Marina Adair's Love to Hate You is a delightful contemporary romance that brings together the elements of rivalry, humor, and undeniable chemistry. The story centers around Summer Russo, an optimistic indie bookstore owner, and Wes Kingston, a pragmatic CEO of a rival bookstore chain. Their worlds collide in an entertaining blend of tension and attraction. What I loved about the book are the engaging characters—Summer's belief in true love and her determination to save her bookstore are endearing, while Wes's no-nonsense attitude and hidden vulnerability add depth to his character. The humor and wit are also highlights, especially the playful banter between Summer and Wes, which is both entertaining and a key driver of their evolving relationship. Adair masterfully builds the romantic tension between the characters, making their journey from adversaries to lovers both believable and enjoyable. The story includes heartfelt moments that explore the characters' pasts and motivations, adding emotional depth to the narrative. However, some plot points are predictable, following familiar romance tropes, and some supporting characters could have been more fleshed out. Overall this book is a heartwarming and entertaining read that romance fans will likely enjoy. Adair's writing style is engaging, and the chemistry between Summer and Wes makes for a compelling love story. If you're looking for a feel-good romance with a touch of humor, this book is a great choice.

Love to Hate You by Marina Adair follows hopeless romantic and book store owner, Summer Russo and contends battles with the owner of the new chain book store that’s opening up next door, Wes Kingston. When Wes shows up to Summer’s family holiday sparks fly and these enemies decide if all their meet-cutes will result in them becoming lovers after all! This was a nice read, I liked the characters of Summer and Wes and their banter was entertaining. I found it a little difficult to remain engaged in the story and at times the cheesiness and dramatics read like a Hallmark movie. thank you to NetGalley, 8th Note Press and the author for this ARC!

The tension is intoxicating, the banter is razor-sharp, and every moment crackles with that push-and-pull that makes enemies-to-lovers so irresistible, turning every clash into foreplay and every moment into a battle neither wants to lose. Loved it.

This was a cute, funny, and flirty rom-com that makes for a good summer read. Some parts seemed to drag on but the story and characters were great.

Such a perfect enemies to lovers rom com. Has the perfect amount of fluff and spice! Would be the perfect read for a warm sunny day or a day on the beach! However I can't say enough good things about this book! The characters have wonderful chemistry and the story was delicious!

~ quick stats ~
Characters: 4/5
Writing: 3/5
Plot: 3/5
Stars ~ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Thank you NetGalley and 8th Note Press for providing this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

A modern take on the 1998 film, “You’ve Got Mail,” Love to Hate You follows the book-owner rivalry between the hopeless romantic Summer Russo, a small, family bookshop owner, and the handsome Wes Kingston, who inherits his father’s bookstore chain. However, when Summer is ready to relax and enjoy her family’s annual beachside holiday (away from her rival), guess who arrives with her twin, Autumn, and her new boyfriend, Randy. Of course, Wes! The forced proximity, witty banter, charm, lust, spice, and rivalry was intriguing and makes you want to continue seeing their relationship develop.

Summer and Wes’ chemistry was captivating to read, but also their constant back-and-forth which inevitably leads to sparks and butterflies, effortlessly sets up the “love to hate you” dynamic between the pair. The secondary characters, like her twin, Autumn, were fun and developed. But it was frustrating and sad having to witness Summer’s family constantly making her an outsider, especially through their inside jokes about her that made her feel extremely excluded.

I found that the writing style was quite simplistic and confusing at times. For example, I couldn’t precisely picture certain scenes in my head straightaway. There were also a couple times where I was briefly confused on which perspective I was reading. And as for the enemies to lovers trope, I found that it didn’t last long (or as long as I’d hope) before lust was introduced and the idea of being enemies was only an outward appearance, contrasting their inner feelings for each other.

Additionally, as a Swiftie, I found the references to Taylor enchanting and a cute addition in the story!

Overall, a cute, cheesy love story with so many meet-cutes and romance tropes!

The cutest story! You've got mail, but in book form (so it's even better).

Summer is all about romance. She runs a romance book store, looks for a perfect meet-cute, and wants to find her HEA. Her life is not all pink and fluttery thought. She has a series of meet-uglies, and the big-box bookstore moves next door, threatening all that she built, and on top of that thing with her twin, her other half and a bit tense.

She hates that book store and most of all she hates its owner, Wes. They have an epic prank war, that reaches its peak when her sister unexpectedly brings a boyfriend she never even heard of to a family vacation. And he comes with his brother, who happens to be Wes.

Forced to share a room and spend time together, their chemistry becomes undeniable. They stick together, through family drama and get really, really, close.

But they still have an epic battle to finish.

It's a true enemy to lovers' romance, with so much tension that is sure to make your heart beat faster. :)

Highly recommend it!

Thank you very much for the complimentary ARC! All opinions expressed here are completely my own.
Wow! This felt like a feel-good 2000s enemies-to-lovers rom-com in a book!
In terms of main characters, Summer is a hopeless romantic who craves nothing more than to find the love of her life, get married, and spend the rest of her life like she is in a romance book (very fitting for a romance bookseller). On the other end, Wes views life as one business deal after another and doesn't see romance in his future. However, as the book goes along, we start to realize that these opposites-attract characters have a lot more in common than we thought.
The banter is so good between Summer and Wes. From the very beginning you can feel their mutual loathing (they're rival bookstore owners!!) but are still able to get an underlying sense of attraction and pining. In the beginning, you have the pranks and fights between these two rivals, and then toward the end, you get cute little meet-cute moments that have you craving more of these characters.
On top of the loathe-to-love trope, we have some 'forced proximity' at a beach getaway. Speaking of which, this whole section of the book was so much fun and gave me Cheaper By The Dozen 2 / Parent Trap summer camp vibes with all of the games and competitions.
Moving on to side characters ... I don't think I've ever disliked a side character more than I disliked Autumn. Not going into details but man oh man was she selfish and self-absorbed. I know there was some resolution of this towards the end of the book but I don't know if I fully believe that such a self-absorbed person could have a change of heart quite so quickly.
Lastly, the only thing I didn't really love about this book was the third-act conflict. This was mainly because it came out of nowhere and also very late in the book. The resolution was adorable and showed Weston's love for Summer, but I don't think the conflict itself actually served any kind of purpose and felt very abrupt.
Overall, this book was a feel-good time that still managed to deal with some big emotions. I will definitely be picking up more books by Marina Adair!

This was very much a “Rom Com” in my book. It was a little corny at times but I think it was just how Summer was made to be. The only thing that did get on my nerves was the typical British lingo that was soooo over used it was starting to annoy me. But this was definitely funny, sometimes a little cliche but still funny. It was also spicy which was a little shocking with how corny the plot was at times😂

I had a really hard time getting pulled into this book. I'm not usually a fan of books written in 3rd person, and didn't realize that when I requested this ARC. I found myself skimming over parts as it felt like it dragged on in some parts, while others I found enjoyable. I did find the two main characters (Summer & Wes) likeable and pushed through to see to their HEA.

This book was so good! I really loved the characters and how well developed they were! I enjoyed reading their story!

Sure! Here’s a more casual version of the review:

A Fun, Flirty Romance with Great Banter

Love to Hate You by Marina Adair is a super entertaining enemies-to-lovers romance with plenty of sass, humor, and chemistry. The main characters have that perfect mix of love and frustration, and their banter keeps things fun and fast-paced.

Adair does a great job making the characters feel real—you get both the funny, flirty moments and the deeper, more emotional ones. While the story sticks to some classic rom-com tropes, it does them really well, making it an easy and enjoyable read.

If you like romances with strong, independent heroines and a hero who gets under her skin (in the best way), this one’s definitely worth checking out!

The third person narrative in Love to Hate You was refreshing, and Summer is a lovely FMC with a lot of depth, The initial bookstore location was great .fun and I was a little disappointed when this quickly switched to the family holiday
The sections from the POV of MMC Wes didn’t really grab me, unfortunately, which came down to not finding the voice really evocative of him being British.

Love to hate you is such an entertaining read. I absolutely loved it.
Their banter, the pranks they play on each other, and their chemistry - I just couldn’t get enough of them. Their pranks and banter had me smiling and their chemistry was strong enough to break the bed.
Summer is a romantic who believes in everything romance and is very dedicated to her bookstore. Wes is a broody, grumpy CEO, who doesn’t believe in the power of love. Summers opposite and also her rival since he is opening a big bookstore right next door.
The close proximity give them a chance to see beyond the surface, blurring the lines, and leading to some steamy times.
A truly enjoyable read !

To be honest, I would never normally go for a book in third person, but I found this quite an easy read, and the enemies-to-lovers trope definitely helped.

When a rival bookstore is opening up right next door to her family-run bookshop, everything gets put on the line: family, friends, and relationships.
Both Wes and Summer have a lot of the same similarities, but they would never admit it. Both with big hearts and loved everything they had.

✨“His Grinch-heart didn’t just grow two sizes that day; it nearly exploded out of his chest.”✨

I loved the element of Summer being able to learn to stand on her own two feet and stick up for herself. To know she didn’t need anyone else but herself was enough.

✨“Every win you’ve ever accomplished has been because you are determined, passionate, and damn impressive. You’re one hell of a special woman. You don’t need a knight or your sister to fight your battles. You have yourself, and you’re enough.”✨

Also, some parts of this book had me laughing out loud with all the little digs and the quick comebacks from the characters.

✨“I don’t spoon.” “But do you fork?”✨

I only had a few faults with this. I found it a little hard to get into properly until maybe halfway through. The second half of the book made it for me, which is why I gave it the 3 stars.
Overall, this book was a good, quick read if that’s what you’re in the mood for.


Thank you NetGalley and 8th Note Press for this arc!

Summer owns a romance store bookshop, and Wes is the big corporation who moved in across the street and built the huge shiny corporate bookstore. Hello, You’ve Got Mail! I will be honest that I had a bit of a hard time getting through this book. I liked that we were introduced to lots of other side characters, and that we got to see a ton of Summer’s relationship with her twin sister. Throughout all of the relationship dynamics in the book, including the Summer/Wes romantic plot, everything (characterizations, storylines, specific language) just felt a bit too cliched for me. There was not really anything new or fresh about the way it was done here, and mostly reminded me of more surface level versions of other stories I’ve read before. While I didn’t connect to this story in the way I had hoped, I did still find enjoyment throughout it! I enjoyed getting to know Summer’s dad, and I did also enjoy the descriptions of the Russo Scavenger Hunt.

Thank you to NetGalley and 8th Note Press for the ARC! My review will be posted to Goodreads on the publication date, and this review will be updated at that time with the link.

Thank you for the ARC read!

This book was so good! I'm a sucker for a good enemies to lovers romance, & this book didn't disappoint!
I really liked how you could feel the emotions & feeling of the characters coming out of the pages. When Wes talked out feeling lonely his whole life, & when Summer's family acted like her feelings didn't matter.

I loved Summer's relationship with her dad, however I wish her family would have had her back more with her selfish twin, Autumn. I would love a book on Cleo, I've got some questions out her helpful biker gang!

Overall, this was a 5 star book for me! I'll definitely be reading this book again!

This book is adorable! Summer is trying to ruin a small independent bookstore until a major book chain decides to move in next door. Kingston is a grumpy CEO businessman who she is trying to run away from until by chance, she runs into him again. This book is beautifully written and love enemies to lovers.

This story had a lot going for it - nods to past romance movies, enemies-to-lovers, a British man with an accent, sizzle... overall I enjoyed it.

But when I break it down, it ended with an "it was okay."

I loved the concept - romance bookstore owner has to compete with a big named bookstore (sound familiar, a la Meg and Tom), but I never could latch onto the main character, Summer, and her infuriating sister, Autumn.

My main beef is with Autumn and the whole "borrowing" $10,000 to tour around for Taylor Swift. (I think we all have Taylor fatigue at this point). I also don't think there's many guys who are out there following Taylor other than to maybe find women? Although I suppose Randy would be one of the few.

I think, however, this is a great story for swifties and readers in their 20s.

Thank you NetGalley and 8th Note Press for an e-copy of LOVE TO HATE YOU to review.

I rate LOVE TO HATE YOU three out of five stars.

This was honestly just really poorly written. I hated the MFC. The pacing and writing of the plot was a mess.