January Madison and her new driver, Enrique Precio, get off on the wrong foot, and they both do their best to stay that way. They prank each other, have very entertaining banter, and pretend to barely tolerate each other's company.

Gigi Blume has written a cute, feel good rom-com that
had me laughing out loud. A quick appearance by Nicholas Cage was extremely funny, and I loved the light humour throughout the book. January was a very likeable character, and was a nice change to the typical 'rich bitch' stereotype. I loved Enrique's family, their chaos was entertaining to read.

This is the first in a series that will follow the Precio brothers, and I can't wait to see what the rest of the family get up to.

This book was a little bit hard for me. I enjoyed it on some levels and didn't on others. While parts of the book worked quite well, some of it felt a bit discombobulated and I also struggled to feel the full depth of the main characters and their motivations. I really wanted January to have more of a kind of character arc progression and that just didn't happen, and I also got distracted from the love story by some of the side characters. Overall it's a very quick and somewhat enjoyable read.

Ok, this book was so freaking cute!!

In this book we follow January, an heiress who is used to getting what she wants and living her carefree lifestyle. That is until her driver retires and her father assigns Enrique to be her new driver. Cue love story 😂

This book had me laughing out loud so much! The chickens, the plastic wrap, just the banter between the two of them in general was hilarious. I loved how the two of them brought out the best in each other and I absolutely adored the Precio family!!

This was my first @gigiblume book, and it will for sure not be my last!!

Thank you so much @gigiblume and @netgalley for a copy of this to read!! Im looking forward to reading more about the Precio brothers!! 🤩

The Hate Zone is a cute romance book that revolves around January Madison, hotel heiress and socialite, and Enrique Precio, January's driver. Let's just say they don't exactly have your typical driver/client relationship. Enrique initially thought he'd be driving January's father not the hotel heiress, so they started off on the wrong foot.

I really liked this book. I liked the main characters (and side characters). The banter and dynamic of the main characters is amazing! They had a somewhat prank war going on, which was really fun to read. Since January and Enrique started off on the wrong foot, the build up from there to the "love" part is mwah. The confession and the kisses, hot damn! I just love the chemistry between these two.

Aside from the main characters, the side characters were amazing too especially Enrique's family. They're a big family so the family dynamic is chaotic and fun! Enrique's got seven brothers and one sister, so you can imagine how wild they can get.

Overall, it's a sweet romance with some innuendos here and there.

This is the perfect summer beach read. I loved the enemies into lovers story of January and Enrique. So many laughs while reading this book. Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Thank you, NetGalley for this ARC. 3.5

This book kind of surprised me! I thought the most enjoyable part would be the romance but I actually enjoyed the family dynamics more.

I found Enrique's story to be my favourite because of the closeness to his family and his desire to really forge his own path outside of the family identity, it allowed me to really get to know him and his motivations. I didn't love his need to make January feel uncomfortable, even though she was insufferable, but it just felt....gross? At times.

I think I wish there was a little more to sink my teeth into in the beginning, even in terms of the hatred between them. There was more desire to make each other feel uncomfortable than anything.

Overall, once the book got going then the characters started to grow and change, and the relationship between January and Enrique builds and becomes more playful having a fun spin to it. Both have a lot of below-the-surface qualities, January feels like she plays a character a lot of the time instead of figuring out who she really is and, ultimately, she releases that 2-D personality and starts to grow.

Very PG feeling but overall an enjoyable read!

I really enjoyed The Hate Zone. It was a fun, quick read and I loved the characters. January Madison and Enrique Precio were great and their interactions were great. Definitely reading more from Gigi Blume in the future

Thank-you to Xpresso Book Tours for an advanced copy. When I tell you I devoured this book. I laughed with some of the funny scenes in this book. If you love enemies to lovers with a sprinkle of a rom com-this book is for you.

This is the perfect book to read on the beach!

I’m excited to read more from this family!!

Gah! This one was so cute! Enrique Precio is hired as the famous January Madison’s new limo driver. January seems spoiled and self obsessed and treats Enrique like he is beneath her. Enrique gives it right back to her through a series of hilarious pranks, nicknames, and the best banter. I’m a sucker for enemies to lovers 😍 The nicknames were my favorite! I was giggling throughout this book. I loved watching these two open up to each other, seeing January’s character development, and also fell in love with the entire Precio family. This one is closed door but still steamy and swoon worthy! Looking forward to reading more about the brothers in the books to come! Thanks, NetGalley for the eARC!

The Hate Zone
Overall, this was a fun and quirky book that put a good twist on a lot of great tropes. I definitely want to read more by this author and The Hate Zone is going on my cheesy comfort reads list immediately!

THINGS I LIKED:
The beginning was super punchy and dynamic. I love the January's POV. Her inner thoughts were so quirky. Enrique is a funny character as well.
I like how Enrique and January don't exactly get along at first.
I love how Enrique takes care of January after her dentist office visit. Both of them show a lot of vulnerability and I love how sweet he is. It's tropey, but in a good, refreshing way and not overdone. I think a lot of the book is honestly like that which I'm totally here for
I like how it took so long for them to get together to build up the tension
Enrique's family is so sweet and supportive!!

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:
The portrayal of fame is very stereotypical, as is January's relationship with her dad. I wish there was more nuance included.
It is kind of icky that January begins dating her employee- there seems like a bit of power imbalance there.
Some of the banter felt downright cruel- like January, a white woman, mispronouncing a Latine last name on purpose didn't sit right with me.
People were a bit blunt to the point where it didn't seem realistic, like Enrique's brothers telling him he's into January was extremely stilted in my opinion. They could've been more subtle about it

I feel like I flew through this in the span of just a few blinks. I was completely endeared by the dynamic between January and Enrique and loved their banter, pranks, and jabs. I typically don't love celebrity main characters, including social media celebrities, but something about January made her hard to dislike. Hats off to Gigi Blume.

I don't read a lot of closed-door romances, but this one was nice. I felt like there was a good balance between things happening on-page and off-page, and I wasn't missing those ultra steamy scenes like I usually would.

In the future, I would love to read more from Gigi Blume, especially if she continues the Precio Brothers series!

I recently saw a post on Instagram where a person said they didn't even make it through the first chapter of this book before they gave up on it. What a bummer for them because they definitely missed out.

It is hard to get into a book sometimes when one of the main characters is painted in a bad light initially. We want to like the MCs so that we can feel connected to them and root for them. But come on! You've got to give it more than one chapter! January was a little hard to like initially but she definitely grew on me. And Enrique was just so much fun right from the start. I am definitely on board with the hot Latino MC.

The pranks and banter between the two MCs was so much fun and the angsty tension/chemistry was there from the start.

The story was fast paced and kept my attention throughout. I loved the whole Precio family and I loved that January was able to reconcile with her mom.

The only things I would have liked more of was a deeper understanding of the characters and their motivations as well as a conclusion to the restaurant problem. The epilogue made it seem like that was wrapped up but it never happened on the page. Maybe we will get the rest of that story in the next book?

While this is still considered a closed door romance, there was a lot of sexual innuendo and some references to the characters wanting to have sex so that is just my little content warning. I personally found the sexual innuendo witty and it made me laugh out loud more than once. The kissing was also pretty passionate. I think there was some minor language but I honestly can't remember which means it was mild if it existed at all.

I finished this book in one sitting! It was perfect, it made me laugh and I loved reading about all the hilarious stuff January and Enrique did. This book was the perfect entertainment. I was actually surprised by how much I liked this book considering it was very pg. The banter between those two was epic. The pranks were super fun and I had a big smile on my face the whole time I was reading. It was the perfect buildup and when their feelings finally crept upon them, it was just *swooon* These two were adorable!
If you love enemies to lovers with classic prank wars with a touch of big families, you should totally read this! I'm super excited for the next book!

This book was a cute, easy romance between a privileged *it girl* and her driver. The premise of this book was great, but I feel like I still don’t know who these characters are after finishing the book. January and Enrique both had the ability to be a very dynamic characters, but the execution fell a little short for me. I am interested to see how the series progresses and look forward to more from this author.

Thank you NetGalley and Sodasac Press for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This adorable romcom is the first in a series (The Precio Brothers Series) and is perfect for those who love an Enemies-to-Lovers trope.

January Madison is the Madison hotel heiress and a socialite. Enrique Precio is a limo driver who just opened his own business and landed the executive contract for Madison hotels. However, much to his dismay, he was hired to drive January around, not the Madison Hotel Execs.

January and Enrique find each other physically attractive, but equally ridiculous. Witty banter, off the chart chemistry and close proximity are pillars of this story. January's father is trying to keep control of her and her life, while she is trying to build and create things that matter. Enrique needs this job but soon finds himself in over his head where January is concerned. The perfect summer read.

This book - LOL all the time!! Her father controls her BIG time. And so when she gets a new driver she is NOT happy. And neither is he!! She really thinks she’s something!!! The tension between them — and the laughter!! ENJOYED this book immensely!!! I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All thoughts and comments are my own.

Premise was interesting but I did not like the lead female at all which made it hard to get into the romance. (2 ⭐️)

okay just wait ...i am in love am still holding on to this book like yes that is it .I am all in for the romance loved the story definitely a five star for me .Much thanks to the author

Reviewed for NetGalley:

I could not get into this book because of how awful a character that January was. Spoiled, Pop Star Princess that had no redeeming qualities.

Enrique's character, although a million times more relatable and down to Earth, could not make up for January's ridiculousness.

I can't even remember the last time I read a book in just two days. I legit couldn't put it down.

Enrique Precio is one of eight brothers, each with their own individual life and careers, despite how hard his father tries to get them all to take over the family's restaurants. For example, Enrique is a limo driver. One of his jobs is to drive a hotel executive’s socialite daughter, January Madison. And they're immediately enemies.

I have to admit I was a bit put off by the fact that both of them were extremely unprofessional when meeting. I'm all for a meet cute, but January was absolutely horrible to him, who had an inferior job position and he, well, was supposed to be professional. At least when they first met.

However, I have to admit the book redressed itself incredibly well.

I am not a fan of Insta-love by any means and this couldn't have been further away from that. We finally got characters who behaved like real people, and January and Enrique get to spend a lot of time together, bickering and bantering, before realizing that the other is not that bad.

It's been a while since I've read anything this soon-worthy, and, despite some flaws here and there, I loved it. Plus, I'm a huuuuuuuge sucker for Spanglish novels, which I didn't know was the case with this one. Loved that the author didn't overly explain the Spanish, but went with it, as well as some bits of French.

This should be a movie because the comedy in the "rom-com" is hilarious. The writing felt real, without descriptions like "I looked in the mirror and my blue eyes examined my golden locks," letting all the physical descriptions for the other characters. January had a major glow-up (or maybe no one actually got to know the real her), and I loved that about her. That she wasn't just a pretty face, but also a great human.

The family dynamics in the Precio family were amazing and the writing made you feel like you were actually there. Can't wait for more. Bring it on, Ignacio.

I'm also glad that the author stayed away from typical, cliché romantic tropes, and she actually did the enemies-to-lovers trope extremely well.

Real rating: 4.5 stars.

Thank you to the NetGallery, publisher, and author for the ARC. All opinions in this review are my own.