The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel

Before I even talk about the story, I want to talk about the content warnings. The author’s note at the beginning of the book mentions “non-graphic references to sexual assault, death, and trauma.” And while I applaud the author and publisher for putting that in there, I don’t think it is enough. There is also emotional abuse and extreme slut shaming. There are at least two scenes that were incredibly upsetting and I think that other readers may have a hard time as well. In my opinion the scenes aren’t graphic with genital parts being described, but they are graphic in other ways.

Now back to the actual story. Liya is an engineer, at least according to the blurb. If her actual job is described in the book, I missed it. The hero, Jay, is an attorney. They meet when her parents organize a dinner to meet with him and his mother to discuss an arranged marriage. Liya is mad about this and flees. The next day Jay is introduced as someone who is helping her job stay afloat. Cue up the enemies to lovers plot.

Liya is brash and rude at times. She has lived a hard time- her emotionally abusive father is terrible and Liya was molested at 15. This is a huge plot point of the book. She told her parents of the abuse and they didn’t believe her. Her tight knit community sees her as a whore and has ostracized her. She is determined that Jay will only ever see and believe the “bad” version of her so she keeps him at arm's length. The whole “the community thinks I am a whore” aka slut shaming aspect was too much for me.

I found the book to be super uneven. There were moments when Jay was a great caretaker (he helps her get home after a thing happens to her, he loves his family, and he is at times patient with Liya). But there is also a scene where he basically forces a man who nearly assaulted Liya to apologize and bring her flowers. I can tell you with certainty that if a man nearly assaults me, the last thing I want is to see him in my office begging for forgiveness.

This is a complicated book that left me with complicated feelings about it. I LOVE seeing “unlikeable” heroines in romance. I want more of them. The family aspect in this book was strong and I liked that. But a lot of the other stuff didn’t work for me, making this a book I would not recommend. I think I would be willing to try the author again, but only after some trusted friends read it first.

Grade: D+/C-
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What is this book about? When Liya’s parents blindside her by inviting a marriage prospect to dinner, it leads to a major misunderstanding between her and the guest, Jay, which only worsens when she shows up to work and finds out he is the new lawyer her failing company hired to handle the impending lawsuits.

What did I like? Both Liya and Jay were great protagonists for the story! They’re both strong-willed, complicated, and have past traumas that follow them. Obviously, the hate-to-love portion of the book was fun to read, but I also enjoyed the gentle warming up to each other and the slow-burn of romance. Liya and Jay compliment each other perfectly and it was amazing to watch them support and guide one another through hardships.

Another thing I loved about The Trouble With Hating You was how diverse this book was! It’s rich in Indian culture and I really enjoyed gaining insight into the traditions. It was interesting to see how different dynamics played out within the community and I look forward to reading more about it in Sajni Patel’s next book!

What didn’t I like? Liya’s attitude in the beginning bothered me at times. She’s a stubborn, strong, independent women, but occasionally some of things she got upset with Jay over seemed contrived and she was a little unnecessarily rude to him for no reason. I also felt like some of their arguments became repetitive over time.

Overall thoughts: The Trouble With Hating You is the perfect diverse contemporary romance for readers looking for their next hate-to-love romance!

4⭐️. Tropes: enemies to lovers, workplace
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Sometimes a bad first impression can lead to a sweet, fierce love...with LOTS of bickering & uncertainty along the way.
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Like with a lot of meet-cutes, Sajni Patel’s The Trouble with Hating You opens with the heroine running smack-dab into the hero. Only in this case, Liya Thakkar runs to escape her overbearing, emotionally abusive father’s attempts to marry her to an eligible man in their Indian community.
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Shortly thereafter she realizes the man she mowed over, Jayesh Shah, is actually her handsome co-worker, & he’s most likely a good person she has incredible chemistry with...even if most of the time it consists of blistering banter.
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But there are B I G obstacles. Liya has no plans to marry or be a mother & the members of the mandir community that she grew up in—that her parents and Jay’s family still belong to—by turns mostly ostracize and/or talk snidely to & about her because she’s not a virgin. Then there are the—maybe insurmountable?—walls she has up & Jay’s off-putting arrogance & secret, debilitating guilt.
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But there are also some really fun moments in this book that put a smile on my face. The laser tag scene is funny & adorable & shows how cute & compatible Liya & Jay are beneath the military-grade weapon systems they both have.
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And there’s so much else to love about TTWHY: a STEM take-no-shit heroine who is not liked by everyone. A hero who has his jerk-ish moments but who doesn’t give up even when the heroine’s walls look higher...& he has his own walls to scale.
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There’s at least one scene in this book that’s really difficult to read (see CW below). But there are definite signs of hope, both within their mandir community & most significantly, within their relationship itself. One of the leads makes a Big Gesture and it’s fantastic. And maybe even better than that BG is just the beautiful sense of understanding & acceptance between Liya & Jay. They’ve done the hard work & made it to the other side.
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CW: Sexual assault. Emotional abuse. Bullying. Lies spread about assault.
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Thanks to for the hard copy and ARC e-copy (sent via Netgalley); all opinions provided are my own.

Wow. I didn’t expect to like this book as much as I did. I learned so much about the Indian culture from this book. I loved Jay and Liya’s relationship and love. I didn’t want to put this one down. It was very fast paced.

My expectations for this novel may have been off. I thought I was diving into a romance that would have me alternately laughing and swooning. Instead, I got a novel that deals with heavy subject matter and contentious interactions.

That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy the book at all. There was a lot to like, especially in the second half. It is well-written, with some of the descriptive passages striking me as downright beautiful.

One problem for me was that the pieces of Liya’s past that would have helped me understand her reactions as defence mechanisms weren’t revealed until I was already uncomfortable with the way she veered into meanness. I would have liked to see her work to gain the tools she needs to better handle triggering situations.

Jay had a traumatic past of his own. I wish it had been considered more fully. In that sense, this book was more women’s fiction than romance. We see a lot more of Liya’s past and how she deals with it than we do of Jay. Having said that, he is an endearing, albeit imperfect, character. I understood why he was angry at Liya, and got enough of his immediate chagrin when he acted badly that it was easier to forgive him when he tried to make amends.

Overall, I would say it was an enjoyable read once I got past the 40% mark.

Things I enjoyed:
• the writing - first person, dual POV, easy to follow, sometimes beautiful
• well-developed secondary characters
• depictions of community and culture
• intersectional characters - Gujarati/Texan - I thought it added dimension and richness to the story

Things I didn’t enjoy:
• slow revelation of Liya’s childhood trauma
• handling of recovery from past trauma for both protagonists (we see them use sex and alcohol as avoidance, but it isn’t addressed)

Content Warnings: past sexual molestation, on-page sexual assault, grief, and past traumatic injury.

This book is one of the first few books I was able to complete since quarantine started. It was the perfect enemies to lovers romance that I needed to get me away from all the stress lately. Liya is strong and fierce. Jay is the perfect gentleman with the most amazing family. I love how Liya learned to soften a little bit throughout the story. I would definitely recommend this story to anyone who loves romances. While it doesn’t bring the heat it brings the perfect banter. I can’t wait for the next installment in this story of friends and I hope we hear more about Jay and Liya in Preetis story!

I recommend Sajni Patel’s debut, The Trouble With Hating You, with some caution. Not everyone is going to like Liya, the prickly main character, and I cannot speak to the quality of the Desi representation. It’s high drama and angst with low heat. I enjoyed enough about the book that I would be interested in reading more from the author. I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The drama in the book may also put some people off. Most significantly, there is off-page past sexual assault of a minor, an on-page make out session that becomes a sexual assault, off-page death of a parent, and misogyny based shunning. The ending is more an implied HEA rather than a certain HEA.

I liked Liya. I liked her guardedness, her prickles, her argumentativeness, and her distrust. She has a difficult relationship with her father, which makes it hard for her to have a relationship with her mother and makes her feel unwelcome at Mandir (Hindu temple) community events. I liked Jay also. Arguing is my love language, so the early arguments between Liya and Jay were fun to read. They do get mean, cross lines and apologize, which was not fun, but as they continue to crash into each other (figuratively and literally) they soften and the arguing becomes less about winning points off the other and more the way they get to know each other. They are energized by the bickering. I’m not a fan of mean characters, but Patel does a couple of things that alleviate the early hostility between Liya and Jay – she shows them interacting with their friends and family, and she shows how Liya’s father provoked her anger before she met Jay. (As the daughter of a difficult father, I could empathize with the shields Liya needs to interact with the world.)

I enjoyed this enemies-to-lovers story with a powerhouse ending. It took some time to warm up to Liya who was so abrasive and self-protective early on. But as the story goes, we start to see why she is that way, and a persistent Jay starts to see other sides of her. I enjoyed the bickering between them as they got to know each other as well as the slow thaw once he saw past that hostility. Loved Jay's family.

Both characters brought significant personal baggage to the relationship. I liked that there was balance in that - they both had things to work on and overcome individually.

The author is clear up front with a content warning about sexual assault. The confrontation around that which takes place toward the end of the book had my heart pounding. It is so well written, I lost all track of anything but that moment in the book. This is NOT your usual romcom. There's a ton of depth here and deep emotional work to be done for these characters. Don't miss this one. (Some language, CW: sexual assault)

The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel.
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Thank you to Forever for sending me a wonderful copy of this book! I loved reading about Liya and Jay and seeing their journey. This book has fun banter, an amazing female friend group, love and romance (mostly closed door) and it also covers some pretty heavy topics. I liked that racism and sexism/double standards between men and women were called out and discussed and my heart absolutely broke for Liya. It took me a while to warm up to Liya but as the novel unfolded I could understand the reasons behind her behaviours and actions.

I definitely recommend this novel! It is available now and I hope that you pick it up!
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TW: non graphic reference to sexual abuse, victim blaming/not believing victim , domestic violence, death, trauma

Smart, driven, and caring, Liya is the epitome of a successful woman. With one small hitch: her parents are very traditional: their world means she is already married with children OR living at home and meeting and considering the men her parents have chosen as a potential mate. But her relationship with her parents is strained and has been for years, and while part of her wants to be ‘dutiful and obedient’ that just is NOT who she is. Or ever really will be. Scandalous is a term Liya is familiar with – but her friends (all varying in their degrees of ‘rebel’ against the norm) all know that she’s in their corner, even to with the occasional drink, partner or harsh condemnation of ‘aunties’ and others at their temple. Things really heat up when Liya, believing that she’s going to her parents’ house for a meal with just them discovers that it is yet another “set up” with a willing and eligible male and his mother. Being Liya, she ducks out of the house, only to run into Jay as she’s escaping...literally run in/run over him.

Jay is a lawyer, dutiful son and one who is constantly trying to ‘ease’ the realities of the world for his mother. Guilt, grief and plenty of heart make him a wonderfully complex man, with plenty to offer. Sure, he’s not really interested in getting married, but meeting Liya as she sprinted away was a bit of a blow. Still, after seeing her – something intrigues, and he’s more than fair when his own friends bad-mouth Liya’s reputation, even as he is furious with her leaving that night and sending his mother into a spiral of self-doubt and self-recrimination. No-one is more surprised than Jay when it turns out that he and Liya will be working together to save the company from dissolving, particularly when he understands why she ran, and still can’t seem to get her out of his mind.

Described by many as an enemies to lovers story, it’s not quite the description I’d use. Personally, aside from believing that Jay is yet another arrogant (in her experience) Indian male, bent on making her into the ‘traditional’ Indian woman, she’s got nothing against Jay per se, just the idea of yet another male determined to push her in a direction she doesn’t want. But there are fireworks, sparks, flames, and more than a few surprises as their friendship (as tentative as it started) grows, Liya and Jay start to share their own failures and insecurities and new friends add depth to the tapestry that is the story – full of references, food, growth and plenty of heart. A supremely clever story that highlights similarities and differences as the two characters are absorbing bits of both cultures to build a life that is both unique and wholly their own. Grab this for the sheer enjoyment, it’s on my list of favorite reads for this summer!

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aHr /” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

So, this book was kind of all over the place for me. There were some parts I really liked and others I was ready to skim through.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.

**TRIGGER WARNING: This book deals with and discusses sexual assault, in particular with an underage character, and emotional and physical abuse. The author doesn't really get into specifics, and I won't discuss it more specifically in this review, but please proceed with caution.**

This book follows Liya, a biochemical engineer who is sick of her parents pushing her to get married. When she is unexpectedly set up on a "meet your prospective husband" dinner with her parents and Jay, a charming lawyer, she bolts. Literally. While Jay looks great on paper, and in person, she doesn't want to get married, which she knows is his, and their parents', end goal. But when Jay is hired as a lawyer at her struggling company, the two are forced to interact daily and Liya begins to wonder if she'll ever be able to stop running.

I'll be honest, it took me a bit to get used to the characters. Liya is truly an exceptional character who has been through so much but she is a little hard to endure for the first few chapters. I loved her outspokenness and ability to stand up for herself, but I think she takes a minute to get used to because she is so much more than the typical "feminist female lead." She's not just talk, she is action. Jay was really sweet and he was able to really connect with Liya but I was surprised to see how almost immediately he fell for her. There wasn't really much build up on his side of things, as there was with Liya, but I suppose that's reality.

What bits and pieces of the romance I did get, I enjoyed. From both their characters we see minimal discussion of their feelings, mostly the occasional internal thought and the steamy scenes are so fade to black I didn't even realize they had done anything in one case! I would have maybe liked to see that a bit more, to build up their chemistry outside of work and other life issues.

In the story more generally, I kept having to double-check that this wasn't a companion novel because the secondary characters' relationships seemed like they could have been addressed a bit more somewhere else - that book hasn't been written yet but maybe it's next on Patel's list? Either way, I would love to read about Jay's brother Jahn and his wife, Shilpa.

Overall, I think at the end of the day, I loved the smaller bits and pieces of this story, Jay's interactions with his family, Liya's girl group, the birth of Jay's nephew. But together, they didn't make a romance novel. They made a contemporary where the main characters happen to fall in love.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫


I saw so many people review this book and I knew I wanted to read it. I want to read more books with diverse characters.
This book was deep in culture and family. I don’t have a ton of exposure to the Indian culture and I felt this book gave me and honest and real inside look.
I was reminded a lot of my own culture in this book.

Liya’s character had so many layers. I loved how confident and strong she was. She didn’t conform to expectations or opinions others had of her. She also learned to love and move on from past events in her life.

Jay is a dreamboat. He didn’t believe the gossip about Liya. He took the time to truly get to know her and I adore how their love blossomed.

Thank you Netgalley, Grand Central Pub and Sajnj Patel for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

At first I wasn’t sure how I felt about Liya and Jay, but they quickly grew on me.

This was the epitome of a friends to lovers trope. Liya and Jay meet when her parents ambush her with a possible match. She feels out the door and literally runs into Jay. Of course then they run into each other at work and sparks fly and a friendship develops.

Despite being abused as a child, Liya is a strong, confident and successful woman. She’s seen as high strung because she stands up for herself and those she loves. I loved the bond that Liya and Jay developed and her relationship with his family.

Liya has had her ups and downs when it comes to men in her life. She was assaulted at a young age and her father never believed her. As a result she was shunned from her community and still has to face her assailant being praised in the community. Her parents attempt to set her up with Jay Shah and things don't go as planned. Throughout the book they fight constantly but it only furthers their attraction to one another. The chemistry is fiery and eventually it comes to a head. I enjoyed the bantering and quick one-liners back and forth between the two. I liked learning about the Indian culture and traditions that were prevalent throughout the book. Overall this was a solid read! *I want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this book in exchange for my review.*

The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel

Special thanks to Read Forever for providing our copy in exchange for an honest & fair review.

So I did I always do and I judge the book by the cover. I’m expecting a cute enemies to lover’s romp but got so much more.⁣

Let me back up. Definitely check out the author’s note at the beginning. Honestly, I wish this was more commonplace. It helps my expectations & gives me greater insight into what the author is trying to achieve with the book. I ALWAYS love these details & they enhance my reading experience tenfold.⁣
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The main female character comes across as bitter & angry. She & I could be twins. I get that people may not like her or understand her. For me, she is a kindred spirit.⁣
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About 1/3 through I wasn’t sure if this book was for me. But after reading Novelgossip's review, I kept on.⁣

THE VERDICT ⁣

Y’all, I’m so glad I did! The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel is heartfelt & meaningful & definitely goes deeper than I anticipated. Content warnings for sexual assault & deep-rooted family issues.⁣
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Like a true romance, the ending just made my heart swell. The more I think about this read, the more I appreciate it. Oh, & #texasforever

My Thoughts:

I was really excited to begin reading, The Trouble with Hating You. I love reading stories where I can learn about another culture. This story was an easy read, and caught my attention right from the start. I loved being immersed in the Indian culture. I could easily visualize the exotic and extravagant food, colorful clothing, and traditional customs, as I was transported in to Liya and Jay's world.

One of my favorite book tropes is enemies to lovers. Liya Thakkar is extremely close to her passive, submissive, and quiet mother, but cannot go a few minutes without arguing with her domineering, misogynistic, judgemental, callous, and cold father. Nothing Liya does is good enough for him. She is an independent and modern woman. Liya has a masters degree in bioengineering, and just got promoted into management, yet her father continues to look down on her.

Her parents have been trying to match her up with a man, because they want her to settle down, get married, have children, and become a traditional Indian wife. Even though Liya has repeatedly turned them down, they won't take "no" for an answer. So when Liya's parents invite her to come eat dinner with them, she isn't too surprised that they invited a man and his mother to meet her, with the intention of getting to know each other, which could possibly lead to marriage. Liya is angry, and runs out; knocking over Jay, a handsome lawyer, who is there just to please his mother.

A short while later Liya learns that Jay, will be working to represent her company; as they have a ton of lawsuits that they are currently dealing with. Pretty soon Jay is turning up everywhere, and as much as Liya is determined to dislike him, he is such a warm, caring, and stand up man, that she finds herself falling for him. Will Jay be able to tear down Liya's sky high walls? Will Liya learn that you can be an independent and strong woman, and have the love of a good man too?

I loved how easily the writing in this story flowed. It truly was effortless. The author did a great job of weaving a story that held my attention. Where I struggled most was with the way Liya treated Jay. With enemies to lovers stories, you expect a certain amount of animosity. However, I kept waiting for things to shift between Liya and Jay, and felt frustrated with how long it took for Liya to realize how wonderful Jay was. It got to the point where I was questioning why
Jay would put up with her continued negativity, and rude treatment.

I loved Jay, his family, and Liya's close group of girl friends. This secondary cast of characters came to life for me, and each of them was extremely likeable. Liya's parents each left a lot to be desired. Her father was horrible, and I kept waiting for her mother to stand up to him; if not for how he treated her, at least for how he treated their daughter.

Liya and Jay both had tragic events in their pasts that shaped them, and my heart hurt for what they had endured. I was very satisfied with the ending, and am looking forward to trying out more books by this author.

3.5 Stars!

I received an ARC from Netgalley and I am happy to give my honest review.

I love reading stories with characters who are different than me. This book takes place in Houston's Indian Hindu community. The main characters Liya and Jay start out on the bad foot, with her father trying to arrange a relationship between the two. Bright and early Monday morning Liya realizes Jay has been hired as a consultant at her company. They argue and bicker and it's pretty adorable.

There are tons of great descriptions of food, clothing, wedding preparation, and other Indian culture. I loved that Liya had a close friend group. She was strong, opinionated, and apologized when she made mistakes. I struggled to connect with her at first because she was SO prickly. As she started to let Jay in (who was perfect, by the way) it's clear that her walls are a defense against a world that has mistreated her. Trigger warnings for past sexual assault.

I really liked the two together and I was cheering them on when they decided to become serious. Jay is great and one of my favorite male characters ever. I enjoyed this book and would read more from this author again.

Oh my goodness. This book made me laugh and made me swoon. I love a good enemies to lovers romance! Liya is fiercely independent, which I love in a female lead! I couldn’t put this one down. I loved seeing her relationship evolve with Jay Shah throughout the book. Definitely a must read!

If you’re looking for a page-turning, contemporary romance to lose yourself in, THIS IS YOUR BOOK!

Long before I started reading the books I do now, I was a happy connoisseur of the rom-com. They were fun, light hearted tales that sparked all sorts of emotions, and I loved reading the different ways authors explored romance.

But as I got older, I started to realize that many of these books perpetuate toxic relationship patterns, and I stopped reading them. I dabbled in a few over the last few years, but every booksta hyped rom-com was just more toxic relationship BS, and I’m not down for that.

The one niche I’ll still dabble in? Rom-coms from South Asian Americans. I have hope! Someone will get it right. Someone will tell a story that doesn’t make me cringe or toss the book in disgust.

Low and behold, I finally found one! THE TROUBLE WITH HATING YOU has my heart in so many ways. It’s a familiar trope - enemies-to-lovers, and yet told through an Indian American lens, feels so new and fresh and thrilling. 💖 Melt-your-heart romance. 💖 Indian American rep. Tackling patriarchy and insidious gossip in the Indian community. Centering an opinionated, driven, take-no-shit woman, and doesn’t compromise her for the sake of a relationship. Dives into heavy, complicated issues and resolves them realistically. And the author slipped in commentary about anti-blackness in the Indian community. HOLY EFF.

The combination of all of this had me in awe. I don’t have to pick and choose. It’s usually, well they did a great job with this, but were pretty problematic on that. That’s not the case here.

The story did start out a bit cliche and preachy. I was hesitant at first, but the story moves along swiftly. By the end, I was in awe and so freakin’ happy! Liya and Jay are all the happy, gushy feels.

This book is light on the steam factor, if that’s your thing. And content warning for sexual assault.

Overall, 100% recommend this.

And if you need me, I’ll be googling Indian Tex-Mex recipes, because I now need this in my life. 😋

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the e-arc in exchange for my unbiased review.⁣

⁣I really enjoyed The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel . The book is a diverse romance that is not afraid to take on some difficult issues. The heroine isn’t always the easiest character to like, but after the first couple of chapters she really does grow on you. And the hero, Jay, is my new candidate for book boyfriend of the year.⁣

The book explores the difficulty that young adults who have grown up in the United States have balancing the culture of their parent’s native country, in this case India, with modern American culture and values. I live in a very diverse area with people from a wide range of countries. It has always been fascinating to me to watch how my classmates, friends, and nowadays other parents, handle this balancing of cultures.⁣

I think this book would be great for people who love diverse romance and the exploration of culture clashes. If enemies to lovers is your trope then this would be a good one. This book would not appeal to someone who likes “nice” heroines. Liya is a complex character who takes a little time to warm up to. She is prickly but with a good heart. For some people that somewhat abrasive nature may be a turn off.⁣

TRIGGER WARNING: This book addresses the topic of sexual molestation. It does not get into graphic detail but it is a formative story line in the book.⁣
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My complete review can be found at https://taliesadventures.com/