I, personally, would give everything to be holidaying away on a Greek beach right now, and Enemies to Lovers only made that urge grow and grow. The scenery is depicted really beautifully in this book, and almost becomes its own character.

The Greenbergs are a truly wonderful family, and one I’d love to shape my own after someday (all bar one of them anyway) and the family scenes in Enemies to Lovers were definitely some of my favourites.

This story had a great potential. A dream getaway, fun and easy-going characters, ans sexual tension that you could cut with a knife. What’s not to love?

Unfortunately, the writing did not live up to the plot. There were several continuity errors, where it felt like actions or dialogue had been cut or replaced but anything relating to them later wasn’t updated to consider that. The dialogue itself felt more like prose or a work email, not words that everyday people would say out loud. I kept thinking about this reading as an audiobook and I think that it would feel awkward and stilted.

There are elements of real heart in this book, primarily centred around Flo’s breakdown and how she navigates her way through life now, sometimes being held back by the people who love her most. There are very real scenes, in which the characters discuss their fears in life. Again, these scenes hold so much potential but are largely let down by their surrounding dialogue. If Williams were to describe the dialogue instead, I think it would feel much more real but, I couldn’t hear a lot of the characters’ voices well at all, particularly Flo. It made it hard to bond for the characters when they felt so robotic in their words.

An example of unrealistic dialogue or character reactions is definitely when Flo told Jamie about Laurie. He accepted it immediately. We were not given any kind of emotion from him in his response. For me, this lack of reaction can mean one of two things: it was just blown over too quickly or the character of Laurie is so completely awful that Jamie I was completely unsurprised by his actions. Though I’m not a Laurie fan, I have to assume the latter is not what Williams wanted when writing this scene and I, therefore, believe this is just a moment that held a lot of potential but was, instead, grazed past and forgotten.

I thought the way that Flo and Adonis’ relationship was written was really well-done. From their introduction to their goodbyes, it was handled respectfully and the juxtaposition posed between their dates and their last meeting created that false security that so many of us ‘fall for’ in the real world. Very well done.

As much as it’s nice to know our protagonist had a friend, I didn’t see the point in Hope towards the end. It almost felt like she was made up. She didn’t show up, so she felt, more than anything, like a plot point to use instead of a diary or more inner monologue. Clearly, she’s very significant to Flo’s life but she wasn’t given enough page-time for us to fully witness that, which I think is a shame.

A deeply promising book but that requires work to bring it to its full potential. I hope it can get the editing that it needs, because it really could be a summer hit.

Uff I’m not sure how to feel about this ngl.
I had fun, but flo wasnt my favourite character and i didnt like the adonis break down ..
still a solid beach read!

Maybe I've read a few too many books where the female MC falls for her brother's best friend lately. This one didn't work for me, not only but also because the "Swear you'll never touch my sister!"-trope is old and boring by now.

Flo and Jamie have known each other for ages. Jamie is Flo's brother's best friend and basically the adopted fourth child of her parents. He's with the family at Christmas and joins them for the family summer holidays. Last Christmas the electricity between the two finally sparked, but Jamie rejected Flo by slipping a note under her door. Now Flo hates Jamie and forced proximity on a Greek island is torture.

I hated being in Flo's head. Yes, she has had a tough couple of years but especially because of those tough years she of all people should know that people might have reasons for their actions. Instead of confronting Jamie, she's mean and makes assumptions about what motivates his actions. I might have bought all of it had the main characters been in their early twenties, but they are in their thirties for crying out loud.

1.5 Stars

I found this book to be a real mixed bag. I enjoyed the family holiday setting and the family drama aspects of the story but I wasn't convinced by Flo and Jamie's relationship. I wouldn't say it was an enemies To Lovers trope more misunderstanding to friends. I found it quite slow in parts and I had to really motivate myself to read it.

1.5⭐

"Enemies to Lovers" by Laura Jane Williams had potential but ultimately fell short in several areas. While I did enjoy Jamie's character—who brought a breath of fresh air with his genuine and relatable demeanour—unfortunately, he was one of the few redeeming aspects of the book.

Flo, on the other hand, was a major disappointment. Her character came off as overly self-absorbed and borderline childish, making it difficult to root for her or invest in her journey. Her immaturity detracted from the story and made her interactions feel shallow and frustrating.

The family holiday setting was one element I genuinely enjoyed. It provided a cosy backdrop that had the potential to enhance the romance and drama. However, the plot twist, which I figured out quite early on, felt daft and contrived, undermining any tension or surprise the story might have had.

Additionally, the overall tone of the book felt very YA, despite being clearly targeted towards an adult audience. This mismatch in tone and target audience left the story feeling confused and underwhelming.

I generally enjoy this author's books, so I'll definitely look out for her next novel. This one just wasn't it unfortunately
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I didn't enjoy this book as much as Lucky Escape as I really didn't take to the main female character Flo who seemed highly strung, overthinking and self centred but lacking self confidence, recovering from a breakdown. Not sure about the 'Enemy' aspect, more a case of 'hell hath no fury as a woman scorned' as it is Flo who seems determined to 'hate' Jamie and acting more like an immature teenager. Another book with too much inability to communicate plus lots of miscommunication. I did however enjoy the sections involving the rest of Flo's family, they seemed a quirky fun bunch. especially the parents. A light enough easy read to take on holiday whilst also tackling some more serious issues surrounding mental health.

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.