Thank you to the publisher for letting me listen to this. The narration was engaging and I could not stop listening. I really loved it and hope others love it as well. The story was engaging as well as the characters. I would recommend.

I wanted to LOVE this book so much because enemies to lovers is my favorite but I just could not love this book. I really disliked Brynn for 95% of the book and Sebastian I disliked for about 45% of the book but came around to him a lot earlier! I truly started liking the book in the last few chapters and the epilogue, IF ONLY THE ENTIRE BOOK WAS LIKE THIS!!!! The writing was great as a whole and I enjoyed the narrating but the characters really underwhelmed me for most of the books (honestly down right angered me at points). I did love the small town vibes though and the townspeople really reminded me of people I grew up with! Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for allowing me the ability to listen and review this book!

I really enjoyed this book! I love a good enemies to lovers, and Brynn and Seb fit the bill perfectly. I was really rooting for them, and all the resolutions really worked. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bethany Turner and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for a copy of this audioARC. The following will be my honest review.
With a pretty cover and adorable premise I dove into Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other hoping for witty banter, satisfying enemies-to-lovers tension, and that warm-fuzzy feeling of two opposites finally finding common ground. Sadly, this one missed the mark for me.
I’ll admit upfront: I can have a tough time with “black cat energy” heroines. But as they say, what bothers you about others is often a mirror to yourself—so I like to lean in and explore that discomfort. When done well, these prickly heroines lead to some of my favorite arcs of growth and self-reflection. When done poorly… well, you end up with a character who’s just plain mean. And unfortunately, that’s exactly how Brynn read to me—less mysterious and complex, more “mean girl at the high school reunion” vibes.
The plot itself had potential, but the pacing felt off-kilter and the banter a bit too rehearsed. And don’t even get me started on the pop culture references—like a 2013 Buzzfeed list that never ends. One Direction, Jennifer Aniston, Harry Potter, the Queen of England—this book had a revolving door of name drops. It felt less like grounding the story in reality and more like a frantic game of pop culture bingo.
Then there’s the odd narrative structure choice: Brynn’s chapters in first person, Sebastian’s in third. A risk! But sadly, it didn’t pay off for me. It just added another layer of disconnection in a book that was already struggling to find its footing.
At the end of the day, this felt less like a “grumpy girl with hidden depths finds love” story and more like “mean girl gets a boyfriend and everything’s suddenly fine.” I wanted to see growth, but what I got was an unconvincing flip of the switch.
All that said, I know this book has its fans—and if you’re someone who can roll with endless pop culture references and find joy in sharp banter even when the heroine is prickly to the point of drawing blood, you might enjoy this more than I did. But for me, it was a one-star miss.

This was a perfect audiobook! Talon David does an excellent job at narrating the book.

Brynn has a fake tv persona. She says negative things about her hometown while still on air. Thus begins her journey back to her hometown. Sebastian has moved to her hometown since she left several years ago.

In this opposites attract enemies to lovers novel you get a little of everything.

Thank you Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the audio copy of this book. All opinions are my own!

I really enjoyed the premise for this story and enemies to lovers in general. I would have appreciated more banter between the characters but overall I liked the audiobook/story.

I got this audiobook from NetGalley!❤️

I eat up a good enemies to lovers. I was a little worried about the MFC in the start, but turns out, she just needed to be reminded where she came from and then you want to give her a fatty hug.
When she first saw Doc, I cried.
A took a it for me to get invested, then all the sudden I was rooting for all! Even a colonial festival I didn’t know I want to attend.

A very good fluff hallmark read

I am a huge fan of the enemies to lovers trope, so I was very excited to dive into this book. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations.

Sebastian is a nice enough MMC/love interest, but Brynn is an absolutely insufferable FMC for the majority of the story. She is horribly rude, terribly inconsiderate and gives off the impression that she feels like certain people are beneath her. While I do admire driven women who stand up for themselves and fight for what they want, and we get to know more about her, admittedly, abusive childhood, there is simply no excuse for her behaviour. Also, it doesn't really make sense to me sometimes. What I will say is that Brynn does grow as a character, which I appreciate. It's just too little too late for me to really root for her.

The only character I find truly likable is Brynn's cameraman (whose name I sadly can't spell since I listened to this on audiobook and have never encountered the name before). He's pretty much the voice of reason in this book.
While the townsfolk seem nice enough as well, none of them feel fleshed out enough for me to really comment on.

This story had a lot of potential but, though not bad, ultimately fell flat for me.

A novel of fun and meaning with a story of working through your past to find your best self. This is an “enemies to more” story with the “hate” really being huge dislike at a non-meet cute. Brynn returns to her hometown on an apology tour and Sebastian is her “handler”. Their banter is quick and the emotional build-up starts out with touches and eye contact. The intimacy does not move beyond passionate kissing, while the flirty conversations become tongue-in-cheek. There were very small mentions of God and forgiveness, while the main focus is the romance and dealing with childhood hurts and aspects of journalism and fame. This is the first in three companion books featuring 30-somethings from the same town, who were part of the same friend group as Brynn. I plan to read the others. I listened to the released audiobook on Libby. Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the ALC.

My reviews and ratings are my own.

I enjoyed this audiobook so much! It was so cute, and fun. They went from enemies to lovers in the best way.
The banter between Brynn and Sebastian was so good! This is also one of those books that yes the ending wrapped up really nicely but I still want so much more. I don’t feel like their story is over.

I read the series backwards. I read Cole and Laila are just friends first. Loved the story and met Brynn and Sabastian. I had to go back to read their story. I love a good enemies to lovers trope, so I loved everything about this one. It also had some deeper, more emotional moments. I listened to the audiobook of this, and loved the narrator.

I loved the way these two grew together, opened up about their past and communicated. I really loved that there was no third act break up, and once they were together, they were cemented. If you are looking for a cute, quick read with lots of love, pick this up.

I received this book in audiobook format by NetGalley and Thomas Nelson to listen/review. All of the statements above are my true opinions after fully listening to this audiobook.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this audiobook!

I really liked the premise of this book - I love a small town romance, and the grumpy/sunshine trope.

And this book did the small town setting so well! I loved meeting all the characters that made up the town - the way they were all up in each other’s business and the “ridiculous” town festival gave me Gilmore Girls vibes.

But this book isn’t a grumpy/sunshine book. It’s more like grumpy/grumpy. And I found Brynn to be such an unlikeable character! She was so entitled and annoying. I found it hard to root for her when she was being so awful to everyone around her. I think if we’d delved deeper into her past with her mother, and the reason she turned her back on her community a little more I’d have found it easier to understand her reasoning.

The romance was… fine. I think I was more than 60% in before they even had a nice interaction with one another and so the romance ends up feeling pretty rushed in the end.

Bethany Turner can do no wrong I’ve decided. I absolutely love every single book I’ve listened to from her.

Brynn and Sebastian were the perfect duo. I loved their relationship and banter from the beginning. Seeing their relationship grow and their trust in each other change was perfect. There was a lot of healing for both of them too which I really appreciated.

The narrator did an amazing job too! I really enjoyed her in Plot Twist too so I was thrilled to hear her again. She has the best infliction and voices. Really brings the story to life!

I enjoyed the premise of the book but had some issues with the pacing. It felt like Brynn and Sebastian were adversaries for too much and the change to “lovers” was too quick. I liked the dual point of view, but wished I saw more relationship development as well as the personal development.

2.5⭐️ Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other follows a morning talk show host on her journey to be liked again after an on air incident where she trashed her hometown. Brynn heads home to get back into their good graces and is stuck with a grumpy ex journalist tour guide named Sebastian.

We had a very slow start, like the main characters didn’t even really know the other existed for the first 20% of the book which is a bit too long for me but once things got going we had a good slow burn. I didn’t feel extremely connected to the two main characters (and honestly couldn’t stand Brynn for the first 70% of the book) but there were several side characters I thought were so fun. I also LOVED the epilogue, it was probably my favorite part of the book. It was honestly the only time in the entire book that I really loved Brynn which is unfortunate since she was a main character. Probably not a book I’d recommend to a friend but also not a bad choice if you’re looking for an easy read with a decent idea behind it.

Audiobook: I thought the narrator was great although I do wish it was duel narrated since it’s dual POV.

This one wasn’t my cup of tea, so I’m marking it as a DNF. I think other readers may connect with it more than I did. Thanks for the ARC!

3.5 stars
Brynn and Sebastian are literally enemies to lovers couple goals. Brynn comes back to the hometown she's been trying to forget about after publically trashing it and her reputation. Sebastian is an ex-reporter who, when finding out Brynn said all those horrible things about his new town, he resents being signed up to bring this stuck up reporter around town. As the two of them continue to spend time together, their hate turns into something different and they both don't know what to do, especially since Brynn isn't staying.
This book was so much fun to listen to. The banter was amazing, the storyline was laid out perfectly, and the characters really made me feel like I was going through everything with them. It's a great book to read and I 100% recommend it!

Thank you NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this audiobook and all opinions are my own.

Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other is a dual point of view, contemporary romance. It takes place in a small town, enemies to lovers storyline and has the cozy feel of a Hallmark Movie.

Brynn’s character starts the book with the typical foot-in-mouth on-air reporter moment that leads to her having to go back to the small town she used to live in to seek forgiveness from the residents there for what she said about them. Brynn has worked so hard to leave behind her life in the small town she grew up in that having to go back there becomes a daunting task she wants done as quickly as possible. Brynn starts off being a difficult character to empathize with.

Sebastian is a news reporter who left his job to live a quiet and more secluded life after an incident in his life that made him retreat from the world of journalism indefinitely. Sebastian also just happens to live in the small town that Brynn is from and is not looking forward to having to deal with a fame hungry person like her.

When Brynn and Sebastian meet, it’s definitely hate at first sight. Brynn and Sebastian are forced to work with each other as Sebastian takes Brynn to meet with the residents of Adelaide Springs. With each person that Brynn meets with, her tough exterior is chipped away to reveal the real Brynn, and she realizes that not only does she need to seek forgiveness from those she hurt but also needs to heal from the hurts she had so long ago.

This story has an enemies to lovers storyline, small town setting, witty banter, dual point of view, and shows the power of forgiveness.

I listened to the audiobook of the story, and really enjoyed the narration. I would highly recommend it! I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook from NetGalley and Thomas Nelson. I was not required to provide a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. This is a fun lighthearted romance. I loved the narration and it was just such a fun book to listen to the narration was on point to bring this story to life. The story it's self was something that could happen in real life, and had that authentic feel to the story.

Actual rating: 3.5 ⭐

An interesting book—I liked it. But still, nothing particularly memorable that I couldn’t stop thinking about. That’s the only reason I chose 3.5 stars instead of 4.

Other than that, everything was really fine. The story was engaging, and I liked the characters. I enjoy the enemies-to-lovers trope, so that worked really well for me in this book. It also gave off a bit of a Hallmark movie vibe, which I really love. The writing style was good. There were a few moments where it didn’t quite hold my attention, but I think that had more to do with the audiobook format than the book itself. Still, it’s just not something I’ll be thinking much about now that I’ve finished it.

If you’re looking for a light audiobook to pass the time, this one might be worth a try.