I had high hopes for this book because I really enjoyed Two Wrongs Make Right, but I was sadly disappointed. The characters felt threadbare and cringey, and the writing was slow and repetitive,

Chloe Luese is an author I dearly love. She always creates such unique and relatable characters that make getting swept away in her stories so easy. I loved the hate to love dynamic of this couple, and the witty banter really won me over as well. I also greatly appreciated the chronic pain representation.

I felt like this books changed my chemistry. As I was reading it I thought about what it means to be seen and how people talk about how books can provide healing. This was that books for me.

It’s the second in the Wilmington Sisters trilogy. It’s an enemies to lovers romance that also has a fish out of water vibe. See the synopsis below.

I loved Kate and Christopher. Their authenticity and vulnerability touched me. I think about neurodivergence and wanting to fit in and feeling disconnected and then feeling not just seen but also celebrated. It felt good to read their stories. And as someone with a history of migraines, I felt understood.

Thanks to the publisher for sharing a copy. All opinions are my own.

This was a good time. I tend to read lighter books between heavier topics and this filled that spot perfectly. The story was interesting, the characters were relatable and I appreciated some of the neuro divergent representation.

3.5 stars

I’m sad that I didn’t love this one as much as I loved Two Wrongs Make A Right!

Kate and Christopher for me, didn’t vibe as much as I would have liked. I think what threw me off was the line where Christopher says he was 6 years old holding Kate as a newborn baby. The age gap usually doesn’t bug me, but him seeing her grow from literal baby to a 27 year old was just odd. I also didn’t like that he basically said he had sex with all these women over the years to forget about Kate because he’s been in love with her forever?? Why couldn’t you just have a conversation?

I also hated that Kate was demisexual but never had actual sex with anyone before Christopher? She goes from virgin to 10 orgasms overnight. Just wild to me.

What I loved:
-adhd representation : as someone with adhd, it’s nice to see ourselves and experiences reflected in literature. This was done really well

Backtracking- why was Christopher’s migraines never addressed? Is there something medically wrong with him? Will he get that fixed??

Okay- lastly. I hope that the 3rd story will be a fun one with more believable storyline.

Thank you Berkley & Chloe for this arc!

A great read, the story of Kate and Christopher. Both great characters, each with their own struggles. I liked how it is told from both points of view and look forward to the rest of the series.

Oh how I loved this! As far as I’m concerned, Chloe Liese can do no wrong. Liese is one of my favorite authors and this was one of my most anticipated books this year.

I loved Kate and Christopher. They’ve been family friends forever, but can’t stand each other. Their banter was perfect. I loved how Christopher changed when he realized how Kate felt. He then went above and beyond to show her he cared. I love that Liese always has some kind of representation and learned more about ADHD and chronic migraines. I list to the audiobook thanks to PRH audio and loved the narration! I can’t wait for more books from Liese. She is definitely an autobuy author for next

When she started the Wilmot Sisters series, I was admittedly nervous. Departing from my beloved Bergmans? But I should have known better. Liese had created a new world of characters I care for deeply.

This book is about Christopher and Kate. She’s the sister that’s been gone traveling the world pursuing photography, he’s the neighbor turned chosen family of the Wilmots and they have always, always, butted heads. Until she returns home and he cannot deny his frustrations re: attraction to her.

This book has a slow burn, a drunken night of honesty, romantic endeavors, pasta making, migraine representation, ADHD rep, and is a retelling of The Taming of the Shrew. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT? But honestly, I really did enjoy this book. Not all romance books are created equal, but Liese proves she’s continually up there with the best.

But let me talk to you on a personal note about this book.

I…do not like being in my own brain. I feel like I’m constantly at war with what I wish I would do and what I actually do. Early on in my relationship with my husband, we figured out illustrations for our brains to help us understand each other better. His brain is a series of brick walls that get higher the farther they go back. He has a singular thought and remembers everything. Where as my brain has twenty five tabs open…always. And they often shut down and I start over. Or I forget five tabs that were important like where the heck my airpods or wallet or keys are even though I have created a designated spot for them about thirty times.

A couple of months ago, like everyone, thanks to tiktok/instagram, I had the thought, “Maybe I have ADHD.” I dismissed it pretty quickly because I didn’t want to get caught up in a trend diagnosis, but the more I read about how it presents in women specifically, the more I thought, “hmmmmm.”

Then I read this book.

There’s a chapter where Kate, tried to describe her brain to Christopher. And y’all, the way I cried. I immediately handed the book to Connor through a wall of tears and said, “This is how I feel.”

Now, I’m not saying I have ADHD, but this book and Chloe Liese’s descriptions are giving me the bravery to pursue some sort of help or confirmation of the battle going in my head.

(even now I am second guessing putting this out in the world but I am because this book is worth the honesty.)

Even if you don’t personally struggle with any of the representations in this book, I can promise you someone you know or love does. That’s what Liese does so well in my opinion. She shows the different things we can all struggle with- from health issues, food sensitivities/allergies, neurodivergence, infertility, and sickness- on a daily basis, and yet each person is deserving of love and a good life.

If you haven’t read any of Chloe Liese’s books, I hope I convinced you!

I don’t even know where to start with this review. I keep saying that I can’t love a Chloe Liese book more, and then her books keep coming out and proving me a liar. Because oh my GOD this book.

Let’s start right off the bat with the retelling of Taming of the Shrew. Chloe’s reimagining are perfect, because she takes just enough of Shakespeare’s stories give you that familiarity of a story you love, while still have an incredibly original and beautiful story of her own.

Kate and Chris truly leapt off the page. If the sparks of their hatred didn’t light you on fire, the searing heat of the sexual chemistry would surely finish the job. BHTN was the absolute perfect combination of hate, love, chemistry, angst, humor, and sweetness. They developed and grew together so naturally and watching it all unfold was something I couldn’t have torn myself away from even if I wanted to.

And last but not least, the representation! Chloe is one of the best in the industry’s for writing beautiful, accurate representation and this was no exception. Kate had ADHD and was demisexual, two identities I possess as well. And they were both written so WELL. Chloe didn’t shy away from the hard or the beautiful parts of ADHD, showing the read that both are there. And she wrote Kate’s Demisexuality so wonderfully, and respectfully. I saw so much of myself reflected back to me in Kate, and she is now one of my favorite characters of all time, so thank you Chloe.

And now I NEED Jules’s story ASAP

The story was cute, I just don't think I was in the right headspace to read a romance. I honestly put this ARC down and didn't finish it for a while, but then it bugged me that my NetGalley numbers weren't matching up, so here I am.

Kate is Bea's sister from Chloe Liese's other book TWO WRONGS MAKE A RIGHT, and is also a Shakespeare retelling. Although, I'll admit I've never read the man, so any and all references were lost on me. They've known each other since childhood, and hated each other for some reason I can't remember. Then of course as they get to know each other as adults, shenanigans happen, and blah blah blah.

Like I said, I'm sure I'd like it more if I was in a better headspace to read a romance novel. Thanks anyway, NetGalley!

Chloe Liese does it again! I was already a big fan, but this really sealed the deal for me. I absolutely love the way she writes neurodivergence and chronic illness.

I did end up enjoying this more than the first of this particular series. I think the reason for that is this one is a modern retelling of The Taming of the Shrew and I just really enjoy those I guess (see also 10 Things I Hate About You).

Both Kate and Christopher were easy to root for and I loved their banter with each other. I also thought both narrators did a good job bringing the characters to life.

I would highly recommend this one to any and all romance lovers.

I really enjoyed Two Wrongs Make a Right and so I was excited for Better Have than Never. I'm here for all the Shakespeare re-imaginings and while this is more subtle than what one might be expecting, it's delightful. With neurodivergence and ADHD representation, Better Have than Never this childhood enemies to lovers romance is one I finished in a few days. Featuring a dual POV, this was a perfect choice to see the miscommunications, apologies, and has a careful versus a smidge of recklessness.

love love love love loved.

i had such high hopes for this one after reading two wrongs make a right. which is my ALL TIME favorite book!

this one came so close to being #1 for me.

highly recommend if you loved Two Wrongs Make A Right and want to read about the side characters

I enjoyed this even more than Too Wrongs Make a Right! The ADHD and chronic migraine representation was fantastic and I loved the dynamics between the two main characters.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! Chloe Liese is a go-to author for me, and I enjoyed this addition to The Wilmot Sisters series. Kate and Christopher were childhood friends and then rivals in adulthood, and Kate moved back to town to live with her sister from being a world traveling photographer. They drive eachother crazy, until they realize it might actually be chemistry. I enjoyed this book and always love Liese’s writing style; I think she is great at mental health and differing health representation in her character building, as well as hot and steamy scenes. Though I did like this book, I thought some of the dialogue was a bit stilted and the story rushed. But overall, I always enjoy Liese and will definitely be reading her next book in this series and any series she writes. I recommend this book for fans of Chloe Liese, mental health representation (ADHD), chronic pain representation (migraines), and open door, slow burn contemporary romance.

Chloe Liese knows how to do demisexual rep but this was not it. The most frustrating thing for me about this book was the gloss over bonus points Demi rep. If you look at promo materials for this book and even the freaking acknowledgments at the end all of the other major representations in this book are talked about. The ADHD rep and the migraine rep but the demisexual rep is like the red-headed stepchild of representations in this book.

The fact that Chloe Liese wrote The Mistletoe Motive which has exceptional demisexual representation and then proceeded to write this book that has at best, misleading subpar demisexual representation is downright is pointing and borderline problematic.

One of the issues with this is that the characters have known each other forever and so it muddies the waters on when the attraction started. Demisexuality means that someone does not feel sexual attraction until they form an emotional bond. This does not mean that they enjoy sex more when they have an emotional bond or that intimacy comes easier when they have an emotional bond. It means they literally do not experience the attraction until the bond is formed. Demisexuality is so misunderstood already and that's why I say it's borderland problematic to have this sort of blurred lines representation. We don't need more muddy Waters. The supposed demi character in this routinely mentions that intimacy comes easier for her when there's an emotional bond or that she enjoys it more but that's not what demisexuality is!

Anyway, that's not even getting to the point that the actual word demisexual is not even mentioned until the last maybe 10% of the book. I'm frustrated.

What's even more frustrating is that this book isn't bad beyond that. The ADHD rep is okay and the migraine rep is okay but it wasn't problematic. I'm not really sure what happened with this book because I really have genuinely enjoyed almost every single one of Chloe Liese's books and this one just fell quite short for me.

Also can we talk about the fact that these two have been enemies for so long and have routinely griped and bickered and outright fought in front of the family and no one said anything. Are you for real? There's no way no in hell. I also thought that it was a little bit weird that Christopher mentioned that he changed her diapers as a kid and that somehow he was able to form sisterly bonds with Kate's two sisters yet formed a romantic attraction with Kate. They are 6 years apart I believe but they've known each other their entire lives. It was just a little bit weird.

I adored this book so much. Chloe is always so excellent at writing complex characters that you can't help but fall in love with.

i'm a sucker for a shakespeare retelling (maybe it's the shakespeare class i took in school and all the deep dives i did into his plays?!) and was THRILLED that chloe wrote another one, this one spinning off of the taming of the shrew. i LOOOOOVED the first wilmot sisters book and read it recently, so i jumped right into this one, but it makes me sad to say it took a while for me to get in the groove with this one! the second half was wonderful, but it had a slow start and didn't hook me right away, and it didn't end up being the five star favorite i was hoping it would be. i'm still sticking with a solid four stars, and i truly enjoyed it, but it didn't blow me away like i anticipated it would. i just love a katerina story and wanted a liiiiiittle more from this one!

This book is proof that you can write a book with plot and conflict WITHOUT MISCOMMUNICATION.

When I thought the miscommunication shitty moment would come, the one that always separates the characters for no real reason, it didn't come!!!!! It almost did, but instead of freaking out, they communicated, they were adults trusting each other.

We need more books like this!!!

Im also obsessed with Chloe Liesel bfor all the rep she includes in her books
She puts a lot, and imo she does it very well. It was particularly touching for me with Christopher, who suffers from migraines just like me. I've never read a book with a character who has migraines, never. And I've always wanted to write one but was scared it wouldn't be interesting, but it's my reality. And reading Christopher's POV was just so real and I felt so seen.

Book 2 in the Wilmot Sisters book absolutely did not disappoint! This book is based off of a Taming of the Shrew retelling and I was all in! Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and this worked perfect for Christopher and Kate. Kate is the sister who is a globetrotter, fly by the seat of her pants type who loves her family but isn’t sure she wants to stay in one place.
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Christopher is reliable, a great friend and a hell of a dancer but him and Kate have never seen eye to eye until they realize their hate is so much more. That’s when things really pick up. I just love the way Liese rights and I especially love how incredibly inclusive she is in writing her characters. I love this world she is creating with these characters and so happy to revisit Jamie and Bea from Two Wrongs Make a Right. I cannot wait for the next book!

Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks @dg_reads @prhaudio and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.