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A review by brittneyreads
The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel
dark
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? It's complicated
4.5
Went into this thinking it was going to be a rom-com, but I ended up getting more than I bargained for (in a good way). A fair warning, this story features an unlikable female character. I personally loved Liya's "take no shit attitude" but I can see why it wouldn't work for some people. I will say that the book does a good job of showing how this is a defense mechanism due to some trauma she faced as a teenager, so it makes her someone you can root for even if you don't agree with the way she handles thing. Jay is definitely a good foil for her personality, he isn't unnerved by a head strong woman, and knows how to step in and help without taking away her agency.
These two had great chemistry, and the transition of their relationship from mutual disdain to tentative friends to liking each other was done very smoothly and naturally. I will say that because their chemistry was sooo off the charts, I was disappointed that we didn't get any steamy scenes between them. That would have been so good!
I'll also say that I found it really weird when they were, I believe, freshly official and Jay was making comments about getting her pregnant with his baby (they were brushed off as jokes, but they seemed like the type of jokes that were low key serious comments). This book spent a lot of time showing us how Liya is seen as a sex object by so many men in her life and how that's messed her up, and Jay kept insisting that he saw her as more than that, then the second he's able to slap the label "girlfriend" onto her he wants to start making babies? It didn't rub me the right way.
As I said earlier, I thought this book was going to be a rom-com, and although there were some funny moments, I wouldn't classify this as a romcom. If you see my content warnings, you will see that there are mentions of rape in this book, specifically, the rape of a minor. This is actually a big plot point, although the rape itself is not depicted on page nor talked about in any explicit manner. There are also a few big moments of victim blaming and attempted gas lighting that occurs in this book as well. I did like that this is a story about a survivor of sexual assault trying to deal with the residual trauma of what happened to her, and how she is able to still have her happy ending. But, I'm not sure if I'm in a position to decide whether or not these tough topics were dealt with well.
These two had great chemistry, and the transition of their relationship from mutual disdain to tentative friends to liking each other was done very smoothly and naturally. I will say that because their chemistry was sooo off the charts, I was disappointed that we didn't get any steamy scenes between them. That would have been so good!
I'll also say that I found it really weird when they were, I believe, freshly official and Jay was making comments about getting her pregnant with his baby (they were brushed off as jokes, but they seemed like the type of jokes that were low key serious comments). This book spent a lot of time showing us how Liya is seen as a sex object by so many men in her life and how that's messed her up, and Jay kept insisting that he saw her as more than that, then the second he's able to slap the label "girlfriend" onto her he wants to start making babies? It didn't rub me the right way.
As I said earlier, I thought this book was going to be a rom-com, and although there were some funny moments, I wouldn't classify this as a romcom. If you see my content warnings, you will see that there are mentions of rape in this book, specifically, the rape of a minor. This is actually a big plot point, although the rape itself is not depicted on page nor talked about in any explicit manner. There are also a few big moments of victim blaming and attempted gas lighting that occurs in this book as well. I did like that this is a story about a survivor of sexual assault trying to deal with the residual trauma of what happened to her, and how she is able to still have her happy ending. But, I'm not sure if I'm in a position to decide whether or not these tough topics were dealt with well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual violence
Minor: Child abuse and Rape