“If you love a good enemies-to-lovers trope, run–don’t walk–to the nearest bookstore or library near you.” –BuzzFeed “I couldn’t put it down!” –New York Times bestselling author Simone Elkeles When Tyson Trice finds himself tossed into the wealthy community of Pacific Hills, he expects not to belong. Not that he cares. After recovering from being shot and surviving the rough streets of … and surviving the rough streets of Lindenwood, he doesn’t care about anyone or anything.
Golden girl Nandy Smith has spent most of her life building the pristine image it takes to make it in Pacific Hills. After learning that her parents are taking in a troubled teen boy, Nandy fears her summer plans and her reputation will go up in flames.
The wall between their bedrooms feels as thin as the line between love and hate. But their growing attraction won’t be denied. Soon Trice is bringing Nandy out of her shell and Nandy’s trying to melt the ice around Trice’s heart. But with the ever-present pull back to Lindenwood, it’ll be a wonder if Trice makes it through this summer at all.
Also by Whitney D. Grandison:
The Right Side of Reckless
more
My Review
What happens when the poor kid finds himself living the dream?
When Tyson Trice’s father killed his mother, injured Trice, and turned the gun on himself, it rocked the foundation of Trice’s world. Suddenly he found himself staying with a family in an expensive subdivision at his dying grandfather’s bequest.
The Smiths are good people, but they can’t possibly understand what it was like to grow up in an abusive household on the wrong side of the tracks. Trice tries to fit in, for the sake of the daughter, Nandy, who he’d played with as a child, but when the past comes calling, he realises he’s been dreaming-there’s only one way out for a guy like him.
Nandy remembers the kid their gardener used to bring with him, but Tyson has changed. He’s handsome, for one thing, but cynical and hard to reach now. She’s also worried he might reflect badly on her hard-won popularity- this was cotillion year, after all. But the bond they shared as children draws these two vastly different personalities together and creates issues neither could have foreseen.
This is a coming of age story filled with interesting characters and plenty of angst (which I loved!).
What didn’t ring true for me was Nandy. She’s supposedly a sweet, kind girl who does all kinds of charity work in the community, but she came off as a spoiled, rich girl worried more about her image than the real-life issues Trice faced.
Other than that, this is an easy 4 lovely kisses read for me!
What a heart warming story. I love the clash of culture in this story. It was an easy read, grabbed you from the very beginning and held on. I would love to see more from this world. The characters were super fun
“A LOVE HATE THING” BY Whitney D. Grandison
I thoroughly enjoyed this heartwarming read about Tyson Trice and Nandy Smith. Tyson who has a protective shell he has built around him from living in a tough neighborhood and now have undergone a terrible family tragedy and now will need to live in Pacific Hills an upscale and rich neighborhood. A huge change for him coming from Lindenwood. Nandy Smith has a reputation to uphold having lived in Pacific Hills her life. Now will she risk her reputation for her family taking in a troubled boy Tyson.
I found the story to be heartfelt and emotional. I enjoy a the to love relationship where the attraction is undeniable. I found that over the time reading this lengthy book, I did form an attachment for the characters especially reading about Tyson’s troubled past. Overall, I was satisfied with the ending and this was a great love story that Grandison was able to execute. I enjoyed this read very much!
2.5 stars
This author is new to me, and though it seems she does have an internet following, it looks like she’s new to the published author’s game. So, I’ll do my best to explain how reading this story went for me. Because it was a roller coaster.
Parts of this book were amazing. I absolutely adore Trice and, for the most part, Nandy’s family. Nandy…not so much. I just couldn’t seem to connect with her character, her personality seemed all over the place. I understand putting up a front, being what others expect you to be and act how others expect you to act, especially as a teenager and young adult. Those weren’t the things that confused me about Nandy. It had more to do with her inner thoughts and feelings. Part of me wondered if the author did this on purpose because of how angst-ridden teenagers can be. Let’s face it, that’s a confusing time and we don’t even understand ourselves when going through that stage in life. Yet, for how smart and well-liked Nandy was in her community, she was just so blind to certain things…especially her boyfriend, Chad.
The cast of characters, more specifically the other teens in Pacific Hills, were a lot of fun. I could see the teen rom-com come to life in my mind’s eye. (Take note: there are some gritty things that happen in this story, hence my R rating. It’s not all light summer fun.) There were your quiet nerds, your super friendly geeks, the rich douche bags, the misunderstood rich girls, etc., etc. For the most part, these characters were fleshed out enough that they didn’t seem to be caricatures, they were true players in the story.
When it comes to Trice’s “before” life, the life he left behind Lindenwood, the author did a wonderful job of painting the picture. The inflections and speech patterns, her description of the houses and families. Beautiful poetry. Of course, I hated when Trice went there. I would get a hollow pit in my stomach waiting for the other shoe to drop. That just means the author did her job in her writing.
All that being said, there were a lot of things that were repetitive in this story. I would find myself falling into the story just to be yanked out and finding myself skimming out of boredom due to the characters going over and over the same issues. On top of that, a lot of their thoughts and actions were contradictory to what had come before. So, there would be sections of this story that I was all in, and sections that I was just waiting to get to something interesting again.
I can definitely see this author’s potential. With some experience and time, I predict she will write amazing stories. She has a voice I haven’t read often, and I mean that as a great compliment. While I’m not giving this one a super high rating, I am looking forward to seeing more from her in the future.
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**
Whitney D. Grandison’s ‘A Love Hate Thing’ is a coming-of-age tale revolving around a girl named Nandy and a boy named Trice. Childhood playmates, Nandy and Trice haven’t seen each other for ten years. When Trice suddenly moves in with Nandy’s family, he’s changed, and so has Nandy. As they both try to adjust to their new normal, they’ll rediscover the friendship they once had, plus a whole lot more.
There are a lot of things I liked about this novel, one of which is how it takes on socioeconomic issues, domestic violence, trauma, and the importance of family. That said, I just did not understand the flip-flopping of Nandy’s behavior. She was so hot and cold with Trice, and there wasn’t enough exposition to help me understand her motivations and feelings. In fact, because of this, I found myself rooting for Trice and Shayne more than I did for Trice and Nandy. There were also a few time jumps between chapters that left me feeling confused as to where the characters were at emotionally. In my opinion, sometimes there needed to be a Trice chapter instead of a Nandy chapter, and vice versa.
It’s a good story, I just was left wanting more character development and more depth. There are some really beautiful moments in the book, and I would have liked to see more moments like that.
**Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.**