Hey, hey and happy almost-Friday, bookworms! As much as I feel like I’m catching up on my posts for you guys, I’m still slacking a little. Forgive me. Work and adulting has taken over lately so my reading has taken another hit. Plus, the book I’m currently reading is…well, it just is. I’ll talk about it when I get to reviewing it, I swear. Anyway, I do have a book review for you guys tonight. Just in time too! With the weekend rapidly approaching, why not get some beach and poolside reading ideas? Tonight’s review, Dating You / Hating You, by the talented duo of Christina Lauren, is perfect for just those aquatic situations.
Evie and Carter meet at a halloween party of mutual friends, and it’s more than just their shared appreciation for Harry Potter that makes this duo hit it off. Neither one has relationships on the brain, but both are severely tempted to break their rules to enjoy one another in any way they can. There’s only one teensy setback.
Carter Aaron is the new guy in town. A transplant living in L.A. from New York, he’s good looking, ambitious, but closer to the bottom of the ladder as an agent in Hollywood. Evelyn Abbey, much like Carter, is also an agent, but she has a reputation.. and a bit of a notorious one. His focus is work so that he can make a life for himself out in California. Her focus is the same but simply because that’s all there is; her job is her life.
Just as the pair give into those tingles they’ve been feeling, an opportunity arises. While they both held the same occupation, they were safely situated at different companies, at least until there’s a merger.
Lovers become pranksters and instigators, antagonizing each other and fighting to climb that corporate ladder. The attraction to one another is simmering and growing stronger under the surface, but they’re trying to keep their situation as black and white as possible. No grey areas to be had.
Dating You / Hating You, while a romance, is different from every other book I’ve read by Christina Lauren, and I’ve read most of their other novels. This story had more of a fiction, comedy aspect to it, with bits of romance peppered in just enough to make it sizzle. I loved how much Carter and Evie antagonized each other almost as much as I loved when they were seducing each other. It made for such a cute and funny story!
Dating You / Hating You was a quick, quirky, and refreshing read. I have to agree with others who stated that this was a 21st century romance. I could easily picture this story coming to life as a rom-com on the big screen one day. I really enjoyed the laughs, deception, just a bit of angst, drama, and sexiness. Most romance novels I read don’t blend the laughs with the love, so this was a nice change of scenery! The only reason I finalized this with four stars was because I wish there was just a smidge more romance thrown into the mix. I understand why it wasn’t, but I wouldn’t have complained if there were a few more steamy scenes sprinkled throughout the pages!
My Final Rating: four out of five stars
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