RoomHate - Penelope Ward

RoomHate was one of those books that everyone else was reading and I hadn't heard of it yet. Don't you hate that? So, I one clicked it the minute it came out and read it when I had a free chance to do so. Super glad I did, because I love love love enemies/friends to lovers stories. This one was certainly not a let down, especially with the unique twists Penelope Ward tossed in there. I didn't go into it expecting anything, but I can say this, Penelope doesn't follow the cliche route, it's unique, it's funny, and there's a lot of drama, the good kind of course.

Rating: 4 Stars
Published: February 15, 2016
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After catching her boyfriend of two years cheating and losing her grandmother, Amelia does the only thing she think she can do, run away to her grandmother's beach house and take a breather. Except, her grandmother left the house to her and Justin, the boy she used to love who now hates her. When he shows up with his girlfriend in tow, things get a lot more complicated, because the feelings are still there, just hidden under a pile of hate. Amelia doesn't do hate though and even though she can't have Justin, the chemistry and feelings are still there.

"You were being careful and I was just clueless. Together, we were careless."

Amelia is such a great character, she's a caring and devoted friend, she's a bit clumsy with her emotions, and she's a genuinely good person. She's also been through the ringer and if I were her, I would've taken a summer break as well. Then there's Justin, and his model hot girlfriend Jade. Justin is the kind of character you hate to love, his actions are terrible at first, he's moody and rude, but overtime he changes, he figures out what's going on in his mind and becomes this person you want to know. I really liked that his change was gradual and that his relationship with Amelia wasn't just this thing right from the start. While I normally hate a love triangle situation, this one doesn't at all feel like it, because the characters truly are keeping their distance and don't want to recognize their feelings. I really liked Jade as a secondary character as well, she was welcoming and brought a lot of history to the story that readers needed to understand who Justin had become outside of what Amelia knew of him. With a super engaging plot, Penelope brings Amelia and Justin together over the two part novel; there's hatred, friendship, a lot of chemistry, and a whole lot of denial. Who in their right mind stays for the summer in a cabin with the person they once loved and now hates?! Then there's the twist, and I almost considered the book down, which is why I dropped this from 5 to 4, but it's so worth it. The twist will make you question everything and certainly leaves you wondering what is going to happen as you turn the pages.

“Hurt me?” He let out a slightly angry laugh then shocked me with what he said next. “It changed me. I loved you, Amelia. I was in love with you.” Justin ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “How the fuck did you not know that?”

This book was laugh out loud funny and at times I wanted to toss it across the room, it's definitely the kind of book you react too. It's also full of sexy moments that'll have you swooning. The characters are not perfect characters, each has their own flaws that are very apparent, but I liked that about them. I like a real character and most of the flaws were things I could relate to or understand. These flaws, and the twists, are what makes this book so different from the cliche. Each scene was fresh, I didn't get bored, and I certainly was surprised until the very end. I really enjoyed RoomHate and absolutely suggest it. I totally get the hype!