Adaline and Juliette are two high school girls who hate each other with every fiber of their being. Each day is a game to see who can make the other more miserable. But there’s more to their game than either of them are truly aware of and strong emotions, even hate, can be confused with something else.
I have so many mixed feelings about this book. I don’t normally compare books to others, not even other books by the same author. This book however is very much trying to be another book. It copies many scenes with a few changes and has a lot of the same narrative elements. It’s so close I would comfortably call it a clone and I admit I like the other one significantly more. Sadly I found it very difficult not to think about this the entire time I was reading.
Without comparing though the book does have its own faults. I liked what the author was trying to do with these characters. Adaline and Juliette seem to absolutely hate each other. The reasoning behind it is a bit feeble though and it starts to feel more like they’re just mean because that’s how the book is supposed to go. I also felt like the switch from enemies to enemies-with-benefits was a bit abrupt and without any solid foundation. It just sort of happens because they’ve apparently always wanted each other. It’s a bit weak. This is especially true for the character Juliette. I expected a bit more from her given the nature of her hatred towards Adaline.
My other issue I have is how many elements to the story there are that are conveniently written off when they aren’t needed, but still there for when they are. This is really evident in the case of Juliette’s mother. Her opinions are a huge plot point and a confrontation between her and Adaline is a crucial event. But then her mother is gone on unexplained business for almost the entirety of the book and she comes back at the very end when she is suddenly the solution to a problem. This comes off as extremely and unrealistic for the main characters. (And it’s worth noting that Juliette’s mother goes through character growth in a literal paragraph. There’s no reasoning or build up to it. She just suddenly has a change of heart.) Juliette’s money is treated this way too. It’s sort of used as a way to be able to have her do anything she wants and not have to bother with consequences. (And just like her mother, Juliette has an army of maids that we see once then they are never around to be an issue again.) Lastly the resolution is very sudden and wraps up way too easily, again this specifically pertains to the issues Adaline herself is dealing with through the entire book.
My biggest complaint is the editing. This book sadly needed a lot more editing to avoid its many typos. It feels like a rushed publication that just needed more time.
I did however really like all of the supporting characters. Even the ones we are meant to not like or are obstacles for the main characters are actually well written and at times have more depth than either of them. The best friends for both Juliette and Adaline are crucial to progressing the story. I liked them a lot and I would honestly be okay with getting side stories that involve them. The intimate scenes between the mains characters are nice, though again seem too quick for what the drama actually is. They are for the most part well written and more or less the highlight of the book.
Again I have mixed feelings. It was entertaining for what it was, but it had its flaws that were very hard to overlook. Despite my low rating I do think it’s worth a read, just with moderately low expectations. I also advice paying attention to the content warnings before reading.
Tome Reader Reviews 
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