Genre 📚: YA Contemporary, Romance
Tropes 💁♀️: Reality TV romance, Rivals to lovers, Fake dating
Rep ✔️: Korean American main character, BIPOC and queer side characters
CW ⚠️: Anxiety, emotionally distant parent
Rating ⭐️: 4/5
Ahhh yes, reality TV, where everything is simultaneously fake and all-too-real. For MCs Seyoon and Dean, they join the wilderness game show Forest Feud with the intentions of protecting their respective parents’ legacies (who competed in the show years prior). The two form an alliance, combining Seyoon’s athleticism and Dean’s deep knowledge of reality shows… and a misunderstanding leads them to faking a romance.
This story was very Survivor, but the couple’s dynamic also reminded me a lot of Katniss and Peeta in the Hunger Games. Seyoon was bold and impulsive, while Dean was an anxious little cinnamon roll. They clashed all throughout the duration of shooting, struggling to work together and just understand each other. The miscommunication would get frustrating, but the humor definitely made up for it. These two were an absolute HOOT.
I also enjoyed the trajectory of strangers to rivals… to allies to fake lovers… to friends and finally, to actual lovers. If Forest Feud was a real TV show, I would’ve loved tuning in for any glimpse of their romance. Plus the cheesy game host, the asshole Chad character, and the unexpected twists. Quality TV. 💯
**Much thanks to NetGalley and Union Square & Co. for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Seyoon and Dean, Unscripted will be released on April 7, 2026.
Sara Bechtol 