Craves The Angst: BLOG TOUR with REVIEW and BOOK EXCERPT for HATE TO LOVE YOU by Tijan:

"... superbly written, highly entertaining, emotional and sexy ..." - Craves the Angst

TITLE: Hate To Love You
AUTHOR: Tijan
AGE GROUP: New Adult
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
RELEASE DATE: August 28, 2017
PUBLISHER: EverAfter Romance
PRINT LENGTH: Approx 400
BLITZ COORDINATED BY:
Social Butterfly PR

COPY PROVIDED BY: Author
MY GOODREADS REVIEW LINK
RATING: 4 Stars!
CLIFFHANGER: No

BOOK BLURB:
Rule #1: No hot guys.

It might sound ridiculous. I get it. It kind of is, but college was supposed to be my sanctuary. It was my place to start over. The rumors, the whispers, and the jealousy I endured through high school would all be gone.

No one would know me at college.

Rule #2: No drama.

I’d major in pre-law. I’d make a few loyal friends. Everything would be easy breezy. No one was going to use me or hurt me. I wouldn’t let them.

Rule #3: New year. New place. New me.

Right?

Wrong.

And all because of Shay Coleman.

Football captain and quarterback, he was the big guy on campus. The cocky guy in my political science class with a smirk. I hated him on sight . . .

. . . and he was about to break all my rules.

REVIEWER'S NOTE: Hate To Love You is a New Adult, Contemporary Romance written by Tijan. I was gifted a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review through Social Butterfly PR.

4 “Hate To Love You” Stars!

... superbly written, highly entertaining, emotional and sexy ...

The Review:

So many feels!! I thoroughly enjoyed this read! Tijan does it again with a superbly written, highly entertaining, emotional and sexy story. I just finished it and I’m already excited to do a reread.

Story/Characters...

Kennedy Clarke is a loner and she prefers it that way. She has rules and guidelines to follow and she’s vowed to never let anyone use or bully her again. Not forming any attachments or letting people know who her brothers are is her plan to get through college as a solo act without any drama. That is until she’s partnered in class with the one guy she knows can make her feel again.

Shay Coleman is the way-too-hot-for-his-own-good star quarterback of their college football team. He’s adored. He’s admired. And he’s popular. All the things Kennedy wants to stay away from. However, Shay doesn’t get the message and thinks her snark is too cute to ignore. Soon, all the walls Kennedy has built and all the rules she’s established go flying right out the window as Shay invades every part of her life.

I loved Shay! He was hot and intense yet super sweet and understanding. Kennedy intrigues him and you can tell right away he’s interested in more than being class partners.

The story in this book was so well told. One of Kennedy’s peers is attacked and we get a compelling insight into the emotions a friend goes through when dealing with trauma. Normally, it’s the main characters who have to deal with the emotional fallout from something tragic, but this time, we got to see the pain and hurt through Kennedy’s eyes as she was there for her friend. And then when it was Kennedy’s turn to need a friend, I loved how everyone rallied around her to support her. That’s how it should be in real life when something terrible happens to someone. And Shay? Hot-boy goes above and beyond to help Kennedy feel safe and loved, even while she’s resistant to him. I loved how persistent he was. He knew what he wanted and he went after it.

And as always, this author gives us a well rounded cast of side characters with their own drama and stories. It was fun at times, serious at other times ... and ALWAYS WITH THE FEELS!

Such a great read!

Now... let’s talk about Kennedy... aka “spitfire”...

As much as I enjoyed this story, I have to admit that I didn’t like Kennedy in the beginning. The author takes a long time before she explains the dynamics with her brother and the reasoning behind her self imposed exile, and it makes Kennedy come off as snobbish and unreasonable. I wish she hadn’t been so jaded right from the start, or if she was going to be, then we got a better explanation of her past, earlier in the story. After it’s somewhat explained, I understood how she didn’t want to ever be used again and she didn’t want to endure the bullying she experienced in high school. Her heart and spirit were broken and she wanted to avoid pain like that from ever happening again.

But she was also being a bit hypocritical. She didn’t want people to judge her or come to conclusions about her because of who she was associated with, yet she judged people and pushed them away without ever really getting to know them. Her first instinct towards Shay was he was just like her ex-boyfriend who hurt her so badly. But he wasn’t. The same thing for her dormmates she ultimately becomes good friends with. She just assumed they’d be kind to her and use her ONLY because they wanted to get close to her brother or use the fact she was friendly with the hot guys on the football team to gain entrance into their circle. And some would have done just that, but not all of them, which she later came to understand when they were there for her when she needed them most.

Kennedy was definitely a spitfire and I loved the way she stood up for those she cared about, but she was also preachy. I really didn’t enjoy all the man-bashing going on in this novel. There were some valid and necessary points made throughout the story and I enjoyed getting a different perspective on things, but I also wished Kennedy hadn’t been so flippant or harsh when dealing with her problems. She was written to look tough, like she could handle herself, and I liked that. But I felt it was taken a bit too far at times, and she came off also looking a little immature ... and a bit crazy.

However, with all that said, she did grow throughout the book and by the end, I really liked her. And I think that might have been the point all along. She grew, she matured and she learned to love and trust again and ultimately became a more rounded character by the end of the book.

The Wrap Up:

I’ve said this before. I’m a huge fan of this author and I always will be. She’s my guilty pleasure. I love the stories she comes up with and I love the characters she gives us. Hate To Love You is just another fine example of how this author can pull me out of my real life and take me on a fun, sexy and eye opening journey. And her books ALWAYS end up in my reread pile ... as will this one. I can’t wait to do another read through!

Purchase at Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU

"HATE TO LOVE YOU" BOOK EXCERPT

I was almost grinning from delight as I shoved open the back door. If I hit him, hey, all was fair in the war we were fighting of who could piss each other off the best.

It didn’t.

He was leaning against the wall, the back of his head resting on the brick, and he looked over to smirk at me. “I want to see your room.”

I thrust my hand out. “I’ll take those notes.”

That smirk just widened. He patted his bag and pushed off from the wall. “They’re in my email. I need to get on a computer.” He patted my arm and moved past me, heading inside. “I can use yours.”

“Hey!” I followed him in.

He was looking up the stairs. “Sabrina said you were on the fourth floor. You saw my place. I want to see yours. It’s only fair.”

He wasn’t waiting for my go-ahead. He was already up and rounding second floor to third. He’d be at my floor before I could get there. “Stop! I am not okay with this.”

He was at the third-floor door. He glanced down with that same goddamn smirk. “Better tell me which room or I’m going to hang out in the hallway.”

“Why are you always smirking? Is it permanently attached to your face?”

“What room, Clarke?” He was at my hallway door.

Fucking hell. I gritted my teeth. “Wait. Just wait. My door automatically locks.”

He’d opened the door but let it shut. Waiting as I covered the last set of stairs, I refused to let him see me panting. I stood there, purposely holding my breath until he narrowed his eyes and cocked his head to the side. “Breathe, Clarke. You’re going to pass out.”

I almost burped out the small pocket of air I’d been holding. “I hate you so much.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He waved that off. “We get it. Eternal damnation in hell, the whole shebang. Whatever.” He nodded to the door. “Stop stalling. I want to see your room.”

I was picturing pitchforks and fire. Maybe that was the burning smell he mentioned. It was hell, and all the fire in there. I yanked the door, glaring as I did. “Was this Sabrina’s idea?”

“Nope. All mine.” He was right behind me. I could feel his breathing. “She refused to tell me your room number, said I had to call.”

My eyes widened at the thought of him coming up by himself, strolling down the hallway, and then knocking on my door. Good Lordy gracious. Too many would’ve seen him at my door. I would’ve been the talk of the dorm.

I shuddered, unlocked, and entered my room.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR...

Tijan is a New York Times Bestselling author that writes suspenseful and unpredictable novels. Her characters are strong, intense, and gut-wrenchingly real with a little bit of sass on the side. Tijan began writing later in life and once she started, she was hooked. She’s written multi-bestsellers including the Carter Reed Series, the Fallen Crest Series, and the Broken and Screwed Series among others. She is currently writing a new YA series along with so many more from north Minnesota where she lives with a man she couldn’t be without and an English Cocker she adores.

To find what to read next of hers, go to www.tijansbooks.com
WALL STREET JOURNAL, NEW YORK TIMES, AND USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR