(3.5 stars)

i really enjoyed this contemporary! i, like most romance readers, love a good enemies-to-lovers story. this was very much a character-driven novel, but i think it worked quite well. the characters were fantastically flawed, especially bran; he makes a lot of mistakes, but still manages to come out of it all rather likable.

i did think it was pretty slow going at the beginning, especially as the main characters don't meet until reasonably far in, and sometimes later on the pace got a bit plodding, hence the reduction of 1 and a half stars. i'm willing to round up to 4 stars, though, because of the deft characterisation.

overall i enjoyed this, and i'm certainly going to read the rest of the books in the series. this is the first i've read, and although i get the feeling i missed some fun little easter eggs, these were by no means integral to the plot and it definitely works as a standalone.

I am still surprised, but I never finished Love at First Hate. I wanted to love this JL Merrow but it just didn't interest me.

Branok Roscarrock has always followed his father’s rules to maintain the respect of the family name, though all those rules did nothing but give him a bad reputation and cause him to be a difficult man to get along with. With a failed relationship and his being in the closet, Bran has never come close to being himself, and as time goes by, he looks back on his life and his family’s secrets—and little by little, as things become clearer, he finds himself craving a relationship and just wanting to be himself. Bran’s sister, Bea, and younger brother, Jory, also suffered their overbearing father as well as their mother’s illness and while they still have a connection, it’s a fragile one, but there is one person Bran does have a good relationship, his nephew and heir, Gawen.

After enjoying an evening with Gawen, Bran is attacked and left not only with a concussion but multiple, serious injuries too. Bran wants to know who would do such a thing, and he wants justice. While recuperating at home, he gets pneumonia and has to return to the hospital, but he can’t afford to be injured or sick because his business commitments and the Prince Edward exhibit rest heavily on his shoulders, along with the hiring of a new curator now. Bran tries to pressure Jory into taking the job but being a curator doesn’t fit into his schedule. Jory does step up and make a hire, though, someone he can trust, a mate from Edinburgh University.

Dr. Sam Ferreira was an academic, but he lost everything to a man he loved and trusted. To make ends meet, Sam takes menial jobs and has gone into debt from on-line gambling, but then he gets an offer he can’t refuse—to be the curator for the Prince Edward of Woodstock/Black Knight exhibit. He has nothing else to lose and hopes that new surroundings and a much better job can help him with what he needs.

Bran and Sam don’t see eye-to-eye on the presentation of the historical events of the Black Knight. Both have their opinions on how to present the exhibit to the people to make it meaningful. Needless to say, it leads to shouting matches and tense moments between them. In an attempt to find some neutral ground, Bran and Sam go to dinner, but there are too many secrets from the past and present that could very well prevent them from having any type of relationship.

Love at First Hate centers around several issues, one being the historical events of Prince Edward and the Hundred Years War. The story is told from the present and is intermingled with the past as Bran looks back to when he and his sister were in their teens and Jory was just a baby. There are many secrets and issues, ranging from present to past, for all the characters in this novel, and at some point, they all have to be honest with themselves and make the right decisions. Bran also has to decide to let go and not be controlling like his father was. Basically, the storyline reflects the dysfunction in the Roscarrock family, and it carries over into guilt and blame in the present. There is also thought put into giving people a second chance and to the decisions that have to be made to make one’s life their own.

I’ve read a few of the Porthkennack stories, and they are all entertaining. This is a great addition to Jory and Mal’s One Under” and Devan and Kyle’s Wake Up Call. JL Merrow’s writing style has an easy flow, with lots of emotion to draw your interest. The setting is current day Edinburgh, and the locality, descriptions, verbiage and accents really lend flavor to the story and all the characters involved.

Reviewed by Maryann

It's hard to categorise JL Merrow's talent for making a simple set up of an older business man and a failed academic with a shared love of the Black Prince into a lovely tale of enemies to lovers to true love. While I've only read the first book in this series it didn't matter so much that I'd missed other tales, each one stands alone.

Bran and Sam (and I only just realised they rhyme) are great characters, both with flaws which impede their relationship. This wasn't one of those tales where just talking it out could have prevented the conflict, in fact talking it out might have prevented the relationship in the first place, so I believed in the reasons for not talking.

Again, Merrow has flavoured their stories with enough local slang that it is very obviously British without specifically having to say, hey, you're in Cornwall, and I loved that. (Although they did do that it wasn't necessary)

I love this author and would be happy to read everything they have ever written.

I've enjoyed every one of the Porthkennack stories, and the differences between them all is a large part of the draw. In Love at First Hate Merrow pulls out an excellent friends to lovers tale by making the animosity between the main characters just as believable as their eventual romantic connection.

The pacing is slow, but I couldn't put it down and found myself craving to know more about the story than the romance, which I've gotta say, J.L. Merrow crafts a good one here. These men are both in their thirties and have the baggage to prove it, plus they both are immersed in their lives and there is so much more going on than just boy meets boy.

A very well written, creative, and addictive read.

Love at First Hate by J.L. Merrow is a contemporary romance. Bran Roscarrock has been living in the closet all his life. As heir to an expansive family legacy in the town of Porthkennack, old-fashioned ideals of respectability and duty were drummed into him since childhood, and he’s never dared to live—or love—openly. Sam Ferreira, an old friend of Bran’s brother, Jory, is a disgraced academic desperate to leave his dead-end job. When Jory asks him to take over as curator of a planned exhibition on Edward of Woodstock, the fourteenth-century Black Prince, Sam leaps at the chance to do what he loves and make a fresh start. But Bran’s funding the exhibition, and though sparks fly between the two men, they’re not all happy ones. Bran idolises Prince Edward as a hero, while Sam’s determined to present a balanced picture. With neither of them prepared to give ground, a hundred years of war seems all too possible. And if Bran finds out about Sam’s past, his future may not be bright, and their budding romance may be lost to history.

Love at First Hate is a romance that is about the main characters growing as it is them finding love with each other. I loved the spark of conflict between them, that was made more frustrating for each of them because they knew some of it was coming from attraction. Getting to see and understand how both Sam and Bran were thinking, and how their pasts colored their outlooks, really made me connect with the characters and their story more. I felt for Sam, who has made some serious mistakes but is trying his hardest to grow and move forward. I worried for Bran, who could have died in an attack and the following illness while trying to shrug off the need to do "what is right for the family" rather than what feels right. The journey they had was heartfelt and painful at times, but it felt real. I like that as a reader I got to see what the people around our main characters were going through as well. No one lives in a bubble, family connections and struggles affect who we are and how we think, and seeing those connections and how they changed and grew made everything even more realistic and engaging. Not all of the secondary characters and related drama worked for me, and at least one of the surprises I rather expected, but that was such a small disappointment compared to all the things that fell into place perfectly for me.

Love at First Hate is a romance that resonated with me and felt incredibly real. I was engaged through the entire read, and often delayed putting the book down to do necessary tasks (like cooking dinner or going to sleep) because I just wanted to keep going.

So far I have adored the Porthkennack series by some other authors, when I saw this title being part of the series I gave it a go. And I did like it but not as much as the others, plus in the end I remembered the story line more than the characters sadly.

Bran Roscarrock is in the closet and a bit of a stiff and likes things in order that he has perceived as correct.

~ Denial doesn't solve anything, and it never has. ~

Sam has trusted before and it blew up in his face. Now he's in Porthkennack to start fresh but Bran isn't making it easy for him.

This is a hate to love, enemies to lovers story. It was sweet but a bit forgettable.


2.5 stars!

I had mixed feelings about Love at First Hate ever since I read the synopsis for the first time: Bran Roscarrock has been secondary character in Merrow's previous installments in this series, and neither book has painted Bran in a good light. Bran's been described as stuck up traditionalist, who didn't accept his nephew, who came looking for his mother, and judged his brother's choices every chance he got. He wasn't a character I particularly liked. However, I was intrigued by the synopsis and I have enjoyed every book by Merrow I've read, so I decided to give this one a chance. And I'm extremely glad that I did so.

Love at First Hate turns the tables and challenges reader to change mind about Bran; the story has flashbacks, which will explain a lot of Bran's actions and feelings, and it goes in depth with Bran's character and the inner struggle he goes through. In fact, I felt for Bran and I began to like him, even more than any other characters in this series. Bran's not perfect and in a sense he's duty bound to the idea of what is expected from him as a heir to large estate. But he's long way from being heartless; he loves his nephew, Gawen, and has tried from his best to be there for Gawen when Gawen's father Jory lived in Edinburgh for years. Bran wants to do better and be better, which makes him likable character as he doesn't deny his past wrongdoings. Bran's definitely the best part of the story and his redemption arc is beautiful thing to read about. Other characters, mainly the other main character Sam Ferreira, are interesting but just didn't stood a chance with Bran's presence. I did enjoy Sam's chapters, especially to see him interact with Jory and Mal, and to follow him to built his life after a scandal that caused him to loose his academic career.

Easiest way to summarize the significance of proper and deep character and story development that Love at First Hate has, is that the main character's don't meet each other until around third way in the story. And when Sam and Bran meet, sparks fly and chemistry is palpable - their arguments make their blood boil, but they still respect each other even if they don't agree with other's arguments. It's wonderful to read about, especially to see the change and how they manage to win each other over.

I do recommend Love at First Hate. I dare to say it's best of Merrow's Porthkennack stories.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the 11th book in the series, and whilst I would definitely recommend that you read them all, and in order, I think that this is a good read in its own right.

A rather dramatic start to this book which results in Bran ending up in hospital. And not just the once... which ensures he is even more grouchy than usual.

Sam has been given a second chance at a career, curating an exhibition about the Black Prince... which means working with the main funder, Bran Roscarrock. He is a man who not only has very fixed views on the Black Prince, but is also so deep in the closet that Sam has no idea how to connect with him... even though he is convinced that there could be something between them.

As they both come clean about their secrets from the past, we get to learn about the reasons behind some of their hang-ups. And there are some big issues which they both have to face and resolve in order to be ready to move forward. I really enjoyed how they addressed their past to be ready for the future.

We also get to meet some of the leads from previous books, so faithful readers will be happy to catch up with them too.


Veronica – ☆☆☆
Love at First Hate is the 11th book in the Porthkennack series but it can be read as a standalone and it is the first one in this series for me. I chose it based entirely on the author, JL Merrow, whose work I’ve read before.

This is a slow-moving story. A lot of time is spent learning about Bran and Sam’s lives in the here and now before they meet, as well as finding out about Bran’s past, his family, growing up, and his first crush. I didn’t mind that it took a long time before Bran and Sam actually met because I felt like I knew them. Sam was easy to like. He is down to earth, imperfect, and charming. The slower pace gave me time to warm up to Bran, who I was finding difficult to like, but as the story progressed I enjoyed watching him learn to see himself and his life a little differently.

While it takes a long time for these two to meet, once they do it doesn’t take long before romantic feelings develop. I enjoyed seeing Sam and Bran clash, retreat to their own corners, and come together again. It was interesting and a bit fun.

One of my favourite things about reading a book by JL Merrow is the way her writing includes British mannerisms, language, behaviour, and politeness. It brings more life to the story, and here we got some British history too. I liked learning about the Black Prince as Sam and Bran worked on the exhibition.

Love at First Hate was a good story and by the end seeing the men happy made me happy too, even if it took a while to get there. 3 stars.

I’ve read a few books in the Porthkennack series, however, Love at First Hate is my first by J.L. Merrow. I’ve really enjoyed her other works, so I just had to see what she was going to offer to Porthkennack. I honestly don’t think not having read the previous books has affected my ability to keep up with the going on of this book because at no point did I feel lost. A bit let down but never lost.

It’s kind of hard to get into a book when you’re not really into one of the main characters and Bran was very hard to like. At moments I found him quite childish at others, frustrating especially when that stick up his butt would rear its stubborn head. Sam, on the other hand, was completely likable. Despite really enjoying the book, I never quite felt a romantic connection between them. I mean I know one eventually developed but it had more of affection feeling to it than true attraction and romance.

There are a few secondaries that I find are worth mentioning. First up is Bran’s twin, Bea. I really do question what happened between her and Alan. My brain keeps thinking maybe it wasn’t quite on the up and up and possibly that is why Bea is the way she is. Then again, her brother isn’t quite that lovable, so it could just be a thing about them. I just adored Jory and Mal! I know they have their own book which I must go back and read. Really it was these two, either together or separately, that kept pulling my attention back when I felt it wandering away.

So what Love at First Hate lacked in the romance department, it made up for in redemption. Sam gets to finally clear his name with the ones that matter. Bran finally loosens up and stops taking life too seriously. And along the way, two unlikely characters somehow end up together and get their HEA. Not a big emotional read but it did make for a pleasant one.

I received this book from The JeepDiva with the express purpose of an honest review. The opinions, contents, and rating of this review are solely mine

reviewed by Jac

4 Stars

I really disliked Bran when he was introduced in his brother, Jory’s story, and truthfully, it took ages for my opinion of him to change and I was never completely swayed. He was arrogant, snobby and believed he was better than everyone else, and it wasn’t easy to feel any sympathy for him even when he was beaten, battered, bruised and hurting.

Sam, I absolutely loved. He was not only likable, but I really loved that he stood up to Bran and didn’t let Bran’s stature and power intimidate him or make him cower down to him. He gave as good as he got and I cheered him on the entire time!

This is a definite enemies to lovers story and while it was an enjoyable read for the most part, the romance, for me, didn’t fully work. While Sam and Bran were hot together and had amazing chemistry, the progression of their relationship didn’t work for me. For as adamant as Bran was about hiding out in the closet, it just wasn’t all that believable that after only one sexual encounter with Sam he was ready to come out and live openly and enter into a relationship with Sam. He and Sam barely knew one another. That was another thing that bothered me: It took forever for them to even meet and then it was all insta-something. They moved much too fast. I wanted a more gradual courtship between them. I wanted to be able to get to really know them as a couple.

The story is mostly well-written and although I’ve never heard of Prince Edward it was actually interesting to learn about him.

I loved getting to catch-up with Jory and Mal. I love this little town and while not my favorite book in the series, as I thought there were a couple of issues that needed resolving and frankly, I just wanted more from the romance, still, it was an enjoyable and recommendable book.

*copy provided by author/publisher via the NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

--3.5 stars- A better finish than start--

As much as I love the Porthkennack series collection, some of the books haven’t been as much of a hit as I would hope and I have to admit that I really struggled at times with Love at First Hate. Though this series is billed as a standalone, the collection of stories within the Porthkennack universe by Miss Merrow definitely overlap and should really be read in order to understand all the minor plotlines and references. Although there were definite pockets I enjoyed in this book, including some fun dialogue that livened things up and well-flushed out, interesting characters, Love at First Hate failed to capture my attention fully until the latter part of the book.

Starting this book, I was hoping for a lot more insight into Bran and for those waiting for the same thing, rest assured it comes…eventually. However, the first half or more of the book focuses more on Bran and Sam’s animosity to each other as well as their individual issues and conflicts. Although I was happy to actually see a true enemies-to-lovers plot wherein you could feel the tension and repeatedly saw the main characters clash, the pacing and included details bogged the story down too much and it became painful waiting for something to happen in this slow burn romance. Every time I though Bran and Sam were making headway in their relationship or work partnership, it would backtrack and after a while it simply became tedious. Additionally, I really didn’t feel many sparks between the men, and that combustible chemistry is part of what makes enemies to lovers stories so appealing for me. So yeah, the first part of the book was a bit of a letdown. However, I’m really happy I stuck with it because the latter part of the book came together much better for me. I liked finally seeing Bran soften and was really pleased to get answers to some of the questions raised in Miss Merrow’s previous Porthkennack books. I also liked Bran and Sam together, and even though I didn’t get as much time seeing these two as a couple as I would have liked, they did have a nice bond as the book ended. All in all, Love at First Hate was an okay read that was saved by a good ending. I think those that have read the past two books in the series will be happy with the answers they get, and for that reason, I’d recommend the novel, but I can’t say this was a favorite within the collection.

We first met Bran at the beginning of this series and the wealthy Roscarrock family has been an integral part of life in the small Cornish village of Porthkennack. Bran's story is told against the backdrop of an exhibit being prepared for his personal hero, Edward of Woodstock, also known as the Black Prince (the eldest son of Edward III). Like Bran, Edward faced a huge amount of responsibility at a young age and often had to make decisions that didn't exactly endear him to others. Sam Ferreira is hired to curate this exhibit and butts heads with Bran when he attempts to present a more balanced perspective.

I enjoyed the slower pace of this story as the plot flashes back to Bran's childhood and his relationship with his twin sister, distant and demanding father and sickly mother. It takes a while, but Bran himself slowly emerges from the facade of formality and arrogance that he uses to distance himself from his emotions and memories. And Sam, with his own issues and secrets, bit by bit finds a way into Bran's heart and their gentle chemistry is not so much sizzle, but rather satisfaction and completeness.

There is conflict and miscommunication, but Bran and Sam are two mature adults who find their way through their issues with a minimum of angst. The ending pulls everything together nicely and I left the book feeling this story was a nice addition to the Porthkennack series. 4 stars.

Good writing, interesting characters- but with this being #11 in a series and my first (of the series) I felt continually lost. This may be better described as a serial than a series. I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more had I been reading from book one. I've read many (individual) series books and enjoyed them as stand alone reading but this seemed to need the earlier story to stay on pace. The skipping between different story lines added to my confusion.

I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

While this is the 11th book in the loosely connected Porthkennack series, it's book 3 for the Roscarrocks; this one being about Branok (Bran) who was a real git in the first two books, and whom I'd basically written off as a jerk not worth my time.

Boy, was I wrong.

It could theoretically also be read as a standalone, though the characters from the previous two books make an appearance, and it would probably be best to read both of them before reading this one, to fully grasp the layers of Bran's misunderstood character.

Bran was a real a-hole to his nephew Devan (from book 1) when he came to Porthkennack to search for his birth mother, though it's not clear why until this book.

Bran showed some contempt for his little brother Jory (from book 2), and again, the reasons aren't clear until this book.

Living with a huge burden on his shoulders, his late father's voice in his ear, Bran has locked himself into the closet all his life, never feeling free to be who he really is. His twin sister Bea (Devan's mother) and he have spent most their adult life on their family estate, setting themselves apart from the general populace as what would 500 years ago be similar to feudal overlords.

And Bran has for many, many years kept a massive secret from his sister and brother.

Sam Ferreira is an old friend of Jory, whom he met while at university. Trusting someone he thought he could trust turned out to be detrimental for Sam's academic career, and, in some debt from gambling, he's now in dire need of a new job. When Jory comes to him about helping with an exhibit Bran is funding, about The Black Prince, Sam jumps at the chance to prove himself and says yes.

And thus Bran and Sam meet. The romance between them is slow burn by design - and when I say slow, I mean slooooooooow. There's a lot of UST and longing, but we're more than halfway in before they first kiss. To be honest, the slow burn was necessary - both men have baggage, and it takes some time for Bran and Sam to trust the other.

The romance is quiet, almost taking a backseat to the rest of the plot, which is basically an exploration, a study of Bran's character. The man, outwardly sensible and hard and difficult to read, is in reality vulnerable, insecure, and scared. He hides his true self. He's taken on the responsibility of carrying the family legacy. He's jealous, he's demanding, and he barks at others. But he puts family above all else, he's generous, and he desperately wants to be loved. Even if he's loathe to admit that to anyone, including himself.

I'm not one who needs a lot of on-page sex, and this book doesn't have a lot of it, which suited me fine. What passion there is felt genuine. We leave Bran and Sam with a HFN, but one that I can absolutely see turn into a HEA, possibly in a future book in which we get to revisit these characters.

This novel follows Merrow’s <i>One Under</i> in the Porthkennack series, and while I liked it better than the previous book, it’s not without flaws.

Part of the problem with the story involves pacing. Ostensibly, it’s a romance between Bran, a wealthy and very uptight man whose passion project is a museum exhibition honoring Edward the Black Prince, and Sam, a down-on-his-luck academic who is hired as curator. However, the two men don’t even meet until well into the book. There’s a lot of setting up of their separate situations first, and in Bran’s case, quite a few flashbacks to the past to explain his rather unpleasant personality. When they finally do meet, then, their romance develops quickly, and it felt rushed to me. I also felt like Bran’s character changed a bit too rapidly from being deeply in the closet to being willing to announce to the world that he’s gay and in a relationship.

On the plus side, I did like Sam, and as a history nerd, I enjoyed Sam and Bran’s discussions about Edward. Bran was the type of character I find interesting—someone who has been so damaged by their upbringing that they have trouble relating to other people—but that kind of character needs more development to be convincingly “fixed” by the end of the story.

For me, this was kind of an average read. Merrow’s fans may enjoy it more.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

I’ve always been a huge fan of any author who can change my opinion about a character. I had my doubts about J.L. Merrow’s ability to do that with Bran. He had a lot to make up for. He’s had at least 2 books before this one to have readers form a pretty bleak opinion of him. And to be honest, he even had his moments in Love at First Hate. Yet somehow, this author finally helped readers see the true man behind the mask he wore for pretty much everyone – even those closest to him.

Sam had a past that he wasn’t proud of. Yet, even before the truth behind his past discretions was revealed, readers somehow knew that he wasn’t as guilty as it appeared in black and white. If for no other reason than Jory trusted him enough to take over the exhibition while his brother recovered.

Even though I was leery going in, Bran kind of grew on me. Until the inevitable back slide, which to be honest, took a lot longer than I expected. I kind of hated the fact that Sam had to prove himself, but it was necessary. Especially when dealing with someone like Bran. He was a lot more broken than even he could admit and he had a lot to come to terms with.

When this series first started, the books were only loosely connected. You could probably read them as stand alone if you wanted, but the connections between Love at First Hate, One Under and Wake Up Call are really hard to separate from each other. Especially if you want to get a feel for exactly who Bran is from the beginning.

This is the 9th book in a series written by various authors, taking place in the historic little town of Porthkennack. And it's a rare case the ninth book is much better than the first one.

I'd say this was a 3.5.

We meet Sam, who has a phd as a historian, but his fame went the other way and now he's been unfairly disgraced by his peers, forced to work as a waiter. And there's Bran, who's always been as infamous in Porthkennack as he does his best to keep his family going and taking care of their legacy. After being attacked on the street, he's hospitalized and his younger brother seizes the opportunity to give Sam a second chance for his career and make him the curator of the exhibition Bran has been planning. But Bran's and Sam's views on the subject are as different as the two themselves.

I've only read the first one in the series, and I felt very underwhelmed then. It was a darker story, compared to everything I've read by the same author, but it was also all over the place. If the first was like that... and that's the thought that made me skip the second book she's written for the series, starred by Bran's younger brother. I was just craving for some LGBT read and decided I could give this one a chance, despite my expectations being the lowest. Nevertheless, these low expectations weren't the reason I did enjoy Love at First Hate.

The two characters were very well built. I knew Bran from the first one, he's been in the closet in the name of his family and I was sadistically looking forward when I found out he'd finally have to come out here. Especially when the other character is so different. I also like how Sam is indeed young but he's not super young, he's actually around my age, which made it very easy to relate to him. He's in his thirties, and he's lost his chance of doing what he loves, unable to find a stable career or even to pay his debts.

Now for the low points. I think the book started very slow, it took the two a lot to even meet. And for a book with such a title, I couldn't say they hated each other that much. At least their arguments were credible, not forced like so many books from that trope. I appreciated the history bits, they were actually interesting, I liked how we see Sam working hard to do the exhibition, but it sometimes took too much of the focus, making the scenes drag. I also don't like how Sam's ex-boyfriend's troubles don't seem to be completely solved—unless there are plans for Doug to show up in a later book, I think that was a plothole. I also wish Bran's nephew would have showed up, considering how much they talk about him—he's the protagonist in the first book, so there wasn't a reason not to have him back for a few pages.

As you see, the story would drag for some parts and skip solving others, plus the romance could have been more exciting. But the main of it was very well done, I finally got the Merrow story I wanted.



Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

Love at First Hate is a contemporary m/m romance novel by J.L. Merrow. I prefer historical romance to contemporary, but the premise sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a try.

Sam Ferreira arrives in the small town of Porthkennack to help with an exhibition on Edward of Woodstock. He got the job because his friend Jory recommended him, and Sam sees this as the perfect opportunity for a fresh start. Sam clashes almost immediately with Jory’s older brother Bran, who is sponsoring the exhibition. Their personalities are wildly different, as are their opinions on historical scholarship. Eventually, the acrimony fades and grows into something different, but can this budding relationship withstand secrets from the past?

This is definitely a slow burn book. It takes quite a bit of time for the two heroes to even meet, let alone get together. And then it seems like they have very little time together before they are separated by circumstances. Merrow also splits the narrative between the present day and flashbacks, the latter of which provides the reader with a great deal of insight into the development of Bran’s personality and why he’s so reserved and repressed.

I did not know when I made the request that the Porthkennack books are a loose series with both contemporary and historical entries by several different authors. I also did not know that Bran was the “villain of the piece” in another of Merrow’s books. I wish I had known this because I love a good redemption story.

I would recommend Love at First Hate. I did not feel at too much of a disadvantage because the worldbuilding is very thorough- almost at the expense of the romantic pairing. I would have also liked more clashing between Sam and Bran, as well as more time for them together before the conflict. That said, my interest is piqued, and I am looking forward to checking out Merrow’s other books- including the earlier Porthkennack book- as well as the other books in this series.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

3.5 Stars

Branok Roscarrock is the antagonist from “Wake Up Call” and “One Under” that managed to intrigue me (while got me itching to beat him to a pulp at the same time). As his character revealed a bit more in the previous books, what I saw perceived as his layered personalities drew me. To say I was excited when this book announced was an understatement.

“Love at First Hate” stripped out the Roscarrock family secret and - by extension - Bran’s tumultuous relationship with his siblings through flashbacks from Bran’s POV. Introduced into the Porthkennack’s fold is Sam Ferreira, Jory’s old mate, a disgraced academic with secret of his own who tell his own grim story. Combined together, Bran and Sam past made for pretty gloomy backstory that had the men rather wary of each other given the sparks of sexual attraction between them.

I have to say Bran was not what I expected at all. His cool and standoffish demeanor masked a fragile and unsettled soul; double-emphasized on the word fragile - a bit of a doormat to two people in his life. Though I got the blow he took years ago from when he’s young, that it lasted even when he knew all the rotten issue his family had is just mind-boggling. It took Sam’s unrelenting assiduity to crack the hard shell Bran’s heart been living. Though not without some upsetting hurtful words tossed around.

While the sparks between them were immediate, the romantic step was more on the slow and wary side. Bran’s sanctimonious tendency kept being his downside, especially when other’s tarnish (not his, NEVER his) revealed - never mind the malice behind the source. The silver lining to this was at long last his brother stood up to him, strong-armed him to talk the matter up.

While it’s okay to read this book as a standalone, part of the subjects linked to that on the previous books I mentioned above. Which was why I highly recommend readers to at least read them prior to “Love at First Hate.” The main issue that started in “Wake Up Call” might not fully resolved, but there’s hint on promising step in that direction (from Bran’s POV) that comfort me. If nothing, this latest entry to the “Porthkennack” series capped the contemporary Roscarrock chronicles and gave them the hopefully happy ever after beginnings. For a slightly dysfunctional unit.


Advanced copy of this book is kindly given by the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.