A super steamy, but deep small southern beach town romance. Twelve years ago, Olivia’s dad and Ben’s mom ran away from their families in the midst of an affair; now these high school enemies are both back in town trying to rebuild their lives and divorce themselves from their parents’ decisions. Thrown together, the two learn that maybe their strong feelings AREN’T hate. Super steamy, good life-rebuilding storylines, and legit hateful banter. Could have used a little more plot in the post-getting together part of the story, instead of just constant steam (keep steam! Just add some non-steam), but overall a great read. TW domestic abuse, adultery, alcoholism

I wish I liked this, the beginning was really good but I just couldn’t really get into it. I did push through and finish and I liked a lot of aspects but the last half really changed my mind.
The smut however was really good!
Overall this was a super quick read, and pretty enjoyable ( just not the last half for me)

4✨

This was a cute, quirky rom com with some of my favorite tropes! Big group of friends, hate to love, enemies to lovers, and small town. I giggled out loud multiple times and absolutely adored Ben! Olivia’s stubbornness annoyed me at times but I ended up loving her too.
Than, you so much for the arc!

I was expecting more of a romcom and not as much smut. I found it hard to connect with the characters or to get into the story line. I usually love a good enemies to lovers story but this wasn't really my cup of tea.

Where has this author been my whole life? Her writing style is hysterical and I enjoyed every snarky word...

Olivia lives in the small beach town of Shell Grove with her Aunt Rita at her B&B. She has lived there ever since her parents split after her father's infidelity. Olivia is planning on buying the B&B as soon as her estranged father agrees....

At one of her jobs as a masseuse, she is wildly attracted to her client...until she discovers he is the son of the "other woman".

Ben is back in town, having accepted the sheriff's job. Olivia is very prickly towards him, especially when he rents a room at the B&B. Too bad their chemistry is off the charts. Makes hating him a bit difficult....

I loved, loved, loved this story. And the heat between these two? Smoking!!!

Reasons Why Not to Date Your Nemesis
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

My review of Reasons Why Not to Date Your Nemesis by Melanie Munton will be posted to my Instagram @chronicledbycait on Thursday, September 29th

Thank you NetGalley and Melanie Munton for an eARC of Reasons Why not to Date Your Nemesis in exchange for an honest review!

Olivia Knight has hated Ben Crawford for years. The fact that her dad ran out on her mom for Ben’s mom definitely didn’t help the situation.

But when Ben comes back to town and ends up on Olivia’s massage table she’s forced to face the past she’s tried so hard to bury.

This was such a cute, fast-paced enemies to lover story and we all know I’m a huge fan of enemies to lovers!

I fell in love with Ben instantly and loved the witty banter between him and Olivia - I even found myself laughing out loud a few times! Definitely a spicy read so if that’s not your thing, consider yourself warned! 🥵

Reasons Why Not to Date Your Nemesis comes out TUESDAY, October 4th! Preorder your copy today or set your reminders on your calendar! I promise you won’t want to miss this one! ❤️

“Does this mean we have to stop fighting all the time?”“Are you kidding?” “I give it five minutes tops before you piss me off again.

I quite enjoyed this book. It was sweet, full of chemistry, light-hearted and steamy. Ben & Olivia's banters always kept me entertained. Olivia & Ben were highschool nemesis. A scarring incident that happened because his mom and her dad got together made them hurt each other by throwing jabs in school and they went their separate ways. But now Ben is back in Shell Grove and the moment he meets Olivia, I could feel the chemistry between them. Will it be possible for them to get past their history and have their own HEA? Or will the secret that Ben is keeping make Olivia misunderstand things and they will lose their chance to be together this time? You have to read this steamy enemies to lovers rom-com to find out!

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review

I didnt care for the characters, the romance or the writing. I should have known from the beginning that I wouldn't like it, but I kept reading anyway. Overall, this book just wasn't for me.

Two enemies are back to stay in their small seashore town. Ben is the sheriff and Olivia runs the B & B. Scars from the past threaten to ruin anything that might get started between them. Ben has something he needs to confess to Liv before he goes off the deep end with her, but too late.
The hissing and spitting between the two lasted way too long before they actually got together. The Intimate scenes are steamy and raucous.
Buckle up for the waves on the beach and so much more.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

What happens when the guy who made you miserable in high school show back up a decade later? What happens when he’s now ridiculously good looking and also a good guy?

This book was sexy, fun and funny. It was shamelessly cheesy and very blush worthy. I really loved the snappy dialogue, making it a quick and easy read. The characters were surprisingly deep for a romcom book, but a big flat in other ways.

The only thing I wanted more of was the quippy back and forth from the beginning, it didn’t last as long as I’d like. The pace of the story was a little off for my liking, where there wasn’t enough build-up for the supposed “hate” the characters felt for each other.

Overall this book was an entertaining book easily finished in a day.

Thank you to Netgalley and Xpresso Book Tours for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own. This book debuts on 4 October 2022, so I consider myself lucky to get my hands earlier than that! :D

MARVELLOUS. This book was marvellous. It centres on the two main characters — Olivia the B&B owner and Ben the new Sheriff in town (he came back after 12 years). Honestly, Ben was a complete jackass to Liv during their youth since Liv didn’t do anything to him (yeah yeah I know, boys are weird at expressing their feelings but oh well).

There was baggage (a LOT of them), and I didn’t expect it would be that heavy. In fact, I don’t think I can forgive said party for leaving the town. The only reason this book got less than 1 star is because of this plot. I seriously won’t ever forgive J (I forgot his name) and perhaps A, too, for what he/they did. Would’ve gladly erased them with Liv moments.

Anyway, this book got angst (one of my favourites), and possessive territorial alpha male (he was hilarious) and that enemies-to-lovers trope we all love so much. OH AND IT GOT SLOW BURN!!!!

The smut was good… very good… 👀

I love the communication and maturity between the couple. They didn’t suffer in miscommunication longer than necessary and had friends who were helpful in pushing them into a mature relationship. I love reading Ben’s POV because we could see he was hooked from the get go he had no chance 🤣🤣🤣

This is my first book from Melanie Munton and I enjoyed it! Will check out the rest of her books now!

Thank you to Melanie Munton for giving me an advanced e-book of Reasons Why Not to Date Your Nemesis !
This is the first book I’ve read by Melanie, and I can honestly say I am going to need to add more of her books to my TBR. Especially the first book in this series so I can learn more about the friend group mentioned, although Melanie does do a wonderful job describing the friends in this book so I didn't feel too behind.
This second book in the Shell Grove series follows Olivia and Ben, who have been enemies since they were children due to some unfortunate family drama. When Ben moves back to their small hometown on the coast of South Carolina in order to be the new police chief, Olivia has to learn how to cope with him invading her every day life -- especially since he has to rent a room in her family owned B&B. Due to the close contact and the shared friend group, Olivia and Ben must come to terms that maybe the strong feelings they have for each other might be something other than hate.
It’s told in a dual POV, which I LOVE, especially in romance books. I love being able to read both characters realizing their feeling for each other and what might be holding them back, I just feel like it adds that much more depth to their character growth. The spicy scenes were so well written, like Tessa Bailey level spice, and the book is filled with innuendos and sly comments that makes reading every page so much fun. The sexual tension that is build up within the first few pages is immaculate!!!
Anyone who loves a witty female main character and a tattooed ex-bad boy male character and a good enemies to loves romance will enjoy Reasons Why Not to Date Your Nemesis! ❤️‍🔥

⭐️⭐️ 2/5 🌶️ 2/5 (too much smut, very depicting detail)
Thank you to NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for giving me this ARC, and this does not influence my review.
This was a hilarious and yet angsty book with double POV (which I don’t like, I like one POV). The MMCs had great chemistry, and I love the fact that she has to give him a massage!??????
The tropes featured in this book include: hate to love, forced proximity, small town romance, possessive and jealous guy. I will be reading more books of this author as I love the tropes.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Melanie Munton and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Delightfully fun with adorable characters.

I just finished reading this book last night and let me tell you, this book was SO fun and cute. I LOVE an enemies to lovers trope and this did not disappoint. Melanie Munton did a fantastic job with this story, it was such a quick and easy going read for me and kept me invested the whole time I was reading. It did have some surprisingly spicy scenes but .. don't we all love that? The tension between the characters kept me on my toes and I truly enjoyed this book so much! Thank you so much for this ARC, I cannot wait to read more of Melanie's work in the future.

This book was so much fun! I read 'Reasons Why Not to Date Public Enemy CEO' a few months back and really enjoyed it. I was so excited to receive this next installment. Melanie is such a fun author. This was a true enemies to lovers and I loved every minute of it. Shell Grove is such a fun world and I will continue to read ANY story that takes place here!

2.5 Stars Reasons Why Not to Date Your Nemesis is a classic enemies-to-lovers rom com. Olivia and Ben have been enemies since high school, when her dad ran off with his mom. Twelve years have passed and Ben has returned to the seaside town of Shell Grove as the new sheriff. Olivia and Ben pick up right where they left off—riling each other up, bantering, and denying their attraction to one another, until one night when they finally give in. As they start to fall for each other, Ben finds it harder and harder to keep a secret from Olivia about why their parents really ran off together. This was a cute, quick, and easy read. I could’ve done with less inner monologuing from the main characters.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

The moment I realized that this is an enemies-to-lovers story, I knew I had to pick it up and I wasn't disappointed, quite the contrary. actually!

Olivia Knight and Ben Crawford have been arch-nemesis ever since their high school years, the fact that two of their parents ended up running out of their respective families, leaving both teenagers in broken homes, only solidified their hatred. Or so Olivia thought.

I loved every moment of this book, the slow-burn romance that suddenly turned into an unadulterated smut-fest had me on the edge of my seat. One of the things I enjoyed about this is that it's not an insta-love situation. Olivia and Ben needed to get through plenty of stuff before they had their happily ever after. And while it wasn't a smooth ride for either of them, I enjoyed every tension-filled moment between these two characters. Their chemistry was off the roof and I was a bit disappointed when the story ended.

This is an easy-going, uncomplicated love story that anyone who enjoys romcoms would easily get into. It's an easy 5-star for me and I'm looking forward to reading the next installment in that series.

This has the most fun title and premise. Thank you for the advanced reading copy and getting to come into this corner of the world in the book.

"I might still be carrying around some baggage. But I want to work through all of it with you."

3.5 stars!

A smut heavy contemporary romance.

I quickly read through this romance, enjoying the quick pace and the fiery interactions between the main romantics leads. The beginning was a fun start and gave a strong impression to the reader of how the tone and flow of the story would be throughout.

The main characters were ones who's core decisions and gut-reactions were definitely led by the traumas of their past and their struggles to become something more than the gossip that surrounded them. The insight to the characters allowed the reader to understand the, sometimes, frustrating 'hiding away' and 'running away from problems' that I saw from the leads. However, the sexual attraction between the main leads were written well, and for readers looking for romance with explicit scenes this is the one for you.

The only aspect of the story that didn't work for me was the final arc of the story. The way events were approached and handled, for me as the reader, fell a bit flat. I feel like if it could have happened differently, that if pivotal topics would have come to a climax in less of a rushed feel, it would have been more satisfying.

Thank you to Netgalley and Xpresso Book Tours for an eARC, I am voluntarily leaving a review.