Sometimes love is war.

Clay... My best friend has held a grudge against his half-sister, Lauren, forever. It’s unjustified and ridiculous, but I have to take his side. Also ridiculous? How bad I have it for her.

My Lauren radar goes off the second she steps in the building. Did I mention we work together and her dad’s the boss? Yeah, she’s so off-limits I might as well start running now and never come back.

Except, her family is like family to me. So, I’ll do whatever it takes to stick around, even if she hates my guts.

Lauren... I date guys nothing like Clay on purpose. I will not let my old crush on him get the best of me. It’s going on the list of things I’ve outgrown and will deny ever having, like the Justin Bieber poster I used to keep on the back of my door.

It doesn’t matter that I’ve caught Clay looking at me like he’s a jewel thief and I’m a precious gem encased in glass. He’d never choose me over my brother, or his job, or his enjoyment in teasing me.

Avoiding Clay is easy, until the day I realize my dad’s asked for Clay’s help in checking up on my dates.

No stinking way. -

I Hate You First was a workplace, enemies-to-lover story. And I thought it was fine.

One thing I really enjoyed was the family dynamic of the book. Lauren and her Parker had a really complicated relationship. And it was interesting to see them interact throughout the book. But due to that dynamic between them- Clary, Parker’s best friend, can’t really express his feelings towards Lauren in the beginning.

The romance between Lauren and Clay was sweet. They had an understanding of each other, and it was clear that they had known each other for a while. The attraction and banter are noted. And despite me, finding this to be an okay book, it’s hard not to deny their chemistry.

I think the main issue I had with this book is that it felt more like a short story. After reading it, I found myself wanting more of everything. And I thought that everything just scratched the surface. There’s not too much conflict and everything felt so steady throughout the book. And there wasn’t really any real character development.

Final Thoughts

I Hate You First had a sweet and cute romance but other than that the story itself felt lackluster and offered no real character development.