I stopped 20% of the way through. The characters are well developed. Thom is arrogant and unlikeable. Clay is airheaded and unlikeable. I have zero investment in the characters. If either one had likable traits, I’d probably enjoy what seems to be the start of an enemies to lovers plot. 3-4 stars for the target audience.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for the ARC.

There isn't a whole lot that I can say about this book that others haven't, so let's just start with a quick summary:

Thom and Clay work for Lennie Westwood, California governor and presidential hopeful. After a gaffe made by Lennie regarding her hair and gay people, a photo snapped of Thom laying into Clay goes viral, distracting from the bad press. Deciding to capitalize on this, Thom and Clay have to pretend to date for good press. But what happens when it starts to go beyond pretend?

A mediocre novel, that's what. The beginning of the book is a rough sell. Neither Thom nor Clay are put in a good light. In fact, they're downright annoying and unlikeable. About a quarter of the way through the book, I started to like Clay, but Thom... The best I can say is I tolerated him by the end.

The side characters weren't that much better. I enjoyed Fe and hated Lennie.

As for the plot, it was predictable. Fake dating turned real emotions, which I tend to enjoy! But what I enjoy is seeing the process, how things change. The changes to their relationship in this were abrupt and seemingly out of nowhere. And the B plots were... anticlimactic? Thom's B-plot had to do with an activist that he ultimately screws over, then thinks sending her a document to challenge a bill in court will fix the damage he's done. Clay's B-plot had to do with his former employer - a start up he... did... something? at?

I will say that the tension was done pretty well, and I appreciated that there wasn't a third act break up.

It's a fun read once if you can get through the beginning and ignore... a lot.

This was a really quick read and I loved every minute of it. So much entertainment and romance. I'll be reading more Bowery in the future!

Characters fell flat for me and the story felt thin. I will not review this publicly out of respect for the author.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the digital advanced copy of this book.

Thom and Clay both work for the same governor, who has hopes of running for president. To help the governor look more LGBT+ friendly, she makes the two of them fake date each other. So it’s fake dating as well as enemies to lovers, which are both tropes I enjoy. I really liked seeing Thom and Clay learn more about each other and become closer. I do wish we got more of the “real” relationship, but the end kind of wrapped up quick. I would definitely read a sequel with these two, though I doubt that will happen. Forewarning though – if you hate politics, or can’t stand reading about it, this might not be for you because it definitely makes you mad in a lot of ways!

A very cute story and endearing characters! the story is still pretty basic. the book is like all love stories

Political campaigner Thom is convinced that his employer, the governor of California, will be the next POTUS, and is only in the job for how far it will launch his own career. He vehemently dislikes his co-worker, data analyst Clay, who comes off as smug (Clay thinks Thom is pretentious). When the governor makes an off-handed remark about her lack style because she doesn’t have enough gays on staff, there’s an uproar. What do you do when you can’t spin it? subvert the narrative. Clay and Thom are caught in an intense argument during the fallout, and a reporter snaps and posts a photo that makes it look like there’s about to share a heated kiss. The governor offers a promotion and raise to both men if they agree to fake-date throughout the campaign–and things escalate from a few gads about town, and spending a LOT of time together, and eventually getting off together under the guise of being the only options for the time being. When the governor demands a proposal at the Santa Monica pier, they gamely go along; how far will they take it, and at what cost.

At the beginning of the novel neither are out; in fact, Thom breaks up with his girlfriend in chapter one, choosing work over her; Clay’s preferences were very subtle and not disclosed until at least midway through the novel. When Thom realizes that he is in fact attracted to Clay, the subject is dispatched in about a paragraph that he’s open to whatever and it’s NBD, really. Thom is distanced from his family, and it’s never resolved, and pretty sad. Homophobia and bullying are barely addressed. A side plot with Clay’s first tech start up and some challenges with his current project are not fully resolved, except he settles when charged with a lawsuit. The narrative exposes problems with fame, politics and clickbait, but doesn’t take a strong stance in analyzing.

This book is terrific for wonks! I had to look up a few things, including stump speech, body man and pork. While in most cases I discerned from contact, I found Political Dictionary really helpful. The writing is sharp, funny, and set firmly in present day, and there are some really lovely moments of introspection, witty banter, and steamy sex…but the lack of character development and Thom almost always being terrible made this a 3-star instead of a 4-star book for me. It was a fun read and very entertaining.

Love, Hate & Clickbait might be a read-alike for Red, White and Royal Blue or Not The Plan, for those who like their romance with a side of politics.

I received a free copy of #LoveHate&Clickbait from #NetGalley.

A little bit heavier on the politics than I was expecting, but I enjoyed it all the same! It's like a slightly more political "Red White and Royal Blue." I'll admit I was unsure about this book going in because of how similar it sounded to RW&RB, but it was a fun summer read.

Came for the title, stayed for the enemies to lovers. We are introduced to Thom first and he is immediately despicable. When we meet Clay, through Thom’s eyes, there is a clear dislike, but the Clay we meet in the first chapter does not feel like the Clay in the rest of the book, and that inconsistency was hard for me to shake. Clay is an ousted tech guru, but his story feels…odd. He wants credit for contributing to a program he was a part of, but when asked the details, it sounds like he was less of the creator of the idea and more just the guy writing the code, so it was hard to get behind his lawsuit.

Thom’s backstory is flawless. Evil and manipulative, he’ll do whatever he has to do to get to the top of his chosen field, including pretend to be in a relationship with a guy he hates to smooth over a gaff for the political candidate he works for. Once these details are set up, the story works for me, but the beginning was a bit rough.

Thom makes it clear that this is just a job, and his sexuality is undefined. Clay being gay is dropped in at some point, but it felt like a bit of a surprise that he went along with it because he’s not a ruthless politico.

It wouldn’t be a true enemies to lovers story if someone didn’t catch feelings, and there’s the big dramatic finale where someone proves they genuinely love the other by doing something unexpected. The big dramatic moment, for me, was a bit insane (as far as dramatic political fabrications go), but I went along for the ride, and it was resolved in a much less crazy way.

I would recommend this to friends, because watching Thom transform was fun, but I would include some warning caveats.

I didn't know what to expect when I picked up this book. I just remember reading the synopsis and seeing the cover and thinking that might be fun. And indeed it was! The main characters were unlikeable at times, but ultimately I began to root for their love story. Though it fell short for me a couple of times, I'd still say that I enjoyed it.

Whilst browsing Netgalley, I realized I hardly requested LGBTQIA romance. I questioned myself whether this was deliberate and why? Since I really didn’t have an answer, I decided to request one. And since the cover of Love, Hate and Clickbait drew my eye, that would be the one.

The blurb was interesting and the storyline as well. The characters however: not so much. Although Liz tells us on Goodreads that she writes love stories about terrible people, I hadn’t realized they would be that terrible.

Thom is like a vulture: prying on people’s weaknesses to gain politically. Ugh… I hated him from page 1. When he is asked to fake a relationship with Clay, the guy he loathes at the office, it was just too unbelievable for those two to actually like (let alone love) each other. So, I had a hard time getting through the book.

So maybe if Liz ends up with creating a little less terrible people, the ratings will probably go up. Because the concept of the story is pretty nice. For now: three out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

Fake dating trope? Say no more, I am in! Except that I really didnt like the characters and so that brought the rating way down for me...

THE. GRUMPY. ONE. IS. SOFT. FOR., THE. SUNSHINE. ONE! #sorrynotsorry for the allcaps and periods for emphasis but that trope! That trope is the only one that gets me absolutely every. damn. time. No matter how much I want to hate a character if they get soft for a sunshine cinnamon role that's the way to win me over on them, it never fails. And whoo buddy, did I want to hate Thom at the start of this book because he was an asshole. From moment one he's set up as though he's going to be a completely irredeemable asshole and for a good chunk of the book he is. But he's definitely overshadowed by his boss - wow, she is a piece of work and it scares me that she's not far off at all from real politicians,. Clay isn't an asshole, Clay is a sweet, doofy, cinnamon role who deserves to be protected at all costs and I am very glad Thom doesn't; actually take that long to come around to that opinion - even if it does take him a good 90% of the book to actually acknowledge that to himself.

This book was not perfect, it was funny as heck in places and tragic as hell in others. The tragic parts come mostly from political criticism. Thom works in politics and Bowery doesn't sugarcoat how shitty the things he does, willingly for 95% of the book, actually are, and how realistically harmful politicians and their machinations can be. But she points out all of these issues and flaws through the veneer of a really sweet male/male enemies-to-lovers/fake-dating/office romance. Thom really is an asshole but watching him a) realise he's bisexual so casually, and b) watching him actually develop human emotions and a soul is beautiful. At one point early in the book Fe says that if anyone is going to get hurt they all know that it's going to be Clay, and at that point, you as the reader agree, but you also know romance tropes so you know it's going to turn around and Thom is going to be the one who ends up on his ass in this situation. Watching it happen, and getting to the happily ever after is what makes this. Thom has so much character growth and the only downside is that this book isn't longer and so it's all very rushed character growth, especially at the end where the shit is hitting the fan. I wanted the switching of POVs to be done more cleanly and consistently, and I wanted things in the last 30% of the book to be much less rushed there was a lot of telling instead of showing at the end, so hopefully, that got fixed between the ARC and the final published version.

Overall though I liked this book, but I was always destined to, because the grumpy one was soft for the sunshine one!

LOVE, HATE & CLICKBAIT is a romance novel that follows an often used storyline.
Two people meet and instantly dislike each other. Circumstances force them to work closely together and as they get to know each other their opinions start to change. In LOVE, HATE & CLICKBAIT Thom Morgan is a political consultant who works for the Governor of California Lenora Westwood. Lennie as her staff calls her is planning on announcing her bid to become a Presidential candidate. Clay Parker has been brought on board as a data analyst.
Always dressed to perfection Thom finds Clay’s clothes and laid back manner abhorrent. Clay thinks Thom is uptight and a soulless workaholic.
Lennie commits a verbal faux pas that has the LGTBQ+ community up in arms. As damage control and to divert attention away from the Governor, Felicia Morales the Chief of Staff takes advantage of a photograph of Thom and Clay that has gone viral.
The photo shows the two men in what looks like an embrace but was actually a heated confrontation. Thom and Clay agree to pose as a couple as a way to take the focus off Lennie’s comment. The plan works so well Thom and Clay are expected to continue with the pretend relationship as Lennie prepares to announce her candidacy.
As expected Thom and Clay start to spend more together and start to develop feelings for each other.
While LOVE, HATE & CLICKBAIT follows a traditional storyline the fact the two love interests are male brought an interesting perspective to the storyline. The ending did not disappoint. I liked the story and the writing.
Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced digital edition of this book.

I really wish this came out a year or two earlier, I would have enjoyed it much more if the market wasn't filled with better books right now.

This book was cute. I love a good fake dating, but there were some faults in this. I think some of the characters aren’t fleshed out enough and this seemingly str8 man, really doesn’t seem so straight. He loosens up to liking a guy faster than I believe it would happen in real life

I still gave it a 4/5

I enjoy enemies to lovers when it is done like this: people clash instead of click but they aren't cruel to each other before falling in love. I also love fake dating and this situation makes perfect sense (dating staffers to add a positive spin to a political campaign). This book had some interesting angles: to start, both main characters are hard to like for various reasons, mostly Thom, but they manage to stay just sympathetic enough that you root for them even when they're acting like jerks (again, mostly Thom), and it is delightful to watch them go from fake to real boyfriends. Even though a real conversation or two between Thom and Clay would absolutely have helped, I wasn't mad about the lack of communication; it felt completely in line with their characters and they both opened up when it made sense. This was a very fun read!

Thanks to Netgalley for the e-ARC!

This book offers its readers an enjoyable gay themed enemies to romance read. I especially liked the background of politics in the story.

Here we have two people whose work involves the governor of California. She, Leonora, wants to run for president and Thom is on the campaign. Data analyst Clay and he are forced to interact for the good of her run.

We all know that the media impacts election campaigns and that happens here. A photo of Thom and Clay goes viral and the action speeds up. Lennie has asked the two to “fake date” and things escalate.

Readers will be hoping for that happy ending. Will they get it? Read the book to find out. Publishers Weekly describes this one as a “breezy romcom.”

Many thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing and Mira Books for this title. All opinions are my own.

I think this book was a case of the wrong time for this book. I chalk it up to being in a paranormal binge, but I hard a hard time getting into this story.