In Enemies to lovers we follow Florence (Flo) on her family vacation to Greece with her parents and brothers… and surprisingly Jamie, her brother’s best friend and Flo’s enemy after what happened last Christmas. Now Flo has to navigate spending two weeks in Greece with Jamie, without her family catching on to what happened between them which turns out be easier said than done.

This is the perfect beach read for your summer vacation: quick pacing, entertaining and you can cut the tension with a knife, everything you would want from a summer romance.
To give you my rating, I have decided on a 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4 stars). The pacing is what made it such a great beach read, it was not too dragged out but also not too fast to be not believable. There was enough conflict between the two main characters but this was also not too dragged out and was relevant to the storyline and solved in a great way. I do wish there had been more communication between them earlier on, but I understand this was necessary for the plot to go where the author wanted it to.
My favourite character was definitely Jamie, Flo could get slightly annoying at some parts of the book as her thought process seemed very repetitive, but not to a point where it was insufferable.

Overall, I would recommend this to everyone looking for a great summer romance that will entertain you and keep you hooked! I couldn’t put the book down, I just needed to know what was going to happen next.

Thank you to the publisher, Penguin Random House, for the eARC.

An ideal sunlounger read, perfect for a beach read. Funny as always I lok forward to reading the author's next work.

I’m so grateful for the opportunity to read this book, however, this wasn’t the right book for me. I didn’t understand the romance between the characters and found them to be hard to relate to. I did enjoy the holiday setting though and feel this would make a good beach read for someone else.

I've come to the conclusion Laura's writing just isn't for me.
I've read many of her books but only really enjoyed one.
I found this story to not really interest me. While the synopsis sounds like something I'd enjoy.

Enemies to lovers is my favourite romance trope. Combine that with the forced proximity of those enemies having to spend a two week holiday together - then I am hooked. It also featured the awesome trope of brother’s best friend. One I wasn’t very familiar with, but a trope that I’ve fallen for.
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Laura Jane Williams’s writing just flows. Her books are so easy to read and I read this book in only a few settings. Considering it’s the school holidays, that’s a sign of just how enjoyable this book is. “Enemies to lovers” gets into the action quickly and the tension between Jamie and Flo was built up expertly.
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And let me talk about Jamie and Flo. They are now one of my favourite romantic couples. Both vulnerable and having come out of a tough few years. They saw in each other things others didn’t see. Jamie didn’t see Flo as the girl who’d had a breakdown and needed to be wrapped in cotton wool. He saw her as she was. Someone who struggled sometimes but who was stronger because of the experiences she’d been through. Jamie had a heart of gold and I adored him.
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The depiction of mental health problems was so accurate. As someone who’s had a breakdown, I really understood Flo. I got that she would never forget what she’d experienced but that it now felt like time to move on and take steps forward. Even if she sometimes needed to be encouraged to do that.
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This is the perfect summer romance and the ideal holiday book.

This was a nice, easy read while on holiday. Thank you to Random House UK and netgalley for the arc for my honest review.
I was a good read, although I found the attitude of the main characters to be quite childish at times and feel as though the book would have been over a lot sooner if they'd actually spoken to each other properly there was a lot of mixed signals and bad communication.
Would still recommend for people who want a light summer holiday read with the book being based around a summer holiday to Greece too.

Book: Enemies to lovers
Author: Laura Jane Williams
Rating: 3.25 stars 🌟

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the ARC of this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed it! But I must say it took me a while to get into, I felt like in the first 3rd of the book, not much really happened... I kept wanting more

Once we got past that, it got really into the plot and characters. The writing was easy to read, and I enjoyed the storyline

If you love a good slow burn and, as the title says, enemies to lovers, then this is for you

It was an easy summer read 📚

‘Enemies To Lovers’ by Laura Jane Williams is an absolutely wonderful and emotional romance novel set on a gorgeous Greek holiday - it definitely gave me vacation envy! The main character Flo is a university lecturer whose PhD was interrupted last year by a severe mental breakdown. Now in a much better place, all she wants is a relaxing and fun family holiday, and for people to stop tip-toeing around her. Her plans come crashing down when she arrives to find her brother’s incredibly hot best friend Jamie is joining the trip - she and Jamie have a chequered history of longing and rejection, and he is the last person she needs on her dream vacation!

I really connected with this novel based on the way it plainly and unapologetically described Flo’s mental health struggles while not treating her constantly like a delicate ornament about to break. She was incredibly loveable and relatable - and a the joy she found in reading just endeared her to me more. I adored her funny text messages with friend Hope and many of her interactions with her family. Jamie was another interesting character whose layers were peeled back throughout the novel.

The chemistry between the two leads was off-the-charts and their slow-burn journey from “enemies” to lovers made this book super hard to put down. A big reveal towards the end was well-handled and I enjoyed how communication opened up between all of the characters.

Overall, this beautiful book gets 4.5 stars from me - given the long road to get there I would have preferred a little more focus on the destination (and maybe some more spice) but otherwise this novel was perfect! Flo might be one of my favourite characters ever and the messages of hope and healing are so powerful.

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher Random House UK via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

2.5 ☆

tropes:
brother's best friend
forced proximity
forbidden romance
summer romance

While I usually add a bit of the blurb here, we need to get down to business. I need this title changed EXPEDITIOUSLY because where is the enemies to lovers angst we are used to??? The tension?! The hatred?!! I-

Our FMC, Flo, gets rejected by her brother's best friend, Jamie via a note slid under her door (I wish I made that up) because communication was not found between our characters (why yes, there is one of my top 3 tropes in this book and I really wish I was briefed more but yikes). The relationship between the two was very immature as well and it was really hard to read past it at times.

BUTTT. While the chemistry between our main characters flopped, the family's was so cute. Her and her brother's banter was adorable and it reminded me even of my relationship with my own. Altogether, I think the author had the makings of a really good book (Greece getaway, brother's best friend trope, forced proximity) but it fell flat.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC for my honest opinion! :)

This was a very light and breezy read, which I definitely enjoyed! It made for a lovely summer read. The setting made me feel as if it were really summer while in reality it was quite rainy! However, it was nothing special for me. The characters fell a little flat, and the story was enjoyable but predictable.

Thank you to netgalley for this ebook.
I love most genres and I do love a cheesy story but this was just shit!
I’m sorry but apart from the gorgeous Greece setting and the family connection this book just was missing everything!
Jamie ignores flo and vice versa so not sure how they are actually enemies???? There’s no big drama that made them enemies apart from him slipping a note under her bedroom door at Christmas (yes these are adults and not primary school kids)
The main character is so self centred and because she’s had a break down previously the family are walking on eggshells around her and treating her like she might break at any given moment!
I’m sorry but it was an obvious storyline aswell! If you want something quick and easy to read whilst in the sun then yeah go for it but if your looking for something that grips you and keeps you wanting more then don’t bother with this!!

• 2.5⭐️ •

Sadly, LJW and I don’t seem to be gelling! I read Our Stop a couple of years ago which I adored but the last couple of books of hers that I’ve read, I haven’t really enjoyed.

I feel like Enemies to Lovers is a misleading title - there was such a tiny amount of tension and chemistry, it was more like acquaintances to boyfriend and girlfriend? There was a distinct lack of passion and lust and the fiery ‘love to hate’ vibes that you would expect to see with this trope were nonexistent.

I also wasn’t hugely sold on any of the characters 🤔 Flo and Jamie just struck me as childish, how hard is it to just SAY what you’re feeling? Like, you’re grown adults?? That just irked me to be honest and I found it difficult to picture them being a good match for each other.

I agree with the general consensus that the family dynamic in this story is enjoyable - the bits I liked the most were when the whole extended family were sat having dinner or hanging out and bantering with each other. The characters of Flo’s brothers, sister-in-law and parents were mostly charming and written well. The Greek setting was perfect and made me want to travel there immediately.

This book had all of the ingredients to be a spicy, sizzling summer romance but the actual romance element was MIA and so it was a pass for me.

Thank you Netgalley & Random House UK, Cornerstone for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A nice fun beach read but it is slightly predictable and somehow a little Wattpad-like.

That being said I loved the scenery something about a book that takes place in Europe will always do it for me.

It is important to note that this book does deal with grieve, fire and sexual assault but it is not super graphic.

It is also a brother's best friend and a second chance romance with a huge miscommunication. No honestly if the would have had one prober conversation the book would have been like 20 pages long but thankfully they did not.

⭐️4.5⭐️

A big thank you to Net Galley and Cornerstone for the opportunity to read this ARC.

A beautiful story. If your looking for a book with a lot of summer sun, beach and holiday vibes this is for you. I really enjoyed getting to know all these characters and it will be really hard to leave this world.

I found Flo a perfect advocate for those who battle with anxiety and how to learn life again.

Enemies to Lovers is a good beach read. The Greek setting makes it perfect for holidays.
Set on a family holiday, Flo finds herself sharing with her brother's best mate, Jamie. A man she has a past with.
The story was pretty straightforward, although I did find the main character, Flo, a bit irritating at first.

The first third of this I really didn’t enjoy- the main character was annoying but as the story developed I came to like her and I ended up liking the book more than I thought I would. I liked the building of the friendship and the communication that grew between the leads. The supporting cast were sweet and Kate was brilliant.

An easy to read romantic novel which is described perfectly in the title. Flo goes on a family holiday along with Jamie, a family friend, and their relationship is difficult to say the least. Enjoyable holiday reading!

If you’re looking for an easy breezy beach read - this could be the one for you.

The Greek holiday setting was blissful and I spent the whole time I was reading wishing I was there.

The mental health representation is good and I liked that we had a main character who was trying to rebuild her life after some pretty awful experiences. I had a lot of sympathy for her and everything she had gone through.

At the same time though, I found both the characters to be quite immature and I just wanted to ‘bang their heads together’ (to quote my mum!). iIt got a bit frustrating at times but did contribute to the build up of the relationship.

I think enemies to lovers was probably overstating it a bit - probably more hate to love than enemies.

This book does have all the best tropes though - brother’s best friend, found family, forced proximity and only one bed. All the ingredients to a successful romance.

I found this an easy read, perfect for a summer’s day

Found myself angry at the characters the majority of the time. Really struggled to get through it and couldn’t finish in the end.
Will not be posting on Goodreads.

DNF at 10%

I feel so bad doing this but don’t want to waste time reading books that aren’t for me.

Flo is our FMC, 2 years ago she spent some time in a facility due to having a meltdown due to anxiety and depression. She starts getting her life together and becomes good friends with Hope, a girl who also is battling her own demons.

Last Christmas, there seemed to be tension between Flo and Jamie.. Who is our MMC, he is best friends with Flo’s brother Laurie and basically part of their family.
After there being some tension, Flo tells Jamie to come to her room that night.
He slips a note under her door that he can’t do it.

Fast forward to now, Flo is on a family holiday and Jamie arrives.
Flo isn’t happy he is there and holds a lot of anger towards Jamie, whilst Jamie is not really acknowledging her. Then that start to bicker a bit over silly things.

I only made it this far until I just couldn’t anymore. This book isn’t for me, I just couldn’t gel with the characters and found the reason for the ‘enemies’ quite petty.
In my opinion, if this happened to someone with anxiety, depression, I’d think they’d be more self conscious or think deeper into the reasoning.
My first thought when he slipped the note was because he didn’t want to ruin his friendship with the brother.
Like it’s not as if he stood her up, he let her know 🤷🏼‍♀️

The Mum happily making a comment about Jamie ‘sowing his wild oats’, honestly had me near gagging!! What mother encourages a boy to sleep around who is like another son to her. Then commenting about safe sex etc 😅
I’m all for progressive parenting but I just don’t believe a woman would encourage a young adult to sleep around.

I normally love a brother’s best friend romance, but this just didn’t hit the mark for me and feel it’s because I went into this thinking it was enemies to lovers due to the title, when honestly it’s more likely miscommunication and immaturity.

I did enjoy the fact it’s set in a lovely setting and was able to easily get into the feel of the book.
I’m sure this book would be good for someone who likes an easy read with a lovely sunny setting.

I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley.