Full disclosure Chloe Liese is my favorite author, but this book is everything and now one of my favorites.

Chloe Liese books give heartfelt, honest, accurate representation to people of all backgrounds and this book is no exception. The subpoints of chronic illness (chronic migraines), LGBTQIA (ace), neurodivergence (ADHD) of the main characters speaks a lot to the power of good representation and its ability to feel personal and universal simultaneously. These additions are seamlessly woven into the story and enhance rather than distract from the story. The characters are all so beautifully written and handled by the story. The characters come off the page and felt so realistic that they were hard to leave by the end of the book.

The banter is top tier, and the Taming of the Shrew retelling is a perfect balance of old and new/updated. The book is a fun warm hug of a book that I can see myself reading again and again (and recommending to everyone).

Better Hate than Never is a wonderful follow up to Two Wrongs Make a Right! The snippets of Kate and Christopher in Two Wrongs Make a Right made me so excited for their romance in this novel, and I was definitely not disappointed. The charged banter and tension between the two was perfect and extremely reminiscent of The Taming of the Shrew and its other adapted forms of media, like 10 Things I Hate About You.

My favorite aspect of this novel was definitely the demisexual representation with Kate being on the ace spectrum. I've very rarely read romances where a character was on the asexual spectrum and seeing Christopher be more than willing to allow Kate to develop the emotional connection needed in order to be physically intimate was very well done. Chloe Liese always writes such great chronic illness and neurodivergent representation as well, and I think the representation of having ADHD and chronic migraines was handled very thoughtfully in this novel.

In this book, I also saw hints of the third book in this trilogy being a Romeo and Juliet retelling, and I'm very excited for a potential forbidden romance following Juliet working at Christopher's company (named after Verona)!

This was a super cute read! This was my first Chloe Liese book & I realized as I started it that it was the second in a series. I loved it so I will definitely be going back to read the first one!

Chloe has done it again! I loved the first book in this series, but "Better Hate than Never" delivered. I love a good slow burn and childhood enemies then to lovers is one of my favorite tropes. Kate and Chris brought so much out of each other and so tender with each others feelings. Ugh it was just a warm hug. Also so many fall vibes!!

4.5 stars!

4.25⭐️ (arc review)

Chloe always writes the most heartfelt stories that make you swoon and her second book was no different!

Kate and Christopher’s dynamic was definitely enemies to lovers and their banter was so fun! I loved seeing them fall in love and all the ways they cared for each other was so sweet.

Also I LOVE books with acts of service and they both did that for each other which was so stinking cute!!!

And the cameos of Bea and Jamie WERE SO GOOD I MISSED THEM!!

4.5 stars rounded up

I enjoyed Bea and Jamie's story, but I loved Christopher and Kate's story. There is something so satisfying about an enemies-to-lovers where they're only enemies because one of them knows they'll fall head over heels if they get too close. I loved their growth, I loved their banter, and I loved how the third act was a reflection of both of those things. It wasn't a perfect Chloe Liese book, but it was pretty darn enjoyable enough that even after waiting a few days to write this review, I still have only good memories about it. If you're a fan of Taming of the Shrew, Kiss Me Kate, or 10 Things I Hate About You, I felt like this had bits and bobs of all of them, and I loved it!

This book was everything! I felt so seen and understood by Chloe Liese and her characters. I felt a deep sense of connection to Kate and Christopher, one that's usually really hard to come by. These characters were real and three dimensional beings that felt more like an inner voice or a close friend, than they did words on a page.

Each character was written carefully and had a place amongst the pages. The chemistry between the two leads was explosive. The tension was palpable, the dialogue witty and swoon-worthy. The mental health representation in this book was amazing.

I was so excited when I read this book description, and Chloe Liese definitely delivered. The writing was phenomenal. The enemies to lovers trope was also perfectly executed. I can't wait to see what Chloe Liese has in store for us next!

I would like to thank the publisher for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley. As always, my opinions are entirely my own.

Chloe Liese can do no wrong, period. The Shakespeare retellings are here to stay and this play on Taming of the Shrew is absolutely killer. Kat and Christopher have such sexual tension from the get-go, yet they can't stand one another. The burn here is ACHINGLY slow but pays off major dividends in the end. We get to watch Kat cope with her midlife crisis while Christopher struggles with his chronic migraines. As someone who regularly watches a loved one go through the same thing, it's so incredibly painful to read but Chloe nails the portrayal. Should every romcom have a tango scene? Probably.

As an added plus, there's no 3rd act breakup (god bless). Honestly it took so long for them to get together that it would've been pure devastation if they'd had to part. You also get Bea and Jamie cameos, a killer paintball scene, and SO MUCH CHARACTER GROWTH. I absolutely cannot wait for Jules's book and everything else she writes in the future.

*Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Chloe Liese never fails to pull at my heartstrings with her incredible romances. Also, she writes such a diverse range of characters so beautifully. In this book, she writes about a male MC with migraines and a female MC with ADHD. This was such a GRAND enemies to lovers romance with SO. MUCH. PINING. I was living for them to get together, and was just on the edge of my seat waiting for their HEA. This was an all around great time to read, and I couldn't think of a better way to spend a couple hours than curled up with THIS book in my hand again for the first time.

thank you to netgallery for this arc!!! second books are incredibly hard to write, especially when the first book was so successful, but chloe liese truly created fireworks with katie and christopher. the buzz was strong throughout the whole story, and my only regret is that i didn’t read it slower.

5⭐️
2.5🌶

Better Hate than Never is one of my most anticipated releases of 2023 and Kate and Christopher's story absolutely knocked my expectations out of the park!!

The friendship, representation, and utmost care Chloe Liese takes with every one of her stories is beautiful and inspiring. Every one of her characters is so wonderfully *human* and reading these books feels like they're sitting right beside you, tell you their stories themselves. Our main characters are the focus of the story, of course, but you'll find yourself wondering what each of their friends are doing behind the scenes; what they're up to, how they're feeling, what they're thinking. It's impossible not to be pulled, directly by the heart, into their gravity.

I loved getting glimpses into Bea and Jamie's continued relationship throughout this book. Two Wrongs Make a Right is a top read of 2023 for me (as is Better Hate than Never, now), and keeping up with their story was such a treat. I love how they love each other and how they love Kate and Christopher, too.

The demisexuality (Kate) and chronic illness representation (Christopher; migraines) in this book is honest and attentively represented. The empathetic, world-loving energy in Kate is admirable and heartrending. And if you have a close sibling relationship in your own life, you'll adore the one between Kate, Bea, and Jules.

And, as always, the slow burn led to some absolutely mouth-watering spice and the beautiful breaking of tension. I mean it when I say: Chloe Liese's ~adult~ scenes always deliver. And it's about so much more than the physical.

Overall, BHTN is a wonderfully paced, emotionally exploratory book of belonging, family, friendship, individuality, and trust. I loved the nights out and the nights in with the crew, I adored the blossoming relationships, and I especially enjoyed seeing bits of myself in Kate.

Some of us just take some time to warm up, you know? But being a bit prickly doesn't mean we're any less deserving of patience and love.

I'm already sweaty-palmed waiting for book 3! Chloe Liese, you have my whole heart. Thank you.

**Thank you to Chloe Liese, Berkley, and NetGalley for an ARC of Better Hate than Never in exchange for my honest review!!**

A coworker got me hooked on Chloe Liese's work. I have devoured every single one since and this one is no exception. I have to force myself to put it down to do some adulting because it was sooo good! I can't wait to add this to the collection.

Thank you for the free book PRH International. And thank you Chloe Liese for writing another tender and sweet book about two people who don’t think they are worth a happily-ever-after but they are. Oh, they definitely are. Both Kate and Christopher have my heart now and I just want to wrap myself into this story forever, with some home-made pasta, pumpkin spice doughnuts and cups and cups of apple cider on the side.

This is the second in a series. I felt like the author spent too much time at the beginning of the novel explaining what happened in the first novel. It was unneeded and slowed the plot considerably. Once the previous plot was established, the book moved at a decent clip. There was some repetition. However, the characters are enjoyable and the story endearing. People who enjoyed the first will enjoy this one. However, it would be hard to pick this up and get right into the story.

Absolutely amazing!

I absolutely loved Two Wrongs Make a Right and was so excited to receive an arc of Better Hate Than Never! I immediately dove into the book and was quickly immersed in the world of the Wilmot Sisters again! In this installment we follow Katerina (Kate) Wilmot as she makes a rare trip home to visit her family and runs right into her childhood nemesis and family friend, Christopher Petruchio. (Yes, that Christopher from Two Wrongs Make a Right! 🥊 iykyk) Their long-standing feud starts to cool when they realize they both may have misinterpreted each other incorrectly along the way - but that’s where things really begin to heat up! Packed full of so much tension and banter it will make your heart swoon while being written with amazing neurodivergent and chronic illness representation? 100% yes! Literally singing the praises of this book from the rooftops and cannot wait to see what the next installment will bring!

*There is something so special about how Chloe Liese’s storytelling. From the dedication, the playlists, the authors note and the beautiful story in between - her books are full of such passion, representation, vulnerability and realness. Definitely a insta-read author for me!

Pick up Better Hate Than Never when it hits shelves 10.10.23!

Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing Group for the advanced copy!

I don't read many romances, but the tension in this sounded too good to resist.
I was pleasantly surprised to find such strong representation for neurodiversity.
Read this for a refreshing, modern take on childhood enemies to lovers.

I'm dead. Deceased. RIP me.

Chloe Liese never disappoints, and Better Hate than Never is no exception. In fact, I would say it's one of my all-time favorites, and that's saying something. BHTN is a modern-day reimagining of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, and it's full of nods to not only the original but also the movie 10 Things I Hate About You (which made my elder-millennial heart so happy).

Katerina Wilmot and Christopher Petruchio were childhood nemeses, and they've spent most of their adult lives actively avoiding each other. But then when Kate unexpectedly finds herself back home if not for good than for a good long while, they can't avoid each other anymore. That simmering tension reaches its boiling point, and neither of them is prepared for what happens next.

Let's talk representation. Chloe is a QUEEN for a reason. Her characters are always so complex and real, and it is their personal struggles and foibles that make them utterly compelling. BHTN has ADHD rep, demisexual rep, and chronic migraine rep. As someone who has ADHD and who is demisexual, I connected with Kate on an incredibly personal level. Her experience with ADHD is weirdly similar to my own, and seeing it on the page was so cathartic and also affirming. While I don't have chronic migraines, I live with chronic pain of a different kind, so I could empathize with Christopher as well; pain we can't avoid does affect our quality of life, and we can't always do what we want to do, and it can make us feel like a burden to those who care for us.

While on the surface their love story looks quite different from mine and my husband's, it still felt very familiar...and then toward the end, when we learned their zodiac signs, I literally laughed out loud. Mine and my husband's and Kate and Christopher's star signs are the exact same. They aren't supposed to work--they're complete incompatible on paper--and yet, for some reason, we work, just like Kate and Christopher.

Thank you, Chloe, for writing such incredible, inclusive romances. Everyone deserves to experience love, to know what it is to be cherished, and seeing love stories like this in print is always so amazing. I'm a forever fan.

I had mixed feelings about the first book in this series, but this one really hit the spot. It was basically the book form of the "My emotions!" Troy Barnes gif. Also, I'm a sucker for a Taming of the Shrew retelling. This book made me realize that I really only like enemies to lovers when there is significant backstory between the characters.

4.5 Stars rounded up

Did I expect this book to be good? Hell yes. I’m a huge Liese fan so I expected a lot and I was absolutely not disappointed.

Quick Synopsis: Christopher and Kate have a mutual hatred. Kate has been traveling for her work as a photographer for years. Christopher has rarely left his home town after his parents death and has found a family in Kate’s. When Kate returns to gather herself back up and figure out her life once again, Christopher and Kate are forced into each other’s company regularly. Only now, the two can figure out where this hatred stems from, and resolve it hopefully.

Trigger warnings: Chronic migraines; broken arm; sexism and misogyny;

What I liked:
-I loved how within 30% Christopher has identified the root cause of the issues between the two and immediately takes steps to fix it. Think Mr. Darcy after Elizabeth tells him off.
-The spice? The SPICE?? Liese outdid herself there. There isn’t a lot, but what is there is real good.
-At the end we almost got a third-act breakup (not a fan of those) but Liese subverts it. Instead, we get rational, adult conversation between the two that is healthy and I loved that.
-Some of the scenes were just so unbelievably romantic between these two. I know we get romance in Two Wrongs Make a Right, but for some reason, this romance just hit different.
-We get demi-sexuality rep which I loved.

What I struggled with:
-I couldn’t get into the book, like fully sink in, until around 40%. Once the party happens however, I was very much in it.
-I do think the pacing was a bit off. There were some scenes where I was very bored throughout but they were always bookended by other glorious scenes, so I’m ok with it.

Another banger from Chloe Liese that only continues to cement my love of her writing and storytelling.

Rating: 4.5/5
Warnings: death of parents (in-past), chronic migraines, ADHD rep
Steam: 3.5/5
Tropes: it's always been you, childhood frenemies to lovers, slow burn, age-gap

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for access to this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

What an absolute delight this book was.. he brought her flowers and pastries, made her homemade pasta, and admitted when he was wrong. Can I marry Christopher?

What started off as a fiery enemies to lovers book faded into a tender love that was absolutely beautiful. It was so vulnerable and raw, and absolutely relatable. I loved these two together and all their chaos. Fantastic steam per usual. The best part? No 3rd act breakup!