A fiercely independent engineer walks out on the man her parents have set her up with — only to start working side-by-side with him at her job in this laugh-out-loud debut with “delicious banter, deep wounds, heartwarming friendships, and a path to love that often feels impossibly hard, and [a payoff] satisfying enough to give you a book hangover the size of Texas” (Sonali Dev, USA Today … Dev, USA Today bestselling author of Recipe for Persuasion).
Liya Thakkar is a successful biochemical engineer, takeout enthusiast, and happily single woman. The moment she realizes her parents’ latest dinner party is a setup with the man they want her to marry, she’s out the back door in a flash. Imagine her surprise when the same guy shows up at her office a week later — the new lawyer hired to save her struggling company. What’s not surprising: he’s not too thrilled to see her either after that humiliating fiasco.
Jay Shah looks good on paper…and off. Especially if you like that whole gorgeous, charming lawyer-in-a-good-suit thing. He’s also infuriating. As their witty office banter turns into late-night chats, Liya starts to think he might be the one man who truly accepts her. But falling for each other means exposing their painful pasts. Will Liya keep running, or will she finally give love a real chance?
My Thoughts:
I was really excited to begin reading, The Trouble with Hating You. I love reading stories where I can learn about another culture. This story was an easy read, and caught my attention right from the start. I loved being immersed in the Indian culture. I could easily visualize the exotic and extravagant food, colorful clothing, and traditional customs, as I was transported in to Liya and Jay’s world.
One of my favorite book tropes is enemies to lovers. Liya Thakkar is extremely close to her passive, submissive, and quiet mother, but cannot go a few minutes without arguing with her domineering, misogynistic, judgemental, callous, and cold father. Nothing Liya does is good enough for him. She is an independent and modern woman. Liya has a masters degree in bioengineering, and just got promoted into management, yet her father continues to look down on her.
Her parents have been trying to match her up with a man, because they want her to settle down, get married, have children, and become a traditional Indian wife. Even though Liya has repeatedly turned them down, they won’t take “no” for an answer. So when Liya’s parents invite her to come eat dinner with them, she isn’t too surprised that they invited a man and his mother to meet her, with the intention of getting to know each other, which could possibly lead to marriage. Liya is angry, and runs out; knocking over Jay, a handsome lawyer, who is there just to please his mother.
A short while later Liya learns that Jay, will be working to represent her company; as they have a ton of lawsuits that they are currently dealing with. Pretty soon Jay is turning up everywhere, and as much as Liya is determined to dislike him, he is such a warm, caring, and stand up man, that she finds herself falling for him. Will Jay be able to tear down Liya’s sky high walls? Will Liya learn that you can be an independent and strong woman, and have the love of a good man too?
I loved how easily the writing in this story flowed. It truly was effortless. The author did a great job of weaving a story that held my attention. Where I struggled most was with the way Liya treated Jay. With enemies to lovers stories, you expect a certain amount of animosity. However, I kept waiting for things to shift between Liya and Jay, and felt frustrated with how long it took for Liya to realize how wonderful Jay was. It got to the point where I was questioning why
Jay would put up with her continued negativity, and rude treatment.
I loved Jay, his family, and Liya’s close group of girl friends. This secondary cast of characters came to life for me, and each of them was extremely likeable. Liya’s parents each left a lot to be desired. Her father was horrible, and I kept waiting for her mother to stand up to him; if not for how he treated her, at least for how he treated their daughter.
Liya and Jay both had tragic events in their pasts that shaped them, and my heart hurt for what they had endured. I was very satisfied with the ending, and am looking forward to trying out more books by this author.
3.5 Stars!
I had no trouble loving this one!
The Trouble with Hating You is a beautiful story about a woman who refuses to bow to tradition after that tradition betrayed her in the most heartbreaking way and a man so full of grief that it takes a sassy woman telling him not to see what he really wants and what is worth fighting for.
I absolutely loved the way that Liya and Jay come to terms with their pasts, presents, and the possibility of a future together by supporting each other. Even as they are still blinded by the things that have hurt them they are willing to stand up for and defend the other – that’s the mark of love.
The family and friend circles were full people that made the story richer and helped us get to know Liya and Jay even better. I can’t wait for more of the girls’ stories!
You should absolutely read the authors trigger/content warnings as so much of the book is tied up in them but the way that Liya and Jay fight it so affirming and rewarding and Jay’s Ma’s speech toward the end! Pure gold standard of feminism at its finest!
I received a complimentary review copy of this book but all opinions are my own.
Liya Takkhar is a self made woman and she likes her independence. She is a successful engineer and has just moved up the ladder at work. What she doesn’t want is her parents meddling in her life. Being Indian though, that’s exactly what they do! So when Liya is ambushed with a surprise setup by her parents she does what she’s always wanted to do – bolt before meeting the elusive Jay Shah. Turns out Jay is the lawyer hired by Liya’s new company and there’s no escaping him!
I love reading own-voices author books and being Indian myself, I really enjoyed the way the culture was represented in The Trouble With Hating You. I could relate a lot to Liya’s character. But at times Liya was a bit hard to like – she was a bit too rough around the edges. The more Jay and Liya were able to connect throughout the book, the more I was able to understand Liya. I really loved Jay’s character! He was so sweet and patient with Liya. But the relationship between Liya and Jay did seem forced at times and the chemistry was a bit lacking for me.
Although the cover is super cute, this book had some pretty heavy themes including sexual assault. Being Indian, I can say that the way the culture was portrayed was fairly accurate. I loved the way Sajni Patel was able to discuss the ways our culture is trying to change and equal out the balance between men and women.
The Trouble With Hating You was a great slow-burn (closed door), office romance told by a own-voices author!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.
Sassy, emotive, and sweetly romantic!
The Trouble with Hating You is a fresh, heartwarming tale that transports you to Houston, Texas and into the lives of Liya Thakkar, an assertive, independent, Indian-American woman who is more than happy being single and is completely uninterested in any of her parent’s matchmaking abilities, and Jay Shah, a persistent, handsome, young man who takes his family obligations very seriously and is not easily persuaded.
The writing is heartfelt and light. The characters are intelligent, stubborn, vulnerable, and endearing. And the plot is a push-pull tale full of familial responsibility, workplace drama, tender moments, hilarious mishaps, witty banter, goals, expectations, friendship, community, optimism, chemistry, and love.
Overall, The Trouble with Hating You is so much more than a typical rom-com with lots of culture and tradition, weighty, hard-hitting issues, and an enemies-to-lovers romance that skirts it all. It is a fantastic debut for Patel and I can’t wait to read what she comes up with next.