Review: As Long as You Hate Me by Carrie Aarons


Note: This ARC was provided by the author via Give Me Books Promotions in exchange for an honest review.

Over the past couple of years, Carrie Aarons has become a go-to author for me. She doesn't limit herself to one genre or trope, and for every book of hers that I've read, I've enjoyed myself quite thoroughly. Same goes for her latest release, As Long as You Hate Me. This second-chance romance brings together Dean Jacobs and Kara O'Connor. Ten years ago, they were in high school and very much in love. He promised to love her forever, and she believed him. Seven years ago, everything ended. Now, he's a bona fide rock star and she's the girl that he wrote songs for and about. They both played their roles in the break-up, leaving both with very bitter feelings. However, a public relations disaster is on the horizon for Dean. He's being accused of something he knows full well he never did, and he's being told that he needs to clean up his act. No more random hook-ups or meaningless flings that end up making him look like a manwhore. His latest mistake could cost him everything that he's worked for. What he needs is someone that'll have the public see him a new and softer light. What he needs is a fake girlfriend...who could then become his fake fiancée. Who he needs is the girl whose heart he broke--and who broke his heart right back. Who he needs is Kara, but will either of them be able to walk away unscathed when this charade has ended?

There's a lot of love and hate going on in this story, and interspersed through it all is a whole lot of heat and heart with a dash of angst here and there plus a pinch of humor to keep things enticingly balanced. Dean and Kara may not have all those warm and squishy feelings when they see each other seven years after everything imploded between them, but don't let the animosity fool you. There's a hell of a lot of tension going on, sexual and otherwise, and it kept me wanting to flip from page to page. Dean and Kara are two people that felt very real. They weren't perfect, and I could go all cheesy by interjecting with a "but they were oh-so-perfect for each other" right here and I wouldn't be wrong. However, these two have issues. While other women would probably swoon over the knowledge that there's at least one song out there that's all about them, not everyone's like that. To have such intimate things about you and what you shared with one person out there for all the world to listen to and analyze? I got why Kara wasn't a fan, but of course, that's just one side of the story, and she and Dean had one fantastic story to tell. I may not always enjoy the whole fake relationship story line but that's just a smidgen of what As Long as You Hate Me is about. Give it a read, and hopefully, you'll love it as much as I did. It gets five stars. ♥

Release Date: 03 December 2017

Date Read: 02 December 2017

Learn more about Carrie Aarons.

Purchase As Long as You Hate Me on Amazon.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Release Blitz: Saved by Hazel James

Book Spotlight: Cherry Pie by Samantha Kane

Review: The Wrong Kind of Angel by Ruby Moone