Ruby Taylor, former pageant queen, reluctantly takes the stage again but this time it’s to show a friends Golden Retriever, Wheezy, that is adorable but extremely lazy. Spencer Wilson is a veterinarian and runs the show they will be entering. It’s clear that Ruby is in over her head but when Spencer advises her to quit, Ruby’s competitive nature shows itself and increases the tension between the two.

This rom-com follows the classic enemies to lovers trope and it gets spicy along the way. While I thought the bases for the story was cute, it seemed slow and a little boring. Not much happened in terms of plot development. It wasn’t bad, just not my cup of tea.

🦮Review🦮

Spencer is a show dog judge and Ruby enters her under-qualified dog into the contest. Ruby and Spencer don’t see eye to eye along the way, but Ruby is determined to still have the dog compete.

It was cute. Another happily ever after romance. This was a pretty light read— if you’re into discussions about pageants and dog shows, and rebellious elderly folks in a retirement home, this book is for you.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: 4/5

WOW! I loved this audiobook so much! I did not expect this book to have steamy scenes! (I loved it though!) I loved this book so much that I went and bought it to have as a physical copy. What’s not to love? There’s dogs, a book club where they only read erotica, a grumpy/sunshine trope, enemies to lovers, and a strong heroine! Ugh Ruby and Spencer have my heart.

Not going to lie, I was expecting something completely different than what I got and that’s not a bad thing at all. The narrators made this a fun and light audiobook. For me, it’s usually hit or miss with audiobooks when it comes to their voices, but they did such a good job! I highly recommend this audiobook if you love rom coms!

5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I would definitely be recommending this book to readers on my Instagram bookstagram account.

A cheerful ex-beauty queen and a stuck-up vet collide in this romcom set at a dog show. Sound interesting? It caught my eye too. This is a fun, wholesome romance (with 2ish spicy scenes dropped in).

Overall, I enjoyed the story. It’s got a great cast of characters, but I did not feel the chemistry between our two leads. There’s also LOTS going on - every side character seemed to have their own arc. I think my favorite part is the ladies at the retirement community who are a part of an erotica book club. Sign me up for one of those in a few decades!

Recommended if you like:
-dogs (duh)
-grumpy/sunshine
-enemies-to-lovers
-open door romance
-meddling & sassy elderly friends

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook copy. I Hate You More is out now!

This was a super cute book and I really enjoyed it. The narrators were great, I liked the characters and I loved Weezey (the golden retriever). Th characters were well developed with a lot of depth and backstory. The overall story is a bit ridiculous with a former beauty queen trying to get a dog into a dog show who clearly has no business being there. But it did make for some funny moments. It was also an enemies to lovers which I always enjoy.

This was so adorable I loved it! If you're looking for a cute romance novel then I would most certainly recommend you give this one a try you won't regret it.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for providing me with arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It was the right balance between spicy and wholesome, the characters were likeable and even though I didn't like the relationship of the MC and her mother and she kept defending her, I could understand why which says a lot about the character development in the book.

If you want a nice romance to read, you should pick this one up!

I love the setting of the dog world and training a less-than-willing dog for the show ring. Wheezy is a delight and I really enjoyed his antics. However, Ruby and Spencer were boring. I didn’t feel their attraction so it was difficult to get invested in their story. It wasn’t that they weren’t likeable. I found Ruby’s background in pageants interesting but there was never a spark between them; even when they met, it seemed somewhat tame. This one just didn’t work for me.

I'm a sucker for a book with a dog on the cover, and sometimes it works out, but other times it's just fine. Unfortunately this was the latter. I had a really hard time feeling a connection with this book and characters. I didn't really buy the chemistry between the love interests and really couldn't tell at times which brother Ruby was interested in. I was also frustrated that she lied almost the entire time and for no good reason.

That said, the audio was fantastically done. Both narrators were great. I think that's the only reason I was able to keep going.

What I liked - I listened to the audio. I love when there is more than 1 narrator.

What I didn’t like- I didn’t like that ruby was lying throughout the whole book. The double standards were frustrating.

Favorite character - I loved the old folks. And especially the book club.

Overall a cute book something just felt disconnected. I’d be interested in reading more by this author.

Thank you so much to @NetGalley and @SourcebooksCasablanca the copies of this book that were shared with me.

I had such high hopes for this book. First of all there are adorable puppies on this cover and hot twin brothers? I am was in. Unfortunately this was a firm DNF from me.

For some reason there was absolutely no chemistry between the main character and either two of the love interests at the beginning. The author pits the two brother’s against each other in a weird love triangle where both of the brothers hate each other.

Top that off with the most annoying scene ever where our lead takes her shirt off after just talking about how she doesn’t want to just been seen for her good looks and then gets offended when the guy doesn’t immediately fall all over himself for her… it was ridiculous and I had to stop there.

I received an audio arc from Netgalley and an e-arc from Edelweiss of I Hate You More by Lucy Gilmore in exchange for an honest review.
I thought this story was so cute and fluffy and loved all the puppies (especially Wheezy <3). Spencer and Ruby had this enemies/dislike to lovers thing going on, I don't know if I would go as far as hate, and not sure if the title "I Hate You More" fully describes the story. But I did like the tension between Spencer and Ruby, they had a lot of sweet moments and some steamy moments too 0.0.
Ruby works at a retirement community, which reminded me a little of Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne.
I think that if you're looking for a quick cute read with good tension in the romance and a little grumpy sunshine, this is a good pick.
3 stars.

This was an ARC audiobook and it was adorable. I have not read a book about a dog show before. I love love stories and dogs so this book was perfect for me. The attraction between Spencer and Ruby is off the charts. I blushed many times listening to this book. I will definitely encourage my friends to read it.

I loved this audiobook. I enjoyed both the female and male narrators and thought that added something special to the text. I'm a huge enemies to lovers fan, so this one was right up my alley. I can't say I ever thought a dog show would interest me, but Ruby and Spencer had great chemistry and the cast of side characters, including Spencer's twin brother also added to the fun of this book. It's a sweet little piece of fluff if you're looking to listen to something low stakes and fun.

This story is sweet and sexy in equal measure. It’s full of charming characters, including Wheezy the dog! I enjoyed the dynamic between Ruby and Spencer, especially how she caused him to loosen up and come undone a bit. I think, overall, the story lacked detail that made the characters have depth. It was a fun listen, but ultimately forgettable. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC to review.

I Hate You More is the story of an ex-pageant queen who enters a dog into a dog show and falls for the aloof serious dog show judge and vet. I really liked the character of Ruby and Spencer, but there were some parts that I thought were a little weird and the issues between the two main characters seem like they are blown up. Otherwise, the book was enjoyable to listen to and the narrators were great.

Who would have thought that so much drama and romance could brew around a dog show? In "I Hate You More", Gilmore has created a host of characters and a plot that keeps readers entertained and wanting to keep reading. The characters are not only fully formed, but even the dogs are truly brought to life and entertaining. If I could only make one request of Gilmore, it would be to have her next novel take place at the nursing home in "I Hate You More."

(3.5 stars)

Ruby and Spencer's relationship started out with a lot of tension and animosity, but they quickly came around. The respect and admiration (and not to mention attraction) they found for each other was really sweet. They both had some baggage they were working through, and I liked how their relationship helped them to process their feelings. There were some complicated family dynamics for both of them to navigate, and it was nice that they had each other's support. Also, the audiobook narrators did a great job and kept me very engaged in the story.

The competitive nature between Spencer and Caleb also transferred to Spencer and Ruby, especially with her trying to prove to him that Wheezy was more than a fat, lazy dog. (Honestly, not really - but I loved him anyway! And I felt sorry for the naughty pup when he was high af. Pot dogs are not fun.) It was so funny that he judged the poor dog so harshly and then gave him secret treats anyway!

As a vet, I was pleased with how accurate the vet and animal stuff was (I can't speak for the dog show world stuff as that is really not my thing). Books that try to have "hot vets" in them often leave out the medical accuracy, but thankfully this author did her research!

"He cleared his throat and forced himself to think of expressing anal glands and removing embedded maggots instead. He had to go to the darkest side of veterinary care."

The humor and emotional connections shared between Spencer and Ruby added a nice amount of substance to the fun plot line with training Wheezy and the dog show. Mrs. Orson and the other elderly residents also added plenty of humor to the mix. (Their erotica book club had me smiling so hard.) I didn't appreciate how long Ruby's lie about her job went on. I wish she would have trusted Spencer more. I also would have liked a bit less of the story to focus on Caleb, as it took the spotlight away from Ruby and Spencer. Thankfully, all the (important) supporting characters were well-written and had interesting dynamics with the main couple, so it didn't feel too off-putting to have them featured so much. This one gets a high-paw and tail wag from me!

I Hate You More is a fun and steamy enemies to lovers romance featuring a grumpy dog show judge and a former beauty queen who is determined to get her friend’s naughty golden retriever to win the show.

Any book with a dog on the cover automatically grabs my attention. I’m glad I grabbed this one because it was so much fun! There was a ton of snarky banner, very spicy chemistry and lots of steamy scenes, and of course, PUPPIES! It has its share of emotional moments and family tension to round it out, and those moments really gave the characters some emotional depth.

Overall, loved the sass and sarcasm, the love, and the pups. Of course.

The audiobook was great. It had two narrators which made it easy to keep track of whose perspective we were getting. I thought both narrators were great and really enjoyed this audiobook.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the advanced copy!