Trouble with Hating You

Content warnings right up front: death of parent (on-page via flashback, fairly detailed description), death by fire, sexual abuse in a character's past (vague flashbacks), abusive parent (emotional/verbal, physical once), abusive spouse (emotional/verbal), gaslighting/manipulating/threatening abuser, victim not being believed about sexual abuse If you want details about any of those, message me and I'll do the best I can to provide more info.

So despite all the content warnings above, this was actually an extremely fun read! I loved Liya and all her friends, and I'm so glad that there's going to be another book in this series (about Preeti, and I hope there's a third for Sana). I really liked the enemies-to-friends-to-love slow burn and how Liya and Jay both had their own issues to work through trusting each other. It got a little repetitive in the middle, with Liya pushing Jay away over and over, but it was definitely understandable considering her history. Jay was a little less developed as a character for me and definitely less complex, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Basically, I just liked both of these characters a lot, I loved the setting (I haven't read a lot of books set in Texas) and their friends/family members (except Liya's dad, who is the second most reprehensible person in this book), and even though I knew how things were going to end, I was still rooting for them and anxious to see how everything would work out in the end, which I think is the mark of a good romance. I could nitpick about a couple of things, like Jay's lawyer stuff and travel time between Houston and Dallas, but why? This was delightful and I can't wait for more from this author!

(2020 summer romance bingo: meddling matchmakers, would also work for ice cream or debut novel.)

I personally enjoyed this novel. I thought the romance between Liya and Jay was compelling and the book had an interesting lens on past traumatic events in the characters' lives that shaped them.

I also got into it quick and absolutely devoured it in two days, so that's typically a marker for me of an at least half-decent book.

I don't feel comfortable rating this because there seem to be mixed opinions about cultural misrepresentation in this novel and I do not know enough to weigh in on that matter.