It’s been twelve years since June saw her arch nemesis Ryan.
Twelve years of “hating” him and picturing him as an ugly and greasy loser.
Why she would picture the hottest guy in school as suddenly ugly and greasy is still a mystery.
But now they’re in the same room and *surprise* he’s hot.
This is an “enemies” to lovers. As in they “hated” each other. But have secretly pined for one another since high school.

So while this is not a true enemies to lovers this book was adorable in that June thinks she’s doing a good job of pretending she doesn’t want Ryan.
The banter back and forth put a smile on my face more than once and I enjoyed the back and forth POV chapters.

It’s pretty cheese and predictable. The same old -
Girl - immature, dramatic and a little annoying.
Boy- Uber manly, gorgeous and too cool for school.

But in the end it was a fast and enjoyable read.

Audio note: The audio is well done! It's dual narration with alternating scenes and no issues with the quality. The upbeat vibe lends itself well to audio, and the runtime is perfect for bingeing in one day. There's zero steam, so this is a nice choice for the office too. I liked Lee Samuels' voice quite a bit, and he has a great performance. I've never listened to anything from Connie Shabshab before, and I wouldn't be too enthusiastic about listening to her again, though it could just be the character. June's personality is GRATING, and hearing her obnoxious demeanor in audio was... not fun. I can't really blame Shabshab for that, but I have to imagine that the character might've been more palatable in text format. I don't know. Overall, I'm neutral on the audio - it's well done and certainly worth it for audiophiles, but there's no easy way to listen to June. I received an early copy and am voluntarily leaving a review of this rom com.

I liked the general foundation of this cute rom com, but I HATED the heroine. With a passion. It's as though this 30-something woman is back in high school as soon as her teenage nemesis reappears; she's annoying, untrusting, and childish. And it goes on for MUCH longer than anticipated. So, while I loved the rom com vibes, the sweetness of the hero, and the overall tone, I could never truly settle in for a satisfying read. There are some great comedic moments, plenty of fun, and a fresh, easygoing vibe (with no steam) that works for the story. I liked the playful, low angst feel and enjoyed the hero. However, there are also some problematic situations, a cringeworthy backstory, and one troublesome heroine... so lots of mixed feelings overall. It's still a decent read for rom com lovers - and a promising introduction to this new-to-me author's work - but there were a lot of things that bugged me.

The story follows June and Ryan, two people who loved to pick on each other in high school. Back in the day, their feuding occasionally felt like flirting, but neither one was willing to say that aloud. June finally let down her guard around graduation, and was left feeling embarrassed when Ryan rejected her. They haven't seen each other in years, but Ryan is back in town temporarily and he'd love to call a truce... and maybe do some real flirting. But June is more determined than ever to keep Ryan away, especially since her heart has taken some beatings since he left. As these two feuding frenemies try to figure out their present day dynamic, they discover that there might just be a reason why sparks always seem to fly between them.

For a book called The Enemy, this actually isn't an enemies to lovers romance. Both June and Ryan have been secretly crushing on each other for years, and a simple conversation probably could've cleared that up. Which... isn't my favorite dynamic. They've supposedly been harboring feelings for TWELVE years without doing anything about it, which just leads me to a lot of questions I don't want to think about. Don't get me started, lol. Regardless, I could've gotten over that if June had been tolerable. I liked Ryan a lot, and it's easy to see that he's trying. Their history definitely adds a richness to the story, and I liked that they had such strong reactions to each other. There's also a fun foodie element to the story and lighthearted, PG vibes, which was cute and refreshing. I really enjoyed Adams' writing style overall, so I'll certainly be checking out more of her work. This particular storyline might've been a miss for me, but the writing itself was not.

All’s fair in love and war. Arch nemeses June and Ryan battled throughout high school but haven’t seen each other since then. Twelve years later, the wedding of their best friends brings them back together. Ryan is ready to end their war, while June is ready for yet another battle. Can Ryan convince June that it is time to bury the hatchet?

I loved the characters in The Enemy. June is full of personality, unique, quirky, and a little over the top. She is the embodiment of Katie Perry’s Hot Then Cold song. Ryan belongs on everyone’s top book boyfriend list with his sweetness and steadfast belief in their future. Their banter and pranks made me laugh and smile throughout the book.

I can’t forget the secondary characters. There are several that add to the story and give it more depth. This Georgia peach’s favorite is Bonnie, June’s amazing Southern firecracker mama.

The Enemy is narrated by Lee Samuels and Connie Shabshab, whose voices bring this entertaining story to life. Samuels delivers Ryan's patience, tenderness, and understanding expertly. June is portrayed by Shabahab in all her crazy glory (I say this with love). Shabahab nails June's bold, defiant personality and secret self-doubt.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an early listening copy of The Enemy. This voluntary review reflects my honest, unbiased opinion.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media for the ALC.
Adams has made it to my favorites list for romance authors. Her characters are full of wit and humor. She knows how to write an engrossing scene and characters that don't take themselves too seriously. I love the small quirks she gives here characters to make them memorable - like Nick Lachey collection. Ryan and June were so fun to get to know. I enjoyed reading about them growing as individuals and as a potential couple through this book. The book is overall a slowish burn, enemies to lovers - my favorite. Adams also writes closed door romance.
The narration was perfection. I love an audiobook with a male and female narrator. I feel like it adds depth to the characters.

TITLE: The Enemy
RATING: 4/5 📖📖📖📖

Audiobook Opinion: If you loved “The Cheat Sheet” you’ll love this story too. I’ve listened to both The Cheat Sheet and The Enemy as audiobooks. So I have to admit that I didn’t love the females voice sped up for The Enemy, almost electronic. The male voice remained great when sped up to my current speed and regardless of the sound the story was easy to follow.

On to the story: I loved this storyline and found it easy to follow along. It covered a lot of ground with pre-wedding (of BFF) to weeks after the wedding. It was an old enemies to lovers storyline but they were only enemies because that’s how some people flirt in high school. Flash forward to them being adults and the “hatred” is more of a game of prank wars with kissing. Enjoyed and hope everyone grabs this audiobook on May 10, 2022 when it is released.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this advanced copy in exchanges for an honest review.


Read this if you like:
-The Cheat Sheet 🏈🩰
-Enemies to Lovers 💀💕
-Food 🍩⭐️⭐️⭐️

Happy audio pubday to this one. I am a huge fan of Sarah Adams and love everything I have read so far. With that said, this one is not my favourite of hers but it was still so entertaining! I was a big fan of Ryan but had a hard time connecting with June, maybe because she was always running away and so immature. Overall, this one was entertaining but I wasn’t fully infatuated like I have been with all of this author’s other books. I haven’t read the first book in this series yet but I will soon!

I adored this book! The banter between June and Ryan had me laughing throughout the whole thing. I found myself wanting to listen to this book so much so that’s how I know I really enjoyed it. Such a good light hearted romcom 🥰

Hate to love is one of my favorite tropes and this one did not disappoint. As soon as I started it I couldn't put it down. The characters are fun, the banter is hilarious and I enjoyed every minute listening to the audiobook. This is dual POV so there were two narrators and both did a wonderful job at bringing these great characters to life. I have not read the first in this series, and I don't feel like I needed to to understand what was happening.

This review has been posted to Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4711732838

I have also mentioned the book on TikTok and will be posting the review on Amazon when it releases.

The Enemy by Sarah Adams 🎧

I loved this book! June and Ryan spent all of high school hating each other. Finally they have to reconnect after a decade because their best friends are getting married. June has opened a successful bakers and Ryan has become a world renowned chef. But as they get to know each other again they realize maybe they never hated each other after all.

This was so fun and entertaining. I flew through the audiobook over two days, it had me laughing out loud! I loved both the characters, they were so charming and so easy to root for. This is my second book by Sarah Adams and I will definitely be looking for more of her books.

I love how audiobooks make my day more enjoyable when I have a lot of driving around or household chores to get done. Especially fun romcoms like this. If you haven’t tried audiobooks yet, a romcom is a great place to start. They are easy to pay attention to while doing other things and always bring a smile to my face, even when I’m doing laundry.

This audiobook is out on Tuesday, but the book was published in 2020. Thanks to @dreamscape_media and @netgalley for my copy!

#audiobooks #theenemy #sarahadams #netgalley #listentobooks #books #mybooks #romcom #readromcoms #bookish #audiobookrecommendation #audiobookreview #canadianbookstagrammer #bookstagram #bookthoughts #audiobookstagram

Thanks to @netgalley and @dreamscapemedia_ for an ALC of THE ENEMY by @authorsarahadams , the audiobook comes out next Tuesday, May 10!

My rating: 📚📚📚📚.5

This is the second book in Sarah’s It Happened In Charleston duology, but you can read it as a stand alone!

Yet another Sarah Adams rom com I adored and devoured! This one was so much fun on audio! I love it when there is a narrator for the both the female and male lead!

Enemies to lovers is my favourite trope, so needless to say, I loved this one! Ryan Henderson is dreamyyyy 😍 I mean, who doesn’t love a man who can cook and look good doing it?! Ryan is also kind, caring, and will do anything for June. Did he really hate her in high school? Or was he secretly in love with her and was waiting for the right time to make his move?

June is just the perfect main character, she is tiny, but mighty! Even though she has her own insecurities, she rarely lets that show on the outside. She loves her best friend, and is scared of what’s to come in her immediate future for both her personal life and her bakery business.

June and Ryan make the perfect couple, and I loved their easy banter, how comfortable they are with each other, and how they find a way to be happy.

Again, thus a clean/closed door romance, but is still filled with lots of tension! I loved it!

June has always secretly wanted Ryan and the same for Ryan. When they come together for a friends weddings, secrets start to come out. This romcom was cute and so so funny. The characters were lovable and relatable. I plan to check out all of Sarah Adams backlist.

This was my first book from Sarah Adams, even though I have collected quite a number of her books through great sales from Chirp. When I had an opportunity to get her latest audio ALC from NetGalley, I jumped at the chance and grabbed it - and will be going to the back catalogue books very quickly because it was a great, quick, fun and flirty read, with some excellent witty banter.

June and Ryan were enemies in high school. They were forced together the entire way through, because their best friends were dating the entire way through. They did everything they could to get under each others skin the whole 4 years - but you know what they say about kids that pick on each other? Turns out, 12 years later, Ryan admits that he did it because he'd always had a crush on June and tried to get her attention by pulling pranks and doing other cruel things. June hated him by the end of school, even though she thought she had an unrequited crush on him - especially when after graduation, he seemed like he was about to kiss her, but instead walked away, and not a single word for 12 years, until he came back for their best friends wedding. Now that they are adults, they are able to communicate, work together on the wedding, and lay everything out in the open - or can they?

I quite enjoyed the low angst, closed door (kissing only), enemies to lovers - unrequited on both ends finally coming to light - storyline, with a lot of witty banter, food themed, some great pranks and all surrounding the wedding of their two best friends (yeah, 12 years after school ended), and can't wait to read more from Sarah Adams! I recommend this one to all romance lovers.

I enjoyed the narrators selected for this one also - Lee Samuels is one I've heard before but Connie Shabshab was new to me. I'll definitely be looking for them both again (I know they've done some of Sarah Adams's other works). I could sit back and just absorb the entire story with their excellent performance and characterizations the whole way through. Great job from both of them!

I received an advance listen copy from NetGalley and Dreamscape Media, and this is my honest feedback.

Now I have to buy The Match (It Happened in Charleston #1)
Because The Enemy book two was truly the perfect Rom Com!
The romance was superb. The comedy had be dying, and Sarah's writing just mind blowing amazing.
The characters were so endearing..
Adams is so talented at writing wonderful, full characters that you cannot help but root for them every step of the way.
It was so realistic and I love when I feel like books have characters and story lines that I can relate to.
Not a moment of this book was boring and something hilarious happens at every turn of the page. The dialogue was sharp and entertaining. I actually think this is a book I could really see being a movie. And one I would totally watch.
I listened to the audio version of this book and the narration was fabulous!
Overall, this is a great laugh out loud romantic comedy.

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

Dreamscape Media,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my platforms, blog, B&N and Waterstone closer to pub date.

Overall, I would say I’m disappointed in the book. I found the FMC to be immature and honestly a little annoying. My annoyance was compounded by the audiobook female narrator- she had great inflection in her voice but I just couldn’t get over the frequency of it. I didn’t appreciate the FMC’s sense of humor as much as I know other people do but that’s just a personal preference for me.
I enjoyed the enemies to lovers/forced proximity tropes but I felt like the execution of it all was a little too obvious and the FMC was just too oblivious to what was going on- hence my disappointment. The reliance on this left over tension from high school was just not substantial enough for me to root for them to get together.
If you’re looking for a brash and funny FMC with a hot love interest, then you should definitely pick this book up.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53977568
https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/c548cdeb-2cab-42ea-bea8-b8465789f143?redirect=true

The Enemy by Sarah Adams gave me mixed feelings. Parts of the book I absolutely loved, parts I did not. June came across as immature in my eyes. Rom-coms are a favorite genre of mine, and this one was light on that. The narrators, Connie Shabshab and Lee Samuels were great. One detail I absolutely loved was how Ryan had paid attention to things June said 17 years prior. I want to thank #NetGalley and #Dreamscape Media for allowing me to listen to this pre-release audiobook. I did enjoy it.

I love Sarah Adams writing, but the audio of this book just didn’t work for me. I’m not sure if it was the voice of if this book just didn’t work as well on audio. I changed from audio to paperback and enjoyed the story much more.

Enemies to lovers isn’t always my favorite trope and this one didn’t change my mind but I do love all Sarah Adams books and this one was no different.

I definitely recommend the book, just maybe not the audio.

This was a cute if not predictable read. It was an enemies-to-lovers trope which I’m not a huge fan of it, but it wasn’t too bad. I usually find Sarah Adams’ writing to be pretty funny but listening to it on audio, the narrator really irritated me. June was pretty frustrating to root for due to her obsession with this grudge she was holding. All in all this one was just ‘ok’ to me.

Thank you to NetGallery and Dreamscape Media for this early audio!

Thank you to NetGalley for access to the audiobook of The Enemy by Sarah Adams in exchange for an honest review.

CW: diet culture/restrictive eating, food shaming, body shaming, infidelity, death of a parent (past, not depicted on page)

First, let me start by saying that I did not know until about a quarter of the way through this book that this is actually the second book in a series. Nevertheless, I was able to understand the plot of the story without having read the first book, so it was not a problem at all!

I don't have a lot to say about this book, either positive or negative. It has been a few days since I finished this book and I've honestly forgotten a lot about the plot and character development. This is the epitome of a three-star read. It was fine, but not memorable. In broad strokes, we're following our main character (whose name I have already forgotten) whose best friend (and co-owner of their donut shop) is about to get married and move across the country. Her high school foe, three star Michelin chef, Ryan is back in town for the wedding. Spoiler alert: they fall in love, there's a third act break up, and they end up together in the end. What I do remember clearly is that the main character ends up pregnant at the end, which is definitely a quick way to turn me off.

Overall, this was fine. It's definitely a good, light filler read between heavier books on your TBR.

🔊Song Pairing: Hot n Cold - Katy Perry (it’s referenced in the book and felt like a fun choice)

💭What I thought would happen:

I won’t lie. I thought it was going to be really stupid and cheesy, I didn’t love The Cheat Sheet and was certain I’d need some Pepto to stomach this but the cover was so cute and I was wrong! Yay!

📖What actually happens:

June’s best friend Stacey is getting married! UNFORTUNATELY this means that Stacey’s fiancé’s best friend will be returning home…the bane of June’s existence, the pain in her side..Ryan…bleh.

The problem? Ryan is not so bumpkin, more like a popsicle on a hot July day. June is already dealing with some major past self-esteem issues and now much face off with a Thanos equivalent enemy. Why must Ryan also be charming…and a successful chef! June quickly finds it hard to hate him.

🗯Thoughts:

First impression - this girl is UNHINGED and I am here for it! June is silly, crazy and clever…the kind of crazy you may want to avoid but is a really good time while the going is good.

Her relationship with her mom made my heart so full. Her momma buys June everything under the sun Nick Lachey…sounds like something my mom would do if I didn’t find Nick Lachey to be soo yesterday (Dermot Mulroney and Derek Whibley were my teen crushes…yaaa just Google and yes I’m aware I had an unconventional taste in men)

I laughed through this book right until the ending. The silliness between June and Ryan was sweet and hysterical. I liked the way they played with each other, not mind games, just ultimate prank wars.

Pick this one up, I feel like there’s something for everyone in this sweet little nugget!

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media and Sarah Adams for the audiobook that pubs on May 10!

June and Ryan have been rivals since high school, each trying to one-up the other in a never-ending series of pranks and gotchas. But twelve years have passed since that almost-kiss at graduation and both parties are looking forward to seeing each other as part of the wedding party for their best friend's wedding.

June wants to rub it in Ryan's face that she's part-owner of a successful donut shop in Charleston while Ryan wants to see if the embers that have simmered for June all these years might just combust into something more.

And so begins Sarah Adams' The Enemy.

What unfolds over the next several hours of this audiobook is alternating passages from June and Ryan's points of view about driving each other crazy and maybe trying to admit there is more to this relationship than just being rivals. Early on, June comes across as a bit harsh and rough around the edges, but Adams wisely fills in the backstory of what's led June to this point and her "one date" rule for all men. Ryan, it turns out, is almost too good to be true and if there's one flaw in this story it's that we never get any major or minor negative points for Ryan.

Adams knows how to simmer the ever-growing romance between these two, all while keeping the story pretty PG-13 along the way. There's lots of kissing, pining, and description of Ryan's abs and arms, but that's where it ends. Adams wisely leaves some things up to the reader's imagination. She also doesn't have these two rush into things, allowing the embers to smolder over the course of the novel. She also manages to put in a few realistic speed bumps to the relationship that are completely grounded in her characters.

All in all, this one is a fun, diverting story that is probably different from my usual reading choices. But it was a nice break from murder, mayhem, spaceships, etc. and it kept my interest for the entire run time.

The audiobook features Connie Shabshab bringing June's chapters to life and Lee Samuels bringing Ryan's chapters to life. Both readers give an added layer to their characters, as well as create unique voices for the various other players in June and Ryan's lives.

If you're looking for a fun, slow-burn romantic read, The Enemy could be exactly what you're looking for.

I received a digital audio ARC of this novel via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.