Hate Crush follows the story of Princess Sofia who owns a winery and is trying to shake up the industry despite her odds. Many people don’t like her new ideas to change the winery industry and try to sabotage her family’s business. In order to bring positive PR to her winery she reluctantly reunites with her old flame, Aish, for a fake romance for the press. Sofia and Aish are both haunted by their tumultuous past. Aish wants to reconcile things while Sofia cant stand the sight of him. Can they make this fake relationship work?

The novel constantly flashes past and the present showcasing the relationship between Aish and Sofia over the years. They have both been through a lot in their lives and are still struggling with grief and family issues. It’s a painful process for the both of them as they try to work through things. I loved the lush descriptions of the Monte vineyard. It seems seems like an idyllic escape. I could picture the wine gardens, vast land, and cozy interior of wine tasting rooms. It s historic and that’s why it means so much Sofia to boost their business. She wants to prove her rivals wrong.

This is most definitely a slow burn romance novel with many steamy scenes. There is a lot of sexual tension between the two and clearly there is still passion. They have to try clear the air between the two of them in a forced proximity situation. They take the time to work through the baggage and how they treated each other. There is also a lot personal work to be done for Aish and Sofia as they sort through their emotions.

Is its an emotional roller coaster of a read too. Their is a lot of pain embedded in the past. Though Aish and Sofia have people trying to bring their careers down they keeps moving forward. I also love the support system that Sofia has. Her family, with the exception of her mother, and her team have got her back at all times. They work hard to keep the winery going and also butt into #Aishia’s relationship’s to help them both heal.

The later half of the book threw in some suspense plot twists which added to the story. The action packed scenes gave the climactic ending a boost. I’ll be reading more from Lopez in the future.

TW: Mentions of drug/alchohol abuse, violence, miscarriage, suicide

I wasn't too into the first book in this series, I had some issues with the dubcon in it, but I really liked Mateo's little sister so I wanted to read her book. Honestly? I felt like I was reading about a completely different character here.

I love enemies to lovers, but I felt like this one missed the mark on the trope. One of the reasons was that it just took too long for the text to finally tell us what exactly happened to make Sofia hate Aish so much. It's a huge misunderstanding, but I understood why she felt the way she did but it took too long to come out to say it that I was scratching my head waiting for the big reveal.

This book was super steamy, so I liked that. I did like that we got to see Roxanne and Matteo HEA here, as this was set a few years in the future.

Not going to lie, the ending was full of drama so if you like that sort of thing (some readers do!) this one would be up your alley. It is definitely a wild ride for sure, but I just don't think it was really my cup of tea.

*I received a review copy of this book from the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

HATE CRUSH was like the soap opera I could not stop watching. Sophia is a princess of a wine region who has long been known for her party-girl ways which don't allow people to take her seriously for what she does best- create fantastic wines. She is working on opening a winery and hotel that could rock the wine world for her innovative methods. However, the double standard here is clear- people can't take her seriously because she is a woman who also has a party-girl reputation, as if that impacts her ability to run a business when it wouldn't for a man.

She has sworn off romance after her long-ago catastrophic relationship with Aish, the guy who broke her heart and left her reeling. Now, Aish is the head of a popular band, and the song that helped launch it all- and which has always seemed like an unsolved mystery, has come out that it was about her. The press are having a field day, and she leverages the press by inviting Aish to come to her winery along with select other guests to publicize and get support for the venture and her kingdom.

Once there, they have instant desire, clouded by memories of the way everything went down. It's a love-hate relationship worthy of a soap, and the sentiment is only compounded by the events at the end. The book is super-steamy as they rekindle their physical relationship, and the emotional tries to follow, despite all the hurt holding it back. The ending gets pretty crazy, but I was totally there for it- I mean, really, this would be a soap opera I would happily watch with popcorn.

They were both really great characters- flawed but loving and kind people at their core, who really needed this second chance. I appreciate that they both take responsibility for the things they have done wrong and all the passion that has led them back together. This was a book I could not put down, even when it got wild, and I would definitely recommend for anyone who thinks the description would be up their alley. This is guilty-pleasure reading at its finest.

Please note that I received an ARC. All opinions are my own.

The book is about:
If you love rockstars and royalty, having access to both will give you an amazing time. Hate Crush tells the story of Princess Sofia Maria Isabel de Esperanza y Santos and rockstar Aish Salinger. They had a short lived yet very passionate romance 10 years ago, and life has brought them together again. As Aish became viral for accidentally name dropping Sofia as the inspiration for his song, the pair have to show a fake PR relationship to benefit Sofia’s winery and Aish’s public image.

What drew me in:
I am always week for enemies to lovers trope. But, Hate Crush gave me a story with much angst — lovers to enemies to lovers. Just from the blurb, I knew I was going to have a great time with this read.

Characters & connections:
Both Sofia and Aish show their inner thoughts through the alternating POV of this read. That’s perfect because it gave me the chance of getting to know them better, therefore, giving me the chance to further my connection with each character.

Everything I liked:
Hate Crush gave the reader an easy to follow story with lots of steam, pining, and drama. I loved how the author told the story and the pacing was just perfect. I knew there was troubling brewing within the story and the plot twist entered at the best time.

Overall thoughts:
Though it’s my first time to read a book from the author and that this book is a 2nd part of a series, I still had an overall amazing time. Fast paced, uncommon plot points, and swoony romance — expect that and more if you read Hate Crush!

The fate of Princess Sofia’s country hinges on the successful opening of her winery. So when washed-up rockstar Aish Salinger drunkenly reveals Sofia as the muse for the flagrantly erotic song that catapulted his band to fame ten years ago, her past indiscretion puts the winery in jeopardy. To save it she must fake a relationship with Aish— the one man in the world that she truly loathes. While their chemistry has always been electric, the emotional wounds from ten years ago continue to fester. Which begs the question: can they forgive each other? Hate Crush masterfully blends the high drama of old school romance with modern sensibilities. Lopez plants the seeds of both their break and reconciliation, deftly revealing their past in pieces. In the end, what’s on the page is a sprawling, twisted epic of devastating and heart-wrenching devotion.

A fake relationship could help Princesa Sofia save her kingdom. Only problem: she’ll have to fake it with the man who broke her heart.

Second in the Filthy Rich series, Lopez delivers another powerful story of a second chance romance. I have one word for this book: fuego! 🔥 I enjoyed reading about these characters, some of which we met in the first book of the series, Lush Money. The writing style is spot on, and I enjoyed the mix of cultures - especially in the dialogue. I love that the author writes stories that focus on powerful, wealthy women and this one did not disappoint.

Thank you to the Harlequin publicity team and the author for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Princesa Sofia Maria Isabel de Esperanza y Santos, the "party princess," agrees to a fake relationship with the washed up rock star who broke her heart so many years ago. Aish Salinger has pined for Sofia for all the years they've been apart and hopes he can atone for the sins of his past.

I love Sofia, she's prickly and stubborn and determined to reach for success. I wasn't as enthralled with Aish or the rest of the romance ARC. The use of long flashback chapters also isn't always may favorite narrative style, and I was really worried about some things that are discovered about why/how Aish broke Sofia's heart.

The sex scenes were quite delicious, and thank you to the author for the SUPERB fainting couch scene. YAY.

I also think I was not in the mood for this book, so YMMV.

CW: alcohol use, gas lighting, sexual assault (discussed, in the past), suicide (discussed, in the past), may be more. I was skimming towards the end.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

This is the second book in the Filthy Rich series, but as it works well as a stand-alone, you don't need to have read the first one before you read this. Hate Crush is a second chance romance with an almost romantic suspense element. There's certainly something else that this couple has to face and get to the bottom of.

Sophia and Aish fell in love ten years ago, but when it came to choosing between their relationship and his career, Aish left Sophia behind. They haven't seen each other in all this time, but now both faced with needing to resurrect their images, they need to work together and appear as a couple in front of the media.

Aish is quite a sweet character, he's obviously had a checkered past, but it becomes clear as the story unfolds that all might not as it might first appear on this front. There were a number of things that were revealed as the book unfolds, I don't think that they were hugely obvious, but I did guess what more than one of them might be before it happened. It didn't stop me from enjoying the story though.

Sophia is a very strong female character. She has a wild past, something that is often avoided in romances, which is a shame, I liked the way that she was a character who knew what she wanted and had had plenty of fun in her past. Aish and Sophia worked well together, complimenting one another and having plenty of room for their characters to grow as they start to come together as a couple.

I really enjoyed this read, there was plenty going on and much more depth than you often find in a romance novel. I'd certainly be keen to read more in this series if I get the chance.

Seductive, satisfying, and dramatic!

Hate Crush is a passionate, second-chance romance featuring the sexy, infamous, rockstar Aish who’s still hopelessly in love with the one woman he let get away ten-years ago, and the intelligent, stubborn Princesa Sofia who’s willing to do whatever it takes to make her vineyard a success even fake date the one man who shattered her heart.

The writing is fluid and smooth. The characters are wounded, hardworking, and dependable. And the plot is a heartwarming tale of life, love, friendship, family, heartbreak, jealousy, community, expectations, fame, undeniable attraction, sizzling chemistry, awkward moments, genuine emotion, romance, and winemaking.

Overall, Hate Crush is an angsty, tender, entertaining read by Lopez that is definitely a wonderful addition to the Filthy Rich series with its intriguing cast of characters, unique setting, and push-pull storyline.

Angelina Lopez bowled me over with her debut novel, Lush Money. Hate Crush, is a worthy sequel.

When I started reading romance, I didn’t like contemporary romance because it all seemed to be Judith Krantz and Danielle Steele – ridiculously beautiful people, at least one of whom was incredibly wealthy, with high glamour problems and preposterous plots. If I was going to read that I wanted it to be set in the past. In the last 30 years, contemporary romance has become less focused on the jet set crowd. Angelina M. Lopez is bringing back the ridiculously beautiful, wealthy people with high glamour problems and preposterous plots and she is making me like it. She is a plot maximalist. She turns the emotions up to 11, and liberally sprinkles glitter on the whole party.

Sofia Maria Isabel de Esperanza y Santos is a princess of a small wine growing mountain kingdom on the edge of Spain. Aish Salinger is a bi-racial Japanese Jewish American man-child rock star. When they were younger, they were lovers for three intense months until Aish broke off the relationship because having a girlfriend was bad for a wannabe rock star’s image. While Aish wrote songs about her and tattooed images related to her on his body, Sophia went on with her life and pretended he didn’t exist. Now they both need a public relations win and the best way to get it is to have a fauxmance in front of the press. The plot gets very soap operatic.

In the flash and glitter of the setting and the plot, Lopez keeps her characters grounded through their emotions and motivations. Sophia desperately wants her wine empire to succeed. Aish desperately wants another chance with Sophia. They are both opinionated and stubbornly certain that they are right. Their clashes are painful.

My favorite thing (and I liked a lot of things that I can’t get into without getting spoilery) is that Aish recognizes and takes responsibility for his mistakes. He could blame them on a lot of circumstances, but he owns his choices. He asks for Sophie’s attention and her forgiveness a lot, but when he finally apologizes all the noise and flash of the plot fades away.

I received an advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

CW: miscarriage, suicide, emotional abuse.

Star Crossed Romance and Exotic Wineries

Ten years ago Princess Sofia fell madly in love with rock star, Aish Salinger, when they spent a summer working at his uncle’s winery in California. The romance didn’t end well, but neither can forget the other.

Now ten years later, Sofia has her own winery. At the grand opening she reluctantly invites Aish. He’s suffering under a scandal and has lost some of his super star glitter, but he still draws the press. Sofia plans to use their romance to enhance the winery opening, but doesn’t count on the incredible attraction she still feels for Aish.

I thought Sofia was a great main character. She’s tough and beautiful and willing to fight for what she wants. I particularly liked her dedication to her people and the principality. She’s willing to fight the establishment to make things better for them.

Aish was also a good character. He’s made mistakes and he knows it. He loves Sofia and tries had to apologize for the past. I thought the fact that he took responsibility for his past actions was good and made him worthy of Sofia.

The background of the wineries and the beautiful scenery made the story come alive. It doesn’t hurt that the book is filled with passion and romance.

I received this book from Harlequin for this review.

I was so looking forward for this book that I wasn't disappointed at all. The chemistry between Sofia and Aish was combustible. I needed a fan for some of their dirty talks. Very HOT. The big secret of their break up 10 years ago was teased throughout the book but it was quite easy to guess what it was with the clues the author gave us. I was chocked to found out about John, I didn't see that one coming at all. The Ending fell a bit rushed for me, I would have wanted more depth. The sex was just sizzling. All in all, this is a great read with good secondary characters. I hope that there are more books in the series coming up, maybe Roman or Henry story.
ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley and all the opinions expressed here are all mine.

Included as a top pick in bimonthly June New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached).

Beautiful story of a second chance romance. Love the title and Aish!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There’s this lady I know who used to work in the vineyards around here where I live. We have a lot of vineyards actually surrounding my area and many massive producers of wine own the vineyards.

Every so often I hear her refer to specific terms and one of them was the crush. Because of the name in the word you can get a feel for what it means. This author transformed the meaning of a word into full, meaningful descriptions of what it takes to own and run a winery.

With sweeping depiction of lush scenery, we get bits and pieces of the story from today and the past. 10 years have gone by and the intense feeling between Aish and Sophia is just as explosive.

It’s a love/hate relationship that’s built on hurt and anger yet intense feelings and desire that won’t quit. The author wrote with such feeling and depth, you can’t help but get swept away by the crushing emotion.

This book is quite complex in many ways with issues with family, issues with the winery and business, and issues with the hate crush. Sophia can get pretty harsh!

It’s heated and sexy with a few surprises along the way that build to a beautiful ending that is much deserved. I am looking forward to many more beautiful stories from this up-and-coming writer. Highly detailed romance that leaves a mark on your soul.

Y'all this book is HOT HOT HOT!

Ok now that's out of the way, this soapy romance really has it all: steamy sex, intrigue, angst, tenderness, societal commentary, and more. It takes you on a ride, for sure.

I loved Sofia and Aish as characters and as partners. Sofia is a badass heroine whose awareness blew me away, even if it didn't stop her from making mistakes (I mean...so real). Aish with his golden life could have easily drifted into annoying territory but instead you find yourself rooting for him. They both had their share of demons and the book doesn't shy away from grappling with complicated family dynamics, patriarchal media standards, or privilege. I also loved the flashbacks and the side characters, and so hope that we get Henry's book!

On the downside, the ending felt a bit too rushed and too neat, especially after the many twists and turns. It felt abrupt, especially without an epilogue. I wanted more! I also felt the tension between Sofia and her mom was both too extreme and too neatly wrapped up.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading Book 1 and future novels from this author!

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Even though this book isn't out for another few weeks, I finished this book over a month ago, because I COULD NOT WAIT! I marked it as read, but I just have not had the inclination to right any kind of reviews lately. The main thing I remember most about this book... it's one of the last ones I remember reading that I could not put down. It had me up late at night and rushing through it as quickly as possible. The first book in the series was a standout debut for me last year, turning a trope sideways, but it was little hints at what this story could be that had me hitting the request button for the ARC so fast. And, yup, it ticked off all my second chance buttons so hard. Including a *real* reason that caused them to be where they were. Sure, there were some aspects of it that were due to a misunderstanding, but what I absolutely loved was that this was not an excuse. Actions still have consequences and people still need to learn and grow from them. I loved what Angelina Lopez did with Aish's character in this book.

Once again, the small island and winery setting was superb. Strong character develop. And oh yeah, of course, hot. Highly recommend this author.

HOT. HOT. HOT.

There is so much to love about HATE CRUSH. A badass princess trying to prove herself and help save her kingdom with a revolutionary vineyard must rely on her ex, the sexy and selfish rock star who was her first love and who shattered her heart to achieve her goals. That right there is enough, but then Lopez goes on to layer in an angst-filled, rollercoaster ride of emotion showing there is more to the story--and to the characters--than what it appears on the surface.

Add in a plot of intrigue, a twisted (but happy) ending, and the kind of sensuality and sexual charisma on the page that'll have even the most ardent anti-prudes blushing, and you have a book that's un-put-down-able. (If that's not a word, it should be!)

Heat Factor: Fire. Fuego. אש. 🔥.
Character Chemistry: Emotionally complicated hate sex.
Plot: “My first love destroyed me and I hate him now. But I must have a fake relationship with him for the paparazzi. What could go wrong?”
Overall: I couldn’t put it down.

I stayed up past my bedtime two nights in a row reading Hate Crush. This book is about...opening a winery. There are some suspense elements (mysterious vandalism, a weird backstory with Aish’s dead best friend), but I was primarily motivated by the way the emotional drama was playing out.

Night number 1: WILL THEY SAVE THEY GRAPES??!?!?!?! And then I realized I was only halfway through the book and definitely needed to go to sleep.
Night number 2: OH SHIT, THINGS JUST GOT REAL!

Princess Sofia has a well-earned reputation as a party girl, but when it comes to wine, she knows her shit. So it’s extremely frustrating that, now that she’s opening a winery which she hopes will revitalize the economy of her struggling micro-nation, no one will take her seriously.

Enter Aish. Aish is a washed-up rock star who, in a drunken stupor at Coachella, reveals that his first hit was written about Sofia, who he briefly dated ten years ago. Now, for some reason, everyone is interested in Sofia’s new winery, especially if Aish might be there. So Aish and Sofia (or, rather, their managers and publicists) decide that faking a reunion relationship would be a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Aish is all for this. He thinks of his break up with Sofia as the biggest mistake of his life and has been pining for her for years. Note: Aish is a selfish man-child who has some serious growing up to do. Sofia’s experience of their break up, on the other hand, was extremely traumatic, and she feels nothing but loathing for Aish. As you might imagine, this puts a serious damper on the warm welcome Aish was expecting.

This second chance romance has all the trope hallmarks that Erin hates: both a character dreaming about his long-lost-love who got away and a character who has declared that love is dead because of a bad first experience. So if you also hate this trope, this book might not be for you. But what Lopez does with these characters once they are forced to interact is pretty magical because she doesn’t make it easy for them.

Aish’s journey is especially well done. He initially thinks that he can just apologize and everything will be better, but here’s the reality: even though he’s sorry, it doesn’t mean that Sofia has to listen to what he has to say. She does not owe him another chance just because he feels regret for treating her badly. He can’t force his apologies on her. I really appreciated this because The Grovel is such a standard in romance novels - and as long as the apology is good enough, readers accept that the Groveler has learned their (let’s be real, usually his) lesson and is on their way to a beautiful HEA. If the Grovelee doesn’t want to hear it, too bad! Nothing can impede the path to a good Grovel, much less a person (let’s be real, usually a woman) who is fed up with your shit and doesn’t owe it to you to listen.

Even if we don’t get a Grovel in this book, we do get excellent character growth and really really hot sex - but the sex comes with lots of complicated emotions, so not all of the sex is particularly nice. It is accompanied by lots of filthy dirty talk, so if dirty talk is not your bag, you might want to give this one a pass.

The one niggle I had about this book was that the villainy made no sense. For example, Juan Carlos Pascual leads a consortium of local winemakers who undermine Sofia at every turn - because she’s competition? Because of misogyny? If there’s increased demand for local wine, won’t everyone benefit? I don’t know, his response to the whole situation just seemed way overboard. The big boss villain, whose villainy is exposed at the end, not only has opaque motivations, but is also cartoonishly evil.

However, even the crazy villain drama did not distract me from focusing on Aish and Sofia for long. If you are looking for a very sexy, very dramatic, very thoughtful second chance romance, look no further.



I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report (early July)

Sofia and Aish come together like kindling to the flame in their second chance. There's romance, espionage, twists, and just a great story. If you love strong heroines and the men who prove they deserve them, this book (and author) are for you!

I tried to read this book but it wasn’t a right fit for me. I couldn’t finish this one. I didn’t realize there were going to be some trigger warnings in this book either. I found writing style not to be a right fit for me.