3.5 rounded up to 4!

In Enemies to Lovers, we meet Flo – who has recently been through a breakdown and, last Christmas, felt like her brother’s best friend Jamie was the only person to really understand her. But then he disappeared, leaving behind a confusing note, and she’s been avoiding him ever since.

Until, he turns up on their family holiday to Greece! Flo first tries her best to ignore him and stay out of his way, before trying aversion therapy by actually spending time with him to get over him. Which, of course, does not work out…

As they spend more time together, Flo realises that things have not been what they seemed, and Jamie is not what she thought.

This was a lovely book, with great characters who were developed thoughtfully, and really came to life. I marked it down to a 3.5 purely because it felt a bit slow at times.. especially the second half. Although, at times, it was quite an enjoyable pace that felt like I really was on a relaxing holiday! At other times though I felt like I wanted it to get a move on, plot-wise! And the plot twist towards the end was something I had guessed happened from the beginning so it was a bit infuriating that the topic hadn’t come up before! But it wouldn’t have been much of a story if they’d talked about it right at the beginning of course!

The setting is truly gorgeous and I really enjoyed imagining the beach and sitting outside at the bars in the sunshine! It would be a great holiday read.

Flo is looking forward to a holiday with her eccentric but loving family. But when she finds out that her brother’s best friend Jamie is joining them, she feels like her holiday is ruined. They nearly had “something” the previous Christmas but he cruelly put a stop to it via a note and ever since, Flo has been determined to hate him. But could spending time with her enemy in a gorgeous holiday setting prove to be a cure for her hatred?

The title of the book doesn’t really leave the reader in much doubt as to the plot. And even the twist at the end was pretty obvious from the start. But the book is easy to read, some of the banter between the characters is really entertaining and the parts of the story that deal with Flo’s breakdown (not a spoiler as it’s mentioned very early on) are dealt with sensitively if a bit briefly. This would make a good beach holiday read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

A Greek Island is the setting for a family holiday, only its not family because Laurie brings along best mate Jamie making things awkward for his younger sister Flo as they had a clandestine hook-up last Christmas and then he dumped her. Hardly enemies but certainly awkward, its not a good start to her holiday and as the long summer days continue it seems that Flo and Jamie have just one misunderstanding after another and plenty of embarrassment too.

The family dynamics were well written and a beautifully described setting made it easy to visualise the sights and sounds of a Mediterranean Island bathed in glorious sunshine.

If you're looking for an easy to read 'will they, won't they' type novel to pass the time on the beach this might work.

A week in an idyllic Greek villa with all your family - and Jamie, your brother's hot best friend who flirted with then ghosted you last Christmas. What on earth could go wrong? After a bad couple of years mental health wise all Flo wants is to relax, but Jamie's presence makes that impossible. Not that she still has feelings for him of course. Throw in an over achieving mother, two protective big brothers, a handsome Greek masseuse and a far from repentant Jamie and this summer Flo is on a holiday to remember.

This sunshine drenched book is a the perfect beach read - or the perfect read to transport you to the beach on a rainy summer's day.

If you're looking for sun, sea, sand and slow burn then this is the book for you!
Flo is looking forward to a relaxing Greek holiday with her family this summer. Unfortunately, it appears to have been crashed by her brother's best friend Jamie, an 'irksomely chiselled Lothario' with whom Flo shares some history.
This is the perfect beach or pool side romance with enemies to lovers (obviously), forced proximity and one bed.
If you don't happen to be reading it whilst on holiday, no worries, this book will transport you to the beautiful Greek islands!

Enemies to Lovers is the perfect beach read. It is the ideal escape to Greece if you can't go to the beach or have summer weather.

The book follows Flo Greenberg, who desperately needs a relaxing holiday with her family in Greece. It sounds like the perfect holiday: good food, sun, sea and sand, and a gorgeous local that showers her with attention; well, think again.

Jamie, her brother's best friend and for Flo, a pain in the arse, suddenly joins her family holiday.
Naturally, as Flo is still finding her way after recovering from a mental breakdown, she decides that exposure therapy is the best course of action to cure her ill feelings towards Jamie, causing her to discover that Jamie isn't all that bad after all.

I enjoyed the book, which gave me a summery escape to Greece, it read like a funny romcom you can read in a day or two. The family dynamics and all-around good vibes were a welcome detail.
However, the title might be confusing as it wasn't very enemies to lovers. It's more like a brother's best friend and a forbidden romance trope read. Not that it was terrible; it just might be a bit confusing if you're hoping to read a book with true enemies to lovers. Another refreshing thing was that it had characters in their 20s and 30s instead of 16, but it was also a bit annoying when these 20-30-something characters behaved like 16 or 18-year-olds.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone, for the review copy.

This book is the perfect beach read! It had me daydreaming of sunny holidays & time well spent with family
I liked:
•The family. I thought they were adorable
•The holiday setting as mentioned
•The romance & hea
• The mental health rep
•Just the right amount of spice
•Very funny at points

Dislikes:
•The long chapters
•How unlikeable & oblivious Flo was

I’ll be handing this book to my friend asap to read as I think it’ll be a hit for the rom com lovers of the world :)

This is the perfect summer read.
It transported me to the beach and I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend.

Enemies to Lovers was a fun, light-hearted but heartwarming easy read. The characters were all relatable in their way & the family dynamic is something lots of people will be familiar with. It's a concept that has been done before but in a very refreshing way!

Flo is desperately in need of a holiday with her family. She is recently on the other side of a breakdown. Jamie is Flo’s brother’s best friend and he has somehow ended up on the family holiday. 2 weeks of spending time together, after what happened last year, is not what Flo wants or needs but she will not let Jamie get the better of her. In fact spending time with the enemy will be perfect to cure the anger she has for Jamie surely?

I read Our Stop by this author back in 2019 and that was a five star read for me so I had high hopes. This was a good book but I didn’t gel with the characters. Flo annoyed me and I don’t know why. I guessed what had happened as well, which I obviously won’t give any spoilers, but it didn’t stop me from liking the book. It was good and it was a quick read and the title is exactly what happens.

I really enjoyed this one! I found myself struggling to put it down. It transported me to the beach and made me desperate for a big family holiday.
There were parts of it that felt a bit unneeded in the story and they seemed to drag a bit which is why I gave 4 stars. But the storyline was right up my street - brothers best friend, forbidden love and all the tension filled moments between them.
I loved all the characters in this book. Except Adonis obviously - I had serious Rosh, Rachel & Paolo vibes 🤣

Thank you to publisher Penguin Random House UK Cornerstone, NetGalley and author Laura Jane Williams for this eARC.

Firstly the title. Are the enemies in the room with us? Because I can't find them.

While I really liked some scenes in this book - the ones where the whole family was there and the ones with Flos parents - and it was a quick, easy pool read with a gorgeous greek island as a setting, the entire plot is based on one of my aboslutely most hated tropes - miscommunication/lack of communication. The whole book i was just screaming at the characters to just TALK to eachother! Like if they were teenagers, fine but these are supposed to be grown a** adults. Behave like it, use your words!
Just writing this review I'm getting angry again!

A huge thank you to @Netgalley and fora gifted copy of this lovely eBook to read and review - all thoughts are my own.

“The opposite of anxiety isn’t calm. It’s trust”

Let's start of by saying just how eye catching that cover is, I was instantly taken by it, and then the blurb completely sold me, however I will get my main issue out of the way first, this book to me is the very bare minimum of an enemies to lovers, if anything this is more of a
miscommunication or “men thinking they have a say in women's virtues” type trope, so please don’t pick this book up just based on its title, thinking it’ll be full of a couple who despise each other and grow, that really is not the case.

However, saying that, this story is still very heartfelt, and it is lovely to watch the couple and the MC grow, I loved Flo as the main character, despite having a “breakdown” she has come out and stronger and more willing to grow and enjoy her life. Majority of the side characters eere lovely, and it was so refreshing to read about a family that are so close and enjoy each other's company, it felt so realistic and I would have loved to be on that holiday with them, the banter between all three siblings just felt relatable, and their competitive side had be laughing throughout, it was interesting to watch their interactions with one another, andI really like how the author made each siblings relationship different, I especially loved Alex and Flo’s nose wrinkles, its sweet!

The plot in all honesty was quite tunnel sighted, this was just a cutesy read with the idea of a couple who have known each other for years finally get together, there were a couple of subplots which were okay, but I did have an issue with the Adonis subplot, I felt that the cave scene was completely unnecessary, or for it to still be there, then more needs to be said around his behaviour – not just brushed off, I feel this puts a negative spin on sexual harassment.

Either way this is an easy uplifting summer read, that despite its page count was a quick and engrossing read, with stunning world building, and a gorgeous setting, I mean those beach scenes just felt so idyllic, this is one that I did enjoy, it just needed a bit more angst and
development in places.

3.5

4 ⭐️
1 🌶️

- Brothers best friend
- mental health rep

Flo has been through some hard times. But she is currently on vacation with her family and her brothers best friend, the guy who she’s had a crush on forever. The guy who led her on at Xmas but then walked away.
Their relationship is very much one step forward two steps back.

A fairly light read (does dive into mental health issues) and it does have plenty of humour.

Thank you for the eARC negalley and Random House Cornerstone, Penguin.

Truly the best romance trope there ever was and ever will be. Throw in some Greek sunshine and we’re off to the (beach) races for another five star summer read!

Thank you to Cornerstone for the E-Arc of this book! I really loved the summer setting and family atmosphere the book gave but struggled so much to see the romance and flow between Flo and Jamie.

I often found myself not reaching for the story and feeling that it was a bit jumpy between loving and hating each other and Flo’s emotions. The storyline on Flo’s mental health was written well and felt relatable in some ways - with her inner thoughts and feelings etc but for me the main plot wasn’t there.

Very grateful to have had the opportunity to read anyway and enjoyed the other aspects of the story

Meet flo & Jamie. Flo is piecing her life back together after a breakdown & Jamie is flo's older brother, lauries best friend.
Something happened last xmas that has turned these two into enemies, so imagine the shock & disbelief for flo when Jamie turns up on flo's greek family holiday. the hate between them seems obvious enough for flo & Jamie but then something changes & an unlikely friendship blossoms turning into something more.
This book had laughter, tears & a few home truths. It is more of a fluffy romance than a spicy one but it is a lovely story that warms your heart.

The perfect summer holiday read, set in Greece, a will they, won't they story about relationships. Devoured it on a hot sunny afternoon lazing on a sun lounger!

I really enjoyed this. I’ve read books from this author in the past and really liked them too. The perfect location and perfect enemies to lovers story!

Enemies to Lovers is a quick, fun summer novel that is perfect to read by a beach. It’s fast-paced and very funny, and it’s my favourite Laura Jane Williams book so far.

Even though I liked it, I am a little bit conflicted. Unfortunately, I felt no romantic chemistry between the two main characters, Jamie and Flo, but I absolutely loved the mental health representation and humour in the writing. I also liked the setting of a family holiday in Greece, and the dynamics between each family member — some of the situations they found themselves in were just hilarious, and I frequently laughed out loud.

Enemies to Lovers is mostly based around a misunderstanding, and I feel like the main issues could have been resolved very quickly if the characters had acted more like adults rather than teenagers. Still, it didn’t bother me that much and I ended up very much enjoying it, so I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to fans of light, summery romances. I just wish I could have backed Flo and Jamie more!

3.5/5.