Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Veronica – ☆☆☆☆
Jack and Oscar are in the same circle of friends and hookup for what appears to be no reason other than convenience. Their friends convince Jack to hire Oscar to help him clean out his grandparents’ house, which looks like something out of an episode of HOARDERS. I have to say, several times THE HATE PROJECT inspired me to do my housework, although perhaps that wasn’t the aim of the story.

THE HATE PROJECT is a romance story that wasn’t particularly romantic. There is little sentiment or traditional romance. They end up in each other’s company and, at times, it felt inevitable that something would develop between them, but they didn’t seem to care one way or another if it happened or not.

Oscar we get to know very well, and along the way I think Oscar got to know himself as the story went along; although at times, I thought he could have used a little more self-awareness. I could understand Oscar. I could relate to his depression and anxiety. When Oscar explained knowing he needed human company but not being able to stand having people around and having to be social, I wanted to track down the author and thank them for understanding and putting in words something I often feel.

For me, THE HATE PROJECT was just as much about Oscar’s personal growth as it is about his relationship with Jack, and I liked both parts of the story. This is the first book I’ve read by Kris Ripper and I enjoyed the author’s style and I appreciated having real, imperfect characters. THE HATE PROJECT was entertaining and relatable. Four stars from me.

I think this is one of those "It's not you, it's me," situations and/or not the right Ripper title to start with and/or you should probably read the first book in this series to understand and empathize with a few of the quirkier characters in this tiny Marginalized Motherfuckers universe. Unfortunately, Ripper is new-to-me; I didn't read the first book; and I didn't really get why only one of these characters ever got fed up with Oscar.

Okay, okay, slow your roll! I get that Oscar struggles with anxiety and panic attacks and it leads him to self-sabotage events and experiences in his life. I GET THAT. I sympathize with how that must make even the tiniest, most insignificant experiences bigger and worser (!) then they would otherwise be. I get that sometimes even the best coping strategies fail. I can't relate, but I can listen and try to understand.

However.

I don't want to read a romance novel wherein I want to shout at one of the principal characters after every single event or experience.

I found The Hate Project exhausting. I was frequently frustrated with Oscar, who's painful POV carries the story, and I could not understand his relationship with Jack. They aren't nice to each other MOST of the time, their antagonistic "conversations," simply made me wonder what exactly they found appealing about each other (aside from the casual, AMAZING blowjobs) and Oscar's appearance, and if Oscar wanted a best friend, why couldn't he just be friends with the grandmother and keep Jack in his Motherfucker's posse? I barely know anything about Jack from the start of this story to the end, and even with the teases about his marriage and divorce, and close-knit relationship to his grandparents, we barely scratch the surface of who he is. I couldn't really figure out why he ended up in that group anyway?

And then there's the Motherfuckers. Look, I have a potty mouth, too. But referring to your group of friends as Motherfuckers is bizarre, AND felt like an inside joke from the first book which I never read so that was annoying.

So. This was a fail for me. But maybe not for you.

The Hate Project by Kris Ripper
The Love Study #2

Adored this Carina Adores romance! It had me smiling, caring, chuckling, and hoping for the best for two rather prickly characters. I will say that the story grew on me and I was not enamored at all by the end of the first chapter BUT by the end of the second chapter I was invested and wanted to know what would happen.

What I liked:
* The slow build of the relationship
* That the two men were not “easy” to love from the first moment you met them
* The group of friends that go by a name that would be censored if I typed it in her…they are there for one another no matter what.
* Being able to read and understand this book without having read book one in the series first
* Stepping into a world that is not my own
* Oscar: anxiety plagued, quirky, caring, organized, interesting, a person that as explained helped me understand better someone I know.
* Jack: bright, cautious, caring, loves his grandmother, a person with potential that is tapped in this story.
* That both characters became more and more real as I read, I was invested in them and their HEA was something I truly wanted them to achieve.
* Evelyn: Jack’s grandmother is a character and oh so lovable!
* The way the hoarding aspect of the story was handled
* Finding out what “The Secret” was
* All of it really except…

What I didn’t like:
* Having to say goodbye to the characters when the book ended…

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin-Carina Adores for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

Thank you so much to Carina Adores and NetGalley for the arc of this book!

When I saw this book up for review, I requested it so fast. I was a huge fan of The Love Study by Kris Ripper, and to my great surprise, I loved this one even more.

When Oscar loses his job, his world is pretty much turned upside down. Even more so when he somehow starts working for Jack the ass, with who he happened to have a one-night stand. Between their constant bickering and the hoarded house, Jack has hired Oscar to help clean out, something more starts to build between them. Oscar doesn't know what to do with that. Being alone is safer than having your heart broken, after all.

I love Oscar. I love him so much. I relate to him in a way I didn't to Declan and Sydney in THE LOVE STUDY, even though I loved them too. Oscar deals with anxiety that's heavily exacerbated in any sort of social situation. He doesn't do feelings because it's just too much for him. We see him struggle to keep his anxiety and depression from eating him up, and I loved seeing the emphasis on therapy and medication. We even see Oscar have to go through a medication switch, which as anyone who's had to take them knows, is a giant pain in the ass.

Oscar and Jack snipe at each other the entire book. Even when you can tell things are shifting, there's still the sniping, because that's where their comfort zone is. They don't have to get into the complexity of their relationship or the emotions behind them that way, and it works for them. I loved their back and forth and I loved the come down-to-earth moment of them having to recognize what's actually happening.

The Motherfuckers are of course front and center as they were in the last book, and I loved seeing more of them. We get some really great insight on Ronnie in this book too, which was nice to see. I was really great to see how each of them supported Oscar and what he was going through, letting him know they were there by force if necessary.

Overall, another winner from Kris Ripper. I can't wait to see what the next book has in store for us!

I would actually give this book about 4.5 stars. I read a ton of romance, especially LGBTQ+ romance and many of the stories all kind of blur together. They're good stories, but not necessarily stand outs or great. I read them for comfort.

But every once in a while, there is a romance novel that absolutely captures me. The Hate Project is one of those novels. I honestly feel like Oscar was so well written...mainly because Oscar and I could be twins. There were so many times in the book where I paused and told my friend "Oscar just said/did this. I do the same thing!" No lie, I would almost think the author spied on my life and then finally decided he had enough info to write a story, but just changed the gender lol

Anyone with anxiety and depression will probably feel pretty seen in this book. Especially when it comes to how people with those illnesses deal with their interpersonal relationships. The story was well written, well thought out, and believable. I loved Jack and Oscar's relationship and the realistic friendships in between.

Great book.

Thank you Netgalley for providing an Advances Readers Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really like sequel of series where the side characters of the previous books are now main characters. I loved The Love Study and was happy to see the MCs here even if only a bit. I must admit that, even liking Oscar, I wouldn't say he was a grouch like the synopsis said. He has severe social anxiety and depression and that makes him seem rude, unapproachable and unlikeable. He makes unreasonable decisions, he rushes into conclusions, he makes mistakes and not always wants someone to be there to tell him everything is going to be okay.

So his hate sex friends with benefits thing that he has going on with Jack is not really hate, but is based on insecurities and feeling safe being with someone they fairly know so they're not afraid of showing what usually they would've hidden to hook ups. It was there and it was easy, and very convenient since Oscar was working for Jack to clean up his grandma's house.

I really liked how, before starting this sex no strings nor feelings attached, they talked about boundaries and safe words. And I liked how Jack wasn't into penetrative sex and Oscar accepted this without trying to convince him nor judge him. Because everyone likes different things and they should be opened about them if they want to have a healthy relationship, no matter the nature of it.

I liked this book but I didn't love it, sadly. While I related a lot with Oscar, he made me too angry, and the story lacked Jack's POV to be understood completed. Jack seemed almost inconsequential to the story, almost like he wasn't truly the main's love interest but just someone he knew and happened to have sex some times.

The ending was also a bit rushed in my opinion, and could've benefitted of at least one other chapter or a sort of epilogue.

Oscar is out of work and spiraling when he gets a job offer from Jack, the new guy in his group of queer friends. Jack needs someone to help clean out his grandparents' house and Oscar, who loves to clean and organize, is just the man for the job. Except that Oscar and Jack can't seem to inhabit the same space without fighting. Which is fine, they like fighting. An added bonus: their mutual attraction and previous one night stand leads to the potential for a friends(?) with benefits arrangement. But what happens when their time together leads to real feelings?

The Hate Project is highly entertaining and laugh out loud funny! I first came across Kris Ripper's work when I listened to The Love Study, and I am definitely a fan of this series which follows a group of queer and quirky friends who are a found family/support group. Throughout The Hate Project I felt deeply moved by how the friends support Oscar as he goes through unemployment, relationship drama, and transitioning to new meds. Oscar is the grouch of the group and he often struggles with self image and feeling like he's too much for people to love, but time and again his friends are there to build him up.

And then there's Jack, the new guy to the group and, from Oscar's perspective, the most normal, even if he is a jerk. But as Oscar spends more time around Jack he starts to learn more about him and actually starts to like being around him. I enjoyed the way that their relationship gradually developed from verbal sparring and hookups to something more. They're such an odd couple and I continually found myself grinning over their bickering, as well as blushing during their sexy scenes.

There's lots to love in this book: hilarious banter, quality characters, romance, drama, and a house cleaning project as daunting as the prospect of real feels!

The Hate Project follows grumpy Oscar and Jack, who aren't exactly friends, but not exactly enemies. Oscar battles a series of mental health issues, including anxiety, and I really liked how the author was able to write that into the story. I could definitely sense how the anxiety was a major issue and could hinder relationships on multiple levels for Oscar. It also helped that the story was told from his POV, which I think helped me connect with the story, and especially with Oscar. The development of the relationship was authentic and I loved the snarky banter between Oscar and Jack. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I thought it fantastic! Ripper writes with a variety characters, and you can really get a feel for each one throughout the story. This is the second in The Love Study series, and while I really liked the first book, I think I liked this one just a bit more! Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book to review.

I absolutely love snark and sarcasm, so when I saw that this character had 2 grouchy guys, I was pretty much guaranteed to like it. And I did. For those who want a mushy, hearts and flowers type of love story, this is definitely not that. Nope, Oscar and Jack are anything but mushy. What they are is a lot crazy fun, and despite their differences, their determination to hate each other, Kris Ripper has given us two characters who belong together. The more I read, the more I wanted them together. This is a great story for curling up and chasing away the rainy day blues, and it's just so much fun. I'm loving the characters in this series, and I can't wait to see who gets to fall in love next.

First things first: This book isn't a feel good romance.

It's not going to follow that almost cookie cutter recipe we've see a thousand times.
It's not going to progress in the way you want it to, it just *is*.

It's definitely not the adorable, heart warming frenemies-to-lovers you may very well be looking for, but it might just be the one that you need!

From my first encounter with Oscar I could tell we were made of the same star stuff.
The portrayal of his anxiety touched something in me, it was something I hadn't known I'd been dying to read.

Kris Ripper always does an amazing job of touching on parts of the human nature that aren't always easy to digest. The bits that get a makeover before being shown to the public. Often times authors dull the edges, buff the corners and give it fresh coat of paint to make a character more palatable. To make them cute. Make them lovable. The result is often someone less real.

I found something in the portrayal of Oscar's anxiety that no book I've read had succeeded in conveying before. It was raw and ugly and unedited and it made me feel seen in ways I both can and can't explain.
All I can say is thank you.

I have received an ARC of this book by NetGalley, and Carina Adores and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review. The Pub date of the book is April 27th. This review will be posted on my Goodreads, Facebook page and Instagram.
It is difficult to evaluate this book, since I am not sure how to describe it. But I will try.
The perspective is all on Oscar's side and he is a peculiar character, with mental health problems and some difficulties in ordinary day-to-day life and in relationships with friends and boyfriends. I will not use this as an excuse to say that it was my favorite, since he was not. I was unable to connect very directly with him. I know how his difficulties can be, since I have some mental problems that I recognized, but even so, there was a small space that did not allow me the connection with him. I think that was also due to excess of Oscar. In my opinion there could be a break for we to know Jack’s point of view since we only know him through the eyes of Oscar and what we see through Oscar. I felt that I needed more information about Jack's life and personality, feelings, and thoughts. I liked him a little more than Oscar, honestly.
The story itself is well accomplished, but I felt it could have been better. It was difficult to deal with their situation as a couple, given that they were always arguing and that in Oscar's perspective, it was always Jack's fault, when in reality…it was not. It was not sacrilegious read the book, but I would like to have enjoyed reading a lot more, mainly with such important themes as mental health, gender, identity ...
It was not the best for me, but it can certainly be for other people. Maybe it was me who did not get the necessary connection with the characters.

If you enjoyed Boyfriend Material, there's a solid chance you'll enjoy this.

Oscar is a grouch (cute) who has serious anxiety, but also an amazing group of friends who support him no matter what. What he doesn't have anymore is a job. Jack is a newcomer to the friend group, quiet and serious, with a hoard house that needs cleaning out and he's willing to pay.

Told only from Oscar's point of view, it's a deep dive into sometimes crippling anxiety and one person's way of living with it. Oscar's voice really reminds me of Luc in Boyfriend Material (and I was not entirely surprised to find that Alexis Hall thanked in the acknowledgements), though their issues are different.

Their physical connection is strong, and fun to read. And their communication style is bickering, which is also super fun to read.

Kris Ripper is a new-to-me author, and I'll be looking to read more of zir work.

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

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book.

After reading “The Love Study” last year and loving it, I was super excited for “The Hate Project”. Unfortunately, this didn’t end up being for me. Mainly because it was just too triggering for a few different personal reasons.

I loved the mental illness rep, and I related to Oscar a lot. I’m not sure about the romance/relationship part of this book to be honest, but I loved how found family/ friendship focused this was!

Overall, I can't wait for book 3 and while I didn't love this one as much as book 1, I definitely understand why other readers will love it!

Oscar and Jack make an awkward, grumpy pair. They aren't warm and cozy, romantic or mushy. And they both are kind of adverse to real relationships and love. These boys make for an entertaining and unique love story. In fact, I kind of need an epilogue or second book. These two move at such an odd, stumbling, in denial pace that I'm not nearly done with them.

I really enjoy this series and the group of friends. I'm super excited about what I hope is next. The reason this wasn't 5 stars was a personal preference thing. I'm really not a fan of characters hooking up with other people while they're apart, broken up, still messed up over each other. Other than that, this was a great read and funny at times, too.

The Hate Project is the second book in the Love Study Series that follows Oscar and Jack. This is a grumpy one paired with the grumpy one. What a ride these two took me on! Oscar’s anxieties leave him keeping most folks at arms length but Jack breaks through that armor with some equally at arms length behaviors.

Oscar and Jack are both commitment-phobes and find themselves in a no strings attached relationship that slowly turns into a relationship. It's one of my favorite tropes and Kris did this one justice for sure.

I really enjoy that Kris doesn't shy away from writing about the complexities and contradictions that come with anxiety. Oscar’s inner dialogue and self awareness about his anxiety is refreshing to read on a page with such raw and intense honesty.

It was really nice to get back to hanging out with the Marginalized M*therf*ckers. This is such a ride-or-d*e found family and I adored all of them. There is a lot of discussion about anxiety and Oscar’s internalized fat phobia so be aware of those things going into the book. I'm excited to see what's next for this group and to get the next installment.

Let’s talk about this series of books… I love it! In book one, “The Love Study” I met Declan who is known for leaving his partner the alter, and non-binary YouTuber, Sidney. The two of them met when they decided to do a YouTube series about Declan dating. Book one also introduced they found-family friend group the characters lovingly refer to as the mother-f&*kers.

Book two “The Hate Project” revisits some of these characters but focusses on Oscar and Jack. Oscar is a bit of a mess… but his dysfunction is functional. He is plagued by anxiety, has a difficult relationship with food, and isn’t very confident with his body. The thing is Oscar reads as very authentic and I really liked him from the moment I met him. His life gets super challenging when he loses his job and finds himself facing the social horror of applying for jobs and potentially interviewing.

Having friends means that Oscar gets coaxed out to at least sit in the corner in the presence of other people. I adored the way that his friends accept his anxiety and allow him to be himself. The only person that Oscar doesn’t get along with (let’s face it he actively dislikes) is Jack.

One night, leaving a gathering he didn’t want to attend, Oscar is a little bit shocked when Jack casually suggests that they two of them begin a sexual relationship…but he surprises himself by accepting. They have a steamy encounter and then… Jack drops Oscar off at his car.

Before Oscar can completely spiral out of control about being unemployed, his quirky friends step in and set him up to work with Jack. Jack is facing the task of cleaning out his family home and it's a doozy of a mess. And my goodness, this is the point at which the fun begins. Jack is an adventure. He is successful in his work but is a bit of a jerk. He can be quite blunt, seems a bit disconnected and almost uncaring at times.

When these two characters are thrown together, it’s the most amusing train wreck I have read in a while. Then, he finds himself working for Jack to clean out his Grandparent’s house and things get all tangled up. Oscar doesn’t have a lot of experience with people that is very positive… with the exception of his circle of friends, he doesn’t do well with socializing. Oscar and Jack have a lot of friction between them that can definitely spark a flame between the sheets, but it causes all kinds of misunderstandings and hurt feelings when they are trying to just exist in the same space.

Here’s the thing about the characters in this book: they are truly diverse. This group of friends seems like they could exist around the corner from me because they are all fully formed and developed characters. They are unique, quirky, wonderful, flawed and sometimes bizarre while still being engaging and endearing. I really enjoying Kris Ripper's writing and look forward to reading anything else that ze publishes in the future!

Gosh, this was so much fun! I’m an absolute sucker for grumpy and snarky types, so two together was just an absolute delight!

Oscar is a bit of an anxious mess but he has a great found family around him who always support him and celebrate even small victories - like only having a few <I>almost</I> panic attacks and no actual ones! Recently added to the friend group is Jack, Declan’s coworker-of-sorts who is snark and vinegar. One night the two decide to have no-strings attached sex and when Dec convinces Oscar to take the job cleaning up Jack’s house for sale, it becomes convenient to continue having sex together.

One of my favorite parts of this series is 100% the chosen family. The different personalities and the different ways the support each other and show their care is wonderful. I need to read more from Kris Ripper just for how ze writes chosen family!

I found Oscar’s anxiety extremely relatable, especially the spirals he catches himself in. I love the ways he has check-ins with his friends, especially Ronnie, and they respect his needs when it comes to anxiety spirals and panic attacks. I also usually despise “breakups” in last third of a book, but this made a lot of sense in the miscommunication and anxiety sense, and I love how things were resolved in the end. The emphasis on communication and working with different conflict resolution methods was just, gah, I adored this book!

Meeting Oscar in The Love Study, I was very excited for his book (more grumpy, anxious stories!) and this didn’t disappoint! I had so much fun reading this and I especially love how grumpy and snarky Jack and Oscar are together. Their antagonism and the ways they work together was a delight.

A damn delight! I loved the sniping antagonism of attraction, as well as the frank treatment of anxiety. Also, the sex is really hot! <3

I'm conflicted as I attempt to write this review. Part of me doesn't even want to rate it but since it's a review copy I'll try to voice my thoughts. From the synopsis I went in expected two grouchy personalities and a hate to love situation. For the most part that's what I got from it, but I'm not sure if I fully enjoyed the experience. {{head scratch}}

Let's talk characters, I'll start with Oscar because the whole book is from his point of view which single POV is always a huge missed opportunity in my opinion. Oscar is on the heavy side, battling depression, very little comfort in his own skin and his life is completely control by his anxiety. He has a lot of rambly internal dialogue which at first I didn't mind at all because I could relate very much to most of his train of thought because of my own struggles with anxiety. All his mental struggles made him into the stand-offish and sort of rude person he behaved as, therefore I found it unfair to call him "a grouch". Around halfway through the rambling became exhausting which I think if it had been broken up by Jack's POV that may have not been an issue.

Now onto Jack, who I don't have much to say about because we never got into his head and spent so much time in Oscars struggles that he sort of just existed within the story to me. Jack could have been any closed off or prickly bastard and it wouldn't have made a difference to me. Now together Oscar and Jack were just constantly arguing even before during and after intimacy. In my opinion it wasn't in a "hate sex , wow that's hot" kind of way. Oscar lashed out because of his anxiety and fears while Jack slashed out because he was an a**hole .

By the end of the story I was just ready for it to be over. I gave up expecting any sort of cute moments between the two. Even the end when they "make up" it was filled with harsh language and bluntness. Sadly I don't think I'll be reading any more by this other.

I think we all have an Oscar we know and love in our lives. Oscar has some serious issues with anxiety and depression. But even in the face of those issues - he has developed a strong network of friends who support him in different ways - and aren't seeking to change him. The close chosen family of the motherf*ckers means everything to Oscar. Since we left the last book - the Love Study - they've added Declan's love Sydney and brought in Declan's former coworker Jack. Both Jack and Oscar are seriously grumpy most of the time. They argue and bicker about everything under the sun.

Jack is a little bit older than the rest of the crew and has been dealing with his grandfather's estate and clearing out his grandparents house. Jack's grandfather was a hoarder - and clearing out the house is a major task. For Jack it is filled with emotional baggage that goes right along with the enormous amount of stuff.

When Oscar gets laid off from his job and starts to spiral downward, Jack hire Oscar to clean out his grandparents house. They also start on a just physical relationship. Neither Jack or Oscar says they want more than that - but it is clear that they really connect on a much deeper level. Both of them are afraid to even hope for more.

I adored, as with the prior book, the frank and honest look at anxiety, medications, and the difficulties of navigating the waters of mental health treatment. I also adored the unwavering support of Oscar's friends and all the different ways they come together to support him (and Jack).

This book has a wonderfully diverse mix of characters and backgrounds. It is also more frankly sexual than the Love Study was - and that makes perfect sense in the context of these characters. Both of these books work hard to show you how diverse love and relationships can be. They aren't always sunshine and roses - sometimes they are rainclouds and umbrellas.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are my own. Now don't mind me, I'll just be over here in my own corner anxiously awaiting a story about Mason.