Thank you to Netgallery and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

At first I was a little sceptical about this one. Liya is hard to like in the beginning, but just like her enemy turned lover, she grew on me. By the end I was rooting for her and crying with her. This clean romance provided some darker themes that I didn’t expect, some more modern ideals challenging traditional ones, and a whole lot of fun watching the two main characters fall in love. Being a romance, knowing that you will get that HEA in the end didn’t make it any less enjoyable or satisfying.

The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel is an enemies to lovers romance. When Liya is set-up by her parents, she is upset to say the least. Then imagine her surprise to find herself working with the same man Jay, the following week. Liya is a happy, independent single woman. But her parents want her to settle down. Jay was handsome but was also cocky. A fun and entertaining read.

Happy reading!

Has anybody watched Never Have I Ever on Netflix?? 🙋🏻‍♀️ It was a total binge-watch for me, which is why I was even more excited to read The Trouble With Hating You and get right back into Indian culture.
The Trouble with Hating You is about Liya Thakkar, a successful biochemist who just doesn't fit the mold of a "good Indian girl." She lives on her own for one, and she dates who she wants, when she wants. She has no urge to get married any time soon let alone have her parents arrange the marriage. So when her mom invites her over to a family dinner she is shocked to find 2 extra place settings (for Jayesh and his mother). So angry for being tricked, Liya sneaks out the back to run off when she runs smack into Jay Shah.

Jay Shah has his own anguished past to keep him from thinking he deserves a happy marriage, a happy life. So when his mother suggests a date with the community known bad girl, he's happy to take it, happy to say he "tried" and then be done with it. He didn't expect to be so intrigued by Liya, or to see so many different sides of her, and he definitely didn't expect to turn up at her job as the newly hired company lawyer.

@sajnipatelbooks created perfectly imperfect broken characters. I knew I was fully invested when I wished I could hang with Liya and shake some sense into her😂. I loved the strong bonds of friendship displayed between Liya and her 3 besties. I was enraged by what happened in Liya's past and how it was handled. I loved the sarcastic banter between Liya and Jay, fighting like an old married couple, the air thick with sexual tension. I think what really won me over though, was how much I related to Liya's hot-headedness and can-do attitude. Plus, a lot of her culture reminded me of my own, complete with eager matchmakers and nosy neighbors in a tight knit community.

I'm really excited to have found a new auto-buy author and I can't wait to read her upcoming novel about Liya's friend Preeti! Thank you so much @readforeverpub for sending this my way❤

This book was a realistic and entertaining enemies to lovers that is sure to leave you smiling. It had a great plot with addictive writing I don't typically see in a debut novel so I will definently be reading whatever this author comes out with next.

What I loved about this book:

1. Patel was able to write very relatable and realistic characters that made me laugh one moment and cry the next. Liya was a successful biochemical engineer (yay for female STEM characters) that was fiercely independent and outspoken. I'm a sucker for a female protagonist that forges her own path regardless of other's opinions so I instantly liked her. Jay was definitely a swoony family oriented lawyer that was charming. Their enemies to lovers romance was impossible to put down.

2. This book addressed the important issues of sexual and emotional abuse as well as grief and loss. Both protagonists had trauma in their past that still affected them, but instead of an insta love romance that erased it all they tried to overcome the hurt together. This part of the story definitely had me reaching for the Kleenex.

3. Liya has a wonderful group of friends that love each other unconditionally and support each other. I love when a story has positive female friendships instead of women attacking king each other.

4. I loved learning about the Indian culture. The author was able to seamlessly incorporate this throughout the book and the readers gets to see both modern and traditional aspects of their culture.

I could honestly talk about it tons more, but I don't want to spoil anything for you. I highly recommend you grab yourself a copy ASAP so you can see why everyone loves this book so much.

It’s not you book, it’s me. The synopsis is great, the writing is good, but I just couldn’t get into it :(

This is such a fantastic enemies to lovers romance. Liya and Jay get off on the wrong foot when she parents spring an introduction on her, and things only get worse when he shows up as the lawyer trying to save her company from lawsuits. The characters are wonderful, and I really enjoyed this read.

I received an arc from this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! It’s light on the enemies to lovers but still has a lot of great tension between Liya and Jay. Their love for each other wasn’t instant and actually felt very natural and real. Especially as they both let their guard down slowly and became more vulnerable with each other. I also loved all the side characters including Jay’s family and Liya’s girlfriends. The external obstacles they had to face, including discussions on sexual assault and death, were tough but helped make the characters feel more real. There were no one dimensional characters to be seen! I’m excited to read Preeti’s story next year, and hopefully there will be many more stories from this universe!

I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange fii I r an honest review.

this one is one of the best south asian romances i've read this year and i recommend it to anyone who wants a good enemies to lovers romance with a darker plotline. watch my full review here: https://youtu.be/cFYROqhsWyY?t=1243

I found Liya a little too brash and too much for my tastes but I did understand why Sajni had written her to be defensive and over the top. I did find the details about India marriage traditions interesting. The writing was good just not my cup of tea.

Received an advanced copy in exchange for a fair review.

The Trouble with Hating You was a little intense -- Patel thankfully gives you a heads up in the author's note up front -- but it was a sweet version of the enemies to lovers story. Watching Liya and Jay get to know each other and get comfortable together was a delight and it was great to see a character like Liya on the page, grappling with past trauma but doing her best to move forward.

The banter is great, the background drama with Liya's company is compelling without dragging the story down, and the resolution is emotionally satisfying.

Liya's parents keep trying to set her up, but this time they've really stepped in it. After a dinner party disaster, when Jay shows up at Liya's company as an employee, Liya's ready to crawl under a rock. But as their relationship develops, secrets from Liya's past threaten to discourage her from opening up. Both Liya and Jay are strong, well-developed characters with fleshed-out backstories, believable motivations, and knotty, complicated families. Their rocky journey to love is a great read.

My first time reading this author and I enjoyed the book.

Great chemistry and a fun story to read.

I wanted to like this, but it just wasn't it for me. For lack of a better word, it was just too "preachy." The "I don't need a man" attitude of the MC was just too much. I love me a good strong female character, but when it's brought up again and again and again it becomes less strong and feminist than it is the character's entire personality. I hope to read more Indian romances in the future, because the cultural aspects were one part I was enjoying, though I'm not sure about some of the representation. I obviously can't personally comment on it, but the dad seemed a little extreme? I could be wrong, though, but from some other reviews, it seems like others weren't thrilled with the rep, either. At the same time, it is own voices, and I'm not here to police someone's experience. I just wish the book had been written better overall.

I had high hopes for this one but it was a bit of a let down for me. I couldn’t stand liya the main character she was so just so nasty. Jay was sweet and kind but I’m not sure why he put up with Liya and her crap. The last 30% was a bit better which brought it up a star for me but overall not one I loved

This was a fantastic debut by Sajni Patel! I love romcoms and this is one of my favorites this year. Liya and Jay were perfect and I loved reading their story. I can't wait to read more from Patel!

A romance set in the Indian community of Houston, Texas. Liya is a wonderful heroine who has struggled with past traumas and has made a successful career for herself. Jay is also hiding a troubled past and hopes to ensure the health and safety of his family, Together Jay and Liya must work together to move beyond their pasts.

So, I'm kinda all over the place with this one. It's enemies to lovers, I guess, but at times it felt more like something else and I couldn't really decide which box to put it in. That's ok though. I loved the story. The characters were well written and there was a little bit of something for everyone. There's drama and romance and even a few moments that made my heart go pitter patter. I will say that it did move a little slow for me at times, and I found parts of it pretty predictable (hard not to be when writing romance though, right?), but all in all it was an enjoyable read.

I enjoyed this book for many reasons - I loved learning about Indian culture, and modern dating despite the strict tradition; enemies to love trope in a clean romance; nod to pride and prejudice; addressed important themes on sexual and emotional abuse; great side stories on amazing friendships and focus on families.

I gravitated to Liya and Jay’s non traditional way of meeting - despite the too frequent coincidences. It worked and made for a fun story with funny banters, but the word panties were used way too often for my liking 😂😁.

I think this was a great debut novel that I enjoyed reading. I loved the energy of the characters, and there was just the right amount of balance of both fun and serious. The topics were introduced within the context of the storyline and worked very well.

I had fun reading this novel and I think you would like it too.

SO CUTE. I loved this one - the hate to love trope was so well done. Good chemistry while still being closed door. Strong characters made this one! Would definitely read another by this author.

We have Liya and Jay entangled in a "failed" arranged marriage. Add a few gossiping aunties, sweet mothers, amazing friends, and a load of misunderstandings and VOILA! A happy couple! Did you like my summary? 🤭

• Enemies to lovers, arranged marriages, sexual assault, sexism
• Loved the cultural references and family dynamics
• Jay. Our sweetheart. Kind and nurturing. Swoops up to save Liya in her time of need. I was squealing.
• Liya. I wasn't a big fan of her in the beginning but she grows on you. She's strong and outspoken. She's damaged but her heart is always in a good place.
• There were parts in the ending that didn't have a HEA. (no spoilers, don't worry) It made it more realistic, especially the circumstances that were involved. Hence there is no epilogue as well. Would I have liked one? Not really. I think the book wraps up really nicely and makes you create your own conclusions.

*** Unrelated to the review but I watched Never Have I Ever on Netflix at the same time. I loved seeing all the aunties in action AND I envisioned Liya and Jay to look like Kamal and Prashant 😍