While You Were Seething

by Charlotte Stein

The road to love is bumpy in Charlotte Stein’s WHILE YOU WERE SEETHING— a sexy and heartwarming contemporary romance filled with fake dating hijinks, delicious forced proximity, and top tier banter.

Daisy Emmett has been enemies with famous romance author Caleb Miller since they were in college together, and time hasn’t lessened their mutual loathing. So when she agrees to manoeuvre him through a PR disaster of his own making, she knows it’s not going to be easy. She just doesn’t realise how not easy until they somehow end up trapped in the same truck, on an endless road trip from one book tour stop to another, bantering and butting heads along the way.

Then, even more people appear to be mistaking her for the woman he dedicates all his books to. The love of his life, his adored beloved—the one who doesn’t actually exist. Now they’re trapped into pretending she does and that Daisy is her, each fake kiss and phoney embrace ratcheting up the tension to the point where enemies suddenly seems a lot closer to lovers than either of them would like.

Or so they’re telling themselves.

But sometimes it’s hard to be sure, when seething turns into something so much more…

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Contemporary, Forced Proximity, Fiction, Audiobook

320 pages, Paperback

Published April 14, 2026

About the author

Charlotte Stein is the RT and DABWAHA nominated author of over fifty short stories, novellas and novels. When not writing deeply emotional and intensely sexy books, she can be found eating jelly turtles, watching terrible sitcoms and occasionally lusting after hunks. For more on Charlotte, visit: www.charlottestein.net

Reviews

[cat · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are books that grab you from page one, and then there are books that make you keep checking how much is left. While You Were Seething landed somewhere in between for me. It has so many tropes I usually devour—fake dating, enemies circling each other like feral cats, forced proximity.

Daisy ends up on this book tour because she’s trying to grow her own PR business, and managing a famous author’s image is a chance she can’t really turn down—even if he happens to be the same guy she’s disliked since college. 👀 It’s supposed to be a professional opportunity, a way to build her brand, not some emotional trap she falls face-first into.

But the real chaos starts when readers assume Daisy is the mysterious woman he dedicates all his books to. The muse everyone has theories about. The secret beloved no one has ever seen. 🫣🫣 Suddenly, pretending to be his great love becomes the only way to keep his reputation from imploding, and she’s stuck fake-dating the man who has never been anything but confusing and cold toward her. Except… that fake affection starts blurring lines fast. And those “just for show” moments get heated before either of them seems prepared. (The tent scene felt like an emotional jump scare. Like WHERE DID THAT COME FROM????) 🥲🥲🥲

The tension should’ve been a slow simmer, but instead it leaps from snark to spice so fast it feels like missing chapters. The banter has its charms, but the writing can get unclear enough that I found myself rereading scenes… not because they were deep, but because I genuinely couldn’t tell what just happened. 😭😭 Caleb’s “grumpy” behavior also leans more cruel than broody in a way that’s tiring, even once his reasons are revealed. (There’s a fine line between brooding and just being a jerk, and he tap-dances allll across it 🫩🤚🏼)

Meanwhile, Daisy keeps acting like there’s no possible universe where he might like her, even when he’s basically holding up a neon sign. At first it’s relatable insecurity… then it just becomes irritating. (like someone please hand her a clue. Or glasses. Or a mirror. GOSH🙄)

She’s also described as curvy, which could’ve been beautiful representation if it were actually explored. Instead it’s mentioned and dropped without adding depth, confidence, or anything meaningful to her character. So disappointing 😖😖

Even with all of this, I can’t say the story is boring. It kept me curious enough to finish, there are cute moments, and the premise itself is eye-catching. It just never quite reaches the emotional payoff it promises, and the confusion in the writing kept pulling me out of the story. 😔

Overall? A one-time read. Fun concept, surprising spice, but… messy execution. 🤷🏼‍♀️

-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-favorite quotes-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-

"I thought she was the most attractive woman I'd ever laid eyes on. And I say attractive on purpose, because sure, she's beautiful, she's gorgeous, but it was more than that. More than just looking at someone and seeing that everything is pleasing to your eye. I was drawn to her, drawn in by her, in a way I'd never experienced before."

-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-♡-

things to know about the book ↓

📚 enemies→lovers
📚 forced proximity
📚 fake dating
📚 second chance (kinda)
📚 third person POV

A huge thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Charlotte Stein for allowing me to read this arc. These are all my honest opinions in this review.

[Mai ༊*·˚]

alright, contemporary romance enemies to lovers, please don't disappoint me 🫂


______________

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

[jenny reads a lot · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stoic, romance author mmc who dedicates all his books to a secret lost love?!

Plus he’s her enemy from college.

Plus they’re stuck on a road trip.

PLUS now they have to fake date.

Talk about a recipe for success.

I binged this in a single sitting. These two imperfectly perfect idiots will have you screaming “OMG JUST ADMIT YOU LOVE EACH OTHER ALREADY” (complementary)! I loved all the angst and wanting. You know how this ends, and yet you can’t help but lap up every crumb the author offers.

Gosh I love these two idiots.

There is something extra special about a single pov romance with a stoic mmc… You know he’s secretly obsessed, but you don’t know know, and that unknown makes it so delicious!

Whats to love…
- accidental fingering from your mortal enemy
- enemies to lovers
- road trip with your enemy
- only one tent, bed, elevator
- slow burn
- delicious “take what you need” spice
- She’s too much, he’s too much - together they aer just enough
- Beck cameos! 10/10

My only critique…
- I do wish we got just a bit more backstory on each characters personal trauma, the emotional depth was good but it could have been great.

Audiobook: 4/5 | Narrator: Imogen Wilde | Length: 8hrs 33mins |
I thoroughly enjoy this narrator. She’s easy to listen to and delivers impeccable timing/delivery that only enhances the laughs, the angst, and the drama. Her pacing is consistent, though I do think the pausing at each sentence is ever so slightly long — it’s not something that would keep me from listening or recommending. Her American accent for the MMC is enjoyable, although it definitely feels a little humorous vs an accurate depiction. I find it cute, but I could see others not loving this. Overall I loved the audiobook and will listen to more narrated by her in the future.

4.5⭐️| IG | TikTok |

Thank you St Martins Press & Macmillan Audio for the gifted book. All opinions are my own.

[BookishKB · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨🧡While You Were Seething🧡✨

This was such a cute former friends, now enemies to lovers romance. It leans very character focused and includes dual timelines. If that structure is not your thing, I would probably skip this one. I am not usually a fan of dual timelines either, but I didn’t mind it here.

I really loved how much time was spent on the relationship building. There was a lot of miscommunication from their university days that they had to work through, and it required alot of honesty. I am glad they got there, though Caleb did drive me nuts quite a bit. Lastly, I loved their arguments on fast zombies vs slow zombies 😂

Also, I know this is a smaller detail, but I loved that they were older students in college and also older as main characters in the present timeline. We need more of that in romance.

🚗What to Expect
• Enemies to lovers
• Fake dating
• Forced proximity
• Road trip romance
• PR scandal
• Older MCs
_ _ _

🎧 Narration Style: Solo (Imogen Wilde)
📅 Pub Date: April 14, 2026
Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the advanced listening copy. All thoughts are my own.

[kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in return for an honest and voluntary review!

This book honestly struck such a strange chord in me while reading it - this is for the people who dont let themselves deserve anything out of self doubt and sometimes (okay, a lot of the time) self-disgust. It's a bit heavy on the miscommunication but for all intensive purposes I can 100% see why that was the case!

I read this book in a matter of hours, it really was bingeable from the start to end from the very start! Fast paced but also includes flashbacks of Daisy and Caleb's time back when they shared a class together so you get more context of their relationships which makes this so much sweeter when they give in to each other!

I really enjoyed this narrator, genuinely had me hooked with their emotions and intonation form beginning to end - I'd love to check out more of their work!

[Madison Warner Fairbanks · Rating 5 out of 5]

While You Were Seething by Charlotte Stein
Contemporary romance. Fake dating and forced proximity troupes. Multi-timeline.
Daisy Emmett and Caleb Miller have been enemies since college. Years later, being forced to travel together as she fixes his PR issues, the two bicker and banter their way from bookstore to bookstore. She sets up a fake relationship date in hopes it will calm the fans and image problems, but she gets caught in the camera lens mid fight instead. Their passionate argument appears to be a passion induced embrace. Who are they to argue? She can see in the photo they were seconds away from a kiss. Maybe? Were all those years or loathing masking longing instead?

🎧 I listened to an audiobook narrated by Imogen Wilde. The performance is vivid in bringing Daisy to life. The POV is from Daisy, so while there is a separate voice for Caleb, it’s only in response and action with Daisy. The reader can easily hear her frustration, her impatience, and all the other emotions throughout the story.

The story is engaging and captivating as the couple banter throughout the tour and their changing relationship.
Delightful sarcasm, snark, and banter with a bite of steamy spice to go with it.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio.

[ashlee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started off slow then picked up enough to get my attention a little more. I wish I could say I loved this but it was hard. There was so much banter that it made me want to stop reading. The premise and concept of the book was good just wished it was presented a bit differently. I must say the spice was spicing and the author didn’t hold back on that.

✨ T r o p e s + T r i g g e r s ✨
Enemies to Lovers
Contemporary Romance | Second Chance
Fake Dating
Forced Proximity
Too Much Banter
Heavy Spice
Road Trip | One Tent
Slow Burn

Book Cover ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Would I recommend this book to you? Yes

Expected Release Date: 04/14/2026

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Author Charlotte Stein for the arc. All thoughts in this review are my own.

[⊹₊⟡⋆Mandy Darling⊹₊⟡⋆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first started While You Were Seething, I was genuinely giddy. Like, kicking-my-feet, grinning-like-a-moron, squealing-over-the-banter levels of giddy. The chemistry and back-and-forth between Daisy and Caleb had me hooked immediately. I was absolutely inhaling this book. I finished it in about two days, and there were multiple moments where I was supposed to be working but instead was mentally counting down until I could sneak in another chapter.

Yes, I figured out the general direction of the plot pretty early on, but honestly? I didn’t care. Watching it all unfold was still an absolute blast. The slow burn enemies-to-lovers combined with the fast-paced, razor-sharp banter was IMMACULATE. Charlotte Stein really knows how to make dialogue sparkle.

That said, there were two things that kept this from being a full 5-star read for me.

First, the initial spicy scene between Daisy and Caleb felt like it went from 0 to 100 out of nowhere. Caleb shifts from controlled, grumpy, tightly wound man to full-on dirty talker in a way that didn’t quite match the emotional pacing or either character’s personality at that point. Don’t get me wrong, it was hot, but it felt like something that should have happened later, after a few more emotional walls had come down.

Second, the big emotional realizations toward the end felt rushed. Daisy’s emotional baggage gets a lot of attention, but Caleb’s is mostly skimmed over. I really wanted more depth there. More unpacking, more insight into his internal world, and a better understanding of how he processed everything that happened. It felt like there was so much potential to explore his story further, and I wish the book had slowed down just a bit to do that.

Even with those issues, I still really loved this book and would absolutely recommend it. It’s a fun, quick read with delicious banter, satisfying slow burn tension, and plenty of steam.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was personally attacked and highly turned on by this book. It was so so good and hurt all my feelings. It also made me laugh. It was thoroughly delightful and scratched all of my itches.

[suonnahbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC Macmillan audio
Release date: April 14th 2026
While you were seething by Charlotte Stein
-love the “hate” you can see the love and feeling underneath his cold demenor , you can feel the undeniable connection
-love the romance book talk + bonding over books
-the back and forth has me cackling
-one bed 🤪
-omg my Sheila I love Caleb he’s so grumpy and awkward but I love him 🥹
-they act like they don’t like each other but know so much small details about each other which actually shows how much they care for each other 🥰
-ate up the road trip gone wrong / forced proximity
-him guiding her iykyk 👀
-this was such a fun read their connection was everything 🤪
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Macy Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was POETRY. If you enjoy some of the old classics where the characters are living so internally you wonder how they don’t accidentally just walk straight off a cliff, then you’ll love this.

Daisy and Caleb hated each other in college, fast forward a decade and now they’re thrown into fake-dating hijinks. YEARNING ENSUES. 😭

Daisy is easily one of my favorite FMCs I’ve read this year. She’s smart, hilarious, and completely, vulnerably, *almost* unapologetically herself.

When I tell you Caleb is more emotionally tortured than these FANTASY DUDES, who literally never get a break. 💀 He’s everything. In his ratty henley and his bigass boots, I could literally fix him. He’s been writing romance novels for years, but doesn’t believe he deserves anything gentle or genuine for himself. Enter Daisy 🥹🌼

Honestly, my favorite part about this book - beyond the epic love story - was the way it unfolds in Daisy’s mind. She’s so painfully observant it makes you wonder if you’ve ever truly, deliberately looked at another person before. The way love is described is poetry, the way their shortcomings are described is poetry, the dedications at the beginning of Caleb’s books??? POETRY.

Personally, I adored this book and there are some sentences I know I’ll come back to again and again. ❤️

Excuse me while I go read every other book Charlotte Stein has ever written.

[T Rojo · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC REVIEW! (Thanks NETGALLEY!)

Eh book was fine, but it me, it was basically When Grumpy met Sunshine again just kind of watered down. There was a bunch of flashback chapters that didn’t really add much to the story. I wish Charlotte Stein would go back to her unconventional borderline creepy MMCs, these guys just seem like asexual weirdos.

[Harleen · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 40%

The plot sounded promising, but I couldn't get past the writing. At times, I had to keep rereading a section because it was unclear or awkwardly phrased. Also, I love a grumpy mmc, but Caleb didn’t do it for me 🥲

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin’s Griffin for the arc. All opinions are my own.

[er · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Pan Macmillan and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this as an arc!

2 ⭐️

Unfortunately, While you were seething ended up not being for me. I picked it up because I love the academic rivals to lovers trope and I’ve recently discovered I enjoy romances that involve road trips, the summary caught my attention and I sent my request.

First of all, I think the author’s writing style isn’t for me. At times I had trouble following it and understanding what was really going on, there’s passages where the MMC’s books are mentioned and I found it hard to realise whether the FMC was quoting those or the scene was progressing.

Then, the main characters. I could feel the tension between them, but to me it never felt like passion. It always felt like they were uncomfortable, and I understand there was a lot of miscommunication between them and a ton of misunderstandings but even during the explicit scenes there was no passion at all, I had no reason to believe they would be a great couple. I kept asking myself “why are we having an explicit scene when these two seem to have zero attraction for each other?”.

Also, they are supposed to be over 40 (mmc) and over 30 (fmc) but they felt like two teenagers. I wanted to yell GO TO THERAPY!!! to them most of the time.

One positive thing about this is that it flowed nicely, I read this pretty fast even though I was having all the problems I mentioned above.

[Lisi Bee (Beth) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daisy is a people pleaser and a fixer who has channeled her innate helpfulness into owning and running her own. celebrity assistance firm. She's hired to help Caleb, a capital-G grumpy author who is skittish about going on a media junket for the release of his latest book. Caleb also happens to be an acquaintance from college, where they had a mostly-adversarial relationship. Will Daisy and Caleb make it through the press tour without killing each other? I love this author and I enjoyed the book overall, but I struggled with some of it because of my personal take on things, I think. Cheerful but practical Daisy has spent her adult life toning herself down, and curmudgeonly Caleb has seemingly always been grumpy (think Ron Swanson being forced to deal with other humans when he'd prefer to be holed up in his cabin in the middle of the woods). I liked the opposites-attract dynamic, as well as their banter. And without giving away specific details of Daisy and Caleb's relationship, I think it's fair to say that their dynamic relies heavily on the miscommunication/misunderstanding trope. It's not a trope I typically enjoy, which is maybe why I felt some disconnect with their evolving relationship during the press junket. I also think some of the disconnect was due to the story being told from only Daisy's perspective. While it helped to convey her general cluelessness into Caleb's thought processes, it also left the reader a little high-and-dry to them as well. (And Caleb is most definitely a walled-off mountain of a man.) There is eventual clarity into Caleb's feelings (as there must be in a romance novel), and they come later in the story. The author really made them work for their HEA, holy cow. It was a little frustrating to read at times as clearly they're both tormented by their own repressed emotions and their misconceptions (as well as their dysfunctional emotional history which is repeating itself in the present day). I did like this book overall, but their relationship asks for a *lot* of patience from the reader so be prepared! I just wish they'd had their emotional epiphanies a little sooner. Stein's characters are always chock full of insecurities, in the very best way possible. They all just want someone to make them feel seen, even if they don't know that's what they want, and they always find it in their romantic partner. It's very relatable and makes her characters incredibly endearing, and it's one of the reasons I keep coming back to her books. That, and her keen sense of the absurd, I truly love it and it makes reading her books so much fun! I think readers who are in mood for an opposites-attract, slow-burn, GRUMPY-sunshine (yes it's capitalized on purpose, Caleb was practically shouting his grumpiness for the bulk of the book), fake-dating, open-door romance will enjoy this book. Publishes April 14th, 2026. This review is based on a complimentary eARC of the book, all opinions are my own.

[Lexa K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, Charlotte Stein please don't make this your last rom-com! I loved My big fat fake marriage, and While you were seething had everything I could ask for.

Enemies to lovers AND fake dating in one book? YASSS!!!

The tropes come thick and fast in this one, and the chemistry between Daisy and Caleb was spot on right from the start.

Was it predictable? Absolutely. Was it un-putdownable anyway? 💯

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book via Netgalley.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5 ⭐️
2/5 🌶️

This one had so much potential… and somehow still managed to fall flat for me. The setup is honestly great—enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, fake dating on a chaotic book tour? I was in. Add in the whole “she’s pretending to be the fictional love of his life” angle, and it should have been tension-filled and delicious. But instead, it all felt very surface-level.

I kept waiting for the emotional depth to hit—for the banter to really bite, for the chemistry to build, for the characters to actually evolve—and it just never quite got there. There were moments where I felt myself wanting to skip ahead because nothing felt like it was progressing in a meaningful way.

And the MMC… I really struggled with him. We’re supposed to believe that the way he treated Daisy in college was because he liked her, but I’m sorry—absolutely not. That behavior goes way past “awkward crush” territory and straight into “unacceptable.” And the bigger issue? He never truly grows out of it. There’s no satisfying character development to make me root for him.

Also—and this really bothered me—it felt kind of gross that they hook up and he’s still acting like a complete tool. There’s no emotional shift, no vulnerability, no real change in how he treats her. If anything, it just made the relationship harder to believe in.

Then the ending… Him ghosting her at the last stop of the tour and then suddenly showing up at her flat after how long? It felt like a rushed, last-minute attempt at redemption that just didn’t land. Honestly, it was a too little, too late situation for me. I couldn’t buy into the forgiveness at all. At a certain point I just wanted to shake Daisy like—girl. The red flags are waving. Please step back.

Overall, I didn’t hate it, but I definitely didn’t love it either. It just felt like a story that never fully delivered on its promise.

Final thoughts: Great concept, underwhelming execution, and a romance I couldn’t quite believe in. Was going to rate 2 stars, but gave the extra .5 for the idea alone.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

[Raven (_birdiesbookclub_) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Big thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC copy. This one is out now!

I'd say this was cute and charming, but it never really fully grabbed my attention. There’s some good tension and the characters are awkward, so it made it feel more realistic but I just couldn't focus on engaging with them. I liked the premise and there were moments where the banter and slow burn vibe worked, but then it fizzled out and I felt meh. I found myself wanting either a bit more emotional depth or a tighter storyline to really pull it all together.

Big props to the audiobook though. The narration added a lot of personality and made the characters feel more alive, which honestly helped me stay engaged (as much as possible) when the story lagged a bit.

Overall I'd say this was enjoyable in parts, but not one I’m rushing to revisit.

[Jnj_turning_pages · Rating 4 out of 5]

While You Were Seething is a romcom full of all the best tropes. You like second chances, it's got it. Love grumpy/sunshine, it's got one of the grumpiest. Oh, you love only one bed... How about only one tent? The witty banter and spicy tension will keep you turning pages and asking "will they or won't they?"

Caleb, famous romance writer, must save his reputation after his less than flattering, and very public, comments about love. Enter Daisy, PA and celebrity handler, to save the day. However, Caleb and Daisy have history. They attended the same college and were "enemies". Daisy must navigate his eccentricity and get him back in the fans good graces, but it backfires when the fans believe it is her that he is dating and not the actor they hired.

I really loved the literary banter and strong opinions of both characters. And let's talk about the naughty mouth on Caleb. It's hard to believe a man that talks like that doesn't believe in love. The plot was great and really cute. The speed was a bit wonky at times, with some things being sped through and others slowly progressing. Even with that, I loved this book. Solid 4 stars.

Thank you to charlotte.stein, st. martins press, and netgalley for the opportunity.

[Lindsey Domokur · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enemies to lovers with a broody hero that you just know is in love with the heroine.. check. That is what I want to read.
Caleb and Daisy have a long history and now Daisy has to travel with Caleb on a book tour, to basically babysit him. She loathes him and seemingly can't stand being around her. As the time goes on and they are thrown together for the tour, Daisy is realizing things aren't what they seem.
I do love a grumpy hero and I liked that he was very into her even if she didn't realize it till much later. The issue I had with the book is that it was really hard to read for me. I understand that the author isn't from the US, and I had trouble with another book that I had read by her, but I thought I could overcome it. Unfortunately, I couldn't. It was really hard to understand and things just didn't flow in a way that made me engrossed at any point in time. I thought the bones of this story were well done, but the execution of their relationship progressing was awkward at the best of times.
If you are familiar with this author and the writing style, I feel that you will enjoy it much more than I did.

[Samantha✨ [reads everythinggggg] · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75/5⭐️ I received While You Were Seething by Charlotte Stein through a Goodreads giveaway, and I want to thank the author and publisher for the chance the read a genre I don’t typically reach for, romance!

I really enjoyed this book, especially because it hits all the notes I wnjoys when k do read romance: enemies-to-lovers, witty banter, and playful humor. The back-and-forth between the main characters was clever and fun, though at times the banter felt a little overdone, which made the beginning feel slow.

Once I got past the halfway point, the pacing picked up, and it became much harder to put down. The story shifts into more romantic tension and spice, which was enjoyable and added energy to the plot. There’s plenty of heat, but balanced with humor and charm.

The characters are likable and engaging, and while the plot is somewhat predictable, the journey from rivalry to genuine attraction was satisfying.

Overall, While You Were Seething is a fun, cute, and entertaining romance with clever banter, enemies-to-lovers tension, and plenty of spice. Even with a slow start, it was a delightful ride from start to finish.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlotte Stein’s writing is very unique for most romance novels I’ve read and I enjoy it. I felt like I was actually in Daisy’s head and experiencing what she was experiencing because all of what she thought and experienced is written with so much detail. Enemies-to-lovers is one of my favorite tropes and Daisy and Caleb’s love story is a wonderful example of it being done well. These two were very attracted to each other and it was so beautiful when their true feelings started surfacing and you find out there was yearning, pining and love there on both sides all along. Thank you to Charlotte Stein and St. Martin’s Griffin for the opportunity to read this early!

[Wendy Darling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed listening to this on audio. Realistic author/touring/pr/event stuff, good hate-banter, witty internal monologue and well-done descriptions of how actions and words can be misinterpreted. I was way off on what the problem was, though--I thought it was going to be revealed that he had Asperger's and that wasn't the case at all. So I'm somewhat flummoxed by what the actual problem was.

But. The reveal of his feelings, and how it comes, is undeniably sweet--I don't love big grand movie-moment type gestures, so this one, a gradual realization of something that had revealed itself over the course of 10 years, felt lovely and true.

Bonus points for the sex scenes somehow being hot and confusing (and sometimes off-putting??) at the same time. I'd definitely read this author again.

3.5 stars

[Lily · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

I'm not going to lie. It was a drag from the beginning for me.

I typically like the grumpy x sunshine pairing. However, I felt that this, and another book I read recently, was trying to lean too hard into an enemies to lovers story. It's rare that the MCs are enemies. They just dislike each other, sometimes for barely any reason other than they just aren't as nice and friendly as they are. What do you mean, 'mortal enemy'? He's just a dick who seems to dislike people.

"His biceps bloomed against it, as rounded as some overripe fruit." Is this supposed to be appealing?

I love banter, but I do believe that too much of a good thing is too much of a good thing. That being said, the banter felt forced? Like teenagers going at it to try and get the last word in. It didn't feel playful, but snarky. It felt quite monologue-y, and with it being one after another, it dragged.

And why did he freak out about them having things in common? Liking the same singer is something millions of people have in common. Or wanting to check out the same books. That's why holds are a thing. He was so spooked that he shut down? I found both of the MCs kind of insufferable from the beginning.

The monologue that Daisy went on before Caleb went onstage for the first time was confusing. She was a publicist hired to help his image, but she was way way too invested for someone who is just doing her job. Obviously it's a romance book, but it felt like the author was trying too hard to convince us that there's underlying feelings between the two MCs. In that scene, which I reread multiple times, Daisy only says 'them' not 'me'. But she has a mini freak out afterwards because "she had said me." But she didn't?

It was written in a way that is meant to mimic flowery language and prose, but it just came across as a jumbled heap of words. It's trying too hard to make the reader believe that they're enemies who turn into lovers. They even say it. They started as mild dislike in college for no reason other than young people being insufferable to each other because they can't communicate properly.

I don't believe that there's any reason for them to come into this with feelings for each other. Situations are described in a way that it's trying to convince the reader that Caleb wants complete separation from Daisy because he doesn't want to fall for her. It feels so excessive. Supposedly, Daisy is just trying to do her job, but she can't control her feelings (what feelings, pray tell?) spilling over and exposing her true intentions. He comes across as robotic and unyielding. She comes across as insufferable. I grimaced when she ate the seafood boil.

I normally relish a single bed trope. But I didn't want that for Caleb and Daisy. I dislike them and was pushed further from believing in their love story with each paragraph. It was so ridiculous. "'I'll sleepwalk in the night and fall forehead first into your ass cheeks.'" What. I've never read that happening in ANY romance book that I've read.

He then asks her to act the way she normally would when introducing herself to someone. She merely said ";Caleb Miller? It is such a pleasure to meet you'" and held out her hand for a handshake. His breath caught. What about that was ... pleasurable or shocking? It's standard. and then he proceeded to share a bunch of personal information that he hasn't shared before. Sir. Are you okay? Have you ever had a normal conversation with a stranger? Then he storms into the bathroom and shuts the door. You think he's staying in there for the rest of the night, but no. He storms right back out, and Daisy goes into a long internal monologue about how violent / murderous / angry he seems. Then he shakes her hand. Barely. And she's so insanely horny for this whole sequence of events that she can't stop talking about it in her mind. All he did was barely grab her hand, which she was still holding out for a handshake.

A majority of this book was her absolutely losing it over every mundane thing he did. Or didn't do. If it wasn't for her monologues, I can confidently say this book would be half the length.

In another scene, he breaks his rule by going to a scenic spot. Daisy steps out of the car and proceeds to look back, catching Caleb writing furiously in the notebook that he originally wrote the rules in. She steps up to the car and startles Caleb who puts the notebook away before stating up the car. He drives along the highway, then decides to take a 'shortcut' off said highway and gets lost. Obviously. It makes no sense.

We are also reminded constantly that Caleb is 'practical'. We get it. He doesn't waste a single word or movement, but suddenly he does and Daisy can't comprehend it. The man who decided that they can only talk for ten out of every sixty minutes. Is pulling out crazy dirty talk. After blushing from holding her hand. Huh. "'You really think you can stand that? You think you can bear to have my big, bulky body pressing into you for eight hours? Rubbing into things you don't want rubbed, sliding over parts I shouldn't be sliding over.'" Sir, you two are just sleeping in a tent because you decided to take a shortcut.

That's another thing. How does he buy a tent for his personal use that barely fits him? "It was the size of a fucking thimble. She wasn't even sure how he ever managed to get inside it alone, never mind anything else. One of his thighs looked bigger than the whole thing was across. It barely hit his waist in height. If he'd gone about it carefully, he could have probably stuffed the whole thing up his butt. While it was erected."

Need I say more? The tent is pick-me-girl tiny.

And there's so many italics in the book. I've never read a book with anywhere near that many italics.

Caleb takes off his boots and pants to get into the sleeping bag. Why his pants? And Daisy is seemingly incapable of taking off her sneakers alone. So he offers to help by fully leaning over her. Seems inefficient, but okay. Meanwhile she's fawning over his ankle and heel in the context of Victorian sexiness. It was so weird. Upon seeing his feet, she thinks to herself, "God, I hope the curtains don't match the drapes," which isn't used in the correct context. She is so incredibly under-fucked.

It's hard to believe that they're both in their late 30s. They never slept together. They only had a writing class together in college. He critiqued her writing about a zombie apocalypse because it included the main characters falling in love. I think it's a fair criticism because if I was trying to fight for survival, I too would not develop feelings for someone who could be trying to get close to me just to steal my supplies. And that's her reason for why he's her mortal enemy? Grow up. You were 25 at the time.

Caleb was asked when he fell in love with Daisy. To which, the man who hates talking about personal stuff, replied with a nearly 200 word monologue. I understand that people grow and change, but to do a complete 180 feels unrealistic.

"The accidental fingering of his mortal enemy in a tent." There's nothing accidental about that. It's not like you tripped and fell onto the sidewalk.

By the way, she packed for this road trip because Caleb is afraid of flying. So she obviously packed things she owned for work. Since she was hired to be his publicist. But she admitted to wearing a flowy dress that wasn't her style (yet she owned?) because she wanted to give him easy access in case he wanted to fuck her. On the job.

EVEN WHEN HE'S ABOUT TO SINK INTO HER, SHE THINKS TO HERSELF "just one (finger), easing in. Practical about it at first."

Fast forward to the second to last stop of the book tour in Chicago where Caleb storms out because the interviewer asked him too many personal questions and asked for Daisy to come out for a hug. I admit, that's a bit weird, especially since it should be about his books. Someone ran to get Daisy, who ran back to the hotel and up 4-5 flights of stairs to talk to him. She told him it's fine, that she can make up an excuse for him leaving while touching his face and chest. She kisses him, and he freaks out, locking himself in the bathroom. She leaves him in the bathroom for four hours before checking on him only to find that he escaped through a 'letterbox-sized window' onto the fire escape. Rather than leaving, he returns to the hallway outside of their hotel room and is just pacing?? How did she not see him earlier on her way back in?

Caleb calls off the last stop on the tour and skips town, leaving Daisy with a car + driver that he's paying for. Rather than go to the airport to fly home, she decides to be driven six hours to Minneapolis since it's being paid for by Caleb. She goes onstage to talk to his fans in lieu of him. Later we find out that he drove to that tour stop and watched her from the audience. How did none of his fans notice him?

In the end, Daisy finishes the job and flies back to London. She takes off her makeup, makes a drink, and goes into her room to change before taking a bath. She's a third of the way through pulling her sweater off when Caleb clears his throat. From her window. It turns out that he's been stuck in her 5th story window for thirty minutes. 1) he flew? Probably on the same flight that Daisy was on to get back around the same time. 2) He wrote down her address in his notebook which he left in the States, but roughly remembered and wasn't even sure what floor or apartment was hers. How does one know... from the outside, which apartment is hers, even if they know what number it is? 3) He decided to climb up to the fifth floor from the fire escape and climb in through the window that he doesn't even know is hers. 4) How did no one see him climb up and then get stuck for 30 minutes?? 5) Somehow Daisy was able to pull him into her apartment through the window but he couldn't get himself in earlier. Okay.

Caleb goes on to say that he left his notebook with her address, clothes, toothpaste, keys at home and probably forgot to close his front door in his rush to get to her. Pray tell me how this is romantic. I don't remember where Caleb lives, but I'm pretty sure it's not close to Minneapolis. If he was going to fly to London to declare his love, he should've just flown out of O'Hare.

Then it's Daisy's turn to profess her love. "'I love you, Caleb. I always have. I did from the first moment I saw you, I loved you through every moment since. It's why it crushed me. Not because you were so awful, you weren't. I just longed for you so much that everything that said you didn't love me back was like a knife in my heart.'"

Let's dissect this. From the first moment you saw him? In class? Is it because he's the only other person over the age of 21 in your class? It's been ten years since that class and you've loved him since? You guys weren't even friends. You barely spoke. The only true interaction we hear about is how he critiqued your story poorly one time. Daisy is right in that Caleb wasn't awful. He was honest. And somehow it crushed her? She didn't even know him. What do you mean you longed for him so much that anything he said that wasn't in blind support of a stranger / classmate was like a knife in your heart? Insane. You were 25, not 13. You're not some naïve little girl who was lead on by someone into falling in love. It was all in your head. He gave absolutely zero indication that he saw you as more than a stranger. (Yet somehow he also fell instantly into love with her as well.) So because he didn't give off 'I love you' energy, he became her 'mortal enemy'?

I can't with insta-love.

A book that should've taken me three hours to read took me closer to six because I had to write as I read.

[Lyndzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC Review, thank you NetGalley and Charlotte Stein for the opportunity to read this!

I love a good enemies to lovers story, but oftentimes the enemy part doesn't come easily and it feels forced -- this book, though? Absolutely not. Caleb is a true-blue Grump throughout this novel (and I love him for that). The animosity between Daisy and Caleb felt very real, the tension was thick, and their hatred was palpable. Their bickering was hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud as many times as I found myself grimacing by their jabs.
This novel is a definitely a slow burn, but once you get to the fire -OH WOW- is it hot! 🥵 Sometimes slow burns can feel a little tedious, but the chemistry between these two was electrifying from the get go. When it finally got to the spice, the build up to that level of hotness was like a dam bursting. I'm giving this book personal, mental bonus star (on top of the 5) for those sex scenes. ⭐
The main characters are both delightfully weird and eternally flawed, in ways that contrast and compliment one another so well. I strongly relate to Daisy and her struggle to understand a complicated --and silent-- man (they're the worst, why do we love them? 😅) I don't want to spoil what makes me love Caleb so much, but let's just say it's what turns him on. His "kinks" are one of the best things about him, IYKYK. 🥴
The narrative switches back and forth from the past to the present, which can be a bit confusing at times, referencing things in the past that we, the reader, have not discovered yet, but all gets explained eventually, and it has a very satisfying conclusion. I had never read this author before, and now I'm going to go read everything else she has written.

[Val · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was very very unique in its treatment in the beginning and that probably just made me have a bit of unique expectations, so I was a bit bummed at things progressing in a typical way, its still the good and right way but gosh it's first act was so good that i had a bit too much expectations 😂🩷

[Sky DeBoer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This took a minute to get into but once we hit 50% of the way in I was LOCKED IN. WOW. The number of times daisy said something and didn’t think it through is sooooo me. Girls when they don’t understand the concept of thinking before you speak. Guys who barely speak and then say positively filthy things. YUP!!! So much yearning but also much more serious emotions from both of them that just hit home

Thank you to Charlotte Stein, St. Martin’s Press, and Net Galley for the arc!!! Baby’s first!!

[Katlyn Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC Review: While You Were Seething by Charlotte Stein ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Charlotte Stein delivers yet another laugh-out-loud, steamy, and heartfelt enemies-to-lovers romance. Daisy and Caleb’s road trip gone wrong has everything you didn’t know you needed! Fake dating, public scandal, sharp banter, and emotional tension that builds beautifully.

The fake dating + road trip combo? Perfection. It’s got the “we can’t stand each other” energy, the emotional gut punches, and just enough spice to make you blush while grinning like an idiot.

If you love slow-burn tension, forced proximity, and messy but magnetic characters, While You Were Seething is a must-read!!!

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like the author was trying so hard to have witty banter but it just came out kind of stilted and strange in a lot of places? The mmc almost reads like Sheldon from the Big Bang theory if he also had ocd, I don’t know how I’m supposed to find him sexy? He also definitely thinks of himself as some sort of unworthy bad guy and the self hating angsty type isn’t for me, oh she’s sunshine and I’m just black and white I could never deserve her, it’s just a little cringe to me? He felt so 2 dimensional. And Daisy felt like she was supposed to be a rip off of a Gilmore girl but missed the mark. It wasn’t bad, just a lot of the first half wasn’t for me. There’s also pages and pages of description for each little action that got so annoying, this was just a problem with the writing style I guess but why are we describing this man taking off his boots for 2.5 whole pages as if it’s the sexiest thing on gods earth, HES REMOVING BOOTS. I started skimming because you’re genuinely getting paragraphs over analyzing every touch I think it’s supposed to build angst but it was just mind numbing nobody analyzes a shoulder touch that much bud. It just ended up being incredibly cringey not sexy to me.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlotte Stein’s While You Were Seething is the kind of romance that doesn’t politely knock on the door of your emotions, it kicks it in, tracks mud across the carpet, and then dares you to complain.
Published by St. Martin’s Press, thank you to the publisher for the gifted book.

I went into this book expecting witty banter, forced proximity, and maybe a little fake-dating chaos. What I did not expect was to feel personally attacked by how accurately this story captures insecurity, longing, self-sabotage, and the exhausting act of pretending you don’t want what you very obviously want. This is not a neat romance. It’s prickly, messy, and emotionally loud in the quietest possible ways.

Daisy Emmett is a PR fixer who has made a career out of smoothing over other people’s disasters while quietly minimizing herself in the process. Caleb Miller is a wildly successful romance author who publicly implodes his own career by announcing he doesn’t believe in love. Naturally, these two have history, unresolved tension, and a shared talent for misunderstanding each other at Olympic levels. When Daisy is hired to manage Caleb’s book tour, the forced proximity feels less like a trope and more like an endurance test. Put them in a truck together, stretch the road endlessly ahead of them, and let the resentment simmer until it curdles into something far more dangerous.

Charlotte Stein writes interiority like a weapon. Being inside Daisy’s head is funny, frustrating, and painfully intimate. She overthinks everything, narrates her own emotional downfall in real time, and is both hyper-observant and willfully blind when it comes to Caleb. I’ve seen complaints that this is exhausting, and honestly? That’s the point. This is what it feels like to be someone who has been told their feelings are too big and their presence takes up too much space.

Caleb, meanwhile, is grumpy in a way that feels earned, not cute. He is socially awkward, emotionally guarded, and deeply convinced that wanting love is a personal failing. Stein slowly peels him open, not with grand gestures, but with small, devastating moments of vulnerability. The chemistry between these two crackles in silences as much as it does in dialogue, and when the spice arrives, it’s intense, intimate, and deeply character-driven.

One of my favorite things about this book is how it lets desire and resentment exist at the same time. Love doesn’t fix them instantly. Communication doesn’t magically become easy. Growth happens sideways, in fits and starts, and sometimes only after everything has gone wrong. That made the emotional payoff feel real rather than rehearsed.

There’s also quiet but meaningful body representation here. Daisy is plus size or mid-size, and the story doesn’t turn that into a lesson or a spectacle. It simply allows her to be wanted, desired, and loved without apology. That mattered to me more than I expected it to.

My favorite quote, and one that perfectly sums up the heart of this story, is this:
“And never forget, no matter what, that you do deserve to be loved. Even if you make mistakes. Even if you are too much or not enough.”

This isn’t a romance for readers who want clean arcs and tidy emotions. It’s for readers who like their love stories sharp-edged, emotionally intense, and a little feral. While You Were Seething trusts its readers to sit in discomfort and rewards them with something honest, sexy, and surprisingly tender.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 stars

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