I'm not opposed to an alpha male but this one didn't seem to fit. Misunderstood bad boy Ben Crawford returns to town to make amends. He's been in the military, and now he's the new Sheriff of his hometown. His nemesis, Olivia, was the recipient of his bullying behaviour but now she's grown up and moved on from her parents' divorce. Except she can't understand why her dad ran off with Ben's mother. Ben had all the makings of a hero, except the author let his sexual appetite override his personality. Frankly, it was disappointing. I started out loving the banter. But then I got hit with lines like, "Sit on it. Come ride your man" and all his character development went out the window. It's too bad. This one could have been good.

This book was such a delightful surprise! I enjoyed it so much, I was laughing out loud and giggling like a school girl! Also, Ben? In love with him!

I’d say the start was a little slow, but once I got into this book I couldn’t put it down. The spice is a 10/10 and the plot is sweet. Really liked this one and would definitely recommend it!

This was a fun and easy read! It’s a pretty straight-forward enemies-to-lovers/second-chance-romance with some angst and family drama sprinkled in. The chemistry between Ben and Olivia was really good. Their entire backstory actually sets up a really interesting dynamic between them, but I do wish it got explored more. I feel like the parts of the story I was more interested in were kind of sidelined to make time for emphasizing how attracted these two were to each other (which, I guess is fair). The enemies part of their relationship fizzles out pretty quickly, and it did feel a little too cliche in some moments like how the liar reveal scene played out and the subsequent third act breakup.

Overall if you like bantering couples and the forced proximity trope you’ll probably enjoy it fine!

This book was so cute and funny, I really enjoyed reading it! The first meeting between these two high school nemeses was so creative and started the book off beautifully... and if that was me I would never leave my house again *insert sweating emoji here* I love a good enemies to lovers but enemies with benefits!?!?! Thats even Better!! Olivia is such a strong FMC and I loved seeing her grow as well as seeing Ben grow with her both as a person and together in a relationship. This book makes me want to read more books by Melanie Munton!!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

A great book about childhood enemies to lovers. I could feel the tension in the story

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange of an honest review

i know the review is a bit late but yeah better late than never

this story is about ben and olivia who were rivals in high school and who reunited a few years later. they pretend to still hate each other but they can’t deny their chemistry.

this book was cute, i enjoyed the couple and the writing was good. if you are a fan of hate banter i think you’ll really like the dynamic of olivia and ben.

i wish we could’ve seen them date a bit more bc i feel like it was rushed in a way

overall this isn’t my favourite book but i didn’t hate it either. its also my first book by this author but i might give her a try again

After having a particularly bad month involving shifting between two states, multiple meltdowns due to said shift and an unreasonable number of deadlines in an inadequate amount of time, Reasons Why Not to Date Your Nemesis looked like the perfect book to cozy up with! After all, it's enemies to lovers.

I was a little disappointed.

No, a lot disappointed.

DNF'ed at 42%

Reasons Why Not to Date Your Nemesis had it all in theory.

Ben and Olivia, our main characters, were enemies when they were children. After a scandal involving Olivia's father and Ben's mother, the two's respective parents left. Considering their small town, the gossip was difficult to handle, and the experience was traumatic for Olivia and Ben, who were increasingly hostile towards each other.

Now, almost more than a decade letter, Ben's returned back to their small town from the Marines and Olivia's ready to take over her aunt's inn besides her job as a massagist. Both are disturbed and both have their complications. Through accidental meetings and bad timing, sparks fly whenever they do meet.

Which is where my problems started:

First of all, the sexual tension was hardly palpable. It was horribly frustrating to watch the two lust over each other and have it called as sexual chemistry.
Second, Olivia and Ben were extremely immature. Especially Olivia. She had plenty of emotional depth, but the execution of her character was poorly done. It was annoying to say the least.
Third, the introduction was ...disturbing. We watched Olivia lust over the customer (who thankfully, turned out to be Ben) she was massaging. Again. It's misleading to confuse creepy lusting with sexual tension.
Fourth, their friends sounded extremely two dimensional. Like they had no other life besides cheering for our respective protagonists whenever the cheering was called for.

Even still, there were elements I liked.

The small-town aesthetic was portrayed well and enjoyable and two side characters, Maggie and Finn, have piqued my interest. Their story sounded better than Olivia and Ben's.

And that's about it.

I would like to thank Netgally and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"Reasons Why Not to Date Your Nemesis," by Melanie Munton was a pretty cute read. I think that the plot was a bit lacking; however it did not lack in spice. I wish that the author had a little more build up to the smutty parts but overall, it was a pretty easy, satisfying read. #ReasonsWhyNottoDateYourNemesis #NetGalley

Read this one if: you love character driven stories, steamy scenes, enemies to lovers, small town vibes, dominant type men
Skip this one if: you prefer plot driven stories,

Ben and Olivia both grew up in a small beach town where everyone knows each others business. So when Olivia's dad ran off with Bens mom abandoning their families, they became the towns favorite piece of gossip. Ben and Olivia became mortal enemies each blaming the other for the chaos that had become their lives. For Ben that meant leaving the moment he turned 18 and joining the military and Olivia leaving town for college. Years later Olivia is back running her aunts bed and breakfast and Ben decides to come back as the new sheriff. Ben returning to town threw off Olivia, she doesn't know how to act with him around again, and her hatred of Ben doesn't seem to have disappeared over the years, its still as violent as it was when they were young. When her fiery hatred for him starts turning less stabby and more friendly she doesn't know how to feel. Will their hateful fire die down or will the fire turn into a different kind of heat?

I really enjoyed Ben's character, he was a misunderstood guy who's trying to right his past by doing something good for his hometown. Part of that was trying to fix whatever was going on between him and Olivia. I did really enjoy some of their banter. They loved pushing each others buttons and seeing how far they go which was relatively entertaining.

I however didn't really care for Olivia. She was supposed to be a flawed character, they both were. But I kind of found her annoying. I know everyone recovers from trauma differently but the reasons that she held grudges for over 10 years was a little much. I also struggled with the pacing in this one and considered DNFing it at about 50% but I pressed on. I'm glad I finished it but at times it was a struggle. I think this more of a me thing than the book though. I just don't do well with character driven stories that focus more on the day to day life of characters. I need things to happen, other than spicy scenes which were plentiful. If a continuous loop of spice is enough to keep you engaged you probably won't have the pacing problem that I did!

Thanks to NetGalley and the Author for the e-version of this title for review. The opinions presented are all my own!

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read an ARC of "Reasons Why Not to Date Your Nemesis" written by Melanie Munton. It was released on October 4th, 2022!

Overall, I rated this novel 4/5 stars!

This book centers around Olivia and Ben, who have been academic rivals/enemies ever since they were in school. This is the 2nd novel in the Shell Grove series - and the first one did not disappoint - neither did this one! You will definitely be enticed to read about what went down when the two of these characters were teenagers, and how they grow throughout the novel. This book has wonderful banter and you'll definitely want to find out what Ben's big secret is!

You know sometimes there is a book that just comes longs and steals your heart.. this one is mine. I fell in love with the small beach town of Shell Grove in the book before this one but I absolutely fell in love with Ben & Liv's story.
If you love a
*small town romance
*enemies to loves
*second chances
*laugh out loud banter
*and some serious HOT HOT steamy scenes
pick up this book!!

Even tho this book is part of a series you can 100% read as a stand alone but honestly do yourself a favor and jump into this series you will not regret it one bit!

I just loved how we got to see why Ben & Liv were sworn enemies and fought every chance they got. But as the story went on we learned not everything was as it seems that each of them had been dealing with the break up of their families in different ways. I loved how the author took us on their journey of self growth and finding love. I would read this book over again.

Mia's the sweetheart everyone in her small town loves. She's working at the local resort that's been opened, the resort that has most of the town up in arms. But she needs to pay the bills, so this is her current lot in life. Then a gorgeous, grumpy suit comes along and turns her world upside down. Or more accurately, she turns his world upside down, with one glimpse. All she wants to do is get a smile out of him. All he wants is her. And he means to have her, which is looking good when she pitches him an idea that will require them to work together quite closely.

I love grumpy/sunshine, when done with wit and some fun like Melanie did here with Aiden and Mia. He's focused and closed up, she's sweet and loving, and together the two generate serious sparks. I can't wait to read the next couple who fall in love in this small town series.

Reasons Why Not to Date Your Nemesis is an enemies to lovers romance novel. Olivia and Ben are arch-nemesis ever since high school due to some family drama. Olivia came back to Shell Grove after college to run her family B&B and Ben came back after serving in the Marines. They meet again by happenstance and that is where the story begins. I loved Olivia’s personality and her sharp comebacks. Her and Ben’s chemistry is well written and you can easily follow their love story. This is a slightly spicy romcom that I would highly recommend for anyone looking to fall in love and be entertained. I did learn this is the 2nd book in The Shell Grove series, however you do not need to read the 1st to understand this one. It only makes me want to go back and read the 1st! This was my first Melanie Munton novel and I plan to read more!

Thank you NetGalley and Melanie Munton for sending this book for review considerations. All opinions are my own.

Olivia Knight gets an unpleasant surprise when her long time nemesis, Ben Crawford returns to Shell Grove as sheriff after 12 years of being gone. As the long time saying stands, “there’s a thin line between love and hate”.

This book is an enemies to lovers DREAM. The tension between the two main characters in this book is beautifully written. The progression from enemies to just hooking up to in love felt so natural.

The backstory of what happened between Ben and Olivia’s family was tragic and the anticipation leading up to Ben’s secret was KILLING me.

Overall, loved this book and i will be purchasing the first of the series!!

Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Thank you Netgalley for giving me an ARC in return for my honest review.

thanks netgalley for letting me read this book it was a fun rom com enemies to lovers and they definitely had lots of chemystry like so much and i loved to get to know the characters as a couple but also apart

Thanks to Netgalley and Xpresso Book Tours for the E-ARC. Im not even gonna lie this was a solid 3 for me for a quick minute. The fighting btw the MC's was starting to get on my nerves but then the redeemed themselves and this was a solid 4. The fighting toned down and I could enjoy the story of Olivia and Ben as a couple and as individuals. This like the MC's proved that change can happen and its a good change.

received this book as an arc from NetGalley in return for a voluntary review.
This book started off strong , I loved the banter between Olivia and Ben . They grew up together but she always thought he hated her due to always picking on her until an event broke her world and shattered her heart .
Ten years later she is still picking up the pieces but has a grudge she needs to let go of in order to be happy.
Ben is now the sheriff and she runs the local bed and breakfast. They can have a no strings affair .
Ben can’t move forward until he shares the secret he has been keeping. Can they move on from it or has he lost her forever. The problem is what happens when it turns into more ?

When it comes to "Reasons Why Not to Date Your Nemesis" by Melanie Muton, there are only three words to describe it, funny, heartwarming, and steamy, this was the first book I ever read and now I'm a huge fan, and want to read all of her books now. This story following Olivia and Ben has everything I wanted, enemy to lovers, small-town romance, and dirty talking hero, like sign me up for the next one. With Oliva as a female main character, she was very enjoyable to read to me because I feel like I connected with her on some level that she hid from her past and did not want to acknowledge that it was there. As far as Ben goes for male main characters he had everything you want in a male main character that is a possessive man with a dark past. Now when it comes to the actual plot of the book I loved the idea of how they had a backstory that did not include them and focused on how their parents changed everything for them in the future and made them who they are today that lead to them falling in love with each other. Now do I agree with the way Oliva's father left her no I do not, but he made himself likable for the fact he was able to acknowledge that he did not leave the way he should have and wanted to build a relationship with his daughter after the pain he caused her to deal with alone. When it comes to Ben's mother I really did not want to like her but Ben made her likable because he took the blame for her and Olibva's dad leaving together and did not place the blame on either parent. The banter that these two had was something I have never read before that was some next-level banter between these two which made this book a must-read. The steam that was in the book was sauna levels that I have not had in a while which made me get new ideas for the bedroom that I might introduce. This book's spice I would say is a 3 chili pepper spice because I say that was middle ground and this had a little spice but not overbearing on the level it got in the bedroom. I'm giving this book a 4 out of 5 stars because it had everything I needed to read there but the reason for not getting that last star is because of how there was a 3/4 way through break up that could have been avoided if Ben just told her the truth about what happened in the past. I would like to say a thank you to Net Galley and Xpresso Book Tour for the opportunity to review this book.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5022894998?book_show_action=false

I really enjoyed that Ben and Olivia's connection was deeper than most romance novels. They both had been through something difficult and were able to connect on a more deeper level.