Heartily recommend! I honestly read this one just because I liked the cover and title. The story ended up being just as good. I'd read it again.

I could not get into this book! I really just didn't like Nico and had no idea what anyone saw in him. Since that was an important part of the book, I couldn't get into it.

My punishment for choosing a book for its pretty cover.
I'm sorry...but this portrayal of suicidal thoughts, abuse and all else happening in the lives and heads of young people in university age makes teenagers who still attend high school sound smarter and less vapid.

The topics were all serious, just the narrative was a typical modern youth who's overly obsessed with her looks and boys and everything else that's rather superficial in the long run. Even her manner of talking sounded more like the chick-lit writing from ten years ago.

I might not be a teenager, or even in my twenties anymore, but I walk the streets, too. I see the young people in high school and I see young people in college years. And they do have interests that exceed those we all cared about in eighties or nineties simply because they can. There's so much more information around right now. So much more possible at that age these days.

America has fifteen-year-old millionaires designing websites, for crying out loud. People who undergo any kind of abuse have not only hotlines, but email access to help.

So this seemed like an outdated cry for help. The writing, the perspective etc.

I received this arc from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

It was kind of exhausting to read. I love to understand what Nico is going through and as to why he's going in and out of a psyche ward. 20 chapters and I'm still not getting anything other than Kady's friends telling her to avoid Nico or Kady making poor decisions such as dating other guys when she knows she hasn't moved on yet from Nico. All of the characters' personality mirror the same - childish. (Except Anabelle whose character is the only person who thinks on her right mind with reason)

Though I appreciate Anabelle being a Scottish but damn it was too difficult to read her lines because the author tries to emphasize too much on the accent rather than the lines itself.

It feels like it's some sort of fanfiction. Since I enjoy readings that are a tad more mature now, I didn't like this one. Plus, the plot seems to be taken right out of a soap opera and the writing style lacks voice.

I have some feelings about this book, and I feel bad for writing this review... but this was just terrible.

This book is told from Kady's perspective. She first meets Nico at a stripper place when she attends her best friends sisters hens party, he pulls her up on stage and dances against her.
She then meets him again when they both attend the same fine arts class, he's interested in her but she doesn't want to be just another girl he sleeps with.

This book was just a hot mess, and there isn't many good things to say about this book.
This book does have trigger warnings for mental illness, suicidal tendencies, sexual abuse/domestic abuse and PTSD.
What I didn't like about this book was not the trigger warnings but how they were portrayed and just overall I do not think they were portrayed well.

The first issue I had with this book was the friendship between Kady and her best friend Julia. Wow was this a toxic friendship or what. Julia is the rich spoilt girl who was always putting down Kady for the place she lived in , the roommate she has, the clothes she wore and Kady just put up with that shit?!
There was a quote in this book, "Theres no amount of money that would make me have sex, Only low-lives would do something like that" which made me want to stop reading this book.

Then there was the whole romance between Nico and Kady, which I felt no chemistry, and that relationship is toxic as shit.
And the dialog between any characters was absolute shit.
Another quote that made me wish I never picked up this was "I'll pick the frumpiest-looking chick to pull up on stage. Just be prepared to massage my back from lifting up an Oompa Loompa" LIKE WTF WHO EVEN SAYS THAT.

and then there was the constant paranoia and jealousy, Kady literally mentioned if he wasn't back home by a certain time she would make him lose his job.

There is so many things wrong with this book and I could write a whole list but no one has time to that.
I do not recommend picking up this book.

I received a copy from net galley for an honest review.

So very unexpected. This book was emotional, funny, dark, intense, and needs to have some trigger warning to let readers know what they will come across between the pages. This story made me laugh, cry and scream in anger and shock. The author did a fantastic job covering the topics in this book, it was more than what I was expecting from the blurb. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and write about this book.

What’s that term people often use when your passing off judgement? Never just a book by its cover. This a first from this author. And it had me laughing at some parts and totally engaged till the very end. It’s well written and captivating with the characters on a deeper level. Some things aren’t as transparent as others. The description doesn’t do the book justice.

The storyline for Nico was an emotional roller coaster. I haven’t read many books for male assault victims, that was a plus for the book. It’s such a sad story and I’m glad I read it.

But it definitely needs trigger warnings for: mental health, rape, suicide and PTSD, as they are the major ones. Drug abuse as well as alcoholism play a part.

This book isn’t the faint of heart.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest view. Thank you to them, the author and publisher.

I cannot believe I let this book sit on my shelf for so long! Unfortunately, I do exactly what we are ingrained not to do as children, judge a book by its cover, and this cover did not call to me, therefore the book sat on my shelf for quite some time before I got around to reading it. That was a big mistake. Love Hate Love was a wonderful book that kept me engaged from start to finish. I found myself laughing out loud, grinning, and on the verge of tears throughout this story. There was a level of family dysfunction not often portrayed. It was written well and seemed like a biography at times. You will find yourself loving some characters while hating others. This book is so much more than the description tells. I was not expecting what had happened to Nico, which intensified the story and made me emotional for his situation. Not too often is there recognition for male assault victims and I love that this story gave it a voice. Having the final chapters told from a different point of view was exactly what I needed out of this book. I would love to read a sequel from Nico's perspective with the focus on him, yet including Annabelle and Kady as well.

My only critic, this book needs a trigger warning! Drugs, abuse, suicide, alcoholism, unstable mental health, PTSD, torture, rape...Because there is not a trigger warning I cannot give 5 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. The opinions expressed above are solely those of my own.

DNF at 45%

I really wanted to finish this but I just can't put myself through this torture anymore. Nothing really happens in the first 45% that I read except for a shit load of annoying drama. The characters are all obnoxious, flat and lacks personality. There is no chemistry between the main characters and even though, both the MC's are damaged from the events in their past, I did not feel anything for them except for irritation and then some. The story certainly lacks emotions but among other things the biggest problem with this book is the poor, misleading and casual representation of mental illness. I just couldn't get past it.

**FULL REVIEW**

So, in all honesty, I was wary of reading this book, the reviews are less than stellar...so I was preparing for the worst. I was preparing for serious issues to be glossed over, for the author's accent to take away from the story, for the magic "fix all" of true love...

Yeah, nope.

Instead, I got a coming of age story riddled with a mixed perception of what "crazy" should look like. I got a friendship stemmed from common ground, and boys...but mostly, I loved the author's voice in this story. Something about reading a book that isn't in my native tongue is fascinating and kept me engrossed from start to finish.

But, I will say this...

If you have any triggers, don't pick up this book. The hero is severely inept mentally, childish, and essentially like a toddler in a hot college student's body. He's not the typical "redeemable" anti-hero and the way he talks and acts will give a weaker stomach more turmoil than it's worth. The heroine is strong in my opinion...but extremely naive. Her own triggers are eye-roll worthy and while I don't discount any person's feelings, hers felt disingenuine more often than not.

With all that said, I did enjoy this story more than I expected to. The ending felt rushed, but the meat of the story, it covered all of the detailed bases without reaching too far into the sub-characters plotlines, as well as the settings and dialog. Great bones to a richly darkened NA romance. I look forward to reading more from this author.

**3.5 Love Wins, Stars**

3.5<b> Psychosis </b> Stars

Love Hate love debuted in November of 2018 while broken English debuted in August of 2016. If you have not been stalking this author.. you are wrong. Fair warning as the author gives it.. it is written for a New Zealander to understand and read.. which is initially hard but then.. it buffs out!
Love hate love is actually how I felt about this book. There are some really great parts but it is dragged on far longer than necessary. I know most of her other books are series and this is left as a standalone so that may be why but the book is almost 500 pages! So anyway.. lets go all the way back.
You see this book.. the cover is like whispering in your ear READ ME READ ME .. but the page length has you scared… pick up Broken English it is ½ the length but you also get to see who some of the SIDE characters are that pop up in Love Hate Love.. it makes readining Love Hate Love that much better because its not just a random name .. you have already conneted with the characters. It will also prepare you for the overall change in language as it is not US English and the characters are very gritty and wild in their talking. The word Bitch is thrown around like candy and that’s probably the nicest word that comes out. Unlike Broken English which takes place in a High School this story takes place in a University or UNI as they call it. So if the age played a factor for you for High Schoolers this is much better. I do like how most of Marita’s story are spin offs with the Rata Brothers… I actually have no idea what book 1 is in this series. .. they all kinda seem to flow int eh same roiver and I am unsure where the reiver begins. So during this review I needed to do homework for you! Read them in this series order:

Graffiti Heaven Series
Broken Lives Series
And then I would pick up the side novellas for Broken lives short story series
And THEN love hate love..
Now this isn’t a requirement but it all makes a bit more sense.

Anyway I digress!
It appears Marita likes a dark story and all her male charactrers have some dangerous parts that honestly every character would have sent me running for the hills!!! This book was filled with repetitive moments and a lot of dead space and then the BIG twist and chaos at the end was wrapped up in 20 minutes… this book for me was almost a hard 4 or 4.5 stars but it was too long and too easily wrapped up. I think some edits would make the story shine

I only made it about 62% of the way through this book. There were 2 main issues that I have with it but only 1 made me decide to discontinue reading.

My initial issue was the time setting. Being set in 2005-2006 felt odd to me. It feels more like that was when the author wrote it and it's just now getting published. Being around 15 years back it felt more outdated instead of a throwback to an older time (like something set in the 80's or even mid-90's would feel). There were only a few pop culture or fashion references but it was enough to be clear when the setting was taking place. As a class of '06 grad myself I understood and appreciated the nostalgia but I don't think 30 year olds are the target demo. To attract and hook the New Adult market of 18-24 year olds a setting that wasn't when they were 5 would be more appropriate. This could of been easily remedied by updating the "Jenny from the Block" and Shakira crossover album references to more modern ones or just removing them all together to create a more timeless feel.

This dovetailed into my 2nd bigger issue. I feel like the year setting was an excuse to have characters with poor understanding and handling of mental health issues. In the year 2019, it feels unacceptable to read the number of times a character was called "insane", "psychotic" or a "lunatic". At nearly 2/3 of the way through, no one had made any productive efforts to help the sufferer get help or feel supported. There was so much stigma associated with his condition and psychiatric care in general. Considering the number of 17-20 year olds I know who are on antidepressants or have received psychiatric care, the messages in this book just felt harmful and that's why I couldn't continue.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

Be warned, this is not a lighthearted romance between a stripper in a coed. The hero does have untreated psychiatric concerns, and every man in this story is exceptionally violent. More like a social work case file than escapism

Love Hate Love has some issues that I don't care for. It's sexually violent and mentally all over the place. It's not a soft romance by any means. I found the characters annoying and the plot just too much of everything. Not my cup of tea. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this book. I would say the rating is more 3.5 instead of 3. Was I in love with it, no but I would be willing to read more from this author. Thanks for the opportunity to read and give my honest opinion.

This book took me on an emotional rollercoaster. Starting the book, I instantly loved the characters, even though by the first few chapters Nico had me concered. His personality was very hard to handle, but understanding his story really helped. Kady came off innocent, but we could see from reading she was not.

There really was no hate between our main leads, but there was more hate with the leads and supporting characters.

Overall I loved this book so much!! I felt like Nico & Kady story is not finished. There are still questions that were not answered. Mainly with the "stalker" and I would love to see more things in Nico's perspective because he was very misunderstood.

I really was not a fan of Josh, at all. I truly don't think his character deserves a story.

I would love to hear more about Annabelle & Jack!

And I would love a steamy short book.with Tate, Alek, and Julia.


But with that being said please give us another book with Nico & Kady!! There story deserves more than one book!!

Got an ARC from NetGalley in return for an honest review. And here's my honesy. What in hell did I just read? I can't even wrap my head around all the stuff happend in the book. There's a psychotic hero, hero's *now* parents, unusual I-don't-know-what-else-to-call heroine, overbearing and very unlikable friends, lots of cheating, non-consensual sex and a vengeful, crazy ex-hook up. And to add to the fun, a stripper joint.
No one, I hope, NO ONE has to go through this!

omg I loved this book! I couldn't put it down, I needed to know what was going to happen. I think the reason I liked it so much is that it reminded me of Beautiful Disaster and My Favorite Mistake.

I tried to get into this book! I really did! The description and cover was what pulled me in initially. BUT, I just couldn’t make myself enjoy the two main characters. Nico was just plan obnoxious, I did like Kady in the beginning but as I got further into the book I liked her less and less. So wishy washy and whatever moral stance she had about dating Nico (because he was just awful) flew out the window, basically because of his good looks, it didn’t matter that he was a jerk.... I guess he did begin to redeem himself some towards the end but I think it was already to late for me! My one favorite thing is Annabelle, the main female characters roommate. Super smart and I funny and I loved her smarta** attitude!