3.5 stars
A perfectly good read that uses the trope enemies to lovers in a fun way. Straight from the first chapter you get a feel of the tension running through the protagonist. Both male abd female protagonist need their practices to succeed but they're cutting into each others clients so ilehildy ot is a fun read it is slso full of inspiring ides as an animal lover and also how easy life would be if we could be harmonious abd balanced with everything. It's really a good solid book that reads like a breeze. Whilst it's not exactly the most complex, steamy, nor the most angsty, I do feel like that in itself is also a big draw that differentiates it from the rest out there.

"If you never fight, there is not enough passion to sustain a relationship."

Parisa has a wellbeing centre that focuses on animals through the use of spiritual and natural remedies and Malakai is a vet who has Veterinary Practice next door to Parisa, they don't see eye to eye and are constantly banging heads about something.
It took me a while to warm up to the pair, but once I did I flew through the pages. I didn't like Parisa with Dane at first he was ok but by the end I was like Parisa just grow a pair and end the relationship. That man would not take a hint. I know she wanted to wait until after Christmas as I know no one should be dumped at Christmas, but leading someone on is just as bad. The only good thing that came out of Parisa and Dane relationship was that it helped Malakai set up and act on his feelings for Parisa.

I felt the ending was rushed and I felt as soon as things got sorted with Dane, everything happened within the last 10% of the book. I would have liked to have seen more of Parisa and Malakai together for a slow burn build up , it was extremely quick when it did happen.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of the book for an honest review.

Fun story, love rom coms with enemies to lovers, the situation they get in priceless , definitely enjoyed immensely.

My Rating: ❤️❤️❤️.5

Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. Thanks to Netgalley.

General Thoughts: Warning: If you don't like extremely slow burn and closed-door romances, then this one will not be for you. I know that's a nonstarter for some. I, for one, enjoy them. But if you don't enjoy that, this one may not be for you.

The couple featured here is interracial, which is always a plus in my book. So that was a huge plus for me about this book, as was the woman in stem representation. This book left me so frustrated with the characters at times in all the best ways like you could see what was driving the characters and how that was going to result in problems and tension. So it has all the "don't do that. It will not work out how you want it to" energy. It was a fun, cute, quick, enjoyable read that will have you feeling all the feels. It also has "will they or won't they" energy throughout.

There was one element in the book with Parisa that I didn't feel was resolved. For example, she was really worried about something that made her not want to go into a relationship and then she kind of did that same thing, and it never came up or was addressed. That dinged the book for me a bit, but again, I really enjoyed it, I'd recommend it, and I'll read more by the author.

Content Warning: Some mentions of cheating occur with other characters and some arguments to be made that a main character is not entirely faithful in a relationship that is pretty new.

Steam Meter: 💞 This is a closed-door, clean, sweet romance. Whatever you want to call it, there is no steam here.

Romantic Tropes
-enemies/rivals to lovers
-interracial couple
-slow burn
-closed-door, sweet, clean romance
-woman in stem representation

Love this book in theory. It includes some of my favorite tropes (enemies to lovers, grumpy + sunshine) and appealed to the animal lover in me, but overall it fell flat. It was very difficult to get through. The writing was fluffed up and some conversations seemed very forced. The inner thoughts had so many adjectives added unnecessarily. I get that the author was trying to “paint a picture”, but it just made me bored. The ending was satisfying enough, but not enough that I would recommend this book.

Thank you to the editor for the copy to review.

🦇 Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

❝ Don't let fear hold you back, Risa. Falling in love, really going for it, is so scary. It might be the most vulnerable, scary thing we can ever do. I don't want you to miss out on your chance for that real, life-changing love because you're scared. ❞

❓ #QOTD What pets do you have and what's the story behind their name? ❓

🦇 Parisa owns a holistic pet wellness center, while Malakai owns the traditional veterinary practice next door. To say they clash is an understatement. When they start driving one another's clients away, the two feuding vets go to war, only to realize their constant clashing sparks sexual tension and undeniable chemistry. Can these type-A veterinarians set aside their opposing methodologies to realize they have more in common than they realize?

💜 Elise Eliot's enemies-to-lovers rom-com is full of tension, wit, and banter. The arguments between Parisa and Malakai turned the first half of their story into an engaging rush. Their forced proximity means plenty of unexpected encounters that force both characters to realize they have more similarities than differences. The chemistry between them is undeniable from their first spat, and the growing tension helps keep the pace. I love that Parisa is Persian while Malakai is Italian, meaning they both come from backgrounds that prioritize healthy family dynamics. The secondary characters, including Parisa and Malakai's sisters, along with other vets at each practice, add an extra layer to the story (and provide the kick in the rear both MCs need when they're being stubborn). All in all, a cute and entertaining read. Special shout out to Cupid, Parisa Dalmatian, who is the story's true MVP.

🦇 The pacing does slow when Great Dane gets involved, giving Parisa an excuse to deny her feelings for Malakai a little longer. While Dane seems great on paper, he becomes increasingly frustrating--giving Parisa an easy out but making the relationship exhausting to read. There are a few areas where the dialogue is a bit unnatural, too. Unfortunately, there weren't any major twists or turns that really caught me by surprise. Parisa and Malakai don't get together until the story's very end, which makes the last few chapters feel rushed after readers stick around for an excruciating slow burn. Based on how the story ends (which includes a POV chapter for a secondary character), I wonder if we'll return to this story in a second installment.

🦇 Recommended to anyone who enjoys enemies-to-lovers banter, animals, and entertaining romance reads!

✨The Vibes✨
🐾 Workplace Romance
🦴 Dual POV
🐶 Love Triangle
🦴 Enemies to Lovers
🐾 Forced Proximity

🦇 Major thanks to the author @eliseeliotauthor and publisher @booksgosocialgroup for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. #loveunleashed #eliseliot

Who doesn't love some good old fashioned enemies to lovers? It's a classic trope for a reason, and Elise Eliot is one of many authors to employ it skillfully here.

Parisa owns a holistic pet clinic, Malaki is a vet working right next door. It's a recipe for disaster from the get go. It's hate at first sight, but hate and passion are two sides of the same coin. Could there be something more than just hate at play here?

Love Unleashed is a fun, lighthearted read. Definitely some moments where you want to slap some sense into the characters, but others where you're laughing out loud at the sheer absurdity of Parisa and Malakai's situation. If you love easy reads, enemies to lovers, and, oh yeah, DOGS, Love Unleashed is the book for you!

Books about dogs are always appreciated! I love the enemies-to-lovers trope. The chemistry between the two main characters was amazing, lots of banter and tension. Love a good slow burn!

(4.25 stars ⭐️)

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this arc in an exchange for my honest review.

Everything sumps up as a cute enemies-to-lovers 🥹 this is my first Elise Elliot book and boy did I like it 💜 but I may be biased because can anything about vets and dogs go wrong?!?

We have Parisa and Malakai, two vets with different approaches how to handle pet care. On one hand, we have Parisa with a holistic focus, and on the other is Malakai completely against it. With that starts their war to make their business succeed by sabotaging the other.

It was such a fun read and I did it under 24 hours so it was quick and easy to enjoy. Their banter was excellent but as always everything could have been avoided if they had just… you know, TALKED💀

AND Dane needed to be cut loose SOONER!!!

Also, I wish we got a scene with Parisa’s parents after her business got better, to throw that to their faces 😏

Other than that I really liked the book and the side characters were also really cool and I can wait to read more about them 👀

this one kept me wanting more. every time it got good it would be the end of a chapter. however I loved the story line and the characters were tolerable.

This was a cute and light hearted enemies to lovers romance. No spice at all, very PG which I don't mind. I enjoyed the chemistry between the characters and the back and forth banter. The beginning got a little repetitive with the real vs "fake" doctor. I am a dog lover so the fact that both characters worked with dogs was a nice bonus. If you're looking for a light and fun beach read this is the book!

Thanks to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was a straightforward enemies-to-lovers storyline. I liked the grumpy/sunshine aspects. This book appealed to the animal lover in me. It felt like it was missing something to make it spectacular, but it was almost there. I loved the diversity of the cast of characters, with Parisa being Persian and Malakai being Italian. I feel like it represented these cultures very well and respectfully. My favorite part was the secret side romance between Ren and Autumn. It had a slow beginning, and I admit I had trouble getting into it. I liked Parisa's inner dialogue and how we saw what she was going through and struggling with. The banter between Parisa & Malakai was top-notch and exactly the type I would want in an enemies-to-lover book. I wish there were more character development because I feel like no characters grew as people; they just fell in love. The love triangle aspect also fell flat for me because she was leading Dane on, and it just felt disrespectful and toxic. This book was predictable, but in the ways a cozy mystery is predictable. I knew what I was getting out of this book and received that exact thing.

4.5 stars

A lovely slow burn rom-com. I really enjoyed the setting of the story with the main characters being vets and animals being an integral part of the story. Malakai and Parisa are the perfect pairing once they finally realise they like each other. But it does take them a long time to accept their feelings for each other, and their communication could have been so much better if they had only talked about their feelings sooner! Great chemistry between the main characters.

A good book to read on holiday or the beach, not too taxing with a satisfying ending. Perfect for fans of rom-coms.

This was funny and light and an easy read. It's got dogs, the beach, surfing, smoothies, and two vets with opposing philosophies who have lots of meetups.

There's a heap of characters, not too much angst but so much going on and the friction between the two leads didn't feel authentic. A super light and uncomplicated read.

Thanks very much to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a really sweet work rivals/enemies-to-lovers read. Overall I thought the main characters Parisa and Malakai had entertaining banter and I enjoyed seeing them grow closer over the length of the book. Along with the well developed main characters was a great cast of side characters who were intertwined with one another and had their own events happening in the book, adding to the complexity and authenticity of the whole story.
I would have liked to see more clearly the romance evolve between Parisa and Malakai since a lot of their relationship during the book was held back by other love interests who seemed sort of pointless past the first date.
overall I would recommend this for anyone looking for their next slow burn, enemies to lovers romance!

Cute, fun, and quick read. This book was so much fun to read. I loved the banter between the main characters and how their relationship evolved in the story. The enemies-to-lovers trope is one of my favorites and this definitely delivered.
Parisa and Malakai are two veterinarians with practices next door to each other. Their views of best practices for caring for animals vary greatly. Their beginning conflict stems from Malakai claiming that Parisa is not a "real vet" because of her beliefs about treatments. The tension is full blast and the banter never stopped.
If you're looking for a good enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, Rom-Com, look no further!
Thank you to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for granting me this ARC read for an honest review.

This was one of my favorite books this year.

I love how they didn't get together right after their first kiss, it gave some tension.

And GIRL, those things that happened after the party, I was almost crying.

It was written so well that I stayed up until 3 AM to finish it.

A funny book, but the drama and miscommunication between them goes on a bit too long and kind of turns them from charming to immature and a bit unlikeable. It mist started dragging and became mostly unbelievable.

I'm a huge sucker for anything involving pets especially enemies to lovers and work rivals. I mean how can you not love it? This was such a quick read for me I really enjoyed it.

From the first chapter I liked the voice Parisa was given and I enjoyed the story right away. It was a slow-burn book and both Parisa and Malakai had to overcome multiple obstacles until they went from enemies to lovers. Without it becoming too many obstacles and becoming unbelievable.

(Most) characters were very likable and you also get some cute dog content (even though some had... odd names: Pup Tart, Little Bow Wow adn FurrElise for example).

Most of the characters also weren't "standard" people, with that I mean not everyone had the same background. Scottish/Italian, Persian, Japanese. It wasn't he main focus of the story but it definitely had had a place.

In the 'about the author' it said that Elise loves to write funny, romantic stories that give readers a mental vacation. And the book definitely gave me a mental vacation (which I hadn't realised I needed from only reading fantasy books with (too) many characters.

I'm also interested in Gianna's story and other books written by Elise Eliot.

Enemies to lovers
Slow burn