Love Between Enemies

Grad Night #2

by Molly E. Lee

Zoey Handler is ready to put an end to her decade-long rivalry with Gordon Meyers. They’ve traded top spot between valedictorian and salutatorian for years, but all that’s over now. Right? But after a crazy graduation speech prank gets out of hand, suddenly their rivalry turns into all-out war. Time to make peace with a little friendly payback.

Step one? Make him believe they’re now friends.

Step two? Show him the time of his life at an epic graduation party.

Step three? Don’t fall for his tricks.

Step four? Absolutely, positively, do not kiss him again.

So what if he’s cute? (Okay, hot.) So what if he’s charming? (Heaven help her, tempting.) So what if he apologizes? (That has to be fake.) She knows the real Gordon. And no matter how much her heart begs her to stop, there’s no turning back.

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary, Enemies To Lovers, High School, Contemporary Romance, Young Adult Romance

202 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 8, 2018

About the author

Molly E. Lee is an author best known for her romance novels, the Grad Night series and the Love on the Edge series. Molly writes Adult and Young Adult contemporary featuring strong female heroines who are unafraid to challenge their male counterparts, yet still vulnerable enough to have love sneak up on them. In addition to being a military spouse and mother of two + one stubborn English Bulldog, Molly loves watching storms from her back porch at her Midwest home, and digging for treasures in antique stores.

Reviews

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love Between Enemies by Molly E. Lee is the second book in the young adult contemporary romance Grad Night series. Each book in the series features a new couple and can be read as a standalone. The idea of the series is at the end of high school there is a big party setting up a last chance at romance between two graduates.

In this book Zoey and Gordon are the top two overachievers at their school and have been battling out each milestone in their academic careers for years. It’s always been a friendly sort of competition between the pair pushing them to each do that much better and work that much harder but they have never become friends due to the rivalry.

Right before graduation Gordon finds that Zoey won the scholarship that he had been desperately counting on for college even though he thought that just this once Zoey wasn’t competing against him. This starts a back and forth between the pair that heats up over the course of graduation night and the party after.

Now when deciding to rate this one I was on the fence yet again with my feelings about this book. On one hand it was a quick, light read that I flew right through reading and liked the ease of the writing and the idea behind two “enemies” becoming something more. On the other hand however I found it to be a bit too over the top to be believable.

The story is told by changing the point of view between the characters which lets a reader know what each is thinking all throughout. The pair had some wires crossed which leads to the night in question and revenge plot that is in play. My problem really was it all seemed to be too high of stakes to one minute be hating one another and the next morning in love. The rushed insta-love can be overlooked since that’s the idea of the series but when we’re talking the rich girl taking money from the poor boy because she can and all forgiven by morning I can’t say I believe it which I’d like to by the end of a romance.

I’m going to stay a bit neutral with my rating on this one because it wasn’t necessarily one I disliked but I did wish the author had given the pair a set up that was a bit less of a life changing situation to resolve in a night. Simply something like losing out as valedictorian at the last minute to the girl you’d competed against would have me believing the one night tale a bit more. And I’d also give a warning that this should probably be more for older teens with the partying and drinking involved in the story.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.wordpress....

[Rê · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 “Team Gordon FTW” Stars

ARC via NetGalley

Thank you, Entangled Teen!

After reading and loving the first book in this series, I was anxious to get my hands on this!

With one of my favorite romantic tropes, Love Between Enemies shares a parallel timeline with Love in the Friend Zone. Like the first book, the story of Gordon and Zoey start at graduation day and stretches into the grad party, where we get most of the interactions between the two main characters.

I know not everyone is a fan of this format, but I think it works well for this series because these characters have all known each other for a really long time. They’ve seen each other almost every day for years, so I can’t really classify their feelings as “insta”-anything, even when it only takes one night for them to realize those feelings exist. You know what I’m saying?

Here, Zoey and Gordon have been each other’s closest competitors. This competitive dynamic makes them work harder every time to try to win/be the best student/get the prize or whatever is at stake. So though they aren’t exactly enemies, it’s clear they’re nemesis. Until Gordon loses a much-needed prize to Zoey and decides to act stupid because of it.

Of course Zoey can’t let it slide, so she comes up with a revenge plan of her own. But her revenge involves distracting Gordon, a.k.a. spending too much time with him, and that’s when things start to turn from hate to something else entirely.



Here’s the thing, though…. Gordon’s little revenge started the whole thing, but I still rooted for him the entire time, mostly because I could understand why he did what he did, but I couldn’t connect with Zoey’s reason…or how far she took her revenge plan.

The author did an amazing job establishing Gordon’s motivations and building a heartwarming relationship between Gordon and his dad. I was drawn to him instantly, and a few chapters in I was already tearing up reading scenes between those two. The love and respect in that relationship was beautiful and real and warmed my heart.

I also loved how hard Gordon worked to get the things he had and how serious he was about school and the family’s business. They weren’t exactly poor, but they were hard-working people, and that always gets to me.

Zoey, on the other hand, came from a place of privilege. Her family was wealthy and, despite my admiration for how hard she worked to prove herself, she had her future set for her. I’m not saying she should’ve have been upset at how people thought she had everything handed to her and judged her for it. Or that she shouldn’t be proud of herself for working just as hard as Gordon for her academic success. But she still needed to acknowledge her place of privilege. I understood her intentions and motivation, but I was annoyed that she didn’t see there were people who needed that prize a lot more than she did.

And here’s the thing, Gordon was wrong to do what he did, but his actions didn’t have half the consequence as her revenge plan did. She was plotting to ruin a person’s academic future and that was seriously messed up. Her revenge plan could also lead to much bigger problems for Gordon and his father—legal problems. There was simply no way I could get behind her and what she was doing.

I also expected Zoey to come into her own and do something about that terrible revenge plan much earlier, but things didn’t go exactly that way. For me, Zoey went too far into the bad side and took too long to come out of it. And even when she did, she didn’t exactly acknowledge her place of privilege. In the end, she did the right thing, but even that left a bad taste in my mouth, because it ended up making Gordon look like he only got the things he did because she interfered.


So while Zoey didn’t do it for me, Gordon was the real star of this story. I loved everything about him, especially the way he owned up to his mistake and immediately sought a way to apologize for what he did. And even if he didn’t get his happy ending the way I wanted him to, I was still thrilled for him.

[Jamie (Books and Ladders) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book and chose to review it. This in no way impacts my opinion.

Full review to come on Books and Ladders!

[Danielle's · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two rivals. Both ambitious and have similar goals.

Gordon Meyers studies hard and tries his best to be top of his class.
Zoey Handler is his biggest rival. They both want to be the best, but their motives differ.
Gordon lives with his dad. They own a store and are struggling to make ends meet. A full-ride scholarship to cover his education would take the pressure off.

Zoey is a rich girl and her dad wants to give her everything. He wants her to follow in his footsteps and learn the family business. Zoey wants to earn what she achieves and stand on her own feet. She earns the scholarship to Stanford.

Gordon can't believe the girl who has everything has won the scholarship. He can't help but take his revenge, but then feels guilty.

Will rivals always be rivals? Or could there be more to their relationship? A step too far may just push them both over the edge.

3.5 stars out of 5. Gordon is a sweet leading male character. He has always had a thing for Zoey he just doesn't realise it.

*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

[booknuts_ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing.

I picked it up literally because of the title, I thought it was going to be a hate-to-love type story. and it wasn't this needs to be renamed, "Biggest Miscommunication & Awful Revenge Ever"

This story is literally a story of 24 hours. The whole book takes place in a 24 hour period, yes I know I repeated myself.

I was bored with the characters, annoyed at the miscommunication and then when someone apologizes and you have the whole story the other one just continues with the revenge refusing to acknowledge the apology as if the person they've known forever and don't trust them? stupid.

Didn't like any of it. boo. sorry.

[Irma *Irma The Book Whisperer* · Rating 3 out of 5]

"All is fair in love and war."

Enemies to lovers are some of my favorite troupes and I enjoyed this one a lot.
I would prefer a bit more of angst, but I do realise this is a story for teens. Mollys books are a perfect pick for moms who gets asked by they daughters for their first romance book.

[Dani (Dani Reviews Things) · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF'd at 25%

I couldn't read any more. I hated what Zoey was doing, so much so that I could not get onboard the ship.

There are LEVELS to being mean, ok?

Mean: giving a passive aggressive speech about someone at graduation
Downright NASTY: plotting to ruin someone's financial and academic future

I get that Zoey wants to do things on her own, but at the end of the day, if she doesn't get an internship or scholarship, guess what? Her parents can still pay for her to go to college. But just because she has that backup, doesn't mean other people do, and yet she seemed to assume that other people can afford college easily (despite there being a massive problem in the US with tuition fees and student loans). I understand she was mortified and hurt, but playing with Gordon's future took things way too far. It was too risky and immature. (Yes, yes, yes, Gordon can get student loans and work but he still doesn't have a nice comfy cushion like Zoey.)

Before anyone comes at me about her being a teenager and not perfect and I'm expecting too much from an adolescent girl. No. Go away. If she's so smart and has worked so hard, she should know better. I can understand wanting to get revenge, but then embarrass him back, not deliberately choose to take opportunities for him that she wants but he needs. And yes, I would feel the same if this was a guy doing the same thing to a girl.

Other reviews have said that this happens over the span of 24 hours. They've also said that Gordon apologises for hurting Zoey at graduation, and yet she still continues with her revenge plot. As such, I could not stomach reading any more about her behaviour and choices, and I could not believe at all that they'd end up ~in love~ the next day.



I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Entangled for this opportunity and sorry this book and I didn't get on.

[Jae Mod · Rating 5 out of 5]

** ARC provided by the author for an honest review **

High school: the cliques, the pranks and the misconceptions of your peers. Molly E. Lee has captured the high school experience and turned it into a YA/NA series aptly named Grad Night. The characters go behind the illusions and discover themselves along with just how wrongly they have misjudged others. Love Between Enemies takes the biggest rivals at the school and strips away the falsities to show just how alike they really are.

Zoey Handler and Gordon Meyers have been rivals for years. Competitors for the coveted title of valedictorian, but now that they’ve graduated that’s behind them. Or it should be. But when a prank goes wrong war is declared. Who knew that the price of winning would mean falling for the enemy?

Both Zoey and Gordon are immature teens, Zoey a bit more than Gordon. This may turn some off of the book, but to me that made them real. Let’s face it, even after graduating we were all still immature know-it-alls that thought we could rule the world. Book smart doesn’t automatically equate to worldly knowledge. These two have a lot of growing up to do, and some of that happens on graduation night.

I was very impressed with the way these characters were brought to life. I felt that I was back in high school and experiencing all the drama that comes with. The enemies to lovers aspect of the story was a little harder to get into, only because I don’t think that when you are a teen you realize exactly who your enemies are. But that also added to the story of them discovering themselves and each other, and becoming aware that they aren’t really enemies and never truly were.

This was a pretty quick read for me and I love the YA/NA genre just as much as my ‘adult’ genres. This series has really impressed me so far and I cannot wait to see what happens next and get some more to the pieces of grad night. FIVE stars.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love Between Enemies is the second book in Molly's Grad Night series. Every book is standalone within the series. You do not need to read any of the others to follow along as there is no subplot throughout the books.

I am a huge fan of YA books - I enjoy reading them and I usually breeze through them within a day or two (depending on my schedule). But this one, I actually struggled to read and continue on with it. I ended up reading two books before I went back to finish this one and still had a hard time getting through it. It was just ok for me.

I think the biggest issue for me was the entire book was 24hrs - and lord, was it a LONG 24hrs. A lot happened and things between Gordon and Zoey changed, but I wish everything took place over a long period of time. I felt myself getting extremely bored and just wanted to get to the end. I did end up skimming a lot of the book because the angst just wasn't there for me.

The storyline was cute and I enjoyed that it was about 2 students who are super ambitious and competitive. But the situation felt dragged out and I just felt it all tied up too perfectly in the end, especially for everything happening in 24hrs.

I enjoyed Molly's writing and her characters which is why I didn't DNF the book. I just think the whole timeline is what killed the overall vibe for me.

If you don't mind a storyline being all of 24hrs and enjoy a sweet sort of enemies to lovers YA romance, this book might be for you.

[Bookgasms Book Blog · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second book in the Grad Night series, I loved how this one overlapped the first book and kept that feel - like you're in the middle of an old school teenage romcom with all the expected mishaps, laughs, zany antics, and swoons.

Unfortunately, it took me a long time to warm up to this book. I think part of the problem is that enemies-to-lovers is a very tricky trope for me and is the trope I most consistently fail to connect with. I spent a good portion of the beginning of this book annoyed with both main characters and waiting for the other shoe to drop. Because of that, I wasn't really able to enjoy the romance as it blossomed and I wasn't always patient with the flow of the book. I think a huge portion of this is chalked up to my own reader hang-ups and not so much about the writing of the book.

That said, I did appreciate that the angst was kept to a minimum and didn't go into the hateful territory I was afraid it was going to drift into. I felt like both Gordon and Zoey were redeemed in the end, and the ending - while quick and a little "neat" - was adorable and wholly appropriate for this age range and this plot set-up.

In the end, it wasn't a perfect reading experience for me, but I'm glad I read it. I am enjoying this series and can't wait to see what's in store for us next. ~ Shelly, 3 Stars

[Karen Mc · Rating 3 out of 5]

I LOVE a good enemies to more romance and wanted to love this one. However, I had some difficulty feeling Zoe and Gordons’ story. I didn’t feel their chemistry until the end. While I enjoyed the plot, I couldn’t connect to the story or the characters. I needed more dialogue between them and more writing about how they affected each other. I wanted to see and feel those sparks that should have been present in this story.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5*

The EntangledTeen Crush line is like a box of chocolates, in my opinion. Each books is temptingly sweet and incredibly hard to resist. Thankfully, Molly E. Lee's Love Between Enemies follows this trend perfectly. Taking place over twenty-four hours, Love Between Enemies deliciously blends together revenge, romance, and a series of mixed signals.

Love Between Enemies introduces Gordon and Zoey, two graduating seniors hoping to finally put their complicated, long-lasting rivalry to bed.

Gordon and Zoey are vastly similar. They're ambitious, fearless, and smart. They know what they want and they'll do anything to achieve it. I appreciated how hardworking they were, as it was nice to see two characters who put their futures first.

Out of the two, I liked Gordon the most. He was sweet, caring, and family orientated. His relationship with his dad always brought a smile to my face, and I especially loved how he'd do anything to save his father's beloved restaurant. I don't think many teens would step up as much as Gordon did.

Zoey, on the other hand, was likable once you got past her hard exterior. At first she seemed cold and heartless, but as more was revealed about her life, the more I realized that nothing was as perfect as it seemed. She struggled to be independent from her parents - free to make her own decisions. I could understand why she'd want that, and I rooted for it to prove herself to her parents, to show them that she should make her own choices and do a fantastic job at it.

The plot in this was nothing new or groundbreaking. It's the typical enemies-to-lovers romance with some revenge mixed in, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless. Even with the twenty-four hour timeline, Molly packed in a lot of fun events and drama. I also liked how she brought other Grad Night books into this - you see portions of the first book as well as the third occurring on the sidelines.

There were a few aspects I didn't like. For one, the ending seemed a bit too perfect. Yes, it was exciting and happy, but I couldn't believe that all of that was so easily achievable in twenty four hours. Second of all, I wanted more romance! Most of the book plays on the "will-or-won't-they?" angle, and while I always love that kind of thing, I wanted more swoon.

Overall, Love Between Enemies is a cute, happy-go-lucky kind of read.

[Meaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zoey and Gordon were everything I wanted from this book. High school competitors over grades (and everything else) with sparks and lies and tricks and epic kisses... Loved it!

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Between Enemies is one of those reads that practically turns the pages for you--it's that readable. The whole book (with the exception of a tiny prologue) takes place in a single day--the bulk of it during the evening, at their graduation party--hence the title. It occurs simultaneously with books one and three in the series ( Love in the Friend Zone and the as-yet unnamed book featuring Lennon and Jade) and though you get tiny glimpses into the drama that is going on with the other couples at the party, each works fine as a standalone and the order you read them in shouldn't really matter.

Though the aforementioned glimpses pretty much ensure you want to read them all...

To be honest, for most of the book I liked Gordon more than I liked Zoey (though his misunderstanding of their mini-almost-non-conversation in the prologue felt a bit forced, it was necessary for the plot) because her need for revenge for what he does on the morning of graduation felt way, way out of proportion given their different situations, especially since she admits herself that a whole lot of people didn't "get" that he'd even dissed her. Her plan and its possible implications could have had real and lasting effect on years of his life, not just embarrassed him and made him cry once. She manages to make it okay in the end, but can you say overreact much?

Knowing the potential disaster that the two of them were barreling toward gave reading this a train-wreck-is-going-to-happen-any-minute-and-I-can't-look-away-from-it-just-in-case feel. The climax is truly horrifying, and Zoey fortunately pulls out all the stops in trying to make amends (as she should!). Though the fixes seem a bit too easy, they're what probably should have happened all along, so it's hard to be too nitpicky. The two of them really are cute together, which kind of makes everyone involved a bit sorry they've wasted most of the book not being cute together--but hey, those last few pages are adorable!

How soon until book three?

Rating: 4 stars / B+

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

[Rowena · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a really quick read and considering the entire story takes place in one night, it kind of made sense. I'm going to have to think on my review for this one because on one hand, I absolutely adored Gordon. He saved this story for me. Had it not been for him, I probably would have DNF'd this one once I realized what Zoey's plan was and that brings me to the reason I almost walked away from this book. Zoey. Her privilege, her thinking, her every breath pissed me off and even at the end when we get the happily ever after, I still was seething about her. She didn't deserve Gordon...and no amount of convincing from anyone is going to convince otherwise.

So, Gordon. He is the reason that I can't bear to give this book less than 3 stars. He, himself, deserves more than that but his story? Meh. He deserved far better.

*edited to add: I changed my mind, I'm still mad about the story so Gordon gets all of the stars but the story itself only gets about 2 stars from me. Gah.*

Full review to come when I'm not so...all over the place.

[Gill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m on the fence with this book. On one hand it was a light, easy read that I read in one go. On the other hand the story was all a bit ridiculous and over the top.

I liked the interchanging points of view of Zoey and Gordon, it gave us a nice insight to them both. However their relationship came out of nowhere, they went from frenemies to really hating each other to being in love all in the same night. This story was insta-love to the max and I found that factor a bit cringey. I wouldn’t have minded it being over the period of one night, if it hadn’t been such a drastic change in emotions for the short space of time.

I understood why Gordon did what he did, I empathised with him despite him doing a shitty thing. I never connected with Zoey’s reasoning or the lengths she went to for revenge. It felt so OTT and unnecessary. She took far too long to recognise her privilege and even though she did the right thing in the end, it didn’t sit right with me.

Gordon was the stand out star of this story for me, I really loved his character and all of his flaws.

[Richelle Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gordon and Zoey have been in competition with each other since they were young kids. They both make judgment and assessments of each other without knowing the full story or background. Gordon is a hard working student with a heart of gold!! I loved him and his hard work ethic. Zoey surprised me as well as she wasn’t your typical rich kid and worked twice as hard to prove everyone wrong.

I’ve never read anything by this author and this was a cute read. At first I thought it was going to be your typical YA read but it taught a very important lesson about judging others, mending fences and acceptance. I liked how the author was able to convey this message with her story telling! I also purchased “Love In The Friend Zone” and I can’t wait for the next book about Lennon and Jade!

Love in the Friend Zone

“Received an ARC for which I voluntarily provided an honest review."

For more reviews check me out at: http://www.shellysbookcorner.com

[Ankita Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading a serious mystery thriller, I had been in search of a sweet YA (,because it's my comfort genre, if that's even a term!) novel and though this was far from sweet -until the very ending- it did the job pretty well.

The story spans twenty-four hours, a single day, that changes the lives of Zoey and Gordon.

One misunderstood conversation leads to a day full of destruction, hurt, revenge plans and broken dreams.

But the story ends on a positive note, and that's what made me raise up the rating to four. I loved the ending!

Love Between Enemies is the perfect read if you're looking for something short sweet and hundred percent YA!

[Ashleigh Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another super cute YA from Molly E Lee! I love YA and this series is no exception. It's so awesome that there are so many different stories happening at the same time and overlapping with one another. I will admit, I didn't love this story as much as the first, but it was still really good. I fell hard and fast for Gordon, but it took me a bit to really like Zoey. I understand Zoey had her own personal struggles that she kept to herself, but doing so made it hard for me to care for her. I still feel like she's petty, not just simply misunderstood. She did mostly redeem herself by the end, but not totally in my eyes. Maybe I'm to tough of a critic?
Anyways, it's still a super cute enemies to lovers story and it's YA, so it's right up my alley. Can't wait for book 3!

[Lenore Kosinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://celebrityreaders.com/2018/01/0...

I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

3.5 stars — This one started off fantastically and ended leaving me super duper happy… It was just the middle that stretched a bit more than I’d like. Basically the book suffered from some similar pitfalls, or rather things that bothered me, as the first book in this series; I think I just had slightly less patience than I did for the first one. But quite a few of the things I loved about the first book were also present in this one. The funny thing is the concept of having the book take place in a 24 hour period was both a great strength because it made the book very unique, but also a source of trouble, as it makes the conflict in the book drag out a lot of the time. I’m not sure if I’m making sense. But it was another case of “will they, won’t they” and “I made a mistake, no I should stick to my guns.” Which is OK for a bit, but when it goes on too long I lose interest and just want to get to the next thing. This one was close, but…just a bit too much.

But getting back to the beginning…while you definitely don’t need to read the first book in the series, I did and so I was already curious about what had happened to make Gordon snap, and what Zoey’s revenge plan was. I was worried that I wouldn’t end up liking either character actually, b/c they both didn’t leave a great impression in the previous book. And quite frankly, I don’t tend to seek out enemies to lovers stories b/c hate can make me uncomfortable…but Zoey and Gordon weren’t really enemies so much as adversaries…competitors. So it definitely wasn’t a normal enemies to lovers story, and I appreciated that personally. So all that to say that right from the prologue and first chapter I was relieved to connect with both Gordon and Zoey. And I didn’t have to wait very long to have my curiosity satisfied and to understand what would make Gordon and Zoey make such poor choices. And I did understand them. Both of them, though I will admit I sympathized more with Gordon’s situation than Zoey’s, but they were both struggling with challenges.

I liked Zoey well enough, but I can’t honestly say I really fell in love with her. She was bright and fun and determined, but always it was overshadowed by her narrow minded focus on revenge. She was so tunneled in to her own problems, I feel like she forgot that if she didn’t confide in anyone, then they might not realize what her home life was like. One thing I did appreciate about her side of the story is that while her parents weren’t the best, they were also not monsters…basically they were flawed as well, and 3 dimensional. I liked how that resolved in the end, though part of me is not entirely sure if she learned a bigger lesson with all that happened… Obviously she regretted her revenge plan, but did she understand that perhaps not everyone’s motivations are the same? Hmmm….

My heart broke for Gordon, and I can honestly say that I *did* fall in love with him. He was smart, hardworking, kind, loyal to his family, and just kind of adorable in his cluelessness. I feel like he learned more lessons than Zoey did…though I suppose I wish it would have been more obvious if he learned not to judge other people based on things he sees on the outside. The only thing that disappointed me a bit with his side of the story was how often he would almost tell Zoey the full story, but then choose not to. I understood why; he didn’t want that to be the excuse for his behavior, b/c it was wrong no matter what. But it was frustrating how often he’d cut himself off right before… Perhaps if it never came up it would have bothered me less.

These books are interesting b/c in terms of steaminess, they are good examples of young adult…innocent and sweet and cute. I liked how innocent Zoey and Gordon were, and that made their kiss that much more satisfying. BUT in terms of the details in the partying, the drinking games, I could see some stricter readers classifying it more mature young adult. For me, I kind of liked that it didn’t pull any punches in that direction, it made it feel more authentic and realistic. And now I want to play True Americans, or at least figure out what it’s about. They definitely had a lot of fun moments at the party together, learning what it would be like if they supported instead of competed.

I loved seeing little glimpses of Braylen and Fynn throughout the story, and I’m just that much more excited to see what’s going on with Lennon and Jade. I wouldn’t have minded more stories from this group of seniors. But this one was a bit lighter on the secondary cast. We did get Gordon’s Dad, who was amazeballs, but most of the others played very small roles.

So all in all I still really enjoyed myself, just not *quite* as much as with Bray and Fynn. But I seriously can’t wait for the next one.

[Leila · Rating 1 out of 5]

ok...so I love the enemies to lovers trope. It's my all time favorite romance trope. I tend to scour the internet or bookstores for such stories.
Well, this one, although not horrible, was definitely yawn inducing. In the beginning I was engaged and then all the thrill and the character development as well as the writing went downhill. The chapters that detailled the grad party were boring and quite frankly there was so much name dropping out of nowhere that I just couldn't keep up and I also didn't want to.
Hard pass for me.
Leila out.

[Deniz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
Cute and fun
Lots of swoony and perfect amount of fluffy
Nice
Aka the prefect Saturday morning book

[Read InAGarden · Rating 2 out of 5]

Teens may really enjoy this quick romance but it was hard for this reader buy the whole "24 hours can change two people, who've known each other forever, into bitter enemies then love interests, then enemies then love interests again" plot.

[Keanna (JustKey) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Days away from graduation, the years of fierce competitions and challenges are coming to close especially with this big internship both Zoey and Gordon. These two have been enemies since elementary, but when bad news of his father's shop is closed, a botched grad speech, a revenge plan, stolen keys, a couple of drinking games later, and an eye-opening kiss later; these two are in for a rollercoaster of feelings.

I really love these two! Despite always being against one another their entire lives; they realized that no one could challenge the way they could to the other and they work better together. Zoey & Gordon are my sweet needs who I love so much.

[lacy white · Rating 3 out of 5]

A special thank you goes out to Entangled Teen for allowing me to read this early. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 stars.

Please note: even though this says #2 of the Grad Night series, you can read this as a standalone.

This was such a fun book, even though I struggled to rate it. I felt 4 stars was too much but 3 stars was too low. It took my favorite trope, the friends to lovers trope, and reworked it into something that was totally different but still the same trope I know and love. I just didn't click with the characters like I wanted too. I think part of that might be this book happens in a span of two days. We don't get a chance to really bond with the characters in two days.

Speaking of the characters, we follow the two MC's, Zoey and Gordon. Two seniors who are in constant competition with each other, even though they graduated high school. they are the two smartest people in their grade, constantly trying to one up each other. After a huge misunderstanding, Zoey plots her revent. But she didn't expect to catch feels.

The book really appealed to my competitive nature. Just as Zoey and Gordon are constantly trying to outdo each other, I do the same to myself with gaming. Say I heal for 10k as Mercy in Overwatch. I will try and up that. This book was all about competition and I liked it.

As for the characters, I liked them both equally. I didn't super bond with them but I appericated thier POVS nonetheless. I liked how much Gordon cared. He cared about his dad, the restaurant and even Zoey when he beat her at the different competitions. I loved Zoey's tenacity. Despite being bullied for having money, she always kept her head up and didin let the haters bring her down.

A couple of rep points. One is for poor people (which I'm really liking when books have that rep. It's something that I can very much relate too). Another is for a guy wearing makeup. One character, named Jesse, wears makeup and it's totally accepted.

Overall, this was a fun read. If the friends to lovers trope is your thing, like it is mine, then be sure to pick this up!

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

Immediately after finishing Love in the Friend Zone, I started this book. Again, set at the same high school graduation party as in book 1, this time we follow Gordon and Zoey, who have been competing for all the awards and accolades in school their entire careers - including for the valedictorian spot. It soon becomes apparant that the scholarship that Gordon actually needs to go to college with has been won by Zoey, who he thought hadn't applied as she didn't actually need the scholarship for college. So, during the graduation ceremony, he plays a prank on her that backfires, and leads Zoey to want to punish him at the party. By pretending to be into him, and then breaking his heart, she thinks she has a solid plan, but she soon finds out who the real Gordon is, and wants to stop the plan, but it's too late.

I definitely preferred this book to book 1, though still some aspects of it did annoy me. Zoey was a tough character to understand, or even like, but Gordon was sweet and definitely a good character for this kind of book. I think because of how alike, and at the same time, how different the two were, it made their romance more believable that Fynn and Braylen's, but it was still very fast - again everything took place over a day. Even so, I liked it - it was nice, fast, and enjoyable, and just what I needed in the post Christmas slump that is January.

[Marissa Chavez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness! I absolutely loved Zoey and Gordon! I loved that they had this history between them that ties everything together! I was so happy that they finally got together and that everything worked between them! I need more of Zoey and Gordon! 🌳💖

[Marisela M. Chavez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Zoey & Gordon story so much. I couldn’t of asked for a better story.

[Pragati · Rating 3 out of 5]

For full review - Love Between Enemies on The Inked In Book Blog

*ARC received in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts are my own and in no way biased.*

Love Between Enemies follows the story of two graduating seniors – Zoey & Gordon. They’ve competed over everything right from kindergarten – from science fairs to debates to scholarships and exams. Everything. This deep rooted rivalry has never let them become friends, but they respect each other. Everything is going fine for them till their graduation day. Gordon was hoping to win the scholarship he’d tried hard to secure to pay for Stanford, but on graduation morning he finds out that Zoey was the one to win it. He’d received some upsetting news in the morning, add to that the fact that Zoey won the scholarship he so desperately needed when he thought she wasn’t even competing for it. It causes him to snap and he uses mean words to introduce her as the valedictorian in his salutatorian speech at the ceremony. He regrets it immediately and hunts Zoey down to apologize to her. But, Zoey is hell bent on getting revenge for what he did and plays him. Over the course of the night, she actually starts developing feelings for him, but by then, the damage is already done. Will they be able to trust each other after everything?

As far as stories go, it was an enjoyable read, though it was pretty predictable. Also, the insta love was a bummer. Granted, they didn’t profess their undying love for each other by the end of the night, but it seemed as if they just had these intense feelings about each other in a matter of hours. They’ve known each other since they were in kindergarten and they’ve never felt anything about each other. But, now, all of a sudden they’ve realized that they’re sort of perfect for each other. What is this sorcery? It wasn’t really believable.

Zoey, I liked. I loved that her father had a huge business and more money than he knew what to do with, but Zoey didn’t think of herself better because of it. In fact, it made her work harder because she didn’t want to ride on her father’s coattails. That is admirable. She worked hard year round to earn the scholarship and to apply for the internship (again, her and Gordon are the prime contenders for it) before she went to Stanford. She refused her parents’ help for anything school related because she wanted to do it on her own. But, what I felt was no other facet of her personality apart from this need to prove herself were showcased in the book. I would have like to know more about her other than that she wasn’t a glory hound and that she knew how to hold a grudge (hence the whole revenge against Gordon plan).

Then, there’s Gordon. He’s smart and hardworking and humble. I love how much he loves his father and how much he wants to help his father save their restaurant. It’s really endearing. We know he can be a little spiteful when vulnerable, but he has a good heart and he regrets stuff when he knows he’s wrong. He wants to be a good man – someone like his father. He’s selfless and understanding in light of his father’s troubles and is ready to give up on his dream of going to Stanford because of it. I thought that was really nice of him. He’s also wicked smart and has the knack of a good businessman as shown in the book. His was a really nice character.

I would have liked if both Zoey & Gordon’s parents would have had more screen space, especially Zoey’s, because they were such interesting and good characters and their relationship with their kids was great! I liked how they were involved in their kids’ lives despite being busy, even if I abhorred the fact that Zoey’s parents didn’t make it to her graduation to listen to her speech because of a business meeting. I mean, what parent misses their kid’s valedictorian speech with the excuse that “they’re heard it hundreds of times before and it’s really good” because they have business to attend to?

Overall, it was a good, enjoyable, lighthearted read.

[Tia Mele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Between Enemies is the follow up to Molly’s Love in the Friend Zone. The books take place over the course of the same night, grad night, but follow two different couples. In Love Between Enemies, Zoey is pissed at Gordon. And rightfully so. He totally messed up her valedictorian speech, her big moment, by making his own speech as jerky as possible. Gordon had a reason, of course – he thought Zoey betrayed him on purpose. Basically the entire book happens because of a misunderstanding that made a competitive streak between two students into a full on rivalry.
Zoey wants payback and in order to do it, she lures Gordon into being her friend and then sabotages his chances at an internship they’re both going for. She doesn’t expect to fall in love with him along the way. And of course her best friend is too busy with her own problems (see Love in the Friend Zone) to help, so Zoey ends up digging herself into a hole she has to struggle to climb out of.
I was surprised by how real this book was. Zoey is a spoiled rich girl with daddy’s money backing up any decision she makes. But she doesn’t want her dad’s company to be all she’s known for. She wants to make her own name in the world, and that’s highly respectable. Zoey may have been a spoiled rich girl, but she never acted that way and she worked hard to get to where she was. Zoey is a character to admire and look up to, even though she makes a lot of mistakes in the book.
Gordon isn’t a spoiled rich kid. He’s actually the opposite, and he’s got a lot on his place. His mother died and his father may lose the business that Gordon loves. He finds out about the possible closing of the restaurant the morning of graduation, and then he finds out he lost a scholarship to Zoey. Like I said, his speech, while extremely cruel to Zoey, had a lot of emotional baggage behind it. I’m not saying what he did was right, but I’m glad that he was a redeemable character. It was nice that he wasn’t a jerk to be a jerk and that Gordon was deeply examined as a character.
Together, Gordon and Zoey are not surprising at all. They’re fiercely motivated and competitive. They make perfect sense together. They’ve spent so much time competing that they’ve only succeeded in making each other better as people and as students. What was surprising was that Zoey would try to seduce Gordon only to tear him down. After what he did to Zoey during graduation, payback was inevitable. Ruining Gordon’s entire future? Probably not the most redeemable quality in Zoey. She did make everything better in the end, though, which is why I still support Zoey.
This book isn’t as quick to read as some of Entangled’s other books because of the emotional depth of both characters and the ultimate betrayal committed by (and fixed by) Zoey in the final third of the book. It’s still a one sitting kind of book, but it did take me a bit longer than even Love in the Friend Zone did. I’m not complaining – it’s great to see emotional complexity in seemingly childish books. Way to go, Molly!