I Hate You Paperback – August 18, 2019

Welcome back to Waylon University! Where the football players are hot and some of the best in the country and the women are well educated, beautiful and quirky and tend to fall for these hot men. How can oil and water mix?I Hate You was so much more than I thought it would be. I thought it would be another hot football player that needed to be tamed by a quirky woman that is harder to get than the average football groupie. I got this. But SO MUCH MORE.Blaze and Charisma have been waiting patiently for their story and I was curious where it would go. What was their backstory? What drew them to one another and would their story be believable??Blaze and Charisma's story started their freshman year. But with each of them playing by their own rules, life, football and college took the forefront. And here is where our "enemies to lovers" romance took hold.The banter, the character development, the friendship and the support these two had not only for each other but for their friends/teammates and family was what made their story special.Blaze has a background that isn't so pretty and for that reason, he thinks the only person that he has is himself. HE's the only one that can get himself to his goals. No one else will do that for him. Then we have Charisma who comes from a great background, but there's a little wobble to her past too. For that reason she sets rules for herself in any relationship she may have. Her rules. Her way. Then no one can get hurt. But what happens when Blaze upends her rules?"He's everything I never knew I wanted. He's perfection wrapped in a dark, deep lake, and I ache to swim in those waters, to discover his secrets and let him delve into mine."To watch these two open up to each other and share parts of one another while still holding on to that "hate" they have, it's a special journey to be a part of. Blaze has such a sentimental heart, but no one will ever know that because he doesn't let anyone get that close. He definitely has a facade that he lets people see, but that is NOT him. He holds his cards close and it will take a strong person to break those walls down. Charisma also holds her cards close, but she has a heart that wants to care (I mean, look at the way she cares for Vampire Bill). She protects herself with her spit and fire. She's smart, beautiful and talented but also knows how to hold everyone at arms length. How will these two even get through when they are battling things inside that allows no one to get "really" close?IF you want a New Adult romance but with a touching backstory that grows in a very poetic way, I think you've hit the nail on the head. Fun banter, great characters and friendships that are strong. I was pleasantly surprised with the depth of the story and their journey they had to take to get to their HEA. It was beautiful, fun and satisfying. I'm really loving this college football world Ilsa has created!

4 1/2 StarsIf you're a lover of second chances and enemies to lovers romances then you need to read I Hate You by Ilsa Madden-Mills today! This book is a definite must read.Charisma is just now trying to get over and move on from what Blaze did to her a few months ago, and her goal is to show him she is okay, but being near him is anything but easy. When Blaze comes tearing back into her life and showing up everywhere it makes things difficult for both of them and I loved all of the angst we got from this.Watching the push and pull between these characters and the back and forth banter when they were together was absolutely amazing. Especially seeing the underlying feelings that are still there for one another and getting more details as to why Blaze ended things with Charisma and why he's so closed off. These two are perfect for one another, and broken in their own ways, and only they can seem to fix each other, but both are too scared to let the other one in completely, so this book was one major roller coaster. Watching Blaze and Charisma work through their issues on their own and together was definitely a nail biter and kept me on the edge of my seat while reading this book. I wanted them together so bad, but I also wanted them to succeed and work through their issues ass well. This book was angsty, and beautifully written and I adored both characters so much. I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that if you love angsty second chance romances, you must pick this book up today!

I read this book in one day..... I couldn't put it down, even to have dinner. This story touched me in so many ways. Blaze, who never got a break growing up with parents who cared more about drugs than him. A sad little boy who had a gift for sports, and blessed with charisma and good looks for miles. Girls in college fall all over him, but the one girl he cares about, is the one he has hurt so deeply. They struggle to communicate. She, Charm, has struggled with body image,band doesn't understand why Blaze wants her when there are so many coeds tripping over themselves to be with him. And Blaze can't see why Charm would want to be with this guy who was from the wrong side of town.Blaze has a lot on his plate. He's a football star whose talent on the field is overlooked by scouts. His aunt and uncle took him in when his parents died, but his hope for a loving family is never there. He's popular, but one teammate is always goading him, even though he tries to ignore it, his one shot at the NFL is almost ruined because of this teammate/rival.Charm's family is nothing like Blaze's.....loving, warm, but her dad has had affairs. She's afraid that all handsome men cheat, so she closes herself off to the one guy who may be different.This book was so well written. The characters are well defined, the story is written so skillfully. You can understand both sides, BECAUSE the author has taken you on a well thought out journey. I loved the story and this is one book I will read again. There are too many authors who make sex the focal point. In this book the love is what is most important...the sex is a bonus, but not as important as these two beautiful people broken by their personal circumstances. I would give it 10 stars.