4.5⭐️
“I’m going to communicate like a goddamn adult.”
If you enjoy a feminist retelling of Shakespeare where the characters actually talk through their feelings like adults like I do, read this book! I absolutely adore Chloe Liese’s writing! I was hooked from the first page, first from the antagonistic tension between Christopher and Kate to then the romance that kept me on my toes as I waited for them to finally get together! The only thing that I didn’t love was the age gap. I really wish that they had been slightly closer in age. Four years apart would have made sense given that they have known each other as since they were kids. Overall, this was a great book!

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Chloe Liese can do no wrong.

I'm a big fan of enemies to lovers, and I'm finding that through Kate and Christopher's story, I'm an even bigger fan of enemies to friends to lovers.

Kate and Christopher grew up together as neighbors, and over the years, the animosity between them grew. Snarky comments, pranks, and basic shenanigans ensue until a finally-grown Kate flees home.

Years pass before they see each other again, but when Kate does return home, it's as if the animosity between them hadn't waned at all. With their families begging for peace between them, the two determine that they need to start getting along.

They do get along... too well.

Watching them fall in love was nothing short of magical. I loved this book!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

3.4 stars. I really, really enjoyed this, which surprised me since I have often not enjoyed this author’s books for various reasons. When I was offered this as an advanced reader copy (ARC), I jumped on it because I love the title and then realized the author later. But, I thought I’d give it a try anyway and see. And since it’s an ARC, I didn’t read any reviews (sometimes I don’t anyway). While I LOVED this book a lot, I cannot give it 5 stars for several reasons... mainly re: Observation 4, below.

This is kind of a Taming of the Shrew retelling... but not. It more references elements (including multiple character names) than really uses the play as a plot map.

These two have known each other their whole lives (at least Kate’s life since he’s 6 years older). She’s been the odd one out in her family. Her parents are very much in love and her older sisters are twins so the heroine has felt like there is no one for her. Plus, with her ADHD, she couldn’t stay still and be the “normal” everyone else was or expected. She’s been wandering the world as a professional photographer, but every time she comes home, the boy next door has tormented her. He is like an adopted son/brother to her family and always has something to say about her choices which just exacerbates her feelings of being the odd one out.

Well, this time she’s come home sad and burnt out, not sure what happens next and STILL, the boy next door picks on her. It gets to the point where he out and out says: “I haven’t hidden my disagreement with her choices, my concer—my disapproval, I mean—of how she lives.”

She’s sad and feels his disapproval keenly. There are several scenes where my heart ached for her (I’ll admit it, I was reading and tears were rolling down my face). And when he FINALLY realizes he’s been hurting her, his heart aches too. And that was lovely. And then, from there, it’s a pretty smooth story of him working to be kinder to her and being open to the idea that he’s treated her badly because he was afraid of, and for, her. This leads to some really sweet sneaky treats for her from him that I absolutely adored. They are a great team when they work together and I loved seeing them let their walls down.

Observations
1. This author tries hard to represent a wide variety of folks and these main characters provide some representation for demisexuality, severe migraines, ADHD, etc.

2. Loved the heroine’s work. She is a professional photographer and has a very missional look at her work. "...it’s what I’ve always aspired to in my photojournalistic work—activism through storytelling, giving my subjects the chance to be heard, their voices amplified through the power of images that make people stop and listen.” Love that!

3. Poor, hot mess heroine. This wasn’t terrible, but still something I would rather see less of in romance novels. Yes, she has ADHD, but does she have to barely make ends meet, including having worn out and holey clothing (including “once-white but not dingy-dishwater” underwear)?

4. Wealthy, manwhore hero. We didn’t have to see him on any dates, but the author really clubs us over the head with his 7/women a week player ways. There are endless reminders that he’s been sexually active, from his “one-and-done” policy to his assurances to her right before sexy times that he’s not a “selfish, mediocre lover”. I hate this crap. Why must we have so many “heroes” that have been sexing it up and treating women like disposable gloves to be used and discarded, until they meet “the one” that they’ll treat well and respectfully. Here's a quote to illustrate his grossness and the level of detail I DID NOT NEED:

<blockquote>"I’ve abandoned my routine—a meal at the bar, a flirtatious conversation and then a frank one (I’m yours all night. Only one night. No repeats.), then a hotel room, the exhilarating challenge of a new body to learn and become an expert of, the thrill of wrenching orgasm after orgasm from her, the blissful mindlessness of my own release."</blockquote>

He seriously has a woman every night and when he stops (after he realizes he wants the heroine and no other), his admin comes up to him because he maintains the hero's calendar and is aware that the hero hasn't been getting some. Seriously, WAY TOO MANY DETAILS in this book about the hero's manwhore ways.

The wealthy part is fine and par for the course. It’s just overdone to have the guy be the wealthy one and the woman to be poor and barely able to make ends meet.

5. Don’t even get me started on the whole “I’ve always loved you but was trying to forget with other women” angle this book has. That’s complete trash. I would forgive it more if the author had included a “I didn’t realize how awesome you were and was wasting my time playing the field when you were right there”. But no… that is not the case. And this is the primary reason I have to mark this book down. Here's a quote that perfectly captures this:

<blockquote>“I’ve wanted you for a long time, Kate.”

My heart leaps—he’s wanted me the way I’ve wanted him. But then it plummets—because it’s so hard to reconcile that while he says he deeply he desired me, he spent night after night sharing an intimacy with others that I’ve never even experienced.</blockquote>

5. I wish there was more character growth in this book, especially for the heroine. When drama goes down at around 95%, the heroine’s first reaction is hurt and confusion over what she overhears the hero saying to a friend. But she squishes down her feelings and says “I’m going to communicate like a goddamn adult” but then says, “I don’t want to hear Christopher explain and defend himself”. Huh? That’s not communicating like a mature person. It’s like this author gets emotional maturity half right. If you hear something that makes you react emotionally and, at first, assume the worst, you go to your partner and ask, “hey, what did you mean when…?” not tell him, “I trust you and you don’t have to explain yourself”. That’s just burying your own feelings and telling yourself your first reaction was wrong. How are you ever going to retrain your brain if you don’t allow yourself to feel what you feel and then pursue the truth?

6. No third act breakup. Even tho there is that stupid drama towards the end, it gets resolved well.

7. Is it plausible or possible that a new orgasm-er would have 10 orgasms in a row? Not sure, but he must have some magic in that manwhore self of his cause she does.

8. She's never had sex and has never had anyone give her an orgasm. Another overdone trope in the romance world and didn't need to be part of this book. Ya, ya, she's demisexual, so "representation". You know what would have been better? A demisexual hero who didn't sleep around with EVERYONE. That would have been representation.


Safety deets
A. No OM/OW. However, he’s a recovered manwhore. For her.

B. No condoms used, because of course the manwhore can be trusted when he says he’s clean two weeks after his last one night stand. There’s a scene where he says “my results were negative for STIs”, she says “I got the shot this week” and then they proceed to have lots of sex, as if a manwhore can be trusted and birth control is 100% reliable.

C. Excellent consent. She tells him her boundaries and they stick to those and communicate well.

D. HFN ending with an epilogue where they are together and negotiating their differences in a lovely way.

E. She's a virgin and he's a manwhore. Sigh.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me at this one early! The first book was one of my faves from 2022.
4.5? Started out at about 4 stars and worked it's way up. Not quite 5 stars, but there's a lot to love.
Loved the ADHD rep (I feel SEEN!!) and the demisexual rep. And the migraine-haver rep! Also loved the fact that when it looked like a misunderstanding was going to bog down the plot, Kate refused to let that happen.

Also also Jamie and Bea were very cute in the background.

Full disclosure Chloe Liese is my favorite author, but this book is everything and now one of my favorites.

Chloe Liese books give heartfelt, honest, accurate representation to people of all backgrounds and this book is no exception. The subpoints of chronic illness (chronic migraines), LGBTQIA (ace), neurodivergence (ADHD) of the main characters speaks a lot to the power of good representation and its ability to feel personal and universal simultaneously. These additions are seamlessly woven into the story and enhance rather than distract from the story. The characters are all so beautifully written and handled by the story. The characters come off the page and felt so realistic that they were hard to leave by the end of the book.

The banter is top tier, and the Taming of the Shrew retelling is a perfect balance of old and new/updated. The book is a fun warm hug of a book that I can see myself reading again and again (and recommending to everyone).

Better Hate than Never is a wonderful follow up to Two Wrongs Make a Right! The snippets of Kate and Christopher in Two Wrongs Make a Right made me so excited for their romance in this novel, and I was definitely not disappointed. The charged banter and tension between the two was perfect and extremely reminiscent of The Taming of the Shrew and its other adapted forms of media, like 10 Things I Hate About You.

My favorite aspect of this novel was definitely the demisexual representation with Kate being on the ace spectrum. I've very rarely read romances where a character was on the asexual spectrum and seeing Christopher be more than willing to allow Kate to develop the emotional connection needed in order to be physically intimate was very well done. Chloe Liese always writes such great chronic illness and neurodivergent representation as well, and I think the representation of having ADHD and chronic migraines was handled very thoughtfully in this novel.

In this book, I also saw hints of the third book in this trilogy being a Romeo and Juliet retelling, and I'm very excited for a potential forbidden romance following Juliet working at Christopher's company (named after Verona)!

This was a super cute read! This was my first Chloe Liese book & I realized as I started it that it was the second in a series. I loved it so I will definitely be going back to read the first one!

Chloe has done it again! I loved the first book in this series, but "Better Hate than Never" delivered. I love a good slow burn and childhood enemies then to lovers is one of my favorite tropes. Kate and Chris brought so much out of each other and so tender with each others feelings. Ugh it was just a warm hug. Also so many fall vibes!!

4.5 stars!

4.25⭐️ (arc review)

Chloe always writes the most heartfelt stories that make you swoon and her second book was no different!

Kate and Christopher’s dynamic was definitely enemies to lovers and their banter was so fun! I loved seeing them fall in love and all the ways they cared for each other was so sweet.

Also I LOVE books with acts of service and they both did that for each other which was so stinking cute!!!

And the cameos of Bea and Jamie WERE SO GOOD I MISSED THEM!!

4.5 stars rounded up

I enjoyed Bea and Jamie's story, but I loved Christopher and Kate's story. There is something so satisfying about an enemies-to-lovers where they're only enemies because one of them knows they'll fall head over heels if they get too close. I loved their growth, I loved their banter, and I loved how the third act was a reflection of both of those things. It wasn't a perfect Chloe Liese book, but it was pretty darn enjoyable enough that even after waiting a few days to write this review, I still have only good memories about it. If you're a fan of Taming of the Shrew, Kiss Me Kate, or 10 Things I Hate About You, I felt like this had bits and bobs of all of them, and I loved it!

This book was everything! I felt so seen and understood by Chloe Liese and her characters. I felt a deep sense of connection to Kate and Christopher, one that's usually really hard to come by. These characters were real and three dimensional beings that felt more like an inner voice or a close friend, than they did words on a page.

Each character was written carefully and had a place amongst the pages. The chemistry between the two leads was explosive. The tension was palpable, the dialogue witty and swoon-worthy. The mental health representation in this book was amazing.

I was so excited when I read this book description, and Chloe Liese definitely delivered. The writing was phenomenal. The enemies to lovers trope was also perfectly executed. I can't wait to see what Chloe Liese has in store for us next!

I would like to thank the publisher for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley. As always, my opinions are entirely my own.

Chloe Liese can do no wrong, period. The Shakespeare retellings are here to stay and this play on Taming of the Shrew is absolutely killer. Kat and Christopher have such sexual tension from the get-go, yet they can't stand one another. The burn here is ACHINGLY slow but pays off major dividends in the end. We get to watch Kat cope with her midlife crisis while Christopher struggles with his chronic migraines. As someone who regularly watches a loved one go through the same thing, it's so incredibly painful to read but Chloe nails the portrayal. Should every romcom have a tango scene? Probably.

As an added plus, there's no 3rd act breakup (god bless). Honestly it took so long for them to get together that it would've been pure devastation if they'd had to part. You also get Bea and Jamie cameos, a killer paintball scene, and SO MUCH CHARACTER GROWTH. I absolutely cannot wait for Jules's book and everything else she writes in the future.

*Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Chloe Liese never fails to pull at my heartstrings with her incredible romances. Also, she writes such a diverse range of characters so beautifully. In this book, she writes about a male MC with migraines and a female MC with ADHD. This was such a GRAND enemies to lovers romance with SO. MUCH. PINING. I was living for them to get together, and was just on the edge of my seat waiting for their HEA. This was an all around great time to read, and I couldn't think of a better way to spend a couple hours than curled up with THIS book in my hand again for the first time.

thank you to netgallery for this arc!!! second books are incredibly hard to write, especially when the first book was so successful, but chloe liese truly created fireworks with katie and christopher. the buzz was strong throughout the whole story, and my only regret is that i didn’t read it slower.

5⭐️
2.5🌶

Better Hate than Never is one of my most anticipated releases of 2023 and Kate and Christopher's story absolutely knocked my expectations out of the park!!

The friendship, representation, and utmost care Chloe Liese takes with every one of her stories is beautiful and inspiring. Every one of her characters is so wonderfully *human* and reading these books feels like they're sitting right beside you, tell you their stories themselves. Our main characters are the focus of the story, of course, but you'll find yourself wondering what each of their friends are doing behind the scenes; what they're up to, how they're feeling, what they're thinking. It's impossible not to be pulled, directly by the heart, into their gravity.

I loved getting glimpses into Bea and Jamie's continued relationship throughout this book. Two Wrongs Make a Right is a top read of 2023 for me (as is Better Hate than Never, now), and keeping up with their story was such a treat. I love how they love each other and how they love Kate and Christopher, too.

The demisexuality (Kate) and chronic illness representation (Christopher; migraines) in this book is honest and attentively represented. The empathetic, world-loving energy in Kate is admirable and heartrending. And if you have a close sibling relationship in your own life, you'll adore the one between Kate, Bea, and Jules.

And, as always, the slow burn led to some absolutely mouth-watering spice and the beautiful breaking of tension. I mean it when I say: Chloe Liese's ~adult~ scenes always deliver. And it's about so much more than the physical.

Overall, BHTN is a wonderfully paced, emotionally exploratory book of belonging, family, friendship, individuality, and trust. I loved the nights out and the nights in with the crew, I adored the blossoming relationships, and I especially enjoyed seeing bits of myself in Kate.

Some of us just take some time to warm up, you know? But being a bit prickly doesn't mean we're any less deserving of patience and love.

I'm already sweaty-palmed waiting for book 3! Chloe Liese, you have my whole heart. Thank you.

**Thank you to Chloe Liese, Berkley, and NetGalley for an ARC of Better Hate than Never in exchange for my honest review!!**

A coworker got me hooked on Chloe Liese's work. I have devoured every single one since and this one is no exception. I have to force myself to put it down to do some adulting because it was sooo good! I can't wait to add this to the collection.

Thank you for the free book PRH International. And thank you Chloe Liese for writing another tender and sweet book about two people who don’t think they are worth a happily-ever-after but they are. Oh, they definitely are. Both Kate and Christopher have my heart now and I just want to wrap myself into this story forever, with some home-made pasta, pumpkin spice doughnuts and cups and cups of apple cider on the side.

This is the second in a series. I felt like the author spent too much time at the beginning of the novel explaining what happened in the first novel. It was unneeded and slowed the plot considerably. Once the previous plot was established, the book moved at a decent clip. There was some repetition. However, the characters are enjoyable and the story endearing. People who enjoyed the first will enjoy this one. However, it would be hard to pick this up and get right into the story.

Absolutely amazing!

I absolutely loved Two Wrongs Make a Right and was so excited to receive an arc of Better Hate Than Never! I immediately dove into the book and was quickly immersed in the world of the Wilmot Sisters again! In this installment we follow Katerina (Kate) Wilmot as she makes a rare trip home to visit her family and runs right into her childhood nemesis and family friend, Christopher Petruchio. (Yes, that Christopher from Two Wrongs Make a Right! 🥊 iykyk) Their long-standing feud starts to cool when they realize they both may have misinterpreted each other incorrectly along the way - but that’s where things really begin to heat up! Packed full of so much tension and banter it will make your heart swoon while being written with amazing neurodivergent and chronic illness representation? 100% yes! Literally singing the praises of this book from the rooftops and cannot wait to see what the next installment will bring!

*There is something so special about how Chloe Liese’s storytelling. From the dedication, the playlists, the authors note and the beautiful story in between - her books are full of such passion, representation, vulnerability and realness. Definitely a insta-read author for me!

Pick up Better Hate Than Never when it hits shelves 10.10.23!

Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing Group for the advanced copy!

I don't read many romances, but the tension in this sounded too good to resist.
I was pleasantly surprised to find such strong representation for neurodiversity.
Read this for a refreshing, modern take on childhood enemies to lovers.