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Keily #1-3
Keily Paperback Bundle
This Top Romance Hit from Galatea is a MUST Read in 2025! Keily was always chubby, but she never let it define her. That is, until she started school at Jenkins High and met her new James Haynes. The football Adonis never misses a chance to make fun of her weight. But little does Keily know, James is hiding a huge secret under all his bullying...a secret he’s scared to admit, even to himself.
704 pages, Paperback
Published December 1, 2024
1 person is currently reading
12 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 28, 2025
Publishing date: 01.12.2024 (DD/MM/YYYY)
Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC. My opinions are my own.
TLDR: A deeply insecure FMC, lots of fat-shaming and bullying, a very toxic relationship
Keily has just started highschool and is struggling. Struggling with her self image, others judgement, and her crush ... who is also bullying her. This is, in short, the best description of all the books (in my opinion). It has all the usual events of a high school setting too. Drama, classes, struggling with grades, a ball, a sporting event, after school events, and parties.
The characters were engines for the story and for our two main characters and their romance. Main characters are a little shallow with glimpses of a person beneath their flat surface. They also have their ... reasons for their behaviour. While I don't find them that believable, it is at least a reason.
Pacing is fine, not too quick and not too slow. The story beats hit where they should and get mostly resolved in time with each other.
Story wise ... It is really not that much of a story. it is character driven, there is some development, but the characters tend to fall back to their usua. bad habits between books. Keily was mostly the same person from book 1 to 3.
I had a few issues with this book. The character is so insecure and it has become such a main focal point for her. Several times per page she will internally comment on her own weight and compare herself to others. Remark on how no one likes her, how she has no redeeming qualities ... it gets a bit much. Writing an insecure character is hard, but managing self-deprecation is key.
The relationship seemed very one sided feelings-wise. She seemed so into him while he seemed very not. Like he didn't care, as if she was something he settled for. This also continues throughout the book. While yes they get a "deeper" relationship for each book, the vibes were mostly the same. Lukewarm.
Finally, the writing style. This had a slight "first wattpad fiction" feel to it. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I think I have outgrown my wattpad era.
I would say the intended audience here is young adults, possibly even teens. It is a high school romance. Narrow it down to wattpad readers in highschool and we have the audience.
Sadly I am giving this one star. It was not for me, the time I spent with the books was close to miserable, and I was tracing my path back to my own insecure highschool era and having thoughts I really shouldn't. I found the amount of self-deprecation almost triggering.
Cannot recommend
Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC. My opinions are my own.
TLDR: A deeply insecure FMC, lots of fat-shaming and bullying, a very toxic relationship
Keily has just started highschool and is struggling. Struggling with her self image, others judgement, and her crush ... who is also bullying her. This is, in short, the best description of all the books (in my opinion). It has all the usual events of a high school setting too. Drama, classes, struggling with grades, a ball, a sporting event, after school events, and parties.
The characters were engines for the story and for our two main characters and their romance. Main characters are a little shallow with glimpses of a person beneath their flat surface. They also have their ... reasons for their behaviour. While I don't find them that believable, it is at least a reason.
Pacing is fine, not too quick and not too slow. The story beats hit where they should and get mostly resolved in time with each other.
Story wise ... It is really not that much of a story. it is character driven, there is some development, but the characters tend to fall back to their usua. bad habits between books. Keily was mostly the same person from book 1 to 3.
I had a few issues with this book. The character is so insecure and it has become such a main focal point for her. Several times per page she will internally comment on her own weight and compare herself to others. Remark on how no one likes her, how she has no redeeming qualities ... it gets a bit much. Writing an insecure character is hard, but managing self-deprecation is key.
The relationship seemed very one sided feelings-wise. She seemed so into him while he seemed very not. Like he didn't care, as if she was something he settled for. This also continues throughout the book. While yes they get a "deeper" relationship for each book, the vibes were mostly the same. Lukewarm.
Finally, the writing style. This had a slight "first wattpad fiction" feel to it. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I think I have outgrown my wattpad era.
I would say the intended audience here is young adults, possibly even teens. It is a high school romance. Narrow it down to wattpad readers in highschool and we have the audience.
Sadly I am giving this one star. It was not for me, the time I spent with the books was close to miserable, and I was tracing my path back to my own insecure highschool era and having thoughts I really shouldn't. I found the amount of self-deprecation almost triggering.
Cannot recommend
February 18, 2025
I kept seeing ads about Galatea and Keily and so when I saw that the books were available to read on Netgalley I jumped at the chance to read them. This is a bully romance with a smart-a$$ jock, James, and a plus-size heroine who is trying her best to ignore the outside noise and focus on herself. An unlikely pair at a glance, but they fit so perfectly.
Keily is at a new school and is hoping to start off on the right foot. She is a plus-size character and is used to getting bullied because of her weight, but it never stops hurting. I mean you can only take so much. But it helps that her cousin attends the school and helps her make friends. All but one in James. He is the star football player and makes it his mission to point out Keily's weight and make fun of her every chance he gets.
After seeing them interact a few times besides the times James was spewing hateful words I could sense chemistry. It felt like they could have something but because of other's views and opinions, I felt it would take a while if anything did blossom as a romance.
This romance did in fact come to life and it was beautiful, tragic, and full of redemption. While I didn't enjoy people tearing down Keily, I did see it as part of James' redemption arc. I thought the ending was a bit rushed but it felt like overall it was the right ending for the pair!
Keily is at a new school and is hoping to start off on the right foot. She is a plus-size character and is used to getting bullied because of her weight, but it never stops hurting. I mean you can only take so much. But it helps that her cousin attends the school and helps her make friends. All but one in James. He is the star football player and makes it his mission to point out Keily's weight and make fun of her every chance he gets.
After seeing them interact a few times besides the times James was spewing hateful words I could sense chemistry. It felt like they could have something but because of other's views and opinions, I felt it would take a while if anything did blossom as a romance.
This romance did in fact come to life and it was beautiful, tragic, and full of redemption. While I didn't enjoy people tearing down Keily, I did see it as part of James' redemption arc. I thought the ending was a bit rushed but it felt like overall it was the right ending for the pair!
November 23, 2025
Saw this advertised on tic tok. Almost impossible to get the books! I lucked in to getting this one affordably. For an 18 year old senior, she was very immature and not very cultured. Keily must have been well sheltered by her parents. Good storyline although I felt it jumped and didn’t flow smoothly. I’d definitely read the other two if I could find them.
June 19, 2025
Loved the series
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews