Better Hate Than Never

        

Title: Better Hate than Never

Series: The Wilmot Sisters #2

Author: Chloe Liese

Publisher: Berkley, October 10, 2023

Pages: 399

Genre: Contemporary Rom-Com

Katerina Wilmot and Christopher Petruchio shared backyards as kids, but as adults they won’t even share the same hemisphere. That is, until Kate makes a rare visit home, and their fiery animosity rekindles into a raging inferno.

Despite their friends’ and families' pleas for peace, Christopher is unconvinced Kate would willingly douse the flames of their enmity. But when a drunken Kate confesses she’s only been hostile because she thought he hated her, Christopher vows to make peace with Kate once and for all. Tempting as it is to be swept away by her nemesis-turned-gentleman, Kate isn’t sure she can trust his charming good-guy act.

When Christopher’s persistence and Kate’s curiosity lead to an impassioned kiss, they realize “peace” is the last thing that will ever be possible between them. As desire gives way to deeper feelings, Kate and Christopher must decide if it’s truly better to hate than to never risk their hearts—or if they already gave them away long ago.

This is such a great retelling. I love that it paid homage to the source material and my favorite movie adaptations from 1999. There was a freehand paint ball scene, and I think that should be a requirement of any Taming of the Shrew retellings in perpetuity.

These enemies are enemying! Again, dang they were straight up mean to each other for a hot second. They weren't kidding when they said "hate." I mean, that's kind of the schtick, but she nailed that part of the assignment.

The representation in this was so good. There was this passage about Kate getting sidetracked by a bunch of things at home. It was the most ADHD thing I've ever read and it was just so real. It's easy to notice reading about it, or looking back at it. But her reaction to the fact that it happened to her was so relatable. 

Some parts of Christopher's story were really rough to get through. Like he's dealing with debilitating migraines, and he's kind of built these walls around his life to deal with the loss of his parents. But his journey and growth was very good to see. Like proper, healthy growth. 

It's pretty funny that so far, in both of their books, Bea and Kate have both ended up drunk in a closet at parties. Now I feel like Juliet has to do it in her book! I'm going to have my eye out for sure. 

Ratings

Stars: 4/5

Spice: 2/5