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A review by kfriend
Hate Me by Ashley Jade
5.0
HOLY SHIT- what a delicious, dark, and insane ride. Ashley Jade never ceases to find beauty in the twisted and titillating, to be unapologetically original and provocative, or to completely OWN me with her stories. Hate Me is nothing like I expected- darker, more complex, more twisting and shocking. But drama aside, Hate Me is an emotional tour de force- its a story that makes you question the very nature of love, and by extension, our orientation to it.
Ashley has such a keen ability to take a trope and put it on its head- her stories are never what they seem-and the result is a story that really defies any labels, stories that are refreshingly different and unexpected. Stories that hit you in the gut so sharply that you have to recover a bit before you can truly digest their brilliance. There’s daringness to her storytelling, a bravado that is quite consuming. In part, this is because Ashley is unafraid to do what so many avoid- she lets her characters be deeply flawed, unlikeable at times, villains in their own story. She sees the humanity in their brokenness, the bravery in their savageness, and she doesn’t just dabble in their issues, she IMMERSES us in them, by giving us narratives that put her characters through incredible adversity, with her own delicious brand of dramatic darkness. And Hate Me might be her boldest story yet.
Knox- oh Knox. I can’t describe him without spoiling, but he is a FORCE. He’s Ashley’s most flawed character yet- not truly redeemable, not likable but somehow lovable. He’s sinister and toxic and unsettling- but he’s also surprisingly vulnerable. Ashley chisels her way into his heart’s darkness and somehow uses it to paint the beauty of his soul- even if it is forever stained. Like so many characters before him, Ashley accepts Knox for who and what he is, she develops him with integrity- even the parts that are “wrong” and messed up, even his hate and anger, even his depraved choices. She doesn’t justify or excuse his actions, she lets him be what he is- a psychopath- and for that, somehow I love him even more.
Aspen rivals Sawyer for my favorite Ashley Jade heroine of all time- she’s quirky, loving, and gentle- but unlike Sawyer, she’s been tainted by the darkness around her- she’s the least straightforward heroine in Ashley’s books, because there is a duality to her. Twin existences that rival one another- contrasts that make her so interesting. She’s the good girl who touches darkness, a sweetheart that has developed her own grit, a lost soul who won’t stop fighting to be found. Her heart just longs to matter- to belong to someone.
These two have a violent, chaotic, and vitriolic connection- make no mistake, it is intense and unusual and unsettling, but also electric and captivating. And their dynamic is only part of this wild ride- the whole time you’re just trying to figure out just where this story is going, and where it does I was not anticipating. This is a stepbrother bully, a taboo, a romantic suspense- all of those things yet none of those things. Such is the genius of Ashley Jade- she makes you question everything. Even the nature of love itself-is perhaps hate really just an expression of love? Ah, well you’ll have to read to find out.
PS: this is a total standalone. None if the Black Mountain Academy books need to be read to read this, nor any of AJ’s other series.
Another PS: Fair warning- those concerned with safety or those with strict parameters when it comes to romance, this is not for you. This book doesn’t skirt around it- in fact, it embraces its “unsafe” depiction of love. I also have exactly ONE trigger (ie very little makes me unsettled), and this book hit on it, so readers who are on the fence, beware.
Ashley has such a keen ability to take a trope and put it on its head- her stories are never what they seem-and the result is a story that really defies any labels, stories that are refreshingly different and unexpected. Stories that hit you in the gut so sharply that you have to recover a bit before you can truly digest their brilliance. There’s daringness to her storytelling, a bravado that is quite consuming. In part, this is because Ashley is unafraid to do what so many avoid- she lets her characters be deeply flawed, unlikeable at times, villains in their own story. She sees the humanity in their brokenness, the bravery in their savageness, and she doesn’t just dabble in their issues, she IMMERSES us in them, by giving us narratives that put her characters through incredible adversity, with her own delicious brand of dramatic darkness. And Hate Me might be her boldest story yet.
Knox- oh Knox. I can’t describe him without spoiling, but he is a FORCE. He’s Ashley’s most flawed character yet- not truly redeemable, not likable but somehow lovable. He’s sinister and toxic and unsettling- but he’s also surprisingly vulnerable. Ashley chisels her way into his heart’s darkness and somehow uses it to paint the beauty of his soul- even if it is forever stained. Like so many characters before him, Ashley accepts Knox for who and what he is, she develops him with integrity- even the parts that are “wrong” and messed up, even his hate and anger, even his depraved choices. She doesn’t justify or excuse his actions, she lets him be what he is- a psychopath- and for that, somehow I love him even more.
Aspen rivals Sawyer for my favorite Ashley Jade heroine of all time- she’s quirky, loving, and gentle- but unlike Sawyer, she’s been tainted by the darkness around her- she’s the least straightforward heroine in Ashley’s books, because there is a duality to her. Twin existences that rival one another- contrasts that make her so interesting. She’s the good girl who touches darkness, a sweetheart that has developed her own grit, a lost soul who won’t stop fighting to be found. Her heart just longs to matter- to belong to someone.
These two have a violent, chaotic, and vitriolic connection- make no mistake, it is intense and unusual and unsettling, but also electric and captivating. And their dynamic is only part of this wild ride- the whole time you’re just trying to figure out just where this story is going, and where it does I was not anticipating. This is a stepbrother bully, a taboo, a romantic suspense- all of those things yet none of those things. Such is the genius of Ashley Jade- she makes you question everything. Even the nature of love itself-is perhaps hate really just an expression of love? Ah, well you’ll have to read to find out.
PS: this is a total standalone. None if the Black Mountain Academy books need to be read to read this, nor any of AJ’s other series.
Another PS: Fair warning- those concerned with safety or those with strict parameters when it comes to romance, this is not for you. This book doesn’t skirt around it- in fact, it embraces its “unsafe” depiction of love. I also have exactly ONE trigger (ie very little makes me unsettled), and this book hit on it, so readers who are on the fence, beware.