petr1chors's review against another edition
5.0
Lo leí de una sentada porque genuinamente no podía dejar de leerlo. Una historia preciosa, con personajes que no puedes evitar amar y preocuparte por sus problemas. Trata temas delicados de una manera sensible y nunca irrespetuosa. La relación de los protagonistas es increíblemente sana y amorosa. La compleja relación de los protagonistas con sus familias fue tratada maravillosamente, la red de apoyo que tenía Liya fue un detalle que me sacó lágrimas de lo bonito. Increíblemente recomendado
starryscorpio's review against another edition
4.0
this book had me giggling and squealing
I loved Liya and jay and how they opened up to the reader as the story went on. I liked how the POVs were written because you could really feel what each character was feeling. It was a super fun and easy read.
The writing style wasn't my favorite, but I didn’t think it took away from the story. Being Indian myself, I could definitely relate to a bunch of stuff regarding the Indian community but also felt like there were a few stereotypes? But overall, it was a cute book.
Check tw!
I loved Liya and jay and how they opened up to the reader as the story went on. I liked how the POVs were written because you could really feel what each character was feeling. It was a super fun and easy read.
The writing style wasn't my favorite, but I didn’t think it took away from the story. Being Indian myself, I could definitely relate to a bunch of stuff regarding the Indian community but also felt like there were a few stereotypes? But overall, it was a cute book.
Check tw!
triniuliareads's review against another edition
5.0
5 ⭐️
from the moment i saw this book on my fyp on tiktok, i knew that this was going to be one of my new favourites. just *chef's kiss*
jay and liya: i can't even describe how happy these characters make me. right from the moment they met to the end of the book, i just loved every word. their love story is unconventional in regard to their culture, but they make it work and it's just beautiful! i love how we also get to see their culture immersed into 21st century America, it just adds to the overall beauty in this book.
all i can say is: enemies-to-lovers, workplace romance, poc representation. if this sounds like something that's right up your alley, you NEED to pick this up asap! you won't regret it, promise!
update 25/9:
re-read this book because i needed to feel what i felt the first time i read this. still gives me goosebumps reading this, forever love me some liya and jay
from the moment i saw this book on my fyp on tiktok, i knew that this was going to be one of my new favourites. just *chef's kiss*
jay and liya: i can't even describe how happy these characters make me. right from the moment they met to the end of the book, i just loved every word. their love story is unconventional in regard to their culture, but they make it work and it's just beautiful! i love how we also get to see their culture immersed into 21st century America, it just adds to the overall beauty in this book.
all i can say is: enemies-to-lovers, workplace romance, poc representation. if this sounds like something that's right up your alley, you NEED to pick this up asap! you won't regret it, promise!
update 25/9:
re-read this book because i needed to feel what i felt the first time i read this. still gives me goosebumps reading this, forever love me some liya and jay
readingwithhippos's review against another edition
4.0
Liya is an engineer at a failing company, and Jay is a lawyer tasked with turning their corporate ship around. Unfortunately he’s also the potential husband her parents ambushed her with at a dinner party. An interesting twist on a workplace romance since the couple actually met through their families, and the conservative Indian culture that surrounds them affects them much more than the corporate culture at work. I love a prickly heroine, and Liya has her guard allllllllll the way up due to past trauma.
sri_savita's review
4.0
Being Gujarati myself made it easy to see the reality in the food, people, culture, and traditions in Liya and Jay's world, and I appreciated this story for that alone because it's the first romance novel I've read where I could see myself represented so clearly and the references were perfect.
I appreciate that Sajni Patel sheds light on serious issues and mentions that this is one strand of experience, but Indians are not homogenous.
I don't doubt that mandir politics can get intense, but thankfully, I've never had to experience this myself as my family doesn't do organized religion. Also, I wish the arranged marriage issue wasn't always immediately the first one that comes to mind for Indian romance novels, but I think it was handled well here. I also appreciated that each of Liya's friends has their own views on romance and marriage and love, and that Patel acknowledges there's no wrong way to be true to what's right for you.
I also connected a lot to Jay's experience with grief, and Patel wrote with great depth on how both characters connected with their family, I thought for a short novel the pacing was so good that it felt like I had spent months getting to know and love these characters, their friends, and their families - and that their relationships with these figures were just as important to highlight as their growing love for each other.
I will say, the trouble with reading The Trouble with Hating You is that up to about 40% of the book, I was ready to give this barely 3 stars. The dialogue feels stilted. Neither of the two main characters are likable or believable, nor their attraction. Liya's only personality trait SHOWN is abrasiveness, despite being TOLD she's strong, smart, and a leader. Jay is a bit blah. Neither of them act impressively in interpersonal or business situations. Certain behaviors don't seem likely between the characters as we know them. There's enemies-to-lovers between two evenly matched minds, and that kind of tension is enticing and engaging. And then there's the weaker version of this dynamic with two annoying characters who fly off the handle at the slightest phrase. The romantic leads in this seem to fall on the wrong side of this balance. Literally, saying "hi" makes them get into an argument - and that isn't "cute banter.
However, after the 40% mark, the walls for each character start to come down and there's more genuine and "cute" interaction. I found myself wanting to keep picking it up. So my rating rounded up. It's worth the read after that 40% point - despite there, of course, being some of the same cheesy dialogue common to the genre. Still, as with all diverse books, it's important to remember, we want the tropes too - we just want the representation to go with it. So, all in all, The Trouble with Hating You is a cute book I'm happy to own for the representation in romance. And I will certainly be picking up the next book in this series focused on Preeti - I hope it has a cover that is just as cute too!
I appreciate that Sajni Patel sheds light on serious issues and mentions that this is one strand of experience, but Indians are not homogenous.
I don't doubt that mandir politics can get intense, but thankfully, I've never had to experience this myself as my family doesn't do organized religion. Also, I wish the arranged marriage issue wasn't always immediately the first one that comes to mind for Indian romance novels, but I think it was handled well here. I also appreciated that each of Liya's friends has their own views on romance and marriage and love, and that Patel acknowledges there's no wrong way to be true to what's right for you.
I also connected a lot to Jay's experience with grief, and Patel wrote with great depth on how both characters connected with their family
Spoiler
Liya's relationship with her father was enraging to me, and I hate that he and Mukesh were such terrible people. Liya's connection to her mother was heartbreaking in the sense that I wanted her mother to not be afraid and for the two of them to live happily away from the terrible people in their lives. I'm glad Jay and his mom stepped in. All of Jay's family were really great charactersI will say, the trouble with reading The Trouble with Hating You is that up to about 40% of the book, I was ready to give this barely 3 stars. The dialogue feels stilted. Neither of the two main characters are likable or believable, nor their attraction. Liya's only personality trait SHOWN is abrasiveness, despite being TOLD she's strong, smart, and a leader. Jay is a bit blah. Neither of them act impressively in interpersonal or business situations. Certain behaviors don't seem likely between the characters as we know them. There's enemies-to-lovers between two evenly matched minds, and that kind of tension is enticing and engaging. And then there's the weaker version of this dynamic with two annoying characters who fly off the handle at the slightest phrase. The romantic leads in this seem to fall on the wrong side of this balance. Literally, saying "hi" makes them get into an argument - and that isn't "cute banter.
However, after the 40% mark, the walls for each character start to come down and there's more genuine and "cute" interaction. I found myself wanting to keep picking it up. So my rating rounded up. It's worth the read after that 40% point - despite there, of course, being some of the same cheesy dialogue common to the genre. Still, as with all diverse books, it's important to remember, we want the tropes too - we just want the representation to go with it. So, all in all, The Trouble with Hating You is a cute book I'm happy to own for the representation in romance. And I will certainly be picking up the next book in this series focused on Preeti - I hope it has a cover that is just as cute too!
sshhiillppaa's review against another edition
WHY IS IT WRITTEN LIKE THAT I CANT DO THIS
mmeyene's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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? No
5.0
caitlin829's review against another edition
4.0
I’m probably somewhere between 3 and 4 stars on this book, rounding up.
Always good to read a desi romance, something I’ve been doing more of recently.
But this is not a straight-up fluffy romance. This book deals with some serious issues, and the content warning in the beginning is well earned — there’s abuse and subsequent gaslighting, some serious family issues, the ever-present societal pressure and religious entanglements to the abuse. There are moments everything feels so real that it hurts, and I had to set the book down and process. But this heaviness is sometimes juxtaposed with the lighter rom-com clichés and cheesy moments, both to the story’s benefit and detriment.
Judging things on the more typical romance front, I like Liya's boldness, and there are some cute moments. But there are also times when both of the protagonists are just unlikable, the narrative frame is a double first-person style from each protagonist (HATE; so confusing), and sometimes Jay talks more like a cardboard cutout with a list of talking points than an actual human.
Overall, I’m glad I read it, but it’s one of those that I just really had to wrestle with how it made me feel because there were so many different feelings.
Always good to read a desi romance, something I’ve been doing more of recently.
But this is not a straight-up fluffy romance. This book deals with some serious issues, and the content warning in the beginning is well earned — there’s abuse and subsequent gaslighting, some serious family issues, the ever-present societal pressure and religious entanglements to the abuse. There are moments everything feels so real that it hurts, and I had to set the book down and process. But this heaviness is sometimes juxtaposed with the lighter rom-com clichés and cheesy moments, both to the story’s benefit and detriment.
Judging things on the more typical romance front, I like Liya's boldness, and there are some cute moments. But there are also times when both of the protagonists are just unlikable, the narrative frame is a double first-person style from each protagonist (HATE; so confusing), and sometimes Jay talks more like a cardboard cutout with a list of talking points than an actual human.
Overall, I’m glad I read it, but it’s one of those that I just really had to wrestle with how it made me feel because there were so many different feelings.
ronron's review against another edition
3.0
Good story, I just kept getting so angry and sad listening to it.