Say It Right

Hearts of Calverton #2

by Symone West

Sarai Tomlin always did the right thing. But she never thought looking out for a friend would return to haunt her. Since then, she’s dealt with a lot and is still healing. The last thing she expects is to see her friend again, only to realize he still hates her after all these years.

Nathan Jones lost so much the day they took him from his mother. Crossing paths with Sarai again stirs up the hurt. Now they’re in a situation where they can’t avoid each other, and he’s certain he’ll never forgive her no matter how much time they spend together.

Mature language, mentions of addiction and assault.


*Friends to Enemies
*Enemies to Lovers
*Forced Proximity
*Slow burn
*Workplace Romance

Genres: Romance, Workplace, Forced Proximity

261 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 8, 2023

About the author

Symone West is the author of sweet and sexy, sometimes dark, coming of age and adult romance and suspense.

Reviews

[tre be · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF… I’m not a fan of forced proximity and this was extreme forced proximity. And the hate was valid, but too dangerous for me

[BookKraves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Symone West has once again proven her prowess as a romance author in Say It Right, leaving me with ineffable emotions that lingered long after I finished the book. While I'm no stranger to West's writing, her ability to craft characters and stories continues to astound me, making this particular book one of my top reads of 2023.

This book is a rollercoaster of emotions that traverses the full spectrum of human experience. From heart-wrenching moments to sweet, heartwarming ones, and from laughter-inducing scenes to tearful, angsty encounters, this story is a beautiful blend of emotions that kept me on the edge of my seat, making this such a page-turner.

The main characters Sarai and Nathan, both carry heavy emotional baggage from their pasts. Nathan harbours a grudge against Sarai that has lasted for 15 years, stemming from a childhood incident. Sarai, on the other hand, has endured an unimaginable trauma that lingers in her every step. The bickering and bantering between them is utterly delightful, but it's their ability to hurt each other deeply with their shared past that adds layers of complexity to their relationship.

The book expertly navigates themes of friendship, support, and personal growth. The inclusion of various tropes, from friends to enemies to enemies to lovers, adds richness to the plot, and the slow-burning romance will have you practically begging for the characters to finally give in to their desires. The workplace shenanigans add another layer to this book making it even more enjoyable.

I highly recommend reading this book.

[Khe · Rating 4 out of 5]

it’s so rare when i read an enemies to lovers story and end up liking it…i lovvveed this one. it was enemies to lovers done right in my opinion. the angst, the build up, the suppressed feelings, the banter, the workplace dynamic, the dates…it was just done so well!

nathan was too funny, his sarcastic remarks had me wheezing. i stopped taking every insult he threw at sarai seriously😂 (and turns out he didn’t mean them). the transition from feeling hate to love for sarai was rewarding and fun to watch unfold. underneath the hard exterior nate was actually so sweet🙂‍↕️

sarai was such a sweetheart and the kindest even when she was being tested. she’s definitely one of my favorite fmcs!🩷 the glimpses and memories of her past added to the realness, warmth and relatability of her character. it all came together so well when her and nathan finally decided to open up to each other. they went from death glares and insults to sharing their trauma and being there for each other. i thoroughly enjoyed their story!l🫶🏾

[Bina_and_Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

🤎❤️‍🔥🤎 ARC Review

My thoughts:
I finished the book in less than 2 days, and the emotions that i felt are just indescribable, reading symone wests book is not a first for me but the way she writes her characters is just surprising me everytime, for me this is one of her best works and its in my top 10 of 2023 for sure without a doubt.
This story is not a light and fluffy read. It’s emotional, heartbreaking, triggering with sweet moments, and so angsty, it was a mix of fun laughing out loud one minute , sadness and balling my eyes out another.
The main characters (Sarai and Nathan) have a lot of emotional baggage they both have been through a lot trying to get better. Nathan holds grudges against Sarai for 15 year for something happened when they were kids. Sarai went through something i dont think anyone would overcome and forget easily.
Even though they have been through hell, they they didn’t let it define them and press them down they tried there best to pass through, become successful and live there lives. The bickering between them was to die for then they were hurting each others feelings with the past especially Nathan he was pressing on my nerves sometimes 😅, dont let me start on the angst and the slow burn i was about to inter the book and make them kiss🤣 Sarais family support and both main characters friends and friendship was everything it brought so much more to the story.

Trops
-Friends to Enemies
-Enemies to Lovers
-Forced Proximity
-Slow burn
-Workplace Romance
-Triger warnings
Mature language
Mentions of Addiction/ Assault

[Carolyn Norman · Rating 4 out of 5]

First let me say these are short books and can be read in 3-4 hours. Then let me say this book is so much better than the first one in the Hearts of Calverton series.

Nathan and Sarai are friends as children. However Nathan’s mother is a junkie and he’s neglected at home. Sarai shares it with her mother and children’s services comes and takes him away. His mom dies 2 weeks later from an overdose and Nathan vows to hate Sarai forever.

Sarai went to college, had a really bad relationship that causes her to move back to town. The incident was so bad that she doesn’t work for 2 years. She finally gets herself together and applies for a job at an architectural firm. After a series of interviews it’s between her and Nathan which is a total surprise to them both.

The firm decides to hire them both AND they have to share an office. The circumstances throwing them together flow from there.

Things I like about the book:
- Prudence and Xavier from the first book are in this one too. You know how much I love when characters move from book to book in series.
- How they both still had some trauma to work through even though they were seeing therapists
- Their friendships both male and female and how they dealt with one of their friends being gay

To say I liked this one so much better than the first is an understatement. All the things I complained about in the first one are fixed in-this one. Except she overuses the word quicken and some of her sex scenes descriptions are a little off putting. Otherwise another enjoyable KU read.

[Lilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5⭐️

Firstly, thank you so much to the author for the opportunity to read this as a arc. i loved it so much and I’m really grateful🫶🏻

I got through this masterpiece in a few days and I think I felt every emotion imaginable! She wrote about the characters sooo well, I really felt connected to them. before I talk about the plot/characters I want to say that this book was a rollercoaster!! It was heartbreaking, sweet, sad, angsty and even had me laughing the next minute🥹

Now, onto our main characters - we have fmc Sarai and mmc Nathan. they have both been through so so much and they also carry a lot of baggage with them, however they are both also really trying to get better.

Sarai went through something really awful that I don’t think anybody could overcome easily at all. And our mmc Nathan has held grudges again Sarai for 15 years over something that happened when they were kids.

What I love most, was that even though they had both been through true hell, they wouldn’t let those events define them. they kept pushing on so they could be successful and happy💗we had bickering (which I love haha), angst and sooo much slow burn! I was honestly turning every page waiting for them to kiss! 😚 the family support and friendships also brought so much to the book and I loved them all!🥰

✨ friends to enemies
✨ forced proximity
✨ enemies to lovers
✨ workplace romance
✨ slow burn
✨ HEA

[CLorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prolific author, Symone West, gives us an incandescent love story that is equal parts light and dark. Ms. West always gives a master class in storytelling and in her latest novel, Say It Right, her audience is taken on an emotional and spiritual journey. Sarai and Nathan are friends, attending the same school and living in the same community. Caring and kindhearted Sarai notices evidence of neglect and does what a friend would do and informs adults about Nathan’s situation. Her actions, innocent and decent, pull Nathan from his home and from his mother. When Nathan and Sarai meet at a job opportunity many years later, he still views her as the disrupter of his home life AND his enemy. Ms. West brings a fresh perspective to several romantic novel tropes, enemies to friends, enemies to lovers and workplace romance. The story is told from the point of view of both characters, so we are given insight into the situation from both sides. Sarai and Nathan both had areas of brokenness but with eventual understanding, love, and support they were able to forge a strong relationship!

[Lennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

a bit too much of a slow burn but still a cute story

i have never read an enemies to lovers books as intense as this one. damn! i mean sarai was only doing the right thing, but the right thing ended up making nathan’s life miserable. nathan was a jerk to sarai most of the time and some of the things he said to her were unwarranted fs. also it’s been 15 years… heal my guy. damn! go to therapy and HEAL. hurt people hurt people fr. the story is a bit too much of a slow burn and when they do get to the spicy stuff i feel like it’s rushed and nathan didn’t really pursue her fr or not in a way that should make her fall in love. could have been shorter, and the romance part of the book could have been longer or happened sooner imo. but overall it’s a cute story. i especially love the paris scene

[J P · Rating 1 out of 5]

I get why Nathan hated Sarai coming from a child perspective and the fact he never completely healed and when he explained about the misplaced anger it was better understood. I understand Sarai thought she was doing a good thing but when she saw Nathan again albeit his response to her was negative her saying it was the past and he should be over it now was incredibly insensitive and just felt so wrong. I hate how people always tell someone to get over things. Trauma shapes a person's life especially when it starts in childhood and grows with you. I don't get how she fixed her mouth to tell Nathan how he should be over it cause it seem like his life was better when she wasn't over and healed from her own trauma. Now that doesn't excuse Nathan antagonistic behavior but him and Sarai both needed more therapy.

[Weekend Reader_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

🥹

Now, this novel is a true enemies to lovers. Nathan and Sarai had a lot to work through, and boy, I felt the hate on the page. This is a good example of intent vs impact and how old wounds take a lot of deliberate work to overcome. I wanted to shake Sarai when she would tell Nathan to let go of the past. Ma'am shut it. Nathan was an 🫏 to her but still. I couldn't hate her too much because she was also dealing with her own baggage. Thank goodness for a HEA because in another genre I could see their relationship ending a different way.

CN: drug addiction, death of a parent (overdose), forcibly removing a child from a home (on page), child abuse (physical and verbal), mentions of pedophile, DV & stalking, suicide, ptsd

[LaTosha Webber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full of resentment

Not really enemies when only one of the characters hates the other but I get it. I loved the build up the tension was great, I just would have liked a little more to sexy time with them because Nathan’s aggressiveness was hot. I did find Rai’s constantly telling him he needed to let go of his anger a little annoying. Idk I guess I just wanted her to articulate what she meant better. I loved every jealous possessive moment those were the best. The pace was good, it was slow burn but it wasn’t filler, it was a genuine built up of their friendship and connection. Cause Nathan was fighting for his life trying to hate Rai and might has well have been in the ring with Ali cause he lost bad bad. I enjoy West’s work a little more with each book I read.

[Darcy J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nate & Rai

3.75 stars.
I wish it was a little longer. We saw sooo much of the hate and not much of the love. It also would’ve been nice to see Nathan in therapy.
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.
.
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*Spolier-ish*
I’m not sure I would call it enemy to lovers. It was 100% hate from Nathan. Things happened to shift his thoughts/attitude, yes, but I think Rai gave in a little too easy.
The way that man hated her, I wanted her to make him work a little harder for her heart.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful

Such a beautiful story. It has a nice flow. I love how Rai and Nathan took time to confirm their feelings. The tension between them made their coming together worthwhile. The story was a slow sweet burn.
However in future I would prefer writers to make readers aware of any pride stuff.

[Taylor Nadon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 ⭐️
This could quite possibly be the most well done enemies to lovers in contemporary romance. The reasoning for them hating each other is a very valid and understandable reason and watching them overcome that was so sweet. I really enjoyed this book so much and I will continue to pick up anything Symone West writes.

[Ursula · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book

Symone West weaved a magical enemy to lovers. This felt so real. Every moment was relatable. I appreciate the details provided. The spicy scenes were good and not overdone. Highly recommend.

[Linda P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25⭐️