This one took me a bit longer to read since I wanted to take my time with the story. While I was a bit hesitant in the beginning, the characters all very much grew on me. It was nice to see how the characters developed and started to warm up to each other. But more than anything I loved the setting of the story and how the townspeople reacted to Brynn being back in her hometown. Such a light yet warm hearted story to read when you just need an easy read.

This book was hard to listen to, as chapter to chapter switches from first person to third person. Talon David actually did a great job narrating, but it’s a personal choice that I prefer first person narration.

This was my first Bethany Turner book, and I enjoyed it. I liked learning about Brynn and her past and then Sebastian and his past. Seeing Brynn fall back in love with the people she grew up with and the town she grew up in was really beautiful. I think it almost felt forced to me that Sebastian started liking her. Or maybe just too fast. 75% of the book was them not being able to stand the sight of the other, and then suddenly they’re kissing in the mountains all because of one morning? I think less time could’ve been spent on the hate and more time developing actual chemistry between the two. I liked the ending a lot though, and I thought it wrapped up nicely with a cute bow.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. Definitely a hate to love done well. There was great development of characters and a slow relationship build between the main characters. The small town setting was good. The narration set the mood and feelings well.

Honestly, I spent too much of the book disliking Brynn to feel great about this story. I wanted to like it more than I did... While I did enjoy the ending and a few of the characters were entertaining (like Orlie), I honestly didn't understand, even knowing Brynn's background, how she could be as nasty as she was so often. As a journalist, she should know that jumping to conclusions is never the right answer. But she was arrogant, rude and entitled through much of the story.

So, when Sebastian started to fall for her, I couldn't help but wonder why. I did enjoy Brynn's reformation as she started to remember what the town had once meant to her. But if that was honestly the case, then how could she be so incredibly demeaning toward it.

As for the romance bits, I enjoyed the banter between Brynn and Sebastian once they started warming up to one another, and I loved the character of Doc. Cole was pretty good too.

But overall, I had a hard time believing the romance parts of the story. I can see giving someone the benefit of the doubt if they've had a bad day, but Brynn was repeatedly getting up on the wrong side of the bed and blaming that on everyone else. Yet, she never really seemed to apologize or explain her bad behaviour. She simply straightened up and everyone accepted that without any real consequences for her nastiness.

In the end, I cared more about the town than I did Brynn. And since she was one of the main characters, that didn't seem right.

Thank you to Bethany Turner, Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

Reading this book felt I was on a roller-coaster. Fantastic strong opening when Brynn, a morning show co-host (America’s sunshine) is caught in a hot-mic flub where she trashes her small home-town in Colorado. The producers quickly send her and one cameraman back home for a week to apologize and re-earn her spot back as America’ sweetheart.
Sebastian is a former international Pulitzer Prize winning journalist recluse (retired after a traumatic story) who relocated to this newly insulted small town that he has grown to love. He doesn’t respect Brynn as a ‘real’ journalist and is furious when he must be her guide for the week. The enemies vibe was so natural and fierce that I honestly wasn’t sure I could even envision these two falling for each other. Brynn came across as cold, lacking genuine remorse, and as a complete snob. But somehow, the author really drew me in for a ‘Brynn redemption’! I love the trope of ‘returning home’ to face your demons, and this one was poignant. Readers will learn about Brynn’s traumatic childhood and more about Sebastian’s early retirement and their hearts with thaw. I really adored the climatic conclusion and the endearing epilogue!
Readers can expect: news anchor/journalist careers, grumpy/sunshine, enemies to lovers, small town charm, PTSD & family trauma, and no third act breakup. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson publishing for my advanced listeners copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was everything I’d hoped it would be and I loved it.

Brynn Cornell is a news reporter on the national television show, Sun Up. She has crafted a persona that the public loves, but is not her. After a hot mic flub where she insults her tiny hometown in Colorado she has to make amends to America and her hometown.

Sebastian Sudworth is an award winning journalist who suddenly disappeared from public life and is quietly living in a small Colorado town, the very same one Brynn insulted.

This book has:
•small town charm
•colorful characters
•grumpy/sunshine

Going back to a small hometown is one of my favorite tropes, as well as grumpy/sunshine. I loved all the characters and their funny attempts to resurrect “Township Days”. It reminded me of Gilmore Girls in that aspect.
I would highly recommend!

I absolutely loved this. I read this in basically two days and COULD NOT stop. The writing was great. I am adding Bethany Turner to my list of good writers. It starts off with Brynn fucking up royally on live TV and having to go back to her home town to fix up her image. There she meets Sebastian, an ex-journalist who moved to this small town to start his life over. Needless to say, they DO NOT get along. But throughout the week, they begin to see each other for who they are and… swoooon. I am a sucker for enemies to lovers and forced proximity tropes.

This is a well paced book and even has some really interesting commentary on daughters with bad relationships with their moms, which I very much appreciated. The writing is very current with a lot of pop-culture references too. There are also moments of vulnerability, which were so relatable because I have been there… wondering if you said something that it ruined everything, even a slight movement…

This was such a fun read with great banter. I recommend you pick it up ASAP! (maybe not ASAP it only releases tomorrow!)

I thought this story was really cute. The plot of it is definitely unique too which I really appreciate.

Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other: A Love Story by Bethany Turner

Thank you to @netgalley, @thomasnelson, and @seebethanywrite for the opportunity to read this #advancedlistenercopy in exchange for my #honestbookreview! This book is currently available for preorder and will be published on September 5.

Brynn Cornell is known as the bright and cheery morning show host of Sunup. That is until one massive on-air negative slip-up lands her in hot water. To fix her colossal screw up, she finds herself back in her hometown of Adelaide Springs, Colorado to mend her reputation amongst viewers. Sebastian Sudworth was a reporter whose star was rapidly rising and destined for journalistic success and recognition until he snapped and disappeared off the grid without a trace. Sebastian has been working under the radar in Adelaide Springs trying to blend in. When Sebastian is assigned to escort Brynn around during her stay in Adelaide Springs they immediately clash, neither impressed by the other. Will Brynn be able to make it through her stay in Adelaide Springs and repair her reputation or will Sebastian prove to be a challenge she can’t overcome?

This was such a fun story! I loved the sassy banter between Brynn and Sebastian. The storyline was bizarre and fun. This was definitely a slow build but the character development is well worth it. I am a sucker for a grumpy and sunshine story and this was like sunshine pretending to be grumpy meets grumpy masquerading as sunshine. I recommend for those looking for a fun and cozy romance.

TW: loss of a parent, rescue mission

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5

Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other tells the story of Brynn Cornell, sunny morning show host who destroys her persona with one bad comment about the small town she grew up in while live on air. To fix her image she travels back to the town to do damage control. Enter Sebastian Sudworth, an ex reporter who now works for the town of Adelaide Springs and is tasked with working with Brynn while she is visiting. I think this was supposed to be a grumpy/ sunshine book but I had a difficult time trying to figure out which character was which. Brynn seemed like such a spoiled brat and that the town that she grew up in was so beneath her that it honestly made her unlikable for a lot of the book. At one point her cameraman even tells her instead of trying to act nice to these people you could ACTUALLY be nice, like it was such a foreign concept to just be kind to people. I feel like there was more to her backstory with her mom that could have been explored instead it was left at a very surface level. Sebastian was a great character and once we learn his story he really became my favorite in the book. I think it was also confusing how it seems like this is going to be an enemies-to-lovers book but it was more of an insta-love plot. I would have loved to see more situations in the book with them being true enemies instead of them just not knowing each other. Then all of a sudden they love each other and Brynn wants to stay in this town she thought was terrible days before. DAYS. Even Hallmark movies span longer than one week! Overall, the audiobook was good I just feel like characters and plot lines weren’t well developed enough but it was an easy and enjoyable read nonetheless. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc of the book.

“Maybe rather than trying to make it seem like you are a good person, you could just be one.”

If you’re a fan of the enemies to lovers trope, this book definitely has that vibe in spades. No wonder Sebastian butts heads with Brynn, she was a bit difficult to like at the start. I know it’s part of the plot, but her personality was slightly off-putting in the beginning. Thankfully, just like Sebastian, I came to like her a lot more by the end and her character experiences some humbling and epiphanies that I liked to see.

On the other hand, Sebastian was like-able from the start. I really liked his backstory and the growth that brought him to where he was. When the two weren’t clashing (well maybe even when they were) the sparks definitely flew.

I really enjoyed the ending and all the news media stuff was interesting. I listened to an advance listening copy of this book through Netgalley. The narrator was easy to listen to and did a good job with the characterization of both MCs and the side characters. I recommend this book and audiobook version. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really liked this. A fun romcom that I flew through.
Brynn was wildly annoying at first but definitely loved her by the end.
Seb however, loved him the whole time haha

What you’ll find in Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other:
- Dual POV
- Enemies-to-Lovers
- Forced Proximity
- Redemption arc
- Mountain Vibes

The ending was so good. Solid haters to lovers. Good and earned character development. Adorable not irrelevant doggy.

When Brynn crucifies her home town on national breakfast TV, she sees her career flash before her eyes, and she will do anything, anything to make it better. This includes going back to her home town. A home town that has no happy memories for her, or so she thinks. When she goes back to Adelaide Springs to right her wrong, Brynn realises that maybe it's not them, and maybe it is her.

Sebastian loves Adelaide Springs and hates everything TV, or so he thinks. When Sebastian is burdened with having to take care of Brynn while she is in Adelaide Springs, he thinks that she is a typical self absorbed TV celebrity. What he is not ready for is a deeply hurt woman who is just trying to prove herself without sleeping her way up the ladder.

What will happen when Brynn's barriers start to be broken down by the unending love from the people of Adelaide Springs? What will Sebastian see and will this have an impact on the barriers around his heart?

This story was funny and deeply heart felt. Both Brynn and Sebastian are floored characters who are still coming to terms with who they are, what has already happened to them and what they want out of life. I listened to this as an audiobook narrated by Talon David, who made the book even more fun. The pop culture references were amazing! I wish there had been some spice, but it was still great to listen to. I would both read/listen to another book by Bethany Taylor, and listen to another book narrated by Talon David.

Big thanks to NetGalley, Thomas Nelson and Bethany Taylor for this early release copy of the audiobook.

Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other was such a fun book (consumed in audio format). I loved the Hallmark movie vibe that it had. The mean girl goes home to redeem her image and finds herself along the way. I enjoyed the male main character and his back story too. This is the second Bethany Turner book I've read and it won't be the last!!

Brynn has just landed cohost of the morning show, Sunup. Just one week in and she is now stuck in a nightmare. After a series of technical issues, Brynn is caught bashing her hometown and her audience to her personality-lacking cohost. The entire rant is broadcasted, and Brynn must find a way to save her career. Brynn finds herself in Adelaide Springs, Colorado. A place she hasn’t been to in twenty years. She has no idea what to expect upon her arrival. She was surprised to be chauffeured around town by the cynical ex-reporter, Sebastian. Sebastian has sought refuge in Adelaide for the last several years and has made it his home now. The two do not start off on the right foot and Brynn finds herself struggling to make a good impression on the town and make amends for her on-air comments. As the two deal with their professional mess-ups and try to get along, they get to know each other and learn there may be more to both their stories than they originally thought. Can the two find a way to make amends and fix the mistakes made? This is a sweet, charming novel that will leave readers with all the warm, fuzzy feels.

Unfortunately this one didn’t do it for me. I love a good enemies to lovers, sunshine vs grump tropes, but the relationship between Brynn and Sebastian just felt disappointing. I did enjoy Sebastian’s character, but Brynn did not have many redeeming qualities. She was kind of a brat, and the ultimate romance between Sebastian and brynn felt forced. Although I appreciated the concept of going home to face your demons, and a small community filled with lovely people, the main plot escaped me.

Thank you Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for audio ARC of the book.

America's Ray of Sunshine Bryan Cornell is a co-host of popular morning show. Her snarky comment about her hometown accidentally was shown on air and Brynn's image is compromised. To save her reputation she goes back to her hometown to apologize to everyone. It all sounds like an easy and perfect plan until she encounters Sebastian who makes things difficult.

I love that type of books, everything was perfect for me - small town, some drama in the past, characters you want to be friends with.

Talon David is one of my favorite narrators. She can portray different characters and their moods. It is always pleasant to listen to her.

I am a firm believer that enemies to lovers doesn’t work outside the fantasy genre. Or at least I was. Brynn and Sebastian make enemies to lovers work in a RomCom world. I spent the majority of this book BEGGING for any semblance of yearning or longing or simply wanting to kiss, it was painfully perfect. Sebastian had me giggling at the bare minimum of complements.

This story is a slow burn worth waiting for. It’s a clean romance with no real spice but plenty of action to distract you from that fact, if that’s something you’re looking for. As an avid reader of all things spicy and hot, I didn’t even realize there was nothing more than a few perfectly placed kisses until the story was over and done.

I have no complaints, complements to the chef (or Bethany Turner). Now if if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to read every book Bethany Turner has ever written.

4.5 stars
This is an interesting, entertaining, good read. Sebastian and Brynn are interesting, relatable, intriguing, entertaining characters. I enjoyed this book and these characters. They grew on me, the more the read, the more I loved them. Their exchanges are entertaining. I enjoyed the growth and self-discovery that both characters went through – it was very well done. The secondary characters, including the town are quirky and add so much to the story. The ending was fitting for these characters, I just wish we had gotten more information about where these characters ended up.

I enjoyed the audio version of this book and the narrator.

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