They call him the devil. When I crash-landed into him on my first day at Loyola Academy, I was sure that couldn’t be true. He was the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen in real life. Little did I know he was also the cruelest. I went from starstruck to stunned the moment his cynical eyes cut through me. I can’t tell you what it was that made him want to punish me. But from that day forward the … to punish me. But from that day forward the brooding recluse of a man made it his goal to torment me.
I want to loathe him, and some days, I do.
But good or bad, nobody’s attention has ever tasted so sweet.
What do you do when you have a hate crush on your bully?
Worse yet, what do you do when he’s also your teacher?
Hate Crush is a full length standalone age gap bully romance with a complete ending.
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How awesome does it sound when your teacher is your crush and a major bully? While your ‘hormones are firing on cylinders’, your emotions are a roller coaster of havoc and all he does is pin you to your sit with a stare. Hate Crush is a student-teacher romance with lots of angry/hate fuck. I’ve always enjoyed A. Zavarelli’s books and this one is no different.
Stella LeClaire (18), starts her final senior year at Loyola Academy. The school is of wealth ad privilege. Lots of old money and rich students are typically in it. Stella isn’t rich but her father calls in favors and enrols her in rich school to appease his model wife. While Stella maintained excellent grades but there is a pressure hanging over her head for she needed motivation and she is attention-starved. Her parents have long since stop being together and they stopped being parents to her a long ago. Her rebellious actions were only to gain attention from her parents but in the end she was pushed away.
Sebastian Carter (somewhere in his late twenties), is a grade A asshole. He is the hot teacher of doom. He is cruel and moody and he has no time to butter up rich, privilege students. He was once a student of Loyola academy his career path already chosen by his father. One night he was celebrating his rebellious actions which ended in a disaster. Since then his dedication was to help students stand up to their dreams.
‘I don’t care. I’m here to make this year hell for her and wear her down until I get to the core of her emotions. Her desires.’
Sebastian finds Stella as a challenge. Her path seems to be set by her parents and she has abandonment issues. She tries to adapt the situation created for her and Sebastian latches to her daring her to rebel against the obligations she was forced into. Stella keeps getting into trouble/punishments from the first day of school especially in Sebastian’s class. She is attracted to him and wants his approval. She struggles through loneliness and I admire her strength to not fall into petty fights whenever she was bullied. While she wants Sebastian’s guidance and attention which is dangerously intoxicating it’s hard for Sebastian to resist her when his morals are blurred.
“You look fucking ridiculous in this outfit,” he grunts.
“Yet here we are,” I whisper. “With your hand between my legs, regardless.”
“You’re soaked for me, you little deviant.” He nips at my ear. “Because you haven’t stopped thinking about it, have you?”
Honestly they are hot together. Awesome chemistry and intriguing plot to keep a readers interest on them. I like Sybil, she is such a good friend and there is Louisa who is complete opposite of Sybil. They are best secondary characters in my view and has been throughout the book.
“Do you think it wise?” He circles me like a shark in bloody waters, slowly removing his leather belt from his jeans. “To walk across campus with your tits chafing against that white blouse for any pre-pubescent motherfucker to see?”
“It wasn’t for them.” I crane my neck to look up at him. “Nobody saw.”
“Those tits are mine, Stella,” he growls as he lowers himself onto his knees in front of me. “They are for my eyes only. Understand?”
The only thing I didn’t understand the concept of the story, what was Sebastians view towards Stella. He wants her to go against her parents and fight for her dreams. But I’m confused with Sebastian’s dedication, he is hot and cold all the time. Overall I enjoyed this book. Honestly A. Zavarelli’s previous books are much awesome.
A very beautiful romance !
The parents of soon-to-be 18 year-old Stella LeClaire accompagny her to the posh and overpriced boarding school at Loyola Academy where she will finish her last year of schooling before going to university.
Arrived there, they visit the premises before discovering the bedroom.
A little further, teacher Sebastian Carter finds the premises for a new school year…
———————-
A very pleasant read for this beautiful “billionnaire romance” which features two characters both very different but also very endearing.
I couldn’t put the novel down because the story was so fascinating !
I loved the whole novel and especially the end : a great reading time !
A book to discover absolutely.
Four stages of Forbidden romance – Lust, Denial, Passion, Guilt and Ash explores each in depth with her trademark flair for gut wrenching angst and frustrating intentions.
This one is an off beat norm for her, and a standalone to boot. I just fell in love with Stella LeClaire. She’s back trodden but not for long. She has a lot of fight and grit in her, despite her tender age and horrendous familial background. She’s trapped, first by her parents’ induced guilt and then by “Mr. Lucifer Hot Teacher of Doom Carter.”
Her day one at the prestigious and elite Loyola Academy start on the wrong foot with the resident Mean Girl Posse, the burgeoning of strange feelings and unwanted attraction for Sebastian Carter.
He himself is a walking talking dichotomy. His Hot/cold brusque attitude, gruff and abrasive personality keeps his heart shut tight and Stella’s head in a spin.
“I could freeze to death waiting for your warmth.”
The sizzling chemistry set the pages on fire, the secret trysts in detention room were regular scorchers. They throw caution to the wind and I was stressed, lest they be caught. It was dangerous and thrilling to watch them escape with hair’s breadth everytime!
Their relationship was doomed from the start. It’s expiry date written before the manufacturing date it seems.
“I’m handing you the loaded gun, All good love stories end in tragedy,”
He was hiding a huge secret, so was she..
He was running from home, so was she..
He was madly in love with her, so was she…
They’re opposites that attracted like magnets and readers get glued to them like voyeurs.
There’s the usual suspects of jealous colleagues and spiteful teens plotting against them. There’s missing in action parents who ditch and run, there’s scorned and scornful staff who threatens to bust them open.
“cruelty is a just pain’s gatekeeper”
And amidst all this is this young, mismatched couple trying to battle the calls of their heart and body.
It’s saturated with explosive passions and soaking guilt so naturally there’s angst in all its full range
A euphoric and visceral ride into this well written and deeply romantic book will make you Ashleigh’s hard-core fan instantly, if you’re not there yet
4 stars Love Poison
Oh my lord this book was so freaking good I couldn’t stop reading. This book will have you remembering those good old high school day’s when you had the popular kid’s and the not so popular and the crushes you had on your teachers. Hate Crush evoked so many different emotions.
I wanted to smack so many of the other characters but wanted to reach out and hug some of them too. I was heartbroken for Stella and Sebastian and all the unfortunate events in their lives, but It had me hooked from the beginning. It’s definitely a must read.
Hooked straight from the start and sincerely glad I read it. The characters were amazing and the story was compelling. I didn’t want to put it down for a moment.
I really like this book. I found this story entertaining and it’s a quick read of a forbidden romance Sebastian & Stella brought fire, chemistry, and angst.
Stella’s growth and Sebastian healing are centerpieces to the story. Sebastian could be a real jerk but I think the author does a decent job explaining why he’s such a mess. Also, Stella has some of the worst parents… not in an abusive way but in a “these people really suck” kind of way. I thought Stella and Sebastian had strong chemistry which the author showcased pretty often. There’s no way to really follow “Hate Crush” with a sequel considering HEA epilogue but I wouldn’t mind another book similar to this one from the author.
More like this, please! And more diversity too! Would love to see a Black heroine.
If you like Ivy Smoak’s Hunted Series, you will LOVE A. Zavarelli’s Hate Crush! 1) The story is complete in one book of 43 chapters – NO sequels; 2) The anti-hero is much cuter, and I think meaner [how can that even be a compliment, ladies? We are so demented!]; 3) The steam between Stella and Sebastian is solo believable! AND 4) I stayed up all night [it’s4:15 AM] to finish reading this crazy, lovely story!
An Unexpected Homerun!
*self-purchased on Amazon. No need of sugar daddies called promo teams* “
What’s this book about? (I’m trying to give as little spoilers as possible)
Stella arrives at Loyola Academy, hoping to achieve somebody’s else’s dreams for her life. There’s one person that sees right through her charade. Sebastian, also known as Satan, has no time for games. He’s not a fun man and when his attention falls on Stella, he’ll make her hate him. But he’s her teacher. And she’s his tortured and disobedient student. A Standalone Age Gap Bully Romance.
This is my first solo A. Zavarelli read. I previously read the Ties That Bind duet which I loved very much! I picked Hate Crush up because I was looking through age gap recommendations. I had zero expectations and once I read page one, I WAS HOOKED. What a rollercoaster. This was delicious smut with an intricate and heartfelt plot! These characters were ON FIRE. The steam was impeccable. Sebastian and Stella has amazing chemistry – OFF THE CHARTS. Sebastian is an impressive bully and a guy you hate to love, but you can’t resist him because he is so HOT LOL. Stella was such a strong girl throughout the book. I rooted for her to overcome the obstacles she was faced with. She was an ACE type of character. I LOVED HER.
I’ll be going through A. Zavarelli’s catalogue and I’ll be reading more of her work ASAP.
I recommend this to lovers of steamy age gap romance, strong tortured leading girls and hot older bullies with sugar daddy tendencies. LOL
Age-gap forbidden romance with tons of angst, a hot AF male lead, and steamy scenes? Yes, please!
This book hit all the check marks for me. Stella and Sebastian have amazing chemistry that is . Sebastian’s “surface motives” bothered me for a while, but when his truth is revealed, the heartbreak and twisted thinking make sense.
The one thing I really appreciated about this book was Sybil- she was never shady in any way- a true friend in every way!! Always great to see strong female friendships that last! And I really want to read Sybil’s HEA!
Overall- fantastic story that I just ripped through!
I’ve not had the pleasure of reading this author until now but I tell you what, I have been missing out!! I loved this story! Suspense, excitement, chemistry that zaps right through your e-reader! I loved these characters even when I was mad at them. But that’s the point, isn’t it? To make you feel something? I definitely felt it with this book! You won’t be sorry you picked this one up! Fast paced and entertaining!
Very erotic and forbidden, naughty and addictive!
Stella LeClaire arrives at Loyola Academy to study her senior year of high school. Born of an ex-model turned wanna be socialite and an ex-photographer turned account executive, she lived the life of the wealthy, but not the upper crust. They are nouveau rich, so they don’t belong in the upper echelons, in spite of her mother’s aspirations and incessant demands on her husband. All Stella likes to do is take photographs but her mother forbids it and has prepared her school curriculum for the career she thinks Stella should have. Her parents have a crumbling marriage and neither seem to be willing to deal with her so they deposited her in this boarding school which serves as a bridge into Harvard, Cornell or any of the Ivy League schools. Her only friend is Sybil, daughter of American royalty and with whom she shared the past summer.
“This isn’t a boarding school at all. It’s a machine designed to churn out America’s best and brightest. The future one percent.”
Stella is not happy with her present circumstances but determined to make her father proud. She attends classes determined to work her butt off. She has a strong reaction to one of her professors, Sebastian Carter, a.k.a the devil. He’s forbidden because he’s a professor, and she’s a student, and yet, she’s entranced by him.
“Mr. Carter is a grade A a-hole. We call him Lucifer. Or the hot teacher of doom. Depends on who you ask.”
There’s a secret in Mr. Carter’s past that keeps him teaching in this Academy instead of occupying a position high up in the corporate world of Carter Holdings. He’s making penance for what he considers a past sin. It’s his dream to teach a student to think on his own, to pursue his/her dreams instead of following the same old pattern of corporate America. When he sees Stella in his classroom, the new student, he finds his new project.
“I will push her harder than I’ve pushed anyone else before her, and she will cling to hold onto herself in the face of any storm I might bring her way. I will open her eyes to the realities of this world. And in the end, she will despise me for my ruthlessness, but she will be grateful.”
There’s a rare attraction between them, but Sebastian is so harsh and commanding with Stella that although she has a crush on him, she also hates him for his actions. Even though he seems to be on the warpath with her, he’s her champion when other students make her a scapegoat of their mischief.
They have such a weird relation. He’s cruel and she hates him, they have wild kinky sex and she loves him. He delights in punishing her, but he’s also addicted to her. She’s aroused by his kinkiness, and devastated by his rejections. He dismisses her and denies any kind of attachment, and yet he appears on her dorm, needy and kinky. So he pulls her and pushes her away. He’s clearly conflicted and Stella senses a darkness in him that she wants to fix but he doesn’t share. Meanwhile, Stella’s parents’ marriage implodes and she needs to deal with the wreckage and the financial situation she’s left in. With no other place to be, she wants to stay at Loyola so she can be near Sebastian and she comes up with a harebrained scheme to raise her tuition money. Of course, he’s her rescuer and also her tormenter.
I admired Stella a heck of a lot. Her world imploded around her, her parents abandoned her, her classmates bullied her and scorned her, and Sebastian alternatively wanted her and rejected her. Her only constant ally was Sybil. And yet, in spite of all her obstacles, she persevered, grew up, and found herself, finally doing what she was destined to do. She was the stronger one in this relation, in my opinion, although Sebastian was the most fascinating.
This book is addictive in its darkness and decadence. You get mad at Sebastian but also understand where he’s coming from. This is not a smooth sailing romance but a bumpy ride with some plot twists, lots of drama, lots of cruelty and bullying and yet, strangely satisfying and riveting. I was fascinated from beginning to end, even though I was aghast sometimes. Very entertaining!
Best Teacher/student Read… EVER!!!
Sebastian is the epitome of Assholeness!!!
Totally an unputdownable read that will have you begging for more!
It had all the feels and I swear, at one point, I even grunted my frustration in public!
Epic emotional rollercoaster that gave me all the clusterfk’s I could handle.
FYI: Sebastian belongs to me as he was gifted as my Book Boyfriend by the amazingly talented A. Zavarelli
Thank you for a most enthralling love story.
A true masterpiece you never knew you needed!
Let me tell you this bullymance is like no other!!!! I highly loved it and found myself not flipping past the sex scenes like I normally do in romance. You know why? Because these scenes were written exquisitely well!!! I’m telling you it was hot and I was on edge and I couldn’t get enough!!!
5 super angsty stars! This book has it all: taboo/forbidden love, bully romance, a virgin, enemies-to-lovers. You will totally love to hate the hero, Sebastian. He is a broody, dark, emotionally unavailable alpha male high school teacher. The heroine, Stella, is starting her senior year at a new elite high school following a path her parents picked out for her. Both come from messed up families but where one is dark, the other is light. Their journey is full of twists and turns that you can’t put down!
ello Hot Teacher of Doom!!
Talk about a name, seems Mr. Carter has a few. Those given to him by his students aren’t always nice.
Hate Crush is a fun diversion. If you can, I must say the Hamptons are nice this time of year…Okay, I can’t even fake Lila’s level of conceit! Hate Crush has a young woman in a mess of trouble- some her own making, the rest her parents. It’s a trying time for Stella. Too bad her way of coping is Satan in a three piece suit…also known as Mr. Carter.
Enjoy the wild ride. Just don’t get caught!
HATE CRUSH by A. Zavarelli is the story of Sebastian and Stella.
Stella is now going to a boarding school called Loyola Academy. Stella’s parents are self centered and are just deal with themselves and what they like so off to school Stella goes. Stella is a innocent young women but at the same time having the parents she does has opened her up to a lot that most people do not encounter. Sebastian is a hard/tough teacher at that school who known for his stern, harshness. So Stella quick crush with him may not go so easy.
Loved this age different, forbidden teacher student read. I really enjoyed their story and hope to read more from Ms. Zavarelli.
I have to say I am totally in love with this story. I had to take a couple of days away before I could write this review. Hate Crush is one of my favorite troupes older man/ younger woman, student/teacher books. I am so excited for everyone to read this story.
Sebastion is a total ass. I know he has his reasons, but jeez sometimes you just wanted to smack the crap out of him. Stella is his complete opposite; she is sweet and kind. She ends up getting a bad deal when she starts her new high school. Even though Sebastion shows her nothing but contempt when this book first starts, a full-fledge love affair soon starts.
There is anger, meanness, love, hot sex, sad beginnings, mystery, and a fantastic ending.
I love A Zavarelli’s books but this one unfortunately didn’t hit the spot for me.
When I saw it was a bully romance I was like sign me up! I can’t get enough of them. I was intrigued and couldn’t wait to dive in. Especially when I saw that it was a bully student teacher romance! I love both of those tropes so I was dying to read.
What I loved was Sebastian and Stella. I loved the dominant possessive side to Sebastian, but I felt like their connection could have been developed more. I wanted to feel what they were feeling and I didn’t quite get that.
Overall a good bully, student teacher romance.
“I knew you were poison the first time I saw you, but I wanted to drink you anyway”.
Hate Crush is the newest stand alone, contemporary, taboo/ forbidden romance with age gap and bully factor from the author. This is my second time reading from Ms. Zavarelli and she still brought the forbidden factor that I’ve gotten to know from her book, Convict.
“All good love stories end in tragedy”
“This isn’t a love story, baby. It’s just a tragedy”.
From the tropes alone, I admit that I’m a sucker for it. Pretty lately, most of my readings were from bully romances and the forbidden, age-gap romances. So, combining the two was like winning the jackpot prize for me and I just have to read this baby! The author really brought the bully factor real good with Mr. Carter. I must say that he is one perfect example of A-hole and dickish behavior. I caught myself multiple times yelling at Stella to just leave Sebastian’s sorry ass alone. But, I also wanted them to be together. They are both product of a dysfunctional family and in more ways, they are perfect for each other. They have this undeniable pull, an attraction that was made more enticing by the forbidden thing going on.
“This nuclear love affair doesn’t get any easier with time. As my feelings deepen, so do my fears”.
Sebastian and Stella’s chemistry is raw and explosive with its intensity. It’s all consuming and I’m afraid at times that they are way too fast, too soon. But all the great love stories started like this anyway and they have certainly proven their love at the end. If you’re looking for an angsty-galore, forbidden/ age gap romance, I highly recommend for you to read this. Another must read from this author!
Bully romances are not my jam, in fact, I tend to stay away from them. But this book most definitely is my jam (with a side of crunchy peanut butter). What can I say other than this book made me feel so many different emotions all at once that I found it hard to put down. Stella finds herself at Loyola Academy for her final year of high school. Her parents are both emotionally and physically absent but still manage to control her from a distance. She is unique in both her looks and personality, making her an easy target. Sebastian is a certified bastard. Sexy as sin, a man with hidden demons guiding his behavior. The two meet and sparks fly. As their unhealthy relationship develops so do their feelings. Neither one knows how to navigate these feelings, misunderstandings and life changing circumstances take over separating the two. But as with all romance reads, their happily ever after comes about in a surprising way and is guaranteed to leave you and your emotions on high. (I read an ARC and am voluntarily leaving a review).