Enemies with benefits

Firstly I wanted to say that I really enjoyed reading this. At first, I did not expect much from it, yet it was the book that got me out of my long, really, really, really long reading slump. Even tough I have been reading a couple books, I haven’t been able to completely read a NEW one in months and I genuinely hope that I am truly over it this time.

This was a light-hearted yet really well-written romance.

It’s quite shocking because I’m not usually into enemies-to-lovers, firstly because usually te reason they hate each other is either, completely ridiculous and not realistic at all, or,  it is a REASONABLE reason to hate someone, making it completely idiotic and nonsensical to pursue a romantic relationship with said person. I also don’t like this genre because it is often poorly written and characters (specifically the female lead) appear quite immature and stupid. Even though they are often adults, they never do any logical actions and it pisses me off. I often DNF or avoid all together this type of book, which is the main reason I was highly skeptical of this book.

However, when it comes to « Enemies With Benefits », I think it was well executed.

First of all, they were not really « enemies », they were more academic rivals than anything else,  leading to strong tensions between them, but not necessarily any animosity. For me, it is reasonable for people to not like each other when they are in constant competition (specifically in school), however, they never pretended to fell hatred towards each other, they just didn’t like each other, which is more than normal and exactly what I expect when I read an enemies-to-lovers. I guess I’m trying to say that I do enjoy when there is some sort of manageable rivalry between two protagonists in a romance.

Regarding the main story, nothing is really surprising or different, so I don’t have much to say about it. It is nothing special regarding the plot, however, the writing does elevate the quality of the book, making it great. I smiled and giggled more than enough to have had my money worth. Most of the scenes were either light hearted and funny, or just super cute. It’s written simply, but the tone and narration are mastered and deserve a round of applause.

I do have a bone to pick with the third-act break up, that like any other, was completely unnecessary. I feel like it was such a leap to create this scenario and it just felt stupid. Therefore, their make up feels even more stupid.

Now if we look at their relationship, I can confidently admit that it was my favorite part of the whole story. First when we look at the beginning, I really enjoyed how easily they admitted to themselves they were attracted to each other, how they did not try to deny their feelings and just overall, processed their emotions in a very mature way.  Also, even though they did tease each other, they were never overly mean or insufferable for no reason, they were just bickering a little bit. I did think it was a shame that they had a physical rapprochement so early, but it was not completely out of the blue either so I’ll take it.

I love how they established their relationship status, nobody hid or avoided « the talk », reinforcing the fact that they are ADULTS. Adding to that, I really like how adamant Eli was at asserting Violet’s boundaries and try his best to not cross her limits (how he didn’t not asses any kind of « claim » over her, even when he really wanted to and did not pry to much with his family.).

I love how unjudgmental they are towards each other, in the way that they act logically on their thoughts. Even when Violet was losing her mind with the bridesmaid, he was still able to act logically and rationally, and still understood that what she saw was NOTHING and she did not jump into weird conclusions.  I also really liked how both of their backgrounds were introduced : how Violet was never diminished for struggling, or how her struggles were never put above Eli’s. I appreciated how Violet never tried to hide who she as and where she was from, and even in the writing, she was never portrayed as less then, quite the contrary even.

Overall, I just love how none of them let their rivalry come into the way into their romance, they just both accepted their feelings towards each other, and did not let whatever history they had in the past bother them. It is what I look for in any ennemies-to-lovers where they have a complex backstory.

I was not really enthusiastic when I chose this book and it was a great surprise that even made me download all the others and I hope I can happily add this author to my catalogue of people approved by me.