Review of The Art of Falling in Love with Your Enemy by Anne Kemp

 

All’s fair in love and war…until the man you love to hate throws you in jail.

Etta: Moving to Sweetkiss Creek was supposed to bring me closer to family and offer a fresh start. Instead, it feels like everything is spiraling out of control. First, there's my mischievous dog who has a knack for escaping and ending up at the police station. Then there's my ex, who has found away to give me a headache even from miles away. But the cherry on top of this chaotic sundae is Zac Wright, the infuriatingly charming man who also happens to be my nemesis.

Zac: From the moment I laid eyes on Etta McCoy, I knew she was something special. She's drop-dead gorgeous, but her grumpy attitude could use a makeover. When my boss assigns me to organize a team bonding retreat, I’m unexpectedly partnered with Etta…and the more time we spend together, the more I realize her tough exterior is merely a candy-coated shell, and I want to be the one who cracks through and discovers the sweetness inside.

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Another fun romcom. Enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes, of course, and these two have been enemies from first sight. I enjoyed the chemistry between them that was there despite their best attempts to stop it. I really enjoyed reading about Zac especially, except for the part where he pulled her over for going five miles over, which is completely uncalled for.

Even though the characters had clear chemistry, though, I did have issues shipping it, not because of the storytelling but because the heroine is divorced. I usually avoid reading romances with divorced characters unless their spouse is the love interest, but I was already invested in this series. When the heroine gave her reasons for divorcing her husband, she mentioned a paragraph or two before that she didn't want to be like women who change their marriages like they change their jeans. Then she explained the divorce was because she and her husband "outgrew" each other . . . like one does with a pair of jeans. But vows aren't actually something you outgrow, so even though I love Zac, I still shipped Etta and her husband together and honestly felt worse for him than I think I was supposed to.

Besides that, though, it was a fun book and I loved seeing the townspeople again. I feel like I'm going to really, really love the next book.

Note to more sensitive readers: a couple minor innuendos.

I received a copy of this novel from the author. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

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