4 stars

An enjoyable brother's best friend romance while also being enemies to lovers and also a holiday romance. I liked the characters and appreciated the talk about mental health throughout and how each person has their own journey with it. I had a good time but nothing was significantly memorable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This book just wasn't for me. I couldn't connect with the characters and the tension between them felt forced. I found myself skimming the pages rather than reading more often than not because it wasn't holding my attention. I did a lot of re-reading, and honestly, I still don't remember much. None of the characters stood out and the storyline was average.

Book Review

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Publication: August 13, 2024

Rating: Not for me

I usually love enemies to lovers trope but I really struggle with miscommunication or not fully communicating. Add this and the fact that the MCs are my age (30’s) but act like they are in high school. It just left a bad taste for me.

Thank you so much to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book, as it has a lot of things that I am fond of-
- Forced proximity
- Second chance
- Enemies to lovers

And while I did enjoy myself for a bit, I found myself DNFing at 25%.
Our FMC is just getting back on her feet after what she describes as her 'breakdown'. She left all that she knew when the pressure became too much and landed back with her family. Still trying to navigate the waters of her anxiety, she is raw and tender in many ways. When the MMC arrives, he is described as her brother's best friend whom she had a fling with, but ended poorly when he did the classic "It's not you, it's me."
Since then, she has harbored resentments that come to the surface when they are forced on a vacation with each other.

While I did appreciate the tension and the curiosity for the full scope of their story, I was really off put during a scene where, after having an anxiety attack of sorts, our FMC escapes to the beach, only to be followed by Jamie (the brother's best friend). There, during what was a tender moment between the two of them, Jamie alludes to the fact that he understands the anxiety and the overwhelming feelings that accompany it, which one would think the FMC would understand. However, she responds with, essentially, "how can you have anxiety? your life is great." And that just really turned me off from her character and the plot as a whole.

It is hard to empathize with a character and their mental health struggles (which I know intimately), when they so easily put down someone coming to them vulnerably and honestly. She wants people to give her grace and understanding, yet she cannot do the same for others, and I just couldn't find it in me to keep going. Maybe one day I'll try again, but for now, I think I'm good.

Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes but this just didn’t do it for me. There definitely wasn’t enough “enemies” part. I did enjoy the banter though with the brothers but besides that the book fell pretty flat.

Thank you Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

Flo is 26, finished her masters and plans to teach while working on a PHd. She joins her parents for a Greek summer holiday for two weeks. Along with her is oldest brother, his wife Kate (expecting) and another brother who is single and looking. They are also joined by Jamie Kramer who is the oldest brother's best friend and is an unofficial member of the family after the passing of his parents.

Flo always crushed a little on Jamie. One Christmas when they started getting close, he backed off, left a note and took off. I didn’t feel this really invoked the “Enemies” portion of the title. Yes, she is angry, but more hurt, embarrassed and confused. But this summer they are older and sharing a house and with activities they are together a lot. I actually enjoyed Flo’s family. I liked that they have inside jokes, play games and truly care for each other. Kate is great at the lawyer sis-in-law who is nervous about parenthood. She is also a good friend to Flo. I almost enjoyed the family and holiday more than the romance. I liked the story and correctly predicted the cause of the Christmas Incident. I don’t think Jamie swept me off my feet, but I was glad the pair got a happy ending.

This is a good summer read. It covers some extras with Flo talking about her past breakdown that she has recovered from. (3.5 Stars)

This was cute!

I love enemies to lovers romances, so this one seemed right up my alley. I figured out the twist pretty early, but it was still enjoyable.

I also really admire books that address hard things - mental health, loss of a parent, etc. I thought it was handled well here.

Thanks to netgalley and Putnam for the ARC

This one was such an enjoyable read!
Second chance, missed connection, brother's best friend, enemies(ish) to lovers, miscommunication. So many good tropes in this one!

The irony of this was starting to read it while I was in Greece and not realizing that's where it was set. It really added to the reading experience because I understood exactly how Flo was feeling in regards to finding peace and rejuvenation while on vacation with her family. I felt that the miscommunication became a little obvious once it clicked for me what had happened in the prologue, but it was still really enjoyable to read. I never felt overly frustrated that Flo and Jamie weren't communicating because I understood why.

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

A vacation romance where two enemies come to terms with what the heart wants. Two family friends teeter on the brink one christmas only for both to be left brokenhearted after what each assumes is a "Sorry it was a mistake" note. The Greek island setting has family hijinx, funny moments and a slow-burn enemies to lovers romance.

Overall a fun summer read. Enemies to lovers is my favorite trope.

Thank you, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons

It was so cute! I love the banter between Flo and her brothers. The family in vacation with games, banter and qualify time was so fun to read and so relatable. The whole story between Flo and Jaime was just a bunch of miscommunication. It was cute but kinda frustrating because if they would have just talked then they could have been together way sooner. I liked it though. It makes me want to stop my ticket and book a trip to Greece asap.

Tropes:
Brothers best friend
Summer romance
Enemies to lovers
Second chance romance

I love a good enemies to lovers book and this one says it right in the title. It did not disappoint either! I was hooked from the beginning and I wish I could read this again for the first time because it was such a fun read. My patrons will love this one just as much as I did!

This was a great read. The main characters were likeable and the story easy to read. I liked that there was some humour in the story too. Perfect beach read!

📚ARC Review 📚

Enemies to Lovers ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Flo is on a much needed family holiday after her mental breakdown. Her parents paid for the trip to Greece, inviting Flo, her brothers, sister-in-law and to her surprise, her brother’s best friend. The same friend she almost had a fling with at Christmas, but was rejected with a letter and hasn’t seen him since. What was supposed to be a relaxing holiday, just got complicated.

This book was easy to binge, I was hooked from the first chapter. I love the chemistry between the two main characters and their banter. There was also a little bit of a love triangle, which made things interesting. The mental health aspect of the story was handled with care by the author. I also liked the family dynamic on a vacation together. This would be a great poolside read as it describes the islands of Greece!

This book comes out on August 13th, 2024. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for my advanced readers copy. This is my honest and voluntary opinion.

Enemies to Lovers is a great read! Flo is on a family holiday with her parents, two brothers and sister-in-law. One of her brother's best friends joins them to her surprise. It's the friend she almost had a fling with at Christmas, but something went awry and she was left with a bitter taste in her mouth. Now, she must fight her anger to be civil or just give in and make nice.

What I loved about this story was the come back from a mental health issue that Flo experiences. It is a testament that we can be okay and love who we are with the help and support of those around us. Another aspect of this story that I loved is that there is no back stabbing between the two main characters that is normally seen in enemies to lovers type of novels. They have great chemistry and understandable squabbles.

You will fall in love with Flo and her family. They are the type of family that has fun and supports and loves each other even when the going gets tough. I look forward to more entries from Laura Jane Williams.

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

First and foremost, despite the title, this is really more of a second chance romance than an enemies to lovers. Had I known that, I'm not sure I would have picked it up in the first place as second chance is one of my least favorite tropes.

The book is set in a vacation home on the beach in Greece. The setting is absolutely gorgeous and is perfect for a summer read. Florence is going on vacation with her family, and unbeknownst to her, her brother's best friend, Jamie, is joining the family. Six months earlier, it felt like something was starting between the two of them, but one night she receives a note telling her he had lead her on and then promptly leaves town. She is furious with him, and when she sees him he also seems to be angry with her. Additionally, Florence is about a year into recovering from a mental breakdown. Coming on this trip, she is also dealing with her family treating her with an abundance of caution, which causes her additional tension.

Besides the misleading title, there were some other issues I had with this book. The plot heavily relies on miscommunication, not just about what happened the last time they saw each other, but also just throughout both between the two of them and between her and her family. Florence keeps bringing up her breakdown, but never really goes into depth about what led to her mental health issues. She mentions that she has been in therapy and has "done the work", but if that were true I feel like she should have been better able to communicate with Jamie and her family, thus negating the entire plot.

I’m trying to be fair as I realize time and time again that I don’t like most romance books. And there’s a good chance I would’ve loved this 15 years ago. But alas….

I keep hate thinking about this book. The fatal flaw was hearing how beautiful every single character was, constantly. It went beyond the first introduction of each person - the author referenced physical descriptions in every single chapter. We get it - the main character doesn’t know how beautiful she is! The men take our breath away!

I’m also so over the trope of [redacted because I just now realized this might be a spoiler— no matter how predictable it was to me] being the reason a couple doesn’t get together. It’s so immature and uninteresting.

I’ll leave it at that because I think anything else I say will ruin the plot for anyone who likes these types of books.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the early copy. Sorry to be such a snob! I really like this author’s nonfiction and social media content.

Enemies to Lovers by Laura Jane Williams delivers exactly what it promises: a romance where enemies become lovers, with the classic brother's best friend trope. While the story had moments of charm, it felt slow to develop and struggled with characters who lacked relatability and likability.

A heartfelt, emotionally deep, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, vacation romance between two family friends who have unresolved feelings caused by a misunderstanding at Christmas. I loved the mental health rep in this book, the FMC has anxiety and depression and was hospitalized after a breakdown. There's lots of fun family drama and the Greek island setting was aspirational! Great on audio and definitely worth the read! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!

CW: depression, anxiety, grief over the accidental death of parents

This book is a rom-com set in Greece with a “brother’s best friend” trope. The book follows Flo on a Greece vacation with her family and, unfortunately for her, with her best friend’s brother as well. She feels wronged by him because of something that happened between them during Christmas one year which made her despise him, hence the title “enemies to lovers.” The scenery in the book was great and definitely had good summer vibes. However, I did not feel very connected to the characters. It felt like the story was rushed and throughout the book, the female main character acted in ways that I didn’t particularly relate to/love.

While the characters were not my favorite, the book is very lighthearted and had some entertaining scenes as well as good summer vibes to read by the beach and pool.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for providing me an ARC for this book!

Unfortunately this one wasn’t for me. I wasn’t a fan of the main characters and it was hard for me to get past that.