When your nemesis also happens to be your fiancé, happily ever after becomes a lot more complicated in this wickedly funny, lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy debut.Naomi Westfield has the perfect fiancé: Nicholas Rose holds doors open for her, remembers her restaurant orders, and comes from the kind of upstanding society family any bride would love to be a part of. They never fight. … They never fight. They’re preparing for their lavish wedding that’s three months away. And she is miserably and utterly sick of him.
Naomi wants out, but there’s a catch: whoever ends the engagement will have to foot the nonrefundable wedding bill. When Naomi discovers that Nicholas, too, has been feigning contentment, the two of them go head-to-head in a battle of pranks, sabotage, and all-out emotional warfare.
But with the countdown looming to the wedding that may or may not come to pass, Naomi finds her resolve slipping. Because now that they have nothing to lose, they’re finally being themselves—and having fun with the last person they expect: each other.
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When I got to 44% (chapter 10), I had to put this one down. The more I read the more I wasn’t liking the female character Naomi and the story was losing my interest. Another one where the premise sounded interesting, but then it just started to get ridiculous with the two unhappily engaged people each trying to force the other to end the relationship. I really think this story would have benefited from a dual pov from also hearing from Nicholas’s pov. That might have made the story more interesting.
I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Nicholas Rose and Naomi Westfield have the perfect life, her Instagram says so. Who wouldn’t want to marry a successful dentist who has parents that are paying for the whole wedding? Naomi, that’s who. Feeling exhausted from trying to meet her future Mother-in-laws ridiculous standards, tired of being bulldozed by said future Mother-in-law, and feeling ignored by her fiancé and like she doesn’t even know him any more, Naomi decides it’s time to call it quits, she wants out. Unfortunately for her, who ever calls it first will end up paying for the wedding. Now all she has to do is convince Nicholas to break up with her first.
This book is a solid 10/10, five isn’t enough, and 10 might not be either. Naomi is fed up but doesn’t want to be the first to break, her plotting and planning had me honestly laughing out loud, it’s been a while since a book sent me into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. I absolutely ADORE Naomi and her refusal to quit, she’s so funny in a dark sort of way. I wish I was more like her, or that she could be my real life friend. I can 1000% relate to some of the unhealthy relationships in her life and just wanting the person who’s supposed to love you most stand up for you. It’s so hard to have an opinion of Nicholas since the story was solely from Naomi’s pov. I just wanted him to love her and tell her, but of course that’s not the way it’s written, so I was left guessing. The single pov absolutely adds to the emotions of the book, the uncertainty of their future. The descriptions are fantastic, the details of events or locations painted a really complete picture in my head. I tried to take notes but all I ended up with were Naomi thoughts and quotes. There are not enough words for me to say how FANTASTIC this book is, I’m excited to see where this author takes her story telling.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion
This was such a great debut for Sarah Hogle!!! I went into this with equal parts intrigued and wary. I am not a fan of a lot of angst or the snippy back and forth. It gives me real anxiety. I am so glad I gave this a chance. Naomi’s crazy was so funny and real. And with ALL the interaction between her and Nicholas you could feel the love under al the antics. We get to see them discover each other again and become so much stronger for it. Loved it!!
So I have to say, I almost put this down after the first chapter. Naomi did nothing but pick at her fiance Nicholas (mentally), his endless flaws, things that drove her nuts about him, and why they would never work. But I am so insanely glad that I stuck with it because this turned out to be such a super fun read.
Naomi and Nicholas are engaged to be married, yet there is so much distance in their relationship there doesn’t seem to be much point in going through with the wedding. He’s an absolute momma’s boy and when Deborah calls, he comes running. Heck, his mother is planning their wedding and making all the decisions without Naomi. She is the definition of a mother-in-law from hell.
Neither of them is happy in their lives or with each other and doubts about the upcoming nuptials start to creep in. So our duo starts a silent war, torture the other until they scream uncle and call off the wedding. The only problem? As each of them ups the ante, they discover so much more about the other they never even realized.
Eek! So as I stated in the beginning, I loved You Deserve Each Other. I thought the creative ways in which Naomi and Nicholas pranked each other was so much fun (panties stapled to the ceiling? brilliant!). I really loved Nicholas and his quiet, unassuming way to show love. His dedication to his family was obvious in so many of his actions and I’m a bit disappointed that Naomi found him first. Hogle did a great job with the characters and she made Deborah perfectly unlikable. I loved watching Naomi and Nicholas learn more about each other. Excellent writing and super fun, I think You Deserve Each Other will be a sure hit!
Naomi and Nicholas were the perfect couple…. until they weren’t.
Naomi has been so complacent that she forgets who she is and how they got to this point in her relationship. She deems that she only loves Nicholas 18%. Naomi slowly starts to realize that Nicholas wants out of their relationship just as badly, or so it seems. But neither will take the hit for ending it and now it’s a battle of who can break the other one and get them to call off the wedding.
The things they do and say to top the other is viciously hilarious. But then it starts to feel real. Naomi’s stubbornness is heartbreaking. She doesn’t know how to stop or believe when things seem genuine. Their lack of communication and honesty was their downfall.
But slowly they start to open up and you watch as they recapture what they once had and perhaps even surpassing it.
Definitely one click this now!