Review | Tweet Cute by Emma Lord

A fresh, irresistible rom-com from debut author Emma Lord about the chances we take, the paths life can lead us on, and how love can be found in the opposite place you expected.

Meet Pepper, swim team captain, chronic overachiever, and all-around perfectionist. Her family may be falling apart, but their massive fast-food chain is booming ― mainly thanks to Pepper, who is barely managing to juggle real life while secretly running Big League Burger’s massive Twitter account.

Enter Jack, class clown and constant thorn in Pepper’s side. When he isn’t trying to duck out of his obscenely popular twin’s shadow, he’s busy working in his family’s deli. His relationship with the business that holds his future might be love/hate, but when Big League Burger steals his grandma’s iconic grilled cheese recipe, he’ll do whatever it takes to take them down, one tweet at a time.

All’s fair in love and cheese ― that is, until Pepper and Jack’s spat turns into a viral Twitter war. Little do they know, while they’re publicly duking it out with snarky memes and retweet battles, they’re also falling for each other in real life ― on an anonymous chat app Jack built.

As their relationship deepens and their online shenanigans escalate ― people on the internet are shipping them?? ― their battle gets more and more personal, until even these two rivals can’t ignore they were destined for the most unexpected, awkward, all-the-feels romance that neither of them expected.

Is it too early to say that this is my favourite read of 2020 – and possibly my new favourite contemporary romance?

Tweet Cute felt like it was written just for me. As a social media marketer, I am Very Online and frequently reference niche Twitter memes as if they are common knowledge – which both the Screentime app on my phone and my poor boyfriend can, sadly, attest to. I was initially nervous about how the pop culture references would play out, since they can become dated very quickly – especially in the online world! Thankfully, though, the memes and entertainment references were fresh and relevant, and they made sense in the context of the story.

Tweet Cute hit all of the tropes that I love dearly: enemies-to-lovers (though, in this case, it was more like “someone I find annoying”-to-lovers), falling for someone’s online persona, and lots of banter. I loved seeing Pepper and Jack’s relationship play out online, on Twitter, and in real life – these three different platforms drastically differed in the amount of vulnerability (and snark) that was present, adding extra layers to the relationship development. I couldn’t help but root for them from the first page, and the payoff was slow-burn and so, so sweet.

Speaking of sweetness, Tweet Cute is filled with descriptions of mouth-watering desserts and grilled cheese sandwiches. I wish that the recipes were included at the back of the book because I quickly found myself craving a giant slice of Monster Cake.

Overall, Tweet Cute was an adorable, heartwarming read. I can’t wait to read Emma Lord’s next book.