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Dear Heart, I Hate You
I didn’t plan on him.
Or for him.
Or anything that had to do with Cal Donovan from Boston.
Meeting him had been a complete and utter surprise, taking me one hundred percent off guard. I met new people every single day in my line of work and none of them affected me. Wasn’t that the way of things though? You could meet a thousand people and they’d all mean nothing to you. But then you’d meet that one and they suddenly meant everything.
Or for him.
Or anything that had to do with Cal Donovan from Boston.
Meeting him had been a complete and utter surprise, taking me one hundred percent off guard. I met new people every single day in my line of work and none of them affected me. Wasn’t that the way of things though? You could meet a thousand people and they’d all mean nothing to you. But then you’d meet that one and they suddenly meant everything.
350 pages, ebook
First published May 9, 2016
389 people are currently reading
4396 people want to read
About the author
J. Sterling
57 books6,178 followersJ. (jenn) Sterling is a New York Times and USA Today best selling author of multiple contemporary romances. She lives in California with her only son, Blake. If you can't find her sitting behind a computer screen writing new stories, then there's a good chance she's sitting in the bleachers of a baseball stadium watching him play.
Jenn enjoys traveling to new places, meeting her readers and spending time with the love of her life, the one & only, Jack F'n Carter! Oh yeah, it's true. <3
Stay in touch with Jenn here:
Newsletter: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/619557...
Website: http://www.jsterlingbooks.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorJSterling
Instagram & TikTok: @AuthorJSterling
Jenn enjoys traveling to new places, meeting her readers and spending time with the love of her life, the one & only, Jack F'n Carter! Oh yeah, it's true. <3
Stay in touch with Jenn here:
Newsletter: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/619557...
Website: http://www.jsterlingbooks.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorJSterling
Instagram & TikTok: @AuthorJSterling
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 483 reviews
May 24, 2016
I've always said J. Sterling does great at instant connections. I remember thinking this when I read Chance Encounters. This one may be an even better instant connection than CE. J. Sterling never fails to deliver when you're in the mood for great romance.
Hi, Blake!
Hi, Blake!
July 10, 2020
3.5 stars!
Dear Heart, I Hate You is a story about two people who never wanted to fall in love….
Jules and Cal are two career driven people who aren’t looking for a relationship. They are both young, successful, and focused on work first and foremost. Jules is from California, but comes to Boston for a work thing. There she meets Cal. Cal from Boston who is just as much as workaholic as her. These two click and spend a lot of time together while Jules is there.
Once Jules goes home, they can’t help but to keep in touch with daily texts and calls. Though it’s not like either of them, both are completely smitten with one another. I really did love both Jules and Cal. I felt for Jules and wanted to slap Cal (this is a J. Sterling book so… ;)) but in all seriousness, even though Cal irked me he totally redeemed himself in my eyes.
I listened to the audio book of Dear Heart, I Hate You and I felt the narrator did a fantastic job voicing Jules. This story was fast paced, easy to listen to, and kept my interest. If you’re looking for a slightly angsty, sweet, and sexy read- pick this one up!
Dear Heart, I Hate You is a story about two people who never wanted to fall in love….
Jules and Cal are two career driven people who aren’t looking for a relationship. They are both young, successful, and focused on work first and foremost. Jules is from California, but comes to Boston for a work thing. There she meets Cal. Cal from Boston who is just as much as workaholic as her. These two click and spend a lot of time together while Jules is there.
Once Jules goes home, they can’t help but to keep in touch with daily texts and calls. Though it’s not like either of them, both are completely smitten with one another. I really did love both Jules and Cal. I felt for Jules and wanted to slap Cal (this is a J. Sterling book so… ;)) but in all seriousness, even though Cal irked me he totally redeemed himself in my eyes.
I listened to the audio book of Dear Heart, I Hate You and I felt the narrator did a fantastic job voicing Jules. This story was fast paced, easy to listen to, and kept my interest. If you’re looking for a slightly angsty, sweet, and sexy read- pick this one up!
“Who we loved wasn’t always a choice. Sometimes it was an irresistible pull, a gravitational force, something we couldn’t see or control that drew us toward another. Sure, we could try to fight it. But in the end, love always won because it didn’t fight fair. It had a secret weapon, a tool of sheer force to use against us—our heart. And once that son of a bitch got involved, you could kiss away all options you thought might exist.”
April 24, 2017
*Spoiler Alert*
Jules: West coast (Malibu) Real Estate Executive, late 20s, she has friends
Cal: East coast (Boston) Financial Advisor, late 20s, has friends and close family
They Meet: In Boston, where Jules is attending a workshop; they spend the weekend together, she returns to Malibu
Obligatory angst: Cal misses Jules, goes for a visit, freaks out because Jules chose to spend time with him instead of going to work. Returns to Boston and cuts her off cold. Fast forward 6 weeks, he goes back to Malibu, asks for forgiveness, decides to relocate to Cali.
It was boring and I started skimming at the halfway mark.
The characters lacked depth, the dialogue was predictable and the HEA looks set for divorce court. Just my opinion, please read at your discretion.
May 10, 2016
LIVE AMAZON: http://tinyurl.com/DHIHYAmazon
5 STARS
This was such a beautiful story, I loved every part of it! The author took me on a ride, full of sweet, deep and some emotional moments! I was so connected to the story that I felt like I was a part of the story! And everything that the characters went through felt realistic!
"Our bodies leaned closer, inexplicably drawn together, and I almost laughed
at how we must have looked to everyone else.Like a couple.
Definitely not like two people who had just met."
I started this book not knowing what to expect but hoping it was going to be a great read! And I'm surprised about how much I loved it! It's not easy when you love your career but end up falling for someone who doesn't live near you. Somehow Jules and Cal make it work and fall head over heels for each other.
I absolutely adored Jules and Cal! Jules is smart, independent and sweet! Cal was cute, funny, protective and hot! They have an amazing connection and chemistry! I loved their intimate moments.
"Jules had me affected...infected...whatever, and it was making me crazy.
I couldn't stop thinking about her."
I could go on and on gushing about how much I loved this story. Seriously there wasn't a thing that I didn't like,even the writing is amazing! If you haven't read a book from this author do yourself a favor and pick this one!
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review
5 STARS
This was such a beautiful story, I loved every part of it! The author took me on a ride, full of sweet, deep and some emotional moments! I was so connected to the story that I felt like I was a part of the story! And everything that the characters went through felt realistic!
"Our bodies leaned closer, inexplicably drawn together, and I almost laughed
at how we must have looked to everyone else.Like a couple.
Definitely not like two people who had just met."
I started this book not knowing what to expect but hoping it was going to be a great read! And I'm surprised about how much I loved it! It's not easy when you love your career but end up falling for someone who doesn't live near you. Somehow Jules and Cal make it work and fall head over heels for each other.
I absolutely adored Jules and Cal! Jules is smart, independent and sweet! Cal was cute, funny, protective and hot! They have an amazing connection and chemistry! I loved their intimate moments.
"Jules had me affected...infected...whatever, and it was making me crazy.
I couldn't stop thinking about her."
I could go on and on gushing about how much I loved this story. Seriously there wasn't a thing that I didn't like,even the writing is amazing! If you haven't read a book from this author do yourself a favor and pick this one!
ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review
May 15, 2016
****4 Stars****
“Do you feel nothing? No guilt, no pain, no ache in your own heart? Tell me how you could walk away so easily.”
The reason why I was so drawn to this book to begin with was the title “Dear Heart, I Hate You,” it was such a strong emotion for me. I know there are plenty of single guys and girls out there in the world who feel the same way. Who hate their heart for feeling things they either don’t want to or are not ready for, and therefore they blame their hurt and emotional feelings on their own heart. The title was very fitting to the story.
I liked Jules and Cal instantly. They were both highly motivated and career driven individuals. The both avoided relationships because previous experience had proved that their ex’s didn’t understand or accept coming second to their careers. That is until they meet each other.
“You could meet a thousand people and none of them would mean anything to you, but then you’d meet one, and suddenly they meant everything.”
Cal and Jules meet in a hotel in Boston by chance, while she is at a work conference for the weekend. Jules is searching for a spare chair and approaches a table full of guys to ask if she can take a chair unoccupied from their table. She doesn’t get very far as there is an instant connection between herself and Cal and therefore he invites her and her friends to join them. The moment she sits down at the table with Cal and his friends they can’t keep their hands off each other.
Jules lives in Malibu, in Southern California, and Cal lives in Boston. They decide to spend the remainder of the weekend together before Jules has to catch her flight back to LA. During that time they fall even more for each other, and I was sad to see Jules leave because I thought they were perfect for each other. They both had the same outlook on life and the same priorities when it came to relationships. It was almost like they were the same person.
“I was addicted to that mouth, obsessed with those lips. I couldn’t breathe without them; they were my everything.”
They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and in this case it did. They continued to text and speak on the phone every morning and night. As I read through the chapters I was anticipating one of them to finally give into their feelings and say “I’m flying out to see you.” I was desperate for one of them to make the first move. It was obvious they severely missed each other. I was so excited when that finally happened because I loved these characters so much and they were so happy to finally pick up where they left off in Boston.
“It was heartbreaking when you recongnized that moment when pieces of your reality turned into memories.”
Unfortunately the euphoric feelings didn’t last long. Things went sour pretty quick. I went from loving Cal to hating him. He turned into such an absolute ASSHOLE!!! I’m not going to go into too much detail, because I don’t want to spoil the read for others. But I will say, in my opinion, he handled everything absolutely wrong, and I would have loved to bitch slap him. I felt so bad for Jules, and the more I thought about it the more I wanted to hurt Cal and make him suffer.
Even though I did feel some hate and resentment towards Cal, I still thought they were an amazing, well suited couple. I also loved the support cast, which makes me hope that there may be some spin-off books in the future. The character development and writing was really good, so it definitely won’t be my last J. Sterling book.
“Do you feel nothing? No guilt, no pain, no ache in your own heart? Tell me how you could walk away so easily.”
The reason why I was so drawn to this book to begin with was the title “Dear Heart, I Hate You,” it was such a strong emotion for me. I know there are plenty of single guys and girls out there in the world who feel the same way. Who hate their heart for feeling things they either don’t want to or are not ready for, and therefore they blame their hurt and emotional feelings on their own heart. The title was very fitting to the story.
I liked Jules and Cal instantly. They were both highly motivated and career driven individuals. The both avoided relationships because previous experience had proved that their ex’s didn’t understand or accept coming second to their careers. That is until they meet each other.
“You could meet a thousand people and none of them would mean anything to you, but then you’d meet one, and suddenly they meant everything.”
Cal and Jules meet in a hotel in Boston by chance, while she is at a work conference for the weekend. Jules is searching for a spare chair and approaches a table full of guys to ask if she can take a chair unoccupied from their table. She doesn’t get very far as there is an instant connection between herself and Cal and therefore he invites her and her friends to join them. The moment she sits down at the table with Cal and his friends they can’t keep their hands off each other.
Jules lives in Malibu, in Southern California, and Cal lives in Boston. They decide to spend the remainder of the weekend together before Jules has to catch her flight back to LA. During that time they fall even more for each other, and I was sad to see Jules leave because I thought they were perfect for each other. They both had the same outlook on life and the same priorities when it came to relationships. It was almost like they were the same person.
“I was addicted to that mouth, obsessed with those lips. I couldn’t breathe without them; they were my everything.”
They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and in this case it did. They continued to text and speak on the phone every morning and night. As I read through the chapters I was anticipating one of them to finally give into their feelings and say “I’m flying out to see you.” I was desperate for one of them to make the first move. It was obvious they severely missed each other. I was so excited when that finally happened because I loved these characters so much and they were so happy to finally pick up where they left off in Boston.
“It was heartbreaking when you recongnized that moment when pieces of your reality turned into memories.”
Unfortunately the euphoric feelings didn’t last long. Things went sour pretty quick. I went from loving Cal to hating him. He turned into such an absolute ASSHOLE!!! I’m not going to go into too much detail, because I don’t want to spoil the read for others. But I will say, in my opinion, he handled everything absolutely wrong, and I would have loved to bitch slap him. I felt so bad for Jules, and the more I thought about it the more I wanted to hurt Cal and make him suffer.
Even though I did feel some hate and resentment towards Cal, I still thought they were an amazing, well suited couple. I also loved the support cast, which makes me hope that there may be some spin-off books in the future. The character development and writing was really good, so it definitely won’t be my last J. Sterling book.
May 18, 2016
‘Nothing made you realize how much you’d been ignoring your heart, until someone came along and smacked it awake simply by existing.’
It’s been a while since we’ve read a book by J Sterling book and boy did we love Dear Heart, I Hate You! We loved so much about this he realness of the characters, the believability of her words, the beauty of her writing and the ease in which she immediately hooked us into Jules and Cal’s story.
We couldn’t help but become swept up in Jules and Cal’s relationship as it felt so natural and unforced. We keep coming back to the word real, because everything about this book really did come across as so real. We all know a Jules and Cal, or have been a Jules and Cal which made their story completely relatable and easy to connect with. We believed everything that transpired, as though we shared their good times feeling compelled to offer a sympathetic ear or shoulder to lean on through their heartbreaks. J Sterling crafted such a believable relationship between Jules and Cal that we could feel ourselves nodding in agreement and understanding everything they were going through.
‘Who we loved wasn’t always a choice. Sometimes it was an irresistible pull, a gravitation force, something we couldn’t see or control that drew us toward another. It had a secret weapon, a tool of sheer force to use against us – our heart.
And once that son of a bitch got involved, you could say good-bye to reason.’
Jules Miller and Cal Donovan are both ambitious, driven, career minded individuals who have no time for relationships or matters of the heart, devoting all their time and energy into progressing and succeeding in their chosen fields. Jules lives in LA and is visiting Boston for a seminar when she meets and becomes instantly attracted to Cal in a hotel bar. They strike up an instant rapport, spend a few days getting to know each other and decide to try a long distance relationship of sorts, getting to know each other with all the anticipation of a new relationship yet with no expectations.
‘He was a powerful force, that boy from Boston.’
However the heart is fickle organ that doesn’t account for distance, timing or career constraints and it isn’t long before Cal and Jules realise their hearts are becoming involved. With their relationship developing via long distance, Jules and Cal conversed, getting to know one another on a platonic level, connecting emotionally without the distraction of sex whilst trying to sort out the logistics of spending time together on a physical level. Can it work? Do they want it to work? Are they prepared to make the sacrifices required to be together? Well, that’s something you’ll have to find out for yourselves.
The secondary characters supported the story perfectly; from Jules crazy friend Tami, Cal’s gorgeous mate Lucas (thank you J Sterling for not making him stereotypical) and Cal’s sweet Hockey playing brother (we can’t wait for his book!)…. everything hit the mark for us in Dear Heart, I Hate You and we’d recommend it in a heartbeat!
‘You could close your heart to love forever, but you’d miss out on all the good that came with giving and receiving love. You had to decide if it was worth the risk.’
We adored this book and J Sterling proved that less is more by keeping her story on track, providing just enough drama to hit our hearts and thankfully steering clear of introducing excessive or unnecessary angst. The conflict felt real and heartbreaking as we found ourselves sympathizing with Jules but at the same time we understood where Cal was coming from. The writing was fabulous. It was an easy read and that is in no way meant in a negative way, in fact, just the opposite – it’s a huge compliment to J Sterling because she made this love story feel so effortless and natural yet she delivered it with so much heart and love, ensuring we inhaled every word she wrote. Grab this one guys! You’ll be glad you did.
‘You wrecked me. I opened my heart to you.’
Come visit and follow us at:
✲ TotallybookedBlog
✲ TB on Facebook
✲ TB on Twitter
✲ TB on Pinterest
May 18, 2016
‘Nothing made you realize how much you’d been ignoring your heart, until someone came along and smacked it awake simply by existing.’
It’s been a while since we’ve read a book by J Sterling book and boy did we love Dear Heart, I Hate You! We loved so much about this he realness of the characters, the believability of her words, the beauty of her writing and the ease in which she immediately hooked us into Jules and Cal’s story.
We couldn’t help but become swept up in Jules and Cal’s relationship as it felt so natural and unforced. We keep coming back to the word real, because everything about this book really did come across as so real. We all know a Jules and Cal, or have been a Jules and Cal which made their story completely relatable and easy to connect with. We believed everything that transpired, as though we shared their good times feeling compelled to offer a sympathetic ear or shoulder to lean on through their heartbreaks. J Sterling crafted such a believable relationship between Jules and Cal that we could feel ourselves nodding in agreement and understanding everything they were going through.
‘Who we loved wasn’t always a choice. Sometimes it was an irresistible pull, a gravitation force, something we couldn’t see or control that drew us toward another. It had a secret weapon, a tool of sheer force to use against us – our heart.
And once that son of a bitch got involved, you could say good-bye to reason.’
Jules Miller and Cal Donovan are both ambitious, driven, career minded individuals who have no time for relationships or matters of the heart, devoting all their time and energy into progressing and succeeding in their chosen fields. Jules lives in LA and is visiting Boston for a seminar when she meets and becomes instantly attracted to Cal in a hotel bar. They strike up an instant rapport, spend a few days getting to know each other and decide to try a long distance relationship of sorts, getting to know each other with all the anticipation of a new relationship yet with no expectations.
‘He was a powerful force, that boy from Boston.’
However the heart is fickle organ that doesn’t account for distance, timing or career constraints and it isn’t long before Cal and Jules realise their hearts are becoming involved. With their relationship developing via long distance, Jules and Cal conversed, getting to know one another on a platonic level, connecting emotionally without the distraction of sex whilst trying to sort out the logistics of spending time together on a physical level. Can it work? Do they want it to work? Are they prepared to make the sacrifices required to be together? Well, that’s something you’ll have to find out for yourselves.
The secondary characters supported the story perfectly; from Jules crazy friend Tami, Cal’s gorgeous mate Lucas (thank you J Sterling for not making him stereotypical) and Cal’s sweet Hockey playing brother (we can’t wait for his book!)…. everything hit the mark for us in Dear Heart, I Hate You and we’d recommend it in a heartbeat!
‘You could close your heart to love forever, but you’d miss out on all the good that came with giving and receiving love. You had to decide if it was worth the risk.’
We adored this book and J Sterling proved that less is more by keeping her story on track, providing just enough drama to hit our hearts and thankfully steering clear of introducing excessive or unnecessary angst. The conflict felt real and heartbreaking as we found ourselves sympathizing with Jules but at the same time we understood where Cal was coming from. The writing was fabulous. It was an easy read and that is in no way meant in a negative way, in fact, just the opposite – it’s a huge compliment to J Sterling because she made this love story feel so effortless and natural yet she delivered it with so much heart and love, ensuring we inhaled every word she wrote. Grab this one guys! You’ll be glad you did.
‘You wrecked me. I opened my heart to you.’
Come visit and follow us at:
✲ TotallybookedBlog
✲ TB on Facebook
✲ TB on Twitter
✲ TB on Pinterest
February 23, 2020
Dear Miss Sterling, I am.... confused. Your writing usually gives the readers a hero who is alpha male,stable and mature. Oh yeah and swoon worthy.
In this book however,Cal is all that until he left Jules. For some immature reason. There is no background or explanation why Cal done what he did to Jules. The groveling is too short and I feel unsatisfied. It makes me more confuse. This is a very unlikely of you.
Meanwhile Jules is a heroine I can relate to. She is a career driven woman and have no time for pleasure let alone love. However her dedication to work is live shorted by meeting Cal.
Overall this book is OK. The story have promise. But the characters development is confusing. The insta lust/ love is noy helpful to make the story believable.
3 stars
In this book however,Cal is all that until he left Jules. For some immature reason. There is no background or explanation why Cal done what he did to Jules. The groveling is too short and I feel unsatisfied. It makes me more confuse. This is a very unlikely of you.
Meanwhile Jules is a heroine I can relate to. She is a career driven woman and have no time for pleasure let alone love. However her dedication to work is live shorted by meeting Cal.
Overall this book is OK. The story have promise. But the characters development is confusing. The insta lust/ love is noy helpful to make the story believable.
3 stars
May 3, 2016
Dear Heart I Hate You breaks your heart then puts the pieces back together again, proving that although love can be beautiful, it’s also messy, frustrating, complicated . . . and wonderful. Best read of 2016.
July 21, 2016
Dear Book,
We started off not getting along but I'm glad I was the patient one when you went with the most cliched start. I really hated Jules for throwing herself at Cal so I gave their instant attraction the eye roll, thankfully the story didn't give me that instant fuck scene that will lead to that repetitive fucking party or I would have read it superficially. And although I got irritated with main characters and their obvious stubbornness especially when Cal was overthinking things and Jules being stupid, again you rewarded my patience by giving me two awesome secondary characters to be the MCs best friends and a sweet ending.
This is why I don't hate you but I don't love you either, let's just settle in between okay?
Love,
Henz
May 17, 2016
I don't have anything too much against insta-love but FOR ME in this book it was just too much especially since the H and h were so against any type of relationship and then BAM. H came off as a wuss and the h as winey. There were no huge plot twists or great revelations, which I would've needed IN THIS BOOK. Hey maybe it's me and everyone loves it.
dnf-lost-interest
June 29, 2016DNF @ 25%
Insta-love and almost thirty-year-old characters with thoughts and actions that belong in the new-adult genre. I have no doubt there are many readers who will thoroughly enjoy this novel but I have to move on.
Insta-love and almost thirty-year-old characters with thoughts and actions that belong in the new-adult genre. I have no doubt there are many readers who will thoroughly enjoy this novel but I have to move on.
September 28, 2016
3.5 Stars. This started out quite strong and I was more than intrigued by Jules and Cal. The instant connect was there and I enjoyed reading those first few days together. After about the 60% mark, this starts to get extremely melodramatic. I was listening to some on audio and reading some, but this portion that I'm thinking of was probably the wrong part to listen to rather than read. There was a lot of wailing and 'woe is me' going on.
My biggest problem was more so the fact that I never really connected with the characters - I didn't find them to be overtly likeable (or any reason to dislike them), they were just sort of there. And they didn't necessarily feel real or genuine, they felt like true characters instead of true people, if that makes sense.
My biggest problem was more so the fact that I never really connected with the characters - I didn't find them to be overtly likeable (or any reason to dislike them), they were just sort of there. And they didn't necessarily feel real or genuine, they felt like true characters instead of true people, if that makes sense.
October 4, 2016
3.5 Stars
So this was cute!
I'm glad I enjoyed this, I was kind of in a book slump. The story was nice and simple, nothing too complicated. It wasn't a think book, or a deep book, or even a erotic one. Just a little cute story about long distance love.
I, surprisingly, liked all of the characters in the book—although the slutty bff gig is a bit overdone. Despite that, the characters were all well developed and the supporting characters definitely provided the humor. I smiled and laughed a lot while reading this, but on to the point of it all:)
Cal was...Cal, I guess. I almost didn't like the guy. He came off a bit misogynistic at first. He had this ignorant view of women, made comments that women were money grubbing, dependant leeches. Not his exact words, but close enough. He slowly redeemed himself while building a relationship with Jules. He was sweet and sort of romantic and Jules made quite a few mentions of those damn lips, that I was actually pretty curious about. Still there was something I couldn't get on board with when it came to him. He was making way too many excuses to end things for my liking.
Jules I liked from the beginning. She was sweet, humble, independent and best of all she was honest. She didn't play games and it was a 'get what you see' situation with her. Unfortunately, I began to pity her. Cal ended up making her feel and look pretty desperate—something someone with her accomplishments should never feel. She got down right, embarrassingly distraught. I wanted to shake her out of it. I'm all like, get a grip chick, you haven't known him long enough to be acting like a maniac.
The story started to take a bit of a silly turn. I found myself feeling the conflict was a bit dramatic and completely avoidable, just put in place to add a climax...and the plot thickens! What Cal did made him look like he was just hanging around to sleep with Jules and that shit aint cool! She made her feelings about sexual intimacy very clear. He clearly didnt care enough about her to spare her feelings. What a dick move, dude! I was originally going with 4 stars but aforementioned behavior dropped it to 3.5. What he did was unnecessary and unredeemable—to me. I wasnt buying into how things wrapped up so quickly at the end. Still it was a good story. I enjoyed it, despite the things I really wanted to change. Definitely still worth the read!
So this was cute!
I'm glad I enjoyed this, I was kind of in a book slump. The story was nice and simple, nothing too complicated. It wasn't a think book, or a deep book, or even a erotic one. Just a little cute story about long distance love.
I, surprisingly, liked all of the characters in the book—although the slutty bff gig is a bit overdone. Despite that, the characters were all well developed and the supporting characters definitely provided the humor. I smiled and laughed a lot while reading this, but on to the point of it all:)
Cal was...Cal, I guess. I almost didn't like the guy. He came off a bit misogynistic at first. He had this ignorant view of women, made comments that women were money grubbing, dependant leeches. Not his exact words, but close enough. He slowly redeemed himself while building a relationship with Jules. He was sweet and sort of romantic and Jules made quite a few mentions of those damn lips, that I was actually pretty curious about. Still there was something I couldn't get on board with when it came to him. He was making way too many excuses to end things for my liking.
Jules I liked from the beginning. She was sweet, humble, independent and best of all she was honest. She didn't play games and it was a 'get what you see' situation with her. Unfortunately, I began to pity her. Cal ended up making her feel and look pretty desperate—something someone with her accomplishments should never feel. She got down right, embarrassingly distraught. I wanted to shake her out of it. I'm all like, get a grip chick, you haven't known him long enough to be acting like a maniac.
The story started to take a bit of a silly turn. I found myself feeling the conflict was a bit dramatic and completely avoidable, just put in place to add a climax...and the plot thickens! What Cal did made him look like he was just hanging around to sleep with Jules and that shit aint cool! She made her feelings about sexual intimacy very clear. He clearly didnt care enough about her to spare her feelings. What a dick move, dude! I was originally going with 4 stars but aforementioned behavior dropped it to 3.5. What he did was unnecessary and unredeemable—to me. I wasnt buying into how things wrapped up so quickly at the end. Still it was a good story. I enjoyed it, despite the things I really wanted to change. Definitely still worth the read!
May 13, 2016
"Who we loved wasn’t always a choice. Sometimes it was an irresistible pull, a gravitational force, something we couldn’t see or control that drew us toward another. Sure, we could try to fight it. But in the end, love always won because it didn’t fight fair. It had a secret weapon, a tool of sheer force to use against us—our heart."
So I basically spent 3 straight hours reading this. Now, it can only mean three things: 1) I super loved it that's why I couldn't put it down, 2) I super hated it so I wanted to find every possible thing I can still hate about it, or 3) It was a decent read, and I've got nothing better else to do than read because c'mon let's be real, I've done nothing this summer than to indulge myself on books.
And the winner is...
*drumroll*
NUMBER 3!!!
Initial thoughts on Dear Heart, I Hate You:
- I liked the first half much better than the second
- There's enough drama to keep the book going
- I liked the build-up of the relationship of Jules and Cal
- Primary & secondary characters are appealing
- Cal's reason for staying away from Jules is understandable BUT I hate those reasons the most
Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable read but as a reader, there were a few elements that I'd wished to be tweaked. 3.5 stars for this!
"Nothing made you realize how much you’d been ignoring your heart, until someone came along and smacked it awake simply by existing."
February 26, 2018
Sometimes a story is good in all the right ways, yet doesn't deliver the punch it really needs to be good. This would be one of those books.
The hero is somewhat of a heel. He isn't bad guy, or a passionate guy, or a sweet guy. He not alpha or possessive or brooding. he's not full of energy or clever or funny. He's just... blah! And there really isn't any real reason the hero does what he does to the heroine. There was no way to justify it. It is one of the most cowardly things EVER.
The author could have made that whole part go on. You know why? Because the part where he left her hurting lasted longer than the part when they reunite. I think grovelling should last just as long IF NOT LONGER than the parts where there's heartache.
Then it just end. Like my review.
The grovelling didn't go on long enough and the ending was pretty dry.
The hero is somewhat of a heel. He isn't bad guy, or a passionate guy, or a sweet guy. He not alpha or possessive or brooding. he's not full of energy or clever or funny. He's just... blah! And there really isn't any real reason the hero does what he does to the heroine. There was no way to justify it. It is one of the most cowardly things EVER.
The author could have made that whole part go on. You know why? Because the part where he left her hurting lasted longer than the part when they reunite. I think grovelling should last just as long IF NOT LONGER than the parts where there's heartache.
Then it just end. Like my review.
The grovelling didn't go on long enough and the ending was pretty dry.
June 11, 2016
DNF'd @ 8% 6/10/16
FUCK. NO.
Nope.
Nope nope nope.
Not doing it. It's stupid. Just NOPE
FUCK. NO.
Nope.
Nope nope nope.
Not doing it. It's stupid. Just NOPE
January 3, 2023
3.25⭐️
i enjoyed the audiobook and it was a nice story but I wanted a little bit more if that makes sense. The conflict was resolved wayyy too quickly like my man needed to do a LOT MORE GROVELING !!!
cute audiobook if you’re looking for something light and fast faced
i enjoyed the audiobook and it was a nice story but I wanted a little bit more if that makes sense. The conflict was resolved wayyy too quickly like my man needed to do a LOT MORE GROVELING !!!
cute audiobook if you’re looking for something light and fast faced
June 3, 2018
Even though I enjoyed the book, I feel like I’m still waiting for the rest of the story.
The story was a bit too fast for me. Not only in an insta-love way, but the pace was too fast and the story didn’t catch up to it, in my opinion.
It was a good start, but it didn't have nearly as much angst as the reviews and ratings I saw said it had. Actually for me it had no angst at all. This whole book for me could have been a great part of a more complete story. And I would enjoy it in a longer book.
Also, I hate to say it, because I love Jen, but I've read a similar premisse before and since it had actual angst I couldn't help expecting more in this one too.
When the big conflict every story has to have came in, I couldn't believe it was it, first because it didn't seem like it was the time, there was so much more needed, and second because I was expecting something more. The heroine didn’t feel that believable in the end, specially because she was the opposite of who she claimed to be.
Again, I enjoyed most of it, but unfortunately, it didn't leave me completely satisfied. Even though I didn’t love it, there were aspects I love like romance and humor. But even so I recommend the read, after all each reader feel a book differently.
***RESENHA EM PORTUGUÊS***
Livro, em Português, recebido pela Faro Editorial para ler e resenhar.
Apesar de ter gostado da leitura, eu não amei. O livro me deixou esperando pelo resto da história.
Para mim, a história foi um pouco corrida. Não somente porque para mim tem “insta-love” (quandos os personagens já se apaixonam logo de cara sem ter muito motivo), mas tb pelo ritmo corrido, e para mim a história não acompanhou esse ritmo.
Eu acho que a história precisava de mais tempo (e páginas) para se desenvolver melhor.
Foi um bom começo, mas a história não tinha nem um pouco da angústia e tensão que as resenhas que eu lin(em inglês) aparentavam ter. Para mim quase não há angústia na história, aquele “tcham” a mais que toda história precisa. O livro inteiro, na minha opinião, poderia ser uma boa parte de uma história mais completa. E eu teria gostado mais de um livro mais longo nesse caso.
E eu odeio dizer, pq eu amo a Jen, mas já li outro livro com uma trama similar do qual eu gostei mais, e como nesse outro havia de fato tensão e angústia (o que muita gente chama de drama), não pude evitar esperar mais desse também.
Quando chegou a hora do grande conflito, que toda boa história tem que ter, não consegui acreditar que era só aquilo ou que já havia chegado a hora, primeiro porque para mim a história precisava de mais história. Precisava de mais desenvolvimento e, segundo, porque eu estava esperando algo diferente. A mocinha que parecia, e deveria, ser tão decidida, para mim, não pareceu tão decidida assim e as atitudes dela não condisseram com quem ela aparentava ser.
Eu gostei do livro, mas infelizmente ele não me deixou completamente satisfeita. Mesmo não tendo amado, há vários elementos que eu amo, como romance e até humor, então ainda assim recomendo a leitura (afinal cada leitor sente um livro de forma diferente).
The story was a bit too fast for me. Not only in an insta-love way, but the pace was too fast and the story didn’t catch up to it, in my opinion.
It was a good start, but it didn't have nearly as much angst as the reviews and ratings I saw said it had. Actually for me it had no angst at all. This whole book for me could have been a great part of a more complete story. And I would enjoy it in a longer book.
Also, I hate to say it, because I love Jen, but I've read a similar premisse before and since it had actual angst I couldn't help expecting more in this one too.
When the big conflict every story has to have came in, I couldn't believe it was it, first because it didn't seem like it was the time, there was so much more needed, and second because I was expecting something more. The heroine didn’t feel that believable in the end, specially because she was the opposite of who she claimed to be.
Again, I enjoyed most of it, but unfortunately, it didn't leave me completely satisfied. Even though I didn’t love it, there were aspects I love like romance and humor. But even so I recommend the read, after all each reader feel a book differently.
***RESENHA EM PORTUGUÊS***
Livro, em Português, recebido pela Faro Editorial para ler e resenhar.
Apesar de ter gostado da leitura, eu não amei. O livro me deixou esperando pelo resto da história.
Para mim, a história foi um pouco corrida. Não somente porque para mim tem “insta-love” (quandos os personagens já se apaixonam logo de cara sem ter muito motivo), mas tb pelo ritmo corrido, e para mim a história não acompanhou esse ritmo.
Eu acho que a história precisava de mais tempo (e páginas) para se desenvolver melhor.
Foi um bom começo, mas a história não tinha nem um pouco da angústia e tensão que as resenhas que eu lin(em inglês) aparentavam ter. Para mim quase não há angústia na história, aquele “tcham” a mais que toda história precisa. O livro inteiro, na minha opinião, poderia ser uma boa parte de uma história mais completa. E eu teria gostado mais de um livro mais longo nesse caso.
E eu odeio dizer, pq eu amo a Jen, mas já li outro livro com uma trama similar do qual eu gostei mais, e como nesse outro havia de fato tensão e angústia (o que muita gente chama de drama), não pude evitar esperar mais desse também.
Quando chegou a hora do grande conflito, que toda boa história tem que ter, não consegui acreditar que era só aquilo ou que já havia chegado a hora, primeiro porque para mim a história precisava de mais história. Precisava de mais desenvolvimento e, segundo, porque eu estava esperando algo diferente. A mocinha que parecia, e deveria, ser tão decidida, para mim, não pareceu tão decidida assim e as atitudes dela não condisseram com quem ela aparentava ser.
Eu gostei do livro, mas infelizmente ele não me deixou completamente satisfeita. Mesmo não tendo amado, há vários elementos que eu amo, como romance e até humor, então ainda assim recomendo a leitura (afinal cada leitor sente um livro de forma diferente).
May 10, 2016
WOW!!! I absolutely FLOVED this book! I finished this in a few hours because I COULD NOT put it down! Sterling is a 'new to me' author and I am SO FREAKING glad I found her! Love is messy. Love is beautiful. This story of LOVE will melt your FREAKING heart!
OMG! This book...THIS BOOK!!! I loved it...adored it...devoured it!
DHIHY had some of the best characters EVER! The secondary characters, Lucas and Tami....AHHH! They were BRILLIANT!
Sweet, sexy, deep, meaningful, emotional...this book had it all! I was a slave to every single word! It felt so REAL to me and I immersed myself into the story from page one. I didn't know what to expect with the being a new author for me, so I went in with no expectations whatsoever. After finishing this epic romance, I was just blown away by the brilliance of it all. The author's ability to make me feel SO MUCH brought such satisfaction my way. It was an astounding and amazing feeling for sure.
Jules and Cal were a fantastic pair! The chemistry...the connection they shared was instant and constant. I won't say there wasn't any angst, because there was, just of a different nature that I'm used to. There was no 'other lovers' to tear them apart. There was no 'dark past' to consume them. There was nothing forbidden about their connection. The only thing keeping them apart was their professional success. Jules and Cal has their professions and they were DAMN GOOD at them. Trying to pair THAT with a relationship? That's a little harder to manage. They weren't looking for this...they were looking out for themselves and their future. When these two become entangled, so much more is on the line. Choices need to made. Sacrifices need to be considered. They weren't looking for this, but they can't just let it go either.
If you are looking for a hella' ANGSTY read, look no further. If you are looking to couple that with a heart wrenching, beautiful, and emotional love story with a hard-fought HEA, STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING and purchase this story right now! You will feel things for these characters...you will root for these characters. Your heart will be broken and then carefully put back together. Sterling is an impeccable storyteller with a talent for bringing her characters to life. I'm so grateful to have found an author with such talent and heart. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.
*Gifted copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*
OMG! This book...THIS BOOK!!! I loved it...adored it...devoured it!
DHIHY had some of the best characters EVER! The secondary characters, Lucas and Tami....AHHH! They were BRILLIANT!
Sweet, sexy, deep, meaningful, emotional...this book had it all! I was a slave to every single word! It felt so REAL to me and I immersed myself into the story from page one. I didn't know what to expect with the being a new author for me, so I went in with no expectations whatsoever. After finishing this epic romance, I was just blown away by the brilliance of it all. The author's ability to make me feel SO MUCH brought such satisfaction my way. It was an astounding and amazing feeling for sure.
Jules and Cal were a fantastic pair! The chemistry...the connection they shared was instant and constant. I won't say there wasn't any angst, because there was, just of a different nature that I'm used to. There was no 'other lovers' to tear them apart. There was no 'dark past' to consume them. There was nothing forbidden about their connection. The only thing keeping them apart was their professional success. Jules and Cal has their professions and they were DAMN GOOD at them. Trying to pair THAT with a relationship? That's a little harder to manage. They weren't looking for this...they were looking out for themselves and their future. When these two become entangled, so much more is on the line. Choices need to made. Sacrifices need to be considered. They weren't looking for this, but they can't just let it go either.
If you are looking for a hella' ANGSTY read, look no further. If you are looking to couple that with a heart wrenching, beautiful, and emotional love story with a hard-fought HEA, STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING and purchase this story right now! You will feel things for these characters...you will root for these characters. Your heart will be broken and then carefully put back together. Sterling is an impeccable storyteller with a talent for bringing her characters to life. I'm so grateful to have found an author with such talent and heart. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.
*Gifted copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review*
February 6, 2017
Jules is away on a work conference in Boston when she meets Cal. They both are very career driven people and seem to have a lot in common. They spend one weekend together that leaves them both feeling sad that they live so far apart because one weekend just doesn’t seem to be enough.
Cal has a career plan and a relationship with someone would completely interfere with that but he finds himself constantly thinking about Jules and decides to visit her for the weekend. This visit ends up opening even more doors for him and potentially more time in LA.
Jules is completely swept up in being with Cal and every thought she has seems to involve him. Therefore when things change between them she is left feeling confused and angry with her heart for letting her fall so quickly.
This was another fabulous read from Jenn Sterling.
Cal has a career plan and a relationship with someone would completely interfere with that but he finds himself constantly thinking about Jules and decides to visit her for the weekend. This visit ends up opening even more doors for him and potentially more time in LA.
Jules is completely swept up in being with Cal and every thought she has seems to involve him. Therefore when things change between them she is left feeling confused and angry with her heart for letting her fall so quickly.
This was another fabulous read from Jenn Sterling.
July 3, 2016
This review is difficult for me to write , because i typically LOVE j sterlings books . I would rate this between 3 and 4 stars but im rounding it up. Honestly the instant attraction with jules and cal felt forced to me . They automatically hung out and wanted each other and developed feelings for each other immediately . I felt like it was extremely relatable when Jules was waiting around for Cal and having an inner dialogue with herself . We all have a struggle within ourselves about something. Personally i felt the characters didnt seem like real people , but j sterling is an amazing writer and i cant bear to give 3 stars!!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 1, 2016
The title, the cover and the synopsis all drew me into this book and of course the fact that it was penned by "The Real Jen Sterling!!"
J Sterling never fails to deliver with her characters and here we had two characters that were impossible not to fall in love with. Two people that were career minded, hated relationships, lived thousands of miles apart yet still somehow knew that what they had was so special that they had to make it work. The connection and chemistry were fantastic and I loved the direction with which their story went. Realistic and totally loved it.
J Sterling never fails to deliver with her characters and here we had two characters that were impossible not to fall in love with. Two people that were career minded, hated relationships, lived thousands of miles apart yet still somehow knew that what they had was so special that they had to make it work. The connection and chemistry were fantastic and I loved the direction with which their story went. Realistic and totally loved it.
May 12, 2016
4.25 stars
July 1, 2016
Dear book, I like you and I enjoyed reading you but sorry you have to settle for 3 stars. I would give you 4 stars but your insta love story was suck.
May 29, 2016
Original review: The Daydreaming Bookworm
Jules Abbot and Cal Donovan meet at a bar in Boston and sparks fly between the two. Jules and Cal are both career driven individuals who are all work and no play. Neither have time for a relationship, but the heart is not one to play by the rules. The only thing standing between these two, other than their careers, is distance, as Jules lives in California and Cal lives in Boston. When Jules heads back to the sunny West Coast, the two stay in touch with early morning text messages and late night conversations. But when the distance becomes too much, one of them will choose to walk away and both of them will be left heartbroken.
I’m not too sure if it’s the cover or if it’s the synopsis, but I went into this book thinking that it would be some sort of twisted romance. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Dear Heart, I Hate You was actually a sweet contemporary romance and I’m not even upset about it. I definitely needed my fluffy read fix and this book hit just the spot!
This book screams INSTA-LOVE so if you are not a fan of the trope, PROCEED WITH CAUTION! I wasn’t too put off by the instant connection between Cal and Jules because even though it happened fast, they are both like-minded individuals so I can definitely see why they were so drawn to each other. Their back and forth banter was hilarious and sweet, but what I liked most was Cal and Jules personalities. They are both career driven and it may just be me and my current situation, but I just related to their ambitious drive so much. I loved reading about their goals and what they hoped to achieve, even though those same goals and dreams were what held these two back from being together.
The secondary characters were entertaining bunch and they all kept pushing Cal and Jules to be together. My two favorite secondary characters were Cooper and Katherine. I want to know exactly what went down between these two. There was mention of a accident that left them barely alive and I NEED ANSWERS!
Although there were a lot of things I liked, there were some things that didn’t work for me. When things became rocky between Jules and Cal, we were only shown things from Jules POV. Cal was basically non-existent during these chapters and I really wanted to know what was going on in his mind and his reasoning behind why he made the the choices he did. Also, things were wrapped up pretty quickly and I was left wanting just a little bit more. HEAs are inevitable, but maybe there could’ve been a little bit more of a build up.
Dear Heart, I Hate You was quick and entertaining weekend read and I would definitely recommend picking it up if you are in the mood for a light contemporary. Now I must wait for Cooper and Katherine’s story because I really want to know what happened between these two. Hopefully, their story leaves me with a more satisfied feeling.
Jules Abbot and Cal Donovan meet at a bar in Boston and sparks fly between the two. Jules and Cal are both career driven individuals who are all work and no play. Neither have time for a relationship, but the heart is not one to play by the rules. The only thing standing between these two, other than their careers, is distance, as Jules lives in California and Cal lives in Boston. When Jules heads back to the sunny West Coast, the two stay in touch with early morning text messages and late night conversations. But when the distance becomes too much, one of them will choose to walk away and both of them will be left heartbroken.
I’m not too sure if it’s the cover or if it’s the synopsis, but I went into this book thinking that it would be some sort of twisted romance. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Dear Heart, I Hate You was actually a sweet contemporary romance and I’m not even upset about it. I definitely needed my fluffy read fix and this book hit just the spot!
This book screams INSTA-LOVE so if you are not a fan of the trope, PROCEED WITH CAUTION! I wasn’t too put off by the instant connection between Cal and Jules because even though it happened fast, they are both like-minded individuals so I can definitely see why they were so drawn to each other. Their back and forth banter was hilarious and sweet, but what I liked most was Cal and Jules personalities. They are both career driven and it may just be me and my current situation, but I just related to their ambitious drive so much. I loved reading about their goals and what they hoped to achieve, even though those same goals and dreams were what held these two back from being together.
The secondary characters were entertaining bunch and they all kept pushing Cal and Jules to be together. My two favorite secondary characters were Cooper and Katherine. I want to know exactly what went down between these two. There was mention of a accident that left them barely alive and I NEED ANSWERS!
Although there were a lot of things I liked, there were some things that didn’t work for me. When things became rocky between Jules and Cal, we were only shown things from Jules POV. Cal was basically non-existent during these chapters and I really wanted to know what was going on in his mind and his reasoning behind why he made the the choices he did. Also, things were wrapped up pretty quickly and I was left wanting just a little bit more. HEAs are inevitable, but maybe there could’ve been a little bit more of a build up.
Dear Heart, I Hate You was quick and entertaining weekend read and I would definitely recommend picking it up if you are in the mood for a light contemporary. Now I must wait for Cooper and Katherine’s story because I really want to know what happened between these two. Hopefully, their story leaves me with a more satisfied feeling.
June 13, 2016
I'm finishing this one feeling a little disappointed. I started out really into this audiobook and even raved to a good friend about it. I LOVED the chemistry and banter of the main characters and was really intrigued to see where everything would go. Somewhere toward the middle things started to decline for me. It just felt like nothing much was happening, but I was happy to go with it. Toward the end, Cal, the hero made me so mad that I just couldn't get over it in the time that was left in the book. The reasoning behind his extreme and cowardly actions was dumb and that coupled with the lackluster middle really effected my enjoyment. I liked it, but didn't even up loving it like I thought I would after the awesome beginning.
only-if-nothing-else
June 16, 2016
All the signs are telling me to shelve this one for another day as it's taken me 24 hours to read only 11%, and I'm resorting to doing housework as a distraction! There's really nothing outwardly wrong with it so far but I'm just not feeling it right now :( Hopefully I'll pick it up when the mood hits again.
April 20, 2017
I hate to give so few stars, but this one really didn't work for me. I wanted to stop reading many times, but managed to stick it out with some skimming at the end.
Very weak plot, I could summarize the book in two quick sentences. I'm bummed, because Jenn Sterling seems so cool, and I really wanted to like this. :(
Very weak plot, I could summarize the book in two quick sentences. I'm bummed, because Jenn Sterling seems so cool, and I really wanted to like this. :(
December 21, 2016
**3-3.5 stars**
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