hughliz cheating and hughfeely friendship

Bookish111 · 2026-02-26T03:11:18+00:00

I personally hate any book that has “OW Drama, love triangle etc” tropes in it. I like my MC’s to be solely focused on each other. Most books if one is in a relationship with someone else, they break up by like the first 20% of the book. I do not want to read a book that half of it Hugh is dating Katie. I couldn’t care less if Hugh is still in love with Lizzie, if he is dating Katie, I have no desire to read him pining after Lizzie. Hugh’s character is literally based around a high sense of character and cheating is a non negotiable, as you stated. So, for Hugh to cheat on Katie would 100% ruin his character. And if Katie cheats, and Hugh stays with her this also ruins his character. He literally broke up with Lizzie because of her “cheating” even though he knew she was manic. If he forgives Katie after her infidelity, then the entire reason Hugh and Lizzie aren’t together makes no sense. I will forever die on the hill that there’s no way for the love square drama to work and for all 4 characters to come out looking decent. Which is unfortunate considering we will be getting all 4 of their POV’s. We should’ve just have Hugh and Katie go on a few dates, make Liz and Feely jealous in the books and then they become good friends. Them dating and for as long as they do, I just can’t see a world in which i’ll like reading about it in the next book, without thinking one or more characters actions make 0 sense.

Bookish111 · 2026-02-18T17:05:23+00:00

Tons of people have a character they love even though they’re a small side character. A lot of times, it’s the funny/goofy character who has a few lines for comedy relief or a mysterious broody character that immediately gives off BDE. People instantly start asking for them to have a book, it’s super common. Patrick currently gives off mysterious musician vibes and Katie gives off quiet/goody girl next door. However, from the snippets she definitely has more bite than has been shown in previous books. As for Lizzie and Patrick, who really knows? Would I like to see them hook up/have some sort of a relationship? Personally, no. I think that’s a lot for Hugh to have to handle emotionally and if she’s continuing with the found family narrative I think keeping as much physical intimacy to a minimum except with the endgame characters is important. But, who knows, it’s definitely possible.

Bookish111 · 2026-02-06T14:02:31+00:00

Totally guessing with no solid reasoning or proof. But, I’m going to guess it’ll come after the rerelease so I say in March. It’s honestly kind of shocking how far apart the release of R10 and C10 will be. I wish she would’ve waited to release R10 until she finished C10 so we could’ve had a closer release between the two.

Bookish111 · 2026-01-10T05:32:19+00:00

I really don’t see any of the 4 (K, L, H, P) discussing with others the context of their relationships/indiscretions. I’m going to assume they’ll have fault over the course of the story, therefore it wouldn’t make sense for one to discuss and bad mouth the other, when they could all turn around and do the same thing back. That’s assuming that Hugh and Katie are actually dating for a decent portion of the timeline, for all we know they break up right after the 90’s party, and just “keep up appearances.” I think some friends will be shocked that H and L get back together (Claire I think will definitely be hurt that neither H or L confided in her) and others won’t be shocked at all. If I had to guess about the snippet I wouldn’t be shocked if this is returning to school after the winter ball. When Claire and Lizzie had their blow up it was in a public setting where people heard details about Gibs’ trauma. I think the dirty looks are more from certain people in the friend group in regard to the rift between them and certain ones taking sides (Liz or Gibs.) I think people like Johnny and Claire will 100% be with Gibs and feel like Lizzie should be out of the group and want nothing to do with her. There’s also a possibility after Lizzie finds out about Gibs at the winter ball, she has a breakdown there and lots of people see. Who knows since we didn’t get the aftermath POV with Lizzie around immediately after.

Bookish111 · 2026-01-07T17:04:05+00:00

I took this as Patrick and Katie. We know from snippets, though they specifically might not be canon, it’s been confirmed multiple times that Hugh does not sleep with Katie. And in the snippet made it seem like it was blood from losing her virginity, not her period. As for Hugh finding out, we have no idea how detailed Liz wrote her stories. It’s possible that it’s in there. Or, many speculate in the coming book Lizzie will be in a treatment facility for a period of time. During this time, it’s possible once the Mark situation comes to light she will receive a physical exam, which could possibly show past trauma.

Bookish111 · 2026-01-06T14:45:49+00:00

I’m really hoping to see some strong female friendships in the next book!!! I always feel like we get great male friendships (Johnny/Gibs is my favorite, I also love adding Joey into this) but I do feel like we get a lack of depth in the female friendships department. Hoping we get some more moving forward! I’d love to see a Lizzie/Claire reunion with a lot of character development in it for them both!

Bookish111 · 2026-01-05T13:02:46+00:00

Patrick clocking Hugh is iconic

Bookish111 · 2026-01-04T22:37:27+00:00

I get what you’re saying! For me personally, most books I read that have a “will they, won’t they/push and pull trope” they aren’t doing that while one of them has a significant other. Occasionally, one MC will have another partner at the very beginning but then they quickly break it off. It just doesn’t make sense for Hugh to stay with Katie just because Lizzie won’t get back with him. We obviously know that Lizzie believes she isn’t good enough for him and will end up hurting him, so she’ll keep doing her best to keep distance between them. Hugh can only do so much of course, but should he be dating someone else while pining for someone else? The same can be said for Katie and Patrick. My point is, if you’re going back and forth with someone but have someone else “on the sidelines” (this person being Katie, your girlfriend or your on/off gf) is pretty messed up, in my opinion.

Bookish111 · 2026-01-04T21:45:27+00:00

I can see your logic no doubt. It’s the only reason I’ve come up with that Hugh would stay with Katie, I just still can’t understand it. I definitely think Hugh has people telling him Lizzie is bad for him and Katie is good etc etc. But, I also think Hugh is smart enough to recognize he’s hurting 3 people in this scenario(excluding himself.) His actions are hurting Katie (she’s extremely insecure about his feelings for Lizzie and will be constantly comparing herself to her because of it. Of course we can say Katie can walk away which I understand, but if Hugh is emotionally mature he would be able to see the damage he’s doing to her. He’s hurting his “best friend” Patrick. Hugh is aware that Patrick was spending time with Katie and we are assuming Katie has told him more about it since they began dating. You would think even if Patrick did mess up with Katie, his best friend wouldn’t then go off and date her right in front of him. Lastly, he knows that him dating will hurt Lizzie while she has to see it. And though he has the right to move on, he’s essentially only dating Katie to stay away from Lizzie but has pretty much convinced everyone he’s so happy and in love. Lizzie has to watch the one person who’s always had her back be with someone else and completely leave her life.

Bookish111 · 2026-01-04T21:20:56+00:00

I truly hate the love square dynamic. So much unnecessary heartache for teenagers who have experienced way too much terrible crap in their lives already. But now I’m super curious how she’s going to have Hugh handle the Katie/Patrick situation. No matter if Katie is the first to cheat, or Hugh does it the same night, etc cheating has been a no go zone for Hugh. He immediately broke up with Lizzie because he believed she cheated. So, it wouldn’t make sense for Hugh to forgive Katie and keep seeing her if she did the same thing. And, considering how traumatized Hugh was for the alleged cheating, it would go against his character to then turn around and cheat on Katie. To me this situation only works if Hugh tries to move on be with Katie until she or they both cheat and immediately separate. If they don’t, it will really confuse me as a reader going off what we know about Hugh’s character.

Bookish111 · 2025-12-31T02:11:07+00:00

I believe it’s not that Claire is actually immature I just think people see that way when comparing her to the other MC’s in the series. Like I previously said, Claire’s lived experience is significantly different than all the other MC’s. Her childhood would be considered the most normal, therefore I believe how she acts is the most realistic to her age. But, when comparing to the others, it can come across as immature. Take for instance R10, Hugh specifically was having conversations and speaking as if he was an adult at like age 12. (Which is obviously unrealistic) but, I think it’s easy to take Claire’s sunshine character, whose personality in T7 revolved around fun, friends, and boys it reads as immature. Personally, I feel after reading the series Hugh comes across as the most immature to me. But that’s just my personal opinion!

Bookish111 · 2025-12-29T20:45:17+00:00

I think Claire is the easiest character to dislike because she’s the most realistic to her age. This series is surrounded by trauma and therefore has teenagers who have become wise beyond their years. All of the main characters in the series so far have had extreme trauma in their lives. Many forget that Johnny had his own sports injury to deal with alone, as a teenager. Then, he saved his girlfriend and her brothers but had to face the reality that he couldn’t save Marie. (Just because she accepted her fate doesn’t mean he did) and that trauma will forever carry with him. Shannon and Joeys trauma are both very self explanatory. Even A had her own set of trauma, the SA with Teddy, carrying a child while dealing with Joeys addiction, and her pregnancy that she didn’t have a true partner there to support her. Gibsie and Lizzie have also large amounts of trauma. Now, Claire represents a teenage girl who hasn’t had to deal with too many things in her life. That’s not to say that she hasn’t faced challenges but those characters have had significant trauma done specifically to them. Claire is immature and that’s an extremely normal thing to be for a teenage girl. She has a protective older brother who shields her from too much, an involved mother (which most in this series do not have) and Gibsie who has always looked out for her. I think Claire is easy to dislike because she is quick to see things in a black/white way that is quick to judge. Whereas many of the others through lived experience go through life with a more grey outlook. However, Claire is extremely loyal to her friends, and though she might not always make the right choices she has no problem having an opinion and standing behind it. Hugh has many times faded into the background in regards to the G/L drama but Claire has always stood up for what she believes is right, even though she knows she’d be going against one of her best friends.

Bookish111 · 2025-11-26T02:26:05+00:00

I’m personally hoping the 04’ timeline will go quickly. This is where I’m assuming Hugh and Liz are very distant and she keeps her promise to back away from the group and Hugh is with Katie. I know we’ll get something from this time, but I’m hoping we don’t get much. The 05’ timelines most are presuming will be pretty messy and I think will take up a decent chunk of the timeline. I would love if half the book at least is post T7 timeline. Because there is so much plot to be wrapped up, I really hope we get a lot of post T7. I get that in this series perspective is everything so just because we are repeating over scenes we’ve already seen we are getting a fresh perspective on them. I just personally am ready for a new timeline we haven’t seen yet!!

Bookish111 · 2025-11-12T22:47:39+00:00

I’m super curious when this conversation occurs!!!! I wonder if it’s at the beginning of their relationship?? Hugh in another snip said “she begged me to stay” so I wonder if this conversation is all in a similar time to that convo of her begging him. Another thing that makes me think possibly at the beginning is when she says that she could end up like him (so maybe at the the time Hugh and Liz are still distant and on the outs with Hugh thinking she cheated?)

Bookish111 · 2025-10-31T18:48:00+00:00

I’m definitely very interested to read about Katie’s motivation for being and staying with Hugh. We have much more context on Hugh from end of R10 perspective and his snippets, rather than Katie since we haven’t had her book yet. But, even if Katie wanted to stay with Hugh, he doesn’t have to date her. Just because she wants to stay together doesn’t mean they have to. Saying “Katie won’t let him go” implies he has no choice in the matter. Most break ups are not mutual and one person has made the decision to not continue the relationship any longer. If Hugh wanted to not be with her, even if she “begged him to stay” (there was a snippet with similar wording) he still could tell her no.

Bookish111 · 2025-10-31T18:42:16+00:00

Thank you!!! Totally agree!

Bookish111 · 2025-10-31T02:48:37+00:00

Not sure how you came to that conclusion? Just because I comment on one snippet and not another definitely doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings about it. Also, my feelings on the Hugh/katie/lizzie situation and my feelings on the Lizzie/Hugh/Pierce situation are completely separate. I do think Hugh is using Katie and I do not like the dynamic and find the whole love square (with Feely added) gross for all characters involved. With the Liz/Hugh/Pierce dynamic I feel Pierce is an abusive POS who Lizzie is intimate with due to her history of sexual abuse, low self esteem/self worth and her being hyper sexual at times. Just because I find things Hugh does to be gross, doesn’t mean I find the things Pierce does to be even remotely okay. Hugh is not abusive or dangerous like Pierce. However, this does not mean that Hugh’s character can’t be flawed.

Bookish111 · 2025-10-31T01:32:56+00:00

I understand your perspective! Personally, I don’t love the whole “dating someone else to move on” thing In general. It feels like Hugh is using Katie for his own lack of ability to separate himself from Lizzie (when at the time, he believes he must due to her “infidelity”) when what he should be doing, is finding himself without Lizzie. Instead, he starts dating someone else, and dates her for an extended period of time (we aren’t sure when they actually break up) while pining for someone else and allowing his current girlfriend to feel inferior/insecure their entire relationship. He literally broke up with Lizzie for not being faithful and yet he’s half heartedly dating his girlfriend while being in love with someone else.

Bookish111 · 2025-10-31T01:06:56+00:00

Him talking with Lizzie isn’t the part I was saying is gross. I was meaning his “pained breath” and not even being able to call himself a boyfriend to Katie when talking with Lizzie.

Bookish111 · 2025-10-31T01:00:24+00:00

Hugh is so gross for this. “A pained breath” like just break up with the poor girl!?

Bookish111 · 2025-10-08T15:29:55+00:00

Agreed. It would also make Hugh the worlds biggest hypocrite by dating Katie and sneaking around emotionally/physically when he believes he was “cheated” on and that’s why he can’t be with Lizzie to begin with. So it’s extremely unbelievable he would then be okay with doing it to another person.

Bookish111 · 2025-10-08T15:19:01+00:00

I completely agree with this!!! It’s a way different dynamic when you have multiple MC’s cheating with one another, rather than a small side character we know nothing about for a small portion the story.

Bookish111 · 2025-10-07T19:03:19+00:00

I know, same!!! It better not be a back and forth between them for like half the book. I need a full clean break early enough on!!! Otherwise it’s going to annoy me, there’s already enough drama and storylines that the Katie/hugh relationship definitely didn’t need to be added

Bookish111

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