Borrow My Heart
Kasie West
Delacorte Press
Published June 13, 2023
Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads
About Borrow My Heart
When a girl overhears a guy getting verbally destroyed by his friends for being catfished, she jumps in to save the day—and pretends to be his online crush. A young adult romance from the critically acclaimed author of Places We’ve Never Been.
Wren is used to being called a control freak. She doesn’t care; sticking to the list of rules she created for herself helps her navigate life. But when a cute guy named Asher walks through the door of her neighborhood coffee shop, the rulebook goes out the window.
Asher is cute, charming . . . and being catfished by his online crush. So Wren makes an uncharacteristically impulsive decision—she pretends to be the girl he’s waiting for to save him from embarrassment. Suddenly she’s fake-dating a boy she knows nothing about. And it’s . . . amazing.
It’s not long before Asher has her breaking even more of her own rules. But will he forgive her when he finds out she’s not who she says she is? Wren’s not so sure. . . . After all, rules exist for a reason.
My Review
Kasie West books are kind of a go-to when I need a sweet, fluffy romance. Usually, the characters’ families are involved in the story– especially their siblings. The romance tends to be sweet (as opposed to spicy), and the stories lots of times grapple with fear, vulnerability, and navigating changing relationships. I love all of that and BORROW MY HEART hit all the notes of those things that I was looking for.
I enjoyed the relationship between Wren and Kamala. Everyone needs that no-nonsense friend in their lives who tells them the things they need to hear, even if sometimes they’re not ready to hear them. Someone who sees who you are and decides that person, warts and all, is a person whose friendship they cherish. So I loved that about those two girls and their friendship.
I also thought the scenes where Wren works at the animal shelter were sweet. While I’m not a dog person, I thought it was really cool that she loved the dog, Bean, so much and worked so hard to try to find the right home for him. I liked that he wasn’t just a misunderstood sweetheart, either, but that he was pretty spunky.
The dynamic between Wren and Asher was sweet, too. I liked the way that he didn’t pressure her to do things she wasn’t comfortable with, and anytime she communicated her discomfort, he was quick to make space for her feelings and support her in what she needed. But he also made space to let her process things and come to him when she was ready rather than pressing her to admit things she wasn’t ready to talk about yet.
All in all, I think fans of Kasie West’s other books will love the fun, fluffy romance of BORROW MY HEART. It’s a great summer read to take to the beach or read poolside.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 12 up.
Representation
Wren is white and lactose intolerant. Her best friend Kamala is Indian American.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.
Spiritual Content
None.
Violent Content
None.
Drug Content
Wren’s older sister (who is twenty) drinks beer at a party. Wren confronts her about drinking underage and ultimately leaves the party.
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