Penelope Ward | February 15, 2016 | Romance
★★★★
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From New York Times Bestselling Author, Penelope Ward, comes a new standalone novel.
Sharing a summer house with a hot-as-hell roommate should be a dream come true, right?
Not when it’s Justin…the only person I’d ever loved…who now hates me.
When my grandmother died and left me half of the house on Aquidneck Island, there was a catch: the other half would go to the boy she helped raise.
The same boy who turned into the teenager whose heart I broke years ago.
The same teenager who’s now a man with a hard body and a hardass personality to match.
I hadn’t seen him in years, and now we’re living together because neither one of us is willing to give up the house.
The worst part? He didn’t come alone.
I’d soon realize there’s a thin line between love and hate. I could see through that smug smile. Beneath it all…the boy is still there. So is our connection.
The problem is…now that I can’t have Justin, I’ve never wanted him more.
Author's note – RoomHate is a full-length standalone novel. Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.
{ about penelope ward } .
Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor, before switching to a more family-friendly career. She is the proud mother of a beautiful 11-year-old girl with autism and a 9-year-old boy. Penelope and her family reside in Rhode Island.{ review } .
What a cute story.Years ago, at the young ages of ten and eleven, Amelia and Justin became quick friends. With an eye patch over her good eye, the last thing she wanted to do was meet the cute new boy but he didn't let her shy away. Instead, he patched his own eye, dubbed her "Patch", and so began a lovely friendship. However, things would change once teenaged hormones got in the way, and Amelia ran far...
Now, her grandmother has passed and left the island home to both her and Justin, whom she hasn't seen in ten years. That first summer, the cohabitate, along with his girlfriend, and the animosity between Justin and Amelia is thick and strong.
Now. This story is told completely in Amelia's point of view, aside from the epilogue. That said, as a reader I could feel that Justin's anger toward Amelia was every bit due to past hurts and feelings of unrequited love. But Amelia didn't get that. Watching these two battle living together for the summer and figuring out how to 'split' the house and their time at the house... well, when the feelings were of anger and bitterness, it simply hurt. These two had been the very best of friends and in the blink of an eye, everything had changed.
However, watching these two learn to let go of the past and relearn their old best friend... that was where the loveliness of the story happened.
This story takes place over a decent span of time -- a good two years or so. There was a lot of character growth between both Amelia and Justin. Amelia has trust issues to go through, and Justin has some other... familial issues to deal with, but these two were extremely fun to read.
As a whole, their story felt very real. This was more than best friends to lovers, second chance romance, and sworn enemies coming together. This was a beautiful story of two people who made mistakes in their teens (who doesn't), and finding a way in the adult world to make life work with one another. Being thrown together in a house was simply the first step -- go Nana.
The only thing keeping me from giving this story a 5-star, or even a 4.5-star, rating, would be the writing style. Now don't get me wrong -- I'm a Penelope Ward fan. I've not read many of her solo books, but I've read a few of her co-writing books for sure. She has a very easy writing style -- it's easy to read, easy to follow... But that said, I sometimes would miss the flow of a well-structured sentence. Many conversations felt choppy, and some of the monologue felt choppy, as well. I personally prefer fuller sentences that ebb and flow like a wave, and that typically isn't the way of Ms. Ward's writing style. Because of that, the book at times had a tendency of feeling much longer than it did. However, the storyline itself, the characterization, and my ever-favorite of the book, the epilogue, were all well executed. I enjoyed watching Amelia and Justin find their way back to one another -- and even enjoyed the flashbacks.
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