23HaRrYsDiMpLe19
Set in 1980s Beverly Hills, this longform enemies-to-lovers novel follows Katie Newmark, a popular, confident high school junior with a perfect exterior and a broken home life she hides from everyone. Caught in the cutthroat social world of the rich and well-bred, Katie navigates the pressures of image, legacy, and expectation, especially when it comes to the Chavez family - particularly Nicholas Chavez, her academic rival and social equal, who seems to have everything she doesn't.
While everyone sees Katie and Nicholas as equals - and even future power-couple material - the two have a simmering rivalry, filled with biting sarcasm, tension, and unspoken attraction. Over the course of the novel, as they're repeatedly thrown into the same social events, school functions, and emotional circumstances, their dynamic begins to shift - exposing vulnerabilities on both sides.
Behind the scenes, Katie's home life involves trauma, pressure, and neglect that no one knows about. Her father is emotionally and sometimes physically abusive, obsessed with her being "perfect" for their family image. Nicholas, on the other hand, also struggles with intense expectations and a cold, demanding father. Though they seem like opposites, they're more alike than either realizes - and their relationship becomes a mirror for what they're running from.