A full-length STANDALONE romantic comedy from USA TODAY bestselling author R.S. Grey.Nicholas Hunt is the man I hate.For good reason.His opinion of me is tainted by prejudice even before my arrival at his grandmother’s estate, and my first impression of him is just as abysmal.His arrogance and icy demeanor make it clear that he’s the type of man who’s best handled at a distance.Fortunately, space … best handled at a distance.
Fortunately, space shouldn’t be an issue inside this Gilded Age mansion and its lush gardens. If I stick with the servants and he keeps to his sailboat and vintage Porsche, we should hardly cross paths at all. Unfortunately, at Rosethorn, I find that all roads eventually lead to Nicholas Hunt.
Sparks fly as we spar at the dinner table. Fighting words are flung in the shadows of the palatial halls.
We hang suspended in our hatred of one another, painfully oblivious to the heat and tension that build with every moment we’re left alone. We’re liable to kill one another, I think…right up until my eyes land on his lips and a new feeling grips hold of me: lust.
What’s worse?
He knows it.
They say you should keep your enemies close, but when Nicholas tightens his grip on my waist and draws me near, I’m not sure if it’s out of loathing or love.
One thing’s for sure—I intend to find out.
LOVE THE ONE YOU HATE is a full-length novel. For a limited time, I’ve also included an excerpt from my #1 bestselling romantic comedy THE BEAU & THE BELLE!
more
Accustomed to this author’s lighthearted writing style in other books I’ve read, this book surprised and enchanted me with its angst. Although there are parts where the characters behave in a teasing and lighthearted manner, the prevalent theme was a little sad mixed with a little hopeful feeling. There were parts that brought me to tears with the bittersweet feelings of the female character, Maren. She was quiet, unassuming, very seldom angry, and with a reserved dignity. I found her lovely!
We won’t find out until later why Maren was so down in the world. We see her attributes so soon, and yet we wonder why she’s doing menial jobs in an elder adults home. She lives in a group home for former foster children who have criminal records, and she seems so downtrodden. Whenever she’s tired of her lot in life, she remembers that as a foster child, she is always watched with suspicion. At the moment, she is being accused of stealing a ring from one of the residents, pending investigation.
“I have an overwhelming fear that I will always be painted by a stained brush, that no matter how I dress or talk or smile or spritz on perfume to cover the scent of the mold in the group home, there’s no denying that I’m Maren Mitchell—less than.”
In spite of her current station, she’s helpful and considerate, always willing to give a hand in help. When her favorite resident receives a visit from a very regal lady, she’s very happy to entertain them by playing the piano. And here is another incongruence, Maren is a classically trained piano player. How come? More intrigues!
“In my head, I refer to her as the queen because she reminds me so much of the old monarchs I’ve read about in novels. Stately and beautiful, but sharp too, like a finely cut gem.”
Mrs. Cromwell offers Maren a job with her and since Maren feels she will be jobless soon, she accepts. Then she’s taken to a mansion in Bellevue Avenue in Newport, RI, where the true rich people of the nation live. Unaccustomed to so much luxury, Maren tries to adapt and make herself useful to her new boss. And here is where this author’s writing shows its brilliance! She paints such a beautiful character! Instead of resenting Mrs. Cromwells’s wealth or getting spoiled by the treatment she receives, she strives constantly to help. She tries to assist the staff and the cook and her efforts are rebuffed, she tries to serve her boss and she’s very kindly told that her job is to be a companion. In spite of all that, she quietly goes around her way, making herself useful in little ways, cutting up flowers and making arrangements, offering to walk to town and get groceries for the cook, playing the piano for anyone who cares to listen, reading to Mrs. Cromwell. Little by little she gains the acceptance and affection of the entire household, except for one glaring exception: Mrs. Cromwell’s grandson Nicholas.
Nicholas is wary of strangers in his grandmother’s home because they have had problems with thieves, intruders, con artists who want to take advantage of his grandmother’s generosity and kindness. He feels it’s his duty to protect her from all these dangers, so he investigates Maren’s past and finds it worrying. He makes clear he wants Maren to go, but is met with his grandmother’s and Maren’s unwillingness to comply. So, he decides to watch her like a hawk and then it’s his turn to be enchanted, just like I was, Mrs. Cromwell was, and the entire household were.
I loved that they start as enemies but with an incredible attraction to each other. They feel this pull in spite of not wanting to, and they watch each other in spite of their misgivings. They’re a hoot to watch because they space out with their sexual fantasies and are brought to reality by the people around. Everyone sees them making googly eyes at each other but they fervently deny so. We are then treated to a lovely love story of this couple who are prickly at first, then pining for each other, reluctant but enthralled. There are secondary characters that add a lot of spice and color to the story, with small side plots that are thankfully closed. Then there’s Mrs. Cornelia Cromwell. She is such a stately and regal lady, with a golden heart underneath. Whenever Maren questions her place in Mrs. Cromwell’s world, she plainly says that she fell in love with her and she is now a dear person in her world. So much generosity and kindness of soul!
I loved reading this book, enthralled from start to finish. I loved every sentence and every paragraph, and many times had tears in my eyes from the heartfelt feelings expressed. This is a book to rejoice and remember, and maybe re-read a lot of times. The quiet enjoyment I found reading it, and the comforting I got from Maren’s goodness are a joy to savor.
Love the One You Hate was a really good book. It was definitely a slow burn romance. My favorite part was the epilogue; heads up to the future readers. You never know how RS Grey’s books end but she always ties things up so nicely it makes you smile with joy for the characters. Nicholas and Maren were a great couple. Maren had created so many great relationships with the people at Rosethorn. Cornelia was such a strong confident, and giving woman. I hope to be like her one day. There were many lessons and sadness in this book, more indirectly than this terrible thing happened to blank person. Love the One You Hate is less comedic than her other novels however her writing is still amazing. It was a book I highly recommend.
Since I started reading Rachel’s books because of a friend recommendation, I never stopped, so of course, as soon as I heard that a new book was coming out, I ran to read it, and as expected it, I adored it.
Maren is so resilient, the way she envolves through the book, becoming more confident and believing that, yes, her place is where she wants it and it’s not her past that will define that, was beautiful to see it. I was delighted with Maren and Cornelia’s relationship, it was so genuine and was the exactly impulse that Maren needed to thrive.
When we first met Nicholas, we see him as grumpy man who is super protective of his family and it was good to see that despite his suspicions, he could see beyond his distrust and give her a chance and it was sweet to see him start to act protective towards Maren.
I liked the couple’s development, the biggest slow burn, but for me it was perfect because I love slow burn. I could feel Maren’s anxiety every time Nicholas arrived in the room and already yearned for their banter, that just proves the chemistry these two have.
As usual, Rachel’s side characters are amazing, I caught myself smiling in a lot of moments, especially in the occasions Rhett, Nicholas’ friend, was in it.
I really enjoyed reading this book and it’s important to keep in mind that this is not only about the romance between Maren and Nicholas but mostly is about Maren’s journey to find herself.
Another fun, witty, and entertaining romantic comedy by the great R.S. Grey!
Maren was a breath of fresh air. Compared to R.S Grey’s other heroines her story was much different, rougher. Even so she was resilient, smart and charming. I loved her character and how genuinely sweet she was. But I also loved that when it came to Nicholas she didn’t shy away from putting him in his place or letting his rich position intimidate her.
Nicholas is pretty much a grump when we meet him. He doesn’t trust Maren at all based on previous experiences with employees. He’s hard to win over but as they spend more time together Maren sweet disposition wins him over and their romance kicks off to a running start.
I loved the teasing between Nicholas and Maren, they were a great match and their chemistry was evident. They came form different worlds but complemented each other perfectly.
This book was definitely a slow burn, but it was highly entertaining. I loved all the details included in the book and seeing not only Maren’s relationship with Nicholas but those she gets to know around her in her new life. Such a fun, charming and refreshing read!
4.5/ 5 Stars
2 likes
I hate leaving a bad review. I feel for an author who works so hard to bring us entertaining stories. But even though I have read and enjoyed almost every book R S Grey has written, definitely not this one. I read over 40% of this story and just struggled page and chapter thinking it would majically spark some interest in at least finishing this book. But I never had that jump start in a book where it grabs you and you can’t put it down. This book by such a good author just wasn’t it for me.
A wonderful 4.5 read!
First of all, I need to catch my emotions after that banging epilogue!! Wow. Just wow. I needed that.
I went into this book blind and with no expectations. I wasn’t disappointed. This enemies to lovers romance was so perfect. And while I was slightly thrown off by the lack of conflict, I still enjoyed it. It was nice to have just happy.
Maren starts out being resistant from the beginning, but resourceful. When she’s brought into Cornelia’s life, I was skeptical of how the old woman would treat her. But Cornelia is exactly what Maren needed.
But then we have Nicholas. He has every right to be wary from the beginning, being burned so many times. But once the truth comes out, he’s ready to make up for it to her. I felt like they had such a great connection once they opened up to each other.
And going back to that epilogue. It was the perfect ending for those two. My heart is so happy and gives me hope as well.
If you’re looking for a great enemies to lovers novel, that is slightly different than the norm, I think this book would be for you!
NO SPOILERS!
Love the One You Hate was a sweet, sexy, funny, and entertaining standalone romantic comedy from R.S. Grey, and I thoroughly enjoyed Nicholas and Maren’s love story, especially the ending! I can’t wait to see what romantic comedy this author releases next!
I adored “Love the One You Hate” by R.S. Grey, a slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romance featuring endearing, well-developed characters and a funny, heartwarming plot. The story was set in Newport, not the Hamptons, but even so, it reminded me a bit of “The Great Gatsby” (though with a much happier outcome for the main characters). The female lead character, Maren Mitchell, provided an outsider’s perspective on the upper class world, and I very much enjoyed the descriptions of the beautiful Gilded Age mansions and Newport coast that were provided along the way.
Maren was a wonderful lead character: tough but vulnerable, kind, honest, and loyal. The reason that Cornelia hired her to work at the Rosethorn estate was a bit of a mystery at first, but it made for compelling reading as I tried to figure out if Cornelia had some kind of master plan in mind beyond a simple offer of employment. I really liked Maren, and I couldn’t help but hope that good things would happen for her. The friendship she formed with Cornelia was really lovely, and it set them both on a path to a whole new life.
Cornelia’s grandson and Maren’s eventual love interest, Nicholas Hunt, seemed to be very cool and reserved at first, but it was easy to see how much he loved his grandmother. He always tried to look out for her, even when she thought she didn’t need his help. Nicholas was deeply suspicious of Maren in the beginning, but she slowly won him over, which made perfect sense to me because they had a lot more in common than they realized.
Overall, “Love the One You Hate” was an excellent read, and I highly recommend it for all fans of contemporary romance. I look forward to R.S. Grey’s next book!
*ARC provided by the author. All opinions expressed are my own.
I am a big fan of this author and wait impatiently for her next release, as was the case with this book as well. Sadly, it lack her normal lustre and glow I normally feel when reading her books. It has old world charm with a modern day era and unfortunately it clashed and I can’t help feeling disappointed about it.
The story in general is a young orphaned woman, Maren, working in a nursing home and is swept up into a life of a wealthy elderly lady, Cornelia. She is now among a set of elite entitled people in the Newport area of Rhode Island. The descriptions of the area made me want to visit there at some point, it seemed like an amazing place to be. Cornelia had ulterior motives I felt in trying to match her grandson up with Maren which was sweet. As this is a enemies to lovers book, you can imaging things don’t go smoothly between Nicholas and Maren. I had a few issues throughout the book which made it hard to fully connect and love these characters. If Cornelia and Maren had some sort of association at the nursing home, I feel the storyline would have been more authentic. The whole thing of Maren being more than just an employee and a champion for Cornelia was over sold. If they had that attachment at the nursing home, then her being at Rosehaven would have worked better. It was as if the story was ‘told’ to us and not letting me form any opinions or discoveries for myself. The checks in the draw might have been better to have been withheld until later as again it was an oversell on Maren’s character. I didn’t get the plot of going to Paris nor bringing in the best friend (or really not a friend at all) from Maren’s past. It didn’t add to the story in a good way at all. Again it was pushing you to believe Maren was an amazing woman, which I feel she was, I just didn’t need to be told and told and told again.
I sense that if this is the first book you pick up from this author, you will be happy. But those of us that know how amazing her books can be, will be missing her finishing touches and the afterglow you normally have on completion.