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honeytalking's review
4.0
4 stars but I’m never reading another Donna Alam book again. That ending was fucking ridiculous.
ronyrdt's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.0
jbsco's review against another edition
5.0
Love this snarky, funny tale of total opposites attracting, even if it's just for show...at first! Olivia needs funding for her business and Beckett needs a wife to further his business interests. He uber dominate and she wants no part of him, but she relents when she realizes she is out of options. They argue with such sexual tension and passion that you wonder if they will make it through their proposed marriage, or will she bail? Such a great story like with characters you can't help but love, and hate at the same time!!!
queen_maxy's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
pattyfgd's review
5.0
To Have and Hate
Love in London
By: Donna Alam
Narrated by: Shane East, Mackenzie Cartwright
Olivia and Bennett. What a couple! I was enamored from the start, laughing out loud and loving the banter. Olivia is on a mission to get an investor for her app, Evolve. Literally falling at the feet of Bennett and finding herself in several other chance meetings with their obvious chemistry has the wealthy investor proposing marriage for six months, guaranteeing her the funds to keep her company in the black. But will it last that long? Spicy, funny, playful and not so playful exchanges and all-around feel-good quality of this book had me completely engaged and rooting for them! Olivia is smart, but when it comes to her heart, she just doesn't know how to guard it. Bennett is completely frustrating, which is what makes him so endearing! And the variety of secondary characters added depth and character to the book. Donna Alam has a winner on her hands!
Making me laugh out loud, Shane East and Mackenzie Cartwright use their versatility and give us a fabulous romantic comedy. East always delivers a great performance, and he becomes Bennett. A little arrogant and a little vulnerable, he is perfect. Cartwright has Olivia's sound exactly as I imagine her. She is smart, wears her heart on her sleeve and her comedic timing is spot on! Loved this listen!
#ALC #comingsoon #romanticcomedy #romcom #contemporaryromance #fakemarriage #audioromance #donnaalam #shaneeast #mackenziecartwright #homecookedbooks
Love in London
By: Donna Alam
Narrated by: Shane East, Mackenzie Cartwright
Olivia and Bennett. What a couple! I was enamored from the start, laughing out loud and loving the banter. Olivia is on a mission to get an investor for her app, Evolve. Literally falling at the feet of Bennett and finding herself in several other chance meetings with their obvious chemistry has the wealthy investor proposing marriage for six months, guaranteeing her the funds to keep her company in the black. But will it last that long? Spicy, funny, playful and not so playful exchanges and all-around feel-good quality of this book had me completely engaged and rooting for them! Olivia is smart, but when it comes to her heart, she just doesn't know how to guard it. Bennett is completely frustrating, which is what makes him so endearing! And the variety of secondary characters added depth and character to the book. Donna Alam has a winner on her hands!
Making me laugh out loud, Shane East and Mackenzie Cartwright use their versatility and give us a fabulous romantic comedy. East always delivers a great performance, and he becomes Bennett. A little arrogant and a little vulnerable, he is perfect. Cartwright has Olivia's sound exactly as I imagine her. She is smart, wears her heart on her sleeve and her comedic timing is spot on! Loved this listen!
#ALC #comingsoon #romanticcomedy #romcom #contemporaryromance #fakemarriage #audioromance #donnaalam #shaneeast #mackenziecartwright #homecookedbooks
ameserole's review
3.0
I liked it, got annoyed, and then went into a love/hate relationship.
To Have and Hate was a rollercoaster. It had it's cute moments because they two were getting closer to one another. However, there were some moments that left me confused. It all started with a fake marriage between Olivia and Beckett. Now Olivia is in love with her app, e-volve, it's kind of like tinder but better? Then there's Beckett who is kind of like her knight in shiny suit.
The thing is, her love for this app is bleeding her own bank account dry. She loves the people she works with and really believes in her app. It doesn't help that she finally got a chance to make a pitch in front of some financial investors. Of course there are some hints of a possible romance between her and her boss Luke.. but that flame dies out rather quickly.
It also doesn't hurt that later in the book she realizes how much a douche he is.
Then there's Beckett who offers to marry her and give her financial relief that she needs. He does make her sign some contracts and make him a board member. It was kind of adorable how much they tried to spend time away from one another because there was this giant pull between them. It was an obvious attraction that anyone could see.
Of course these two had their differences and bickered like crazy. Yet, they loved each other endlessly. It was adorable to see them happy but then something would happen or be said - and bam! They would annoy me and the sparks went out.
Overall, I liked the ending but I'm not sure about the whole book. It was just too much push and pull for me.
To Have and Hate was a rollercoaster. It had it's cute moments because they two were getting closer to one another. However, there were some moments that left me confused. It all started with a fake marriage between Olivia and Beckett. Now Olivia is in love with her app, e-volve, it's kind of like tinder but better? Then there's Beckett who is kind of like her knight in shiny suit.
The thing is, her love for this app is bleeding her own bank account dry. She loves the people she works with and really believes in her app. It doesn't help that she finally got a chance to make a pitch in front of some financial investors. Of course there are some hints of a possible romance between her and her boss Luke.. but that flame dies out rather quickly.
It also doesn't hurt that later in the book she realizes how much a douche he is.
Then there's Beckett who offers to marry her and give her financial relief that she needs. He does make her sign some contracts and make him a board member. It was kind of adorable how much they tried to spend time away from one another because there was this giant pull between them. It was an obvious attraction that anyone could see.
Of course these two had their differences and bickered like crazy. Yet, they loved each other endlessly. It was adorable to see them happy but then something would happen or be said - and bam! They would annoy me and the sparks went out.
Overall, I liked the ending but I'm not sure about the whole book. It was just too much push and pull for me.
jennyluvlitbooks's review
4.0
To Have and Hate is a stand alone, contemporary, marriage-of-convenience with parts enemies-to-lovers and age-gap romance. This is my first read from the author and it's safe to say I have enjoyed this fun, snarky story of two hard headed people bent on goading each other to death while unwittingly falling in love in the process.
The story was about Olivia arriving almost late to her appointment at a business venture capitalist company. Her baby, a social dating app, E-Volve, is near to bust even before it started to get up from the ground. In dire need of financial aid, her once crush and college friend Luke, set her up to an appointment with the board to present her business pitch. On her haste to be there, she tripped on her way due to a large shoe belonging to Beckett. Heated words were exchanged. She didn't know that Beckett will be playing a big role in her life later.
In my opinion, it isn't the sexy times that has the pages of this book burning up, oh no. Although I have to admit, the chemistry between Beckett and Olivia is way off the charts. The first time they got together was so crazy explosive it was a miracle the walls were still standing, LOL. It's their heated back and forth, push and pull, barbed wit and all, that has been igniting the fires surrounding these sassy, smart mouthed characters. I live for their sarcastic banter that is nothing more really than their own version of foreplay. It's very clear that try as much as they deny, when this two so much as lay a finger on one another, sparks literally fly! I guess, they really were meant to be together however they went around with marriage. All throughout the fake arrangement, they've gotten to know each other really well and eventually, they've fallen in love. As they struggle to hide it, will they be brave enough to admit and stay married? Overall, this has been a funny, with a lot of witty back and forth, laugh out loud moments and sexy steamy times to heat up your e-reader. I loved it!
The story was about Olivia arriving almost late to her appointment at a business venture capitalist company. Her baby, a social dating app, E-Volve, is near to bust even before it started to get up from the ground. In dire need of financial aid, her once crush and college friend Luke, set her up to an appointment with the board to present her business pitch. On her haste to be there, she tripped on her way due to a large shoe belonging to Beckett. Heated words were exchanged. She didn't know that Beckett will be playing a big role in her life later.
In my opinion, it isn't the sexy times that has the pages of this book burning up, oh no. Although I have to admit, the chemistry between Beckett and Olivia is way off the charts. The first time they got together was so crazy explosive it was a miracle the walls were still standing, LOL. It's their heated back and forth, push and pull, barbed wit and all, that has been igniting the fires surrounding these sassy, smart mouthed characters. I live for their sarcastic banter that is nothing more really than their own version of foreplay. It's very clear that try as much as they deny, when this two so much as lay a finger on one another, sparks literally fly! I guess, they really were meant to be together however they went around with marriage. All throughout the fake arrangement, they've gotten to know each other really well and eventually, they've fallen in love. As they struggle to hide it, will they be brave enough to admit and stay married? Overall, this has been a funny, with a lot of witty back and forth, laugh out loud moments and sexy steamy times to heat up your e-reader. I loved it!
halffast's review
2.0
Two professionals enter a marriage of convenience to further their business goals. Beckett and Olivia were super compatible in bed and I enjoyed their steamy scenes, but it seemed like he crossed a lot of boundaries and never properly apologized for them. Olivia ended up being the one to chase him down after the final time he pulled away and it all wrapped up too fast. Also the reason for them getting married was so flimsy that even the heroine called him out on it, and he shrugged it off. I was waiting for a twist that would explain his actual reasoning and it never came. It's a marriage of convenience story—my bar is already pretty low for valid reasons for the two leads to get together—but you gotta give me something to work with.