If you’re looking for a romance novel with a little extra bite to it than you don’t want to miss Hate to Love You by Tijan.

About ‘Hate to Love You’ by Tijan:

Rule #1: No hot guys.
It might sound ridiculous. I get it. It kind of is, but college was supposed to be my sanctuary. It was my place to start over. The rumors, the whispers, and the jealousy I endured through high school would all be gone.
No one would know me at college.

Rule #2: No drama.
I’d major in pre-law. I’d make a few loyal friends. Everything would be easy breezy. No one was going to use me or hurt me. I wouldn’t let them.

Rule #3: New year. New place. New me.
Right?
Wrong.
And all because of Shay Coleman.

Football captain and quarterback, he was the big guy on campus. The cocky guy in my political science class with a smirk. I hated him on sight . . .

. . . and he was about to break all my rules.

‘Hate to Love You’ by Tijan review:

The last book that I read by Tijan was about characters still in high school, so I was very interested to see how she tackled new adult in college. It did feel a lot like her writing that I had read in the past, with slightly more grown up characters.

Tijan writes heroines with a chip on their shoulder like I’ve never seen anywhere else. Kennedy Clarke spends most of her time annoyed with someone and trying to avoid getting caught up in any drama. Her default mood is sassy, but it comes off in a very entertaining way. Even though she doesn’t really want to make a lot of friends, people are drawn to her anyways.

Enter Shay Coleman. He’s popular, athletic, and used to getting what he wants. So when Kennedy doesn’t fall all over him, he’s instantly fascinated with her. But he also annoys the crap out of her with his attention. Still, he finds a way to get her to come around with his charm. Even if he bugs her, Kennedy can’t help but find him attractive.

They go from strangers who throw insults at each other, to hookup buddies, to something more meaningful pretty quickly. With their chemistry, it’s a wonder that Kennedy holds out as long as she does. But then again, she purposely likes to keep people at arm’s length so it’s not too surprising.

Unfortunately for Kennedy, she fails at staying out of drama. There’s actually a ton of drama that goes down and she’s the center of a lot of it. If I had to criticize something about Tijan’s writing it would be that it can feel like the character’s development within the relationship is lacking in comparison to everything else going on.

It’s a little odd that so far into the novel Kennedy still doesn’t feel like she knows much about her boyfriend, because they actually don’t spend a ton of time bonding other than being in bed together.

With that said the Hate to Love You is still very entertaining and holds the readers interest. There are some darker themes going on in the book (issues with assault, sexual assault, abortions, etc) it can be a bit of an intense read. One of the best things about the book is that the reader will never see what’s coming next.

Hate to Love You by Tijan will be released on August 28. Pre-order now from Amazon and Barnes & Noble. And don’t forget to add it to your Goodreads!