I really enjoyed this book! The characters were endearing and the witty banter was well done. I thought Brynn's journey to figure out who she really is and what she really wants in life and Sebastian's work to overcome past traumatic events felt realistic and relatable. I will definitely be reading more books by Bethany Turner!

This was a fun and quick read with one of my favourite tropes in it- enemies to lovers. While there were a few heavier topics touched on it in it, they were handled well and respectfully. I very much enjoyed the small town hijinks and loveable quirky side characters.

Brynn Cornell is Sunup’s morning show host. She has been hyped as America’s sweetheart but she doesn’t feel very sunny at all. The network scripts are fake and so far from the truth, that she has a hard time keeping the fake smile plastered on her face.

<i>”For me, the last ten years have flown by,” I responded. Because that’s what the teleprompter told me to say. Never mind that I could have told stories for days about being passed over for the “fresh face” or “up-and-comer.” About the “good old boy” guys from the network’s club of safe, boring, demographic-approved men like Mark filling the rotating vacant seat on the couch while I kept working hard and paying my dues and smiling sweetly when network executives dangled the “your day is coming” carrot in front of me to keep me happy. </i>

<i>We laughed together in that way only two coworkers who barely know each other but are trying to convince America they are the nearest and dearest of friends can.</i>

When she lets her guard down for one moment and spouts how she truly feels about her home town, the mic was still on and the camera hadn’t switched to commercial, and Brynn has blown up the carefully created image America has of her. So she needs to travel home for some damage control, and meets Sebastian Sudworth, who was in hiding there himself but for reasons that aren’t disclosed at first. It turns out he used to be one of the most widely respected journalists of his time.

I had a bit of difficulty to get through the book because there is often information or background details that make you get distracted from the main story. For example, Sebastian was meeting an elderly man, Doc Atwater, whom he respects, but then you get almost two whole pages on Seb looking up to him as some sort of father figure, but not entirely because his dad was the biggest influence in his life, with the exception of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, but he means actually Robert Redford and Hoffman in their portrayals of the two men scooping the Watergate story in All the President’s Men, because… bla bla bla, but his dad’s influence on his life went even deeper, because bla bla bla. Another example: when the whole tv debacle is discussed in Adelaide Springs, time zones are discussed, you read about the 1960 presidential election and what that has to do with time zones, etc….
I personally like a bit more pace in my books. I like when the story is engaging and makes me having trouble putting it down. That sleeping disorder called reading. ;-)
And I wasn’t quite sold on Brynn and Seb haring each other and then in a matter of days, Seb was entrusting her with his biggest secret, which he hadn’t told anyone for over six years.
So unfortunately the book didn’t really speak to me, but I liked the whole ‘Morning Show’ storyline. And I LOVED the ending. I won’t spoil it, but it is not what you’d expect, and I like that very much!

I absolutely adored this book! Brynn is a very relatable character and her enemies to lovers relationship with Sebastian was on point. Highly recommend.

Full review will be published on tracepreadsandrambles.com and featured on IG at @traceyreadsandrambles

This was such a fun and compelling read. I love Bethany's voice -- as an author she's perfected the contemporary rom com, but what I appreciate is the way she layers in such heart. It would have been easy to leave this as a superficial gal-who-left-town-and-didn't-want-to-return v. the guy-who's-trying-to-hide-and-protect-the-town-that-adopted-him. Instead, the heroine and hero are rich, three dimensional people with reasons that motivate their actions. That carries through to the supporting characters, too. I read this at the same time I was reading another book that stayed on a surface level, so the contrast was so stark.

At the same time, don't think this isn't a fun read. There's all kinds of pop references and just plain fun zaniness. I really enjoyed the trip to Adelaide Springs and the sparring between Brynn and Sebastian -- all the way to the last page. Such a great romance. And one I highly recommend.

A great read. Brynn and Sebastian meet when she is reluctantly back in her home town, needing to win them over but clashing with him in his role as mayor. An enemies to lovers story. I liked how it is told from both points of view.

3 stars.

I think I started liking this book about halfway or two-thirds through! LOL! Turner definitely writes witty, snappy dialogue, and I enjoyed that a lot--but the MC (Brynn) was just not my cup of tea for a bulk of that initial portion of the book. Very negative compared to her on-screen persona, and quick to anger.

Sebastian, I thought, was a great foil to her, and I really enjoyed his story arc and just him as a character. Talk about a slow burn, in every respect, and getting the full story (no pun intended) on his past was powerful.

There were passing faith references to God, prayer, etc., but I would've enjoyed seeing more of this--partly because Thomas Nelson was the publisher, and partly because it would have made both Brynn's and Seb's story arcs more powerful. The book title indicates they hate each other (and they do, more or less, in the book), but their respective changes were a bit on a dime, and very self-focused at the root--no inner Holy Spirit conviction or faith element in that aspect, which I felt was a missed opportunity. And, as Gilmore Girls-esque as much of the pop-culture references were, a few felt a bit too close to the edge (i.e. swooning over Jennifer Aniston's "I am my own soulmate" from a while back).

So, it was an interesting way to while away the time, but I can't say I'd rush into a re-read. This book is more in line with Turner's Hadley Beckett's Next Dish than The Do-Over; I prefer _The Do-Over_, myself.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Being from Colorado, I of course had to read this. I was not disappointed, and its tagline of being a mixture of Parks and Recreation and The Morning Show are entirely correct - its cute, snarky, romantic, and adorable. I loved walking alongside Brynn and Sebastian as they fell for each other. A wonderful four hours of very happy reading. Highly recommended!

I wanted to love this one because the premise sounded so good. But after discovering that the heroine is a mean girl who's proud to be a mean girl and doesn't like her hometown. I knew I wasn't going to like the heroine or relate to her. So I held out hope that I would like the hero. No go he was almost as bad, I normally like the grumpy troupe but he took it to the extreme. It's safe to say that this author is not the author for me.

This book, this book, this book.
This book hit the mark for me in some areas and completely missed it in others.

I think I liked it. But I also almost DNF'd it about 3 times. Maybe it just wasn't for me, but it might be for you!

Where It Hit the Mark:
Small Town Vibes
The Banter
Representation of Anxiety and PTSD (in the form of an adorable dog)

Where It Missed:
The redemption arc - it either felt like everyone forgave Brynn immediately or that the reconciliation took place off the page. Which really missed some character development for me.
Brynn& Sebastian go from straight up hating each other and intentionally irritating the other to...being in love. I just feel like they missed a few steps?
I wish there had been more about Brynn and Sebastians' back stories. I feel like we just grazed the surface and there was so much more.
I also did not understand why Brynn wanted to be on this other news program. She got to hang out with Keanu and interview Meryl on her third rate show - so why leave? If I've learned anything about morning TV (all of which I've learned from the movie Morning Glory), getting A-list stars on your show is how you know you've made it.

Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other by Bethany Turner
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Brynn is the new darling of the morning talk show world. When she makes a mistake on air she is desperate to right it any way possible. Which means going back to her small home town and making nice. This puts her in close contact with Sebastian, who does not want her there.
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What I liked:
-I liked the friction between Brynn and Sebastian. Seeing from both of their perspectives was fun.
-I really liked seeing a little behind the scenes into the reporting world!
-Adelaide Springs was a cool little town and I loved all the characters there.
-This ended super sweet!
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really enjoyed this, it was a fun and sassy romcom with a lot of heart.

Loved it.

I requested this book on NetGalley after I read a few reviews and figured this would be the sort of book I'd like. I liked it even better than I thought.

Brynn ran away from her hometown and hasn't been back in twenty years. And even though the network has been marketing her as all-American small town girl, she has nothing nice to say about her hometown. Which she accidentally does live on television. There is nothing to it, she has to go back to Adelaide Springs and apologize to the people she inadvertently has insulted.

Sebastian is running away too, but he ended up in Adelaide Springs. Though he thinks it's a good idea that Brynn comes to town with a camera so the town can get some free advertising on national television, he certainly doesn't like being stuck with the woman for five days. He dislikes her from the moment she starts to speak to him.

Of course they'll warm up to each other, and I like the way that they did. And I liked the way Brynn got a renewed appreciation for the town and the people she had left behind.

It was a bit distracting that Brynn's chapters were told in first person and Sebastian's were told in third. It made it a bit hard to get close to Sebastian. But then, it was probably fitting for his character that you didn't get close to him.

DNF AT 18%

I physically couldn’t push myself through this book any further.
The female main character was just very insufferable and annoying and I just really didn’t connect with her character.
The main male character was just very very boring and dull
I usually like to reach the 25% mark before DNFing but I didn’t see much more interesting happening in 7%.

So sorry I didn’t enjoy this one as this is the ARC I was looking forward to the most and was most excited for. But I guess not everything will be for everyone.

This was a cute love story with a grumpy meets sunshine storyline. At times the sunshine FMC was a tad over the top, and I can see why the MMC was annoyed with her. At other times the MMC was just plain rude for no reason. Still the story was cute, and I would recommend it.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson for my ARC!

Twenty years ago, Brynn fled Adelaide Springs, changed her name, launched a successful career as a TV morning show host, and never looked back. Now, though, she's been caught badmouthing her hometown on a live TV segment she didn't know was being filmed, and the only way to smooth things over is to go in person to her hometown and make a public apology.

Sebastian is himself a former journalist who moved to Adelaide Springs and became part of its city council in order to live life largely off the grid. He is tasked with accompanying Brynn around town during her stay, but he finds her repugnant, assuming she is superficial and only cares about fame.

As these two Adelaide Springs residents, one former, one present, navigate their PR problem, they also get to know one another better, and before long the sparks that fly are more romantic than snarky, and they both come to find healing for their brokenness.

BRYNN AND SEBASTIAN HATE EACH OTHER is one of the best romances I've read this year. It's clean in the sense that there are no intimate scenes, but like other recent love stories involving fame (e.g., ALL THAT REALLY MATTERS by Nicole Deese and FAMOUS FOR A LIVING by Melissa Ferguson), it explores deep issues of identity, loss, and family. There is nothing superficial about this novel, even when that isn't always true about the characters.

The town of Adelaide Springs is well-developed, and it is inhabited by many fun, quirky small-town folks who react to Brynn in different ways. It was easy to develop strong affection for the supporting cast, and I think the author employed these characters well in bringing out different aspects of Brynn's personality.

I also really enjoyed the dialogue, and the writing style of the author. This is my first Bethany Turner book, but I'm already eyeing her backlist as well as a new book I just saw announced for June 2024, also set in Adelaide Springs, COLE AND LAILA ARE JUST FRIENDS.

I gave this book five stars and I feel like it might turn up on my favorites of the year.

I really didn’t want to DNF this one because I try to stick to books until the end when I’m reviewing them, but I just couldn’t get into it. It was very slow for me, and I couldn’t connect with any of the characters so I stopped reading it midway through. Maybe I’ll give it another try later on but I wasn’t feeling it at the moment.

This was a very good enemies to lovers romance. Brynn had to win me over as well as Sebastian and her town as I didnt like her very much in the beginning. I enjoyed seeing how her character evolved throughout the book.
Many thanks to Thomas Nelson Fiction and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I’m not gonna lie, I was a bit nervous when I started reading Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other by Bethany Turner because I am not a big enemies to more trope lover. I feel like sometimes the author does such a good job of making me not want them to be together, that I can’t root for them in the end. The ones I do like have to be written in a way that somehow makes me still root for and like both of the characters.

Brynn is a snob. She’s also snarky, arrogant and selfish. Normally, I would be out for the count on a character like this, but somehow Ms. Turner wrote her in a way that I never got to the point of hating her. I think the way that Sebastian treated her when she was snarky went a long way to helping me not get to that point. He didn’t put up with her snarky comments and he gave her as good as he got! Brynn is also broken and hurting and watching her change and fall in love with Sebastian was perfection. Speaking of Sebastian, I absolutely loved him! He is kind, real, and loves his town and the people in it. This story also takes place in a relatively short period of time- another type of story I usually don’t care for, but their relationship didn’t feel rushed or unbelievable.

I’m happy to say that I ended up really enjoying this story! My only small complaint is that I felt like the beginning of the story was a tad slow. It took too long for Brynn and Sebastian to be on the page together. Other than that, I loved this story and the epilogue was perfect!!!

I received a complimentary copy of this story. All opinions are my own. This is a clean read. 4.5 stars!

Unfortunately did not like this book at all. From the blurb I thought it would be a great read however it was executed poorly. Brynn is absolutely terrible and nothing she does throughout the book redeems her at all. The two characters hate each other for about 70% of the book and then suddenly fall in love

My all time favorite trope is enemy to lovers so I knew I needed to read this book!

Overall, I enjoyed it!