I was quite entranced in this magical story. This was a "I can't put this down" book. It had the enemies to lovers that gets your heart beating and a tension that'll make you melt. A world of romance with magic, secrets.I also love the settings of the Scottish Highlands.

Rosie Danan's work is just so fun to read. Do Your Worst is entirely unlike her other work, yet it has the same spicy, saucy, fun chemistry I was looking for.

In Do Your Worst, a curse breaker is hired to break an ancient curse at a Highland Castle where a straightlaced archeologist is working. You can guess where this goes and, yes, it's great.

Do Your Worst is one of my FAVORITE romantic reads of 2023!

Riley Rhodes is a curse breaker, following in her grandmother's footsteps. Sent to break the curse so Arden Castle can become a tourist destination, she doesn't expect the man she kissed the first night in Scotland to be the archeologist who she needs to work with. Clark Edgeware, professional archeologist, needs to prove to his Dad that he isn't playing around. He vows to avoid Riley to her face. Unfortunately, it turns out Riley has the opposite motive: Clark needs to get out NOW. But will that happen as they "do their worst" to each other? Or will the cursed castle have other plans?

I flew through Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan, instantly laughing at the banter between Riley and Clark. I loved the little pop culture references placed throughout and kept turning the pages to discover what happened next. As always, Rosie provide the spice and everything nice that one expects from her previous reads. Fans of Rosie's previous books as well as those looking to dive into a new witty banter, enemies read will want to pick up Do Your Worst!

Do Your Worst - review
Genre: Romance/Magical Realism
Rating: Really Enjoyed/3.5⭐
Troupes: enemies to lovers, workplace romance, forced proximity

Thanks @berkleypub for the gifted digital copy and having me on for the tour. This publishes on 11.14.23! Full review on Instagram to come, closer to publication.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a romance quite like this before! Riley is a curse breaker, hired to break a curse of an abandoned Scottish castle. Archaeologist Clark is also working at the site, trying to find and excavate any valuable artifacts. Clark is a huge skeptic of any curse, and vows to bring Riley’s perceived perception to light.

The setting in this book was hands down my favorite part, but the curse breaking parts were creative and fun to watch unfold, too. Fans of The Roomate and Intimacy Experience might be a little disappointed with the steam level on this one though - while there was plenty of tension and banter there were only a few spicy scenes. I also really appreciated the (minimal) third act conflict - nothing was forced and felt real to the story. Looking forward to what’s next from this author for sure, as she’s quickly turning into an auto read for sure!

3.75 rounding up! this book felt very very long which is never a good sign for me, because even the longest books feel short if I’m invested. unfortunately this is another case of “I finished this book and I’m still not sure why they love each other.” It was definitely funny and fun at times, but I don’t see myself ever drawn for a reread

This was outrageously good. The rivals to lovers. The banter.. THE TENSION. It’s been a hot minute since a romance book has had me on the edge of my seat and reading the whole thing in one sitting. The setting with the hint of the magical element was so fun and I could picture everything playing out like a movie.

It seems like there could/will be a sequel and i absolutely cannot wait.

This is such a darling, sweet, unique delight of a book!

I am a sucker for enemies to lovers. But this was a little bit different. They meet and are completely attracted to each other and then meet again at the worksite where they proceed to try to undermine each other at every turn

I was really surprised that this book had some paranormal to it. I did not expect that but it was a lot of fun and it was a great vehicle for both of them learning about themselves and growing and falling in love.

The timeline is very short but I thought it was completely sweet and I loved it a lot!

This is one of those books that I was offered as an advanced reader copy and I have no regrets! I highly recommend this one. I really liked how decent and kind the hero was even when they were fighting. Here are a few quotes:

"Clark as a cat person made sense. He too was prickly, standoffish, and arrogantly territorial."

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"No matter how many times she pushed him, how many ways she tried to prove she didn't want coddling, he always found a way to be careful with her."

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"As it turned out, sometimes what you needed was someone who brought out the worst in you. There was a gift, she realized, that could only be exchanged between former enemies-permission to forgive yourself. Because if someone could see all your failures and faults, could actively seek out every possible reason to dislike you and somehow still come around in the end, well, maybe your worst wasn't so bad after all."

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Safety deets
- There's an epilogue with them together.
- No OW/OM. And we don't hear about past partners.
- No third act break up.
- Consent done well!

I mean you have the Scottish Highlands, mysticism, secrets and magic. And add romance to that. What's not to love!!

Enemies to lovers at its finest. You have Clark who is straight forward, thinking, doesn't believe in anything that can't be proved by logic. And Riley is the granddaughter of a curse breaker. And is the next in a long line and her family who does this.

They are complete and total opposites yet are forced to work together. And of course the more time they spend together the more they see the other for who they truly are.

This book also had some amazing family dynamics that I absolutely loved. The two of them really help each other out to face the problems that are caused by their family and move forward.

There is also some great Scottish history. If you didn't already want to go to Scotland, you will by the time you finished this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not sure I’ll ever stop talking about this book it was so good. I absolutely fell in love with Riley and Clark and their brutal (at first) banter. Not to mention the stunning setting of the Scottish highlands, wonderful and complex secondary characters, and some of the best steamy scenes I’ve ever read. The paranormal elements are so well written that if I didn’t already believe in curses, I certainly would start. I can’t say enough good things, this was a truly magical read.

***3 stars given as that’s in the middle, but I DNFed very early on. The writing style didn’t work for me, so I’ll wait for the audiobook to hopefully remedy that.

. It’s not a hard DNF bc the premise sounds fun, but I need the audiobook to bring these words to life bc rn the writing style is so choppy and oversaturated with filler.

It’s been so long since I read The Roommate that I’m not sure if the writing style is a feature or a bug. I think a sentence per paragraph at least could be removed…and that’s just 3% in lol. Also for some reason this read like third present rather than third past tense (which means it felt very unnaturally worded and I couldn’t get lost in the writing like I like to). The dialogue and dialogue tags were just so present, if that makes any sense. There was no flow and it was very telly not showy.

I simply have too many other ARCs to read and if there’s even a hope the audiobook will be better…I’m more than okay with hitting pause. It’s actually probably recommended by doctors. But if the audiobook has two narrators though…well then it’s a goodbye not a see you later :,)



Thanks to the publisher for an eARC via NetGalley. All opinions are honest and my own.

This book is fluffy, sweet, and giving Meg Cabot vibes. The lead characters are lovely, the spice is good, and the emotional arcs felt realistic even if slightly rushed. She was right: when you're in your 30's, you just know. Rosie always does a good job of having her leads confront their personal baggage before the HEA, which is my favorite part of any contemporary romance. She's a delight. She's a queen, and it's good to have her back. I hope we get many more.

This book is so clever and fun and entirely different than what I was expecting! The opposites attract, forced proximity, and enemies to lovers tropes were WORKING. I was genuinely sad for this book to be over, and now am left with the deep need to go to Scotland.

Currently obsessed with Rosie Danan's latest romcom Do Your Worst out November 14th.

DYW is an enemies-to-lovers romance featuring a starchy British archeologist and a chaotic Jersey curse breaker. This dual POV romance will have readers rooting for the couple from page 1. Danan masterfully crafts an incredibly complex and layered story with witty banter, an abundance of steam, and a novel that must be binged in one sitting. I seriously could not put this one down and I am so excited to see what she writes next!

Thanks so much to Berkley and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Finally! An enemies to lovers plot that is actually, *gasp*, enemies to lovers! There’s that glimpse of attraction but then these two characters genuinely don’t like each other and aim to sabotage. It’s brilliant. Especially since they communicate, admit lusty feelings, and carry on competently, while fighting and flirting. No one is so horrible that they’re morally damned. It’s ridiculously sexy without being crude and maintains the push and pull of animosity, a heady and addicting mix. It’s shouldn’t work and yet it does.

And through it all they fall deliciously in love, of course. The transition is fun, sweet, a little deep, and believable. At least so far as the romance goes. It’s also a contemporary paranormal story and there are some fun layers to that. They fuel part of the plot but there were a couple instances of paranormal/curse action that didn’t fully land with me. I thought there could have been a little more intricacy. BUT I also think it’s a wide romance audience story. You don’t have to like paranormal romance to fall in love with this book. It’s bigger and better than that.

Beyond all that, the ending was a little too sappy for my liking, but that’s purely a me thing. I’m well aware. Don’t let it influence you, but it’s part of why it’s 4 stars and not 5, which I think it can easily be for a lot of people. Basically, I loved it.

This author can do no wrong in my eyes! This will be such a fun Halloween book for everyone to read!

DO YOUR WORST adds a paranormal spin to Rosie Danan's reliable talent for confident, funny main characters and blisteringly hot sex scenes. Who could resist a curvy curse-breaker heroine and a grumpy, skeptical archaeologist as they butt heads (among other things) in a very haunted Scottish castle?! It's giving LEAP YEAR meets THE MUMMY, which means it was total catnip for this reader. Keep 'em coming, Rosie!

3.5 Stars
I am a big fan of Rosie Danan's writing. Her books The Roommate and The Intimacy Experiment were favorites of mine the years they were released. I was super excited to hear she was releasing a new book in 2023. Do Your Worst deviates a bit from Danan's previous two romance novels as it contains a paranormal aspect in the form of an ancient curse. I enjoyed this book, but not quite as much as her first two. Here are some reasons why.

What I loved:

* Riley and Clark's first interaction and how they became adversaries was fun.
* The banter between Riley and Clark was great.
* I liked the attraction and chemistry between Riley and Clark.
* The curse and mystery behind it were fun and interesting. 
* There were some great moments involving the curse that were highly entertaining. 
* I liked how the story wrapped up.

What I didn't like:

* I wish this book had been in first person because the third person narration made it harder for me to connect with the characters and story.
* There were times when I struggled with the pace of this book. There were times when I was very invested and then I would lose interest and have to push myself to keep reading until things got interesting again. 

Overall, Do Your Worst was a fun read that I'm sure is going to be a hit with Danan's fans. It might not have worked 100% for me, but I still had a good time reading it.

I wanted the characters backstories swapped so badly in this story. With all the centuries of superstitions and curses, Riley should be Scottish and doing homegrown curse breaking work - it never made sense to hire an American to deal with Scottish lore and curses. With academia, Clark could easily have had a degree from an American university (assuming we need to center an American voice/perspective at all - any top global university would do) and been the fish out of water in this insular village. Such a simple change and I would have been so much better at sinking in to the worldbuilding.
I liked that Riley and Clark went from insta-hookup to professional enemies, the chemistry and the banter worked great for the story.
I do this comparisons to The Mummy (1999) is writing a cheque that couldn't be cashed, but we'll see when the book comes out if I'm in the minority.
While I had my complaints with this book, I will look forward to whatever Danan writes next, she has certainly shown an aptitude for entering a new subgenre within romance.
Thank you to the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me with an arc for review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc of this ebook. From the moment I read the book I was hooked. It was so interesting and the characters were so loveable.

The book definitely has the adventure-mystery vibes and zany rom-com energy, but like her previous novels, Danan packs so much more in her tales. Is there romance-yes. Is the sex super hot-yes. Is what Sarah MacLean calls "romance logic" in full effect-yes. All of that is delicious and fun. But what makes this book stand out is that secretly, around the edges, this is a book about how family shapes and misshapes our creativity and sense of potential. Also a very contemporary and savvy take on history and the tensions that exist in knowledge making. So what seems like just an enemies-to-lovers with an Indiana Jones twist story is so, so much more. Highly recommend and again another brilliant take on the romance genre by Danan.