I was excited for this enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience story when I saw it on NetGalley.

Posy and Lucas couldn't be more different or from opposite backgrounds. Posy is rich, privileged and obnoxious. Lucas is from a working class family, and received a scholarship to the prestigious school that he and Posy attended. He's sensible, and driven, while she is a party girl. As head girl and boy, they clashed repeatedly.

Over a decade later, and nothing has really changed. Lucas is still measured, methodical and studious. And, at the age of 29, Posy is still living at home, sponging off her father with nothing to show for her life. But wait! She's a talented photographer, and just needs £2k to get to Hawaii for a life changing competition.
So, of course she asks Lucas to pretend to marry her (having only had a brief conversation with him at their school reunion). Yeah... She could ask any one of her rich friends for what would be a small loan to them, but no. She tells her nemesis that she's terrible with money and has been cut off by her father. Her hair-brained scheme is to take advantage of the ancient school bylaw that if the head boy and girl get married, it will be paid for by the school.

As marriage of convenience stories go, this might be the flimsiest excuse for a fake wedding that I've ever read. We're supposed to believe that Posy has literally no-one else to ask for help than the person she hated at school. Or that - even with the offer of clients if he agrees - that straight-laced Lucas would agree to something so unethical and criminal as fraud (remember, this isn't just a fake wedding. It's getting a school to pay for a fake wedding, and a fake honeymoon in Hawaii!)

Unfortunately, the characters were two dimensional and for the most part, obnoxious. Lucas is just about likable, but it's a low bar as he's ultimately taken in by Posy, who is a walking, talking rich girl caricature.

The romance is so superficial that it made me cringe. There's literally zero chemistry, and the switch from hate to love is enough to give the reader whiplash. It doesn't feel earned. There's no build up, no slow burn, no indication that Posy is even remotely attracted to Lucas for most of the book. I try to look for positives in the books I review, particularly from a debut author, but the plot throughout is so predictable it might as well be signposted (I'm looking at you, Henry, in particular). I found the pacing to be off as well. There's a lot of waffle that doesn't move the story along in any way. Not for me.

Overall Rating: ❤️
Heat Rating:
Emotional Rating: 😡🤦🏻‍♀️🤨🤷🏻‍♀️🙄

*Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to leave an honest review* I will upload the same review to Amazon UK on publication day.

Note to author (and editor): Relying on fat jokes in 2022 is lazy and unacceptable

Thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and Netgalley for sending me this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

What I liked:
-Character development: Posy and Lucas both came a long way throughout the book in terms of coming into themselves and growing both independently and together
-Side characters: I thought the close friends of both main characters were enjoyable
-Humor: There was definitely a hint of romcom here

What I didn’t like:
-The story was a bit more drawn out than it needed to be
-I would have liked to see more flirting and getting along between the two main characters before they got together. They really did NOT like each other much for a lot of the book and the banter didn’t carry it enough for me
-I wasn’t overly invested in these characters getting together as I didn’t think they had enough built up chemistry

The Reunion is the debut of Elizabeth Drummond which will be released by Harpercollins UK. This book is said to be a enemies-to-lovers romance for fans of The love hyphothesis, and since I am always in for a good enemies-to-lovers romance I was really curious about what this debut will bring. Will this author be one to keep an eye on? What will I think about this debut?

Two high school rivals. Ten years later. A vow not to fall in love.
What if your father cuts you off financially, just as you need the money to go on a trip to Hawaii that could make your carrier? This is what happens to Posy. During a high school reunion she comes across her biggest enemy, Lucas. But when it turns out she isn’t the only one having trouble, she comes up with a plan. The only thing she needs to do is fake a marriage with Lucas, and get the school to pay for their marriage and honeymoon because of an old school bylaw, so she can get the finance for her trip to Hawaii. But how do you ask your enemy to fake a marriage? What if the school finds out what her real intentions are?

What I found a bit dissapointing is that the book slogan suggests there is a vow made not to fall in love with each other. But it never really came through in the book itself. Posy and Lucas were enemies and were not really in speaking terms. In addition not much of their high school time is worked out, making that the vow didn’t really come to light. However, Elizabeth Drummond made it clear that they were enemies and they did not like each other at all during high school, which makes that this book still is has an enemies-to-lovers trope.

Elizabeth Drummond has a nice writing style, but the pace of the story isn’t really high. You will get to know both Lucas and Posy due to the multiple point of views, and in addition you will get to know what problems they have to deal with. Lucas has worked his way up since high school, but business isn’t going great at all. On the other hand you will get to know Posy, who has never done anything for her money at all, but when she suddenly must take care of herself she finds it hard to manage her own life. Therefore this book has some depth to it as well.

This book isn’t one that really blew me away, but I can see potential in this author for sure. The reunion is a good enemies-to-lovers romance that I would certainly recommend reading. All in all, I enjoyed this debut, but I just missed the little extra in the story itself. Therefore I give a 3,5 star rating.

I enjoyed the book, it was a quick read but feel like it doesn’t stand out compared to other books with similar tropes/themes that are currently out there and it was quite predictable.

Posy and Lucas were head girl and boy at a private school and really didn't get along, especially with their differences in backgrounds. Posy is the daughter of a rich family, Lucas a scholarship boy with parents who work at the school.
Years later they meet at the school reunion and hatch a plot together for their mutual benefits.
I really loved this book, with both Posy and Lucas' flawed characters delightfully written. They both have their reasons for how they behave, but underneath they are vulnerable, normal human beings. There was plenty of humour, some reading and a sex scene if that isn't to your liking, but added the the reality of the story to me. I ended up finishing the book (very) early in the morning as I was so engrossed in the story. I am really looking forward to reading more books from this new author.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book and I have already pre-ordered it as I enjoyed it so much.

My own 10 year high school reunion is the summer, so I knew I had to request this!

Unfortunately it completely missed the mark and I ended up DNF’ing at 20%. I just really didn’t enjoy reading about any of the characters, and I don’t force myself through books.

I was so happy to receive advanced access to this book but I have to honestly say that this didn't hit home for me. I love an enemies to lovers romance and I LOVE the fake dating trope, but I wasn't compelled by the underlying circumstances that drove Posey and Lucas into those classic scenarios. I think that the issues I had with the book really stemmed from the fact that I couldn't bring myself to love the main characters. With both Posey's and Lucas's point of view, I kept waiting for the moment when I'd realize that I actually really liked them, or the moment when they became relatable and it just didn't happen for me. With Posey in particular I just could not bring myself to walk in her shoes. Overall I felt this book had a lot of potential but just didn't hit the mark.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK & One More Chapter for allowing me access to this arc in exchange for an honest review! Please note that all opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

i love a good enemies to lovers book and Posy and Lucas fit that. I love how the two of them banter so much. There were some times where it felt unoriginal, which is opposite of the summary. This may just be because of how many romances I've read.

The Head boy and girl from a private school
Don't get on at all, they're nothing cool.
She's wealthy, entitled, enjoys partying and fun
He's a scholarship nerd, always finds work to be done.

A decade later, they're opposites in so many ways
He still pans and lives to work, whilst she always plays.
A fake romance could help save them both and so
They agree to give it a go.

Get ready for shenanigans, disasters and lies,
And possible romance as the fur flies.
Working to a budget is not her scene
Other than the money, about it all she is not keen.

A supposedly enemies to friends romance
I kind of regret giving this book a chance.
I never got to like her at any point in this book,
He's kind of better, perhaps worth a look.

We all have different tastes, this is very true
So this maybe a winner, a great read for you.
Whilst the writing itself is good and flows,
For me, disliking the main characters and plot makes this a no.
(Sorry!!)

For my copy of this book, I say thank you,
This is - obviously - my honest review!

Enemies to lovers is one of my most favorite genres to read.
Two high school archenemies and over a decade alter realize there might be a spark.
The dialogue was good and the plot was believable.
It’s a good read.

This would be a good beach read - familiar trope, nothing out of the ordinary!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The Reunion was a cute one day read for me. When I started reading, I had my concerns. The characters felt a little cookie cutter and the pacing was a bit slow. It is hard to explain. I felt everything had real potential but just wasn't quite reaching it. Fair warning, the plot is pretty straight forward and predictable. That being said, I did enjoy the book. It sits comfortably in what I would call cozy romance or inspiration romance.

While I had my reservations in the beginning, but in the end I really enjoyed the last third of the book. Readers are given a few heartfelt romantic and warm moments. There is character growth and some personal revelations. We see characters fighting for themselves and being treated properly. Overall it was just okay for me, but I do see Drummond's potential and will likely give future books a chance. I will definitely add it to our library collection as well. I have several patrons that love these quick fun reads with little to no spice.

Lucas and Posy were high school rivals, who now need each other. Will it be enemies to lovers once they embark on a fake relationship?
A great read.

I truly appreciate being given a review copy of this book. However, I have to be honest. This book was not for me. The characters weren’t like able. The storyline had promise but it wasn’t well executed.

Posy, who was Head Girl,. and Lucas, who was Head Boy have both experienced financial reverses- although hers is the most dramatic. She was the rich kid at school but now her father has cut her off. Lucas has built a business that's in trouble which is the only reason he agrees to Posy's plan that they get married because their school will pay for it. This scenario didn't make sense to me and I deeply disliked Posy. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I know I'm the odd one out but this is a pass from me.

This book was a mess for me. Posy is such a spoiled woman, and there's just not anything redeeming about her. I just didn't care what was happening because she was so unlikable. The plot wasn't fun, it just felt really complicated and unbelievable, and really, what was in it for Lucas? It didn't make sense.

Additionally there was some fat-shaming and some other pretty awful things that really turned me off. Not for me.

The Reunion follows Posy, a spoilt woman living off of her fathers income and Lucas, a serious businessman who’s life revolves around his work. The two have known each other since school and see each other again for the first time since high school at their reunion. After Posy’s dad cuts her off, she proposes to Lucas that they should fake a marriage and use the money that the school would give them for it so that she can go away to Hawaii. However, things don’t quite go according to plan…

There really was not much that I enjoyed about this. First of all the plot was unrealistic. It was clearly a stupid rule that if the head boy and head girl got married, the school would pay for it. I also just didn’t see what Lucas would get out of the deal. It was super over complicated for Posy too, I felt like there were definitely other options for Posy to get the money to go off on her work trip.

I also really didn’t like Posy as a person. I was waiting for her character development to begin and for her to become a better person, but the moment never came. She had few redeemable qualities and was overall incredibly selfish and self centred. I just didn’t want to read an entire book about a character that I thought was horrible. Lucas was also not much better. Although definitely more moral he was also pretty unbearable and insufferable to read about. It made it much harder to care about them as individuals let alone as a couple.

As a couple they just were not good together. I felt absolutely no warmth and passion in their relationship, it seemed like they genuinely just didn’t like each other. I really was not invested at all in them or the progression of their relationship.

There was also things that really irritated me about them. For example, Posy constantly saying “yah” just felt super unnecessary. It only added to the idea that she was vapid which the author tried to stray away from at the end. Lucas also perpetuated this idea by asking Posy things such as ‘how much did you understand’ which just felt incredibly patronising. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this book and I think that there are better fake dating romances out there with deeper connections and more representation!

I really wanted to like this… enemies to lovers, fake dating ect but I just disliked it from the start. Posy was just an insufferable character and made me cringe a lot. It just seemed like no one grew up from their younger days.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for my honest review

Thanks for gifting me a free arc copy. This book reminds me a bit of The Proposal with the enemies to lovers, fake marriage trope. Characters were pretty good with some cute and shocking moments. However I felt the romance was rushed with not much build up and a lot was quite predictable.

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinion. This is the first book I've read by Elizabeth Drummond and I hate to say anything negative about a book but I truly did not enjoy this book at all. I really, really struggled to finish it which was so disappointing as I kept trying to like it.