This was a miss.
And I'm not trying to point fingers, but where's the spark?

“Enemies to Lovers” is not the right title for a book without any enemies or proper lovers.
There's no easy way of saying this: books need more than be based on a single trope to work; narrative, setting, characters don't matter if the plot doesn't exist - or if it's built on a mix of random stuff that happens one after the after (a fire? really?).

Could I’ve looked away and been a little more forgivable? Yes, but there are so many stereotypes I can take in a single story.
First of all, I don’t know if the ultimate goal was to make fun of British people, but you nailed it, love. Or mate, whichever you prefer.
Second of all, we have the most stereotypical characters you can think of: Florence got a breakdown two years ago and she's still very fragile, don't talk to her about anything or she's gonna cry (and no, she's not hot, stop saying that, she just loves to exercise and doesn't eat because her brothers are brutes who don’t leave her anything); Jamie is hot with a sad past, secretly in love with her since always but she knew that, didn't she, it was so obvious; Laurie is a thirty-something, married man who’s still stuck in his older dick brother role from his teenager years, and he wants to move on with his life so he can't take care of two broken people in the meantime; and Alex is so sweet and nice to his little sister because, of course, he's gay. I won't comment on the mother because I don't have enough strength, but you can imagine what I have to say about her.
Cherry on top, I'll say we can draw a big line over a whole chapter, where Florence gets harassed by a “Greek god” (obviously a foreign man can only be hot, where's the point in the other case) and she gets mansplained by ANOTHER MEN that it's not her fault, she didn't do anything wrong, big breaths, Flo.

Besides the summer-y vibes, the only good thing about this book is the awareness of how fortunate I am to be an only child.

Thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

This isn’t a bad book, but it isn’t a particularly good book either. I think that overall, the book fell flat for me and I never felt connected or cared about the characters. I felt that this book tried to do some things but it didn’t go very deep and because it was all superficial I was frustrated.

This book went from "ugh, disinterested and disassociating we get it they don't get along" to "i will fight anyone on their behalf" in about 300 pages. this was the PERFECT beach read and truly made me want to be in greece with the whole family on vacation. if you like a good brothers best friend, vacation changes everything, overall good family vibes (with one crucial exception), then pick this book up this summer!

Just finished "Enemies to Lovers" by Laura Jane Williams and rated it 2.5 rounded to 3 stars. Flo's dramatic reaction to Jamie turning her down felt immature, and skipping family events seemed like an overreaction. I was puzzled by Flo's family mocking her for choosing teaching over becoming a doctor or lawyer—all are respectable careers! The title confused me too, as they weren’t enemies but more like awkward rejections to lovers. The jealousy between Adonis and Jamie added some stakes, but other than that, there wasn't much to the story.

I received an eARC in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group.

A great true enemies to lovers summer romance.
Set in beautiful Greece, with lots of family time including dinners and family competitions, this book is a great summer read. In true enemies to lovers fashion, there's a big misunderstanding between Jamie and Flo that we don't find out about until the last few pages in the book. But I won't give any spoilers.
There was a little bit of a language issue, only because this is the author's first US debut novel, and I assume she's from Scotland? (I apologize if I'm wrong.) There are some words and phrases that I had to look up, and once I did it made sense to me. Easy to read, easy to follow. There was a lot of hot and cold moments, and definitely a slow burn type book.
This is a great book to read if you're traveling to a tropical beach town or on a resort. It made me want to stay in my own Greek villa with a pool and on the beach.

3/5 stars

I felt the story was very predictable and followed the “enemies to lovers” trope very closely. I didn’t like that we never met the friend who was very important to the main character. Additionally, I wish I got more information and details on the main character’s breakdown that is referenced often in the book. There wasn’t much context given, but it was an important plot point so I felt like a backstory would have been helpful to understand the MC more. I did love that Greece was the setting of the story as it added to the summer beach read feel. I also enjoyed the main character’s family dynamic. Overall it was an easy read and I finished it quickly, but it left something to be desired.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for the ARC in exchange for a review!

Enemies to Lovers was an easy beach/vacation read that just fell a little flat for me. The writing was ok and the story was ok felt like it dragged at times and there were some extra characters that felt like they didn't need to be added. We never really felt like we got to know the MMC character either and while I like the book discussed Flo's mental health issues it felt like it was only superficially done. Would recommend this book for people to give it a try I'm rating it 3 stars. I want to thank NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

while the story was adorable, i wasn’t a huge fan of this book. for me, i don’t think this was my favorite style of writing. i did end up reading most of the story and it had its cute moments but i was never totally hooked.

3.5 stars! Brothers best friend, check. Enemies to lovers, check. This is the first book I have read by this author and I enjoyed it. It was fun, didn't really drag and delivered an all of my expectations I have on romance books. I found the connection between Flo and Jamie believable. At times Flo was a bit frustrating, but I understood why. Overall really cute book and now I want to go on a Greece vacation!


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic advanced reader copy.

This was an easy reading romance book with a great family dynamic. But I felt like it was dragged out unnecessarily. You don't really get to know the MMC very well and the FMC's breakdown is referenced constantly but not in much depth.

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me arc. Read this for an honest review!

This book started out really good for me, but around the halfway point it seemed to start dragging and things just frustrating. The fact that she couldn’t see, Jamie was actually into her and never questioned him about the note left under her door really bugged me. This book was basically a miscommunication trope!! I did really like how the family was very close to each other and that this book was set in Greece.

Thank you to Netgalley, Penguin Putnam Group, and Laura Jane Williams for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I adored the Greenberg family vacation dynamic and vibes. This definitely made me want to go on a Greek Isle vacation!

I felt the tension and chemistry between Jamie and Florence. The gunshy mental health support from the family made this story very realistic.

The pub date on this sweet little summer-ish Grecian holiday is 8.13.24, so I declare you should get this book on the TBR into a high priority slot for the summer before it wraps up. It is a quick, easy, low stakes beach read.

DNF at 53% I loved the Greece setting it genuinely felt I was there. It felt like I read so much but nothing was happening. Although the title seems intriguing, there was no tension whatsoever. Instead, there was so much miscommunication between Jamie and Flo.

I felt like this book could have been way shorter than it actually is. I felt there were random tropes that did not add anything to the story. Otherwise, the setting was the only aspect of this book that kept me reading.

Enemies to Lovers was a sweet summer read. It took me a little while to get into it and get a feel for the characters but once I did, I really enjoyed it. The romance story was a slow burn with miscommunication and mental health issues. I also enjoyed the family dynamics and story line throughout. It was a little slow and hard to get into at times but overall a nice love story. Thanks for the advance read.

This was a cute and fun summer read, set in Greece (top of my bucket list)! I did feel the spark between them, and enjoyed the writing style. The Enemies to Lover trope was lacking, as was a fully developed plot. The mental health representation felt inclusive. The family dynamic was cute, and it made me want to take a vacation!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

A quick and easy romance read featuring the best friend’s brother trope, as well as a [sort of] second-chance romance. However, I wouldn’t say “enemies to lovers” is totally accurate. I was expecting some delicious tension but by 30% in, there had really only been one or two extremely brief interactions between the two main characters. It was mostly the FMC, Flo, being in her head about how mad she was with Jamie, the MMC. There was a miscommunication at the root of this which was not revealed until the very end, but I could predict from the get go, so I didn’t find it very believable. Still, I finished the book quickly and did not any point think about not finishing. I know others will love this, so pick it up if you’re looking for a breezy beach read set in Greece that also has some funny writing and great mental health representation!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC.

I loved that this book tackled the subject of mental health. The setting was gorgeous and the cast of characters made me want to keep reading until I finished the book! I love that the family continues to stay so close and vacation together and I appreciated the sibling dynamics and uncertainty with feeling left out of the group. I thought the plot had enough surprises along the way to keep you interested; I knew there was something odd about the Christmas situation but I didn't expect that was it! I would love to see more stories with these characters!!

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam Books for this ARC!

I appreciate this book because I, too, am unbelievably petty at any and all perceived slights.

Main character Flo is happy to be on a beautiful Greek vacation with her family... until her brother's best friend Jamie shows up. Carefree, charming, and ripped like a greek god, Jamie led Flo on and then bailed last Christmas. Determined not to let him get to her, she spends a lot of time pettily obsessing over him in mind while ignoring or being outright childish to him out loud (we've literally all been there babe!). But when she can't deny her complicated feelings for him, she decides exposure therapy is the best way forward-- spend so much time with him and she'll eventually get to know him enough to be turned off. Right?

I wasn't super into Jamie at the beginning (I have something against thirty-something year old men who wear jean shorts and tank tops that show their nipples), but he grew on me as a character. The way he is uncovered bit by bit as Flo gets to know him better is satisfying to read, even if he fell a bit flat for me as a love interest. Flo as a narrator was very relatable (if a little dense) and the family dynamics were fun and goofy.

The book was a bit slow to start but picked up considerably about 15% in. And it took me a few pages to realize that the characters are British, but once I did a lot of the writing style started to make better sense to me. Overall, this is a quick and easy read good for the poolside or beach.

I really enjoyed this book through about 80 percent... then the miscommunication trope became tired.

I loved the chemistry of Flo and Jamie, I loved the history, I loved the will they or won't they. I loved they both had past issues that were holding them down. I just didn't love the "you made mad so I'll never speak to you again... until..." If only they had talked to each other a lot of their anger could have been avoided.

The romance plot would take a backseat at times to Flo dealing with her family and their misconceptions about her post mental breakdown.

Still, I overall liked this book, but I could see how some readers may end up being meh about it.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Putnam Group for an e-copy of ENEMIES TO LOVERS to review.

I rate ENEMIES TO LOVERS three out of five stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Captivating Rollercoaster of Emotions!

"Enemies to Lovers" by Laura Jane Williams is a masterful exploration of the classic trope, delivering a story that is as heartwarming as it is exhilarating. From the first fiery confrontation to the final declaration of love, this book takes readers on a captivating rollercoaster of emotions.

Williams' writing is sharp, witty, and filled with vibrant characters who feel incredibly real. The protagonists, initially at odds, are crafted with such depth and nuance that their journey from antagonism to affection is utterly believable and thoroughly engaging. Their banter is clever and entertaining, adding a delightful spark to every interaction.

The transformation of their relationship is beautifully paced, with each chapter peeling back layers of hostility to reveal vulnerability, passion, and ultimately, a profound connection. The tension and chemistry between the characters are palpable, making every moment of their evolving relationship feel both inevitable and magical.

What sets this book apart is Williams' ability to blend humor with heartfelt emotion. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, but the story also dives deep into themes of forgiveness, growth, and the redemptive power of love. The supporting cast is equally charming, adding richness and context to the main storyline.

"Enemies to Lovers" is more than just a romance; it’s a testament to the transformative power of love and understanding. Laura Jane Williams has created a story that is not only immensely enjoyable but also deeply touching. This book is a must-read for anyone who loves a well-crafted, emotionally resonant romance. Highly recommended!

Thank you NetGalley and Lauren Jane Williams for the ARC read
***all thoughts and opinions are mine, and mine alone***