This is cute and fun. 3 stars.I had completely forgotten I read this, which tells you something but I can vaguely remember the plot now

In this Valentine’s-centric romantic comedy, two childhood enemies pose as lovers at a Mexican vacation destination. He’s there for a work thing; she’s there for her best friend’s wedding; and they both have reasons to want a significant other along.

Will forced proximity in paradise turn their playing at love into the real thing? Or will this be another disastrous Valentine’s Day for the books?

This one started off strong for me but petered out part way through. I enjoyed the recollections of their time together as children and their palpable animosity with tension simmering under the surface as adults, but as the fake relationship turned real under the guise of some no-strings-attached action and as other characters—those included in the story to create complications—came into play, I felt like the storyline and the relationship lost some of the oomph that had me hooked in the first half.

That said, this is a fun, quick read. If you are looking for a Valentine’s Day romp of a romcom that mainly takes place over an extended weekend, this may be the book for you.

I received an advance copy from Avon and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

Romantic Comedy’s are definitely an over saturated market, and there are significantly better books than this to consume.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3/5

I was so pleasantly surprised by this book! I went in totally blind, regrettably thinking I wasn’t going to like it. But the more I read, the more I definitely changed my tune! This book has tension, childhood enemies-to-lovers, a tropical resort setting, and to top it off - fake dating turned fake engagement! It has a best friend’s wedding, a jealous ex-boyfriend dating the groom’s sister, and an epic dystopian book convention with adoring fans. The main character is also a kickass Latina who knows what she wants and goes for it.

I really loved watching the friendship/relationship between Lizzie and Brian evolve. Though they definitely had their petty fights throughout the story, they worked through their problems turning their fake relationship into something resembling something real.

I think this book was available as ‘Read Now’ on NetGalley a few months back and had a cute cover that caught my attention. I haven’t really seen many people talking about it, but I definitely recommend giving this book a chance!

Okay so I originally got this book because the cover reminds me of my husband and I. He’s blonde/red head and I’m brunette. So anyway…. After that I read this and loved it. Lizzie and Brian are a great duo. They each have their flaws to work through but I do feel like their match is good and they’ll be good together. I loved that Brian was a writer… he’s the sweetest, and reminds me of my husband too. Loved the forced proximity. It’s my favorite trope right now!!

Enemies to lovers, second chances with a dash of forced proximity… sign me up! I flew through this book very quick (probably less than four hours total reading time?). I enjoyed the book enough, and I’d give it 3.5 stars.

I liked our main characters Lisette and Brian, and I enjoyed their backstory and romance in the book. I also enjoyed some of the goofy side characters, especially the annoyance of the social media obsessed bridesmaid, which added a funny layer to the story.

Practically I had a few nits that detracted from my overall reading. The speed of the book meant we lost some of that aching tension that makes a romance great - Lisette and Brian start hooking up essentially the first instant they are sexually attracted to each other (normally I’m like, “cmon just bang it out already!” But in this case it was too fast). The grand gesture at the end was rushed. Even the sex scenes went from start to finish way quickly, and not in a fade to black way. The alternating third person POV was a little confusing at times and unnecessary since it wasn’t done super well. There were some plot holes - things that changed from one chapter to the next, like being told how competitive Lisette was or how much she knew about the author B. Anderson (Brian’s pen name). Or the hotel was fully booked, forcing Brian and Lisette to share a villa, but then Brian is able to house super fans later in the book. Lastly, Lisette’s overuse of the phrase “‘n shit” instead of “and so on” drove me nuts.

This read a bit like a first or second draft to me - more areas could have been fleshed out, some plot elements could have been streamlined and tightened. But it was a really cute story, and a fun, fast Valentine’s Day read.

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC on NetGalley!

Oh how I loved this book. The storyline and pacing was perfect. The dual pov was very fun and insightful. I saw very few errors in this copy, which was impressive. It had so many fun tropes: forced proximity, fake relationship, childhood enemies to lovers. I’m so glad I was able to read and review this title - thanks!

Cute enemies to lovers romance with fake dating. Absolutely adored this book.
Thanks to netgalley and the author for a copy of this book. all opinions expressed are my own.

The Valentine's Hate is a classic enemies to lovers, fake relationship story centering around Lizzie and her childhood nemesis, Brian. After not seeing each other for years, they get seated next to each other on a plane and find themselves staying at the same hotel.

Lizzie is in Mexico for her best friend's February 14th wedding, while Brian is doing publicity for his popular book series that is being made into movies. As they talk and begin a fake relationship for the press and Lizzie's ex, they find that they never really knew each other, despite having grown up next door to each other.

Brian is a stand up guy who hates attention. Lizzie, on the other hand, is a kind, outspoken extroverted girl that would absolutely exhaust me if she was a real life friend. Not that there's anything wrong with that. She just always has something to say. Despite their differences, they do balance each other out, and I can absolutely see them being a couple in real life

Overall, The Valentine's Hate is a cute story with a guaranteed happily ever after. Who doesn't love that? If you're looking for a sweet, no-fuss Valentine's Day story, The Valentine's Hate, is a great option.

This sweet novel explores the timeline of Lizzie and Brian's relationship. It all started when they were 8. They learned communication is key throughout the novel.

It was a good novel but some character development could have been done better.

Fast paced enemies to lovers romance. Fake dating. He’s an author. She’s a boss bitch in business. Set at Valentine’s Day which is also the holiday their rivalry is based around because she blames him for ruining all her valentine’s days growing up. Very fun and enjoyable story. Great holiday romance.

I love a good enemies to lovers!! This book was so good. I will be recommending to my friends and family for sure

I really enjoyed this book and the premise.

There's something about childhood friends to strangers, to enemies to fake engaged, to LOVERS that just hits!!

This was a short, steamy enemies to lovers romance and I really enjoyed it. The storyline was well written and I thought both of the main characters were charming in their own ways. I also really enjoyed the cast of supporting characters. It’s a fun, spicy, quick Valentines read that I would recommend.

This was a nice quick read with plenty of quips. I definitely can’t wait to recommend as a Valentine’s Day read!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book. This book hooked me from the start! I’m always a sucker for enemies-lovers especially when you get to read about when it all started. I will say the lust appeared out of nowhere for me.The fact that they secretly had underlying feelings for each other since childhood was so sweet! I hate violet so much and I just wish she realized Brian would never want her so she would just leave Lizzie and Brian be. I really enjoyed this book but I wish it ended differently. I wish he had told the press what really happened and he exposed violet to everyone. I understand Brian didn’t want to upset violet by rejecting her because of her being the star of the movies but to me she was way over the line multiple times and it frustrated me when he wouldn’t do anything about it. Although parts of this book frustrated me I find that it’s because I was so invested in the characters and was scared of them getting hurt.

Lizzie and Brian were definitely cute. I was a fan of the banter and it was actually hilarious that neither of them knew they like each other? Would recommend

This book was cute. I liked how the high school rivalries got to meet up by chance years later and had a second chance with each other to clear things up.

I actually wasn't a fan of the steam moments this time but all the side characters were good. I still liked the romance between Brian and the main girl but some parts felt like I was missing the connection, that moment where it clicked for me.

It was still a four star rating. Thank you Netgalley and publishers for allowing me the chance to read and review. This will be up on my blog probably next week.

I loved this book! It has all the perfect romcom tropes you could want for a cute Valentine's Day romance! Cuddle up with a blanket, some chocolate and a good bottle of wine and read this book! I love the forced proximity, faking dating, and the enemies to lovers vibes. I also love reading romances about writers. This book was everything I love in a romcom and highly recommend!

(received through NetGalley)
wow this book was a hot mess.

Brian is a hotshot writer with a hugely successful fantasy series who finds himself in Cancun for a book promotion event. The problem is he has terrible social anxiety and stage fright. Lizzie is... (i cant tell you what her job is i was confused by it, something in management of businesses?) and she's in Cancun for her best friend Mari's wedding. One thing leads to another and Lizzie is out of a room at the hotel. But Brian luckily has a huge room because the hotel is hosting his event! He gives her the extra room, she agrees to attend his events as his fake girlfriend to get an overzealous Hollywood actress off his case. She finds out her ex-boyfriend is attending the wedding and asks him to keep up the fake dating ruse around him as well. The catch: Brian and Lizzie 'hate' each other and have since they were little kids.

Why do they hate each other? Because Brian was terribly mean to her because he believed she was trying to one up him academically (I'm sorry what?).

The book was terribly paced. And the writing was so boring. I don't know who these characters even are? Suddenly they don't hate each other? There was no build up of tension, no moments of yearning, no clear shift in feelings towards the other. it was just suddenly they wanted each other, suddenly they slept together.

Also the whole plot of this actress wanting Brian and constantly making passes at him despite his continued refusals was very icky to me. Very very icky.

It started out weird and then got a little fun and then got very bad and boring. I found myself skimming a lot. Kind of a complete miss for me.