I love Aggie and Max! Along with their meddling grandmothers, Meemaw and Grandmother (Hazel and Grace). I don't know which characters I loved the most but I definitely think the grandmothers need their own book.
Aggie who can't seem to keep a job does her grandmother a favor by going on a job interview with her friend's grandson. Max thinks his grandmother is crazy for trying to get him to hire someone who can't keep a job for more than a few weeks. However, they both agree to the interview. Aggie chooses to be a horrible employee and Max wants her to think he is the worse boss ever. Unfortunately, neither one will back down and disappoint their grandmothers. So the hilarious story of Aggie and Max begins but they soon find out that they make a great business pair. But can the grandmothers get them to be more. I love stories that have not only intriguing main characters but the supporting characters make you want a book about them too. Lisa Wells captures that and so much more in this Rom-Com that started with two grandmothers and a plan.

Thank you Lisa, Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for the digital arc of Aggie The Horrible vs Max The Pompous Ass. This book is utterly amazing. Once I started, I couldn't put it down.

I love how the beginning introduces the scenario. Thereon, I found the narration fabulously clean and the flow so smooth that I finished reading this romedy in three days!

I loved Aggie and Max's bantering. I couldn't stop laughing whenever these two challenged each other and created chaos cheekily. The simmering sexual tension between them made reading more interesting. Throughout, from the first page till the last, I couldn't help but love the pair so much.

The rom-com is a must read. I will definitely recommend this book. This fiction would make a bad day turn good. It made mine, surely.

*3.5 stars rounded to 4*
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Pushed into working together by two matchmaking grandmothers, Aggie and Max can’t stand each other. However, with a true enemy to lovers trope, their hilarious banter and chemistry are extremely entertaining. I found this to be a quick, light, funny read that was perfect for summer. I really enjoyed watching the relationship between the two develop throughout the story, as well as the heartwarming storyline between the two grandmothers. While this story was predictable and reminiscent of many other rom-coms, I still found it to be a worthy of a day by the pool or on the sand. Thank you to NetGalley and Entagled Publishing for this ARC.

Yes, Yes, Yes, YES! This is what I needed in my life right now. Some perfectly hilarious opposites attract chemistry with a dash of sassy badassery female persona and steamy-steamy bum-chica-chica.  Lisa Wells you have made my weekend with this gem of a read!

Aggie comes from what some may call the ‘wrong side of the tracks.’ Dropped off by her mother when she was younger, she was raised in a loving home by her Meemaw and taught she is worth so much more than where her roots came from. Max comes from wealth and is currently in a bet with his not-so-wondrous stuck-up father that has his mind focused on the next winning bid at his company. His grandmother, Ms. Grace, has taught him how to be appreciative in life but not everyone sees past the money. When both grandmothers get together to play cupid and setup the wild and boisterous Aggie to work for the starchy and unthrilled, Max; well, the proverbial poo hits the fan blades folks. Hilarity, budding chemistry and excellent rivalry come to play.

The characters are excellent and the plot is well-rounded. The grandmothers absolutely made my day with their meddling and very in-the-know demeanors. Max and Aggie are truly the icing on the romcom cake. The chemistry slowly builds and the enemies to lovers situation ensues. They have banter that had me laughing well into the novel which I appreciated. Most times, once characters in romcoms become romantically involved the hilarity tappers and the steam takes over. Not here. Wells kept the chemistry and banter alive till the end. What I fell in love with most was the family aspect. There is so much love between the kids and their grandmas that my heart just melted. Aggie and Max struggle with a vastly distant parent when all they really want is the comfort of knowing they are loved. However, that love may come at a cost and it takes coming into their own to realize that.

My one slight eyebrow raise was with Aggie towards the end. I was thrilled to have a female lead who didn’t let her head run-away with the wrong idea and create havoc. She would listen to what her Meemaw instilled in her and find out the truth before jumping to conclusions. Part way there comes a point where that changes and sets the stage for the breaking point. Now don’t get me wrong, every romcom has that starting breaking point but I was really hoping it wouldn’t come from Aggie and miscommunication or the lack of hearing someone out. Redemption occurs though! Hence why it was only a slight eyebrow raise for me. I did really enjoy the true game changer that sends everything into a tizzy.  Not your typical playout and unique compared to others in this genre.

I found myself laughing, cheesy grinning and wholly invested with these two (possibly a happy eye mist moment). I adored the wholesomeness of Aggie and her fight to better her circumstances and that of those she loves. Max is such a teddy bear at heart and was such a breath of fresh air in the gentleman department. Themed with inspiring messages of family, self-worth and rising from the ashes, this is one you won’t want to miss. For all my romcom lovers, I would highly recommend this novel. Special thank you to Entangled Publishing for introducing me to a fun new author and for the gifted digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

So how horrible is she and is he really that pompous? Well, yes and no.
Loved Aggie's fire but this poor girl is hiding some serious issues that have kept her in the same rut forever. Meanwhile Max is financially better off but just as messed up. When both their grandmothers scheme to match them up by forcing them to work together they meet and instantly don't get along. Now as I wouldn't label them as enemies it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. As the story continues it's clear where things are going but both of them soon mess things up epically with miscommunication and ridiculous misunderstandings. Normally this happens but each of them had multiple opportunities to either come clean or at least offer another explanation so it started to get aggravating. Their hookup is definitely hot and the humour was a great surprise but the ending came and went leaving it open to more questions.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley for my honest opinion.

This story has a really fun concept. The story is well written and the characters are funny and smart and I really enjoyed the Grandmothers. In fact, they kind of stole the story for me. I liked the bickering of the main characters the development of the romance and the obstacles that they overcame I just was disappointed in the enemies to lovers aspect. I wanted that to last longer and to build the tension between them more so that the eventually romance and HEA was a bit stronger. Still this was a fun fast read and I think readers looking for a light story will enjoy this one. I received an AR via NetGalley and the publisher and I am leaving my honest review.

For those who are regular listeners to our podcast, you’ll know that one of my favorite books of the past 5 years has been The Hating Game. For the uninitiated, THG follows an intense enemies to lovers office romance between a stodgy yet sexy hero and a homespun plucky heroine. For a good portion of the book, we are privy to agonizing and sometimes emotionally scarring arguments in which their juxtaposition provides the reader with the sweetest and most fulfilling denouement. You can feel it in your bones, people! All that being said, the premise of Aggie the Horrible vs. Max the Pompus Ass by Lisa Wells boasts to be a light impersonation of THG. Honestly, the hallmarks are present: two work colleagues with instant animosity who need to collaborate in order to complete an all important task. The follow through, however, is quite lackluster. There are some things to like in both Aggie and Max, I just don’t know if either character encompasses the charm to successfully fulfill the friends to lovers trope.

Let’s talk about the plot: or, The Tale of Two Meddling Grandmothers
Maxwell Treadwell (for f---s sake, really?) is in desperate need of a personal assistant; Aggie Johasson, is in need of regular employment. With over 100 jobs in the past 18 months, she seems more like a hindrance than a help for any employer. Both of their respective grandmothers play matchmaker, forcing Max to interview Aggie and Aggie to accept the job when offered. Aggie presents the worst version of herself in order to torpedo the interview; Max however, is left hot under the collar and with no choice than to hire her immediately. Sparks fly and soon Aggie and Max find they have more in common than they thought.

The Compliment Sandwich
Top Bun (The Pro)
Max Treadwell
Honestly, I found Max to be charming, realistic and unassuming. Through his close relationship with his grandmother, he’s been exposed to an unpretentious and open minded perspective which is exceptionally different from that modeled by his parents. When he begins to fall for Aggie her station in life, lack of career goals, or overbearing personality bear no weight in his overall feelings. “Agnes LaBelle Johansson, I love you. So. Fucking. Much. Your pedigree has never been an issue.”

I wonder if Wells intended to create a complex character that we would still ultimately root for, like Josh Templeman. Unfortunately, she forgot to include the contrarian underpinnings that Josh displayed in THG. We don’t have true enemies to lovers, and it’s a misrepresentation to categorize it as such. From Jumpstreet, Max is willing to overlook all of Aggies’ character flaws and absolute fuck-upery allowing himself to fall for her unconditionally.
Personally, I felt Max was way too good for Aggie. I read a review that stated they thought his Grand Gesture wasn’t grand enough, that he needed to grovel more. I’m sorry, when his spaced out girlfriend/PA fails to do the ONE THING he needed her to do, bebe is allowed to be upset. Poor guy should probably hooked up with more girls on acid in college and filled his ‘girl with responsibility issues and self-preservation mindset” quota. Aggie needed to perform the Grand Gesture, groveling, and taking responsibility. Max forgave Aggie, literally, every single time she fucked up. Every. Single. Time. At some point, he did become a bit of a doormat.

The Meat (The Con)
Agnes (Aggie) Johansson
Dis Bich. Seriously guys, this chick is the worst.
As I mentioned above, she’s had over 100 jobs in 18 months. The reason for this? If the job doesn’t make her happy, she just quits or gets fired. Cool. Cool. Cooooool. Real responsible, jackass. Did I mention that she’s living with her Grandmother who works 3 jobs and Aggie can’t even contribute because she’s too busy ‘finding her bliss’?
I’m very confused as to why Wells went out of her way to have Aggie not only sabotage her burgeoning healthy relationship with the first man who didn’t treat her like a complete slag. At one point, she finds a kitten in an alleyway and decides to take it into the office as a mascot. Wait. What? She doesn’t ask normal questions like, “I wonder if Max is allergic to cats?”, “How will the millionaire clientele feel about a random cat just shitting in the corner of the office?”, and, “As this is a temporary assignment, who will take care of said cat after I leave?”. Normal questions that people with healthy brains would ask. If you are wondering, Max IS deathly allergic and this is the second instance where he fires/rehires her. Seriously, I’m voting to canonize Max for sainthood.

I’m not going to spoil the ending, but lets just say, Aggie flakes off something fierce and almost ruins Max’s life yet she is portrayed as the lovable loser who can’t help but fuck up. Aggie reminds me of a bit by standup comedian, Mike Birbiglia. He said, we all have someone like Aggie in our lives, in his case, he referred to him as Wiffle Ball Tony. Wiffle Ball Tony is great to play Wiffle Ball with, but when planning a party, you never put him in charge of potato salad or burgers. “The burgers and the potato salad? I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” Aggie is the Wiffle Ball Tony of the working world...and also, life.

The Bottom Bun (The Pro)
The Pacing
At 400 pages, you could be saying to yourself, “um, Rae, wtf are you talking about? That’s a Zapata-length novel”. I would then say to you, dude, you need to add about 150 more pages for it to be a true slow burn Zapata, get it straight. The book takes place over a month, and Wells paces the plot in which we sometimes move along one day at a time, then skip a few in the future. We are not subjected to every monotonous second with the characters, which honestly, I was thankful for. If I had to sit with Aggie longer than I needed to, Veronica would be asking “which are we doing? Burnin’ or burying” and searching for a new cohost. Blessedly, the book moves at a quick clip. Is it enough to truly recommend it? I’m not so sure.

I’m doing a lot of soul searching on this one. I wanted to like this one so much: the promise of an enemies to lovers, opposites attract, and an ‘all on the line’ ending: how did it miss the mark so much? If I had to supply a theory, I’d say overambition. Ms. Wells wanted the story to incorporate so many different angles, and yet underperformed with each through line. Does Aggie learn to be more organized and find her true calling - that job that will make her truly happy?
Honestly, I have no clue.
Does Max gain independence from his father and become a respected and self-sufficient businessman?
Got me swinging… no clue.

So, my suggestion is, if you have the time and want a light fluffy opposites attract novel, go for it. Otherwise, settle in for a reread of The Hating Game instead.

This is exactly my kind of story; fun characters who annoy each other, romance, tragic families, and a lot of drama. I loved it. It's a cute romcom and I think every fan of the genre would enjoy this book.
Aggie can't hold a job. Max is in need of an instant. Their grandmothers decide to intervene and now the two must work together for the time being. But can they tolerate each other long enough to be able to work? Things are definitely going to get interesting. They have completely different personalities and backgrounds. The only common thing is the attraction they feel for each other.
It's a well-written story that made me smile, laugh, cry, and sometimes feel embarrassed for the characters. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and would recommend it to my fellow reader. If you are someone who loves romance then this books is for you.

Thank you NetGalley, author Lisa Wells, and Entangled: Amara publishing for giving me a free arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own .
4 stars
The title of this story drew me to it. The story had me laughing out loud and held my interest until the very end.
Agnes, is a poor woman from the wrong side of the tracks, and Max, is a a rich man who grew up with money, the right education, and a bit of a snob.
These two will meet in most unexpected way when their meddlesome grandmother orchestra Aggie to interview for the personal assistant job at Max's company. As they both are not willing to allow their grandmothers to have their way, Max and Aggie set out to make the other working conditions miserable.
The author did a great just developing the characters and their backstories. I defiantly was pulling for Aggie to find her place in the world despite her not so great childhood. I thought Aggie was good for Max. She brought out his playful side, at times, and helped him secure major clients. The grandmothers were a hoot and I would have liked to see them make more appearances throughout the story.
The premise of the book was a great hook, but the story fell a little sort of my expectations. I am a huge fan of the enemies to lovers troupe and this story had the marks for such a troupe, but by chapter 2, they seemed to have moved passed enemies and right into the flirting banter. It seemed like they were pulling things over on each other in order to avoid the building attraction between them rather than feelings of hate. Some of their pranks were a little over the top and were not realistic if they took place within a professional workplace. I thought the attraction between them was more like insta-lust. He seemed to have a lot of hard ons just by looking at her. I also did not really like how much they did not trust each other in the relationship they were building. It seemed one or both of the characters would misread or misunderstand a situation, then would precede to pull away from the relationship without talking things out! I am not a huge fan of lack of communication as a plot device! It becomes very annoying quickly. The ending was very sweet and I was glad to read the epilogue! For a debut novel, this was an above average book! I would recommend those who are looking for an office romance, boss/employee, poor woman/rich man book. I look forward to another new release from this author in the future.

I want to thank NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. I was immediately drawn in by the cover art. I think it's clever and fun. I also really liked the premise of this book: meddling grandmas trying to set up their grandkids. I also love opposites attract. Aggie is a free-spirit, do what she wants, in the moment person. Max is straight-laced, scheduled, and kind of uptight. This should be fun. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. I was hoping for more enemies-to-lovers shenanigans, but that seemed to fizzle pretty early in the book. And then the miscommunication tropes popped up, and I am so over miscommunication as a plot device/drama point. You don't have to have third act drama in every romance book. I was having a good time up until this point. Overall, this is cute, but can we show healthy communication skills.

Thank you NetGalley, Lisa Wells and Entangled Publishing, LLC for the ARC of Aggie the Horrible vs. Max the Pompous Ass. This is my personal review.
The title of the book had me chuckling even before I started reading. The title alone made me want to read this just to find out why Aggie was horrible, and Max was an ass.
Their Grandmothers had an idea they wanted to put in to play and that they did! I want to meet these two based on how they think! These are my kind of Grandma’s.
Aggie and Max mixed like oil and water but soon turned into a hot flame the more they got to know each other.
This book was so easy to read because I enjoyed everyone in the story.

The name of this book threw me for a loop, but as I read the blurb explaining the book it hit me as a chance to read a fun romcom that would probably be full of laugh out loud moments and some fun characters that I'd really enjoy. It definitely didn't drop the ball, either. Both Aggie and Max were lovable characters that I thoroughly enjoyed. And, of course, both grandmothers held places of honor in their respective grandchild's life and used that to their advantage when "convincing" each other to take a chance and work together "temporarily".

I received a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you Riki Cleveland and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read such an fun book.

First, if you want hot sex, and very hot thoughts about sex, this book has it all in spades.

I'm a little bit of a romance verigin, in that I read those YA romances where characters think about kissing and stuff, and not the size of the guys sexual organ, or the woman's breast.

There is lust in these pages from the first page onward.

Oddly, that is not what bothers me. What bothers me more is the chip on Aggie's shoulder about being from a poor neighborhood. She carries that around with her everywhere, which gets old really fast.

In the meantime, they think of all the things they would do to each other if they weren't working together.

So, if you can get past Aggie thinking bad things about herself, and stay for all the thoughts of lust, and if that is the sort of romance you want, then this is the one for you. Me, I like a much slower burn, where they aren't trying to keep their hands of each other from the moment they meet.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

A great summer read. it was funny, sweet and sexy. Aggie and Max got me really entertain with their epic banter & hot chemistry. I loved their matchmaking grandmas, and the enemies to lovers storyline.

Thanks to their meddling grandmothers Aggie has a job interview with Max. They both don’t want to work with each other and at the same time, they don’t want to be the one who says no, and are now stuck working together.
Aggie and Max are fun characters are I really enjoyed how Aggie manages to keep Max on his toes, led to some LOL moments. I also enjoyed the chemistry between them. A couple of things I felt could have been done without, like the blackmail but that’s just my thought. The grandmas were adorable and do cute, just like peaches 😉.
Overall it was an easy read !

This was only an okay read for me. Was not a big fan of the writing style and I struggled to like the two leads. The chemistry was good but I felt Aggie and Max needed to communicate better with each other and with their respective grandmothers. Overall the story was fairly quick to get through.

The title grabbed me and I was hoping for a fun read to match, but overall, this enemies to lovers office romance didn't live up to it.

Aggie Johansson has no desire to work for rich-asshole Max Treadwell, and Max doesn't want to hire flighty Aggie as his assistant either. When they're thrown together by their matchmaking grandmothers, whom they can't stand to disappoint, they both agree to a 2-month contract.

Aggie was a little too self-conscious that she grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, and it became a bit grating how much she constantly projected that onto Max, when he gave no indication that he cared. Besides some work-related mishaps, there was little tension between them, and it was peppered with some cringey sentences. A few characters were introduced with no real purpose (honestly, where did Grant go after the first few pages), which was a little confusing, as well as Max's conflict with his dad that didn't feel fully dealt with.

Things I liked: the grandmothers - I would've liked some more antics from them. There were a couple of steamy scenes that were well done, too.

I received this novel from net galley and the publisher as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I finished it, and while I usually love hate-to-love stories, this one felt flat to me.

The writing, the characters, and the plot were very chaotic. A lot of going back and forth, but basically having the same argument over and over. Aggie's chip on her shoulder about being born on the wrong side of the track felt exaggerated. It was mentioned so many times, and at times it seemed her whole personality was built around this. Which was in contrast with how confident and sassy she was the rest of the time.

With Max I already found it weird that, with the company he has, he didn't have more employees. Definitely, if you're doing such big deals. Just something about him felt off. His character felt shallow. He's either being unpleasant towards Aggie, or getting in her pants. They never talked out any of their issues.

This book was a fun, light, fast paced read. I really liked the connection between the characters and I liked Aggie’s ideas that she had. She seemed like a fun character. I liked that she tried to make Max think outside of the box a little.

The grandmothers were also fun and cute as well. I liked their little story line and what happened to them at the end because of the story.

My heart broke when Aggie went through her struggles during the story.

There were some things that were predictable and the romance did seem like it was instant.

I still liked this book because of the fun characters and the fast pacing. This was a four star rating. Thank you Netgalley and publishers for allowing me the chance to read and review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was hilarious and totally lovable. I really liked how both Max and Aggie were more than who they appeared and that Aggie had so much character growth throughout the story.

Aggie came off as a complete flake, totally flighty, and utterly unreliable. But below the surface, she wasn’t any of those things. She was passionate, ambitious and smarter than anyone gave her credit for. Even though she had a lot going for her, she didn’t want to work for Max the pompous ass and he didn’t want to hire Aggie the horrible. But, their scheming grandmothers pushed them together in a professional aspect in hopes something personal would spark between them.

Max and Aggie tried to keep things all business, I mean it was only for 2 months, they could handle that right? Wrong!! The passion and sexual tension was oozing and I was here for it!! It most definitely wasn’t all smooth sailing, but they bumps in the road were well worth it in the end!!