- Childhood enemies to lovers
- Age gap (he's 7 years older)
- He falls first
- Opposites attract
- ADHD, demisexuality and chronic migraine rep
- No breakup
- Narrated by Stephen Dexter and Charlotte North
- Dual POV

I feel confident calling Kate and Christopher enemies because damn, they really don’t like each other in the beginning 😅. I also don’t think you can get more opposite than these two. She’s a travelling photojournalist with less than $10 in her bank account. He craves control, never takes a holiday and owns a firm specialising in ethical investments.

But they do say opposites attract! As it turns out, Christopher was just channelling his worry and love for Kate into animosity because he didn’t know how to handle his feelings for her as she always left. “As if anyone could not want you.” 🥺

He was a goner for her and so understanding and patient as Kate revealed she needed an emotional connection before intimacy. Her birthday was his door code! He had a handkerchief she made years ago in his desk drawer! He archived every single photo she published!

Being a wanderer myself, I also resonated with Kate. I just adore how Chloe repeatedly gives us diverse and refreshingly honest characters. I also adore that this series is Shakespeare-inspired. The nods to 10 Things I Hate About You a.k.a my favourite movie? I die. There was a paintball scene, people!

Finally, I appreciated there was no breakup and Kate decided to trust Christopher and not jump to conclusions 👏🏻. The ending made me so happy and I cannot wait to find out where Chloe takes Juliet's story.

I am baffled by how overdone this book is and how strongly I disliked it. This series seems pandering, like it was written for TikTok. I am not at all impressed that characters and their actions were played off as a result of their zodiac signs.

Kate is immature and incredibly judgemental, and Christopher's alter ego player/sex god didn't fit at all! I do not understand why they like each other. I certainly didn't like either of them.

My biggest complaint: I was cringing at how many times Christopher was thinking of how well he could get women off. And then they both act like his not having sex for three weeks is some miracle. He never sleeps with a woman more than once but has sex multiple times a week. Where is he finding all these oodles of interested women?? And his assistant was the one scheduling all these sex dates for him - YUCK. None of this added to the plot, but it was all gross to read.

I won't be continuing with this series.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Okay, this book gave me alllllll the cozy autumn vibes! And that plot.... absolutely brilliant!!! I love this book, more than the first book! Will definitely be talking about this at work and making sure we have a copy on the shelves for patrons!

Chloe Liese stole my heart with Better Hate Than Never.

I can’t put into words how much I enjoyed every second of this book and read it in 24 hours, because I was so hooked. I mean who doesn’t love the childhood enemies, who always actually had feelings for each other but tried to hide it, to adult lovers? Pair that in with incredible characters and amazing chemistry and you have a recipe for a perfect adventure.

One thing I love about all of Liese’s books is the way she explores family relationships. I absolutely love seeing the Wilmot sisters supporting each other at every turn and to also bring in the tough love when needed. Then there’s Christopher who is constantly learning to deal with the grief that comes from the loss of his parents. Even if he’s healed, you can see how grief of losing a loved one never fully disappears and I appreciate Chloe Liese for making sure we see that. Not to mention the way the Wilmot family adopted and made him part of their family dynamic, which was just beautiful to see.

One thing I can always depend on Liese’s stories to do is to remind me everyone deserves love. As someone with ADHD I absolutely adored the way Kat was someone I related to on many levels. Her struggles were similar to ones I face, and I related a lot to her personality as a whole. I mean I also love to use knitting to keep me busy. I really enjoyed the demisexuality rep with her character as it allows people to learn more about demisexuality and reminds demisexuals they are valid and deserve to see themselves represented. Seeing Kat fall in love and have the romance worthy of a romance novel reminds me we are all deserving of love no matter what society may make us feel.

I also really enjoyed seeing a character who suffers from chronic migraines and to see the way they deal with it when it’s a pain others can’t see. While my migraines are not as often, I know how debilitating they are and watching Christopher get to the point of feeling he could trust Kat with his pain was beautiful. He realized he didn’t want it to impact their relationship, so while he usually liked to hide that pain from others, he made sure to tell her just how much he was impacted by them and to communicate with her when it would become an issue. I truly loved seeing him come to terms with this part of himself and learning to tell people in his life when he wasn’t ok.

And of course like a true romance novel I found myself swooning left and right. I will always be a sucker for the couple who thinks they can’t stand each other to realizing they used that to avoid the truth that they love each other. And this case was no different and like always it made me feel those consuming butterflies as I fell in love with their relationship. Plus the spice was amazing as always from Liese.

I also would like to take a moment and say that Chloe Liese writing has a beauty to it and I always find myself in awe of her style and voice. Seeing her take on a retelling/modernization of The Taming of the Shrew was a fun journey and reminded me how much I love her style.

Overall I give this book all the stars and it is on my top reads list for 2023. I don’t think I could have loved it more than I did.

“I look at her and see a tumbleweed who’ll never stay in one safe place, a money-hating hellion who despises what I covet for its stability and power, a fierce, electrifying woman who could send me up in flames if I got too close.”
As if there was any doubt that Chloe Liese’s second book in the Wilmot Sisters series wouldn’t as phenomenal or better than the first, Liese went ahead and surpassed every single expectation I had. With keenly written characters, more than one nod to Shakespeare as well as 10 Things I Hate About You, Better Hate Than Never is engrossing with the tension so expertly expressed on the page between main characters Kate and Christopher.

Kate and Christopher are rivals, neighbors since childhood, full of animosity and ire, but yet so soft and squishy for each other. Better Hate Than Never should be dubbed a mutual grumpy/sunshine as both characters walk that fine line between love and hate in a way that had giggling like a besotted fangirl on more than one occasion. Freshly returned from overseas and between photography jobs due to an injury she told no one about, Kate is struggling to find a place for herself within her family. Whereas Christopher is struggling with Kate being back in his life, and the more time they spend together (whether inadvertent or not) it becomes increasingly more difficult for Christopher to convince himself (and those around him) that his disregard for Kate is based on hated—definitely not love.

“Okay. So, fine. Christopher isn’t a completely evil capitalist. But he’s still definitely a capitalist. With an amazing chest. Who tangos like a fucking god. And smells so damn good.”
Both main characters, Kate and Christopher, are neurospicy with ADHD and chronic migraines (respectively). Chloe Liese has handled their romance and the neurodivergence with such care and that is easily translated to how swept away I was in this story. Picking up almost immediately upon the ending of the first book in there series (Two Wrongs Make a Right), Better Hate Than Never delivers the modern day equivalent of The Taming of the Shrew. As any 90’s baby would know, if there’s a Shakespeare retelling of this beloved play, then surely 10 Things I Hate About You would be mentioned. Rest assured there plenty of references. Chloe Liese’s take on the iconic paintball scene delivers an emotional punch and I think improved upon the cinematic version. Kate and Christopher’s will they or won’t they tango reaches a crescendo during this scene, and I’ll openly admit it lives rent free in my head.

There is so much to love about Chloe Liese. Not only does she create characters that are so well-conceptualized that they easily come to life in my mind, but her writing seamlessly weaves emotion, action, as well as information in such a way that entire chunks of time effortlessly slip by me whenever I read any of her books. Between the romance, the characters that I loved who were flawed and wonderful, and one of the best grovel/wooing from a male character that I’ve read, Better Hate Than Never is a standout novel.

“How do you make things right with someone without making things good between you? How do you set a break without grafting yourselves together in the healing?”
Chloe Liese is easily a Hive favorite. Val and I were lucky enough to be able to interview her in Dallas over the summer at Book Bonanza. Bee sure to watch for when the full interview is available! Better Hate Than Never is surely going to be a favorite amongst readers as this story has it all. Kate and Christopher have a special place in my heart, and I highly recommend that you have your copy preordered so you’re ready for release day!

I'll admit I haven't done a deep dive into Liese's backlist yet, but these Shakespeare reimaginings have really been doing it for me so far. Given how conflict-heavy the first chunk of the story is, it was almost refreshing to have it juxtaposed against a lighter conclusion, something that wasn't going to divide Christopher and Kat for any substantial amount of time. Watching the characters decide to do the mature thing and hear each other out in the moment was thoroughly gratifying, and the initial snarking leading up to their ultimate collision felt like the best rom-com repartee. I couldn't put this one down (evidenced by the fact that I read it in a day, apparently!). Looking forward to what I'm assuming is Juliet's story next!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

In this Taming of the Shrew retelling, BETTER HATE THAN NEVER gives 10 Things I Hate About You vibes mixed with horny sexual tension when childhood enemies to lovers fall for each other. The book has excellent banter which is synonymous with Chloe Liese books, which had me laughing out loud.

Kate is such a strong and quirky heroine, taking crap from no one, yet having a sensitive and empathetic side. With strong ADHD rep, Kate is chaotic and carefree. I loved the relationship she has with her sister Bea, along with her artistic vibes. She had laugh out loud one liners, especially if they’re toward Christopher, which made me smile.

I enjoyed watching Christopher fall for Kate and grow emotionally as he worked through the childhood trauma of losing his parents and what that looks like when it comes to falling in love. My heart hurt for him throughout the book, but his budding relationship with Kate helped him slowly be put back together. He also had very realistic migraine representation.

Better Hate Than Never is an age gap, opposites attract steamy romance where he falls first.

I loved this book so much! I am so obsessed with this book series and I really hope we get to see Juliet's story next. The tension and the angst between Kate and Christopher was so spot on, and as always, Chloe Liese did such a fantastic job with these relatable characters. I loved watching them find their love for each other, and I really appreciated the lack of a third act breakup! Chloe nailed it again!

I had a fantastic time reading about Kate and Christopher falling in love. They are the perfect modern update to Katherina and Petruchio from Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. I never want to leave this world that Chloe Liese is building with each new addition to the series and I am really looking forward to more true love and sexy times in book three.

Recommended for: anyone that wants to read modern Shakespeare retellings with some spice and a whole lot of heart

Content warning: explicit sex scenes

I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In this story inspired by Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, we find Katerina and Christopher, former neighbors and childhood friends who cannot stand to be in the same room as adults. When Kate comes home for a rare visit, they are thrown back together and Kate’s family begs them to make peace. Christoher eventually agrees when Kate drunkenly admits how much it bothers her, but Kate doesn’t trust his newfound kindness. When they end up kissing, they realize there is so much more to their feelings than just a long-standing rivalry.

I have been a huge fan of Chloe Liese from the moment I first picked up one of her books. The way she writes is stunning and her characters are so raw and real and beautiful. And this book, in particular, really spoke to me, probably because I saw so much of myself in both Kate and Christopher. As someone with both ADHD and migraines (yes my brain is a super fun place sometimes) I appreciated each of their stories and how much I could relate to them. Pair that with the enemies to lovers trope and I was sold. I love a healthy relationship that shows communication, and has plenty of chemistry and steam. But most of all, I love the beauty of seeing characters be loved for who they really are and learning to accept themselves in the process. Like I said, I have adored every one of Chloe’s books I’ve read, and this one might be my favorite.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for the advance copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing the ARC.

Another Shakespeare adaptation with a modern twist, I thoroughly enjoyed Liese's take on The Taming of the Shrew.

A mix of elements from the source material as well as 10 Things I Hate About You, Liese crafts a heart meltingly sweet love story between two people who have lived so long in their proverbial armor that it is hard to take it off.

If I had a complaint it would be that I felt that there wasn't enough time in the beginning to show how deeply Christopher cared for Kate. It seemed like one minute he was hurling insultd at her and the next he was pining away with very little in the way of transition. But other than that, I really enjoyed the story overall and I hope we get to see Jules' story in the future.

Better Hate Than Never is the second book in Chloe Liese’s The Wilmot Sisters series. I adored the first book in the series, which is a modern day retelling of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, and was over the moon to learn this latest book is a retelling of The Taming of the Shrew, which is one of my favorite Shakespearean comedies. Hearing that this is also Liese’s steamiest book to date only further added to the appeal!

I really enjoyed everything about this book. While the story contains many references to the original play, Liese does a wonderful job creating a fresh and unique enemies-to-lovers story. In her story, the protagonists, Katerina Wilmot and Christopher Petruchio are childhood enemies who have now grown into adults, and if possible, hate each other even more. Their friends and family know they could actually be pretty great for one another if they could just get past the old flames of hatred, but Katerina and Christopher aren’t having it. That is, until one drunken moment when Katerina confesses to Christopher that she only really hated him because she thought he hated her first. After hearing this, Christopher vows to find a way to make peace with Katerina once and for all, but Katerina isn’t sure she buys his new act. Can Christopher win her over?

The banter between Christopher and Katerina was what really stole the show in this story. I found myself outright cackling at them several times as I was reading because they were both just so good at pushing each other’s buttons. Liese’s dialogue is sharp, witty, and just filled with clever barbs. The romance is a slow burn one, but I was so thoroughly entertained by the banter that the story just flew by.

Not only was I thoroughly invested in the budding romance between Christopher and Katerina, but I also thought Liese did a wonderful job creating such well developed characters. I was especially a big fan of Liese’s mental health rep in Better Hate Than Never. One character suffers from chronic migraines and panic attacks, while the other is dealing with ADHD, and Liese portrays each of these conditions thoughtfully and accurately.

If you’re a fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope and are in the mood for a steamy, slow-burn romance, be sure to pick up a copy of Better Hate Than Never. You won’t regret it!

this is amazing. it’s so fun and cute and i was feeling all the emotions lol i can definitely see this being a re read for me

REVIEW FOR BETTER HATE THAN NEVER

5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkeley Pub/Berkeley Romance for the gifted digital copy!

I really enjoyed Two wrongs make a right, but I absolutely adored Better Hate Than Never. I felt both Christopher and Kate were the perfectly imperfect MCs that we needed. The best part? They knew they were imperfect and asked for what they needed. That's right- THEY COMMUNICATED. The neurodivergent and chronic illness representation was incredible, and I loved still getting to see Bea and Jamie throughout the book. There were a few moments of confusion, especially around the Wilmont family, but overall I really enjoyed this book.

I am normally a big Chloe Liese fan, but this book harped a little too much on "we knew each other when we were babies" which kind of squicked me out a little. I'll still be going back to Liese's other releases, including anything else in this series, but this one wasn't for me.

I’ll be honest - I was a bit hesitant to pick this one up because I REALLY disliked the conflict in the first book of this series. I felt a bit on edge the whole time waiting to see if this one would be similar - but I am SO happy to report that this one had no third act break-up and I can’t tell you how delighted that made me. The characters COMMUNICATED and trusted their feelings and that was so refreshing.

This was a fun take on enemies to lovers - Christopher and Kate are childhood enemies - they’ve driven each other crazy their whole lives. The tension from their banter is so so good.

There’s ADHD and chronic migraine rep and as always, Chloe Liese handles everything with care.


Loved this one! 4.5⭐️

10 Things I Hate about You was one of my all time favorite movies, while I've never read Taming of the Shrew, I knew that it was a modern take on it. So of course, when I heard that Better Hate than Never was a reimagining of that story, my first hope was that she was going to include tie ins to 10 things - and my heart was SO happy that she did!

First of all - Kat & Christopher may be my favorite characters that Chloe Liese has written into a book. Kat is an ADHD rep and Christopher is a chronic illness (migraine) rep. I loved their banter, I loved the laugh out loud moments, and my heart cried for both of them at times. Insanely slow burn, but it worked so well because we saw so much growth & development between the two characters that I don't think it would have worked for them to get together sooner. I really appreciated the fact that at a pivotal "possible" third act breakup moment, we saw even more growth & communication and two adults actually acting like adults.

Every new book of Chloe's shows me so much growth in her writing and I can't wait to read Jules's book too.

Huge thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved Two Wrongs Make a Right. The story left me breathless and aching for more words by Chloe Liese. And she does not disappoint in Better Hate than Never, a reimagining of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew. Filled with our favorites from the first book, Liese takes us into the relationship between two clear enemies (Katerina Wilmot and Christopher Petruchio) who bring out the worst in each other.

The thing I love most about Liese’s novels is how she so effortlessly creates characters who leave indelible footprints in our long term memory. And the characters in Better Hate than Never are 100 percent human, with complex emotions and complicated pasts.

So find your cozy reading spot and a copy of Better Hate than Never, while Liese takes you on a journey between two unlikely people who can possibly, maybe, weather the storm of their own making, and find that silver lining of a happily ever after.

Happy Reading ~ Cece

Better Hate than Never was an opposites attract, enemies to lovers romance. I absolutely loved the first book in this series, Two Wrongs Make a Right, and couldn’t wait to dive into this one. Yet from those first few pages, I was never able to connect to any of the characters. There was fabulous banter. There was representation for mental health and chronic illness. Christopher’s thoughts could be so hilarious whereas Kate’s will tug on your heart. Yet from that first page to the last, I just couldn’t click. And for me to fully love and invest myself emotionally in a book, I have to make that connection. So while this one didn’t work for me, I have a feeling so many others will fall in love with this story!

A childhood enemies to lovers slow burn romance and modern reimagining of The Taming of the Shrew.

Better Hate Than Never is book 2 in The Wilmot Sisters series. Kate Wilmot and Christopher Petruchio may have lived next door to each other since childhood but they have always been enemies, despite Christopher practically being one of the Wilmot family. It's no secret that I adore Chloe Liese's books and her neurodivergent characters. Add in some sizzling chemistry with an enemies to lovers trope and l've got myself a romance winner.

That saying there’s a thin line between love and hate is absolutely apparent in the sizzling back & forth between Kate and Christopher. They are opposites, seemingly always at odds with each other but of course there is much more simmering beneath the surface aside from animosity and undeniable sexual attraction. They way these two push and challenge each other was everything. I adored Kate’s sense of independence and her desire to be loved and accepted for who she was.

As always adored the rep Chloe naturally weaves into her characters - chronic migraines, ADHD, mental health & therapy. I could have done without Christopher being a manwhore, I actually felt like the angle wasn’t needed and detracted a bit from their story but I’m assuming it was another way to show how opposite they were from each other. I just feel like this is so overused in romance.

Can’t wait to finally get Juliet’s story - this heartbroken Wilmot sister deserves her HEA.