I have had this book sitting on my bookshelf to read for a couple of months and kept um and aahing about it as I felt I wasn't in the right frame of mind to read it. I finally thought just do it as the Nike logo suggests. I started, and I managed to finish it, I have to admit I did struggle a little with the book as I hate in books when the characters play games with one another. In Dating You/Hating You at least we know what to expect from the title which is probably why I had been putting it off, to be honest. Arriving at a couples party and being the only single can be awkward especially when everyone else is in couples costume, so it could be fate when Carter and Evie both turn up to the party wearing matching outfits as Harry Potter and Hermoine , the other thing is they are the only two singles at the party as Evie's best friend Daryl who is likened to Daryl Hannah cancels on her last minute. They are both in the Hollywood agency business and work for opposing teams, it is a hard enough job in the first place, and Evie has a rule against dating other agents. What will happen though when she feels like changing her mind, only to find out that Carter's company and hers are about to merge and they are both competing for the same job as the only one can stay here, the other will be shipped off to another state's office. What then begins is a Love/Hate relationship from moments of working together and enjoying their friendship and blooming romances to hating one another and playing pranks and sabotaging the other. I did like the ending and how things worked out, so that made reading the story worthwhile in the end.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Despite a meet-awkward at a mutual friend's party, Carter and Evie immediately hit it off. Even the realization that they're both high-powered agents at competing firms in Hollywood isn't enough to smother the flames.
But when their two agencies merge - causing the pair to vie for the same position - all bets are off. What could have been a beautiful, blossoming romance turns into an all-out war. Carter and Evie are both thirty-something professionals - so why can't they act like it?
When push comes to shove and love fights with hate, will these two ever get their fairy tale Hollywood ending?

*2.5 stars*

Started off with an interesting premise: two companies merge and two people have to compete for the one position. One man and one woman. They like each other. A lot.

And that's where it gets complicated...

On one hand, there was some great moments of humor - followed by some dire moments of boredom. One moment, some very clever observations of male/female interactions - the next minute, some dreadful sections about the business and the work they do.

Finally, I just didn't buy the relationship in the end - no chemistry, and I just couldn't picture it happening if these two characters were real people. And that carries some weight for me - if it isn't believable, to some degree, then I just lose interest.

I can see why people love this book - it just wasn't for me, to be honest.


Paul
ARH

I talk about Dating You/Hating You in my #ARCAugust Wrap-Up starting from 2:05 and ending at 3:56

https://youtu.be/03DiFs4EzQw?t=2m5s

Review of "Dating You / Hating You" by Christina Lauren (co-authors Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings).

ARC kindly provided by publisher on Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book I have read, in trying to re-capture the glory of "The Hating Game".... The first one was "The Corner Office" by Katerina Baker, which should be more accurately labelled as "Women's Fiction" rather than "Romance".

Although this was a great book, it didn't come near to the awesomeness of THG; but do note that this is my personal opinion.

The premise is pretty much the same. H and h are immediately attracted to each other at a mutual friend's party, and go on to have a super hot make-out session, only to realise days later that their respective companies have merged, putting them in the unsavoury position of competing for the same job position... eeek!

So, of course, battle of wits ensues; with both H and h resorting to at times, playing rather childish pranks on each other. But then they also end up doing nice things for each other as well.

The story is told from both H and h's POV, so you do get a fair idea of how they're both feeling about the whole seriously-attracted-but-I-need-this-job-more-than-you situation.

Also, I somehow found THG to be more romantic. DYHY has less romance in my opinion and touches more on issues like feminism and work-place patriarchy, sexism, glass-ceiling and so on - for instance, there are certain points in the story where the H realises how unfair the situation is for the h and it somehow manages to bring them closer together.

All in all a great story that I would recommend to others but don't see myself cataloguing it in my "favourite re-reads" shelf.

I thought I'd love this contemporary but it was a miss for me.

I have read many books from this author and I loved them all ,so you can imagine how excited I was to read Dating you,Hating you!I also decide to buy the audio which was fantastic.

I really enjoy it,it was cute,sweet and fun read.My only complaint is that even though I liked the story it felt like something was missing,I didn't feel the spark and enthusiasm like I did with Christina's other books.The characters were lovable but I couldn't connect 100% and maybe this was another reason why this story wasn't a 5 stars for me.

The beginning was really good and I like the plot but you could say this was overall an ok story.If you are looking for a cute read this will be for you!

I really enjoyed this book. I've got a few Christina Lauren books in my pile, but this is the first one I've gotten around to ready. I definitely do not regret it.

I started it off thinking that this was going to be a whole lot of angst filled drama, but once you get into the swing of the book, it becomes more and more fun. There a lot of hilarious banter, jokes and competition and it really brings to light the issue of working with someone that you're dating.

I loved both Carter and Evie as main characters, and I loved the secondary characters as well. The big problem thats solved at the end was kind of a surprise but also kind of expected.

I really liked the writing style of this book and will be definitely reading more by the author.

Christina Lauren’s Beautiful Bastard series is probably the best purely romance series I’ve read over the years because there are so many of them and I always reach for one whenever I’m in a reading slump full of too many fantasy and adventure stories. There’s nothing better than just sitting down, tuning out and enjoying reading about two people falling in love and overcoming their obstacles together. So when I saw Dating You/Hating You was coming out I knew I wanted to read this one because the title and the cover looked so enticing and I have been in another little slump lately too.

Evelyn is a successful woman in Hollywood in her thirties that has fought with her every step and move to get to the top of her agency due to an offensive boss and younger, more connected agents always coming through the door. Carter is five years younger than her (way too young in her opinion) but their chemistry is undeniable! She’s instantly charmed by his attractive but approachable looks and the fact that they just so happened to both come dressed to the party as Harry Potter characters. Evie immediately sees him as a romantic prospect because it’s been so long since she’s dated but then she’s on edge once she finds out he works for a competing agency.

This book is set around the luxury, high life of the celebrities on Hollywood and their people (our main characters) so it was a nice change to the other series that usually feature women working as associates or assistants in law firms or other companies like that. I haven’t read many books at all set in the Hollywood style so it was also refreshing and intriguing because it added even more fuel to that easy flow of the book because it was all new to me. I liked reading about that behind the scenes and it was crazy to think that an agent could be marked or lose their job because of one movie flop.

While it can’t knock the Beautiful Bastard series out of first place I think readers will really appreciate the more complex and slow burn of this read because they get so competitive with each other when their careers are in jeopardy and they’re working against each other for one job they’re both qualified for so it’s really fast paced. They also have this romantic chemistry they can’t deny because they met before their companies merged but not they’re competing against each other and frustrating each other to the point where they’re ready to get the claws out. It works out well because they end up using their romantic information about each other to their advantage and end up getting themselves into crazy situations that you just have to read for yourself. It wasn’t the best romance I’ve read and it was a typical plot but I enjoyed it while I was reading the book and I’d definitely recommend it to fans of the writing duo and romance lovers.

Dating You, Hating You is a fun and sweet read with an element of humor that had me laughing out loud. This writing duo, has created a light hearted contemporary romance, that encompasses an enemies to lovers trope that is well written, entertaining and engaging.

The story line is told in a dual point of view and the banter is fun, flirty, being a touch snide and sarcastic at times.

The characters are both quite endearing, intelligent and dedicated to their profession. Evie is strong and confident despite the office politics, prejudice and sexism that is present within their workplace.
Carter is sweet, charismatic and overall a good guy.

I really love this writing duo, and as much as I enjoyed Dating You, Hating You it wasn't one of my top reads written by this pair. I still highly recommend this title to anyone who enjoys a contemporary romance, particularly an office romance, or enemies to lovers romance. I will look forward to seeing what this pair have in store for us next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Australia for providing me a copy of this book.
I have never read a book by Christina Lauren before but have read many rave reviews for their previously publications (Like The Beautiful Series).
Initially the synopsis of this book intrigued me because it gave the implication of enemies to lovers scenario which I absolutely adore! I also loved the book cover :)

The story itself was sweet but at times a bit slow. There were times I was so annoyed I wanted to scream at the H and h to just get together already! I wasn't personally amused by the silly pranks they played on each other either!

The writing was fun, smart and sassy. I did think the story dragged on a bit but I really liked Evie and Carter. Definitely plan on reading many more books by Christian Lauren.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R38NA4Z54T1FPL/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Dating You, Hating You by authors Christina Lauren was a story that did not disappoint. Evie and Carter were a treat to read and the secondary characters equally so. I laughed-out-loud so many times throughout the story. The initial tug-o-war element between Evie and Carter had some hilarious dialogue and heartfelt, passionate moments that added numerous dimensions to the read. Another stand-out book to add to the fave reads list.
Review copy received from Hachette Books Australia via Netgalley