Hated is an interesting and amusing read of two old friends reunited after years of separation. Throughout a good portion of the book, I kept wondering what kind of betrayal took place that made these two best friends no longer speak to each other.

The way the two characters interact after not seeing each other for four years amused and frustrated me. The lack of communication between Austin and Frankie is frustrating. Too many years wasted over secrets. The secret was very drawn out and revealed far into the story. I wish it would have come up sooner. It is amusing that no matter how angry they were with each other, the prank wars they had to relieve their anger, get a reaction, and to actually feel always put a smile on my face.

The first chapter of the story was difficult for me to get into. It was a lot to set up the setting and story line about who Frankie and Austin were as children. By chapter two, I was curious to what happened between the two characters. As the story went on, the more and more I felt invested in their lives and wanting to know how everything works out between Frankie and Austin.

Frankie is outspoken, independent, and determined. I love her personality. No matter how hard things got, Frankie kept doing what she thinks is best for the other person. Her witty comebacks were my favorite.

Austin seems angry at first, but the anger doesn't seem to last long. It doesn't feel like it comes off as the level of hatred. Even though a lot has changed for Austin, deep down, there are still signs of the Austin described from their childhood.

There are moments in the story that are emotional. There were at least two times that I cried while reading this story due to what happened to some of the characters. It made me hope for the best for the characters even more.

Overall, Hated is a good read that's both amusing and emotional.

Frankie DiGorgio was the tomboy sister with three older brothers. Brought up by her mother and then by her nan whilst her ne'er do well father spent most of her life in prison for one con after another she was the original girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Her great passions were dirt bike riding and Austin Stone.

Growing up, Frankie's BFF was Austin the boy next door, a nerdy cello-playing musical prodigy who, with his twin brother Dallas went on to win a talent show and took their duelling cellos act to a sell out Vegas show. Austin and Dallas' mother was your typical pushy mom and she hated Frankie. Over the years their opposites attract friendship turned into first love, but something happened on the night of the premiere of Austin's show in Vegas which changed everything.

Four years later Frankie returns to her nana's home in Texas for the first time since Vegas, nana is in a nursing home and the family has made the decision to sell her house to pay for the best treatment they can. Beset by the memories of the past, Frankie is surprised to find that Austin has moved back into his family's home. Tortured by the secrets she has kept Frankie can't help but be attracted to the man her first love has become. But Austin is bitter and angry, lashing out at her. Does she have the courgae to tell him the truth about that night four years ago?

Told in a mixture of present day and out of sequence flashbacks from both Frankie and Austin's POV this was a surprisingly enjoyable NA second-chance romance. I say surprisingly because at first Frankie came across as too brash, she also indulged in just a leetle bit of slut shaming (or at least calling total strangers sluts just because they were flirting with Austin). Also Frankie became a little self-righteous and claimed that Austin didn't deserve to know the sacrifice she had made for him whereas even at that early stage in the book I suspected his attitude was a direct result of what she had done. There was also a cringe-worthy moment for me when Austin described himself thus
"Need some help?" I asked, my voice a low growl of amusement.
I mean really who EVER describes their own voice like that? But these were minor niggles. Luckily, as with many other NA books, Frankie's 'attitude' toned down a bit as the book went on and it became much more enjoyable as a result.

As a devotee of romance I didn't think that Frankie's big sacrifice/ secret was all that much of a surprise, maybe it wasn't meant to be, although then why tell the story through flashbacks?

What I did love about this book which elevated above the rest of the run-of-the-mill NA genre was the pranking. As a chid Frankie would get even with people who slighted her by pulling a monumental prank. Now, faced with packing up a family home full of memories with a hostile former lover next door she resorts to pranking Austin. as the tit-for-tat pranking escalates Austin and Frankie start to unravel their issues from the past.

This is the third book in a series, I haven't read any of the others and I felt this was easy to read as a stand alone.

Hated is an amazing second chance love story. It is well written with POV from both Frankie and Austin, and the story also describes past and present time. The whole story is heartbreaking, emotionally and also funny with their prank war. I really like it. Both Frankie and Austin are developed with a lot of baggage and pain. The story unfolds with each page you read and you can stop it until you figure out what will happen, how will it end. RECOMMENDED; HIGHLY!
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for Netgelly

Austin is one sexy man even when he's all peed off, "...annoyed Austin wearing disheveled clothes, his hair looking like it had gone ten rounds in a hurricane. Even his eff-me glasses couldn’t seem to tame his wild look. “Show me your Wookie?” he asked in a deathly calm voice. He held up a piece of paper with a printout of my online flyer." When Austin is playful the man tends to get handsy, "the kiss was just getting heated with a promise of a repeat of last night when I slapped her ***. “Better get going, hot lips.” I really enjoyed this book, I loved the chemistry Austin and Frankie had.