The Dirty Book Girls: Review-Dating You, Hating You by Christina Lauren

All’s fair in love and work. The first standalone romance by New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Christina Lauren (Beautiful Bastard) is a sexy, compulsively readable romantic comedy that dives headlong into the thrill and doubt of modern love.

Despite the odds against them from an embarrassing meet-awkward at a mutual friend’s Halloween party, Carter and Evie immediately hit it off. Even the realization that they’re both high-powered agents at competing firms in Hollywood isn’t enough to squash the fire.

But when their two agencies merge—causing the pair to vie for the same position—all bets are off. What could have been a beautiful, blossoming romance turns into an all-out war of sabotage. Carter and Evie are both thirtysomething professionals—so why can’t they act like it?

Can Carter stop trying to please everyone and see how their mutual boss is really playing the game? Can Evie put aside her competitive nature long enough to figure out what she really wants in life? Can their actor clients just be something close to human? Whether these two Hollywood love/hatebirds get the storybook Hollywood ending or just a dramedy of epic proportions, you will get to enjoy Christina Lauren’s heartfelt, raucous, and hilarious romance style at its finest.

4 Stars

Dating You/Hating You is what I hoped it would be...light, funny and witty. Evie and Carter meet when set up by friends at a party; their chemistry is immediate and they have a playful, witty banter that I adore. They also both happen to be talent agents for competing agencies, although in different talent areas.

Fast forward to Monday and a corporate shake; Evie and Carter are now co-workers, and their jerk of boss begins playing them against each other from the get go. Evie and Carter do their best to remain friendly and maybe even pursue that chemistry that hit them both so hard, but eventually they start playing into their boss' games.

I have to say, I loved the way Evie and Carter antagonized each other. I was mostly playful, and they both can't seem to help themselves from trying to one-up the other. It's like they want to stop, but just can't help the competition, which was actually fun to see and how the planned to try to top the other. I liked when they finally both came to their senses and decided to open up to each other about what they were feeling and why, and how to proceed forward.

I didn't see that twist coming towards the end, but it makes sense in looking back throughout the book. Overall, I quite enjoyed the book.

Review copy received via NetGalley, courtesy of Gallery Books