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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
*I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review*
Oscar is out of work and spiraling when he gets a job offer from Jack, the new guy in his group of queer friends. Jack needs someone to help clean out his grandparents' house and Oscar, who loves to clean and organize, is just the man for the job. Except that Oscar and Jack can't seem to inhabit the same space without fighting. Which is fine, they like fighting. An added bonus: their mutual attraction and previous one night stand leads to the potential for a friends(?) with benefits arrangement. But what happens when their time together leads to real feelings?
The Hate Project is highly entertaining and laugh out loud funny! I first came across Kris Ripper's work when I listened to The Love Study, and I am definitely a fan of this series which follows a group of queer and quirky friends who are a found family/support group. Throughout The Hate Project I felt deeply moved by how the friends support Oscar as he goes through unemployment, relationship drama, and transitioning to new meds. Oscar is the grouch of the group and he often struggles with self image and feeling like he's too much for people to love, but time and again his friends are there to build him up.
And then there's Jack, the new guy to the group and, from Oscar's perspective, the most normal, even if he is a jerk. But as Oscar spends more time around Jack he starts to learn more about him and actually starts to like being around him. I enjoyed the way that their relationship gradually developed from verbal sparring and hookups to something more. They're such an odd couple and I continually found myself grinning over their bickering, as well as blushing during their sexy scenes.
There's lots to love in this book: hilarious banter, quality characters, romance, drama, and a house cleaning project as daunting as the prospect of real feels!
Oscar is out of work and spiraling when he gets a job offer from Jack, the new guy in his group of queer friends. Jack needs someone to help clean out his grandparents' house and Oscar, who loves to clean and organize, is just the man for the job. Except that Oscar and Jack can't seem to inhabit the same space without fighting. Which is fine, they like fighting. An added bonus: their mutual attraction and previous one night stand leads to the potential for a friends(?) with benefits arrangement. But what happens when their time together leads to real feelings?
The Hate Project is highly entertaining and laugh out loud funny! I first came across Kris Ripper's work when I listened to The Love Study, and I am definitely a fan of this series which follows a group of queer and quirky friends who are a found family/support group. Throughout The Hate Project I felt deeply moved by how the friends support Oscar as he goes through unemployment, relationship drama, and transitioning to new meds. Oscar is the grouch of the group and he often struggles with self image and feeling like he's too much for people to love, but time and again his friends are there to build him up.
And then there's Jack, the new guy to the group and, from Oscar's perspective, the most normal, even if he is a jerk. But as Oscar spends more time around Jack he starts to learn more about him and actually starts to like being around him. I enjoyed the way that their relationship gradually developed from verbal sparring and hookups to something more. They're such an odd couple and I continually found myself grinning over their bickering, as well as blushing during their sexy scenes.
There's lots to love in this book: hilarious banter, quality characters, romance, drama, and a house cleaning project as daunting as the prospect of real feels!
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
7,14 on CAWPILE
The publisher kindly provided me with an arc through Netgalley
Tw / anxiety, panic attacks
This was lovely but also different? I loved the main character but I was also annoyed by him. I love that though so it didn't really bother me. I could really relate with some parts of his anxiety but for some reason reading about it where someone else struggles with it is always different. You have more empathy for others then you have for yourself. Lesson learned from this book: think kinder of yourself.
I loved Jack, what an asshole but in the best way, the banter between him and Oscar was spot on. Maybe it's because I am often annoyed by old people (it's a bias I can't help it) so I was also by Evelyn even though she was hilarious at times as well.
I can't wait to check more books out by this author since this work by zir really interested me.
The publisher kindly provided me with an arc through Netgalley
Tw / anxiety, panic attacks
This was lovely but also different? I loved the main character but I was also annoyed by him. I love that though so it didn't really bother me. I could really relate with some parts of his anxiety but for some reason reading about it where someone else struggles with it is always different. You have more empathy for others then you have for yourself. Lesson learned from this book: think kinder of yourself.
I loved Jack, what an asshole but in the best way, the banter between him and Oscar was spot on. Maybe it's because I am often annoyed by old people (it's a bias I can't help it) so I was also by Evelyn even though she was hilarious at times as well.
I can't wait to check more books out by this author since this work by zir really interested me.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Great book but I think it would have benefited from having a two character viewpoint for the book instead of of just one. I wanted to learn more about jack. Honestly just wish the book was longer. I wanted to find out what was next.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content
He thinks he knows everything, I definitely know everything, and even though for the most part we would arrive at the same point from different angles, we spent most of our fights poking at each other’s angles to prove they were incorrect.
This was so so much fun! A really witty, bantery, emotionally real and tonally perfect enemies to lovers romance.
Though enemies to lovers isn't the best way to describe it; they aren't ENEMIES. Hate to love? Bickering to love? Fuckbuddies to love? Oscar and Jack are part of the same friend group, Jack having been roped in at some point during the course of the last book, and unlike the rest of their friends, they're both pretty grouchy and pessimistic and bitchy. Put together, they're combative, messy, and will bicker about pretty much anything. They end up having no-strings-attached sex at the beginning of the book, and when Oscar loses his job, Jack offers him one, helping clear out his grandparents' house in preparation for a sale.
I don't always have success with hate to love, because a lot of excessive arguing and animosity can just get really exhausting to me, and it's really not fun to read. I think the reason why this worked so well for me is that Oscar and Jack never really hated each other. There was sniping and bickering galore, but it never really got mean or cruel, and from the beginning, their chemistry was so strong, and the potential for a relationship was really obvious to the reader, even if not to the characters. I never thought that it got to be too much, because the underlying attraction was so good. All of their interactions and snarking at each other were light and funny, and their synergy was amazing.
There's really great anxiety and depression rep in this. I really loved the note at the beginning that notifies the readers that Oscar still has his anxiety issues at the end of the book, and that's okay, because having anxiety and experiencing depression doesn't bar you from having a happily ever after. I recognised myself and a lot of my coping mechanisms in Oscar, and I loved the frank ways the author talked about dealing with meds, the social aspects of anxiety (that crop up even with close friends), and some of the misunderstandings that can crop up. The conflict in this book was kind of frustrating, but totally understandable in the circumstances. The book doesn't pull punches when it comes to describing Oscar's conditions, but it never becomes hopeless.
I also really liked the tone and the writing. It was light and humorous, and still deftly handled all of the tougher subjects with skill and care. I enjoyed the first book in the series, The Love Study, but I did think it read a little young in terms of the attitudes and behaviours of some of the characters, even though they're in their late twenties for the most part. This, thankfully, didn't have that problem. It's funny, but not immature. I also appreciated the fat rep, and representations of different types of anxiety, and the diversity of the friend group, and all the themes that were explored through cleaning out a house that belonged to a hoarder; something that wasn't treated with derision at all, which I was thankful for.
All in all this was a really solid romance that I enjoyed a lot, and I'm more and more becoming a fan of Ripper's writing. <3
Content warnings:
Spoiler
anxiety, depression, internalised fatphobia, disordered eating, mentions of suicidal ideation☆ Review copy provided via NetGalley.
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oh my gosh, I loved this book. I picked it up on a whim at the library and never want to let it go. The way it tackles anxiety and social cues is so huge and real, and at times it felt like a (much more extreme version) of how my brain works was put into words the best I’ve ever seen. Jack and Oscar and Evelyn and the Motherfuckers were incredible characters and family, and I just want to join them. I also love that it challenged the ideas of what counts as sex and how different people view intimacy in ways romance books normally don’t. At times it reminded me a bit too much of Boyfriend Material (while also being extremely different) and I kept getting confused that Jack wasn’t British, but I think that’s all a compliment. Can’t wait to read zir other books.
ARC courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley.
First things first: This book isn't a feel good romance.
It's not going to follow that almost cookie cutter recipe we've see a thousand times.
It's not going to progress in the way you want it to, it just *is*.
It's definitely not the adorable, heart warming frenemies-to-lovers you may very well be looking for, but it might just be the one that you need!
From my first encounter with Oscar I could tell we were made of the same star stuff.
The portrayal of his anxiety touched something in me, it was something I hadn't known I'd been dying to read.
Kris Ripper always does an amazing job of touching on parts of the human nature that aren't always easy to digest. The bits that get a makeover before being shown to the public. Often times authors dull the edges, buff the corners and give it fresh coat of paint to make a character more palatable. To make them cute. Make them lovable. The result is often someone less real.
I found something in the portrayal of Oscar's anxiety that no book I've read had succeeded in conveying before. It was raw and ugly and unedited and it made me feel seen in ways I both can and can't explain.
All I can say is thank you.
First things first: This book isn't a feel good romance.
It's not going to follow that almost cookie cutter recipe we've see a thousand times.
It's not going to progress in the way you want it to, it just *is*.
It's definitely not the adorable, heart warming frenemies-to-lovers you may very well be looking for, but it might just be the one that you need!
From my first encounter with Oscar I could tell we were made of the same star stuff.
The portrayal of his anxiety touched something in me, it was something I hadn't known I'd been dying to read.
Kris Ripper always does an amazing job of touching on parts of the human nature that aren't always easy to digest. The bits that get a makeover before being shown to the public. Often times authors dull the edges, buff the corners and give it fresh coat of paint to make a character more palatable. To make them cute. Make them lovable. The result is often someone less real.
I found something in the portrayal of Oscar's anxiety that no book I've read had succeeded in conveying before. It was raw and ugly and unedited and it made me feel seen in ways I both can and can't explain.
All I can say is thank you.
