I had a blast diving into this novel. Maybe it was a case of right book at the right time but the The vacation vibes were spot-on. I have major European summer FOMO now! Greece was brought to life beautifully by Williams. I could picture myself in the villa with the main characters. This was a really vulnerable romance but at times it was predictable. Still, the familiar tropes, humor, and heartfelt emotions made the story enjoyable to read. I especially loved the family dynamics. Each member brought something unique to the table and there was so much warmth in the interactions between the Greenberg family. The relationships between the core family and their “adopted son” Jamie were believable and added a considerable amount of depth. For a book with a lot of miscommunication, there was a lot of good conversation happening. The author does a great job with the mental health representation in this book. Florence’s burnout recovery tactfully addresses the taboo nature of mental “breakdowns”. Jamie is the perfect match for Flo as she comes to learn he’s surprisingly sensitive. The family has a really important conversation towards the end of the book that shows how crucial it is to have people on your side that you’re able to open up to honestly. The conflicts fit effortlessly in the plot and kept it moving forward until the end. This was probably one of the best paced books I’ve read so far this year. I couldn’t stop reading! All in all, this book was a fun summer read, perfect for a vacation. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

The #EnemiestoLovers of the title are Florence (Flo) Greenberg and Jamie Kramer, who is the best friend of one of her older brothers: Lawrence (Laurie).

The story takes place in Greece where Flo and her family are on vacation. In addition to her parents, Veronica and Michael, this includes her other brother, Alex; Laurie and his wife Kate; and (unexpectedly to Flo) Jamie.

Flo and Jamie have each had serious mental health challenges in the recent past. Flo had a nervous breakdown and Jamie, who was an only child, lost both his parents. Jamie has since been informally adopted by Flo’s parents as a third son so Jamie is always included in any family celebrations or outings.

Unknown to each other, Flo and Jamie had an unacknowledged long-simmering attraction to each other that seemed liked it was moving into the open six months ago, during the past Christmas break. However, right when they were on the verge of admitting their interest in each other, things abruptly ended with a note from Jamie. Since he promptly left the Greenberg’s, Flo has never had a chance to discuss it with him, and his appearance in Greece, is the first time they’ve been in the same place since it happened.

Thrown into unintentional close proximity with Jamie—they even have to share a bedroom with two single beds following a plumbing issue—Flo decides to take advantage of this time together to try to know Jamie better, in the hopes that “familiarity will breed contempt” and she’ll get over her attraction, which she believes in one-sided.

This is an interesting set up and the Greenbergs are a close-knit and likeable family. However, I never really felt fully engaged in story, probably because Flo is a very passive character for most of it. Also, the reason behind the Christmas falling out isn’t revealed until the end of the book, long after I think most readers will have figured it out.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Penguin Group of @PutnamBooks for the ARC.

I really enjoyed the setting of this book and I feel like it is the perfect book for summer! The way it was described made you feel as though you were there. I did think it was a tad too long and would’ve been better 50-75 pages shorter in my opinion!

Enemies to Lovers is a great summer read that takes us to Greece with Flo and her family. Flo is having the time of her life until her brother's best friend Jamie joins them on the trip. During Christmas, Jamie led Flo on so she is very upset since she still has feelings for him. She’s now annoyed that she has to spend her vacation with him.

Once she comes to terms with him being there, she decides if she spends all the time with him, she will be really turned off.

I did enjoy the family dynamics. They all meshed well and we learned what each person has going on in their lives. I felt that this story fell a little short for me. I never really took Flo and Jamie as enemies. It mostly was her ignoring him for a big portion of the book. I expected back-and-forth banter with an enemies-to-lovers type book but there didn’t seem to be any.

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

I absolutely ADORED this book! The characters were well developed and I found myself staying up way past my bedtime to sneak a few more chapters in. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this amazing book! I will definitely be sharing it with all of my fellow book lovers

strong "anyone but you" vibes where it's obvious that one of the main problems the FMC has with the MMC is that she's way too attracted to him and not happy about that.

Enemies to Lovers is probably my top trope to read in the romance genre. I love to watch the characters walk that fine line between love and hate and I absolutely LOVE that moment when the line snaps. The title of this book drew me in which is why I requested it. I thought the book was enjoyable; a cute Summer read.

What I liked:

-Flo! She’s the best! I love her inner monologues, outward candidness, her actions and decision to bring out Holiday Flo! She’s funny and engaging and I love that she doesn’t have this picture perfect back story.

-The Family dynamics were incredible. I absolutely loved how the family interacted. They were playful and fun and I enjoyed watching their scenes play out on the page.

What I struggled with:

-There was WAY too much enemies and NOT ENOUGH LOVERS. We spend 85% of the book with them not speaking to each other and when they do decided they want to give in we get like 1 page of them letting loose and finally getting together.

-KATE! I think that she needs to mind her own business and I think she gives TERRIBLE advise. At the end when she essentially tells Flo that she “should have known that Jamie had feelings for her and should have acted accordingly” is bull! She is not a mind reader, nor should she be! Jamie did not tell her how he felt so there was no way Flo could have or should have known. She did not act wrong in that situation and she should not have been made to feel she did. I get that we needed a reason for Flo to go after Jamie but perhaps instead Jamie could have stopped running away from everything and never sharing his feelings and instead we could have seen him come back and do the right thing in communicating his feelings clearly and openly for idk the first time pretty much? This part bothered me a lot!

3) I realize Adonis was there to make Jamie jealous and finally get him to act on his feelings, but that could have been accomplished with about HALF as many scenes. All we needed was the massages and the BBQ with the dancing and that could have been enough. I wanted more Flo and Jamie on screen and this took time from that!

Quick Notes:
-If the Bluey episode referenced with the kid unable to sleep and the trippy dream is “Fruit Bat” it’s actually Bluey that can’t sleep and gets up, not Bingo.

-I realize that the characters are English and have slang. But I believe this is the authors US debut and there was an excess of slang in there that took time to look up for a US reader. It interrupted the flow of reading to figure out the things I didn’t know. Some slang is ok and sets tone for the characters and book but I think for US readers it should be toned down a bit more.

Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes, so I was all in for a book titled Enemies to Lovers. Flo Greenberg has had a hard year and all she needs is a relaxing vacation with her family—the only problem: her brother’s best friend Jamie is there too and after the Christmas Incident, there’s not a lot of love between these two. But will the forced proximity change things for them? I had some trouble with this book. In terms of an enemies to lovers story, the tension was really lacking between these two. This felt more like a women’s fiction read, which is fine, but it’s marketed entirely like a romance and there’s just so many other elements to it. Flo has been through it, she’s had a mental breakdown that’s really shaken her, and my heart went out to her, but she feels so selfish. Her best friend texts her and all of her responses are about herself. I will say the mental health rep was really authentic and relatable though, and the Greek setting was beautiful and I loved the complicated family dynamics at play. The twist frustrated me—it was something I predicted and hoped I was wrong, so that was kind of a bummer. I just have a hard time when it’s a problem that could have been resolved with one talk, a quick one at that. I wish there had been more time for Flo and Jamie to grow and talk more. The family development was strong though, and there’s a lot of good tropes. I just wish there had been Jamie’s POV or something to help shine a better light on the romance of it all.

Thank you NetGalley, Laura Jane Williams, G. P. Putnam’s Son’s for early access to this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I wanted to enjoy this book but it was a slow start and I struggled to finish it. The title says enemies to lovers but there wasn’t really that enemy feel between the characters.

This was such a fun light hearted read. There were some rough topics that touched on depression, self doubt and loss but were handled with aplomb. You would think a family vacation of grown siblings and their parents would be cringeworthy but they got along so well surrounded by food and laughter. Although there were some hiccups with Jamie and Flo’s relationship, they were the balm for the healing they needed. With a dash of sibling ribbing, self doubt confessions and a little love, this was a recipe for a great book. Thank you to NetGalley for this free advanced copy. I’m leaving this review voluntarily

Enemies to Lovers was unexpected for me. I received this ARC and forgot about it, and when I read it, I fell in love with the Greenbergs and Jamie. This books centers around Flo and the first holiday after her mental breakdown (CW) where she had to be hospitalized in order to find her way back. Laura Jane Williams approached the subject of the breakdown with care and didn't sugarcoat how rough this was for Flo. "Having a breakdown at twenty-four is part of who I am, and two years on, it's part of what's made me the resilient, hopeful phoenix-rising-from-the-ashes that gets to float in the sea and let her mind drift, happy to be alive." As someone who has been in that exact position, seeing Flo be able to live a normal life gives me some hope. Bring in Jamie- the family friend whose parents have passed so he is invited on holiday with them. After some tension and miscommunication, Flo and Jamie find themselves growing close in spite of their "brokenness." There are so many layers to this holiday vacation in Greece, and some parts are laugh-out-loud funny (trying to name all 50 states in America as Brits), where others are emotional and touch on some hard to talk about subjects. Enemies to Loves is well written and all of the characters have depth, they feel like a real family and I am nearly intruding on their vacation with lots of delicious food. I am hoping we get Alex's story next, he definitely deserves his happily ever after.

The book was okay, but not my favorite, I would say it does get better as you go on and the main characters are great. I would recommend as a quick beach read or an afternoon outside

I read Laura Jane Williams’s “Enemies to Lovers” as a palate cleanser. Flo and her family are in Greece for a vacation. Also on vacation with the family is Jamie, the best friend of one of Flo’s brothers.

Flo and Jamie had a falling out at Christmas and Flo was unaware Jamie would be joining the family on vacation. Pretty early on Flo decides the only way to survive the trip is to force herself to be around Jamie.

I found the details around the Christmas incident to be somewhat on the flimsy side. I also didn’t think they were enemies in the beginning as much as they could’ve been. That said, I adored the dialogue Flo had with her family members, as well as how they interacted with each other.

Overall, I recommend this book. It would be a good book to read on vacation or at the beach. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC.

Enemies to Lovers by Laura Jane Williams

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley for review. My opinions are my own.

4/5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. As someone who has a lot of anxiety and is a recovering overachiever and people pleaser, I can relate to the main character.

Florence (Flo) is recovering from a breakdown. Though it’s been a couple of years, her family still treats her like she’s going to break at any moment. She’s on an annual vacation with her family and her brother’s friend, Jamie, is there.

Jamie and Flo have history and his presence is a surprise. Throughout the two week vacation, Flo tries her best to avoid him - which is difficult when they are staying in one house.

Perhaps even more than the love story, I love the family dynamics. The author is so skilled at writing witty dialogue and crafting a believable family.

ARC Review: 3 stars. 3.5 stars? I liked it ok.

The Details:
Enemies to Lovers by Laura Jane Williams

Quick Summary:
Flo is ready for a nice relaxing vacation in Greece with her tight-knit and lovable family. Except she’s not ready for an unexpected addition - Jamie, her brother’s best friend and the guy who rejected her a year ago.

My Take:
yeah, this was cute. It actually got better as it went on, because I was expecting meh for most of it. There was a twist of two so that was fun. I liked the way they treated mental health and the dialogue was sweet. Flo was a likable FMC and Jamie was pretty swoon worthy. Would recommend for a cute and light beach read!

I struggled with this one a bit. The characters came off as very immature and unbelievable. It made the relationship hard to get into, because they didn't act like adults. I did enjoy the family on the trip as well, but it felt like more plot involved them then the main couple.

⭐️⭐️⭐️From Penguin Group Publishing: Ever since The Embarrassing Meltdown Incident, Flo has been on an enforced break from life. And the timing couldn’t be better, as her family sets off to Greece for their summer vacation. 

Enter Jamie Kramer . . . literally. Broad, sun-kissed, and fitter than ever. Jamie is Flo’s brother's best friend, and the person she wants to see least in the world. He’s also her family’s "adopted" son after he lost his parents at a young age.

Flo and Jamie hate each other. Except, Flo actually has a mortifying crush on Jamie, made infuriatingly stronger after The Christmas Incident. And nobody—least of all her family—can know. So, with two weeks of steamy outings, rocky boat trips, and sunshine on the horizon, Flo is going to have to fix the situation the only way she can think of: by spending time with him. What could possibly go wrong?
*********************
My review: I went back and forth with this book. Some parts were fun and some dragged . Flo’s family is definitely fun. Their dynamic, respect, support, and energy seemed real to me. But Jamie is the “adopted” son since his parents died and Flo knows relatively little about him. That seemed unrealistic. The book also lacked some of the lightheartedness of most rom coms. Flo’s background and Jamie’s fears cast a net on the story that was hard to get past. Also, I never saw Flo and Jamie as “hating” each other, they just needed to communicate (I know, big rom com trope), or stop acting juvenile.

There were fun parts of the book, and I loved Mum and Dad and Kate.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Publishing for an advance digital copy in exchange for my review

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!