brought on with that. There was growth within both the characters. The read was enjoyed from beginning all the way to the end.
Tweet Cute is cute. It’s a YA modern day nod to Romeo and Juliet, sans death and tragedy. These two teens build a Twitter rivalry and find some angsty family vendettas and drama as they bend rules. It’s fun and geeky cute. I appreciate that it’s not about the popular, cool kids and there are no ugly duckling transformations often found in a YA contemporary story.
A great read.