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A review by anovelglimpse
If You Hate Me by Helena Hunting
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Note: This review is for an ARC and is my unbiased opinion.
If you have been missing Helena Hunting's Pucked series, you won't want to miss reading If You Hate Me. Hunting is giving us a whole new hockey world filled with amazing characters starting with Rix and Tristan. I didn't want to put this book down! What was so great about it? Pretty much everything.
* Hunting brought the fun, the humor, the swoon, and the spice to ensure this romance was a very entertaining read. I even teared up a couple of times.
* The tropes in this book were perfection.
* The roommate situation was a great way to put Tristan and Rix in close proximity. The fact that her brother, Flip, was there making things secretive was a lot of fun.
* Tristan's annoyance with his best friend/teammate's younger sister and Rix's anger and frustration with Tristan created tension and chemistry that were palpable. The enemies to lovers trope was strong with these two.
* Rix was easy to love. Life hadn't been the easiest growing up for her and I thought Hunting did a fabulous job portraying the results of years of food insecurity. I always wanted the best for Rix because of how caring she was towards her friends and family.
* Tristan was a wee bit harder to love at times, but I did end up loving his character. His womanizing past was his past and was easy to dismiss. His present on the other hand was a mess. Tristan had his own leftover childhood trauma to deal with, and he didn't do a good job at it for a lot of this book. I did love seeing his growth, though.
* I loved Rix and Tristan together when things were going well. Rix and Tristan's situationship was filled with a lot of ups and a couple of downs. Their agreement to keep things casual and on a timeline went about as well as it always does in romance novels. The feelings got pretty messy. I enjoyed their romantic journey and how they both worked through the issues that came between them.
* I'm already waiting for the side characters to get their own books. Flip was a lovable idiot who I can't wait for to fall in love. Hollis and Roman were teammates who shined. Rix's entire girl gang made me happy, and I want them all to find love as well. I'm super excited that Hollis's book is next!
I only had a few of things that were a little iffy for me in this book.
* The situationship was ultra-spicy. It's hotter than the Pucked series. I didn't mind that for the most part. There were a couple of situations that pushed my boundaries and made me cringe. If you can't stand the heat, I would not recommend this book to you.
* I'm not saying I wanted this book to be shorter, but there was a point where I thought it was about to end and then got put through another emotional upheaval. I didn't hate that, but it did surprise me a bit.
* Rix's name. Or maybe I should say nicknames? Her real name is Beatrix, but she goes by Rix. Tristan calls her Bea or Beat most of the time, while everyone else calls her Rix. She felt more like a Bea to me, but that might have been Tristan's influence. When I was writing this review, I kept wanting to write Bea instead of Rix.
Overall, If You Hate Me was a highly entertaining romance. I loved Rix and Tristan. I wish the next book in the series was already out because I can't wait to read it!
You can find this review and others like it at A Novel Glimpse .
If you have been missing Helena Hunting's Pucked series, you won't want to miss reading If You Hate Me. Hunting is giving us a whole new hockey world filled with amazing characters starting with Rix and Tristan. I didn't want to put this book down! What was so great about it? Pretty much everything.
* Hunting brought the fun, the humor, the swoon, and the spice to ensure this romance was a very entertaining read. I even teared up a couple of times.
* The tropes in this book were perfection.
* The roommate situation was a great way to put Tristan and Rix in close proximity. The fact that her brother, Flip, was there making things secretive was a lot of fun.
* Tristan's annoyance with his best friend/teammate's younger sister and Rix's anger and frustration with Tristan created tension and chemistry that were palpable. The enemies to lovers trope was strong with these two.
* Rix was easy to love. Life hadn't been the easiest growing up for her and I thought Hunting did a fabulous job portraying the results of years of food insecurity. I always wanted the best for Rix because of how caring she was towards her friends and family.
* Tristan was a wee bit harder to love at times, but I did end up loving his character. His womanizing past was his past and was easy to dismiss. His present on the other hand was a mess. Tristan had his own leftover childhood trauma to deal with, and he didn't do a good job at it for a lot of this book. I did love seeing his growth, though.
* I loved Rix and Tristan together when things were going well. Rix and Tristan's situationship was filled with a lot of ups and a couple of downs. Their agreement to keep things casual and on a timeline went about as well as it always does in romance novels. The feelings got pretty messy. I enjoyed their romantic journey and how they both worked through the issues that came between them.
* I'm already waiting for the side characters to get their own books. Flip was a lovable idiot who I can't wait for to fall in love. Hollis and Roman were teammates who shined. Rix's entire girl gang made me happy, and I want them all to find love as well. I'm super excited that Hollis's book is next!
I only had a few of things that were a little iffy for me in this book.
* The situationship was ultra-spicy. It's hotter than the Pucked series. I didn't mind that for the most part. There were a couple of situations that pushed my boundaries and made me cringe. If you can't stand the heat, I would not recommend this book to you.
* I'm not saying I wanted this book to be shorter, but there was a point where I thought it was about to end and then got put through another emotional upheaval. I didn't hate that, but it did surprise me a bit.
* Rix's name. Or maybe I should say nicknames? Her real name is Beatrix, but she goes by Rix. Tristan calls her Bea or Beat most of the time, while everyone else calls her Rix. She felt more like a Bea to me, but that might have been Tristan's influence. When I was writing this review, I kept wanting to write Bea instead of Rix.
Overall, If You Hate Me was a highly entertaining romance. I loved Rix and Tristan. I wish the next book in the series was already out because I can't wait to read it!
You can find this review and others like it at A Novel Glimpse .
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
food insecurity