I'm always down to read an enemies to lovers romance - especially when there's a misunderstand as to why they're even enemies in the first place! And that's exactly what happens to Shaina and Mark. They've been rivals since forever but neither of them know what started the feud. Shaina thinks that Mark is rude and thinks he's better than her because she's deaf (he won't speak loud enough for her to hear him), and Mark thinks she's stuck-up and snobby for not responding to him (he doesn't know she's deaf). Obviously there's some miscommunication and this goes on FOR YEARS. They are in their 30s for this book, so must not be that observant (plus how did neither family go so long without saying something).

Everything starts to change when they are forced together to participate in their siblings wedding plans and fight to win an overseas trip. Friendly competition turns into something more when things get heated - inside and out of the innocent wedding games.

Overall I thought this book was really cute. Had tons of steam and spice and was well written. The reason it's 4 stars and not 5 is that the book seemed to drag in places and the Moms really got on my nerves. Their pushing and nagging got to be a lot.

Thank you to Netgalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC for the advanced review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Un-arranged Marriage was a swoon worthy enemies to lovers/romantic comedy that had me hooked until the end. I loved that the story gave us diverse main characters. Mark was demi-sexual, he has a hard time connecting romantically unless he was emotionally connected first and Shania was hearing impaired and wears hearing aids. Both characters hated each other from childhood and it was interesting to see the progression of their relationship after they sorted out the miscommunication that led to them disliking each other. They had great banter and the growing chemistry and tension between them was believable, however I will admit it was a bit unbelievable how these two individuals who were raised together could let this misunderstanding go in for so long. Additionally as a Life Coach I couldn't understand how Shania didn't work on her emotional baggage until now.
The story gave us great family dynamics, likable side characters and some fun competition along the way. Told from dual POV, it was evenly paced and an engaging read. I would recommend it to romance lovers.

cw: ableism

Shaina, hard of hearing since birth, has long since harboured hate towards the son of her mum's best friend. Mark, the aforementioned son, feels the same. When their meddling mother's force them to drive together to a family wedding, both discover just how little they actually know about one another. Confronted by the realisation that their entire hatred has been based on a simple misunderstanding, they find themselves reassessing their feelings for one another.

Firstly, let's get the massive elephant in the room out of the way. My biggest issue was the whole 'he'd known her from birth, regularly attended social events where Shaina was also in attendance' yet somehow had NO idea she had any form of hearing loss. Like, literally NO-ONE had ever mentioned it? I have to be honest, I struggled with that a bit at first. However, as the book progresses, we learn more about both families as a whole, and in doing so, we get a little more explanation of how that was possible, even if I do feel it still pushes plausibility quite a bit.

Once I (and both characters) got past that particular elephant, it was impossible not to fall in love with both Mark and Shaina. Seriously. The chemistry? Incendiary. The banter? Loved it! The nerdiness? Perfection. I particularly loved the amount of diversity entwined throughout the book. Nothing felt shoehorned in. Instead it just felt like an authentic peek into a slice of society.

While I cannot profess to truly understand the challenges Shaina has faced her entire life, Laura Brown manages to expertly voice her tangible frustration with often being treated and/or spoken to like a child, simply because of her hearing loss (I've added a content warning for that particular ableism).

Mark is demisexual, and his attraction to Shaina catches him completely off guard. He knows only one thing. These feelings he's developing are so uncommon for him that he would be a fool not to act on them. I found his internal thoughts as he struggled with his attraction and the fear of being hurt very moving.

The supporting characters also felt authentic, and I particularly liked Norah and Lana. I could see the inevitable conflict coming, but I was thankful that it wasn't too drawn out, even though I found the meddling mothers annoying. To sum up, there's lots to love about this enemies-to-lovers rom-com.

Overall Rating: ❤❤❤❤
Heat Rating: 🔥🔥🔥
Emotional Rating: 🤔😂🥰💔💕

*Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to leave an honest review*

I will post this review on Amazon UK on publication day

4/5 stars!
This book was so cute and quite diverse. I have never read a book with jewish, hard of hearing, or demisexual representation and this book has all 3! I got this book as an ARC and I am so glad I did. It was such a fun romance with a TRUE misunderstanding trope. I would absolutely recommend this book to any romance reader no questions asked. I loved the childhood enemies to friends to lovers, meddling mothers, and the representation this book had.

This book was so adorable from the very beginning. I did not expect to connect with Mark and Shaina, but their constant competition with each other and their rivalry, I couldn’t help but fall in love with them. This RomCom has things that I don’t normally see in books. Mark has come out as Demisexual and Shaina has had hearing impairment since they were kids and uses hearing aids. Due to miscommunication, they were enemies for 30 years! I loved how a competition got them together. On the competitiveness issues, I related a lot to Shaina. However, the last couple of chapters have a miscommunication trope, which I am not a big fan of.

Mark and Shaina cannot stand each other. Ever since they were in their diapers their paents have wanted to for them to end up together. So, naturally they hate each other. However, when the two have to embark on a trip to a family members wedding together, it is finally time to bury the hatchet.
I actually really enjoyed this book. I though that the miscommunication at the beginning was a bit far-fetched as they spend A LOT of time together in the past. It is not plausible that mark didn't know Shaina had a hearing disability. Also, I felt like Shaina was a bit too angry in certain aspects, it felt like she blamed evetything on Mark. But other than that, I liked the story and will definitely look into the author in the future.

3.5-4 stars!! Thank you to Netgalley and Entangled Publishing for gifting me an ARC of this book. This did not affect my thoughts or opinions.

Rep: demisexual main character, main character with a hearing disability
Age Rating: 18+

Summary:
Shaina and Mark have never gotten along. Not since they were kids, when their moms immediately decided they wanted the two of them to grow up and get married. Both of them hated the idea and steered clear of each other ever since. But when they're forced to pair up for a week-long competition, a part of Mark's sister's wedding events, that all changes. Neither of them are happy about it, but as they work together, a spark begins to light between them and chemistry ignites.

Review:
Ahh this was amazing! The Un-Arranged Marriage was a very entertaining book, I enjoyed every minute of it and I had such a fun time reading. The chemistry between our two characters was especially great and I loved the romance so much! Plus, the family dynamics, wedding events, and the competition added even more excitement to the book and I loved it all!

Writing:
I enjoyed both Shaina and Mark's perspectives, which I think were written really well! Their two voices were very distinct and, while sometimes double POVs feel a bit confusing and muddy to me, the author did a great job of balancing it out. The plot moved at the perfect pace, it never felt too slow or too rushed either. Overall, it was amazing!

Characters:
First off, Shaina! She's a wonderfully strong-willed character, and competitive too, always fighting to get out of her perfect older brother's shadow. While I can't vouch for the representation, I did enjoy seeing her experiences as a person who's hard of hearing and how that affects her daily life. She talks a lot about what it's like to not have her needs accommodated, the lack of understanding from other people, and how frustrating it is to be babied around. This is a topic that should definitely be included in books more and it's great that the author touched on it!

Mark, our socially awkward introvert <3 Mark's always been reserved and soft-spoken, which is a problem when Shaina can't understand people unless they speak pretty loud. As a kid, he never realized that she couldn't hear him (hearing aids means they can hear perfectly, right? uhh, no) and she assumed he was doing it on purpose. Once this miscommunication was solved, he was so sweet about everything. He started speaking louder, helped her clean her hearing aids when she was drunk and tired, and always made sure to fix his volume if she couldn't hear him. I think he's a great guy and is wonderful for Shaina. Men written by women are always fantastic >>>

Romance:
Speaking of their romance, it was so swoonworthy, you don't even understand. I was laughing from excitement multiple times throughout this book because they were just so cute together. Seeing them interact and compete in all the games was adorable too. Plus, we love to see the demisexuality representation <3 However, while this book is marketed as an "enemies to lovers", it was definitely more of a "miscommunication" situation. I would say it's more "unlikely friends to lovers", than enemies or rivals, but regardless, it was still really cute.

Mark and Shaina detest each other, having known each other since they were in diapers. Yet their dislike for each other has been due to a misunderstanding where Mark has thought that Shaina never listened to him, whilst she thought that he knew of her hearing difficulties. So when a weeklong wedding event matches them together in a series of competitions, they are forced to get along. But soon their past animosities are overtaken by their attraction to each other.
This was an interesting romance, highlighting two quite diverse characters. Shaina has built up a barrier to compensate for her hearing impairment whilst Mark struggles to connect with others romantically, unless he is emotionally connected to them, being a demisexual. The romance is quite intense yet is appropriate in its ability to explore the complexities of both characters.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Fun premise, but it failed to deliver a believable story-line.

Meddling mothers creating two life-long nemesis rather than childhood sweethearts sounds like a fun rom-com romp. But the reason these two have never gotten along is because he didn't know the severity of her hearing loss and she never bothered to tell him she couldn't hear him─for over 30 years!? I just can't conceive how that is even possible. That's a pretty big thing for Mark, who grows up to be a research scientist to miss . . . And Shaina just comes off as someone so self-adsorbed and rude.

I will SHOUT it out for Shaina and the rest of the family, because Mark being and introvert and soft-spoken is not something to be fixed. Being and introvert is not a FLAW! They are constantly ridiculing him for being soft-spoken and it made me irate.

Premise full of potential but with too many road blocks that made it unbelievable and enjoyable.


I received and ARC in exchange for an honest review from Entangled Publishing/NetGalley

Four fun fantastic stars for The Un-Arranged Marriage!! I love this trope so much and getting to read about it in a contemporary setting was such a joy. Thank you again for the chance to read an advanced copy!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This was a cute enemy lover book, although I think it’s was more actually misunderstanding between two people than enemy’s. I didn’t except to like it as much as I did but it was wholesome and sweet. I loved the fact it that it had a demisexual and a person with hearing impairments, I love books with diverse main characters. It your look for a cute sweet romance read, this is your book.

Thankyou so much Netgalley and Entangled Publishing for providing me an e-ARC of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a fabulous read for me. Don't let the four stars fool you. The setup was really cute. It felt to me like a rom-com plot. The main characters were amazing. I will first start with Mark.

I've never read a book having a demisexual character even this term was new for me😅. But I know now what exactly demisexual means. As an introvert I really loved his character.

And about Shaina, she seemed to me such an amazing woman. A woman with impaired hearing. But it's not like that she is dependent on any one due to her disability but still she was a very strong and energetic woman.

The writer did an amazing job by representating these two aspects in a very beautiful manner. I think they are not enemies but there is a minor form of conflict between them because they misread each other's nature. But I liked how Mark realized his mistake in the early chapters of the story. Plus I also I liked how there feelings grow for each other as the story progressed. Thus the efforts of their mothers bore fruit in the end.
The other supporting characters were also amazing especially Mark's sister. Overall the whole novel has a very nice and cute setup. The plot was engaging and our main characters had a dynamic relation. This was a quick read for me and I really enjoyed

If you're in such of rom-com plot, you should check this out.

The Un-arranged marriage was so cute! I enjoyed this Own-voices book, the enemies to lovers trope, to the competition, sibling love (and hate), to the diversity in the book. However, I did have a hard time believing that Mark not ONCE realized that Shaina was hard-of-hearing in the 32 years of knowing each other from all the family gatherings.. Was he really in his own mind that much to just not notice? Once I got past that, it wasn't bad.

This book had me hooked from the first page. The characters just suck you in and you will feel everything they do. I can’t tell you how excited I was that the main character had hearing problems. No one really understands the struggle with hearing loss and having hearing aids until you have lived it.

Shaina is a very strong and competitive person who has hated her best friends brother since the day they were born. Shaina never got along with Mark for their entire childhood. Meanwhile you have both of their mothers, since they were born, determined that Shaina and Mark should get married. Mark and Shaina are so tired of the interfering mothers and nothing is different during Mark’s sister’s wedding. Shaina is stuck driving Mark for 3 hours to the location due to his car not starting, which was tampered with by his mom, to get them to ride together The tension in the car could be cut with a knife but Mark finally figures out why Shaina never talks to him. She gets so frustrated with Mark always whispering and she can never hear what he is saying. When she finally tells him so he is dumbfounded. He had no idea that all of the 32 years he has known Shaina she couldn’t hear him. He is now speaking at a volume she can hear and they are starting to develop a friendship that leads to more. Will they be able to make it troughs the hard times and make it out together? I was given an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5

Mark and Shaina had their work cut out for them. Their mothers have been planning their wedding since they were born, ten days apart. They have been enemies since childhood, despite their families spending most major holidays and family event together. When Mark has to get a ride to his little sisters wedding with Shaina, he discovers it wasn't that he and Shaina were destined to be enemies from the start -- she's hard of hearing, has been since they were kids and she's never been able to understand him since he's so soft spoken. Most of their resentment, on both sides, comes from miscommunication. When they're thrown together for a competition during the wedding week, they begin to realize just how much they've been missing out on.

I loved this book even more than I thought I would after the blurb. Very opposites-attract, slow burn, MMC falls first, full of pining! Loved the representation in this book and how it really drove home the need to be heard and understood by those around you, the people you love. Shaina and Mark are both Jewish, there's some great demi representation with Mark and Shaina was born with hearing loss. With demisexuality, there can be a lot of misunderstanding what that actually means and how people who identify that way view romantic relationships. The author does an incredible job through Shaina of talking about the difficulties that come with being hard of hearing, which are things she's also experienced. A lot of the issues Shaina experiences come from people who either don't know better and choose not to learn or are trying to be helpful but just make her feel like a child.

I wouldn't necessarily say this is enemies to lovers, in the time we know them, they aren't enemies for very long. Their story is entertaining and the spicy scenes are well written. There is a constant theme of consent and honestly, it makes everything hotter. I loved getting into this story and can't wait to read more by this author!

This book was... OK. I started reading it with a lot of expectations and it's always sad when a book doesn't live up to them. Overall it was an okay read, I did enjoy it a little. But generally, it took a lot of effort to feel connected to the characters and the story, and I really struggled to get to the end.

I wish I'd like it more, because I love the enemies to lovers trope, but unfortunately it felt really flat this time.

The publisher kindly provided ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I couldn't put it down! The characters are so good by the end they felt like old friends. Full of humor, sexy romance, and at times quite poignant this story kept me engaged. I became so invested in Mark and Shaina. The character development is fantastic. And the chemistry was off the charts. This author was new to me but I will definitely be adding her to my must read list!

This was a great romance! Reading about Shaina and Mark disliking each other, to falling in love was nice. I really liked that Shaina had hearing loss, because more disability rep is always welcome in books, in my opinion! Overall, I would definitely recommend this book!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

This book made me whole! It got me out of a reading slump! I honestly connected so much with these characters! Shania and Mark made me feel a whirlwind of emotions! Their parents made me laugh so much, and it reminds me of my mom and her best friend trying to do the same thing that their parents did! I loved this and it’s a fast read for me! It’s a third person book, so if you aren’t a fan of that, i’m here to warn you.

Whilst I wouldn't exactly classify this as Enemies to Lovers, they are more rivals to lovers. Lots of miscommunication and pressure heaped on them by their mothers has only exacerbated the rivalry between them - neither one wanting to surrender to their respective mothers LOL.

Mark is socially awkward and shy and loves his cat more than most people. Shaina being hearing impaired feels excluded from society but this just frustrates her and makes her want to take on the world - as long as her fish comes too!

Being disabled myself I know how it feels to be sidelined - everyone wither treats you as a child or as being fragile and it drives me up the wall so I can only imagine how much more frustrating that would be when your disability is less visible. We don't need special treatment, just our needs to be accommodated as much as they can to enable us to do what others can.

Fab read. There are not a lot of spicy scenes but enough to keep you satisfied. The laughs are plentiful and well placed. Would definitely read another book from this author.