The Shortest Distance Between Love & Hate by Sandy Hall, a follow-up to A Prom to Remember, was delightful, charming, and just the right amount of swoonworthy!

This book follows Paisley, a freshman in college who readers were acquainted with in A Prom to Remember. It's an enemies-to-lovers book (a trope that, while not a favorite, is one that I still enjoy reading!) and is also unique in that it technically is YA, but with college-aged protagonists (a true rarity in the YA genre!)

I won't spoil too much more, but needless to say, it was super-enjoyable! Fingers crossed that Sandy Hall considers doing more spin-off novels! :D

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Cute and mostly light-hearted college romance. Recommended for fans of Hall's earlier work or those that like light college romance books

Though this book started out really good, and for most of it, was awesome, the last 25 or so percent of the story really turned me off. It got to a point where all the bad in that bit overshadowed the good earlier, and I ended up not liking the book as much as I wished I could!

I love a good enemies to lovers story. This was definitely that. I really enjoyed the story. I do think my biggest issue was the setting was first year of college but the antics in the story seemed a little juvenile for college students. That being said this was a cute read and perfect for the fall season.

Well, this was a roller coaster of emotions. :)

Paisley is looking forward to college. On her first ever party she makes out with this really amazing guy and she is over the moon. He is funny, good looking. All is well until she figures out where she knows him from... Then it all goes to shit. He used to be mean to her best friend and even though he seems like a different guy, she can't forgive him.

So what happens next is prank was of epic proportions. And as the pranks start to seriously affect day to day life, they have to think about what they really want.

It's such a compelling story. I was all in from the first till the last page. :)

The Shortest Distance Between Love and Hate is a sweet feel-good YA romance that left me feeling a little lighter and a little more hopeful. It serves as a great reminder about the innocence of new connections and a time in life when it's okay to be silly and slightly less than logical. Sandy Hall is a new to me author who I know I'll read more from in the future ( as I already have a book or 2 from her collection).

First-year college students Paisley and Carter start out on the right foot with each other only to end up on opposing sides of Paisley's revenge-fueled feud that all began in grade school when then twelve-year-old Carter bullied Paisley's best friend Henry. It's not long between her initial college crush goes up in flames and Carter becomes enemy #1 as Paisley ramps up her war on Carter for these transgressions that Paisley and Carter learn a few important distinctions of friendship versus frenemies and begin to earn a spot in each other's lives.

This story touches on many life lessons about families, friendship and forgiveness and learning to choose the right battles. I was pretty frustrated with Paisley as their initial college connection was cute and fun. They had great chemistry and I couldn't wait to see where it went. Well, it went "poof" in no time as Hall builds on the attraction and the anxiety of it when one believes they shouldn't care, but they can't help it. It's a great story about motive and redemption. After all, were Carters' pranks at twelve any worse than hers at eighteen? Even Henry recognized that perhaps her need to punish Carter was misguided and perhaps coming from the wrong place. Pure angst!!

Hall's characters are well developed and the banter and verbal sparring between Paisley and Carter utterly delightful. This is a fun and clean summer read for any teenager heading off to college and for those of us a few years past that, it's a gentle reminder of the emotional complexity of young love and friendship.

It started out okay but as it continued I lost interest in the story very soon. The same old enemies(middle-school bully) to lovers trope is in play but it wasn't written well.

As a big fan of the enemies to lovers trope, I was excited for this book. Our main characters Paisley and Cartner knew each other in middle school, but haven't seen each other since. When they run into each other at their first week of college, there is a spark. Even though they don't realize who they've just seen after many years.

The Shortest Distance Between Love & Hate starts off really cute. I love the little pranks and can even understand the feeling Paisley has to get even. Carter takes it all with a smile and starts to take some steps to revenge. There are definitely some funny pranks, blue ink in sanitizer and salt in a cup of coffee. At a certain point it became a bit too much. It felt petty and took to long in my opinion. Even when her best friend (the whole reasons she feels the need for revenge in the first place) tells her it's enough, she just keeps on going. I think the book could've been shorter if that would've ended sooner.

That being said Paisley is a character that annoyed me at times. I completely understand her being mad for her best friend, but it was many years ago. People change and move on, including the person hurt by Carter. Deep down she knows she needs to stop and even starts liking Carter, but still continues. Let's just say it got tiring after awhile. I did love the T-shirts she made. Those were really fun and I can understand that people wanted to buy them.

Carter is a more complicated character. I liked him from the start. He's funny and really caring. If it was up to him, he would be at home taking care of his sick mother. I loved that we got to know him more and more during this book and how complex he was. A lot happened to him during his life, it doesn't excuse the bullying, but definitely the anger issues. He doesn't know how to deal with all the emotions.

Even though there were parts that annoyed me, there were a lot of fun moments. I loved Paisley's friends and there chats we get to read during this story. They seem like fun and it's great they stay close after high school. I also loved Carter's and Paisley's roommates. I loved their interactions and part in the story. Not everyone gets lucky with amazing roommates!

The ending of the story was something I also really enjoyed. Finding their way back to each other and in sweet ways left a smile on my face. I read this book in basically one sitting and loved the author's writing style. She created characters I really came to care about and even ones that should have their own story (Henry for example). If you're looking for a fast read this summer, I definitely would sugges The Shortest Distance Between Love & Hate.

I picked this up and was immediately sucked in and loving it! There was so much fun with the back and forth between Paisley and Carter. Now, I feel like Paisley really got to taking it too far, but then there were times that I think Carter took his side too seriously or emotionally. I like that in the end, when it really counted, Paisley came out and told the truth about things that were her fault and helped Carter out. I get where he was upset with what was going on in his life, but his whole "hating excuses" thing as a reason for why he did so many things was a little irritating. Both of them had a lot of issues to deal with, and made a lot of bad decisions. But you know what, to me, that made it so realistic for how people really are. I'd say this was a good book, I didn't adore it as much as A Prom to Remember, but it definitely kept me reading and turning pages just to see who would finally give in and figure out how to deal with the situation properly.

This book was a enemies to friends to lovers story. Paisley and carter both have some history. They both start doing pranks and some of them are just mean to forgetting a class to reporting on someone. I get that they both grew up during this 1st semester at college but I think that both went over board with pranks. They finally find some middle ground and help one another. I do like ray and stef. Overall an okay romance book.

I devoured The Shortest Distance Between Love & Hate in one sitting. Partially because of its smaller page count, and mostly because the plot was immediately absorbing, and the dialogue easy to follow.

My favorite character was Carter, because he was perfectly flawed. He had a past full of bad behavior and decisions, but he really strived to change, and redeem himself throughout The Shortest Distance Between Love & Hate. I also loved his relationship with his sister. She was really supportive and available to him.

My least favorite character was Paisley. She was was impulsive, immature, and spiteful. You have Carter, who’s struggling with righting past misdeeds, confidence issues, and a sick parent. Then you have Paisley, who goes from being insta-love with a guy; to insta-hate, with a side of childish and petty revenge.

The Shortest Distance Between Love & Hate is an enjoyable book with some great messages. It tackles big topics like bullying, and does so in a relatable and insightful way.

"He doesn’t have any effect on me; he doesn’t matter. That’s my new motto. So what if we have classes together and work together and live in the same dorm? None of that matters. The universe isn’t trying to tell me something. Why would the universe be talking to me anyway? Doesn’t it have more important things to do?"

I absolutely loved Carter, he was a really complicated character who fully understood his flaws and mistakes and was willing to own them any way he needed to. He experienced growth and humility while trying to be the best person he could be now, even with some emotional turmoil thrown in for flavor. He had so many justified opportunities to lash out during the course of the book, but really he didn't he didn't. I rooted for him to have something positive in his life, especially since his outlook was so negative.

My biggest problem with the book was Paisley and her immaturity. She went out of her way to sabotage Carter every chance she got, at times almost costing him his job and education, acting herself like the mean middle school bully Carter was. I could not connect to her in any way and I did not care for her as a character. Even when her friend who had been bullied forgave Carter, she refused to. And honestly, kids grow up and can self reflect and grow but she never even gave Carter that chance. I will admit that she grew up a little too towards the the end of the book but I too may hold grudges and I could not like her.

“Why do we say Friday night?”
“Huh?” she asks around a mouthful of cheese. “Like, why don’t we say Friday when we mean day and Fri-night when we mean Friday night?”
“Are you stoned? That’s definitely the kind of question a stoned person would ask.”
“No, I’m not stoned. I’m serious. This is serious business. I think about this a lot,” I say. “There’s a pretty good chance you have too much time on your hands.”
“Well, I’m going to start a grassroots movement. If you want in, this is your chance.”
“Do I want in on a grassroots movement to start using Mon-night, Tues-night, Wednes-night in regular conversation? That’s what you’re asking me.”

Overall this was not a book for me but there was some entertaining banter and I am sure that others will love the story. I do really like the fact that is set in college and I would love to see more books in the upper YA/NA with a real college experience thrown in. I would check out more books by Sandy in the future because she can write a great character as seen by Carter, I just don't think this revenge plot worked for me.

First up a big thank you to the publisher/tour host for letting me read/try to read this book.

I was superduper excited, Sandy Hall has written some amazing stuff and I was eager to start her newest book. However... it just didn't work. The start was fabulous (though I wasn't happy that Carter didn't tell the truth about his name immediately), but the crap hits the fan when Paisley finds out that Carter was the bully who made the life of her best friend Henry a living hell. Instead of being the grown-up, not to mention that Carter has clearly stated that he was sorry for things he did, many times, she goes out to take revenge. In the worst ways, at least the first revenge as I dropped the book before seeing the rest. She makes him look bad at work which causes him a strike. Who the fuck would do that kind of shit to someone? Sorry for my language, but I think it is just ridiculous she would endanger his job/his future because of something she totally even forgot until now. I don't even want to know what other crap she gets up to, but given the reviews I read there is plenty of it and none of them are good.
Carter's POV was slightly better, but also dreadfully boring.
Also nothing seems to happen outside of the hate/love thing. We see some chat convos between family/friends, our duo juggles work and study, and that is it. Meh.

This was a very quick read, so quick that I read it in one sitting. But being a quick read isn't always a good thing.

Right away I was excited to see that it was set in college. There are not enough YA books that take place in college. I loved the beginning of this book. We jumped right into the story with our two main characters at their first college party during orientation weekend for school. They are soon thrust into a whirlwind romance that only lasts a few days before our female lead, Paisley, learns who her dreamy college boy really is—her middle school bully.

I hated Paisley. She was mean, self-centered, and arrogant. She would ask her friends for advice and then dismiss anything that they told her. Well, why did you ask if you were just going to do what you wanted to do?Carter (love interest) didn't deserve all her crap—he apologized a million times and was trying to convince her that he had changed. It had been four years, for goodness sake. I definitely don't think I would have carried so much for Carter and his story if this wasn't in dual perspective. In general, the characters definitely didn’t sound like they were in college—more like early high school. Also, the plot got really repetitive. I feel like we just bounced back and forth between their work study assignment to the dorm then back to work. Maybe a scene here and there from outside a classroom but other than that, it was starting to get redundant and boring.

I do think this would have been a good short story or novella. There was so much unnecessary filler that just didn't belong. It could have paired way down and had more focus on just their relationship and history—making it more of a short story showing the journey they went through together.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review copy courtesy of NetGalley.

I’m typically a huge fan of hate to love stories but this one begins with such an unrealistic misunderstanding that it was hard for the rest of the book to get over it. And once that was over, most of the book was basically dueling perspectives of a couple being crappy to each other. Alas, I think it’s a good recommendation for high school readers who may want to dream about what college may be like.

The Shortest Distance Between Love & Hate caught my attention because it's a college-set YA, which is honestly something we need more of. After reading it, I felt that it was fairly realistic for someone's freshman year.

The characters were very well-developed! Both Paisley and Carter are going through their own things, and their points of view read differently. I liked being in both of their heads and meeting their respective friends. The side characters were also fairly developed, namely Henry.

The romance was actually pretty cute! This is marketed as a hate-to-love (as in, the title), but honestly, I wouldn't really say that. Is it hate-to-love if the hate is only one-sided? (More on that later.) When they finally got together though, I thought they were really cute together.

Unfortunately, I only really got into the book halfway through the book once the pranks were over because Paisley's pranks went wayyy too far. Getting Carter a strike on his record at work? Granted it was his first one, but it's obviously a work study job and you don't mess with someone's financial aid. She also does something to slightly sabotage his grade, but she later fixes it. No matter how many amends Paisley makes later though, I found myself horrified by her actions in the moment.

I honestly felt like the author spent more time ensuring that Carter's reasons for bullying Henry in middle school were reasonable rather than focusing on developing Paisley in any way. She honestly read like a typical white girl who doesn't care about the consequences of her actions. And she gets away with it all! She does eventually regret all her pranks, but again, at the very end of the book. It's just so difficult to read her knowing she's in the wrong yet standing her ground just because she gets defensive for no reason. Also, her justification for ruining Carter's life is so weak, considering Henry kept telling her to stop.

I did think the writing was enjoyable otherwise. I've never been able to get through any of this author's other books, personally, but I liked this one enough to finish it.

The Shortest Distance Between Love & Hate is a good read, one that'll have you laughing out loud at moments. The two main characters have good chemistry, and the writing is nice. I wouldn't necessarily call it a hate-to-love book, but it is a YA contemporary set in college, so there's that.

**This post will be up on my blog Magical Reads on July 8, as a part of the blog tour.**

This is a cute book; a fast read and will definitely recommend to my teens who eat up romance books! Not sure it will be one of my go-to recommendations, but will be a solid addition to YA romance

2.5 stars, but I'll round up. I liked bits and pieces of this one. Cute concept (why I read it in the first place) but not sure how I felt about the execution of it. A lot of threads felt like they were poking out of the "fabric," and I'm not sure both POVs were necessary.

”This is like Cinderella minus the glass slipper.” ”He’s my Cinderella.”

FORMAT READ: eBook (Kindle)
SIMILAR VIBES: Jennifer E. Smith or Kasie West books
READ FOR: cute & giggly story
*All my reviews are spoiler-free unless stated otherwise*

OVERALL: 3.3/5

The beginning and the end are honestly the strongest parts. I’m happy I started and ended this book on good notes.

This book is about two college freshmen who actually knew each other in middle school but have not seen each other since. They parted with some not-so-pleasant memories and the story begins when they meet again at a party. The beginning of the book was what really made me intrigued and sucked me into their story.

I’m gonna start by saying that this is not my favorite in terms or writing style and plot that but I did enjoy this book on a sort of basic level.

A lot of things were just happening. There were parts when it’s just pages full of dialogue and no description of anything. Scenes just weirdly ended and started. That disturbed me a bit but it is an enemies to lovers trope (and I LOVE those). In terms of the enemies to lovers trope, I think that this was very well paced that it satisfied my need for that cliche.

okay… I REALLY enjoyed the two characters’ quarrels AT FIRST even though it was petty. There was a point when it became a bit much for my taste. This came to me at a time I was looking for a Contemporary Romance to read so I enjoyed it more than I would have. Even if there were so many things I found petty and childish… but they kind of started to make sense the more I read through the story so… it’s fine it’s fine…

but they were still petty and childish..

Though!!! There were themes in the book that I did like <3 For risk of spoiling I’m not saying what exactly but there were some pretty nice topics covered, my main problem was just the way it was written into the story. Nevertheless, I like a book that deals with those kinds of topics.

I also have to mention that the characters were a bit inconsistent and there are specific writing things that some readers might not like. But if you are just looking for a light Contemporary Read to break off a fantasy marathon, this is a nice refresher.

PLOT: ★★★☆☆
WRITING STYLE: ★★★☆☆
WORLD BUILDING: ★★☆☆☆
CHARACTERS: ★★★☆☆
THEMES: ★★★★☆
PACING: ★★★★★
PAGE TURNER: ★★★☆☆

Thanks to Xpresso Tours, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, and Sandy Hall for sending me an ARC to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.