I just started Dear Rival, and I already like the mix of campus chaos, academic pressure, and first-love tension. Anika’s first chapter feels funny, but also very character-driven, like her embarrassment, ambition, and stress are all crashing into each other at once. In my own YA story, Lou hides behind jokes, chaos, and overthinking, while JJ is someone from her past who starts noticing the little details she tries to cover up. From a writer’s perspective, do you think romantic tension works better when characters challenge each other openly, like rivals, or when the tension is quieter because they already know each other too well?
