Reviews

Love, Hate & Clickbait by Liz Bowery

lyndsireads's review against another edition

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fast-paced

4.0

stori_time's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

cag168's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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

4.25

shieldofapollo's review against another edition

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funny informative lighthearted sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

bethaji's review against another edition

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3.0

NB: I listened to the audiobook on audible, so spellings of names might be incorrect!

My first thought when reading this was, why would anyone care? Beyond the beginning where the fake relationship is a stunt to protect their boss following her gaff, I'm so confused as to why the media would care about this relationship between two staffers of a governor. Sure, you might get some stuff online about it but sending out paparazzi, getting recognised in the street and having an online fanbase? It was super far fetched to me which did sour the cute fake dating trope a little. I think it could have been done more carefully and less them suddenly becoming famous.

When you get past that, I enjoyed the build up to the relationship.
I do feel like Thom was an absolute dick to Clay at the beginning. Clay's characterisation as the dumb jock was a bit annoying since he was honestly my favourite character throughout (though I did love Felicia!).
Thom did get better though, he's much less of a bastard towards the end.

SpoilerI liked Thom's realisation of being bisexual, it's always refreshing for these scenes to be chill, it mirrored my own experience (minus the fake dating a guy for work!) so I like that he was more freaked about enjoying a kiss with Clay rather than the fact Clay is a guy.

Lennie is, of course, a complete manipulative and self-serving bitch. I wish there had been more of a resolution at the end surrounding her and Bash. It felt unfinished in that regard and I'd liked to have seen more of her getting her comeuppance, maybe Clay and Thom coming out against her as whistleblowers as her actions throughout this book are incredibly unethical. Like aside from my enjoyment of the fake dating trope, it is shockingly inappropriate for an employer to do that!


Ultimately it was a fun read, my criticisms aside, I did enjoy the relationship between Clay and Thom, with Thom starting to open up and Clay just being an easygoing guy.

lq_joanne's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

simonizzys's review against another edition

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5.0

4.5
i love politics and gays

dsauriol1991's review against another edition

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3.5

This was a good book! I always enjoy a well done fake dating trope. I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy it because Thom was so mean spirited at the beginning. Although I found Clay to be a sweetheart throughout. I was pleasantly surprised though and thought the author did a good job with Thom's character growth. I would've liked a little more on page development of Thom and Clay's relationship. It seemed a lot of conversations and moments that brought them closer together happened off page then were mentioned briefly. Overall a cute book but not a life changing one!

uzername's review against another edition

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4.0

it was cute and had very corny moments but i love corny romcoms. thom was so unlikeable in the beginning but clay is my son. and i was jus happy it ended with Lennie losing and them working for her rival

thedarkwolfie's review against another edition

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DNF
Couldn't get past the first 2-3 chapters. What even is this?! Seriously how did this get published?
The first and the last work I will ever read from this author. The characters are just horrible and the writing is even worse. I read fanfics with far better writing than this.