At this point I haven’t finished this book. I don’t care for the female character of this book. If I finish it will come back and update my review.
Thanks NetGalley for an advanced copy.

I thought this was a cute story, at times some scenes were a little added on but overall it was a cute rom com. Brynn is a newscaster that says negative things about her hometown and gets caught in camera. She has to go back to her hometown to win the people over and potentially find the real Brynn or will she find love?

it was cute and fun at some point, but the female character kind of rude that make its hard for me to like it. I almost couldn't finish it. But I love the small town vibes.

Brynn Cornell is America's Ray of Sunshine on the most-watched morning show. She's always happy, perky, and looking at the bright side of things. Until a series of errors while filming live ends up showing the world that she hates the little town she grew up in and thinks very negative things about the people living there. In an effort to save her career, Brynn is forced to go back to a town she'd sworn never to set foot in again and win the forgiveness of those she abandoned and then badmouthed on national television. A hard task on its own, but there's also Sebastian Sudworth to deal with. A recent-ish transplant who loves the little town and all the people in it and won't let Brynn get away with saying bad things about the town and then showing up being fake about her feelings.
They clash from the moment they're in the same space together and things only get better from there. It's a story about redemption and going back to your roots in order to find your future path. The emotions are strong with this one, but Turner manages to write even the darkest parts of the story so that they're always cushioned by want and fuzzy moments that tug at your heartstrings without it hurting.
I loved this book so much. The snipping and banter between Brynn and Sebastian are perfect from beginning to end. It reminded me of little kids with crushes who don't want to acknowledge that they like the other person and keep finding reasons to antagonize them. It adds a very fun element to a story that would otherwise be weighed down by their sad pasts. I very highly recommend giving this one a read and enjoying the fun ride it takes you on.

Delighted thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the great read!

While I mostly enjoyed this enemies-to-lovers story, I was a little put off by some of the dialogue. Also, the story felt a little hurried.

Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other didn't work for me. If it wasn't for the small-town vibes, I am not sure I would have finished. The blame lies solely on the female main character, Brynn. She is terrible. Rude. Standoffish. Glib. She thinks she is better than an entire town. A town that did nothing but help take care of her and help her through a very rough childhood.

I think the book's title does a disservice to its readers. I went in thinking this would be a cute enemies to lovers, but the only reason Sebastian has a reason to hate Brynn is because she is so mean. She is instantly rude and condescending to Sebastian when they meet.

Also, they go from hate to love too quickly. There is no build-up, nothing to swoon over. I never rooted for them. Sebastian deserved so much better.

Despite this, I did enjoy the small-town vibes and the town's attempts to hold on to the community they have built.

I should point out that Brynn's storyline is first-person POV, and Sebastian's is third-person POV.

Trigger warnings for past trauma: reporting in war-torn countries and traumatic childhoods.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

So this was a cozy novel to read over the first snow in Colorado this year! This novel is for fans of movies like Morning Glory, Life or Something like it, or even the Mary Tyler Moore Show. It was darling.

Brynn is from a rough beginning and she really can't put up with her arrogant co-star. When she trashes her hometown on air, she is sent home to apologize and reconciliation and romance follows.

It was a cute story, the kind of book you can take to a doctor's office or read on the playground. Kind of predictable but still fun and cute. A solid 3 star book for me because it was enjoyable, but not earth shattering.

I will definitely be readying more from this author in the future.

Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other is a sweet clean romance that i wasn't expecting to like as much as i did, also it made me cry and i wasn't expecting that in a romance book.

One thing about me: I will always eat up a workplace rivals to lovers story, even if it is a bit played out. This was a fun read and the tension was jumping off the page!

Brynn and Sebastion Hate Each Other is a sweet, clean, grumpy-sunshine romance that is full of heartwarming, emotional and funny moments that will have you laughing and crying along with the characters. I especially enjoyed seeing how the endearing town of Adelaide Springs impacted each of their lives as well.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book, all opinions are my own.

I don't know what to say other than I almost didn't finish this book. I just couldn't get into it. 😬

The storyline of the book seemed slow and honestly the last couple chapters were my favorite part of the whole book. This book just didn't click for me and it took me a very long time to read it.

It's just not for me so unfortunately I have to rate it accordingly.

I liked that, as the story went on, we could see that the author gave us a twist. The sunny persona is only skin deep. Not the usual sunshine/grump trope.

The story's written in first person. The main characters are intelligent, but they’re also chock full of words. Unfortunately there was a lot of rambling in the story. I skimmed and skipped ahead as scenes, and plot points, dragged on.

One of the reasons the plot dragged was that we spent chapter after chapter in sequential minutes of the same morning.

The premise is that the heroine is forced to revisit, and even champion, the town she condemned. A great hook. She’ll have to uphold her sunny façade, at least publicly, in order to achieve her career goals. But she fails, repeatedly. I did not like her rudeness. It didn’t strike me as funny. I couldn't root for her. Perhaps if we'd seen the reasons behind her dislike of nearly everyone, we could have sympathized with her. But we don't see that until later.

The hero is sort of hiding out, due to his past. I like the concept that each of them will have to come to terms with themselves, their pasts, and their beliefs about the past, in order to become what they want to be. Circumstances motivate them.

The heroine’s fatal flaw is self-sabotage. Lacking any nobility or consideration, she’s very unlikable. It was difficult to root for her to receive what she wanted from the story’s outset.

One of the themes is being true to one’s self. I like this theme. Other themes included that of a mother’s love, or lack thereof, and how that affects people. She even included psychological elements, like a description of hyper-vigilance.

I confess I did not finish this novel because of all the rambling, the tedious passage of time, and the rather unlikable heroine.

This book might best appeal to readers who enjoy a chick lit style of first-person prose.

"Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other" by Bethany Turner is a fun and engaging romantic comedy. The story revolves around the fiery, humorous relationship between Brynn and Sebastian. Turner's witty storytelling keeps the banter lively and the characters endearing. As the plot unfolds, it explores the thin line between love and hate, resulting in a delightfully entertaining and heartwarming journey of self-discovery and, perhaps, unexpected love. This book is a perfect read for those who enjoy romantic tales filled with humor and charm.

Não sei bem o que eu esperava dessa leitura, mas acho que o que encontrei passa um pouco longe. Admito que o que me pegou na sinopse foi o clima de enemies to lovers ao redor dos protagonistas e, enquanto isso até foi real sim, não foi de todo de um jeito com o qual eu me envolvesse muito.

Ao contrário de em outros livros, os primeiros capítulos desse foram bem instigantes, me deixando curiosa com o motivo por trás de Brynn ter uma reação negativa à sua cidade natal e achei promissor vê-la de volta ao lugar para tentar reverter sua então manchada imagem de apresentadora. Até certo ponto inicial isso foi indo bem, mas desde as primeiras interações dela com o Sebastian até pouco mais da metade do livro as coisas seguiram um caminho bem maçante e irritante que me fizeram quase desanimar com a leitura, já nem mais interessada na Brynn e sua história, contada aos poucos aqui e ali, mas de uma forma tão vaga que pouco surtiu o apelo que deveria, acho.

O que me manteve um pouco mais firme na leitura, porém, foi descobrir, logo mais, o que havia acontecido com o Sebastian no passado como um famoso apresentador jornalista. Era a centelha de curiosidade que me segurava na trama, e de fato valeu a pena esperar por sua revelação, ainda que no caminho até lá, mesmo romântica como sou, tenha se desenvolvido um romance que em nada me convenceu. Achei bonitinho e até divertido em alguns momentos, por entre as alfinetadas e piadas deles entre si, principalmente com menções à cultura pop? Sim. Mas não foram nenhum ponto alto na leitura pra mim.

E, bem, ao final da leitura agora, mesmo até com o tema do passado do Seb, no geral eu fiquei meio decepcionada com o quão vaga tudo foi na maior parte do tempo. Eu queria e em certo ponto até entendi sim os dilemas dos personagens, mas, em especial a Brynn, ainda me deixaram dividida sobre sua mudança ao longo da trama. Pareceu meio corrido, às vezes até forçada eu diria.

No fim, eu esperava algo clichê e não foi bem o que o livro entregou. O casal não soou tão convincente pra mim, e os temas, então importantes sim sobre notícias e o real sentido do jornalismo que autora desenvolve com eles, por ter se dado de forma ainda vaga e por vezes sem o impacto desejado para reflexão e afins, também não salvaram muito a leitura. Ok, não 3,5 não significa um livro de todo ruim como nesse caso, mas para o que a sinopse prometia, foi bem aquém das expectativas.

It takes dedication to get through the first half of this book because the main character, Brynn, starts off pretty insufferably. She is rude without cause to basically everyone she encounters. We eventually find out that she has a traumatic past and some emotional baggage that may help explain some of this behavior but it isn’t until the halfway point that she started to grow on me.

The second half is a nice story. Brynn gets her redemption arc and the romance is sweet. I love the enemies to lovers trope but this one relies heavily on a dose do insta-love which is maybe my least favorite of all tropes.

We get some wonderful found family vibes and a great small town setting that I wish the reader got to explore a little more thoroughly. Maybe we’ll see some more of the supporting cast in a future book??

I think this is the debut novel from this author. It was definitely promising enough that I would give her second book a read.

2.5 stars rounded up

For many reasons this book just didn’t work for me. The first and primary reason being the character of Brynn. She is honestly one of the worst characters I have read in a while. She immediately comes off as narcissistic, self centered, and rude. We are supposed to feel sorry for her since she had a rough childhood, but this is a woman in her late 30s who honestly thinks it is okay to treat everyone like they are below her. She is the perfect example of main character energy. I instantly didn’t like her and wanted to skip her POV chapters. The second reason this book didn’t work for me was the quickness of Brynn’s turnaround. It was almost like she had a personality and attitude transplant within a day of arriving in her hometown. It was off putting and made her seem even more fake.

Overall, this book would have worked better if the main characters were in their early to mid-20’s instead of late 30’s. This is especially true for Brynn. Many parts of the story (especially how quickly she is forgiven by her hometown) don’t make sense if she has been gone for 20 years.

3/5 stars


I really wanted to like this one. But I didn’t automatically like the FMC, Brynn. In fact, I kinda disliked her. I was so relieved to see the author post that you weren’t supposed to like her in the beginning. I wish I would have been able to like her more by the end. I did like Sebastian and wanted to root for their relationship. The first 50% was a little slow and wish I could have connected with Brynn more. I think maybe this book would be a 5 star for someone else, so I would recommend for people who enjoy the tropes.

Tropes
-Grumpy x (fake) Sunshine
- Small town
- Dual POV
- Enemies to lovers vibes

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early read. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

This ended up being a DNF for me at around 10% in. Brynn is sarcastic and reasonably unlikeable. This seems like a nice light fluffy book but it’s not giving me what I want from the MC Brynn. Thank you for the ARC opportunity and apologies for making the wrong pick for myself.

I did not finish this book. I started to lose interest around the middle because it wasn't picking up the way I had hoped. I thought the way the community treated Brynn was dramatic and not in an effective way, and didn't represent women or treatment of women well. I might revisit this book at a later date, but not for now.

I enjoyed reading this, but can't say that I loved it. The character development felt like it was happening in fits and starts - Brynn is unlikeable for too long and then the sharp switch from "hating" each other to immediately developing feelings was a bit jarring. Overall, it didn't quite have the execution that I wanted.