After YEARS of working her butt off to achieve her dream and becoming a news anchor on a national daily tv show, Brynn watches it all come crashing down when negative comments she made to her co-host are aired live.
I found Brynn very relatable and likeable, and loved watching her story and romance with Seb unfold. I loved the witty banter between the two main characters and I also felt that the author accurately captured life in a very small town, somehow managing to make it feel familiar. The author creates a story that is engaging and easy to be swept up in, setting the scene beautifully and developing the characters well. Overall, it was an uplifting, fun read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A massive thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in return for my honest review. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I loved the way Brynn and Sebastian started hating each other and the buildup to them getting to know each other. I was so engrossed in Brynn’s reunion with her people I shed a few tears, it was an emotional moment. The writing is fantastic. A really good confort read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I wish I had more to say than this, but the whole enemies to lovers plot wasn’t really well executed. Their banter was annoying and I felt no connection to any of the characters whatsoever.
I skimmed about half of the book because I got pretty fed up with the story.

4.25/5 stars

Bethany Turner always delivers funny, sweet romance. In this case, there’s Brynn, the co-host of a very popular morning show (think Today show), who is the golden girl until a technical mistake threatens to take it all away. As she is forced to return to her small Colorado hometown (to face bad memories that she ran from and friends that she deserted), she must come face-to-face with who and what she’s become and who she really is. Sebastian is a former high-profile Pulitzer-prize winning international reporter who disappeared from the scene six years before while at the top of his game. He has found solace/healing and anonymity in the small town of Adelaide Springs. When these two meet, it’s hate at first sight. As they begin to understand each other’s past ordeals, they find they have more in common than they thought.

As I said Turner’s humor is a big draw for me as well as her well-drawn, empathetic characters. She consistently delivers entertaining, fun and lovable stories. My only irritant in this one was Brynn’s initial personality traits. She was a bit whiny, bossy and self-absorbed. But I know this was necessary for the storyline to be able to fully realize her growth as her tv persona surrendered to her hometown’s pull. Sebastian is simply wonderful, period.

Another winner from Ms. Turner.

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for providing the free early arc of Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other: A Love Story for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

This was a very sweet and fun read. Unfortunately, a lot of the story fell flat and felt forced. I didn’t feel the spark between the characters in this enemies to lovers romance. They went from really disliking each other to missing—no fun banter or interactions that felt like they’d developed feelings for each other.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this arc.

I DNF this book at about 37%. I just wasn’t able to get through it- I found the back and forth to be a bit juvenile and felt no connection to the characters.

I liked some things about this book, but overall it wasn't my favorite because I found the FMC SO unlikable in the beginning that even after her backstory was explained, I couldn't work my way around to liking her. The storyline was cute and I loved the setting, but the characters needed to be a little more likable.

This is a tough one to review. I've really enjoyed BT's past books (Hadley Beckett's Next Dish was so fun and Henry from The Do-Over is *chef's kiss*) so when I started skimming at 50% and then decided to DNF at 60% I was pretty upset. I had high hopes because of the synopsis; I love the enemies to more trope and Parks & Rec is one of my favorite shows, but it just felt like nothing was happening. There was so much internal monologuing that didn't add anything to the overall story in my opinion and at 50% through the book only a cumulative 3 days had passed with the 2 MC's already starting to transition to the more in enemies to more...so we went from enemies at first sight to insta-love after 2 days... *sigh*
Brynn was also not my favorite. I understand wanting to get out of a small town, but I wish more of her background had been divulged earlier or just that there were more details about it because Brynn's awful and selfish attitude did not endear me to her. She seemed very fake, and I understand there being a persona for the TV and that as a woman she needs to do/act certain ways to get ahead in a male dominated field, blah blah blah, but if I'm not rooting for the MC within the first 5 chapters...that's a problem. I know characters need to change and have an arc throughout the story, but a reader should see the character at least wanting to change (and not just to save their job. It never seemed like Brynn wanted to change. She just wanted to look good again to people. And maybe that changes in the second half of the book and I missed it because I didn't finish, but again, I just didn't really like her.)
Sebastian was a better character. I wanted more of his backstory. I was interested in why he quit journalism, but not enough to finish it. Orly was my favorite character honestly. I loved how he was put in the middle of Brynn and Sebastian and his reactions to both that and the very Protestant, very white town. Also, the cover was super cute! I think the idea of a colonial themed town in CO was also pretty funny! (Weird, sure, but quirky in a good way.)
Overall, I was disappointed with this book. I really enjoyed some of BT's previous books and maybe one day I'll even come back to it and try again. Hopefully this one finds readers who do love it.

this was okay, but read a little juvenile and i didn't feel connected to the characters or what happens to them at all. i can see other reader enjoying this a lot tho!

— thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the free digital ARC.

This was a sweet romance in a small mountain town which can be some of my favorite. I loved the town setting and a lot of the people and friends in the town but this fell short for me because I never really felt a connection to Brynn. I know she went through some trying times in her past but she really wasn’t that likable to me and the growth she had happened so quickly that I didn’t find it believable. Sebastian was nice enough but I really didn’t feel like there was any chemistry between him and Brynn. I really liked the friends that Brynn had grown up with in Adelaide Springs, Laila and Cole, and also her camera man, Orly. I really loved how caring and down to earth they all were. Overall this was a decent read for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

Put this one down at 25%. I could not connect with the characters, the setting, or the writing. I don't know if it was because there were too many characters out the gates or if it was something else, but I gave this one 2 weeks and after finding reason to do every other thing in my house besides read this book, I decided to move on to the next. Bummer because this is usually a trope I like and a publisher I enjoy, too.

The concept of this book sounded so fun and enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes, unfortunately, this Turner book just didn’t work out well for me. For starters, I disliked our main female protagonist, Brynn. At no point in this book did I warm up to her and her bratty personality. Additionally, the enemies to lovers plot that was heavily toted in the synopsis just didn’t pan out. Once Brynn and Sebastian are around each other, it is basically a pretty instant attraction. Another issue for me is the pacing. The first half of this book is a slog to get through whereas the second half is almost Hallmark like in its pacing and storytelling. All in all, while an okay read, it is rather forgettable and bland.

When morning news anchor Brynn has a hot mic moment disparaging her hometown, she has to go on major damage control mode. She returns to that hometown, Adelaide Springs Colorado, and immediately encounters a grumpy auto mechanic who everyone else seems to love. Brynn and Sebastian are enemies at first sight, though, and he will do whatever it takes to ensure her redemption tour is as difficult as possible.

I usually love enemies to lovers but this one wasn’t a huge hit for me. Brynn was not a loveable character for much of the book and I wasn’t a huge fan of Sebastian either. I didn’t love the way the dual pov worked, with Brynn’s being in first person and Sebastian’s in third. It disrupted the flow of the story for me a bit.

All in all this one was just okay for me, but you might love it if you love: 📰 celebrity news anchors 🌅 behind the scenes at a morning news show 👨‍🔧 grumpy former television journalists working as small town mechanics ⚓️ perfect on the surface but actually flawed heroines 🎥 abundant pop culture reference 😈 insta hate to love 🗞️ lots of national news figure name dropping

Brynn has left her small hometown 20 years ago and never looked back. Now she is co-host on a nationwide morning show and by mistake bitches about said hometown on the air. In order to keep her job she returns to Adelaide and hopes when the people there will forgive her the rest of America will follow. Of course she didn't think that she would have to deal with Sebastian who came to town after she left and instantly dislikes her.

As much as I wanted to like the story and the characters I just didn't. Brynn was as selfish, self-absorbed and unlikable as they come. Sebastian was not as bad but still not really relatable. And the whole story was just implausible: she comes back after having insulted basically everybody at home and she doesn't even say sorry but anyway everybody just forgives her after seing her in person? Also how she and Sebastian turn from hate to attracting within one conversation? Just sooo unbelievable! I really had to force myself to keep reading but the book just wasn't for me.

This book had fun characters. I loved the banter between the main characters and I loved the enemies to lovers. A must read book!

Thank you NetGalley for the arc of this book.

It was a pretty cute quick romcom with strong hallmark vibes, that you will feel from the very first page. Thank you, NetGalley for this arc copy. I really love the small town setting and enemies to lovers so I found it here. it was definitely a very cute good novel that can be read quickly but I can't say I'm totally in love because for me there were a couple of cons here that lowered my rating. I liked the relationship between the main characters, their conversations, emotions. But maybe I didn’t have enough smoothness of the transition from enemies to lovers, because it all happened quite quickly and abruptly. All in all, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to light-reading lovers.

2 stars for this opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine, small town, forced proximity enemies to lovers "love story."

I adore the enemies to lovers, forced proximity, and grumpy/sunshine tropes, but "Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other" by Bethany Turner didn't capture my interest. It feels like nothing consequential happens until well over 75% into the story. My main issue with this book is it is exceedingly difficult to connect to or care about these characters. The first chapter sets the tone for the entire book, and it also sets up Brynn as a character. Brynn is rude, annoying, selfish, and as much as I hate to say it, not so bright. I did not bond with her as a character at all. Sebastian has a chip on his shoulder that hardly dissipates, even with time. He's bossy and arrogant, and though I was able to identify with him the longer the book went on, I still didn't love him as a main male character. I appreciate the h3ll out of characters with their flaws on full display, but to me, these two individuals feel like they are all flaws. I never felt any chemistry between Brynn and Sebastian, which is the entire point of a love story. Without that, what's the point? Even when there are instances where readers are supposed to feel this immense connection between them as they (VERY VERY VERY SLOWLY) warm up to one another the longer they work together, I felt absolutely nothing. That's another thing: Brynn and Sebastian go from loathing each other to loving each other in the span of what feels like five minutes! What?! Where's the mystery and build-up? Where's the intrigue? Where's the pining? I got none of that here. There are also so many side characters within the town of Adelaide Springs, CO that I started to get confused as to who was who. The entire novel revolves around Brynn atoning in person for her on-screen television news faux pas where she talked badly about Adelaide Springs on a hot mic. Once she gets there, she wants to help revive the town's "township days" and promote it on the news to help revive the town in some way. This entire plot point ends with a fizzle. It's also bizarre that only Brynn has a first-person point of view, while Sebsatian's takes place in the third person. It was jarring to go back and forth and I never really got used to it. I think this story could have worked better as a novella, but as it stands, it is much too long and far too boring for a full-length text. I HAVE TO stop picking and choosing books based on their cutesy names and covers because I have been burned so many times lately. Skip this one.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas Nelson, and Bethany Turner for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

A quippy and fresh enemies to lovers story that I gobbled in one sitting on a flight. Turner's smart humour undercut with resonant emotional tones of self discovery and belonging play out in a wonderfully tropey way. Fans of Tessa Bailey and Emily Henry will love this atmospheric new Turner read!

I really enjoyed this enemies to lovers, small town romance that sees a big shot morning show host trying to recover her reputation after accidentally bashing her tiny Colorado hometown live on air.

Brynn hasn't been back home in YEARS and doesn't even know if anyone there will welcome her return but she has one chance to redeem herself if she can convince the town to forgive her. She gets off on the wrong foot right away though when she keeps saying the wrong things around Sebastian, the man acting as her chauffeur.

Slowly Brynn and Sebastian start to warm up to one another as she tries to convince him the town should revive a beloved Festival tradition. While I felt their romance went from zero to insta love a little too fast for my tastes the two did have great banter and chemistry and helped one another realize happiness is possible if you take a chance on trying something new.

Good on audio with a fun epilogue. This is perfect for fans of authors like Sarah Adams or Courtney Walsh. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Steam level: kissing only

I discovered Bethany Turner a few years ago, and have read and adored all of her novels. I always look forward to a new one. She uses her Instagram page to build excitement really well, but I'd be excited anyway. I had been looking forward to this one for a while and treated myself to it Mother's Day weekend. BASHEO (what a fun acronym!) has characteristic Turner humor, good pacing, well-drawn characters, and the back-and-forth readers love to follow on the way to a couple getting together. This novel shows Turner growing even more as a writer, delving into deeper issues, but keeping the story at the heart. I was bummed when it ended, which is the sign of a good read!

I also appreciated the presence of a Catholic character in this book. In one of Turner's earlier novels, there is another Catholic character, who is not someone we're meant to like. Some of the commentary about the character felt, to me, to comment more on Catholicism than on that character in particular, and it stung to read, like a friend was insulting my faith. I was this close to writing what I meant to be a charitable fraternal correction to the author, but never did. The character in this novel--a semi-background character we are meant to like, who has a strong sense of family and generosity--read to me like an apology or a making amends for the previous character, who the author might have used to go too far with her own opinions. I may be reading too much into this, but if this character was a way to say, sorry, I messed up, I'd say all is forgiven.