I recommend this book for those that enjoyed the popular book The Hating Game or any other rom com novel. Funny, quirky and sweet. Two colleagues that slowly start to fall for each other. I thought the book was well paced and a good balance of romance and relationship development.

What happens when Mr Grouchy meets Miss Chipper? "I Hate You, I Love You", of course.

There's a lot of banter between Sebastian and Naomi and it's funny, clever, sometimes juvenile, but emotional as well.

Sebastian takes a while to grow on you as he seems to be a jerk because he has no reason not to be and everyone around him has gotten used to his taciturn behavior. Naomi is that too-perky-personality that is annoying at 7 a.m., but comes from the heart. The first half of the book is slow; there's a lot of reminiscing and background information that comes up, but the second half picks up the pace.

As Naomi and Sebastian discover: You can't judge a book by it's cover.

I loved this frenemies story! Sebastian and Naomi work in the English department at a small New England college. For a few years, they have been at each other’s throats. Each gives as good as the other. Their banter was actually funny; there were a few times I laughed out loud. They were both offered a prestigious award but had to “fight” for it before the winner was announced. To help better their odds, they began to work closely at school functions. This lead to small talk, then casual dinners to yep, can’t keep their hands off each other. They both had things happen in their past that was tragic to say the least. I loved watching their story unfold, especially Sebastian’s. When you find out his tragedy, you will understand why he is the way he is and how it is heartwarming watching him rediscover himself. I enjoyed everything about this book: the secondary characters, the steamy scenes, the banter, and finally the acceptance. Job well done Elizabeth Hayley!

Enemies to lovers is one of my kryptonite genres. I just love the buildup of sexual tension between the two main characters, but it can be hard to pull off well. I will say that Naomi and Sebastian were *so* antagonistic towards each other at the onset, I wasn't sure how they'd ever get past it. However, the author managed it in such a way that despite that initial, intense negativity, their gradual changeover seemed believable. And when I say gradual, this is a slooooow burn - lots of building of tension before anything "exciting" (wink, wink) happens. This story was angstier than I'd anticipated but not overly so. This was my first book by the author, but I'll definitely be checking out her other titles.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

I Hate You, I Love You by Elizabeth Hayley is an enemies-to-lovers romance with great banter and bickering! Naomi Price and Sebastian Blake both work for the same university and cannot stand each other. But when they are both nominated for the same award, all bets are off. But can you really hate someone you have so much chemistry with?

I laughed at their childish antics, but both were determined to win the award. There were actually times I thought there was no way these two would get over the hate part of their relationship, but somehow they worked through it when forced to work together. This was a bit of a slow burning romance as they worked through their issues.

Happy reading!

I Hate You, I Love You is a fun read. Cleaver, witty and funny - this is my first book of Elizabeth Hayley. I was impressed with the storytelling and fun, tense scenes. Naomi and Sebastian are young, professional, and ambitious professors vying for the same prestigious award. Right from the beginning, you can tell their banter and teasing is mixed with their determination to avoid the chemistry they can't honestly ignore. Sebastian's secrets and past make his character believable and relatable. I enjoyed reading his story and how Naomi plays a considerable role in his character's development.

This was my first time reading these authors and I loved this book! So many times I found myself smirking at the back and forth between Naomi and Sebastian. I'm not one for recapping the story so just know that I thought this was a great story and I am interested in reading everything else they have written! I find that I'm not that drawn to the book cover but don't let that stop you from giving this book a try. I

Why did I love this book so much???? I don't know why, but I sure did. Naomi and Sebastian were witty and hurt and just so fantastic. I need more!

This is my first book by this duo and it definitely won't be the last!!

Naomi and Sebastian are colleagues in the English Department at a Vermont university and have been at odds since Naomi's first day. When they are tasked to compete against each other for an award from the school, the competition hits new heights but so does their explosive chemistry.

I'm a sucker for enemies to lovers books but there were times in this one that I had to remind myself that these two were old enough to be college professors. There was an immaturity to their interactions that I had a hard time believing. I did love the back stories of both Naomi and Sebastian and how once they got past all the sniping, they were actually pretty perfect for each other. I hope Naomi's friends get HEAs too! This world is definitely one I'd love to revisit.

*This is my voluntary review of an advanced reader copy*

Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes in the romance genre, so I couldn't resist this one. The book certainly delivered on that in the beginning. The sarcasm flowed like water between these two as they exchanged barbs at every opportunity. Granted, most of it was rather juvenile and not what I would expect from college professors, but it did induce a laugh here and there. In fact, I enjoyed the story right up until Sebastian and Naomi finally get together. That should've been the part I liked best - a heated kiss here and there, a slow-building anticipation, and they finally admit to an attraction. However, the story changes at that point and becomes quite angsty. Given the backstories, the angst makes sense, but it doesn't hold with the romantic comedy theme. Plus, the romance slows down considerably and the chemistry just sort of fizzles. There is some steam, but the scenes are somewhat stilted. It almost felt like I was reading a book written by two different people. I did enjoy the first half, but the last half left me with a meh feeling.

This book left me questioning why I spent so much time reading it when I had such a headache when I wasn't enjoying it as much as I should have. Naomi Price and Sebastian Blake are English professors at a small liberal arts college in Vermont and they have had a rocky (to put it mildly) co-existence for the past couple years and fight and spare and exchange insults on a daily basis and now they are in the running for a Distinguished Faculty award and basically pitted against each other. Now the gloves are off. Their fighting suddenly turns to something more. Hate is such a strong emotion and eventually it turns to more and slowly things turn to love. The fighting and snipping got on my nerves and was so junior high it made me cringe and if I had not been reading this as an ARC I may not have finished it. Although I am glad I did, the poem at the end was worth it and the final two lines wrap this entire book up nicely... "I've lost the battle, but not yet the war, As long as you hate me but love me more."

**Received this ARC for review from the publisher via NetGalley**

Naomi and Sebastian are both professors in the English department at a University in Vermont. The two were instant enemies and are constantly bickering. When they are both nominated for a prestigious award from the University, it sets up the rivalry even more. Naomi wants nothing more than to beat Sebastian even though she realizes that she has a growing attraction to him. Eventually, they both become frenemies as they have to plan a literacy day for their department. As they interact, they share past tragedies and feelings develop. I feel like the author just scratched the surface of their relationship with the ending of the book feeling rushed.

Reading this description I was pretty excited. I have been a big fan of enemies to lovers romances, because they have some great moments. In I Hate You, I Love You we meet Naomi and Sebastian. They're both teachers and since the beginning they haven't seen eye to eye. This only gets worse when they find out they're competing for the same award.

I loved the bickering between these two characters and it had me laughing out loud. It was clear even though they seemed to hate each other, there was some type of attraction. This is what bugged me in the beginning, I think it concentrated a bit too much on the aspect of them not liking each other. At first it wasn't clear when the POV was going to change and this confused me in the beginning.

The characters slowly start to warm up to each other even though it's clear they both have more going on. I would've liked to have seen this come out more towards the middle. In my opinion it took a bit too long before we got more insight into Naomi's and Sebastian's past. I think this would've helped a lot more with the story.

In the end, I really grew to love these characters and wanted them to have a happily ever after. I think they both needed each other without realizing it! Naomi and Sebastian are characters that really found the love they needed. I wouldn't mind another story to see how they're doing.

I Hate You, I Love You definitely left me with a few questions though. What happened to Elizabeth's poetry book? Did Sebastian ever finish his book? These are the types of things I get invested in while reading. I like closure with that as well, not only the romance, haha.

Naomi and Sebastian are professors in the English department at a University in Vermont. From the first moment they met, the barbs flew. Sebastian is Naomi’s nemesis and she tries to make his life miserable in small ways. When the English department nominates them both for a prestigious award, they are forced to interact. Eventually the hate becomes something a little friendlier. Both characters have to get over past traumas to move on with their lives. I really enjoyed the angry interactions and the fact that they continued with the smart aleck jabs even when they developed feelings for each other. I wish that Naomi’s friends were a little more developed, as the scenes with them felt tacked on. I also wish that there had been an epilogue as the ending seemed a little abrupt. I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley for my honest review.

There’s nothing really obnoxiously wrong with this book. But it’s supposed to be a rom com. The cover is super rom com-y, and it’s listed in the rom com category on Amazon. But there’s one big problem with this as a rom com.

It’s. Not. Funny.

I’ve run into enough unfunny rom coms lately to suggest that, perhaps, authors and publishers are confused as to what a rom com is. See, folks, the “com” in rom com stands for COMEDY. If your book isn’t funny, it’s not a rom com. It’s just as simple (and complicated, apparently) as that.

(*takes a deep breath for composure before carrying on*)

Now that my mini rant is out of the way, about this book…

This is an enemies-to-lovers romance. I normally really love that trope. But in most enemies-to-love romances, the main characters don’t REALLY hate each other that much. Especially in workplace enemies-to-love romances like this one. They’ll usually take little swipes at one another, but it doesn’t generally get super hateful or downright mean because, well, they’re supposed to eventually love each other. Naomi and Sebastian, the main couple in this story, REALLY hate each other. They’re HORRIBLE to each other. They say stuff to each other that I’d never forgive if someone said it to me. They don’t even mind sniping at each other in front of their co-workers and boss (which I found totally unprofessional). I found their eventual relationship to be really unlikely. It tripped my bullshit meter, frankly.

Other than that, this isn’t a bad book. The writing is fine, the sex scenes are fine, the characters’ backstories are interesting. The book’s pacing is decent. Dialogue has a nice, realistic feel to it. But since this is a romance, and the biggest problem I found with the book was that I didn’t find THE ROMANCE believable...well, I had to deduct a couple of stars for that. Romances must have a good romance at their core, just like ROM COMS SHOULD BE FUNNY.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

Full disclosure: We received a free ARC from NetGalley.

And don't forget to follow the Romance Rehab blog for more rants, raves, and other fun romance-y stuff: http://www.romancerehab.com/

Sometimes a book tries too hard…

I Hate You, I Love You is my first Elizabeth Hayley book and I fear it will be a while before I give them a chance again. Let me preface by saying that Enemies to Lovers is one of my favorite tropes. I’ll one-click books all day with this trope. It’s the main reason I selected this book to review. So, I went in with elevated expectations. None of those expectations were met, save one.

What I liked – naturally grumpy hero. I really enjoyed Sebastian. Whose grumpy attitude, and antisocial way of being endeared him. He’s got plenty of reason to be pissed and does a fine job of scaring away everyone, except our heroine, Naomi. She finds Sebastian’s attitude to be like a red flag in front of a bull and eagerly engages in verbal combat every time she gets a chance. Some of the most enjoyable parts of this book were when the main characters engaged in verbal fisticuffs.

Outside of the barbs tossed to and fro this book falls flat. Naomi’s internal thoughts often reflect the mindset of a college student, rather than a distinguished tenured professor with a PhD. The point of view is presented in dual format, but with Naomi getting most of the head time. As for keeping the story flowing, there is little keeping these two a part besides their animosity toward one another borne from Sebastian’s pain and Naomi’s refusal to cower from him. The conflict does not support a book as long as this, and it could have settled at novella length.

There were other things. How at times the story seemed to be searching for a ‘Hating Game’ type feel, but unable to recreate the magic. I was able to draw a lot of parallels and what could have been exciting fell flat and appeared poorly executed.

The final thing that pushed this book over for me, and this is a bit spoiler-y, is two tenured late twenties/early thirties, consenting adults, getting down and dirty in a truck in a restaurant parking lot. When the hero has a spinal injury that hurts his leg and they both have homes without roommates… it doesn’t make sense. Especially since both are pitted against each other for a distinguished professor award. I can’t speak for everyone, but I don’t think a tenured professor would win an award, let alone be allowed to keep their job, if they were found getting busy in a parking lot.

Overall, this book kept me flipping pages in desperation, hoping for something better. While the premise sounded fun at the start and the hero is a grumpy man who needs to be redeemed, there wasn’t enough to keep me from becoming bored.

~ Landra

I was very pleasantly surprised by this contemporary enemies-to-lovers romance. This is my favorite tropes but so many times I find myself liking the "hate" part much better than the part after they realize they don't hate each other. I'm happy to say I didn't have that problem with this one, which continued to hold my interest all the way to the end. I found myself chuckling quite a few times all the way throughout the book, really enjoying the dialogue between this couple to the very end. The characters are both good people and the romance is more of an emotional one than a hot one, with sex scenes brief and appropriate to the tone of the story. There wasn't anything revelatory about it, and in general I tend to prefer darker or dirtier reads, but since it was my favorite trope done well in the style of classic romance books, it was well worth the read to me.
I received a free uncorrected proof of this book from NetGalley, and this is my voluntary, honest review.

This was a fun enemies to lovers story as two college professors duke it out for top honors at their college. There is lots of snarky banter between Sebastian and Naomi and there is a nice slow build to their relationship as they spend more and more time together. There is definitely chemistry between these two but they are both stubbornly fighting it. Enjoy a relaxing afternoon of reading with this lighthearted story. I highly recommend it.

This one was just okay for me. I like a good enemies to lovers story, it’s probably my number one jam. There was pretty much no sexual chemistry between Naomi and Sebastian. Usually there’s build up and sparks fly and you’re rooting for them to finally rip each other clothes off. Yeah, there wasn’t any of that. Everything, besides Sebastian being a giant sarcastic dick, is just nice. There were some parts that I skimmed over because I felt like it was dragging on way too long. I didn’t hate this book, it just really didn’t do anything for me in long run.

Excellent story! Our heroine teaches poetry at a prestigious college our hero is a colleague who teaches creative writing. Their snarky back and forths are so much fun! Proclaimed enemies the two become in a contest to choose the winner of a teaching award. Forced to work together their hate takes some interesting turns. This isn’t your regular romance, this has heartbreaking back stories.
Wonderful story with wonderful characters. This book is hard to put down!