Flo Greenberg: highly strung. Over-achiever. And desperate for a relaxing Greek holiday with her family.
Jamie Kramer: her brother's best friend. Pain in the arse. And somehow on Flo’s relaxing Greek holiday too…
With two surprise weeks of sharing meals, boat trips and sun-loungers, Flo must endure the company of this irksomely chiselled Lothario. But after what happened last year, she’s determined not to let him get the better of her.
In fact, spending time with the enemy will be the perfect cure for Flo's all-consuming anger towards Jamie, right?
Laura Jane Williams (she/her) is known as the queen of the meet-cute. She is the author of six rom-coms, as well as the forthcoming Lovestruck (June 2023). She is also the author of three works of non-fiction.
The rights to Laura's international bestseller Our Stop have been sold for television, and her books have been translated into languages all over the world. She loves romance, being a parent, and lifting very heavy weights.
I was genuinely excited to read this book, as the title really piqued my interest. However, I have to say it didn't quite hit the mark for me, and I feel there was some untapped potential.
The "enemies" aspect of the story didn't really come through as I expected. Instead, what I felt while reading was more of an underlying tension between the characters rather than outright animosity. While the book is certainly an easy read, it has its shortcomings. I did enjoy the family dynamics and the summery atmosphere, but the title seems misleading given that the main characters don't really come across as enemies.
Some of the characters were likable, but I struggled to form a strong connection with them. I never reached that point where I truly cared about their fates or felt invested in their journeys.
That being said, the book does succeed in its primary goal of entertaining the reader. It's a light, enjoyable read that would be perfect for those seeking a comforting story with elements of romance, humor, and personal growth.
In essence, while it may not have been my cup of tea, I can see how it could appeal to readers looking for a breezy summer read with a dash of tension and family warmth.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
thanks to net galley for providing me an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review of this book!
: ̗̀➛ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ
DNF @ 65%, because life is too short to be reading books that I am not going to like...
There were many things about this book that irked me , but before I start being a hater, let's talk about what I actually liked. (beware there isn't a lot)
For one, I really liked the setting. it was very summery and I could picture myself there, it seems quick (even though it's 400 pages??) and its something that I would read and enjoy and a holiday!
I also liked the family banter ig? the brothers act like they're 3 years old though which annoyed me but is lowkey relatable with my siblings.
Alright now let's move on to what I didn't like and the main reasons why I DNFed this book.
There was NO tension. Right this book was supposed to be an enemies to lovers, as literally said in the title, but tell me why, there was no tension, no banter and no chemistry. THEY WERENT EVEN ENEMIES?? BRO, it's a classic case of the main character having a stick so far up her ass that she couldn't notice the main man thirsting after her. She was just so focused on herself, she didn't once think that after a GROWN MAN snuck a note under her door, she should have had a conversation with him?? she is acting like she's 2 years old. stand up.
also the way they spoke felt very unnatural. As I said in my updates the characters are British, which got on my nerves heavily. NO ONE IN ENGLAND SPEAKS LIKE THAT. Okay maybe sometimes we do, but it felt so extremely forced. Like. every other sentence she would throw in some British slang, and I dont know. It was just not good. Like some other books like a "A good girls guide to murder" are set in England, but it wasnt distasteful and I enjoyed it. Also they use tik tok slang... get out of here.
This book was also just written weirdly, idk. the author was just putting tropes scenes in for the sake of putting trophy scenes in.
also slightly nitpicky, why were the characters always flashing eacother? why were Jamie's pupils always dilating? and why were they always looking at eachother's lips?
Anyways thank you for reading my review, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it but it gave the summer vibes, but just didnt work for me.
: ̗̀➛ᴘʀᴇ ʀᴇᴀᴅ: im in the mood for a romance, so might as well get an arc done! I am so unexcited to read this but oh well... it may pleasantly surprise me?
“Enemies to Lovers” whisks you away to Greece with sand between your toes and the sun-shining overhead.
But let's get straight to the point. I’m left confused with the title “Enemies to Lovers” and the actual story. Enemies??? Where’s the fiery hatred and burning animosity between Flo and Jamie? Yes, there’s some tension between them, but I feel the title completely misses the mark. A simple adjustment to the title could make all the difference.
Greece was the perfect setting; the story transports you to an idilic town, and I could almost smell the saltwater within those pages🏝️ I adored the close-knit family dynamic; it’s heartwarming, and all the hilarious sibling banter and games brought laughter to the pages.
Flo’s mental health struggles and journey were tackled with sensitivity and authenticity, resonating with myself and, I’m sure, many other readers. Yet, incorporating Hope as a side character feels misplaced and unnecessary; it did little to add any depth or reasoning to the story. I honestly would have traded those pages for more Flo and Jamie-alone time.
Overall, the book was an easy read, perfect to take with you on those beach holidays this summer. It was lighthearted and funny, with a brother’s best friend romance and a nice HEA to end.
eARC review:- I was kindly given this ebook advance review copy by Random House UK,Cornerstone, via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review Release date: August 15, 2024
Enemies to lovers was my first read of the year and for a first book, it was a good read - not phenomenal, but alright.😇 Enemies to lovers is a fairly easy read. The descriptions are pretty simple and there aren't too many characters.
I liked the Greek setting - but to be honest I like almost anything to do with Greece😂. The summer atmosphere was also very pleasant.🌊☀️
I really enjoyed the family dynamics. I didn't feel a connection with the characters as such, but I did like the family bond between them. They seem to be very warm, united and also very very funny.
I also appreciated the way the author treated Flo's mental health problems and journey with sensitivity, respect and authenticity.🫶🏼
What I didn't like was that I didn't really get the impression that the two main characters were enemies. For me, there was more underlying tension between the characters than outright animosity. So I was puzzled by the book's title.😕 There was no tension or connection between Flo and Jamie. The tropes were superb and the book really could have had potential. However, for me, the book's title doesn't represent the book's story at all, which is why I'm only giving it 3.5 stars.🙇🏽♀️
I have to say it’s quite bold to have the title of your book be Enemies to Lovers and have no enemies in sight 🥴. This was a petty dislike to lovers at best.
This book follows Flo and Jamie, who had a moment at Christmas but then he rejects her via a note under her door. She then realises he’s been invited to the summer family holiday and has to spend time with him, when this is the last thing she wants.
I struggled to believe that Flo and Jamie are supposed to be adults. They had very cringe behaviour, including using the insult farthead and egging his car after the rejection🥴. I just can’t take characters serious if they use/have such childish language/behaviour😅.
I also didn’t really believe the “love” they had for one another. We are supposed to believe that Flo has hated Jamie since Christmas but after this summer holiday, she now loves him?!
One thing I did like were all the scenes with the whole family. I loved their dynamic and all the banter they had with one another.
Thank you NetGalley & the publisher for sending me an early copy of Enemies to Lovers in exchange for my honest opinion.
Enemies to Lovers is a quick, fun summer novel that is perfect to read by a beach. It’s fast-paced and very funny, and it’s my favourite Laura Jane Williams book so far.
Even though I liked it, I am a little bit conflicted. Unfortunately, I felt no romantic chemistry between the two main characters, Jamie and Flo, but I absolutely loved the mental health representation and humour in the writing. I also liked the setting of a family holiday in Greece, and the dynamics between each family member — some of the situations they found themselves in were just hilarious, and I frequently laughed out loud.
Enemies to Lovers is mostly based around a misunderstanding, and I feel like the main issues could have been resolved very quickly if the characters had acted more like adults rather than teenagers. Still, it didn’t bother me that much and I ended up very much enjoying it, so I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to fans of light, summery romances. I just wish I could have backed Flo and Jamie more!
4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Enemies to Lovers Author: Laura Jane Williams Romcom
Thank you so much Netgalley and Putnam books for this ARC! Released today 8/13! I really enjoyed this one.. Flo is on a trip to Greece with her family where they invited her brother’s best friend that she hates. One of the reasons she hates him so much is that he basically scorned her after a fling by ending things via a letter. I know I have mentioned this before, but I love books where they are on trips because it gives me a little personal escape from my day to day life. Flo is kind of a mess and she’s just trying to figure herself out on this trip, and when the curve ball called Jamie is thrown her way, it really throws a wrench in things. Watching them navigate this family trip while loathing each other (but also being drawn to each other) was fun to read. It was an easy summer read.
De facto não me apaixonei. Foi só um livro onde vemos a família Greenberg a passar 15 dias de férias na Grécia, o dia a dia. Temos alguma dinâmica nas últimas 30 páginas mas já vieram tarde. Não gostei e não recomendo.
This was a quick read. The title does fit the story in my opinion. I didn’t feel that Flo and Jamie were ever “enemies”. The story was very predictable and was just ok for me. I did like the way the family interacted with each other. They seemed to have a great family dynamic and have fun family getaways.
‘Não te Apaixones’ é daqueles livros que parecem um postal de verão: cenário paradisíaco, romance açucarado… mas tudo tão raso que quase escorrega da página.
Ela? Uma mulher a tentar reencontrar-se. Ele? Um deus grego de ginásio com passado duvidoso. E claro, o clássico amor-ódio cujo fim adivinha-se logo nas primeiras páginas.
É leve, rápido e previsível até dizer chega. A tensão sexual e os clichés estão lá, mas a profundidade das personagens… essa foi deixada na mala, esquecida no aeroporto.
Ainda assim, se a ideia é desligar o cérebro e viver um flirt açucarado sob o sol deste verão, este livro cumpre o que promete: um postal bonito, que se lê num sopro... mas que dificilmente guardamos no álbum e que facilmente esquecemos.
⛵️ enemies to lovers ⛵️ brother’s best friend ⛵️ mental health rep ⛵️ forced proximity
Enemies to Lovers was unexpectedly one of my favorite beach reads of the summer. The scenery, the nostalgia and the love story were perfection. It also certainly didn’t hurt that the story revolved around one of my favorite romance tropes of all time - enemies to lovers.
Flo is a little bit lost but finding her way, and Jamie is the solid rock that’s not afraid to take risks and live his life to the fullest. Flo’s family are not just side characters in this book, they are all important in their own ways, and their strong bond was so fun to read. I found myself almost jealous of the Greenberg’s family vacation.
🌶️🌶️🌶️ = open door, multiple scenes, not descriptive
♥︎ Thank you NetGalley, Putnam Books and Laura Jane Williams for the eARC of Enemies to Lovers.
3.5⭐ It was a rollercoaster... first I thought Flo was just being dramatic, then I thought Jamie was awful...then I decides to stay neutral... it was cute but I was like "ok, it's a fine book"
This story kinda fell short for me. I felt like the characters were all over the place and really immature which threw me off. This book dragged out in the middle but redeemed itself in the end. Overall not my favorite book ever but I know others would love it. Enemies to lovers, brothers best friend, family vacation, mental health awareness
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for a review.
I am so mad at myself for not picking this book up the second I got it through to my Kindle! This is one of the best romance books I have read all year. I literally read this entire 400 page book in one day, I was so obsessed with it!
Jamie is Flo's brother's best friend, and last Christmas they almost had a thing, but out of nowhere Jamie bails on her, leaving Flo with a lot of hurt feelings and confusion. They have managed to avoid each other ever since, until Jamie turns up on Flo's family holiday, and they are forced to spend two weeks together.
I really loved this book's exploration of mental health, and how it explored this from both the more obvious angle of Flo after she had her breakdown, but also from all of the side characters, especially Jamie, and the idea that everyone has things that they don't outwardly share and you never know what is going on behind closed doors. It was really beautiful reading about these characters learning to trust each other and opening up about their experiences.
I really loved the beautiful sibling relationship that existed between Flo and Alex. Their love and support for each other was very quiet but meaningful. Even the little nose scrunches they did to each other to symbolise that they loved one another had my heart melting. I loved that the author showed different types of love, and that not every love has to be loud, but can just be someone being there for you without even having to say something.
I love all the tropes that were in this. The brother's best friend, the second chance romance, the jealousy trope, the only one room, all of it was just incredible. It had me smiling so much, or had my jaw dropping at certain scenes from lines that were so funny or so filled with angst.
I will definitely be keeping my eye out for anything else that Laura Jane Williams writes, because this was the perfect romance book in my eyes. It was super fun but with a beautiful romance at its core, and with some heavier topics explored too.
TW: death of parents, attempted sexual assault, mental health breakdown
I listened to the audio version of this book. It’s an open door romance with some descriptive sex scenes (consider yourself informed).
It’s about Florence and Jamie who find themselves the victims of forced proximity while on a family vacation to Greece. Jamie is Florence’s brother best friend and he was “adopted” by her family when he lost his parents at a young age. They hate each other. Or do they?!?
A meddling older brother, two weeks in close quarters, and the rest of the family always around is a recipe for miscommunication and chemistry for these two.
Thanks to Net Galley for letting me read this arc 💛 So… this book was pretty good! I loved Jamie (what a king) and the British writing style- the British slang and phrases!! Some of the characters weren’t completely likeable (I thought Flo was nice but she seemed quite self absorbed at some points). The twist with the Christmas note was so random?? But it was a really enjoyable read and good summer book (especially if you are going on a Greek holiday 🇬🇷😉).
Enemies to Lovers is a witty, engaging story of family, love and relationships. With both sun and plot sizzling, it is a perfect beach read. My full review is on the My Weekly website.
4.5⭐️ okay Laurie is literally just a character here to annoy everyone and why does everyone think that Flo is always going to have a breakdown it’s kind of pissing me off. Also what Adonis did was really really bad but ngl I think the author only did that so when flo wanted to be with Jaime she didn’t look like a bad person for leaving Adonis if you know what I mean
Ehhh. This was somewhat of a disappointing read, because I’ve really loved all the other Laura Jane Williams books I’ve read. But this one was too obvious from the title, and I struggled to like the character from the start due to the very obvious miscommunication trope, she was very frustrating and annoying. But the tension writing was 👌
Ouuuuff, y’all that was brutal. It was a bad book 45% in and I thought it’d be better to finish it than waste the time I spent on the first half… I was wrong. The vocabulary choices were so odd (some very obscure British words, that took more than one Google search), but then also a bunch that were just badly chosen. The actual story had a little potential but the miscommunications weren’t believable enough to me, and then the big grand message/ moral at the end was just so cheesy. 1 star is generous. I should’ve ditched it to my DNF.
What a fun book! Although the main character has gone through some really hard times with a breakdown/burnout while doing her PhD, the book is set on a family holiday in Greece. So, how a romance can develop when Flo’s, the female main character, family is on the page? Well, Laura Jane Williams did! This book had a perfect combination of romantic moments between Flo and Jamie (who started the book disliking each other) and the Greenbergs. I think one of the best things about this book was the family, each character was unique, and their moments together were so funny and sometimes so heartwarming. I laughed a lot reading this book! The writing made me feel like I was watching a romantic comedy from the 2000s, set in Greece, I could almost feel the sun and smell the sea breeze. It was very visual. Reading this book went so quickly because there was always something going on, they were playing games or doing stuff around the island or meeting people or just having a great banter as a family. But also, the book touches on the subject of mental health and the moments where Flo sees everyone’s vulnerability are very nice. Also, I love seeing characters going from "I can't stand to talk to you" to "I think I like you".
The only reason why I didn’t rate this book 5 stars is that sometimes I felt confused about the character’s position in a scene. Jamie was in the bedroom and then suddenly he was swimming or sometimes I was like: where are they? Nonetheless, this didn’t prevent me from having a blast with this book.
Thanks to NetGalley UK and Penguin for sending me this advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
’I spend a lot of time reading, because things feel safe in books. I don’t feel very brave.’
So, when we talk enemies to lovers, we expect a simmering chemistry underneath all that ‘fighting’ bravado right?! Well, we certainly felt it in Enemies to Lovers by Laura Jane Williams. Flo and Jamie have that delicious push-pull connection we love so much. Added to the fact that no matter how hard Flo tries to keep a distance it’s just never going to happen, what with Jamie being a constant in her familysetting.
Flo comes across as strong and in control, despite her mental health issues in the past and in the same breath Jamie comes across as a bit of a free-spirited player. ‘Looks’ can be deceiving though, and people tend to put up a front to hide the bits of themselves they don’t want anyone to see. Whilst this story is described as a romcom it is so much more than that with some triggering subjects under the mental health umbrella. Laura Jane Williams wrote a beautiful book that has emotional family drama, fun banter, and swoon with the generous helping of a picturesque setting in the sun! We rooted for Flo and Jamie from start to finish and really enjoyed their journey!
’My mind is at peace. My body is exhausted. And down to my very bones, I know this is my happy place. I’m in love.’
Flo and her family are having a relaxing vacation in Greece. This vacation is exactly what Flo needs after the tough couple of years she’s had. Until Jamie her brothers best friend shows up. The guy who rejected her last Christmas. Spending time with Jamie will be the perfect way to find all his flaws and get over him. Right?
Enemies to Lovers was a fun and silly beach read. It was lighthearted while also discussing mental health. However, the story kinda fell short for me. I did enjoy the family dynamic and the vacation scenery. Many people did enjoy this book and it did have cute moments, but overall I wasn’t invested in Flo and Jamie’s relationship.
I do wish we could’ve seen more of Flo and Jamie’s connection from last Christmas cause there wasn’t anything big that happened where I could understand their closeness during last Christmas and why the rejection hurt so much. I figured they had a relationship over Christmas break and then Jamie left her, but they hadn’t even kissed. They were mad and hurt by each other, but it sounded like a childish crush not that they were in love.
Thank you NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.
A heartfelt, emotionally deep, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, vacation romance between two family friends who have unresolved feelings caused by a misunderstanding at Christmas. I loved the mental health rep in this book, the FMC has anxiety and depression and was hospitalized after a breakdown. There's lots of fun family drama and the Greek island setting was aspirational! Great on audio and definitely worth the read! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!
CW: depression, anxiety, grief over the accidental death of parents
a lovely snack read. I usually seek out books like this to enjoy in between heavier reads. It was exactly what I needed - a charming romance with excellent writing, well-developed characters, a delightful British atmosphere, and a captivating storyline. Overall, it was a very enjoyable read, and I believe it would be a great choice for anyone who appreciates a good romance.