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| Book Cover via Amazon.com |
Imagine my surprise almost 19 years after I graduated from a High school that I found a romance novel that is nothing like its ancestors. Romance I think now must take a step back as a genre and recognize that the bar was raised.
Put this on your bucket list folks, make sure you tell Richard Stamps, here is my review of “Hate Notes” by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward.
Opinion
It is my honest belief that Romance and Erotica are two separate genre’s, which share some common themes. In this case, this story is not anything like erotica. I want to get that out of the way because I do make a separation in the two, while not everyone does. Does this book have sex in it? Yes, but it’s not the kind of thing you will find in erotica, so I also want to make that distinction.
Moreover, yes, the leading lady is blonde, blue-eyed and perfection incarnate! However, instead of a Sleeping Beauty trope where she’s oblivious and unable to handle even washing her dishes, we get the most amazing hot mess in heels since Diane Chambers from Cheers. No, she’s not Dianne in the classic sense either, she’s not a snobby socialite waiting for fate to bring her true love’s first kiss. Instead, the lead is more like a contestant for “Rock of Love” back in the VH1 heydays but the tamer of them. She transforms into this story, in a new and beautiful way, not a rehashed cliché. I love that the authors did not repeat tired and predictable cliché’s in this story, I cannot say enough about the relief I have in it. Though some of it is formulaic, it is unique, and the story is fun.
What truly resonated with me, was that the connection, and the buildup, and the pursuit of everything was believable. Like all good romances, there is a hunt and chase formula. I read thousands when I was a teenager. Yet with “Hate Notes” the formula was a side effect, not the strictest of outlined things. It was all effortless. Not only could I see the pair becoming lovers, but I had the fun treat of watching friendship come between two people who needed a best friend in their lives.
The thing that I felt should be the biggest compliment, was the giant hook that came at the start of the book, and leads to a fantastic conclusion of that thread. No spoilers, I’m going to allude to this lightly. There are a dress and a note at the start of the book. Instead of the typical romance novel “shenanigans” this thread and a unifying portion of the story, wove well into the tale. When it concluded, it was beautiful, not some ugly falling out opportunity. I loved that this one little beginning spark was treated with such reference and love through the story.
I have one tiny criticism, and it has to do with the fact that there were parts of the book that were very crude, mixed with some sweet and tender things. I don’t mind crude things, any more than I mind sweet and tender moments. I just don’t like them mixed like they were so much. It’s like having ice cream and dumping a bunch of candied bacon on it; it’s not necessarily a taste that I find appealing. Granted, some are into it, and if you are, this may be wonderful for you. I just wasn’t a huge fan of the jarring changes in even sentences or tense structure.
As far as the pacing, tension, and readability of the book, bravo, this was well written in that sense, and I think that both authors to their credit work marvelously together. I really would love to see more like a series of some sort. Moreover, though I did mention the crude/tender thing, it didn’t take from the overall storytelling, and way the story comes together. This is fun to read. I couldn’t put it down, so much so that when I picked it up, it was midnight before I knew it and I only had to go to sleep because I had the stuff to do the next day. “Hate Notes” is one of those stories that captures you the moment you find it, and won’t let go until the end.
Instead, I finally got the story I wanted to have when I was a dumb teenager looking for romance stories. This is a story of love, actual love, the kind that is messy and always has complications with it. Anyone who is in a committed relationship with a real human being can take a deep sigh of relief to find believable characters and believable situations mixed with some of the more classical tropes that one finds in romance. Yes, there is one very gorgeous male lead, and yes, he has money coming out of his pores. However, instead of the typical tale of a rich snobby man who is out for sexual conquest, we find a realistic hardworking businessman who can hold his own as a reasonable person.
Score
I am going to score “Hate Notes” with a 96% because of how well it was written, and what a wonderful tale that it was. The story is a full story, a complete beginning, middle and ending. The epilogue made me cry with emotions, and I felt so good about all of it. Every single subplot and the point was concluded correctly in this story, and I am happy to see it. I love stories that end like this one; it’s beautiful.
Put this on your bucket list folks, make sure you tell Richard Stamps, here is my review of “Hate Notes” by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward.
Opinion
It is my honest belief that Romance and Erotica are two separate genre’s, which share some common themes. In this case, this story is not anything like erotica. I want to get that out of the way because I do make a separation in the two, while not everyone does. Does this book have sex in it? Yes, but it’s not the kind of thing you will find in erotica, so I also want to make that distinction.
Moreover, yes, the leading lady is blonde, blue-eyed and perfection incarnate! However, instead of a Sleeping Beauty trope where she’s oblivious and unable to handle even washing her dishes, we get the most amazing hot mess in heels since Diane Chambers from Cheers. No, she’s not Dianne in the classic sense either, she’s not a snobby socialite waiting for fate to bring her true love’s first kiss. Instead, the lead is more like a contestant for “Rock of Love” back in the VH1 heydays but the tamer of them. She transforms into this story, in a new and beautiful way, not a rehashed cliché. I love that the authors did not repeat tired and predictable cliché’s in this story, I cannot say enough about the relief I have in it. Though some of it is formulaic, it is unique, and the story is fun.
What truly resonated with me, was that the connection, and the buildup, and the pursuit of everything was believable. Like all good romances, there is a hunt and chase formula. I read thousands when I was a teenager. Yet with “Hate Notes” the formula was a side effect, not the strictest of outlined things. It was all effortless. Not only could I see the pair becoming lovers, but I had the fun treat of watching friendship come between two people who needed a best friend in their lives.
The thing that I felt should be the biggest compliment, was the giant hook that came at the start of the book, and leads to a fantastic conclusion of that thread. No spoilers, I’m going to allude to this lightly. There are a dress and a note at the start of the book. Instead of the typical romance novel “shenanigans” this thread and a unifying portion of the story, wove well into the tale. When it concluded, it was beautiful, not some ugly falling out opportunity. I loved that this one little beginning spark was treated with such reference and love through the story.
I have one tiny criticism, and it has to do with the fact that there were parts of the book that were very crude, mixed with some sweet and tender things. I don’t mind crude things, any more than I mind sweet and tender moments. I just don’t like them mixed like they were so much. It’s like having ice cream and dumping a bunch of candied bacon on it; it’s not necessarily a taste that I find appealing. Granted, some are into it, and if you are, this may be wonderful for you. I just wasn’t a huge fan of the jarring changes in even sentences or tense structure.
As far as the pacing, tension, and readability of the book, bravo, this was well written in that sense, and I think that both authors to their credit work marvelously together. I really would love to see more like a series of some sort. Moreover, though I did mention the crude/tender thing, it didn’t take from the overall storytelling, and way the story comes together. This is fun to read. I couldn’t put it down, so much so that when I picked it up, it was midnight before I knew it and I only had to go to sleep because I had the stuff to do the next day. “Hate Notes” is one of those stories that captures you the moment you find it, and won’t let go until the end.
Instead, I finally got the story I wanted to have when I was a dumb teenager looking for romance stories. This is a story of love, actual love, the kind that is messy and always has complications with it. Anyone who is in a committed relationship with a real human being can take a deep sigh of relief to find believable characters and believable situations mixed with some of the more classical tropes that one finds in romance. Yes, there is one very gorgeous male lead, and yes, he has money coming out of his pores. However, instead of the typical tale of a rich snobby man who is out for sexual conquest, we find a realistic hardworking businessman who can hold his own as a reasonable person.
Score
I am going to score “Hate Notes” with a 96% because of how well it was written, and what a wonderful tale that it was. The story is a full story, a complete beginning, middle and ending. The epilogue made me cry with emotions, and I felt so good about all of it. Every single subplot and the point was concluded correctly in this story, and I am happy to see it. I love stories that end like this one; it’s beautiful.
