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The Girl Most Likely To
A frenemies-to-lovers contemporary romance by Julie Tieu which takes place over the course of one make-or-break evening, almost entirely at a high school reunion....
“For the rom-com fans, you can never go wrong with a Julie Tieu book.”— Buzzfeed
Rachel Dang, once voted “Most Likely to Succeed” in high school, is funemployed for the first time. After years of doing everything her boss asked, it’s time to say yes to new opportunities. So when she gets invited to her twentieth high school reunion by none other than her former frenemy, Danny Phan, Rachel agrees despite their unresolved past.
As a teenager, Danny was seen as smart, but unfocused. Teachers often paired him with Rachel, hoping her work ethic would rub off on him. Though Danny and Rachel weren’t exactly friends, she had seen a different side of him, one that only existed online over intimate late-night AIM chats that never translated into real life. When they meet again, Rachel discovers their roles have reversed. Danny is thriving in his career while she’s the one flailing.
The reunion takes an unexpected turn when a simple errand takes them into town for a night of mishaps and misadventure where they run into a colorful cast of characters from their childhood. Rachel and Danny soon rediscover the feelings they once shared and must decide if this is only a quick trip down memory lane or a second chance for their happily ever after.
“For the rom-com fans, you can never go wrong with a Julie Tieu book.”— Buzzfeed
Rachel Dang, once voted “Most Likely to Succeed” in high school, is funemployed for the first time. After years of doing everything her boss asked, it’s time to say yes to new opportunities. So when she gets invited to her twentieth high school reunion by none other than her former frenemy, Danny Phan, Rachel agrees despite their unresolved past.
As a teenager, Danny was seen as smart, but unfocused. Teachers often paired him with Rachel, hoping her work ethic would rub off on him. Though Danny and Rachel weren’t exactly friends, she had seen a different side of him, one that only existed online over intimate late-night AIM chats that never translated into real life. When they meet again, Rachel discovers their roles have reversed. Danny is thriving in his career while she’s the one flailing.
The reunion takes an unexpected turn when a simple errand takes them into town for a night of mishaps and misadventure where they run into a colorful cast of characters from their childhood. Rachel and Danny soon rediscover the feelings they once shared and must decide if this is only a quick trip down memory lane or a second chance for their happily ever after.
316 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 18, 2025
67 people are currently reading
17928 people want to read
About the author
Julie Tieu
7 books505 followersJulie Tieu is a Chinese-Cambodian American writer, born and raised in Southern California. When she is not writing, she is reading, on the hunt for delicious eats, or dreaming about her next travel adventure. She lives in the Los Angeles area with her high school crush husband and two energetic daughters.
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July 18, 2024
This twenty-years-later high school reunion love story leans more towards second chances in love than enemies or frenemies to lovers. It centers on two young people whose paths diverged during high school due to family problems and a series of misunderstandings. It's truly frustrating, but what can be said? When you're young, impulsive, and a little insecure, you easily perceive things differently and are often too proud to correct them by being the bigger person.
In this novel, Rachel Lang, 38, who was voted “Most Likely to Succeed” in school, feels like a total embarrassment after getting laid off from her longtime job into which she poured sweat, blood, and overwhelming effort without any gain. She also parted ways with her fiancé three years ago. As a long-time planner, her life is nothing as it seems; she still lives with her high school friend Nat, who is a TV star. After losing her job, she becomes Nat's personal assistant until she finds her own path. In the meantime, she decides to take risks and do things she never would have if she had stayed at her old job, such as RSVP’ing for her 20th high school reunion. Of course, a Facebook DM from her ex-friend Danny Phan also influenced her decision. Danny and Rachel have a long and complicated past. They had their own “You’ve Got Mail” moments when they anonymously wrote to each other in a chat room until they decided to meet and realized Danny was the same boy she tried so hard to tutor in her spare time to earn the school administrators’ good graces. They became close friends and confidantes, sharing their secrets and fears, and attracted to each other until one kiss and a series of misunderstandings and poorly chosen words ruined things between them.
Now Rachel returns to her high school, where she left her hopes, passions, ambitions, and old self, to meet her old friend for closure. But a series of unexpected events push them together to team up for searching backstage tickets promised by Nat to the school committee. This results in hilarious and slightly dramatic incidents throughout the night—starting with Danny hitting a cactus while running away from a TV show set with Rachel. After these adrenaline-filled moments, they realize they have many unsaid words and confessions to make, exploring their twenty-years-older selves. Their chemistry is still palpable. Could they make it work a second time, two decades later?
I'm giving this sweet read 3.5 stars. I think it lacked angst. There were not many obstacles or drama that might hold Rachel and Danny back from each other. When we explore their pasts, they seem to have acted extra immature and insecure, and it shouldn't have taken two decades for them to see those mistakes. There are some dramatic parts about Danny’s family issues that needed more layers.
Rachel’s character was still impulsive after two decades, claiming she had changed, but some of her dialogues and stubborn attitudes made me roll my eyes.
I also found the ending a little abrupt. It was an interesting choice for concluding the story.
Despite these issues, I enjoyed the fast pacing, the one-night adventure, and the high chemistry between the characters, which made me round up my rating to 4 stars.
It's a sweet, easy-to-read, enjoyable second chance love story, ideal for romance lovers who enjoy quick reads!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for sharing this high-chemistry romance's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.
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In this novel, Rachel Lang, 38, who was voted “Most Likely to Succeed” in school, feels like a total embarrassment after getting laid off from her longtime job into which she poured sweat, blood, and overwhelming effort without any gain. She also parted ways with her fiancé three years ago. As a long-time planner, her life is nothing as it seems; she still lives with her high school friend Nat, who is a TV star. After losing her job, she becomes Nat's personal assistant until she finds her own path. In the meantime, she decides to take risks and do things she never would have if she had stayed at her old job, such as RSVP’ing for her 20th high school reunion. Of course, a Facebook DM from her ex-friend Danny Phan also influenced her decision. Danny and Rachel have a long and complicated past. They had their own “You’ve Got Mail” moments when they anonymously wrote to each other in a chat room until they decided to meet and realized Danny was the same boy she tried so hard to tutor in her spare time to earn the school administrators’ good graces. They became close friends and confidantes, sharing their secrets and fears, and attracted to each other until one kiss and a series of misunderstandings and poorly chosen words ruined things between them.
Now Rachel returns to her high school, where she left her hopes, passions, ambitions, and old self, to meet her old friend for closure. But a series of unexpected events push them together to team up for searching backstage tickets promised by Nat to the school committee. This results in hilarious and slightly dramatic incidents throughout the night—starting with Danny hitting a cactus while running away from a TV show set with Rachel. After these adrenaline-filled moments, they realize they have many unsaid words and confessions to make, exploring their twenty-years-older selves. Their chemistry is still palpable. Could they make it work a second time, two decades later?
I'm giving this sweet read 3.5 stars. I think it lacked angst. There were not many obstacles or drama that might hold Rachel and Danny back from each other. When we explore their pasts, they seem to have acted extra immature and insecure, and it shouldn't have taken two decades for them to see those mistakes. There are some dramatic parts about Danny’s family issues that needed more layers.
Rachel’s character was still impulsive after two decades, claiming she had changed, but some of her dialogues and stubborn attitudes made me roll my eyes.
I also found the ending a little abrupt. It was an interesting choice for concluding the story.
Despite these issues, I enjoyed the fast pacing, the one-night adventure, and the high chemistry between the characters, which made me round up my rating to 4 stars.
It's a sweet, easy-to-read, enjoyable second chance love story, ideal for romance lovers who enjoy quick reads!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for sharing this high-chemistry romance's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Follow me on medium.com to read my articles about books, movies, streaming series, astrology:
medium blog
June 24, 2025
"The only cardio I've seen you do was chase after that extra because you thought he was Daniel Henney"
This is the book of my millennial dreams.
🥑 set in LA
🥑 friends to lovers
🥑 38 year old Chinese Cambodian American protagonist
🥑 Chinese Vietnamese American divorced love interest
Rachel Dang is not doing well. She was once voted Most Likely to Succeed. Days before a twentieth high school reunion, she is laid off by the entertainment company where she made her mark. She has to take on a part-time assistant role to her actor friend and roommate, Natalie Huang. I don't think Nat is a great friend, but that is irrelevant to this review, and my feelings about this book, so I'll leave that out.
I was scared when I thought this was second chance romance, as I don't do well with those. It's definitely more of a former best friends had a weird falling out that neither of them understand and have now met back up and still find each other attractive kind of thing. Yes, that is a run-on sentence. No, I do not care. If I have to work during the holiday season, you have to read my rambly reviews.
The Chinese diaspora is vast. Chinese Americans, even when they call themselves such, often emigrate from countries that aren't China. A lot of the times, they don't even mention these countries until way later. I'm not entirely sure where I was going with that, but I like that Julie always highlights Chinese Cambodian culture (her own) and in this case, a Chinese Vietnamese love interest with Houston roots (not me, but certainly people I've known).
Rachel and Danny first meet when he shows up as the new kid at her school in Alhambra. They e-meet on AIM, which gave me so many flashbacks. Her screenname is xxaznxbbxgrlxx. A/S/L, am I right? Did that give you a jump scare?
In retrospect, the plan was delusional. Graduate college by twenty-two. Get a high-paying job. Find a boyfriend by twenty-five. Date for two years. Be engaged by twenty-seven. Have a baby and a house by twenty-eight. Naïve eighteen-year-old me didn't factor in the many, many variables outside of my control. "A flawed plan."
I mostly loved this book, because not everyone finds love early in life. That's not to say your late thirties are old. It was just nice to read about people starting their lives together a little later than your standard mid-twenties couple.
Things that attacked me, alphabetically:
🥑 Acqua di Gio
🥑 AIM
🥑 burned CDs
🥑 corndogs
🥑 Dashboard Confessional
🥑 Jimmy Eat World
🥑 "Sandstorm" by Darude
🥑 scientifically round butts
Book pairing: IT'S DIFFERENT THIS TIME
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Avon
This is the book of my millennial dreams.
🥑 set in LA
🥑 friends to lovers
🥑 38 year old Chinese Cambodian American protagonist
🥑 Chinese Vietnamese American divorced love interest
Rachel Dang is not doing well. She was once voted Most Likely to Succeed. Days before a twentieth high school reunion, she is laid off by the entertainment company where she made her mark. She has to take on a part-time assistant role to her actor friend and roommate, Natalie Huang. I don't think Nat is a great friend, but that is irrelevant to this review, and my feelings about this book, so I'll leave that out.
I was scared when I thought this was second chance romance, as I don't do well with those. It's definitely more of a former best friends had a weird falling out that neither of them understand and have now met back up and still find each other attractive kind of thing. Yes, that is a run-on sentence. No, I do not care. If I have to work during the holiday season, you have to read my rambly reviews.
The Chinese diaspora is vast. Chinese Americans, even when they call themselves such, often emigrate from countries that aren't China. A lot of the times, they don't even mention these countries until way later. I'm not entirely sure where I was going with that, but I like that Julie always highlights Chinese Cambodian culture (her own) and in this case, a Chinese Vietnamese love interest with Houston roots (not me, but certainly people I've known).
Rachel and Danny first meet when he shows up as the new kid at her school in Alhambra. They e-meet on AIM, which gave me so many flashbacks. Her screenname is xxaznxbbxgrlxx. A/S/L, am I right? Did that give you a jump scare?
In retrospect, the plan was delusional. Graduate college by twenty-two. Get a high-paying job. Find a boyfriend by twenty-five. Date for two years. Be engaged by twenty-seven. Have a baby and a house by twenty-eight. Naïve eighteen-year-old me didn't factor in the many, many variables outside of my control. "A flawed plan."
I mostly loved this book, because not everyone finds love early in life. That's not to say your late thirties are old. It was just nice to read about people starting their lives together a little later than your standard mid-twenties couple.
Things that attacked me, alphabetically:
🥑 Acqua di Gio
🥑 AIM
🥑 burned CDs
🥑 corndogs
🥑 Dashboard Confessional
🥑 Jimmy Eat World
🥑 "Sandstorm" by Darude
🥑 scientifically round butts
Book pairing: IT'S DIFFERENT THIS TIME
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Avon
February 10, 2025
Miscommunication, Second Chance romance. A unique premise that takes place almost entirely at their 20th class reunion. Rachel was the girl most likely to succeed in high school, and even though it’s been 20 years, she still remembers those who were her biggest competitors. She has a not so glamorous life in the entertainment industry, and she has just been laid off from her job. She finally made the trades, and it was because of her layoff. Her friend (who is an actress) hired her short term to be her assistant, getting coffee and laundry. This allows for her to stay very close to the entertainment industry and to make it seem like her life is a bit more glamorous than it is. Just in time for her 20th reunion, she reconnects with Danny,. They had one special moment in 2023, and then nothing came of it. Not that she thinks about that much anymore.
There’s a lot of nostalgia in this one, depending on where you were around 2003, you will see and hear a lot of things that jump off the page and make you laugh. It’s really the details. I’m not a big fan of the miscommunication trope typically, but with teenagers they have miscommunication just about every day. I liked the way that in my copy the parts from high school were in bold print, allowing me to understand when we were in the past.
There aren’t chapter headings that say the years, or “then” chapters and “now” chapters. Because of this, the audiobook gave me pause a few times. It is difficult to tell which decade you’re in without title headings. That said, this is my very favorite audiobook narrator, Natalie Naudus. I so appreciate that Publishers. Choose a narrator that is Chinese to voice a book about Chinese characters. Natalie Naudus is a real pro, I love the way that she uses pauses and inflection in her performance. Side note: she is also the author of a wonderful queer YA book Gay The Pray Away. Five stars.
Rachel is not at all boring, she really is flawed yet likable. You’re rooting for her and you understand why she is trying to embellish her career to her former classmates. If you like a second chance romance, pick this one up.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Avon for the ARC. Book to be published February 18, 2025.
There’s a lot of nostalgia in this one, depending on where you were around 2003, you will see and hear a lot of things that jump off the page and make you laugh. It’s really the details. I’m not a big fan of the miscommunication trope typically, but with teenagers they have miscommunication just about every day. I liked the way that in my copy the parts from high school were in bold print, allowing me to understand when we were in the past.
There aren’t chapter headings that say the years, or “then” chapters and “now” chapters. Because of this, the audiobook gave me pause a few times. It is difficult to tell which decade you’re in without title headings. That said, this is my very favorite audiobook narrator, Natalie Naudus. I so appreciate that Publishers. Choose a narrator that is Chinese to voice a book about Chinese characters. Natalie Naudus is a real pro, I love the way that she uses pauses and inflection in her performance. Side note: she is also the author of a wonderful queer YA book Gay The Pray Away. Five stars.
Rachel is not at all boring, she really is flawed yet likable. You’re rooting for her and you understand why she is trying to embellish her career to her former classmates. If you like a second chance romance, pick this one up.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Avon for the ARC. Book to be published February 18, 2025.
February 22, 2025
I really enjoyed the idea behind this book, but I believe it might have been much better if there had been more development or clearer consequences for the decisions made by characters. The settings of the book were great. I felt as though I had been transported back in time by 20 years since this author captured the essence of high school life in the late 90s so perfectly.
Although I liked the novel, there were times when Rachel came across as childish and intolerable. Furthermore, I thought Rachel didn't give Danny a fair chance when he tried to explain a lot of the things that had happened in the past.
Although I usually don't like books where a lot of the plot happens in one day, Tieu did a good job with it. I enjoyed how the plot alternated between the present and their high school memories. That being said, in certain instances I felt as though I was missing Danny's viewpoint. I would love if this book had dual POVs.
But all in all, this book is still interesting to read! Check this book out if you enjoy a decent romantic comedy with a high school reunion theme.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Although I liked the novel, there were times when Rachel came across as childish and intolerable. Furthermore, I thought Rachel didn't give Danny a fair chance when he tried to explain a lot of the things that had happened in the past.
Although I usually don't like books where a lot of the plot happens in one day, Tieu did a good job with it. I enjoyed how the plot alternated between the present and their high school memories. That being said, in certain instances I felt as though I was missing Danny's viewpoint. I would love if this book had dual POVs.
But all in all, this book is still interesting to read! Check this book out if you enjoy a decent romantic comedy with a high school reunion theme.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
February 21, 2025
“Why would I feel bad for you? All I ever wanted was for you to notice me.”
3.5 stars
This was a quick, fun read about a sorta second chance romance where Rachel and Daniel had a falling out right before they graduated high school and haven’t seen each other in 20 years. They meet again at the 20-year high school reunion and it’s basically a disaster lmao
“How did you put up with the melodrama?” I groaned, thinking about all the stupid stuff I complained about when we were teenagers.
“I didn’t put up with anything. I listened because it mattered to you.”
There are cactus spikes in butt cheeks, security interruptions, car crashes, and lots of running around and poor Rachel, who showed up 30 minutes early to the reunion, ends up late anyway after all that. But at least she was with Daniel during the running around.
“I guess we’re never too old to be young and dumb again.”
It was super refreshing to read about characters in their late thirties instead of early twenties, it was nice that they were older than me for once lmao
Also, I dunno why I was assuming no spice but there was spice! So, yes, that was great lmao
“You slept through most of our tutoring sessions.”
“I was listening. I liked the sound of your voice. I still do.”
The negatives: while I liked Daniel, I didn’t really like Rachel. She was childish, shallow, and mean (it was pointed out a lot, so it’s not like other people, and herself, weren’t aware) and it was super annoying. She did grow up, I guess, by the end, but her attitude was just really off-putting for like 70% of the book.
Thank you Avon Books, Colored Pages Book Tours, Netgalley, and the author for this eARC and physical copy for review.
3.5 stars
This was a quick, fun read about a sorta second chance romance where Rachel and Daniel had a falling out right before they graduated high school and haven’t seen each other in 20 years. They meet again at the 20-year high school reunion and it’s basically a disaster lmao
“How did you put up with the melodrama?” I groaned, thinking about all the stupid stuff I complained about when we were teenagers.
“I didn’t put up with anything. I listened because it mattered to you.”
There are cactus spikes in butt cheeks, security interruptions, car crashes, and lots of running around and poor Rachel, who showed up 30 minutes early to the reunion, ends up late anyway after all that. But at least she was with Daniel during the running around.
“I guess we’re never too old to be young and dumb again.”
It was super refreshing to read about characters in their late thirties instead of early twenties, it was nice that they were older than me for once lmao
Also, I dunno why I was assuming no spice but there was spice! So, yes, that was great lmao
“You slept through most of our tutoring sessions.”
“I was listening. I liked the sound of your voice. I still do.”
The negatives: while I liked Daniel, I didn’t really like Rachel. She was childish, shallow, and mean (it was pointed out a lot, so it’s not like other people, and herself, weren’t aware) and it was super annoying. She did grow up, I guess, by the end, but her attitude was just really off-putting for like 70% of the book.
Thank you Avon Books, Colored Pages Book Tours, Netgalley, and the author for this eARC and physical copy for review.
January 29, 2025
Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.
"The Girl Most Likely To" follows Rachel Dang, who got "The Girl Most Likely To Succeed" in high school. A few days before her high school's 20th reunion, she is laid off and is forced to become an assistant to her friend Nat, who is on the rise in Hollywood. Rachel wants to go since she feels stuck and is wondering about the guy she used to have a crush on, Danny Phan.
Be forewarned, this took a while to get going. I ended up liking it in the end, but there were so many weird stop/starts in this one that I kept thinking okay, this must be the end, and nope, here's more pages to get through. I do think the chapters ending and shifting over to IMs that Rachel and Danny sent each other in high school was a bit annoying after a while though. I just wanted the book to get going. We already know they had not talked in 20 years, I really didn't want to keep reading old IMs to each other. It also didn't give me a sense of their connection to each other. When the story shifted to the present, it was much better IMHO.
I think that Rachel and Danny were interesting characters. I think there was too much information tossed out there about Danny's backstory at one point I was just confused and went with it. Other characters such as Rachel's family and her best friend Nat were developed really well. Heck, even the kids they grew up with you can see what made them the smart one, the geeks, etc. I have only gone to one reunion, I think it was my 15th, and a lot of people were still hyper focused on high school for my taste. I haven't gone to one since. This book though was a fun little look at what happens to those we think are going to succeed.
The ending was really good and I liked it. Tieu may sure it did end on a HEA.
"The Girl Most Likely To" follows Rachel Dang, who got "The Girl Most Likely To Succeed" in high school. A few days before her high school's 20th reunion, she is laid off and is forced to become an assistant to her friend Nat, who is on the rise in Hollywood. Rachel wants to go since she feels stuck and is wondering about the guy she used to have a crush on, Danny Phan.
Be forewarned, this took a while to get going. I ended up liking it in the end, but there were so many weird stop/starts in this one that I kept thinking okay, this must be the end, and nope, here's more pages to get through. I do think the chapters ending and shifting over to IMs that Rachel and Danny sent each other in high school was a bit annoying after a while though. I just wanted the book to get going. We already know they had not talked in 20 years, I really didn't want to keep reading old IMs to each other. It also didn't give me a sense of their connection to each other. When the story shifted to the present, it was much better IMHO.
I think that Rachel and Danny were interesting characters. I think there was too much information tossed out there about Danny's backstory at one point I was just confused and went with it. Other characters such as Rachel's family and her best friend Nat were developed really well. Heck, even the kids they grew up with you can see what made them the smart one, the geeks, etc. I have only gone to one reunion, I think it was my 15th, and a lot of people were still hyper focused on high school for my taste. I haven't gone to one since. This book though was a fun little look at what happens to those we think are going to succeed.
The ending was really good and I liked it. Tieu may sure it did end on a HEA.
February 6, 2025
I am fortunate to have gotten an audiobook of this book from netgalley, and gosh, what a great listen. This slowburn romance spanning 20 years goes back and forth between the past and the present. A romance that was unfulfilled 20 years ago and rekindled in the present during a high school reunion. And that slowburn was so fulfilling once we finally got there. But it took AWHILE!
The audio on this one was well done for the most part. A couple of the voices the narrator uses make it hard for me to really stay engaged when speaking for those characters, but when just focused on the FMC and MMC, she did an excellent job.
Also, yes, Keanu Reeves is the best, especially in Speed 😂
The audio on this one was well done for the most part. A couple of the voices the narrator uses make it hard for me to really stay engaged when speaking for those characters, but when just focused on the FMC and MMC, she did an excellent job.
Also, yes, Keanu Reeves is the best, especially in Speed 😂
January 3, 2026
I enjoyed the premise and the taking place in one location of it
Want to read
December 26, 2024Mai rec
May 26, 2025
I am so tired of bad marketing for books. There is no frenemies situation here. This is a book about two people in their late 30s who had a complicated relationship as teenagers coming back together. Nothing about the marketing for this book makes sense with the content.
Rachel Dang's life is falling apart. After 10 years of climbing the ladder at a streaming platform, she's been laid off with a form email. For the first time in her life she doesn't have her work to fall back on. Now she's 38, unemployed and single, getting ready to attend her 20th high school reunion where she's being honored for her career in entertainment because no one knows she's been laid off. Despite her discomfort in attending, Rachel is hoping to see Danny Phan at the reunion. He was her friend in high school until their relationship imploded due to teenaged nonsense and she wants to figure out what happened and repair it. But first she has to get through the awkwardness of their first interaction in years.
This book had so much promise but was a bit of a mess. I think the premise was interesting. I know from my own experience that sometimes the people who were most successful in school are now struggling in the real world (between high school, college and grad school I have seen this many times). This book also explores the subjectivity of memory; how one person's memory of a given event can be completely different from another's. But this book couldn't decide if it wanted to be an honest, relatable contemporary romance or a rompy romcom. And because it couldn't make up its mind it was neither of those things. It would swing wildly from profound examinations of what it means to be in your late 30s and realize your whole career can be gone in an instant to butt jokes. I felt like I had tonal whiplash.
This whole book is in first person, past tense from Rachel's POV. It's also in dual timeline, flashing back to 2003 when she was a senior in high school and her friendship with Danny evolved and then ended. While I enjoyed the AIM messages from their teen years (I was also very active on AIM with an embarrassing screen name circa 2003) I felt like the teenaged timeline slowed the momentum of the plot and didn't provide anything we couldn't get from the main story. Everything that happened in the 2003 timeline was then discussed at length by our main characters in the present. It felt redundant.
I think Rachel's character worked well in the more serious moments. She is the child of immigrant parents who was largely left to her own devices because her parents worked all the time. She felt enormous pressure to succeed and essentially parented herself. When the book got romcom-y the tone of the plot felt discordant with the seriousness of Rachel's personality and journey. I also had problems with the way the main characters immediately fell back into sharing so much with each other. Rachel doesn't tell Danny right away that she was laid off. He finds out a little later into the evening (not much, though), then acts like she told him this huge lie and Rachel apologizes to him multiple times. These characters hadn't spoken in years. She didn't owe him the truth about how her career had been derailed. This issue ties into two things I firmly believe about second chance romances: The two challenges of second chance romance are that I have to believe the reason for the original breakup (I did in this case) and I have to believe that these people, as they are now, could work. But to achieve the second point, the characters need to have some time to get to know the new versions of each other and I felt that was rushed here.
I don't really know what to do with this book. There were things I really loved, things I really didn't enjoy and things in the middle. So I'm splitting the difference and giving this one 2.5 stars, rounding up to 3 because Goodreads.
Rachel Dang's life is falling apart. After 10 years of climbing the ladder at a streaming platform, she's been laid off with a form email. For the first time in her life she doesn't have her work to fall back on. Now she's 38, unemployed and single, getting ready to attend her 20th high school reunion where she's being honored for her career in entertainment because no one knows she's been laid off. Despite her discomfort in attending, Rachel is hoping to see Danny Phan at the reunion. He was her friend in high school until their relationship imploded due to teenaged nonsense and she wants to figure out what happened and repair it. But first she has to get through the awkwardness of their first interaction in years.
This book had so much promise but was a bit of a mess. I think the premise was interesting. I know from my own experience that sometimes the people who were most successful in school are now struggling in the real world (between high school, college and grad school I have seen this many times). This book also explores the subjectivity of memory; how one person's memory of a given event can be completely different from another's. But this book couldn't decide if it wanted to be an honest, relatable contemporary romance or a rompy romcom. And because it couldn't make up its mind it was neither of those things. It would swing wildly from profound examinations of what it means to be in your late 30s and realize your whole career can be gone in an instant to butt jokes. I felt like I had tonal whiplash.
This whole book is in first person, past tense from Rachel's POV. It's also in dual timeline, flashing back to 2003 when she was a senior in high school and her friendship with Danny evolved and then ended. While I enjoyed the AIM messages from their teen years (I was also very active on AIM with an embarrassing screen name circa 2003) I felt like the teenaged timeline slowed the momentum of the plot and didn't provide anything we couldn't get from the main story. Everything that happened in the 2003 timeline was then discussed at length by our main characters in the present. It felt redundant.
I think Rachel's character worked well in the more serious moments. She is the child of immigrant parents who was largely left to her own devices because her parents worked all the time. She felt enormous pressure to succeed and essentially parented herself. When the book got romcom-y the tone of the plot felt discordant with the seriousness of Rachel's personality and journey. I also had problems with the way the main characters immediately fell back into sharing so much with each other. Rachel doesn't tell Danny right away that she was laid off. He finds out a little later into the evening (not much, though), then acts like she told him this huge lie and Rachel apologizes to him multiple times. These characters hadn't spoken in years. She didn't owe him the truth about how her career had been derailed. This issue ties into two things I firmly believe about second chance romances: The two challenges of second chance romance are that I have to believe the reason for the original breakup (I did in this case) and I have to believe that these people, as they are now, could work. But to achieve the second point, the characters need to have some time to get to know the new versions of each other and I felt that was rushed here.
I don't really know what to do with this book. There were things I really loved, things I really didn't enjoy and things in the middle. So I'm splitting the difference and giving this one 2.5 stars, rounding up to 3 because Goodreads.
July 16, 2024
ARC Review
3.5/5 Stars
Book is about Rachel Dang who was voted Mostly Like to Succeed in high school. She meets a boy in an AOL (that takes me back!) chat room and when they decide to meet in person she finds out its Danny Phan, one of the most popular boys in school. However, Rachel left Danny and her high school behind after she graduated. And 20 years later, she's back for her 20th High School Reunion. Rachel has just lost her job when she finds out from her roommate and best friend that her school is throwing the reunion. Danny and Rachel are reunited for the first time in 20 years and they start to reminisce about a time long ago.
The book started out slow. Feels like it got overly descriptive in areas where it could have used left and still have given enough information for the reader to handle. When it started to pick up I was invested in Rachel and Danny's story more and where they are at now in their lives. I felt like as the reader though I was missing Danny's perspective in some situations. Like I could have done with a Dual POV between Rachel and Danny's perspectives. This is enjoyable and a very cute book. But felt it was slow in some moments.
3.5/5 Stars
Book is about Rachel Dang who was voted Mostly Like to Succeed in high school. She meets a boy in an AOL (that takes me back!) chat room and when they decide to meet in person she finds out its Danny Phan, one of the most popular boys in school. However, Rachel left Danny and her high school behind after she graduated. And 20 years later, she's back for her 20th High School Reunion. Rachel has just lost her job when she finds out from her roommate and best friend that her school is throwing the reunion. Danny and Rachel are reunited for the first time in 20 years and they start to reminisce about a time long ago.
The book started out slow. Feels like it got overly descriptive in areas where it could have used left and still have given enough information for the reader to handle. When it started to pick up I was invested in Rachel and Danny's story more and where they are at now in their lives. I felt like as the reader though I was missing Danny's perspective in some situations. Like I could have done with a Dual POV between Rachel and Danny's perspectives. This is enjoyable and a very cute book. But felt it was slow in some moments.
March 8, 2025
The girl most likely-
2.75/ 5
Thank you so much to the author and Avon and Harper Voyager for the arc <3
ೀ⋆ What I liked ೀ⋆｡
✩ This book was fascinating, and I loved seeing all the things Rachel and Danny got up to
✩ I loved the flashbacks to when they were high schoolers
✩ Rachel's friendships and her relationships with her family were amazing.
ೀ⋆ What I disliked ೀ⋆｡
✩ I didn't connect with Rachel's and Danny's characters very much I would've loved to get to know them better in the book
✩ I don't think Rachel and Danny's romance worked very well they were always fighting and had a lot of communication issues. And I wasn't invested in their romance that much.
✩ I had problems with the writing style at some points
2.75/ 5
Thank you so much to the author and Avon and Harper Voyager for the arc <3
ೀ⋆ What I liked ೀ⋆｡
✩ This book was fascinating, and I loved seeing all the things Rachel and Danny got up to
✩ I loved the flashbacks to when they were high schoolers
✩ Rachel's friendships and her relationships with her family were amazing.
ೀ⋆ What I disliked ೀ⋆｡
✩ I didn't connect with Rachel's and Danny's characters very much I would've loved to get to know them better in the book
✩ I don't think Rachel and Danny's romance worked very well they were always fighting and had a lot of communication issues. And I wasn't invested in their romance that much.
✩ I had problems with the writing style at some points
February 27, 2025
3.5 ⭐️
April 4, 2025
Rachel returns to her high school for the twentieth-year reunion. Back then she was passionate, she studied hard for her future and didn’t have much time for anything else. Until she met a boy online, who turned out to be the boy she tutored.
Danny has never been too open with her, and Rachel’s attitude to prevail over everything led to many misunderstandings in their senior year.
Now twenty years later, could they go back to being friends, clear the air and maybe explore what they were about to, as teenagers?
This book kept me hooked, read it in a day, I always kept wanting to know more about what had happened in 2003 and kept wanting to find out how the reunion developed.
I liked seeing how Danny had changed in twenty years, and how Rachel, still insecure and maybe a bit immature like she was back at 18, fought against every little fence she had create in her entire life.
Thank you, Julie Tieu, and NetGalley for the ARC, all opinions are my own.
Danny has never been too open with her, and Rachel’s attitude to prevail over everything led to many misunderstandings in their senior year.
Now twenty years later, could they go back to being friends, clear the air and maybe explore what they were about to, as teenagers?
This book kept me hooked, read it in a day, I always kept wanting to know more about what had happened in 2003 and kept wanting to find out how the reunion developed.
I liked seeing how Danny had changed in twenty years, and how Rachel, still insecure and maybe a bit immature like she was back at 18, fought against every little fence she had create in her entire life.
Thank you, Julie Tieu, and NetGalley for the ARC, all opinions are my own.
May 11, 2025
Rachel and Danny were best friends/potential lovers in high school until their failures to communicate caused them to go their separate ways for the next TWENTY YEARS. Now a class reunion gives them the opportunity to clear the air and possibly have a healthy relationship.
I love them both. They each have flaws, but they are both genuinely good people who want to please others. Rachel honestly doesn’t see how beautiful and talented she is. Danny carries guilt for not keeping his family together and safe. I couldn’t help but want them to admit they belonged with each other.
The story was a bit longer than was necessary and some of the flashbacks were rather repetitive. Overall, this was a heartwarming and satisfying read.
I love them both. They each have flaws, but they are both genuinely good people who want to please others. Rachel honestly doesn’t see how beautiful and talented she is. Danny carries guilt for not keeping his family together and safe. I couldn’t help but want them to admit they belonged with each other.
The story was a bit longer than was necessary and some of the flashbacks were rather repetitive. Overall, this was a heartwarming and satisfying read.
January 9, 2026
Oh Danny the man you are
Read
March 4, 2025Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!
DNF @ 32%
Another book that I technically COULD make myself finish reading, but I have no desire to. The book isn't bad necessarily. It's just... bland? The character gets let go and just has no real reaction. I don't need the book to be all that deep and emotional (though I'd prefer it), but there was just NOTHING. We get told bits and pieces of her feelings. It just never really comes through as anything more than text, you know?
And this seems to permeate the narrative overall. There's no real emotion, no real voice, just... text.
It really sucks, because I LOVED the start and enjoyed all the nostalgic and nerdy bits. Also, its own voices, which I try to support.
If you don't need a strong voice in the text to be engaged, definitely don't let my review stop you. There's nothing super wrong with the book, and you may still like it, especially if you're looking for near-40-year-old main characters, midlife crises, and a lot of millennial vibes!
DNF @ 32%
Another book that I technically COULD make myself finish reading, but I have no desire to. The book isn't bad necessarily. It's just... bland? The character gets let go and just has no real reaction. I don't need the book to be all that deep and emotional (though I'd prefer it), but there was just NOTHING. We get told bits and pieces of her feelings. It just never really comes through as anything more than text, you know?
And this seems to permeate the narrative overall. There's no real emotion, no real voice, just... text.
It really sucks, because I LOVED the start and enjoyed all the nostalgic and nerdy bits. Also, its own voices, which I try to support.
If you don't need a strong voice in the text to be engaged, definitely don't let my review stop you. There's nothing super wrong with the book, and you may still like it, especially if you're looking for near-40-year-old main characters, midlife crises, and a lot of millennial vibes!
July 19, 2024
Thank you so much Netgalley and Harper Voyager for this ARC of The Girl Most Likely To by Julie Tieu. I really enjoyed this book. I think the beginning was a bit slow, and needed a little bit more attention grabbing factors. But overall I really enjoyed it. I do wish it was dual perspectives because it would’ve made the reader more aware of the conflicts. But I thought the whole story was great. I liked the reassurance of communication and the real depiction of anxiety. I related to Rachel a lot, we have very similar inner voices. I am so glad I was given the opportunity to read this.
March 9, 2025
DNFed at 23%. I really wanted to like this one, since some of my favorite readers loved it. But I felt like the first quarter of the book spent too much time on unnecessary secondary characters, who are not and were never half as interesting as the main romance. I stopped in the middle of an agonizingly long chat of all these random classmates seeing one another for the first time at their twenty-year reunion, and kept thinking to myself, "But why? Why should I care? Why spend so much time here, and not *there*?!"
March 28, 2025
C'mon now. It's the 21st century.
Shouldn't the cover of a book proudly represent Asian American features? Granted, hers is slightly better than his.
Set in LA their story is told in a story of (disjointed) flashbacks and the present day.
Despite the career bump in the road for her and the unfortunate sibling he had to endure, good muster little empathy for these characters.
This ARC was provided by the publisher, Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
#TheGirlMostLikelyTo #NetGalley
Shouldn't the cover of a book proudly represent Asian American features? Granted, hers is slightly better than his.
Set in LA their story is told in a story of (disjointed) flashbacks and the present day.
Despite the career bump in the road for her and the unfortunate sibling he had to endure, good muster little empathy for these characters.
This ARC was provided by the publisher, Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
#TheGirlMostLikelyTo #NetGalley
July 14, 2024
DNFd at 27%. I really tried but wow.. this was drier than the Sahara 🫣😬. I wanted to care about the FMC but the plot and story were just boring? Like, nothing was grabbing my interest even though it was well into the plot, I found myself struggling hard to connect to the story in a way that was meaningful. Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me but maybe it’ll be for you?
Thanks to NetGalley & the Publisher for the ARC.
Thanks to NetGalley & the Publisher for the ARC.
March 15, 2025
Rachel and Danny met on AIM when they were 14. At 18 they realized they went to the same highschool and things got complicated and interested.
Twenty years have passed and it’s time for their highschool reunion. Danny and Rachel haven’t seen each other since a blow up senior year.
The reunion is perfectly timed out with Rachel losing her job. When she was in school she was all about the trophies and acknowledgments. She worked hard all of these years and has no job, no house, no husband, no fiancée, no boyfriend and no kids. Does she feel insecure about the reunion? Absolutely! And I think the entire reason she decided to go was to see Danny again.
When she sees Danny, I felt he came off as judgmental. He didn’t like that Rachel cared what her former classmates thought of her but I thought it was a reasonable feeling for any adult ever considering going to a highschool reunion.
Rachel and Danny reconnect mainly over one wild night.
I thought the flashback scenes were a little confusing before I got the hang of them but eventually it made sense what was present and what was past.
I didn’t always love Danny or Rachel but I think they made sense together and I rooted for them.
Twenty years have passed and it’s time for their highschool reunion. Danny and Rachel haven’t seen each other since a blow up senior year.
The reunion is perfectly timed out with Rachel losing her job. When she was in school she was all about the trophies and acknowledgments. She worked hard all of these years and has no job, no house, no husband, no fiancée, no boyfriend and no kids. Does she feel insecure about the reunion? Absolutely! And I think the entire reason she decided to go was to see Danny again.
When she sees Danny, I felt he came off as judgmental. He didn’t like that Rachel cared what her former classmates thought of her but I thought it was a reasonable feeling for any adult ever considering going to a highschool reunion.
Rachel and Danny reconnect mainly over one wild night.
I thought the flashback scenes were a little confusing before I got the hang of them but eventually it made sense what was present and what was past.
I didn’t always love Danny or Rachel but I think they made sense together and I rooted for them.
February 5, 2025
I don't know how you could not like this book because I found it fantastic! Rachel and Danny were friends.. and more in high school until it all went south. They haven't seen one another for 20 years and they reunite at their reunion. Rachel is going to apologize to Danny and she hopes they can be friends again, but Danny went for one reason only.. and that was to see Rachel. It is clear he never forgot about her and that he was just as smitten as ever. This book was packed full of nostalgia for me and I was eating it up. I was also eating up just how gone Danny was for Rachel.. swoon. I had so many AWE moments with this one. There wasn't a lot of angst, just a lot of sweetness and that was refreshing.
September 12, 2024
This was a fun read; definitely interesting to see how Rachel acts as she attends her high school reunion after being laid off and still being single, as well as her reconnection with Danny.
I felt like there wasn't much of a conflict, however. In both Rachel's life and her relationship with Danny, there wasn't really a consequence to any decision they would/could make, or anything truly blocking them from being together.
The flashbacks to high school helped us gain insight into Rachel's character, but there were times when it wasn't clear the flashback had ended and we had reverted to the present time.
Overall, it was enjoyable, but there could have been more to it.
thank you Netgalley for the arc
I felt like there wasn't much of a conflict, however. In both Rachel's life and her relationship with Danny, there wasn't really a consequence to any decision they would/could make, or anything truly blocking them from being together.
The flashbacks to high school helped us gain insight into Rachel's character, but there were times when it wasn't clear the flashback had ended and we had reverted to the present time.
Overall, it was enjoyable, but there could have been more to it.
thank you Netgalley for the arc
dnf
February 15, 2025dnf @ 15%
I think just a very hyper specific book (early 2000s nostalgia and pretty hard coded to asian diaspora in southern california) that I am not the audience for. I don’t think I’d enjoy it very much even if I continued :/
I think just a very hyper specific book (early 2000s nostalgia and pretty hard coded to asian diaspora in southern california) that I am not the audience for. I don’t think I’d enjoy it very much even if I continued :/
October 6, 2025
3.75 stars, rounded up. This was cute and smartly written. Similar plot as Grosse Pointe Blank, but the MCs didn’t spark quite as much for me.
February 11, 2025
First thing’s first: thank you Netgalley for the ALC of this book!
The Girl Most Likely To was a second chance romance between high school best friends who reconnect at the reunion. I really liked the split timeline- I think it was easy to follow in this book. I also liked the chemistry between the main characters and how they kind of picked up where they left off. The banter was excellent and the secondary characters were well fleshed out. The pacing was a little weird, but I did enjoy this one!
3.75⭐️
The Girl Most Likely To was a second chance romance between high school best friends who reconnect at the reunion. I really liked the split timeline- I think it was easy to follow in this book. I also liked the chemistry between the main characters and how they kind of picked up where they left off. The banter was excellent and the secondary characters were well fleshed out. The pacing was a little weird, but I did enjoy this one!
3.75⭐️
February 28, 2025
I expected something in the lines of the previous works of Julie Tieu from this story but unfortunately it didn't feel like it has been written to its full potential.
April 2, 2025
3.5⭐️ A fun romance about getting a second chance and not wasting it!
June 22, 2025
3.4 ⭐️ what more could you want? Friends to lovers, set in LA, career crisis, and high school reunion?! We love (but also v cheesy and not necessarily a work of literary excellence but still super cute and worth the read)
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