Mia wants to get a steady job in a tv writing room. She’s tired of working odd writing jobs when she can find them. She writes successful webcomic. She would love to be able to do more with her webcomic but for now it’s a fun side job she really enjoys. Liam is focused almost to the point of being rude. He wants his TV network to expand from reality shows into scripted drama. His first attempt, End in Fire, was a hit during season one but season two is off to a rocky start. Mia wants to write. Liam needs a head writer. They have a history. Can they work together to make End in Fire a huge success?

Do you like soap operas? Do you like strong, smart characters? Do you like stories with a complete, over-the-top happy ending? Have I got a romance book for you! Mia is a good writer with creative ideas and a good work ethic. She is honest and good. She is very likeable. I love that the author chose to make Liam a character in Mia’s webcomic. Liam has a lot on his to do list and a lot of people depend on him. I can understand why he’s grumpy and intense. I like that the author let Liam learn to give other people responsibility so he can focus his energy where it really needs to go. I thought the characters were a good couple at the end of the story.

This story has a super duper happy ending. If you like feel good love stories, give this a try. I will definitely read more from this author in the future.

✨I really loved this book!I especially appreciated how the author has included the brother’s post-traumatic struggles.That subplot made the book hit so much harder, because it wasn’t just about love,it was about family,healing and weight of past wounds.

👥I also liked the brother’s best friend trope dynamic. It added so much tension end emotional conflict , they tried tohide it and to ignore the sttraction but guess what? It was impossible to not notice it.
Every interaction between Mia and Liam was so funny, chaotic and it made wanna high-five mia sometimes for how witty she was!

✒️The writing style? It was another highlight for me. It’s smooth, engaging and heartfelt, with dialogue that feels natural and easy to connect with.

✨And can we talk about the webcomic twist? Turning Liam into the “villain” of Mia’s story was pure genius. Such a creative way to show how she processes her heartbreak. It added humor, personality, and made her voice as a character even more relatable.

The only thing I really disliked? Mia’s parents. Ugh. So annoying! 😑They don’t believe in her dreams(not even a little bit)and I wanted to punch them every time they got mentioned.

💖Overall, “The CEO I Hate” is a book that balances fun, romance, and serious themes beautifully. It’s emotional without being heavy, and witty without losing sincerity. I loved nearly everything about it, and it left me with that perfect mix of satisfaction and wanting more.

3.5 ⭐️

The reason you pick up a Leslie North book is for the guaranteed witty characters and constant banter… and this book did not disappoint! This is was fun, and light-hearted, with lots of sarcasm and humor throughout.

When Mia looked around the room full of not only more seasoned writers, but writers with a history on the show she was walking onto green, and watched them submit to Lyle’s temperamental and massive ego, and she still chose to stand up with a reasonable and eloquent argument she framed so that he had to at least consider when she was saying, I knew I loved her!

I love series of stand-alone centered around close knit families, and can’t wait to see what’s in store for Finn next!
—
🎬 Stand-alone series of brothers
📝 Brothers best friend
🎬 Dual POV
📝 Witty banter
🎬 Billionaire boss
📝 Screenwriter
🎬 Firefighters
📝 Open door
📍 LA, California
—
Thank you Relay Publishing & NetGalley for this complimentary ARC - all thoughts are my own! 📚
Publishers release date 7/3/2025

I enjoyed this book. It was very readable and engaging, I finished it in one sitting. The romance was quite solid; Mia and Liam had good chemistry and I liked their dynamic a lot. They had some good scenes together and the love scenes were hot and well-written.

I liked a lot of the external plot; the writing team storyline was interesting and I did enjoy the subplot involving Mia’s older brother and his girlfriend. I will say that I found some parts of the plot a bit frustrating, and I’m not sure that the book needed the sexual harassment plotline at such a late stage. I also found the very beginning of the book a little confusing; the set up of the opening scene, with it initially seeming like they were strangers and then turning out they knew each other well, didn’t quite work. I enjoyed the romance overall, but I did think at the start the concept of their relationship felt a little disjointed. There were a fair few tropes attached to their romance and at times it felt like the author wasn’t sure which one to focus on.

That said, overall I thought this was a really fun read. The romance ultimately is very solid and has a good pay off by the end and I liked a lot of the main plot and side characters. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a brother’s best friend romance with a hate-to-love angle. I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free copy of this book.

Content Notes: Sexual harassment, sexism in the workplace, past serious injury to a side character, mental illness, depression, on-page sex, rough sex, oral sex, fingering, semi-public sex, age gap.

Thank you for the ARC NetGalley & Relay Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

A sweet, quick & fun brother's best friend romance. I couldn't put this book down and kept wanting to read more.

Mia was a great FMC, she knew what she wanted and went for it. I liked her confidence & interactions with other characters. The dual POV was well done & seeing Liam's inner conflict of being with Mia being chipped away by Mia's persistence was rewarding. Their intimate scenes were fun & I enjoyed the supporting characters.

Liam had a hero complex where if someone near & dear had an issue, he provided unsolicited help. It was nice having him see Jake & Gabrielle confront their issues & I'm glad Jake told him off when Liam tried to insert himself into their relationship.

The ending went from 0 to 100, feeling rushed. <spoiler> It could have wrapped up before the S1 End in Fire award show since I'm not sure how much time passed from them getting back together to getting engaged. It would have felt more rewarding if it was a flash forward to season 2's award show (a year or 2 later) or as this is in a standalone series of the brothers, we could have had their engagement in one of their books after more time had passed. I think it's wild that after Mia & Liam got back together that she would rush into getting engaged after how he broke up with her </spoiler>

Thanks to NetGalley, Relay Publishing, and the author for the chance to read this book.

This book jumps straight into the drama and sizzle. It's a quick read with heart and plenty of spice. The friendships and family relationships (most of them at least) are what give it heart and add some substance. I love the addition of the four-legged mascot. I can't wait to see what's in store for the next 2 books!

The coffee shop scene was an incredible way to start this off. It immediately gives you the dynamic between Liam and Mia. Liam and Mia have history. He's her older brother's best friend and she's had a crush on him for a while. But one New Years Party two years ago and a streaming cup of rejection for Mia, she's done with Liam. She models a character after him in her webcomic to make herself feel better. Which is very funny btw
Loved the relationship between Mia and Jake. Since their parents are garbage, they are each other's support and backbone. Would have loved to actually see Mia confront her parents or fully cut them off. I had a few issues with Liam. I think it's incredibly cute he and his brothers have monthly check-ins. But he's the worst kind of fixer. He has in his head that he needs to fix everyone's problems. But the biggest problem with that is he doesn't talk to anyone! He just immediately does and it ends up causing more problems. I absolutely believe Mia should have made him grovel more after how he treated her.
And I know we're all thinking it...Ash should have had a bigger role. He kinda became the emotional support animal. The synopsis says he bonds with Liam, but he doesn't. With where the dog ends up, I would have liked to see more of that bond actually form. Cause it did make sense, but the way it plays out, it just kind of happens.

Tropes: Brother's best friend, drunken encounter, Firefighters, writers, CEO.

Overall it's 3.5/5 stars.

The pluses:
1. Heroine is professional writer/cartoonist
2. Hero is a CEO
3. Heroine has curly hair? I think?
4. Hero helps heroine land a job (on merit, duh!)


The thing that irked me was that the third act break up was extremely stupid. Literally. The hero is like 38 years old so for him to act like a 22 year old pissed me off. Also, there was no discussion about the TV drama that the whole book was focused on. No discussion of what the show was about, what the first season was about, what the second season was about. It was really weird.

And the heroine is so pretty and accomplished that random people hit on her and her CEO BF is crazy about her but her parents are setting her up with the most pathetic losers? Something isn't meshing.

3.5 star read. Really enjoyed this and loved the authors style of writing and would love to read more from this author. Thank you for letting me read this as an arc

I didn’t like it, couldn’t get past the 2nd chapter, I left it for a 3 weeks and picked up again but still could not get past the 2nd chapter

5⭐️ - (late) ARC read.

I really liked Mia and Liam's story.

It was like reading a movie or show. Which is something I like about for books.

This is the first book I read from Leslie North.
I'm already looking forward to the other books from the series. And reading more books from the author some day.

This was my first book by Leslie North, and I really enjoyed her writing style—light, entertaining, and easy to read. I especially liked it because it made me laugh in several parts.

Really enjoyed this book, brought the right level of drama and emotions out. A fun read that was very sweet.

CEO I Hate is a fun, fiery enemies-to-lovers romance that blends family drama, workplace tension, and heartfelt emotion. Struggling writer Mia Collins has spent years chasing her dream, despite her parents pushing her to give it up. When a chance encounter at a coffee shop reunites her with Liam Lockhart—her brother’s best friend and a billionaire CEO who once kissed then rejected her—sparks immediately fly. Soon, Mia lands a writing job at his TV studio, forcing them into close-quarters collaboration where banter, attraction, and jealousy run high. But Liam is torn between his loyalty to her protective brother and his undeniable feelings for Mia. With family complications, career challenges, and a stray dog thrown into the mix, this is a witty, heartfelt romance about learning to prioritize love and trust while balancing ambition and responsibility.

This was an ok read. I felt that it started off stronger than it finished and the characters lacked the development I was hoping for.

Personally I feel that the last intimate scene was unnecessary and I didn't love the ending.

Overall I would recommend this to very specific reads.

This was a fun, quick read with adorable characters with lots of banter. Mia was herself and owned it the whole time. Liam was definitely a “boss,” which could be somewhat of a turnoff but his love for his family was sweet. They were hot together though! I will definitely continue to read The Lockhart Brothers series.

This book had me hooked from the very first page. The tension between the leads was both infuriating and addictive. The banter was sharp, the slow build delicious, and when things finally tipped over… let’s just say it was worth every page of restraint!!! A perfect blend of forbidden, swoony, and unputdownable.

3 Ash Stars ⭐️
Spicy Rating: 🌶️🌶️/5

What is with me reading brother’s best friend romances lately, where the brother does not support the relationship, or there is the constant "tension" that he wont? This is one of my least favourite ways to execute this trope... I do not know what has infiltrated my reading choices at the moment, but it needs to stop, because I do not enjoy this type of story!!! Since I do not enjoy it, it automatically affects how I feel about the book.

𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨:
Mia Collins is a graphic writer and has a successful webcomic targeted towards high schoolers, where one of the characters is based on her brother’s best friend. He is ten years older than her, surly, grumpy, and almost always an ass towards her. He also happens to be the CEO of a production company and is looking for a writer to assist on one of his series after the lead writer steps down. His best friend recommends his sister, and as Liam will do anything to cheer him up after a recent firefighting accident left him unable to walk, he agrees to give her a chance. Mia not only impressed him in the interview but also the rest of the writing team and landed herself the job... so now Mia has to be nice to the CEO she hates but also thinks is RIDICULOUSLY SEXY... to bad he can't be attracted to her because she is his BEST FRIEND'S SISTER...

𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:
I really loved Mia. She has a girl-next-door vibe that makes you want to root for her no matter what. She stands up for her values, is driven, determined to be independent, and wants to make her own way. She refuses to have things handed to her and wants to prove herself, especially since her parents have been against her career as a writer. She sticks to her guns and does what makes her happy. She owns who she is and does not let herself be bullied or walked over but is open to compromise and discussion. She was a genuinely interesting character to read about and I loved being in her head.

Our grumpy CEO is where I had more issues. Liam Lockhart has sexual appeal, and it was sweet how close he is to his family, and how much he cares for the people who work for him. However, one major flaw is his tendency to take over decision-making entirely. He believes he has to solve everything himself and approaches problems with determination and practicality, often ignoring feelings in the process. He is very analytical and direct, which can come across as abrasive... now this does come through in the story as a "thing" he needs to work on, but it still annoyed me because I couldn't like him while he was working through this...

From a relationship perspective, I did like the enemies-to-lovers pull. These two dislike each other, but despite the dislike, they are highly attracted to each other, so they battle this chemistry while also being forced into this super close proximity. Soon, things begin to happen, and she becomes his “dirty little secret” forcing them to navigate that situation. Their union is explosive, exciting and sweet. But... there is something that is difficult to explain, but something just did not click between these two. I think it was that their attraction was based more on physical desire than a mental or emotional connection. While there were glimpses of something deeper, there was almost too much conflict very early in a relationship for me to believe this was a relationship that would last long-term.

Overall, the romance felt like it was missing something. I could not quite put my finger on it, but the chemistry was not sizzling. It was hot, but not burning off the page. The banter felt a little forced at times, and I disliked that neither character was willing to have open, honest conversations with her brother or with each other about what the relationship meant to them and how it could work. Some conflicts were resolved too quickly, leaving me feeling like I was watching a Hallmark movie when I had been expecting a blockbuster. Hallmark movies are lovely, sweet, and reliable, but you generally know exactly what you are going to get.

𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨 and 𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▶ Brother's Best Friend Romance
▶ Enemies Hate to Lovers
▶ BossXEmployee (Workplace Romance)
▶ Nicknames
▶ Billionaire Romance
▶ Age Gap
▶ "You Taste Like"
▶ Forced Proximity

That said, I still enjoyed this. It was a light, easy read that is perfect if you want something to pass the time, perfect for a holiday or weekend binge. If you love the tropes, it’ll scratch the itch with a satisfying sense of completion when you turn the last page.

Thank you to Relay Publishing, Netgalley and Leslie North for the gifted copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own

"The CEO I Hate" is a captivating read! The plot is expertly crafted, moving at a perfect pace and set against an intriguing backdrop. I was particularly drawn to the dynamic between the characters, especially the hilarious banter and verbal sparring. The supporting characters, including the adorable dog, were all very likable. The story also does a good job of balancing the drama and angst with some steamy love scenes. The novel successfully incorporates many popular tropes:

* Love-hate relationship
* Brother's best friend/best friend's little sister
* Childhood crush
* Forbidden love/Off-limits
* Opposites attract
* Grumpy-sunshine
* Workplace romance
* Boss-employee

I enjoyed the story. The plot is very well written and has a good pace, an interesting background, a whole cast of likable secondary characters (including a cute dog), lots of banter and verbal sparring, some drama and angst, steamy love scenes and the following tropes:

- Love-Hate relationship
- Brother’s best friend/best friend’s little sister
- Childhood crush
- Forbidden love/Off-limits
- Opposites attract
- Grumpy-sunshine
- Workplace romance
- Boss-employee

I liked both Mia and Liam, even though he's grumpy and sometimes acted stupidly. But when you get to know him better, you also understand better why he acts the way he does. Mia is talented and warm, but I also found some of her reactions and expectations a little exaggerated, as she had known Liam for a long time and was aware of his priorities beforehand. I can well imagine that some readers will disagree with me in this respect.

Mia Collins is a young screenwriter with her own webcomic in which she makes fun of her brother Jake's grumpy best friend, Liam Lockhart, with whom she had a secret crush for a long time, among other things. Unfortunately, she can't find a job as a screenwriter.
Liam is the CEO of a successful TV company and used to fixing other people’s problems. When his previous showrunner and head writer of his popular firefighting series drops out shortly before the start of the second season, Liam has to find a replacement quickly. To do his best friend Jake, a former firefighter who has been paralyzed since a work accident, a favor, Liam invites Mia for an interview, even though he realizes it's a bad idea since he's been attracted to her for some time, but as Jake's younger sister is off-limits to him.
It turns out that Mia, with her talent and background knowledge of the profession and the previous season, is perfect for the job. Despite all the spats, the tension between them and the reasons that were supposed to keep Liam away from Mia, he finds it increasingly difficult not to give in to his desire...

Overall, an entertaining story with a strong heroine, an honorable but flawed hero, witty banter and bickering, LOL moments, crackling tension, heartbreak and spice that I am happy to recommend! I'm already looking forward to the story of the next Lockhart brother.

I received a free ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and left voluntarily.