I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. It was a fast-paced, disjointed love story that I just could not connect to.

MY first MM book and I don't really know how to feel about it. I wasn't expecting that but I did like seeing the relationship between Oliver and Jon play out. Very entertaining and the bantering/conflict was fun. Definitely will be picking up the sequel

I thought that this was a really enjoyable short read!

I thought that the storyline was fast moving and it was full of action - it had explosive feelings and it was a very sexy read too - definitely one to make you go "whoa" as you read it!

It is 4 stars from me for this one – highly recommended!

I love enemies to lovers, especially when they take place in a work place. This one was a really fun and easy read, which kept me almost up at night. The novella makes it perfect to read between some longer romances and it’s perfect to read next to the pool or on the beach this summer.

This book was my first read from Ava Olsen, but I would definitely read more books from her. Her writing is addictive and her characters really fun and lovable. Because of the length of the story everything went pretty fast, but can easily be forgiven, because the rest of the story was amazing. The chemistry, the spice, everything worked out perfectly. My first encounter with this author was really fun and I enjoyed reading this.

Absolute must read for M/M lovers who wants to dive into a fun, bantering enemies to lovers work place romances. I can’t wait to read the second book!

Whew that was a bit of a hot read. Hate to Love you, is exactly that a hate to lovers type of novella (I hate to call it a book only because it was so short and to the point). It had a few grammatical errors that readers can look over, I found myself a few correcting the author on their choice of words, but I think that was just me and the English major in me popping out.

It was such a fast read, which works out for those readers who want to read a book in a day. But it also gets to the spicy extremely quick to me. I feel that Oliver and Jon's relationship progressed way too fast, but I love my slow burns as well. I feel that the author tries to fix some loose ties at before the end of the book and it sadly shows, but I would not change it for anything.

Overall this book, while a really fast read, definitely gets an A+ in the spicy department. Whew. It is extremely descriptive and I am all for that. I love it when an author goes full in on the characteristics of the main persons during those type of scenes. It makes a reader feel that they are really watching them, almost in a sense voyeuristic but still so good.

3 stars

A super quick body guard novella! I liked it but wished we got more. I wanted more backstory into their relationship. It also felt a bit forced sometimes. Curious to read the authors future works though.

Assigned to work together for the protection of a Broadway star, Oliver and Jon find that behind their snarky flirting, they might work well together in more ways than one.

This just didn't work for me. People make what seemed to be weird decisions and come to weird conclusions. I'd give examples but almost every decision in this book is one that doesn't make much sense to me. And then the book makes a big deal about how Jon is bossy in bed... and he's not really, which was something else that didn't make much sense to me. Most of it felt purposefully staged, like you can see why the author needed X to happen and how many strings needed to be pulled to get there. Even the "thriller" parts of it were odd, told in a weird way I didn't much care for. The entire book was bizarre, full of overly dramatic people that I didn't care much for in the first place.

Without reading the blurb, you expect this story to be another bodyguard/famous person story, but this one is a delicious enemies to lovers, co-worker romance with great snark, steam and emotional depth all wrapped up in a novella!

Hate to Love You was an action-packed emotional and steamy roller-coaster wrapped in the thin cord that stretches from hate to lust...

I love the snark and banter, the steam and the real emotions that these characters portray - it's very much an opposites attract situation - Jon pushes while Oliver pulls away and they rub each other the wrong way and then the right way...

I honestly didn't feel like this was under 100 pages... it's a complete story and completely worth adding to your TBR!

I can't wait for the rest of this series!

Ava Olsen is becoming a new favorite author of mine (yes, I have a lot of favorite authors, sue me). Hate To Love You is my first novella by her, and it certainly won't be my last.

I loved the relationship between Oliver and Jon, how they played well off each other, and fell in love fast and hard. I did feel at one point, that their relationship was going a bit too fast, but it worked out in their favor, so.

I always feel like novellas go by fast, but Olsen nailed it. The pacing and timing of her stories don't feel too fast, and is well set. However, me being me, I WANT more.

Though this is a spin off of another series, you don't really need to read it first before diving into HtLY.

I highly recommend Hate To Love You to anyone looking for a fast-paced, LGBT+, achillean, bodyguard romance.

Thank you to NetGalley, Evernight Publishing and Ava Olsen for the e-ARC.

It is hard to find a male/male romance which has an actual plot ,that alsopasses the queer bechdel test. This book follows the plot of a security agent and a PI who work together to stop a lethal stalker of a celebrity. There are some close calls along the way, and some obviously needed steam. However, I still wanted more substance to the plot and more steam., more than one scene. Though this is a short book, it was written in really lovely way. Which is why this is definitely worse teh read, a certain plus in the literary queer community.
Things we want in queer fiction:
- steamy moments
-An unpredictable top or vers.
-An actualy plot which is good.

And this book checkes these boxes.

Also, this could develop into a nice series with therest of the security team having a different book, especially the security boss.

Ava Olsen has mastered the Novella. She manages to not only bring the relationships to life and provide them with enough backstory to feel attached to them, but also complex storylines that let the characters shine, grow, and feel believable.

Oliver and Jon are no different. Granted we met them in Unforgettable You, and though this one can be read independently, I highly recommend reading it first. You get to experience the bickering and tension that leads to this one. Trust me, you will be even more satisfied with their happy end if you do. It also makes it feel less insta-lovey.

Alas, I really enjoy these two. The bickering and pushing of each others buttons is highly enjoyable, and watching them push past their fiery barbs, past their walls, and give in is very pleasurable.

I also enjoy the suspense/drama of the Bodyguard theme, so I can’t wait to read more. Especially if it involves grumpy Mason getting a little gooey for someone!

Hate to Love You is a fast-paced, quick read about Oliver, a bodyguard who was just assigned a new case and now has to work with a private investigator he has worked with in the past that just loves to push his buttons. Jon tends to say whatever he wants and is more the guy to make people laugh and keep things light.

There were some parts of the story I really liked and some I struggled with. I felt like Oliver and Jon complemented each other well and balanced each other out personality wise. I thought the story line was interesting but maybe needed a little more development. I would have liked some more backstory about how Jon and Oliver knew each other or came to be in this sort of tension-filled, button-pushing stage of their relationship as I feel like I was only given a small glimpse but not enough to get the full picture. In addition, the book is short, so it didn't feel like enough time to develop the whole story fully and do it justice. I feel like Oliver went from strongly disliking Jon to them getting their happily ever after at warp speed and it felt somewhat unnatural and unrealistic.

I have read a few of this author's books and have really enjoyed them, but this was not my favorite. I would like to see more about Dax and Mason perhaps, and do look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me this to read in exchange for an honest review.
This is a nice quick mm romance and a private investigator and a bodyguard that work together. They have been on the same cases in the past but now are working together again . Oliver’s boss ask him to work a case that is personal to him and brings in Jon to do back ground work . Jon has always said what is on his mind but the banter between him and Oliver makes his blood boil in a good way.
They work together but will they be able to be together too?
I’ve read other mm romances and there are times it felt s little forced and strained but good overall.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this digital arc!

This was such a quick read, easy to follow and entretaining. The dialogue put me off a few times because it was just not how actual people spoke, and the third act break up felt very unnecessary in this particular story (the reason for the conflict was also just stupid). But other than that it was fun read with good characters :) Also I can't wait for the sequel with Dax and Mason's story, I feel like I'll like it way more than this one.

This is a short novella that focuses on Jon, a private investigator, and Oliver, a bodyguard, as they protect Dax, a young Broadway star that recently got out of an abusive relationship. The banter between Jon and Oliver was nice, but some of it seemed a little out of place. However, I enjoyed their dynamic and their communication in the first half of the story, especially how they shared difficult/intimate thoughts with each other.

Oliver's reaction to Jon's file on him (which makes sense because Jon is a private investigator and wants to screen the people that he introduces his clients to) seemed unnecessarily intense. If you want an intense, short spin on a bodyguard romance, this is the book for you!

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, Ava Olsen and Evernight Publishing for this ARC.

Ava Olsen is fast becoming one of my favourite authors! Hate To Love You is a quick and spicy MM romance, with a dash of sweetness, a little bit of witty and a whole lot of sexual tension. This book was soooo good that I read it within 4 hours! My only criticism is that I would have liked a longer story. I can't wait for the next book!!

The good
+ Neither man being intimidated by the other
+ Oliver never getting embarrassed by what Jon says in public
+ Jon stating clearly they're equals outside the bedroom
+ Oliver clearly communicating what he wants in the bedroom, so Jon doesn't doubt himself
+ Jon loving Oliver's body, scars and all
+ Both of them opening up to each other about difficult things

The neutral
o I was kindly provided with an ARC. My review remains honest and unbiased
o They moved in together after they just had a huge fight, claiming being in love was enough. Shouldn't they spend a little more time getting to know each other first?
o Some of the dialogue felt unnatural. Like they didn't use sentences people would actually use when talking to each other

The bad
- The whole Xander thing was really cringy and also not necessary for the story
- Jon endangered Oliver and himself in an impulsive and unprofessional rescue attempt
- Oliver needing to be saved was unrealistic anyway. What kind of security company are they if some stalker can get the drop on two bodyguards at once?
- Oliver broke Jon's heart, and Jon was the one who had to crawl back to Oliver to beg for a second chance. Not fair...
- Oliver did the whole "I don't want to be friends" thing, where it takes ten more minutes before he says "I want to be more than friends". Just casually breaking Jon's heart, no big deal... Ugh


This was a quick and entertaining read. I liked the communication between the main characters a lot. Unfortunately, I didn't like the amount of relationship drama that was crammed into such a short story. The way Oliver and Jon were portrayed in a professional setting also made them seem very incompetent. I think that was a real pity. I probably wouldn't recommend this book to someone, because I definitely wasn't wowed, but I wouldn't warn someone away from it either.



This is a copy of my original Goodreads review (found here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4802275384). Any spoilers have been removed.

This was an explosive novella which explores the chemistry between Oliver (ex-vet turned bodyguard) and Jon(ex cop turned PI) who love to hate each other. They are brought together when they are both assigned to protect Dax from his stalker ex boyfriend.

I absolutely adored the banter between these two. I really hope that Dax and Mason also get there own story told.

Well, this was okay. I loved bits of it, especially in the beginning: as with any type of enemies-to-lovers romances, I always adore the "I hate you so much" phase of the relationship a bit more. All that chemistry and reluctant sexual tension is my absolute jam, 100%. So, yes, I especially liked the beginning.
I thought Jon and Oliver had the potential to be really great, but unfortunately I just wasn't feeling them nor their relationship together. Maybe if the book was slightly longer, if there was a bit more backstory to their antagonism (and yes, this could actually be my fault, since "Hate to Love You" is my first Ava Olsen book, so I have no idea if there's a previous series I should have read before: I just loved the blurb of this one too much) or just a bit more character and relationship development before they ended up falling for each other, I would have loved them more.
Oh well.
Anyway, I loved the plot: it's got danger and a tiny bit of action, plus I really adored the side characters. I'm especially curious to read more about Mason and Dax: now, that's a story I can already tell will absolutely slay me. Age-gap, uper protective older lover, abusive ex who needs to be taught a lesson or twenty, all the potential hurt/comfort? YES, please.
I'm looking forward to that, but unfortunately this book was a bit of a miss for me. I'd give it a very generous 3 stars' rating (mainly for Dax and Mason). I'm sure it was mainly a me issue, so if you're looking for something short and steamy, with a decent plot and some terrific side characters, give this novel a try: hopefully you'll love it more than me.

Hate to Love You by Ava Olsen is a fantastic read!
This book knows what it is about and gives you what you want. This book is also a spin off of a series. I had read this book with out reading the others, and you do not have to have read the others for this one. If this is the only one that sounds like something you would like to read then you are in luck.
Oliver and Jon and colleagues that have bought sexual tension that you could cut in. As fast as this book goes both main characters have time to become fleshed out and be multi-dimensional. The romance goes fast, but it’s believable.
Normally when a romance book adds a “misconception” plot, I want to drop it. Ava managed to walk that line for me. The reason for the argument felt like the most forced part of the book ( which also tells you how good the rest of the plot was) but how quickly it was able to be resolved, because both characters realized it was a petty reason to be mad, made me forgive the use of miscommunication.
Over all I enjoys this book and I do recommend it!
Thank you to Evernight publishing and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review