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Borrow My Heart

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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.

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.

275 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 13, 2023

About the author

Kasie West

27 books18.1k followers
I write YA. I eat Junior Mints. Sometimes I go crazy and do both at the same time. My novels are: PIVOT POINT and its sequel SPLIT SECOND. And my contemporary novels: THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US, ON THE FENCE, THE FILL-IN BOYFRIEND, PS I LIKE YOU, BY YOUR SIDE, LUCKY IN LOVE, LOVE LIFE and the LIST, LISTEN TO YOUR HEART, FAME FATE and the FIRST KISS, MAYBE THIS TIME, and MOMENT OF TRUTH. My agent is the talented and funny Michelle Wolfson.

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5 stars
1,025 (17%)
4 stars
2,191 (38%)
3 stars
2,032 (35%)
2 stars
405 (7%)
1 star
78 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,216 reviews
Profile Image for Nilufer Ozmekik.
2,680 reviews53.9k followers
January 19, 2023
This is absolutely sweet, lighthearted YA romance novel you want to cuddle with just like any other Kasie West books I usually devour in one sitting.

It also represents the negative effects of social media and questions dysfunctional family dynamics.

Wren, at the age seventeen, still harboring resentment for her mother who left her own family behind for selfish reasons. Wren wants to take control of her own life, writing her own rules about dating not to get hurt just like her father who barely raises his kids by himself, working day and night.

But her strictly planned life derails when she meets Asher at the coffee shop her best friend working. Asher waits for his date Gemma appear as his mean bestie records everything with his phone. Wren realizes this cute, nerdy boy is catfished, about to get humiliated before his friend’s eyes. She has to do something to prevent that! She changes her clothes and flees from back door to make her big entrance, acting like she appears for her date with Asher!

She doesn’t have time to tell the truth before Asher leaves the store. But a few days later, he visits her at the shelter she’s working at the best day when she is about to get rejected by her coworker Chad: she’s having long time crush. Now Chad acts jealous when Asher introduces himself as boyfriend candidate.

As Wren spends more time with Asher who also starts working with her at the shelter, she realizes living with strict rules and plans might not be the right choice to enjoy the life! She also realizes she’s liking Asher a little more. What if clean about her white lie ruins everything between them?

There is a smart twist in this book which is also thought provoking. I liked the characters, blooming romance between Asher and Wren.
Rounding up my 3.5 stars to 4 enjoyable, tiktoker, catfishing stars!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s/ Delacorte Press for sharing this lovely digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.
Profile Image for Debra.
2,825 reviews35.9k followers
March 3, 2023
On the surface, Borrow My Heart is a light YA romance novel that has the characters dealing with the negative aspects of social media, catfishing, parental issues, relationships, and helping animals in need.

Wren will tell you that she is a control freak. She has rules for every situation. Her mother left when Wren was a child to go off and do her own thing. Wren's rules make her feel safe. She also loves working with animals and is doing her best to make sure a certain loveable dog gets adopted.

Asher is good with computers and editing videos. He comes from a large family and has a close group of friends.

When Wren overhears Asher being picked on by his friends after being catfished, she jumps in and pretends to be his online love interest. His friends are suspicious, but she goes with it. Soon she and Asher begin spending more time together mainly at the shelter she volunteers at.

This was an enjoyable book that took both characters on their own journeys while also on a journey together. I loved the chapter headings and thought they were very clever and a nice set up for the chapters.

This is the first book in a series. The writing is solid, and I appreciated how the author delt with the real life issues her characters were experiencing. This proved to be an enjoyable, sweet, fast read that is perfect for YA readers.

3.5 stars


#BorrowMyHeart #NetGalley #KasieWest

Thank you to Random House Children's, Delacorte Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com

Profile Image for Celia {Hiatus until August}.
750 reviews131 followers
April 13, 2024
description

•| ⊱✿⊰ |• 3,3 Stars •| ⊱✿⊰ |•

Uma história fofinha, mesmo young adult.
Não achei que as personagens fossem bem construidas ou real empatia entre elas.
O enredo prometia muito, mas não conseguiu atingir resultado positivo.
De qualquer forma, 3,3 stars porque a história gira em torno de adopção de animais, e esse é o meu soft spot, então...

════ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ════ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ════ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ════ ⋆ ★ ⋆ ════

A cute story, young adult.
I didn't think the characters were well constructed or had real empathy between them.
The plot promised a lot, but failed to achieve a positive result.
Anyway, 3.3 stars because the story revolves around animal adoption, and that's my soft spot, so...


description
Profile Image for lydia.
236 reviews527 followers
March 17, 2024
3.5 ⭐

I have officially read every single Kasie West book! 🥳 I definitely like her older works better, but this one was very adorable and fluffy. It had lots of cute animals and a golden retriever love interest, with all the regular additions of teen angst and misconceptions that lying will solve your problems. It also addresses the impacts of dysfunctional family dynamics, which added just the right amount of depth to this cotton candy romance.

bottom line: Kasie West slays!
Profile Image for emily.
165 reviews136 followers
June 19, 2023
Kasie West can borrow my heart and throw it away if it means I get to read this sooner 😩

Update June 5, 2023: can't wait for this!!

Update after reading June 19, 2023: the dog saved it :(
Profile Image for Christy.
4,233 reviews35.1k followers
May 10, 2023
3.5 stars

I absolutely love the cover and premise of this story. I was drawn in right away to closed off Wren who was trying to do a good deed and help a guy out who was being catfished.

Wren and Asher meet at a coffee shop, but Asher thinks they know each other online. They develop a friendship and it turns into more, as Asher slowly gets Wren to open up to him. I loved the animal shelter and the oh so lovable Beans, the dog Wren was trying to get adopted at the shelter she worked at.

One thing I liked about this is the social media aspect. I think it's something important to talk about with teenagers today. How impactful it can be both positively and negatively. However I do think the conflict that happened related to this was wrapped up way too quickly and I wanted a little more resolution personally.

Borrow My Heart was a fun and quick read and I recommend if you love dogs and the grumpy sunshine dynamic.
Profile Image for Lindsey (Books for Christian Girls).
1,837 reviews4,196 followers
Shelved as 'did-not-finish'
July 5, 2023
I'm going to just mark this as DNF...I got to about 50% but it became mindless scrolling, so DNF it is. It wasn't bad, but it did feel very, well, pointless? All the characters feels shallow and one-dimensional, but it is a fluffy YA book, so I wasn't expecting greatness? I don't know, meh. I've attempted many books by this author before and they've kind of all felt the same? Probably should stop trying at some point but the adorable cover got me.


Main content (up to 50%):

Language like 'gah', 'stupid', 'crap', 'screw up', etc. A couple mentions of yoga; A mention of Wren saying that they need a miracle and a guy says he doesn't believe in those (she thinks that she doesn't typically either, but...);

Wren's mother left their family years prior to the book and they have a strained relationship;

All about dating, relationships, exes, break-ups, boyfriends/girlfriends, cat fishing, etc; Touches & Embraces (up to semi-detailed); A few mentions of possibly being cat fished by a perv; A teasing/embarassing mention of dog p*rn (he tries to save it by saying about it being with dogs, "not a human and--" but it's just completely awkward and unnecessary); A mention of a dog humping everyone; A mention of someone being a game virgin (never played a video game before).
Profile Image for Halima.
7 reviews
June 15, 2023
I would have liked this book better if they didn't get back together at the end
July 29, 2024
Rating: 3.5 ★
Age rating: 12+
Spice: None
Genre: Romance

Second book I’ve read by this author and I’m definitely gonna get to all of her books when I can. The low rating doesn’t necessarily mean I didn’t enjoy the book, but it’s just not as memorable as others but I did love it though. It wasn’t cheesy and had a great plot and setting which hooked me. Finished this in a day.

Asher was so cute (fun fact my nephew’s name is Ashar) and I loved his golden retriever personality. Wren was so loving and caring, zoey was a bitch, Kamala was so sweet, and Bean was so sassy. I loved Bean.
Profile Image for Laura.
1,463 reviews245 followers
July 25, 2023

Falling in love is beautiful, exhilarating, and scary. We forget the scary part sometimes. If and when love stomps on your heart a few times though, you never forget. Especially when the person doing the stomping is someone you trust whole heartedly.

Wren has rules now. Strict rules about dating that prevent her from getting hurt. The rules serve more as barriers though, because Wren can’t get hurt when she doesn’t let anyone get close enough to trust or date. Until Asher that is. Asher is a boy getting catfished and humiliated for it by his best friend. On a whim, Wren jumps in to save the boy! She pretends to be Asher’s online crush. But the lies and pretending soon spiral into much, much more. All of a sudden, Wren finds herself dating an adorable, floppy-haired, world-class hugger who may end up stealing (or borrowing) her heart. If Wren can open up and trust him. And…if he forgives her for lying to him, of course.

This story is chock full of Kasie West cuteness! She fills Wren and Asher’s slow-building romance with adorable details. From linked pinkies to perfect hugs to… “He circled a small freckle on my arm with his finger.” *sigh* Asher is so dang likeable! I mean the boy says things like…

“What if, you stay in your bubble of protection and I climb in there with you?”

And the adorableness is all around! West does sibling chemistry and BFF banter like no one else. The sister dynamic here is spot on. Kamala, Dale, Zoey, Asher’s family, and Wren’s Dad all add laughs and huge heart to this journey. And Bean! Don’t forget about Bean. A big part of this story is the animal shelter Wren works at named….(wait for it!) “Petsacular”. Haha…. Wren and Asher embark on the greatest adopt a pet campaign ever for the pickiest dog ever. Bean doesn’t like just anybody. He only lets a select few close enough to cuddle. Hmm…does that sound like someone else we know? Needless to say, it’s hard to find an owner match for Bean, which leads to some hilarious doggie adventures. For me, the shelter and summer and all the family/friend support added up to the perfect atmosphere. It was a fun, furry place to fall in love in.

Borrow My Heart is another sweet, Kasie West read that will make your heart happy and maybe a little adventurous. Rules and walls are needed now and then, but don’t keep them up for too long. They tend to keep everyone out. Don’t miss out on love! Or this book.


p.s. An interesting development…
Profile Image for Syndi.
3,277 reviews956 followers
July 9, 2024
Borrow My Heart is not exactly the best from Miss West. Which is sad. The story is very promising. I like the heorine. She is adorable.

Everything else is not working for me.

2 stars
Profile Image for Rebekah.
445 reviews32 followers
June 30, 2023
1 Sentence Summary: Wren is often called a control freak, prefers dogs over people, and has an extensive list of rules for dating, but when she witnesses a boy getting made fun of by his friends for being stood up by an online catfish, she pretends to be the girl he’s waiting for and suddenly she’s fake dating a stranger, all of her rules flying out the window.

My Thoughts: I was slightly disappointed by this because I used to love Kasie West’s books, but this one just wasn’t it for me.

It was a cute story, but the writing felt SO choppy to me; like, nothing flowed at all and everything fell kind of flat. There wasn’t really any emotion and the characters felt underdeveloped.

I wouldn’t say it was necessarily bad, I mean, I did have fun reading it, it was just not great.

(Side note: can we talk about how freaking cute the cover is though???)

Recommend to: Fans of YA romance & dogs.

(Warnings: parental separation)

***
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review
Profile Image for jazmin ✿.
587 reviews803 followers
July 19, 2023
this was a cute read! i liked the premise even though it wasn’t necessarily the most logical. the characters were cute, and i loved the dog shelter and bean. as a dog person, i’m a sucker for stories with cute dogs. definitely not my favourite kasie west book, but still fun!

✧・゚: *✧・゚:* *:・゚✧*:・゚✧


my carrd ❦
Profile Image for Little Red R..
141 reviews46 followers
June 27, 2023
Unfortunately, even though I loved the beginning of the book and the trope, unfortunately, I lost interest while reading.
Wren and Asher were a bit shallow and superficial to me, the actions didn't really made sense (can't explain without spoiling one of the plot twist).
131 reviews
June 15, 2023
2.5, between it was okay-i like it. A lighthearted and unique story about catfish and rescue animal. It's so easy to breeze through. Couldn't really connect to the characters though, they feel very shallow and one-dimensional? Not to mention Wren constant edginess (?) But I feel like if I read this on my teenage years I would love this more. This is like the epitome of a YA book

Story: 3/5, Character 1/5 sorry. Her weakest book so far, but I would still read her upcoming works.
Profile Image for Lissa Hawley.
1,242 reviews26 followers
June 13, 2023
I adore Kasie West books. And dogs make everything better, even books.
For some reason, I really empathized with Wren and cried quite a bit during the second half of this book.
(Nothing bad happened to any dogs! I promise)
Recommended.
Profile Image for Toni Shiloh.
Author 54 books1,528 followers
August 11, 2023
I've read every Kasie West book and I will continue to do so. Enjoyed this one.
Profile Image for Lindsey.
1,264 reviews
September 24, 2024
Worst book she has ever written. I am appalled that this book is even a thing. So disappointing since I have loved every single one of her previous books. I think this was my last hurrah. I don’t know what happened but this doesn’t even feel written by the same author. So tragic.
Profile Image for Joke Duprez.
267 reviews12 followers
August 23, 2023
Tbh the plottwist kinda ruined it for me?
Even thinking about rating it only 3.5 ⭐ instead of 4... I was loving it so much until the last 30-ish pages 😭

Update: it's a 3.5 for me
Profile Image for Ginny Muse.
729 reviews67 followers
May 31, 2023
Really cute!

I actually picked this book to read to fit the PopSugar Reading Challenge prompt of having a rabbit in the cover. And it looked and sounded cute. I wasn’t really sure what I was in for, but was pleasantly surprised.

This is a sweet YA romance. Great for young high schoolers.
It has great parts about an animal shelter, with fun and sweet dog aspects. Good supportive friendships and side characters. Good exploration of social media dilemmas (catfishing, lying, consent to post, marketing - touches on the good and the bad.) Some YA romance (kissing.) And some deeper issues of family dynamics (with abandonment and exploration of reconciliation.)

Wren is very structured and has lots of dating rules (mostly to prevent herself from getting hurt as she has abandonment issues from her mom.) But she acts impulsively as she rescues Asher from his friend Dale’s humiliation threats by saying she’s the girl he’s been talking to online (Gemma.) What should’ve been a quick lie that was easy to explain away keeps going deeper and deeper, and involving more people as Asher starts helping at the animal shelter where Wren works. Actual feelings develop and Wren worries Asher will get mad when her truth is revealed. But maybe she’s the one being duped?

I’d definitely recommend this as a YA sweet read. There are some ups and downs, but a good HEA.

* Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. This is an honest review given on my own accord.
Profile Image for Lacey Yoder.
38 reviews11 followers
January 24, 2024
I really enjoyed this book. I love the characters, and all the dogs 🥰 Recommend
Profile Image for jo ❣.
212 reviews55 followers
June 24, 2023
so glad i picked this one up--i was so disappointed after places we've never been)
was it the best book? no but it satisfied my reading time by the pool. and the dogs were adorable!! bean saved the day!
Profile Image for Esme.
726 reviews26 followers
August 5, 2023
an adorable low-stakes romance! Kasie West always writes such cozy and adorable contemporary novels. I think Kasie West may be my next read all books they've written author 👀
Profile Image for Mariana.
924 reviews156 followers
February 7, 2024
Romance YA não é o estilo de romance para o qual mais gravitaciono, mas de vez em quando encontro um que me surpreende...este livro é um exemplo disso mesmo.

Um romance querido, que é muito mais do que aparenta e que desenvolve temáticas bastante pertinentes. É uma história atual por demonstrar o impacto que as redes sociais têm na nossa vida, mas também é intemporal por demonstrar que todos somos mais do que aquilo que mostramos ao mundo - temos uma parte de nós que escondemos por medo, mas com a pessoa certa, essa parte aparece e brilha ❤️

Adorei conhecer a Wren e ver o seu coração maravilhoso...ela não sabe que é boa pessoa e isso dói, mas ao vê-la com os animais do abrigo e ao ver o que ela faz pelos que ama e até por perfeitos desconhecidos, é impossível negar o seu imenso coração ❤️ é tão especial que o empresta assim...sem mais nem menos, apenas num gesto de boa vontade. É incrível ver o desenvolvimento dela com a família e consigo própria, é motivo de orgulho vê-la desfazer-se das suas regras e apenas viver.

O Bean é um dos grandes impulsionadores da ação e é muito divertido ver o que todos fazem para o ajudar a ser adotado por uma boa família 🐶 os animais são realmente fantásticos e sabem ler as pessoas melhor do que ninguém.

Gostei muito de todo o desenvolvimento da ação, as últimas 70 páginas então foram repletas de emoções e de reviravoltas.

É um livro adorável que sem dúvida alguma merece ser conhecido. E sim, vão querer adotar um animal depois de ler ❤️
Profile Image for Iris Bicho.
110 reviews324 followers
January 30, 2024
Opa que livro fofo!!!
Desde o início percebi que não seria um 5 estrelas mas um sólido 4 ou 4,5 mas depois o plot deu cabe disto tudo e desceu para 3,5. Não foi mau atenção, apenas achei a história tão boa e o romance tão fofinho para depois ter aquela reviravolta.
De qualquer forma recomendo, gostei bastante, é um romance super fofo que envolve animais :)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,216 reviews

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