A THE TENTH GIRL standalone novel, get ready to fall in hate with this enemies-to-lovers second chance romance…Love is weakness.Which is why Annabelle Mills vowed a long time ago to never let it destruct her. A former pageant queen with a bite equally as lethal as her bark, she’s interning at her dream job on the set of the highest-rated home design show on television. Everything in Annabelle’s … television. Everything in Annabelle’s life, though it may be cold and isolated, is going exactly as she always planned.
Until her ex-high school sweetheart moves to town. The same boy that she cheated on, once upon a time, essentially breaking both of their hearts. But no one knows the full story, and being vulnerable enough to open up about it is not on Annabelle’s checklist.
Hate is fuel.
The kind that courses through Boone Graham’s veins and allows him to shut out everyone around him. As the hottest rookie on Austin’s professional baseball team, he should be spending his days hitting home runs and signing jerseys. Except he’s seen dreams ripped right out from under those closest to him, leaving them with nothing.
Without a college degree, he’ll never take the risk of pursuing his real dream. But when he runs into the girl who took a mallet to his heart and stopped it beating, attending the same university might just be the biggest challenge he’s faced yet.
As the semester unfolds, the line between love and hate is blurred. And with the amount of baggage stacked between them, together is the last thing they want to be.
That’s the thing about hearts, though. They develop plans all on their own.
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You can never go wrong with a Carrie Aarons book. From her Young Adult, to New Adult, to RomComs and Contemporary romances, there is something for everyone. In You’re the One I Don’t Want you get a New Adult & College romance set in the Tenth Girl universe, but can totally be read as a standalone.
Annabelle Mills is one determined and driven college student. She has a plans for her life and she intends on sticking to them. Boone Graham is set to play professional baseball, but he also wants to complete his college degree. And so he finds himself face-to-face with the girl that broke his heart. Old hate and new feelings soon immerge.
You’re The One I Don’t want was a sweet second chance romance. Though there is history and lots of drama between Annabelle and Boone, this story centered between the two main characters and their relationship. It was at times frustrating, but they had to work through their past and determine what they wanted for their future.
Second chances. That’s what the book is about. How much can we forget a past sorrow, forgive, and move on? Annabelle and Boone dated in high school. She, the beauty queen, cheerleader and popular girl. He the athlete prodigy on the rise. A relationship that started well, but took a different turn. The two ended up distancing themselves. Until a betrayal will put an end to this relationship. Boone will be heartbroken. And Annabelle will become colder than she already was, a real ice queen.
Years later, they meet again in college. Annabelle is an assistant in a rather famous decor reality show. Boone is a baseball player and just signed a big contract, so he came home. Two people who could not be more different. She is the eternal drama queen. He, the quiet guy focused on his goals. The spark still exists between the two. So did hatred. Will these two be able to leave the past behind, or will that relationship be relegated to the past without a second chance?
Annabelle and Boone have their load of drama. Their family lives shaped their personalities. She never forgave her mother’s abandonment, and sees fame as an opportunity to get her attention. Boone on the other hand, despite the contract he signed, hopes for the university diploma, because he does not want to be his father. Two people with different goals. But they are guided by a desire in common: do not repeat the mistakes of their parents.
Annabelle was wrong. What she did to Boone was serious. But he was wrong with her, too. By not noticing his girlfriend, by focusing entirely on his goals, he left the relationship in the background, and consequently lost Annabelle.
The feeling is still present. As much as they want to hate themselves, it’s impossible. The journey of the two will not be easy. There are several things among them: lack of confidence, need, hurt, things not said. Once they decide to make the relationship work, the two indulge, leave their reservations aside and assume they need each other.
A good novel about second chance, where the important thing is the growth and maturation of the characters.
Great story! Here we get Annabelle’s story, and what a great job Carrie did with it!
Annabelle’s somewhat enjoying her life, she’s working and appearing on a fixer upper show with the two stars, and she’s got a close relationship with her step sister Harper. Now she finds out that her ex boyfriend from high school Boone is returning to town as the big baseball star he always thought he would be. It’s a big town, what are the chances she will run into him? Well you’ll see just how much and frequent their paths cross! Watch their relationship unfold, as each has baggage they carry, can they make it work? Will Boone ever be able to trust her again? Has Annabelle really changed since she broke his heart in high school?
Carrie wrote Annabelle’s story amazingly! If you read The Tenth Girl, you hated her, but Carrie gives us the background to understand why she is the way she is! I adored Annabelle after reading this and you will too!
5 stars for this, grab it as soon as it’s available!
Buckle up for this enemies-to-lovers/second chance romance!!!!
The synopsis begins with “Love is weakness.” The two characters, Annabelle and Boone, live their lives by that mantra. Annabelle strictly lives by that rule because of her past and her abandonment issues. Boone feels that way because of Annabelle. The two were somewhat involved in high school and ended up breaking each other’s hearts, although she was the one who cheated on him. You might think their story ends there, but that turns out to be just the beginning for these two. Fate has brought them back into each other’s worlds, but it’s up to them to make it work…it will definitely be a lot of work with the baggage these two are carrying.
The romance wasn’t instant as you can imagine. They have a lot of distrust and dare I say, hatred, for one another. Underneath all of that are still a lot of unresolved feelings for one another. I’m so glad that Aaron didn’t rush this. There is a good bit of drama, but that is what makes the story so realistic.
I was team Boone from the very beginning. He certainly didn’t have the best of childhoods, but it made him determined! He isn’t your normal athlete. He really is down-to-earth, and he has made his mind up not to repeat his father’s mistakes. He is also very vulnerable where Annabelle is concerned. I just hoped she wouldn’t completely break him this time.
Ah, now I get to Annabelle. I have to say I was not a fan of this girl AT ALL! She appeared to be self-absorbed, rude, and completely not worth Boone’s time. I don’t think I have ever had such strong feelings for a character as I had for her in the beginning. I wasn’t sure how this was going to affect how I felt about the book. However, I shouldn’t have ever doubted Carrie Aarons. I completely misjudged Annabelle. As more of her character was revealed, I began to see exactly why she was the person she was. She completely closed herself off to anyone else because the person who was supposed to love and protect her abandoned her. She made up her mind to never open her heart to anyone. My heart hurt for her, and her strength really amazed me. Aarons really created one of the most memorable characters in Annabelle. It is the mark of a gifted writer when he or she can completely change how you feel about a character!
I have been a fan of Aarons for quite a while now. She has this amazing ability to write different kinds of romance, and they are all fantastic!!! She creates a great story with each one, with unforgettable characters, and this book was no different. Her writing always makes me come back for more!!!!
If ever there were an argument for phrases like looks are deceiving and don’t judge a book by it’s cover, Annabelle and Boone would be your models. After a huge breakup in high school, damaged hearts and wounded egos, these two have come full circle and their paths intersect in college once again. Will they give their relationship a second chance, will they even speak to each other without a fight ensuing? A sucker for second chances, I found this story heart warming while also a lesson in self worth and patience. Bravo Carrie Aarons and thank for making me believe that love is worth a second look and a second chance.
If ever there were an argument for phrases like looks are deceiving and don’t judge a book by it’s cover, Annabelle and Boone would be your models. After a huge breakup in high school, damaged hearts and wounded egos, these two have come full circle and their paths intersect in college once again. Will they give their relationship a second chance, will they even speak to each other without a fight ensuing? A sucker for second chances, I found this story heart warming while also a lesson in self worth and patience. Bravo Carrie Aarons and thank for making me believe that love is worth a second look and a second chance.
I have to say that I liked this book but there were a few things that I did not like in the books. For starters Annabelle the main character was a straight up biatch and she is mean and annoying and a huge a$$ drama queen who does not care who she hurts. That I did not like at all and the way she treated Boone at first made me want to reach through my kindle and shuttle kick her right in the face.
Boone oh I loved Boone because he is recovering from a heartbreak. That Biatch cheated on him and that made me hate her more. I understand why she lived her life sheltered and she was cold towards people by Boone is just not anyone and he shows her he still loves her and she can’t see it at first but then she sees it and things start to change.
This is one of those stories you love to hate but keep reading because you need to know the ending and the ending oh man it was great!
Spanish & English Opinion – 5. WOW
ESP ::
Me encanta leer libros que tienen segunda parte y que es aún mejor que la primera (aunque es un standalone).
“The Tenth Girl” es maravillosa (4.5 en mi escala) pero sin duda, este siguiente libro fue mi HIT absoluto.
Anabelle es la mean girl que amamos en el libro pasado y leer su historia es increíble. Boone es su High school crush y su historia terminó con mucho dolor, y después se encontraron a punto de terminar la universidad.
Esta es una historia de un final feliz trabajado. Cada quien aprendiendo de sus enormes errores, de sus problemas con papás y de sí mismos. Me encantó esta historia. Es acerca del amor y del trabajo que requiere obtenerlo, y el esfuerzo que se ocupa en no dejarlo ir.
ENG ::
The first book (The Tenth Girl) was amazing! (4.5 in my scale) but this one here… WOW!
Anabelle is the mean girl we met in the last book but we loved anyway. Reading her story and how she and Boone lived through heartbreak and then meet again almost at the end of their college studies is amazing.
This is a story about HEA and the work you need to do to get you there. Nothing comes easy, there are lessons to learn and internal work to do before being able to achieve it. Ana and Boone are the clear example.
This is an inspirational story, with amazing characters and an even better message.
I loved, loved, loved this book! Boone and Annabelle will have you laughing and rooting for them.
Annabelle and Boone have a history. They dated in high school but it didn’t end well. Now, they’re in college and that last thing either expects is to run into one another on campus. Both have big dreams and refuse to let go of the past hurt until one moment of fate tosses them into each other’s lives in a bigger way.
You’re the One I Don’t Want is Carrie Aarons’ next standalone novel. If you read The Tenth Girl then you have already met Annabelle. She wasn’t exactly a favored character but she did redeem herself so I was excited when I put two and two together. I didn’t read the synopsis so I figured it out early on in the book. Lol
Five years. It had been five years since they were in the same state and now they are in the same city. Her plan was to avoid him. Austin was a big city so it wasn’t likely they would run into each other. Except, she didn’t realize he was not only the new ball player on the Triple AAA team but also a student. At her college. And after their heated first exchange, she knew he still hated her. Just as much as the day, she broke his heart.
He hated her. Hated that she still made me weak. For her. Only her. She cheated on him. He should loathe her for what she had done. He could tell she was the same person from all those years ago. Cold-hearted and selfish. The problem was that he also glimpsed her other sides. The sides she hid. That still doesn’t mean he should do anything about the way his body reacts to hers. He now understands what they mean when they say there is a thin line between love and hate.
Boone and Annabelle’s relationship is complicated. The hate. The lust. The love. The past. The present. It’s all up in the air without trust. Trust that she has changed. Trust that he has too. Trust that they won’t make the same mistakes. Mistakes that broke both of them. Can he forgive her and move forward?
Awe…I do love a good second chance romance. Like I said Annabelle wasn’t my favorite when I met her. But, now, I love her. She is warmer on the outside. Sweeter than I imagined. She is also a badass. Witty, strong, and so much more. As for Boone. Yummy!! He is also smart, loyal, and a damn good ball player.
Overall…it was fantastic! The characters. The story. The baseball. The passion for their careers. The heat. I loved their banter. Hate and all.
Quotes:
Boone looks like some kind of porno fantasy, and I have to bite down on my tongue to keep from panting.
“You really are the fucking devil.” I glower at Annabelle. My dance partner runs off in search of a paper towel and her friends, and we’re left in a stare down on the dance floor. Annabelle sways from her buzz and the beat.
“In the flesh, baby.”
“Did you take some injection of ego today or something? Aren’t you supposed to be a quiet one?”
Boone and Annabelle was a great couple. Now, Annabelle isn’t quite the female I’d be friends with… she’s a bit extreme with her drama and it annoyed me off and on. Really though, I don’t have to want to be besties with the characters to like the book… it might help. Where Annabelle bugged me a bit, Boone was like my hero! He has so much patients for Annabelle and her antics. That’s the kind of man you want… you’ll know he’ll make all those pesky problems all go away with his kind and gentile ways. They were such a cute couple though! I liked them together. Mrs. Aarons creates the sweetest and realist intimate scenes ever! I never feel like I’m creeping into voyeuristic behavior.
I just adore the way Carrie Aarons writes her stories. It felt perfectly paced and just plain enjoyable! Mrs. Aarons has this way of writing that pulls me in and makes me think back on the times of college and young love. It gives me this happy feeling that leaves that silly little smile on your face. Now her secondary characters are all fabulous! I am looking forward to Cain and Harper’s story. They were all a great group of characters and I liked the bit of sports added.
I find that I highlight several of Mrs. Aarons quotes. She has this kind of blunt honestly that is directly real that intrigues and interests me. I think this is my absolute favorite quote for the entire book: “We love each other more than we annoy each other. We love each other more than our mistakes.”
I received an ARC of this book with the hope that I would leave an Unbiased Opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… my opinions.
3.5 stars
Enemies to lovers!! How much more delicious tension can you possibly want?
High school “hanging out” turned bitter nastiness because of bad choices and self-esteem issues. Annabelle and Boone are about to come face to face with their past- in real live Technicolor. Heated tempers, jealous fits, and snark abound in the pages of this Tenth Girl follow up.
I had been dying for this book! I needed to know everything about Annabelle and this mysterious Boone Graham! And Carrie freaking delivered! This was everything I wanted and MORE!
Annabelle has always had a chip on her shoulder and a heart of ice. We saw that in the Tenth Girl and it really sets the tone for her book. The thing we never knew was that it was all a facade she didn’t know she even had. All the while, she was trying to prove to her mother that she messed up leaving her and her father behind. She has also achieved more in her young age, than some twice hers, but it has also left her feeling somewhat hollow and lost.
Now have her run into her first real love that she ruined in such a way, most would think all hope is lost, and we get to see a real enemies-to-lovers romance!
Boone is in Austin to finish up school and start his baseball career. The last thing he wanted to do was run into Annabelle and have to face his high school love that broke his heart in the worst way all over again. Boone also is dealing with a father who is useless in his eyes and trying to support his mother all while getting his degree and playing for the major league. Having never really had closure with Annabelle does mean that there is some unresolved tension… and oh man the tension!! It is killer and steamy and wonderful and nail-bitingly good!
Lovers can just as easily become enemies and in this second chance romance we see one couple defy the odds and become lovers once again. Annabelle Mills and Boone Graham don’t have a pleasant high school romance history to tell their friends, they have a story about cheating and heartbreak and avoidance. College-aged now, both are successful in their own right, with Boone forecasted to join a MLB team in Texas and Anna’s face gracing television screens in Hart & Home. Neither expects to see the other again, but life has other plans for the two. As they’re forced to face one another repeatedly Anna and Boone find themselves throwing out harsh words and fighting the chemistry that still sparks between them. They’re worn down quickly though and soon the two are as couple-y as ever, too bad old hurts don’t die as quickly as new love begins.
“He’d held up the mirror straight to my face and shown me just how ugly I was.”
I wasn’t sure about You’re the One I Don’t Want, when I first started it Anna just rubbed me the wrong way. Carrie Aarons is one of my go-to’s though, so I gave Anna a chance and she was indeed redeemed. Her attitude, her image, it’s all a cover up, an armor to protect herself from being hurt further than she already has been. While some people cover up with shyness, Annabelle covers up with biting words, a snotty attitude, and the kind of confidence people dream of having. It’s worked for her though, landing her a successful career with a promising future. Boone is the happy-go-lucky guy on the team, he’s a great baseball player, is determined to finish school, and he loves a good hook up, no relationships for him. He’s never really looked into why relationships aren’t his thing, so it makes for a very entertaining story when he and Anna start down the path again. Each has to work through some hard stuff, the history between them is heavy and each holds family hurt close to their heart, allowing it to gloss over the truth of their love. I wish there had been more effort given by both parties to make the relationship the real deal, we get a lot of intimate scenes between them and a few dates, but the meaty stuff, the hard conversations, don’t happen until things are rocky and it mad me sad that two successful adults didn’t know how to form a successful relationship.
“We love each other more than we annoy each other. We love each other more than our mistakes.”
You’re the One I Don’t Want features Carrie Aaron’s sweet writing with a hint of her true-t0-life bluntness, and I say that in a good way. The characters are like real people, they’re not glossed over, and it makes the events that happen between Anna and Boone realistic. This one is different than you might expect, but it’s a hit in my book and I highly recommend it.
Annabelle was such a complicated girl that you can relate to her. She’s so independent and it’s admirable but she hides all of her kindness with being an ice princess. She’s focused and determined until her high school crush is back in the picture. Annabelle and Boone had a short lived relationship in high school that didn’t end well. They hadn’t seen each other in 5 years. Boone has never forgotten her but wasn’t in a rush to see her.
These two had their own set of issues. They couldn’t stand to be around each other but yet they couldn’t be apart. While reading both their POVs you’ll notice how similar they are and how when it comes to each other they are vulnerable. Annabelle has an image to maintain but it runs deeper than what it looks like on the surface. I related to her because every girl growing up has had some type of insecurities that have been hard to let go of. When you read what’s bothering her you’ll understand why she’s an ice princess and you’ll love her. And the ice princess is only a cover up because she’s far from it. Her relationship with her stepsister is just enviable. They are each other’s mirrors.
Boone had a hard time staying away from Annabelle while struggling at the same time to let bygones be bygones. He also had his issues but his didn’t run as deep as Annabelle. He knew she was an ice princess and loved her regardless because he knew deep down she was nothing close to being cold. He helped her with her issues and never tried to make her be something she wasn’t. There were both heading into successful careers and they were each other’s cheerleaders.
I loved these two and I loved that there was little drama and it was resolved quickly. I enjoyed seeing Harper and Cain; these two are still going strong.
Annabelle was a fierce, tough little cookie that didn’t take crap from anyone. She had her mind set, her goals in place and nothing or no one was going to get in the way of what she was determined to achieve. She might have had her issues, but they were her issues and Boone being Boone, was really the only one who understood her and could handle her difficult ways.
These two together were such a delight to read. Annabelle might have been quite the annoying queen, but she was such a strong character and I loved that about her because, she wasn’t a sappy girl who got her heart broken easily and do nothing but mope and cry.
Even though Boone wanted to hate her with all his guts, he just couldn’t. He was still angry for what she did to him back in high school, but now that they were older, more mature it just seemed like for as much as he wanted to hate her, he just couldn’t. She had a strong pull on him, a pull that was eventually going to lead him to forgive her.
I loved the whole element of how it ended with them in High School and started in College. I’m a complete and utter sucker for college romances. I don’t know what it is about them, but I love them! I guess it’s because that’s where most of the drama happens and we always find ourselves sitting at the edge of our seats waiting to see what’s going to happen.
This definitely was one of those reads that will keep you on your toes and wanting to keep going, flipping those pages as fast as you can and not wanting to stop.