I wanted to love this book. I started Why I Loathe Sterling Lane with such high hopes, that it would be reminiscent of 10 Things I Hate About You (which I love, and wish to re-watch ASAP) and I also LOVE hate-love relationships. If they're done right, they can be amazing. The chemistry, the emotions, the whole concept of seeing someone's feelings change right in front of you. And yet it failed with Why I Loathe Sterling Lane. It failed massively, in the fact that Sterling Lane was a grade-A asshole. I generally don't curse in my reviews, but he was an asshole. Winding Harper up, causing friction with her twin brother Cole, causing friction in classes, somehow turning teachers into his allies, the stupid car-in-the-bedroom cliche, and the worst of the worst: breaking into her bedroom (technically he was allowed in because of Harper's roommate) and reading her private things. NOPE. YOU DO NOT DO THAT, DOUCHE BAG. War or not, there's a line and he crossed it repeatedly and Harper was no saint either. She was like Rory Gilmore on steroids, and not in a good way. Can somebody REALLY live their life with over 500 rules? How the hell does she remember them all?!?!

I just... it took way too long for them to become "friends" and I use that term incredibly loosely, because it wasn't friendship, it was a truce, of sorts. And I was just done. I couldn't read any more. There was zero chemistry, zero romantic attraction, zero of anything but antagonism and while that works, you have to pull it off correctly otherwise you get... this.

Why I Loathe Sterling Lane could have been awesome, if Harper and Sterling had had even the tiniest bit of chemistry, or reasons to hate each other. They hate each other just because, there's no reason. Not even an arbitrary one! I was just disappointed, it wasn't what I expected at all and while I got into it easily enough, I also got bored of it really, really quickly.

**I received a free ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
4.5 stars

I have Feelings™ about Why I Loathe Sterling Lane okay, it's been 5 days and I'm still not over it tbh.

Harper Campbell and her twin brother, Cole, attend a boarding school where Harper is the top of their class (thanks to 537 Rules that she lives by) and Cole is the star lacrosse player. Harper's life is running pretty perfectly until she finds out that Cole is short for the money he promised to raise for a new weight room. And. Legendary Sterling Lane has transferred to their school and seems hellbent on ruining Harper's life; first, he's Cole's new roommate and might be "corrupting" him. Then he insists on Harper writing his notes and his work because of his "illnesses." Sterling is generally the antithesis of Harper's Rules. On top of all this, Harper gets a new roommate, Kendall, after living without one all year.

At first, Harper and Sterling's relationship of pranking and generally irritating each other somewhat unnerved me because it seemed a bit too antagonistic without having a good reason. And Harper was pretty against all girls, especially Kendall, who is the prettiest, most popular girl in their grade. So yeah, I wasn't that into this book at first.

And then the second half happened.

Harper and Sterling's hostile relationship pretty much petered out so that the pranks were more in fun, and Harper starts to realize that Kendall is more than she seems, so there goes the female animosity. She befriends her later and they end up working together on some of the pranks. And!!! Harper defends Kendall's outer appearance of a "bubblehead" to her boyfriend when he makes a flippant comment.

More good things about this book: all throughout it, Harper recognizes a lot of the sexism around her, such as when Sterling is excused from his behavior because "boys will be boys," and when her dad dismisses Harper's worrying about Cole because "girls overreact all the time." She also isn't typically "feminine," which Sterling points out sometimes and she defends her own decisions (although Sterling's comments bother me at times but more on that later).

But the best thing about this book? Four words: Hate. To. Love. Relationship.

Hands down, the romance was my favorite part of this book. Again, it's been 5 days, and I cannot stop thinking about Harper and Sterling. This book was probably one of the best with this trope in it to be honest. I don't want to spoil anything, but trust me. This book is worth it for the ship.

The only thing I didn't quite like was Sterling's sexist comments. Whenever Harper would point them out, he would apologize, but then he would make another one later? I don't know, I just feel like sometimes he didn't really feel remorse about them, leading to not a lot of character development with him.

I really loved this book despite some of its flaws. I really want to reread it, honestly, but I should probably wait till it officially releases . . . but who cares? Anyway, if you like private school books (which I do) or hate-to-love relationships (which I LOVE), you should definitely pick this book up on June 6!

Harper Campbell like to play by rules. Her life is filled with it and she's faithfully following them since. But newly enrolled Sterling Lane just came into her world and rocked them every moment. Not to mention that he's causing her brother trouble. He knew it was his fault, and she will do anything to protect her brother. But - Sterling Lane seemed to know how to twist things and make her culprit. She tries to expose him for what he is - but every prank keeps coming back to her.

One by one, she breaks her precious rules - if only to help her brother who seemed to be in trouble, but would not tell her anything. Now, she teams up with her ultimate enemy to get her brother out of the mess he's in. Soon, she realized that there was more to this troublemaker after all, and maybe, just maybe there is something similar to the both of them that what she realized.

Harper is one of those straight-A, know-it-all students that you hate in high school. It was hard to like her at first - but as the story goes on, you will understand where she's coming from and why she's doing what she does. She just wants to protect her brother. The more she spends time with Sterling, as well as with her new, unexpected roomie, Kendall - the more her walls crumble. By the end - you will actually like her. Especially when she does the unexpected.

Sterling Lane is definitely what Harper needs - a fun thing in her life. If only he doesn't antagonize her. He was a surprise. Since I have not read from his Point of View - everything he does is a surprise - he would pull one prank after the other. But there was so much more in him than that, and he's just amazing. He has reasons for doing things, and just like our Harper, he's as loyal as heck,

So yes, I enjoyed reading this book. It comes with a whole lot of surprises, and twists that will have you laughing, and cringing at times. I enjoyed the characters, they were just awesome. They brought change in each other's lives - they didn't really want the other to change. They preferred the way they are, and watching Harper finally fell, and watching her fall is just spectacular. She deserves some happiness in her life.

Why I Loathe Sterling Lane by Ingrid Paulson is scheduled for release on June 6, 2017 by Entangled Publishing, LLC. I have to admit that I really enjoy reading a lot of the books that are published with Entangled Publishing and this one did not disappoint. The main character is Harper Campbell. She is very organized in everything she does, from academics to her social life. Everything is going perfectly for her, that is until the day Sterling Lane transfers to the tiny boarding school where she attends. It does not taken long before her twin brother gets swept up in Sterling’s pranks and schemes nearly gets expelled. Harper knows her brother is not at fault and Sterling is so she vows to take him down. She exposes his endless school violations but he keeps striking back. Sterling even manages to charm the administration and convince them that he is not to blame. As this back and forth continues it does not take Harper long to realize that she doesn’t hate Sterling but instead sees they are alike. I really enjoyed reading all the back and forth pranks and schemes these two share. Paulson does an outstanding job creating the characters and setting for this book. I feel that they are perfect for the plot line and really help to make the story that much more believable. This is the type of book that you can get lost in and not want to put down. I found this to be fun book to read and I look forward to more from this author.

My lessons learned: blurbs can be deceiving and to let go of my unjust prejudices against the YA genre.

To be honest, when I got approved for the ARC, I wasn't even sure any more why I'd requested it in the first place. While I'm gradually warming up to contemporary YA, I'm not usually big on hate-to-love romance, and the synopsis sounded so much like petty high school teen drama. The only reason I even started this book when I did was to get it over with.
Boy, was I ever wrong. Ingrid Paulson blew me out of the water with this one.

So there's Harper. Harper has a firm set of rules she lives and acts by, never straying from them even if that makes her a school pariah. That is, until Sterling Lane, the new boy at her boarding school starts pushing her buttons in a way no one ever has, and her twin brother Cole gets tangled up in trouble that might get him expelled. Convinced that it's not a coincidence that all the mess began at the exact same time that Sterling started hanging out with Cole, Harper starts her own investigations on the charming manipulator. He doesn't know what he's in for.
And thus starts a thrilling and hilarious battle of wills, pranks and emotions none of them would have ever expected.

If there's one thing I've learned since I started reading YA and NA novels, it's how hard it is to pull off the bad boy vs. good girl trope without getting lost in a sea of clichés. There's just too much that can go wrong, such a fine line between bad boy and insufferable, obnoxious douchebag, and between good girl and stuffy, boring weakling. I don't know how she did it, but Paulson walked that line with such an unexpected ease that I often felt like I should have, if not hated, then at least disliked the two protagonists, but for the love of me just couldn't.
Don't get me wrong, there were times when I was mentally begging Harper to punch the smug smirk out of Sterling's face, or when I just couldn't help but roll my eyes at her rule-abiding perfectionist ways. But the thing is, I still loved them for their personalities and their flaws. Both of them were absolutely amazing characters.

I might even go as far as to claim that Harper and Sterling are my new favorite romance couple. The banter, the tension, their strong wills and wits. I had so much fun reading this book, switching between aggravation, swooning and cracking up so many times I never knew what to expect next. I loved how they both influenced each other for the better without even noticing it.

Add to that the fact that this book didn't have the typical YA feeling to it, and I was a goner from the start.
The characters were mature (most of the time) and strong-willed, there were no bitchy co eds, no jealousies, nothing that felt contrived only to add more drama to the mix. What you'll get instead is a devilishly funny yet profound hate-to-love romance, a couple to ship, an unlikely but beautiful friendship, a well-construed mystery, a prank war, few but thus all the more lovable supporting characters and a touching twin sibling relationship.

I seriously can't wait to read more of this author's amazing writing.

Per her 537 rules, Harper Campbell keeps her life tidy—academically and socially. But the moment Sterling Lane transfers into her tiny boarding school, her twin brother gets swept up in Sterling’s pranks and schemes and nearly gets expelled. Harper knows it’s Sterling’s fault, and to protect her brother, she vows to take him down. As she exposes his endless school violations, he keeps striking back, framing her for his own infractions. Worst of all, he’s charmed the administration into thinking he’s harmless, and only Harper sees him for the troublemaker he absolutely is.

As she breaks rule after precious rule in her battle of wits against Sterling and tension between them hits a boiling point, she’s horrified to discover that perhaps the two of them aren’t so different. And maybe she doesn't entirely hate him after all. Teaming up with Sterling to save her brother might be the only way to keep from breaking the most important rule—protecting Cole.

What I really love about books like this is that at the end the hero has a story that shows he has redemptive qualities. I love Sterling and I might be in the minority, but I found him endearing. He reminded me of a friend I grew up with. That kid that always tugged your pigtails and yet picked relentlessly on you and then fell in love with Harper. Oh, Harper, you're a mess!! You need to throw your rules away girl!! Just let go of your 537 rules and let your hair down some. You probably have a rule that helps you pee. That's how rule focused you are. I know girls like this. When Harper starts to loosen up and give Sterling back some of what he's dishing out...I wanted to cheer. They are both a breath of fresh air. I found a couple editing issues but the truth is - it just didn't detract me enough to go...subtract a star - sure. I thought that the content was enough that it made up for it. The heat between these two was off the charts, but the sexual content was minimal. I thought it would be appropriate for 18 and over ages and maybe even 16. Well done and I would definitely read anything else by this author!!

I was given a copy of this ARC from the publisher on NetGalley for an honest review. All of the above comments are my express opinions and no one else's.

Adorable young adult romance! I love the enemies to lovers trope and this one was done perfectly.

*2.5 Stars*

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Harper has an insanely long list of rules to keep her life in order. She is the best in her classes at her boarding school, and she takes care of her brother with the rest of her time. One day, her brother's roommate leaves and is replaced by the terrible Sterling Lane, who has been kicked out of other boarding schools in the past. They immediately clash, hate each other, and start a competition of wills.

I could not get into this book. I didn't like any of the characters, but I especially did not like Harper. Even before Sterling did anything, Harper decided she hated him and set out to make his life miserable. Her rules were annoying, and most of them didn't even make sense. Sterling was not that bad of a character, and it turns out that he was trying to help people all along, but she made a snap decision and was hateful most of the book. Even when they were flirting, she obviously hated him and yelled at him every time they kissed! The plot line with her brother at least moved the story along somewhat, but it was not a realistic storyline.

Harper is a very complicated girl, who has adopted an astounding 537 rules in order to stay in control of her life. She arrives to classes 30 minutes early to secure her preferred seat, sets alarms to remind her when it is time to switch subject while studying. She is a case study in discipline. When Sterling Lane makes his appearance, it is immediately apparent, that he is the exact opposite of of Harper. What begins as an unlikely alliance, in an attempt to exonerate her twin brother and save him from expulsion, grows and changes both Harper and Sterling.

This was a cute enemies to lovers story. There were parts I loved, parts I liked and wish there were more of, and parts that left me meh. My final impression was good, though, due to the strong and delightful ending.

What I Liked
Harper was rather awesome. She was living by her own rules, and I can appreciate a girl who doesn't let the crowd steer her decisions. She had all these adorable quirks, like how she baked when she was stressed, and her rules, so many rules, which when I learned why she adopted them, sort of tugged at my heartstrings. Most of all, I loved how she grew and changed during the story, but didn't lose herself. Rather, she found a better version of herself.

Sterling was quite the alpha-hero. He constantly challenged any and all rules, but he eventually realized he was doing it for the wrong reasons. It was apparent, that Sterling had a heart of gold in there from many of his actions (his sister, Cole, his grandmother), but it was buried under all his errant ways. With Harper challenging him, he also changed for the better. He didn't lose all his bad boy swag, but he realized he wanted more for himself and was not going to sacrifice his needs and wants just to contrary. I also swooned at how he desired Harper's fire. He didn't want her to change, he liked her quills and all, and that is a great message to send to the young women out there.

The romance was so sweet. Both Harper and Sterling would let a little hint slip here and there. They had there hormonal moments, which sent Harper running. In the end, it was Sterling, who made the grand gesture. He knew he needed to, and I must admit, I wore a huge grin on my face that entire final chapter.

This message of acceptance was all over this story as far as I could see. Both Harper and Sterling were fighting for acceptance from their difficult fathers. In addition, Harper was never really embraced by her peers due to her rigid and quirky ways. What they found, was that they could not really earn that acceptance until they started to veer from their rules. But what drove this deviation from their rule system, was a sort of self acceptance. When they addressed their own needs and desires, thus, accepting themselves, others saw them differently. I can get on board with that message.

What I Wish There Was More Of
I really enjoyed seeing the changes in Harper. Seeing her make friends, and begin to really be part of it all without changing all her core beliefs. I enjoyed Harper's interactions with Kendall so much. Another example of characters bringing out the best in each other. Harper helped Kendall reach some realizations just as much as Kendall helped her. Most of all, Kendall accepted all parts of Harper. It was a very nice symbiotic relationship, and I would have enjoyed more of that. I also found the parts where the whole gang: Harper, Kendall, Parker, and Cole, were all involved quite fun. The banter, the pranks, the basic interactions were amusing.

What I Found Meh
I was not into the whole Cole plot. I found I had little interest in that storyline, although I believe it is the driving force for bringing Harper and Sterling together. I don't know. I would have liked to have more hijinks. It was not a terrible storyline, and I get why it was there, and it drove the story in a certain direction, but I just wasn't feeling it. Not bad, not good, just there.

Overall: A cute enemies to lovers story, filled with hijinks, fun, and a great message of acceptance.

“Why I Loathe Sterling Lane” was an interesting book about Harper and the new student, Sterling. Harper and her twin brother attend an elite boarding school, where Harper lives her life strictly by a set of 537 rules. She is determined to do well in school and to take care of her brother Cole (rule number 1). Sterling is new to their school and arrives there only because he’s been kicked out of all the other elite boarding schools. Sterling seems to be in a lot of Harper’s classes, and he quickly becomes her enemy with made up diseases and saying she would take notes for him. To make matters worse, he’s rooming with Cole, and seems to be a bad influence on him.

Cole has landed himself in some trouble- he has told his lacrosse team that they had enough money for some new equipment when they did not (and now it is purchased and he needs to get 5k fast). Harper is determined to help him- and to get rid of Sterling. In the process, she learns that she knows less about Cole than she thought and maybe Sterling isn’t as bad as she thought he was. They begin an escalating war of trying to get the other into trouble with some impressive antics. Harper eventually realizes that she needs Sterling’s help to follow rule 1 and help Cole.

The beginning of the book was really hard to read- I almost quit because Harper was really hard to like and we only get her perspective. She makes enemies really easily and gets really worked up over very small things. Later in the book, she begins to grow into a more realistic human. Her hatred of Sterling was a little tough to understand earlier in the book (she definitely overreacts), but as more happened, it started to feel more plausible. I really enjoyed the second half of the book! There’s something to be said for hate turned to romance, and the second half of the book does this pretty well.

Some of the side characters were really fun in this book, such as Kendall- Harper’s new roommate and stereotypical popular girl. She developed really nicely, and I loved the tidbits we had with her. Harper was pretty annoying at first but grew on me by the end- and Sterling was a pretty fun character. I’d actually like to see a sequel to this book, maybe with some of the side characters. The setting was interesting and would be fun to see what happens with some other romances (as well as what happens with Harper and Sterling). This book really grew on me over time- I’d give the second half 5 stars and the first half 3 stars, so I am averaging to 4. Overall, it was a pretty fun book and a good summery read!

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I received a copy of this from Entangled Teen through netgalley.

I know I was supposed to loathe Sterling Lane, but I kind of loved him. Harper drove me crazy with her rules and how uptight she was. It made the first half of the book a bit tough for me, but I loved the second half. Once Harper lightened up a bit (and got a friend), she was much easier to like and the rest of the book was great. The banter and disagreements between Harper and Sterling really made the book for me.

I found this book quirky and enjoyable to read. I was able to read it quickly which was nice. I loved this story though.

I love a great battle of the wits romance. This book is a modern day Taming of the Shrew of sorts. The characters and their voices are wonderfully written. The competition between Harper and Sterling is so much fun to read. I love how Harper's protecting her twin brother Cole sweeps her into Sterling's hijinks and she's forced to step outside her carefully planned life to save her brother but she has to team up with Sterling - her archenemy to do so. It's one scheme after another - and the thing with the Mini Cooper - ingenious. I can't wait to share this book with my YA book club! Loved it!


As she breaks rule after precious rule in her battle of wits against Sterling and tension between them hits a boiling point, she’s horrified to discover that perhaps the two of them aren’t so different. And maybe she doesn't entirely hate him after all. Teaming up with Sterling to save her brother might be the only way to keep from breaking the most important rule—protecting Cole.

Thank you Netgalley and Entangled for a copy of this e-arc.

I’m not sure where to start with my review Ha! This book was… Im gonna say strange but not in a bad way. It was…. different I guess.

Think the Hating Game for teens and 1st love.

I don’t think it is explained where the location is located? I know that the school was big on lacrosse….. I know there is a headmaster… and I know there are 537 Rules that Harper follows.

Harper was hilarious. It’s a deep rooted problem for truly honest people to be labelled as sarcastic. I know. I’m one of them. Although I am both deeply honest as well as sarcastic so I guess for me those labels fit.

I love slow burn- enemies to lovers book and this one filled both slots with a X.

I want to tell you guys that YA is a hard limit for me but because I’m truly honest YA has been my go to read since Fall 2016. There is something refreshing with reading about first love and those nerves and those butterflies that the general romance can give you but when everything is a cliche of another you don’t feel those flutters in the pit of your stomach really.

So if you liked the Hating Game and if you liked Carry On I would say you’re gonna enjoy this one.

Mare

I really did not like the main character in the beginning. She annoyed the crap out of me, just making really bad choices. Let me put it this way, it was like she was playing poker and everytime she got a decent hand she would say "Oh, there's no way you'll beat me!" and flash them her hand so they all end up folding and she gets nowhere. That's what this reminded me of. She does get better, she loosens up and I found her a lot more relatable after she stopped doing that.

I really loved Sterling. I especially loved his chemistry with Harper. A lot of the times chemistry in a love hate relationship can feel a bit forced, but here it seemed very natural.

I loved Kendall. She was this pretty popular rich girl, but she wasn't a complete stereotype. Typically, she would have been vapid and mean. While she was a tiny bit vapid, she did have a personality. With hopes and dreams and aspirations, so not very vapid.

I enjoyed the sibling relationship between Cole and Harper. I liked how they looked out for each other. Whenever I read a book with siblings that are boys and girls, I feel like it's almost always the boy who is constantly being over protective of the girl, that was flipped in this book. I enjoyed that.

Overall, I think this book was well written and completely enjoyable. I'm definitely going to be reading more of this authors works.

This is one of the oddest, most entertaining and weird books I’ve read in a long, long while. There’s the stilted speech of English boarding schools (the kids sound like uptight lawyers-in-training with sticks up their arses) and good ol’ teenage pranks wrapped up in the scheming of Cruel Intentions, the cold malice of mafia movies and the calculative manoeuvrings of some spy shows.

But you know what they say about hate being the other side of the coin of love. At least I think it is, because I couldn’t quite be sure by the time I finished the book when denial and doublespeak hadn’t quite let down yet. Written wholly in Harper’s POV, I couldn’t decide where she was the judgemental, self-righteous, rule-following shrew or whether Sterling was truly the devil’s spawn wrapped up in sheep clothing. And without Sterling’s POV, he never quite appeared more than a shady character whose personality way surpassed his rich-kid stereotype who sort of decided that he could be more serious about his future post-boarding school.

The book really begins with a ‘mortal enemies’ type of situation, where rule-follower (and breaker) Harper is determined to take down the rich, spoiled lazy kid whose schemes actually match hers for deviousness. Attraction only creeps in way, way later and their ‘relationship’ is barely formed when the book finally ends. I had a few good laughs though (the pranks *were* hilarious), despite my bewilderment at the tone, the setup and the characterisation and perhaps, the story's prominence simply lies in how much it differs from the typical NA/YA books that have sailed by as ships passing in the night.