Release Date: September 7, 2021

Blurb

A new stand alone enemies-to-lovers romance from USA Today bestselling author K.A. Linde…

Derek Ballentine and I have always been on opposite sides of everything.

I went to a public Savannah high school. He went to a private Catholic school. I went to Duke on scholarship. He went to UNC as a legacy. When we both end up at Harvard for graduate school and we’re finally on a level playing field, I think it’s all going to change.

I was wrong.

The only thing that changed was ending up in his bed.

Now my grandma has passed away, and Derek is the attorney helping the people trying to steal her legacy. I’ll do anything to stop that from happening. Even take on my lifetime enemy.

I hate him at first sight…but I also want him at first hate.

Review

While I’m usually not a huge fan of storylines that jump from past to present, I really enjoyed listening to this book on audio. I felt like each new chapter, each jump from high school or college or young adult life to present revealed a small piece of each character until we knew their story.

It took me a few chapters to get into the reading with a strong southern accent, but by the end, I enjoyed it.

Marley is a girl that has always had the world against her. She was raised right by her grandparents, but she never really felt like she belonged on the right side of the track. Throughout the story, we get to see how Marley and Derek’s relationship ebbs and flows, and the life that gets in the way of them being together. While this book is an “enemies-to-lovers,” it really starts out as Marley hating Derek for being a prep school boy while she was a public school girl. From there, Marley projects her “public school girl” image, and Derek plays an indifferent character. They go back and forth “getting each other back,” but really… it’s, shall we call it, foreplay? I never got the true sense that they were “enemies,” more like two people who just couldn’t tell each other about their feelings.

My only real complaint listening to the story was that there were SO MANY GIRL NAMES, I had a hard time keeping track of the characters. This was my first KA Linde book (and it won’t be my last!), so maybe these names are Easter eggs and I just don’t know them? In the beginning, there were cheerleaders from the public school and cheerleaders from the private school, a large-ish group of girlfriends, family members, etc. Then there were college friends, and then doctoral friends, and it was kind of a lot to keep track of. Maybe it wouldn’t have been as confusing if I were reading it?

Overall, I give this listen 4.5 stars. I enjoyed it and didn’t want to stop listening because I was dying to find out how it ended. It elicited all of the emotions – with my stomach dropping in parts, my heart literally aching, some feelings of empowerment and some of disbelief or despair.

*Note: I received an advanced copy of this audiobook and am voluntarily leaving this review.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Buy the book here or download it on Audible here!

Meet K.A. Linde

K.A. Linde is the USA Today bestselling author of the Avoiding Series, Wrights, and more than thirty other novels. She has a Masters degree in political science from the University of Georgia, was the head campaign worker for the 2012 presidential campaign at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and served as the head coach of the Duke University dance team. She loves reading fantasy novels, binge-watching Supernatural, traveling, and dancing in her spare time.

She currently lives in Lubbock, Texas, with her husband and two super-adorable puppies.

Visit her online at Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @authorkalinde.

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