OH THE DRAMA.

It became apparent to me very quickly that I am not the target market for this story. The high school drama stuck me as just that: High School. Don’t get me wrong! This is not inherently a bad thing! It’s just not something I really found I could relate to as I read this book.

I do think that if a more YA geared story is your thing this will be perfect for you. The author chooses to touch on some tough subjects, school pressure, problems with peers, bullying, infidelity to name a few. It all feels very relevant for the struggles of the age group. I have to give the book props for not being too cutesy when I personally don’t remember much of my high school relationships feeling that way!

This is a pretty quick read. Second chance/ friend-to-enemies-to-lovers story about friendship and overcoming broken trust. 4/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for letting me read this ARC on Kindle! Hard Feelings was very raw when it came to the emotions both on the outside and the ones we internalize especially when being in adolescence. I related a good amount to Glory’s situation so I felt connected in a way to her not overwhelmingly so but because of similar situations. I love friends to enemies to lovers trope so I knew this was going to be an instant 4 or 5 stars for me! The only reasons for 4 instead of 5 is because some of the feelings toward each other were a little skewed at first it very much felt like absolute hatred instead of dislike and I also don’t really enjoy the aspect of bullying someone you like. That just gives off boys will be boys vibes and that’s because he likes you, something we need to get away from in my opinion. All in all though it was a cute, fast read with a bunch of cute moments and a few sprinkles of spice.

Whew the steam! Sadly even the steamy scenes couldn't redeem this book or the characters in it.
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the eARC all opinions expressed are my own.

This book had some great tropes! I loved the friends to lovers aspect. It was a sweet book and a feel good read. I recommend this book!

I really wanted to like this book. The characters are awful. I couldn’t get behind any of them. This book was not for me.

3.5⭐ bumped up to a 4⭐
FMC: Glory- a soccer-loving girl who moved to Galway and met a group of friends who would change her life. Her mother had an affair with her best friend’s dad and left town- leaving Glory as the one to take the wrath of the town and make her and her father social pariahs. Will they ever get back to being friends?
MMC: Killian- the golden boy of his school and part of the most beloved and powerful family in Galway. As tensions grow after his father and best friend’s mother leave town, he abandons his friendship with Glory making her free game for torment through her high school years. He’s doing his best to ignore what could have been with them, until he overhears comments from guys on the football team… will things change for their senior year?
POV: 1st person, single POV
HEA: yes
spice: yes, several open door spicy scenes
TWs: parental abandonment, cheating (not MCs), pregnancy troubles (not MCs), divorce, bullying
standalone: yes
final thoughts: this book had so many ups and downs, likes and dislikes, but overall was a very entertaining read. I really don’t love on-again-off-again relationships that stem from miscommunication but with a high school setting it felt very fitting. There was a ton of high school drama, but I loved the friendships that were portrayed throughout the book and the focus on mental health. And those spicy scenes? WHEW they sure had some chemistry that was so sweet!

read this book if you love
🤜 friends-to-rivals-to-lovers
💞 childhood crush
2️⃣ 2nd chance romance
🏫 high school to college setting
😬 angst
🤐 miscommunication
⚽ both MCs play sports
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 technically step siblings?
🧠 mental health

Unfortunately, I found the characters in this book to be incredibly unlikeable. It was also really unclear to me whether this was a YA novel or adult novel, based on the language that the characters use with each other. The characters are still teenagers but the smut is spicier than you would typically read in a YA novel. I wish that it was marketed more clearly, as well as that the relationship between the two unfolded in a more believable way. The anger and hostility was so intense, until it wasn't?

Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved EVERYTHING about this book. First, the cover is absolutely gorgeous. The colors, the couple... *chef's kiss* Utter perfection for me. And the first chapter starts off with a bang, literally. Like, we find out that Glory and Killian were best friends ever since she moved into the little town of Galway. And then her mom and his dad had an affair and left their significant others to go start a new life together. E X C U S E M E? The amount of feelings I had for them, and for Glo specifically. Ugh.

Glo gets basically ostracized and Killian stops being her friend and kind of bullies her. It's brutal, but then things change. Somehow this book wrecked my soul but then put it back together again and I loved every minute of it. Glory is strong and independent and the discussion around therapy and trauma was particularly personal for me. And Killian guh. He's hot and protective and jealous and swoony and I ended up loving him.

The side characters (particularly Cassidy and Tanner) were great and Cassidy's enemies-to-lovers romance is next. I cannot wait to pick it up!

Although I LOVE the friends to lovers trope, I not a huge fan of miscommunication. These characters had cute banter at times. Overall, loved the cute ending and this was a good read!

Thank you netgalley and Xpresso Book Tours for allowing me to read this book. I was not expecting a lot from this book but it did surprise me. This was a cute, quick, light read that I enjoyed! I did feel like it wasn’t much of an enemies to lovers book. They seemed like enemies for a few chapters but then became cozy pretty early on. I did feel like I needed more because it didn’t keep me intrigued the whole time but it was cute. I would love to read a second book where Cassidy finds love!

It’s sweet but I had a hard time getting into the book. It’s a friends to enemies to lovers romance but it didn’t feel authentic at all times. The author definitely has potential though.

This book just wasn't it for me. I barely started before deciding to DNF it. I quickly released they were going to stay in high school and I'm just not in to that kind of romance stories.

Childhood best friends to enemies to lovers.

Second chance romance.

Break my heart and heal it, omg. This book was really good. They were best friends before the scandal hit. Then Glory and Killian became enemies until they found their way back to each other. This story was really well-written. Some parts were a lil cringe and the ending was kind of quick. but overall it was an enjoyable book! The spice was a nice bonus as well. I do kind of wish for a slow burn, but I understand why it wasn't with these two.

I really enjoyed this book! It was engaging and the banter was funny throughout the entire thing.

TW - Infidelity

I really felt that Glory’s character was so relatable. She suffered from such heavy anxiety as well as debilitating migraines which i can personally relate to a lot! I will say there was a huge section at the beginning talking about the frequency of the migraines and then there was only 1 episode mentioned throughout the book, so i was surprised that it wasn’t a more constant occurrence.

I really loved the dynamic between all these characters. I think sometimes people don’t realize how small towns are and when something like infidelity happens to a “big name” family it’s huge news and is constantly brought up. I feel like for the most part Elizabeth, Glory, Killian, and Glory’s dad really has such a strong dynamic and all individually went through such a huge amount character development throughout the book.

I would have loved to see a DUAL POV aspect to this book, a couple chapters from Killian’s perspective would have lifted it to a 5 star read for me!

Overall, It’s giving: Small Town Romance, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, Soccer/Football Romance, Miscommunication, second chance romance and he falls first & HARD.

I’ll definitely be looking for more books by this author!

🌟🌟🌟🌟
I'm so in love with this book, thank you so much for the author and Netgalley for provide me this ARC in exchange for a honest review. I fall in love with Killan since the beggining, his demostrations of affections through glory was so cute that i wish a killan in my life as well. Although i don't under his reasons to bullying glory, that was a dick move without excuses. Glory's bff Cassidy was sooo funny she shipps Gillian so hard hahaha and she tries in every way to bring the to together. Unfortunally i found glory a little annoying but she and killan together makes such a beatiful couple that i let it pass.
i never thought i would like friends-to-enemies-to-lovers but here i'm... thanks again Author i'm looking forward to read your next book.

- Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC copy -

Honestly I didn't really liked the part of this book as I feel that she forgave him a little too quickly. He was technically her bully for 4 years and she was pretty easy to get back together with him.
For his journal, I feel she could've finished reading it pretty quickly as there wasn't much pages to it too.
I really liked that she had Cassidy and her dad by her side and how loyal Cassidy is.

Overall, I did not really enjoy this book as much as I thought I would.

This book is about second chance friendship, and romance, finding one's true self, and transitioning from teenage to adulthood.

It's a great book that portrays great friendship, relationships, and how characters make it work with their issues. While there are some instances where I found myself just a tad bit annoyed with Glory but despite that, I loved her character.

I loved the real-life situation/setting. I loved how the author kept their relationship realistic. I loved the character growth of Glory, and Killian my god was so sweet. He's a perfect mix of broody and golden boy. He does everything he can to right all his wrongs, to win Glory back. I loved how Killian always seems to know what could be going through Glory's head. He's the perfect boyfriend anyone could ask for.

The chemistry and buildup between the two are absolutely perfect. I have got no complaints at all. 🥵🤭

If you love a story with:

– Small Town Romance,
– Childhood best friends to Enemies to Lovers,
– Slow Burn,
– Sports Romance.

Then this book is for you.

This is such a wholesome story, I'd without a doubt recommend it.

Big thanks to #netgalley for this amazing book!

𝙉𝙊𝙏𝙀: 𝙄 𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠. 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙬𝙣.

Best Friends to Enemies. Losing a good friend is always painful and hard. It’s a death you have to grieve and being stuck in the same town can really intensify those emotions. Worst part is when it’s other peoples actions that cause the rift between you and your person. Realizing that tomorrow isn’t promised sometimes you take a leap of faith and try to bridge the gap and hope for the best. Enemies to Lovers with a whole mess of family drama and dynamics. Learning to heal yourself and understanding that communication is key. Doing things you think is for the best for all parties is just assuming you are right without regards for the other person involved. Are you making the right choice for you or are you just scared of what could be?

Cute book. Good spice! Looking forward to reading more from this author!

This didn't do it for me. I felt like the drama and "scandal" just wasn't all that exciting. I wasn't drawn in and didn't particularly care for any of the characters.

Friends to lovers with some steamy undertones, whats not to love? It was hard to put down and I loved the whole thing!