Book Review: The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel

The Trouble with Hating You
By: Sajni Patel
Release Date: May 12, 2020
Publisher: Forever Romance
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Source: eARC from the publisher in exchange for a honest review

Book Summary:

A laugh-out-loud romantic comedy debut about first impressions, second chances, and finding the love of your life in the most unexpected way.

Liya Thakkar is a successful biochemical engineer, takeout enthusiast, and happily single woman. The moment she realizes her parents' latest dinner party is a setup with the man they want her to marry, she's out the back door in a flash. Imagine her surprise when the same guy shows up at her office a week later -- the new lawyer hired to save her struggling company. What's not surprising: he's not too thrilled to see her either after that humiliating fiasco. 

Jay Shah looks good on paper...and off. Especially if you like that whole gorgeous, charming lawyer-in-a-good-suit thing. He's also arrogant and infuriating. As their witty office banter turns into late night chats, Liya starts to think he might be the one man who truly accepts her. But falling for each other means exposing their painful pasts. Will Liya keep running, or will she finally give love a real chance?

My Thoughts:

I was really excited to begin reading, The Trouble with Hating You.  I love reading stories where I can learn about another culture.  This story was an easy read, and caught my attention right from the start.  I loved being immersed in the Indian culture.  I could easily visualize the exotic and extravagant food, colorful clothing, and traditional customs, as I was transported in to Liya and Jay's world.

One of my favorite book tropes is enemies to lovers.  Liya Thakkar is extremely close to her passive, submissive, and quiet mother, but cannot go a few minutes without arguing with her domineering, misogynistic, judgemental, callous, and cold father.  Nothing Liya does is good enough for him.  She is an independent and modern woman.  Liya has a masters degree in bioengineering, and just got promoted into management, yet her father continues to look down on her.  

Her parents have been trying to match her up with a man, because they want her to settle down, get married, have children, and become a traditional Indian wife.  Even though Liya has repeatedly turned them down, they won't take "no" for an answer.  So when Liya's parents invite her to come eat dinner with them, she isn't too surprised that they invited a man and his mother to meet her, with the intention of getting to know each other, which could possibly lead to marriage.  Liya is angry, and runs out; knocking over Jay, a handsome lawyer, who is there just to please his mother.

A short while later Liya learns that Jay, will be working to represent her company; as they have a ton of lawsuits that they are currently dealing with.  Pretty soon Jay is turning up everywhere, and as much as Liya is determined to dislike him, he is such a warm, caring, and stand up man, that she finds herself falling for him.  Will Jay be able to tear down Liya's sky high walls?  Will Liya learn that you can be an independent and strong woman, and have the love of a good man too?

I loved how easily the writing in this story flowed.  It truly was effortless.  The author did a great job of weaving a story that held my attention.  Where I struggled most was with the way Liya treated Jay.  With enemies to lovers stories, you expect a certain amount of animosity.  However, I kept waiting for things to shift between Liya and Jay, and felt frustrated with how long it took for Liya to realize how wonderful Jay was.  It got to the point where I was questioning why
Jay would put up with her continued negativity, and rude treatment. 

I loved Jay, his family, and Liya's close group of girl friends.  This secondary cast of characters came to life for me, and each of them was extremely likeable.  Liya's parents each left a lot to be desired.  Her father was horrible, and I kept waiting for her mother to stand up to him; if not for how he treated her, at least for how he treated their daughter.   

Liya and Jay both had tragic events in their pasts that shaped them, and my heart hurt for what they had endured.  I was very satisfied with the ending, and am looking forward to trying out more books by this author.

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About the Author:

Sajni Patel was born in vibrant India and raised in the heart of Texas, surrounded by a lot of delicious food and plenty of diversity. She draws on her personal experiences, cultural expectations, and southern flair to create worlds that center around strong Indian women. Once in MMA, she’s now all about puppies and rainbows and tortured love stories. She currently lives in Austin where she not-so-secretly watches Mathew McConaughey from afar during UT football games. Queso is her weakness and thanks to her family’s cooking, Indian/Tex-Mex cuisine is a real thing. She’s a die-hard Marvel Comics fan, a lover of chocolates from around the world, and is always wrapped up in a story. Her debut Women’s Fiction, The Trouble With Hating You, was featured in Apple Books’ Top Ten Debuts to Read in 2020, Oprah Magazine’s Top Romances to Read in 2020, and Cosmo Top 12 Summer Reads for 2020.

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