This book did not work for me. The main character was unlikable for most of the book which caused me to never really like her even in the end. I did not care for the overall idea.

I feel like this book focused too much on the tropes and not enough on actually executing them properly. I typically love enemies to lovers, but this felt forced and the characters were not likeable. I want to root for the characters, both together and separately, when I read a romcom… I just didn’t find myself caring about them in this.

Reasons to read:
- Hate to love trope
- Complex characters
- Small town
– Hallmark movie vibes

My Thoughts:

My first book by Bethany Turner, Brynn, and Sebastian Hate Each Other was an entertaining story about family, friendship, and discovering what you want from your future by learning from your past.

Sebastian did remind me of a hallmark man lead, beloved by the town, handsome, and successful. What grounded this character for me was that Sebastian had a difficult past, and while he dealt with it in a good way, it did rear its head every once in a while. I appreciated how he opened up around Brynn and understood her. I grew to love Byrnn. She was as Sebastian described, complex. She was not a traditional female lead and may have come off as difficult, but she had her moments of emotion and empathy which softened me to her. I found her personality to be a refreshing shift from what I normally read, and I loved the way she and Sebastion grew to understand each other.

The initial meeting between Brynn and Sebastian and their ensuing battles delivered on the feelings of loathing. I liked how they began to notice each other. I enjoyed their shift to romance and could easily picture their life together. While I would have liked to see more of the romance, I liked how the author chose to focus on the growth of the characters and give them a moment to figure out their own lives. The ending was sweet! I could see the potential for more stories about the townspeople and would be excited to read them.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 :
Romance: Kissing only
Trigger warning: Brief mentions of war violence

*I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

This book was not what I expected. I wanted an enemies to lovers story but the main characters were so boring. Brynn was so rude throughout the whole book and I could not get into it.

I love enemies to lovers and grumpy meets sunshine trope and this book had it all. The main characters were okay, I did not really like the female lead and found her character to be annoying at times. But in the later part of the novel I like the side characters and found it sweet.

This is suppose to be a grumpy sunshine book but I felt like Brynn was just plain mean. It was short cute read. But the enemies to lovers aspect felt more like dislike to lovers

This was an enjoyable, easy read. I particularly enjoyed the inciting incident that led to Brynn having to return to her hometown, but did struggle with the many pop culture references throughout this book - I didn't get a lot of the references and they took me out of the story somewhat. I also expected more from the "hate to love" aspect of this book but it felt like they fell for each other very quickly. However, I did enjoy Brynn's relationships with some of the secondary characters and her attempts to reconcile with the townsfolk, and I thought the mountain town setting was well realised.

This one was just ok - fun premise, mildly interesting characters, but the conclusion felt rushed. Solid three stars for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
I'm a huge fan of Enemies to Lovers and this book, while it was not a fav, it was still quite enjoyable.
If you are looking for a quick and fun read, this is it.
I enjoyed the second half of the book more. Even though this book wasn't perfect, I'm still recommending it.

After making her too honest opinions about her humble hometown public on national television America's Sweetheart Brynn Cornell is in hot water and hoping to make amends.

Travelling back to her hometown she is forced to face her past, and a handsome city council member who seems determined to oppose her at every turn. A fun flirty rom com, with an enemies to lovers vibe, with likable characters, and a community that comes alive. I loved how the people of Adelaide gave Brynn a fair chance, especially her friends Laila and Cole.

Sebastian has come to love the small Colorado town that he has made his home, and he is willing to fight for it. He has a chip n his shoulder, but even he can see that Brynn's visit to Adelaide Falls might not be all bad. I loved the banter between the two, as well as their authentic feeling chemistry.

Overall, this was a fun quick rom-com, with lovable characters and good emotional depth. I'm excited for the sequel about Laila and Cole!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

So amazing! loved the character dynamics and Turner's art of storytelling. I found the story so sweet, do I think everyone will like it? No, but I was entertained, though I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop the entire time. I would have liked the love story to be more drawn out, but Brynn was only in town for a week. Brynn and Sebastian start off on the wrong foot and keep spiraling downwards.

"And I knew the people who had the most reason to hate me were also the ones who never would have needed me to explain why I left. They would have packed my bags and cheered me on. Which made it all the more unforgivable that I hadn't told them. That I hadn't said goodbye."

Brynn never intends on returning to her childhood town. But due to complications of her own making, she has no choice. Her town liaison makes it clear that he is not a fan. Well, she doesn't like him either. What will it take for Brynn and Sebastian to discover that they don't hate each other after all?

Sebastian definitely has his own story. And it is funny how their two lives are similar yet so different. The cast of characters in this book are so enjoyable.

Be prepared to laugh often and maybe cry a bit in this latest book by Bethany Turner. As with all of her books, there are plenty of one liners, movie and TV quotes, some snark and plenty of heart. What makes me excited about this one is the fact that there are going to be a few sequels too. I definitely recommend this title if you enjoy rom-coms!

I read a copy of this book through NetGalley. I wanted to read and review it. All opinions are my own.

The book was a stretch too spread out. I love grumpy sunshine but Brynn is straight up mean. Suffice to say, Sebastian isn't the only one who doesn't like her. The grump in this case is unnecessarily rude. Brynn's character development was too little, too late and the story just didn't do it for me. The execution could've been far better, especially if they hadn't started liking each other the first time they were alone.

This was a struggle for me to finish.

The story is supposed to be about Brynn redeeming herself from being a total asshat on a hot mic, but her turnaround felt really shallow to me. It doesn't gradually happen at all. Another character tells her to just be a nice person and... she changes like someone flipped a switch. It's also so unbelievable to me that she's supposed to be the "sunshine" of a grumpy/sunshine situation.

Sebastian is... boring. There's also no reason given for him to fall head over heels for Brynn... he just does.

Overall, I don't think this one was very good.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I'm so sad this didn't work for me because the cover is adorable. I could never fully immerse myself into this story to feel any enjoyment or engagement. I tried both the physical and the audio, and still nothing. I found myself lulling and losing the ability to understand what was happening on audio (are there too many side characters, things happening?)

The "enemies" aspect felt like forever. I wasn't sure they'd ever become lovers, or even LIKE one another. When they finally got there, it felt extremely forced and strange. I don't think these two are meant to be!

This has no fun banter like your usual romcom, there wasn't much com, and I've seen some marketing as "grumpy/sunshine", but I'm pretty sure this is "grumpy/grumpy".

I really wanted to love this story, but it ended up being a DNF for me. This came down to me finding it impossible to connect with either of the main characters. I'm all for unlikable MCs, but not in a romance book!

Brynn was truly unlikable to me - by the end of the book, I really just felt like Sebastian deserved better. She was meant to be the sunshine half of the grumpy-sunshine trope, but she honestly just came across as an asshole. I've seen a lot of people say she has some redemption in the second half of the book, but I honestly just could not get there.

The other thing that drove me nuts was the first person/third person switch. I love when we alternate character perspectives but that was too much.

This story is told through alternating perspectives - I found the female protagonist pretty insufferable thru the first 3/4 of the book and was a little bored by male protagonist which didn’t make me care for this book. Near the end, it changed for me. The plot started to get interesting and the characters started redeeming themselves - the epilogue was great!

BRYNN AND SEBASTIAN HATE EACH OTHER was a really sweet romcom with two characters working through their own issues, with the backdrop of a small Colorado town with a colorful cast of characters. I would've loved a little more time for the romance to develop, but overall, this would be a fun read for someone who is looking for a romance without the spice.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson for providing a copy for review.

3.5 stars!

i loved turner's first book a lot and its hard to read a second book after you've loved a first book so much. it's just the nature of things and this one was good but not as great as her first.

sebastian is a perfectly lovely character but it was hard to love brynn quite a bit. i wasn't impressed by her despite the background context we got on her.

enemies to lovers is also hard to write imo and there are only a few authors who do it justice. this one was still a nice read.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for send me an arc in return for an honest review.

This was such a sweet romance! I absolutely adored both of the main characters. The character development was done really well. I look forward to reading more books from this author.