This was a slow start for me but then the MCs really started to develop! I loved watching their enemies to lovers relationship ( I mean the coffee dates 🥹). The main characters showed a lot of growth and both had things from their past that made them who they are. Overall it was a cute read!

A fun, easy read. Some of the plot points were a little over-done, over-the-top. For example, the woman at the center if this story was quite immature so it was a bit cringe-y to have to root for her. Overall a quick story, to the point, and would recommend it to romance readers.

Liya Thakkar and Jay Shah are both two people who have dealt with the life issued to them, the best they were able to. One has the close knit family most would kill for, and the other has the trust worthy friends that make everything better. You learn so much about how a community can turn on one person, based off what a pillar community member says, and their life is just changed for years to come. This novel really had me frustrated at first, then cheering for justice! This is our February bookclub book picked by The Gloss Bookclub. I would have probably never picked it, but after listening, am so glad I did. It’s a quick read, eye opening and really makes you think, “how feminist are you?!”

The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel is a great enemies to lovers romance. This debut author brings a cast of extraordinary characters that feel real.

I really enjoyed this book! It was the perfect amount of love and hate. It handle sensitive issues with great care. The growth of the characters together was very nice to read. I highly recommend this to everyone.

Beautiful book with a deep exploration of important issues all while catering to my enemies to lover trope! One of my ultimate favorites.

Similar to watching a Hallmark movie, when you read a romance novel, you expect a happy ending and this book delivered on that. What I didn't expect was a really strong female lead who balanced independence with an internal vulnerability and who was extremely likeable. It was obvious throughout the book why Liya had walls up, yet she is also a radiant, fun character with healthy relationships with her girlfriends. Jay is also a very likable character with a great family. The witty banter between these two felt flirty from the beginning. I loved watching this love story grow in what felt like a very natural way and I cheered for both of these characters the whole way

I really hated this book. I found the character completely unpalatable. The focus on shoes was unrealistic. And the author doesn't have a great grasp of what working in a lab is like.

Liya Thakkar's parents can't wait for her to get married. She has other priorities, like her career and sorting out her personal issues. Imagine her surprise when she goes to her parents' house to have dinner and eligible bachelor Jay Shah shows up in a desi-style set up. He ends up working at her office and she can't seem to get away from him. As their witty banter turns into late night chats and dinners, Liya starts to fall for him. She worries about what he'll think of her scandalous past...

This is Sajni Patel's debut novel and it showed. Some of the writing was very elementary and I found the heroine to really get on my nerves. I find haters to lovers can have that impact on me - sometimes the hate part is just oo much! There were also some deeper, more disturbing issues that were brought up and not given the time and explanation that they deserved. Otherwise, I think she did a good job writing about the South Asian community Liya is a part of; and she explains the family/community dynamics well.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for a copy of this ebook as a host of The Gloss: Oakville.

Thank you NetGalley! This was a good read, The cover is beautiful, which always draws you in. Liya is a strong woman who challenges her parents in many ways and stands up for what she wants. When she crashes into Jayesh, a handsome suitor, leaving her parents home, she experiences feelings that she has not felt for a long time and that do not sit well with her. Each time they meet up she reflects on her past and considers her future and she has to decide who will be in her life.

Thank you netgalley for the digital copy of the trouble with hating you for The Gloss Bookclub.

I very much enjoyed this RomCom to my surprise. I found the two leads back story heart breaking yet their character were still witty and I found myself up all night hoping for a happy ending. I will give a trigger warning, as the book dives in with the topic of sexual assualt and rape. It is done respectfully.
The two leads are so funny and ofcourse they end up working together after a disaterious initial meet you know where it's going but I found it had a lot more depth than other Rom Coms I've read over the years.

Easy 4 stars 🌟

💞The Trouble with Hating You
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

📖the February book for @theglossbookclub did not disappoint! We’ve been reading a lot of heavy reads so this romance was the perfect read for the month!

It’s obvious to say I liked some of the characters more than the others, and although I struggled a bit with Jay and Liya at the beginning, i loved them both by the end! 💞

I’m not sure why the rating for this book isn’t higher. I loved it and couldn’t put it down. It’s wonderful to have a strong Hindu female, in a can’t-put-it-down romance that is clean and closed door. This was such a sweet book about family - joining families - and forgiveness (of yourself and others), without being preachy.

As Patel mentions in the author’s note, there are non-graphic references to sexual assault, death and trauma.
I saw some reviewers felt like these things should have been covered more thoroughly, but it was all just right with me. The story was not so heavy, but I felt like the pain from these incidents was clear and seemed real to me. My husband lost his mom in the OKC bombing, and I can relate to Jay’s pain in the death of his father.

“Dad wanted us to live our best lived, be happy. That’s how we can honor him.” P125 (I love this quote between brothers of how we don’t have to blame ourselves but can focus on how to honor those we’ve lost).

I liked that Liya and Jay aren’t perfect characters who do perfect things, but she, especially could be annoying and a bit brutal. But aren’t we like this in life?

“Yet, the way they showed their gratitude … peeled away all the layers in my soul and laid open the devastating black hole of emptiness, of wanting, of not belonging. “ p153

“Men fell into three categories: ones who wanted me for my body, ones who were intimidated by my personality, or ones who dismissed me because of my reputation.” P190

I feel like so many women who feel or have felt like Liya might be encouraged by this book and have hope for themselves. Women who feel like they don’t deserve goodness find out that they do.

This is a hard one for me to review, because it's not a genre I typically read. I put my game face on and read it for book club, but the fluffiness of contemporary romance is just not for me! It was okay. I did enjoy moments, and loved the culture of it. Mostly, though, it was just eye-roll inducing for me.

This book is a romcom with the enemies to lovers trope. Liya and Jay both grew up in Hindu families that are connected to the local mandir. Their parents want to set up an introduction and possibly arrange a marriage between the two of them. Liya is a free spirited, mischievous daughter who has carved out her own successful career and refuses to be pushed around. Liya's relationship with her father is strained and difficult.

I like that this book provided me with a little bit of information about these Hindu and I would love to learn more about what it is like growing up in a Hindu family.. This book had a great flow to it and I enjoyed reading it and kept me reading. The storyline is predictable in many ways and it also covered some very serious topics as well. So there may be items in the story that could trigger someone (gaslighting and sexual abuse).

I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys reading Romcoms. At times the book was a bit heavy but it's a great book. I would rate it 7.5/10. I'm looking forward to reading more books by her. I'm ready to read the second book in the series which I won a few months ago. First Love, Take Two.

This book was a five star rating review. I loved reading every minute of it when I read this last year. I know one day I will buy the physical copy too. Can't wait to read the new book by this author that is out now!

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for allowing me the chance to read and review this.

This is a really cute book that has a not-so-great first meeting that leads to another awkward meeting, where they have to work together. I really loved this book and I laughed out loud and was hooked until the very end.

I keep picking this up then not being able to get into it. I enjoy a good hate-to-love trope but I just wasn't connection with the characters or their chemistry. I keep seeing reviews to just keep going and that the end result is worth it, but being a mood reader pushing through is very hard for me. Who knows, maybe I'll come back to it one day and skim until things pick up. If that happens I'll be sure to edit my review, but until then it's a DNF for me.

After realizing her parents’ latest dinner party was an attempt to introduce her to a man they hoped she’d marry, happily single Liya Thakkar runs out the back door smack into would-be suitor Jay Shah in Sajni Patel’s “The Trouble With Hating You.” When a new lawyer is hired to save her company from financial ruin, Liya, a Tex-Mex-loving biochemical engineer with a sordid reputation, is stunned to see Jay again. Once their witty office banter turns to friendship and flirtation, Liya realizes Jay could be the one guy who can truly accept her — nasty rumors and all.

3.5/5
I was so, so close to DNFing this book, but I am glad that I stuck through it cos it became so much better as it progressed. I don't know if this is how the society conditioned us, but it is tougher to get into prickly female characters but we excuse, and at times even adore. prickly male characters who are closed off.

I liked how the indian society was portrayed in the book. Indians are generally portrayed as having close-knit families but I am glad that the author decided to show another aspect of that too, cos not everyone has that close bond with their families. Yes, the MC was irritating at first and deliberate misunderstandings and miscommunication is one of my least favorite tropes, but the book became much more than that later on. The pressure of societal expectations in Indian societies is very intense, especially on young women to get married and 'settle down'. I am glad it was portrayed in a matter-of-fact way.

All in all, if you like enemies-to-lovers trope, this one is a good option. Just remember to stick through the first 50-odd pages even though it might make you put down the book.