3.5 stars. The Valentine's Hate is an enemies-to-lovers/childhood nemeses meet at a Mexican resort by chance story.

I'm not really sure how to summarize my review of this one (lol!). I recommend this to anyone who can get past an unrealistic plot, unrealistic setting, unrealistic character actions, and a why-are-you-reacting-that-way ending. But I'm not going to say that The Valentine's Hate still wasn't fun to read. I recommend reading when in a beach-read mood, though I'm still scratching my head.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for a complimentary copy to read and review. All opinions are my own.

This was super cute with some fun tropes - childhood enemies, only one hotel room, fake dating. It was also fast paced, easy to read, and spicier than I expected. Definitely recommend for a seasonal read!

I picked this book up as a light Valentine's Day read and it did not disappoint! The romance was fun, although it took me a while to get over the passionate childhood enemies vibe that our love interests had going on. The background information on the male MCs book series was really fun to me, while the battle with his movie star coworker was not as fun. Overall, a solid romance for February!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved the valentine’s hate! It starts with a prologue from when they were kids and she first started hating Brian anderson. Lizzie is headed to her best friends wedding when she gets on a plane and falls asleep on the guy next to her. She realizes it’s none other than her nemesis Brian anderson from growing up in Miami. She arrives at the resort and it’s been flooded. She must shuttle to a resort 45 mins away or share a villa with Brian for one small favor! Pretend to be his girlfriend to keep his adoring fans and one aggressive actress away from him. Lizzie agrees. How bad could it be spending a few nights pretending to be Brian’s girlfriend? This book has all my favorite tropes! Brian and Lizzie’s romance is spicy and unforgettable!

This book was only ok for me. It felt repetitive of plot lines and didn't bring anything new or unique to the tropes.

fake dating + forced proximity = the best combo.
.
This book was such a blast! I loved Lizzie and Brian so much, their chemistry was so so good and their banter was top-notch. I loved how much both Brian and Lizzie grew as individual characters but also how their relationship with each other grew. I also loved some of the side characters especially Lizzies best friend Mari, I would even be interested in a separate book all about Mari if she hadn't already found her guy.

A short, but fun enemies to lovers, fake dating journey that gives the reader just enough to have a good time. The Valentine's Hate is overall a funny and quick-witted story of Brian and Lizzie accepting their feelings for each other and falling in love over a whirlwind Valentine's Day weekend in Cancún.

The best parts of this book were in the moments that Brian and Lizzie were alone for me. While the main reason Lizzie is there being for her friend's wedding, I enjoyed the moments that they spent getting to know the adult versions of each other. Between the original meet-cute on the airplane and the moments in their hotel room, the interweaving of how they've constantly misunderstood each other through childhood and are now discovering their attraction felt very realistic. Additionally, the parts I struggled with were when side characters were involved. It felt difficult to keep up with who was who and whether or not I was supposed to remember them. However, Pablo was the most fun side character and I enjoyed his antics.

As for the smut in this book, I appreciated that there was really only one main on-the-page scene with the rest being either fade to black or off page, but mentioned. The story did not need much smut/spice as it was highly focused on the characters connections with each other.

Overall, I enjoyed this book as a fast read and something to pick me up.

✨ PRINCEMAN REVIEW ✨

📝 Lisette hates Valentine's Day. Ever since the second grade, her day of love has been ruined by her arch nemesis, Brian Anderson. After high school, she plans on never seeing him again. That is until 15 years later when they end up sitting next to one another on a flight to Cancun. He knows exactly how to push her buttons. Can this anger blossom into something even more passionate?

What I 🤍:
👧👦 Childhood Nemesis'
🥊 Hilarious Verbal Sparring
💕 Fake Dating
😍 Opposites Attract
🏝️ Mexican Resort Setting
🇨🇺 Cuban FMC

This book is so fun, and easy to read in one sitting! I was hooked right away with the prologue all about their childhood and previous Valentine's Days. I really appreciated Halston's writing style. It was hilarious, and to the point. Their passion (or hate) for one another was FANTASTIC!

Prince's Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Passion: 🔥🔥🔥 (Kisses, One Open Door)
Read If ➡️: You want a hilarious, easy to read Valentine's Day Romance.
Read 📅: Near Valentine's Day! 💘

Overall, I loved their backstory and all their time at the resort. The one thing I was craving was after the resort. I think adding that last piece would have made this story even better.

🙏 Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Romance for a digital copy of this book.

My reviews will be posted soon to IG (@lifewithprinceman) shortly.

The Valentine's Hate is a enemies to lovers book which is usually a good read. I really wanted to like this but it was hard for me to get into it. I would put it down and then would not be able to get right back into it.

Lizzie and Brian were not completely likable. Their love story felt very rushed and like I was missing some of the story. The supporting characters did not help the story much either.

Unfortunately, I don't know if I can recommend this book.

The Valentines Hate was pretty lack luster for me. It was a cute, quick read and I enjoyed our 2 MCs, Brian & Lizzie. Their banter and romance was sweet and textbook enemies to lovers. It was almost toooo much textbook for me. When Brian finally realized why Lizzie hated him and denied it being him it was almost too predictable and immediately it was like “ok i don’t hate him anymore” and just didn’t feel truly believable.

Our side characters were also annoying and not well written. Everytime Violet was brought into a scene i immediately was over it and it lowered the enjoyment. She was wrote in a way that just seemed like she was a last minute thought.

With all of that, I did enjoy Brian & Lizzie, and it was a quick, sexy, cute read - but just didn’t vibe with me!

I did feel like there was a good amount of chemistry between the two lead characters. While I found Brian's career as a writer interesting at times, I wasn't really into any of the scenes involving publicity or the actress. Between that and some of the wedding related stuff, there seemed to be filler added to the book that detracted from an otherwise good romance. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the book but I think some finetuning would have done wonders to the overall story.

A cute enemies to lovers romance! There are more tropes in this one but I’ll literally give it all away 🤣

Loved the backstory of these two (they hated each other) but the ending felt rushed and the miscommunication was a little much. I think Lizzie should have known better 🤷🏻‍♀️

This was really fun. So many romance tropes (enemies to lovers, fake dating, forced proximity) and they worked incredibly well. Lizzie and Brian's backstory was actually very sweet and makes you root for them all the more. Great book for Valentine's Day. Thank you to NetGalley for a digital copy

THE VALENTINE'S HATE
4⭐
PLOT - Lissette Alonso and Brian Anderson were high school rivals who pushed each other's buttons. He esp ruined valentine's day for ever for Lizzie.
But now, Lizzie's BF is getting married on Vday and to her surprise she runs into none other than Brian who is present at the destination to promote his best selling fantasy book.
Brian is in a fix and Lizzie find herself without a room in the resort making them join forces.
Can their anger turn to romance?
MY THOUGHTS -
I loved the reasons for their animosity in high school the reasons were valid and justifiable.
The sram was good I esp liked how Liz helped Brian with his anxiety and stage fear.
A good enemies to lovers romance.
Thank you Netgalley and publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Funny, sexy and heart! I had such a good time reading this it was super fast paced and fun. The fake dating and forced proximity were PERFECT.

The story follows Lizzie and Brian who have known each other and HATED each other since the second grade. They've played mean pranks on one another their whole childhood but Brian has always took it to far on Valentine's Day. They dont see eachother for years until as adults they accidentally run into eachother at a hotel in Mexico where Lizzie's best friend is getting married and where Brian is having an author event for his book series. To keep Brian's fans off his back and to keep from Lizzie's ex thinking shes a loser they decide to start fake dating.

Another new author for me. This fun storyline about childhood enemies meeting as adults and falling in love caught my attention from the beginning. I read the book in 1 afternoon. I recommend it especially with Valentine's Day coming up. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy. #NetGalley #ValentinesHat

Thank you NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Sidney Halston for this arc in exchange of my Joe at review.

The idea of a valentines book got me me excited, unfortunately more excited than u needed to be. Enemies to lover is my jam and usually one of my fave tropes, but this one just didn’t do for me. Lissette (beautiful name, I was obsessed) is not a fan of vday but of course her bestie chooses the date for her wedding (a little too cliche for me). Of course her enemy Brian is not only on the same plane as her but is also staying in the same place she is. The enemies aspect felt forced to me and there was so much fluff that took away from the good part of the story. I wanted to love it, but it wasn’t for me.

This book had some cute and funny moments. I enjoyed the enemies-to-lovers and the fake dating tropes. The sex scenes were great and the characters were likable, but overall it was just okay. I found myself skimming through parts and a little bored.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

My first book of February had to be a Valentines-themed one, of course! Shout-out to NetGalley for an ARC of "The Valentine's Hate", written by Sidney Halston

I really enjoyed this story about Lizzie (Lisette) and Brian, who were once childhood enemies to lovers. They meet up again as adults when her best friend Marianna has a destination wedding in Cancun and Brian is out promoting his books and movies (he is now an accomplished author of a famous Invaders series that is now going to be turned into a movie franchise as well) Over the course of a long weekend, the two of them reconnect.

Overall, I rated this novel 4/5 stars!

Happy Love Month! ♥️💘💝

"Maybe it can start a new trend. From Valentines hate to looking forward to Valentine's Day" The Valentine's Hate | Sidney Halston

This a quick enemies to lovers romance read is perfect for Valentine's Day season! It's full of love, laughs, and a little bit of spice 🌶

Lizzie met Brian on Valentine's Day during second grade when he moved to town. Throughout there time growing up they have become rivals and eventually start to hate each other. 20 years later they run into each other and eventually under circumstances, Lizzie agrees to be Brian's fake girl friend to help him get through a touch situation.

If you like the idea of enemies to lovers, fake dating, jealous exs, and a little bit of spicy! Check this book out!

Goodreads: 3.66⭐️
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and author Sidney Halston for the ARC!