Author: Kandi Steiner
Published: October 2026 (First published June 2020)
Publisher: Arndell
Format: ARC Paperback/ALC Audiobook
Pages: 320
Rating: 4/5
Summary:
How can you hate someone who still owns your heart?
Jasmine Olsen hasn’t been home in seven years for a very good reason. Some memories cut too deep, and sometimes running is the only way to survive. But when her best friend’s wedding brings her back to the small town she desperately tried to escape, she finally comes face to face with… him.
Tyler Wagner. The boy who broke her heart. The man she never quite forgot. And, unfortunately, her best friend’s brother. Charismatic, confident, and unyielding, Tyler is everything Jasmine can’t afford to want. And now, as the wedding fast approaches, he’s everywhere—testing boundaries they never defined, stirring feelings they both pretended were long buried.
With every stolen glance, his golden eyes lure her into their depths. Unable to escape his pull, the memory of them tightens like a rip current, dragging her under. And when he flashes her that smile, she loses her breath along with the last of her restraint.
She wants to hate him. She needs to hate him.
But if he kisses her again, she’ll drown.
And this time, she’ll take him down with her.
Review:
First, I'd like to thank Arndell for sending me a copy to review! When it comes to Kandi Steiner, you know I'm a sucker for whatever she's writing, and Make Me Hate You is no exception!
You get sucked in from the beginning of the book when Jasmine and Tyler have a moment together that changes the way their relationship is for the next seven years. I was pulled in from the start, wondering where Kandi would take these characters that so badly deserve one another even when other relationships and road blocks of life keep them at arms length.
My only "issue" would be that there is some form of cheating in the book. I don't want to dive too much into it to spoil for everyone who hasn't read, and while I totally understand WHY it happened, and I know the reasons Kandi writes them... there's still a little bit that's like, did you really have to cheat though? And to be honest both of their partners seem to have been a blip within the story, hearing their names every now and then just to remind me that they are in fact taken with someone else. Do I kind of wish there was a bit more drama played out? Maybe, but that's more of a me thing. Like I love the messy parts that would follow what happened. LOL!
I did enjoy reading their growth, getting that second chance they definitely deserved to have with one another, but that one scene... THAT ONE EFFING SCENE that Kandi ripped my heart out, holding it in front of me like it was expected of me to just reach out and put it back in? Yeah, that one threw me for a loop, I literally had to rewind the audio and listen again, I didn't expect it.
But as with any huge turn of events, Kandi did in fact put my heart back into my chest and had an epic ending for these two! I will say I was a bit more shocked that Jasmine's best friend didn't catch on that there was something more going on between her and Tyler. Like clearly she felt a little bit of an edge, but, you mean to tell me you couldn't tell like at all throughout it?
Overall, this was a really entertaining book, and the angst was top notch. Plus they kept the pages heated enough to start a fire! The narration was okay for me. I think because it was a single 1st person POV, there wasn't as much of a draw compared to a dual or duet narration. I will say that Holly Warren did a really good job narrating. I think just my preferences for audio have changed since I started doing them more that I kind of prefer a male narrator as well when there's men talking. However that didn't stop me from feeling those RAW emotions being poured out of her as if she were Jasmine instead!
That's all for my review, I hope you enjoyed it and be sure to grab your copy today!
So until the next time, keep reading!
Your Graduated Bookworm!! :)
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