Amazon’s #1 Most Unputdownable Book of the Year. An Amazon Charts bestseller.A Wall Street Journal bestseller.A Washington Post bestseller. From New York Times bestselling authors Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward comes an unexpected love story of secondhand hearts and second chances… mysterious blue note sewn into a wedding dress.
Something blue.
I’d gone to sell my own unworn bridal gown at a vintage clothing store. That’s when I found another bride’s “something old.”
Stitched into the lining of a fabulously feathered design was the loveliest message I’d ever read: Thank you for making all of my dreams come true.
The name embossed on the blue stationery: Reed Eastwood, obviously the most romantic man who ever lived. I also discovered he’s the most gorgeous. If only my true-love fantasies had stopped there. Because I’ve since found out something else about Mr. Starry-Eyed.
He’s arrogant, cynical, and demanding. I should know. Thanks to a twist of fate, he’s my new boss. But that’s not going to stop me from discovering the story behind his last love letter. A love letter that did not result in a happily ever after.
But that story is nothing compared to the one unfolding between us. It’s getting hotter, sweeter, and more surprising than anything I could have imagined.
Something new.
But I have no idea how this one is going to end…
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What is happening to me? I actually pride myself on not being a romance reader. Romance in general has not been my thing. Sure, I go through spurts where I like them. There are even some subgenres that I particularly find myself enjoying more than others, but I feel like I am going soft. I have fallen for more romance books lately than usual. Am I going soft?
This book is so good! From the plot, the writing, the characters… I enjoyed this book from the beginning. I couldn’t wait to get the HEA I knew I was in store for, but at the same time I wasn’t so sure I wanted the book to end. From the sweet moments, to the mishaps, to the giggles, to the swooning, I was a goner after the first chapter.
How can anyone not love these characters. So full of passion and life. So full of attitude and snark. The entire cast of characters were written so well, there is no way anyone can not like this book, no matter the plot. However, frenemies is the perfect trope for them. I enjoyed not only watching the characters grow and learn about themselves, but I enjoyed their slow burn of enemies to friends to lovers.
I am so glad that my book club chose this as our group read for this month. It was everything I didn’t know I was looking for right now. It’s a perfect mixture of angst, laughs, romance, and happenstance I have read in a really long time.
WOW!
I seriously wish I could give more than 5 stars for this book. This book officially is my #1 book loved of the year.
Charlotte’s story hooked me from page one and when you add in Reed’s remarks and their banter – it is amazing. The story line that these two experience together plays out seamlessly and progresses naturally.
The future that Reed faces is one I have never read about in a book and love that it was handled with class and respect. I very highly recommend this book for laughs, warm fuzzy feelings and tears. I hope you enjoy their story as much as I did.
Hate Notes is a great read!! It’s written in the dual POV of Charlotte and Reed. It flows perfectly. I loved Charlotte. She’s a a little bit crazy but it makes her a fun down to earth character. Reed sometimes comes off as stuffy but he’s has some heavy stuff he’s dealing with. These two are perfect for each other but they have some things to deal with before they get a happy ending. This one is one that you should definitely read.
Wow! This story really left an impression on me. Such a wacky way for fate to bring two passionate people together. Charlotte was so much sass with just a beautiful outlook on life. Her dedication to others really was inspirational. And Reed…omg. He just had those walls built so high and really was guarded with his feelings. Too many times I wanted to shake a little sense into him but the story was just so touching just the way it unfolded. Another winning romance from this dynamic duo.
If you like those romantic stories that feel like there’s some fate or serendipity in the works, you’ll just love this one! This book gave me all of those heartwarming hugs that I crave and made me just laugh and smile more than few times. Sometimes I just need an emotionally touching story to lift me up and make me excited about reading.
I always get so excited when I see a new book by these two authors. They always write unique stories that you can’t put down, this one was no different. I loved everything about this book and the cover.
Charlotte is looking at wedding dresses at a second hand store. She is trying to sell her unused wedding dress but the store will only give credit. So she walks out of the store with a gorgeous wedding dress with a hand written blue note stitched inside.
Reed is in real estate and sells very big expensive properties. While doing a showing he meets Charlotte and their meeting doesn’t go so well. After the awful showing she receives a job offer she can’t turn down. She never expected she would be working for Reed.
The chemistry between these two was off the charts. I loved the banter between them. There were times this book would have me in tears and then I would be laughing. Hate Notes had it all and was perfection! I highly recommend this book and can’t wait for more work from these amazing authors.
I’ve just finished reading, and I’m wiping away my tears! I know I’d sound juvenile, but this is the bestest book I’ve read as of date
These ladies have done it again. They wrote yet another book that I couldn’t put down.
Charlotte and Reed will have you laughing out loud and tearing up. You’ll get so many feels while reading their story.
Charlotte is great. I love her and her big personality. She is a very upbeat and happy person. She’s a glass half-full type of gal. Yes, she does get upset and she does cry. She feels deeply.
Reed changes a lot in this book. While I liked him at first, I did think he was a jerk. But, the more we learn about him, the more I started to love him.
We do learn why he acts the way he does. Why he has that wall around him.
The first meeting between them was awesome. I mean a trainer for dog’s surfing. God, I cracked up so hard at that.
I gotta say that I love Iris so damn much.
I want Max to get a book!
Who ever thought a little blue note hidden in a wedding dress would lead to such a beautifully written story that takes you on a journey of Broken Hearts to fun, laughs, tears and a Heart filled with LOVE!
Yes this story is all about LOVE!!
When heartbroken Charlotte finds a mystery note in a wedding dress, she’s driven to find out if the writer of the note had the romantic ending or ended up with losing faith in Love, as she had, when finding her cheating fiance.
So a drunken night with friends and a meeting, an older woman’s kindness and Charlottes life is just about taking a 360 turn, for be better?
Well her new boss is Reed Eastwood, cynical, moody a man totally closed off to love, devoted to his highly successful job, but also the author of the mystery note!
I absolutely loved both these characters, Reed, even though obnoxious just about stole my heart. Charlotte was just so adorable and I truly loved her unfiltered mouth and her outlooks on life. She definitely give me a permanent smile and i looked forward to every page to see what fun their banter would bring next !! Even though both Charlotte and Reed were like two opposites, it was also obvious that they really complemented each other and the attraction and chemistry between the two bounced right out of the pages into your heart. I think this is the best yet from these two authors, and from beginning to end this book keeps you totally engaged. It’s a perfect beginning, a middle and an end, that has your emotions fully involved because you can’t help but become fully entangled with their lives.
Omg!! This might be my favorite by this duet so far! I absolutely fell in love with Reed even though I wanted to knock some sense into him a few times!! And Charlotte is such an amazing, strong, quirky female character!! Love following her journey to finding herself again and how she stayed true to herself and went after what she wanted. We watch her slowly break down Reed’s walls. These two were so cute together with their game of cat and mouse! And let’s not forget the little blue notes!! My favorite part was the build up!! Such great chemistry between these two! And I absolutely adored Iris!! She definitely knew what she was doing! This is a great story about letting go of the past and finding happiness within yourself and finding your one true love. This story definitely had all the feels!! 5+ Stars for me!!
Ah another spectacular read from Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward. Their writing is flawless in this emotional second chance romance.
Reed had me right from the start. I could see through his arrogant exterior and couldn’t wait to wrap the rest of him like a present.
Charlotte was down on her luck but her “penthouse shopping” was surely a turning point for her on more than one way.
I really liked watching the relationship between these two unfold. What started as a love hate relationship definitely turned into a romantic read.
Do yourself a favor and grab your copy of Hate Notes today.
There are authors who lean towards angst and drama, others who love their romances achingly sweet and swoony. With Hate Notes, the dynamic writing duo comforted by Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland hit the perfect blend of humor, animosity, angst, sweetness and touching emotion in this tale of two broken hearts who were destined to meet.
When a jilted Charlotte Darling goes into a vintage clothing store to sell her unused wedding gown she finds the most fabulous wedding dress with the sweetest love note sewn into it. Certain its author is the swooniest man ever, Charlotte takes to gown, stalks the guy and weirdly ends up working as his personal assistant.
Reed Eastwood turns out to be rich and gorgeous. He’s also an angry, egotistical pompous pain in the derriere. But that’s not stopping Charlotte from finding out what happened to his not so happy every after much less from peeling away all the layers that hide his romantic heart.
A book by Keeland and Ward is guaranteed to have you laughing with their characters’ witty and feisty banter and checking your swoon-o-meter to make sure your heart doesn’t leave your body. Hate Notes is no exception, filled with smile inducing banter both verbal and through notes between Reed and Charlotte, who doesn’t put up with his BS and dishes out as much as she can take.
I loved both protagonists equally. Charlotte with her quirky and feisty resolve, quick wit and hopeless romanticism in spite of having had her heart broken. Reed is a pessimist with a heart of gold, a man with a great ability to love despite believing he shouldn’t look for it. They stalked and challenged each other in the most entertaining way.
One might classify Hate Notes as a slow burn, as Reed must learn to take a risk at actually living his life before giving himself to Charlotte, there are loads of steamy encounters right along warm and heartwarming moments that made me both dab at unshed tears and fan myself.
Hate Notes is a romantic delight by authors Ve Keeland and Penelope Ward that will surely make you smile from start to its beautiful epilogue. It is original, unputdownable and highly recommended to all contemporary romance lovers. It is a standalone, told by both points of view with a happy ending.
10 stars
Hate notes was anything about that…..it is all about love!
Charlotte and Reed are such a perfect, amazing couple! My emotions: laughter, sadness, tears, more laughter and a Full heart.
IMO, Hate Notes is Ms. Keeland and Ms. Ward’s finest work to date. I fell in love with all of the characters, but most importantly, Reed, Charlotte and their love story.
This is a must read!
Reviewed by: Dana D.
I absolutely loved everything about Hate Notes. It had everything in it. Enemies to lovers. Workplace romance. Slow burn romance. Add in a melding grandmother and you have perfection.
I’ll warn you….Vi and Penelope made you work for it. These characters both have issues. They both have been so terribly hurt in the past. Even with these complicated & complex characters….Charlotte and Reed’s romance was written flawlessly.
Now please excuse me while I run and write my very own fu*k-it list!!!
Reviewed by: Heather S.
I love the setup for Hate Notes — a woman finds a beautiful note sewn into a consigned wedding gown and is compelled to find out more about the man who wrote it. It’s an original and fascinating idea, and I was drawn into the story from the moment that I began reading it. As the enemies-to-lovers romance unfolded and the mystery surrounding the note unraveled, I didn’t want to stop reading for even a moment, and I stayed up late into the night to finish it.
I’m a big fan of Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward — individually and as a duo — so I knew Hate Notes would be an engaging, funny and seriously sexy romance, and it is. What I didn’t expect was the powerfully delivered, emotionally impactful and memorable storyline that resonated and moved me. I’ll be thinking about these characters and this story for a very long time.
Recommendation appeared @ USA Today’s Happy Ever After on November 6, 2018
ARC provided, but this review was voluntarily and honestly written.
Had the opportunity to read this through Amazon Prime. It’s a unique story with so many little aha moments. It’s you sucked into the whole thing not realizing that you finished the story and wanted more. It’s light-hearted romantical contemporary story which seems pausable in every way. The characters are well defined, especially Iris, she was wise beyond her years.
Enemies to lovers is really becoming a favorite of mine to read. They are so fun! And Hate Notes did not disappoint. You must try it and then let me know what you think!
Hate Notes had an incredible feel to it!! Fantastic book!!
What a beautiful and fun story. Definitely a slower burn, but well worth the wait. Reed and Charlotte are amazing characters, both working through their own sorrow to get to where they need to be. Fun and funny supporting characters bring the whole story together. Definitely well worth the read!
Where’s the 6 star button when I’m looking for it. This was one the best stories that I’ve read this year.
Charlotte is down on her luck and wants some excitement in her life so she goes to a 12 million dollar penthouse showing in order to get a better look at Reed. He’s the Real Estate agent. Things are about get real interesting for the both of them.
I got this book on my kindle and less then 24h later I was done reading it. Too bad I had to sleep and work in between, otherwise I would have easily read it in one sitting. I basically devoured this story. Charlotte is funny and down to earth, opposed to Reed who’s serious and stuffy. The bantering between these 2 was quite funny.
The storyline was addictive and captivating. It was heartbreaking at times but also heartwarming. This is a 2018 must read.
Standalone told in a dual POV with an HEA. I strongly recommend this story.
Penelope and VI have done it again. Each co-written book keeps getting better and better. Charlotte is a character I would love to have as friend. She would be the crazy to my calm. Reed though is now my new favorite book boyfriend. Insert *Swoon* here. All I can say is that they both had their troubles and the path they took to over come them was beautiful. You may shed some tears here and there but I say it’s well worth it!
I’am voluntarily reviewing an advanced complementary copy of this book!
There are so many things to love about this story. Meeting Charlotte for the first time when she is trying to sell her unused wedding gown and hearing her internal dialogue instantly had me wanting her to be my next bff. Charlotte is funny, quirky, compassionate to all (including animals) and has such a beautiful soul. When she finds this unbelievable romantic note in another forgotten wedding dress, Charlotte just knows she needs to know more about the author whose name is embossed on top, Reed Eastwood. From there the fairy tale begins. And it’s a funny, romantic, angsty, heartfelt journey. Reed is fiercely protective of his heart since his ex fiancé broke off their engagement but Charlotte’s love of life is infectious and Reed is swept up into it and together they become the absolute most perfect couple. The HEA will stay with for a very long time. Definitely will be one of your favorites!!!!