Enrique’s a small business owner who signed a contract without reading the fine print and now he’s stuck driving around the rich daddy’s girl as her personal chauffeur. But January isn’t at all what the paparazzi make her out to be. What starts as mutual hatred, slowly turns into friendship and maybe more.

I enjoyed this. It was a closed door, enemies to lovers romcom.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the nice clean plot. Nothing really unrealistic or dramatic, no foul language, a sweet relationship. A good read!

This book was so fun! Haters to lovers makes for the best banter between characters. I loved Januarys character. In my mind, I was picturing someone like Alexis Rose from Schitts Creek - the self obsessed brat. Her development throughout the story had me rooting for her and Enrique. Laugh out loud funny and made me want to pick up other stories by Gigi Blume.

I loved this book so much. It’s a very cute story and I highly recommend it. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC 10/10

January Madison reminds me of Paris Hilton---hotel heiress, famous for being famous, living her life on social media. Enrique is her new driver and from the start there is wonderful tension. Between the pranks and the snarkiness toward each other, I was hanging on every word. This is such a fun read and there are so many parts that I was laughing out loud. Fun family situations, great characters and a decent plot to follow.

This is the first book I have read by Gigi Blume, but I assure you I will read more.

Enrique’s a small business owner who signed a contract without reading the fine print and now he’s stuck driving around the rich daddy’s girl as her personal chauffeur. But January isn’t at all what the paparazzi make her out to be. What starts as mutual hatred, slowly turns into friendship and maybe more.

I enjoyed this. It was a closed door, enemies to lovers romcom. I also thought it was funny. Enrique’s family was hilarious actually. Recommend if you don’t mind closed door romance. For me, it was a much appreciated reprieve from all the insta-love I’ve been binging.

Some things could be improved : January’s character growth is not shown very well. Both characters could’ve been developed further actually. Also January’s mother appears out of nowhere, and it feels kind of random. Her dad wasn’t established enough as a villain and a lot of things felt like they were glossed over.

***
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I thank the author and the publishing team for providing me with this review copy.

"He was a 9.0 earthquake and I'm walking on stilts. There's no hope for me."

The Hate Zone is a cute, enemies-to-lovers, closed door romance.

Enemies to lovers is my bread and butter, and seeing the bantering between rich, hotel heiress January Madison and her gorgeous driver, Enrique Precio.

I will always have a soft spot for the spoiled rich girls with hearts of gold, due to Alexis Rose, so I loved January from the very beginning. And Enrique's begrudging attraction to January from the moment he saw her was perfect.

Enrique's family made this book feel cozy with all their love for one another, and I loved that January slid right in, since her family life was the complete opposite. And if you like when characters confess in foreign languages, this is the book for you.

This book was adorable and such a quick read and I can't wait to see what else Gigi Blume gives us for the rest of Enrique's family!

*Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in return for an honest review*

This was my first read by Gigi Blume and I quite enjoyed it! I have to admit that I didn't like January at first. She behaved like the typical rich soiled brat but when she met Enrique and engaged in the banter with him, I started liking her a bit more. Also, I love the fact that Enrique had such a big family and January fit so perfectly with them! The family dynamics was pretty entertaining, I loved Francesca and the sexual innuendoes were humorous. I'm also glad that January finnally reconciled with her mom. Enrique & January didn't like each other the moment they met which lead to clash of their personalities, lots of banter and attraction that was undeniable. The character development was great but it felt superficial. Overall, the characters were hilarious, the writing was engaging and the humor made me laugh a lot. The pranks that January & Enrique played made me feel invested. The ending was very delightful and I can't wait for Ignacio's story!

Thank you Netgalley and Sodasac Press for providing me the ARC in exchange of an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a riot! The pranks Enrique and January play on each other are so fun and made me giggle throughout the book. This was a fun read and is perfect for a lighthearted pool or beach read!

The Hate Zone by Gigi Blume is the delightfully sweet first book in a series of standalone Rom-Coms centered around the Precio Brothers (there are 7 brothers!!) and will have you wanting to join their family in no time. This Mexican family are loud, hilarious and full of banter.

In Hate Zone, the middle brother has just signed his first client for his new limo driving business and while his dad is disappointed that he won't be taking over one of the family's restaurants, he is determined to combine his business studies with his love for cars. Problem is, his new client is a spoilt, entitled, hotel heiress and the two of them can't help but enjoy a good sparring session whenever they're in each others presence.

January, our FMC, is used to having her face plastered to the front page of every tabloid, but hopes to create a name for herself outside the grips of her manipulative dad. With a heart of gold and a little bit of courage, she starts to try figure out who she is without the glitz and glamour.

While this is a ridiculously sweet romance, I believe Gigi really did an outstanding job with the humor. There are numerous scenes that had me laughing into a pillow, with the hope of not waking my family. The wisdom tooth extraction & chickens made me cackle!

I genuinely could not get enough of these two and was so glad to see that the next book releases next month- and the best part? The next brother is the grumpy cook of the family 😍

➡️ Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
➡️ Spice: 🌶/5
➡️ Available on KU

January Madison is not a heroine you warm up to immediately, in fact, you might not like her at all. Enrique Precio would probably get your sympathy if he refused to be her driver. I really enjoyed this Gigi Blume story. If Madison doesn’t want Enrique, I’ll take him!

This was such a fun read! I’ve never read a book by Gigi Blume before and it was a surprise seeing how much I enjoyed it. Even though the excessive banter annoyed me at some parts of the book, the writing was really easy and fun. The way some chapters simply ended and were followed by others that had nothing to do with the ones that came before made me really mad too, but nothing that ruined the read.

I had a hard time with January and that’s something that really influenced my experience with the book. You can obviously see her development, but she was just SO annoying in the beginning that I felt like I had to force myself to like her when she was starting to get better. Not a horrible character, though. Enrique was super sweet and funny

The couple is really cute, but the breakdown by the end of the book annoyed me a lot. The drama was just too much and I really hate the miscommunication trope.

I’m looking forward to reading other books by the author! Definitely had a great time reading this one.

3.5 stars for this PG, closed-door, opposites attract, enemies to lovers rom-com.

"The Hate Zone" is a summer-y romance with stakes that should feel higher but don't. The story centers on January, a spoiled and guarded socialite and the only child of a millionaire hotel executive, and Enrique, a down-to-earth, smoldering hot limo driver with a huge extended family. Enrique is hired by January's father for what he thinks will be a job shuttling around other hotel execs, but he quickly discovers his job will *actually* consist of driving around the snotty, entitled January to her various appointments, meet and greets, and shopping excursions.

There is a lot of fun banter between January and Enrique, and that's the main reason for my rating. Unfortunately, I didn't feel any deep connection for these characters or their romance until the last 10% of the book. I was NOT a fan of January in the beginning, but she did wind up growing on me towards the end of the book. She's a little too "ooooh, the perils of being rich and famous," but not in a truly authentic way. Enrique is a bit too good to be true, but then again, isn't that the point of a book boyfriend? He also says a few things that rubbed me the wrong way, though I cannot get into them because they are spoiler-y. When I say "slow burn,' I don't mean it in the best way here. It's just plain slow at times. Some of the integral plot points feel rushed, while other, less crucial moments seem to take forever and feel superfluous to the story as a whole. Still, Gigi Blume makes it clear that she's a very capable, compelling author, and I look forward to seeing the rest of the members of the Precio family introduced more in-depth in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley, and the author, for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated in any way for my review.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐙𝐨𝐧𝐞
𝘣𝘺: 𝘎𝘪𝘨𝘪 𝘉𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘦

𝒎𝒚 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈: 4/5 𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓼𝓽 𝓯𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓭 stars

𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆:
- hollywood socialite
-hardworking alpha male
-dual pov
-sweet with a little steam
-enemies to lovers
-LOL moments

𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒚:
Enrique Precio has a big personality and an even bigger family! As one of seven siblings, Enrique is navigating hard, and at times hilarious, family life all while growing his new limo business. His hard work pays off when he’s offered the exciting opportunity at a contract to be the exclusive limo driver for hotel tycoon Matthew Madison. Or so he thought…

January Madison is a 26 year old reality tv star and heiress to the Madison Luxury Hotel chain. When she finds herself in need of a new limo driver quickly after a more than awkward incident with the last one, her father steps in…

𝒎𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘:
Enrique & January couldn’t be more different and it absolutely works perfectly! At first they cannot stand each other which made for hilarious banter and pranks. They get under each other’s skin and the angst is off the charts. She leaves him tongue tied & turned on. I was drawn in by their witty comments and how smoothly it went from hate to love.

Enrique was a true gentleman who loves his big family and his job. He disliked January so much at first because she came across so stuck up and uncaring
but he quickly finds out it’s all a facade. Soon, he’s eager to drive January around and get to know the real woman behind the name.

𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔:
I thought 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘡𝘰𝘯𝘦 was absolutely adorable! A cute rom com to sit down with and devour in a couple hours. Enrique & January had great chemistry and their characters were both believable & lovable. I appreciate how this story is a great reminder to never judge a person before you get to know them. This is my first read from this author but definitely not my last!

-𝒌𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂

*𝘐 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺.

(Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc copy of this title in exchange for an honest review).

First of all, I've seen this book everywhere but didn't know much about the what the story was about. Secondly, I've been in a real reading slump and needed something compelling to get my reading mojo back. Thankfully, this book did exactly that! I read this book in one day and it's a story I'm not likely to forget either.

Seven Days in June follows Eva and Shane, who meet as struggling teenagers and just get each other in a way nobody else ever has. Flash forward fifteen years and a lot has changed for them both but when they become part of each other's lives again it is clear that they have a lot of unfinished business.

But this book isn't just a love story (though I adored both of these characters and the romance). The main characters are writers, each have complicated family and friend dynamics and past struggles they are trying to heal from. Overall, I loved this romantic yet hard-hitting book and felt a lot of emotions when reading it. A favourite of the year for sure.

♥Enemies to Lovers
♥ Slow Burn
♥ Forced Proximity
♥ Chauffeur/Heiress
♥ Spanish Rep
♥ Sweet Family Dynamic

꧁𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀꧂

It took me a little second to get into it but when I did I thought it was amazing. The chemistry and banter between January and Enrique was top tier. I found the prank wars really funny (especially the Nick Cage bit). I was unconsciously smiling throughout the book.

There was a great dynamic between Enrique and his family I loved the culture and his funny relatives.

I think it’s the perfect way to kick start the summer. What a joyful and fun read. This is the first book I’ve read by the author and it won’t be the last.

Thankyou NetGalley for sending me a copy of The Hate Zone by Gigi Blume in return for an honest review!

This book was so good 🤩🤩!
I loved the chemistry between Enrique and January (perfect for each other ) !
The story revolves around January and Enrique and both their families are like a huge part of their book.
While Enrique's bigggg latino family is the sweet one with the happy moments, January's family(or let's say her dad) is filled with money, control and everything except care and love.
Not to spoil anything but you are going to love January's mom as we get to know her finally towards the end of the book and she really gets a true happy ending. Enrique 's family is big and no one wants to disappoint anyone, even one of the brother in charge of the all the restaurants is faced with a crisis, Enrique and him solves it together like a true family.
Coming to the love plot/main plot... There's just so many amazing things throughout! When we first get to know them, they are well say in a banter mood and wow they banter a lot! 😂 The pranks they pull on each other is just hilarious. They know they have the sparkle but they also know they are like from completely different worlds( January being Miss Madison and Enrique just a driver) . I was so glad how they get together towards the end but then it happened..that one thing which happens in every romcom- the entry of the villain/misunderstanding but In this case it was revealing truth of January 's father, her decision of finding who she is and she did so great!
In short , a happy ending but a worth read because of all the banter and hilarious pranks 😍! And the steamy kisses.. don't forget about that ! ✨

A cute enemies-to-lovers romance between a rich heiress and an everyday working man. January is a spoiled hotel heiress with a crazy bodyguard in love with her and an ex milking their breakup. Enrique is a new business owner trying to create his own path outside of his father’s restaurant business. When Enrique gets assigned to be January’s driver, a prank war ensues.
This was a cute and flirty read. At first, I have to admit that I did not like January, and Enrique lowkey seemed like he would be a player (he wasn’t). Except Enrique turned out to be genuine, and January had a little more depth than I realized. The prank war and banter made for lots of tension and nicknames, which I absolutely loved. I liked how they really got to know each other and the romance happened over the standard two weeks we normally see in romances. I’m excited to see what's in store for Nacho’s story.
I would definitely recommend this if you like enemies to lovers, pranks, interracial romance, and lots of tension for a closed-door romance.
Thank you, Netgalley and Xpresso Book Tours, for the arc!

The Hate Zone is a fun enemies to lovers story between a limo driver and a rich socialite hired to be her driver. Filled with tension, banter and character growth, I found Enrique and January to be quite endearing. While they both found each other to be full of faults when they first met and kept each other at arms length, they quickly realized that there was more that meets the eye and feelings grew. This book was full of fun, lust, friction and true laughs.

Tried three times and could not get into the book. DNF. The characters aren’t interesting and the diction felt like everything had gone through google translate a couple of times.