Hate Notes

by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward

[stacey_is_sassy]

I needed to judge for myself...

Listening to Hate Notes was a test. This duo of authors have produced some of my very favourite read/listen's so I was keen when it first hit my radar. I'd read the blurb and some reviews and hesitated. I wasn't convinced that this storyline was going to work for me. For one, you kind of have to be in the mood for a douchewaffle hero. You also have to be in the right frame of mind to deal with broken-hearted and rebound main characters. So, I put Hate Notes to the side, but it kept shining through all the other covers and stayed or my radar for a long time.

Then, I had an epiphany...what about listening instead of reading. This epiphany was helped along because the book went on special but it did help. There's this slight separation I get from listening instead of reading. I guess you could say that for me, it's like watching a movie. I don't put myself in the characters shoes when I'm watching a movie but I definitely do when I'm reading. Add in the fact that Sebastian York was crooning in my ear, I decided to listen was the best way for me to try it out.

I really enjoyed the experience. Yes, I had some "issues" but that slight separation from Charlotte made it a lot easier. Honestly, Charlotte annoyed the crapper out of me at first. She was just that wee bit annoying, invasive and judgemental. I think she was supposed to come off as entertaining and a little bit quirky but it just didn't work for me. Eventually, she settled down and I started to love her excitement and exuberance. I admired her determination to find herself.

Reed, oh how I liked this man...but it could have something to do with the cover model and Mr York whispering sweet nothings in my ear. I'm sure readers would have found him rude, condescending and an absolute douchewaffle, but, for me, he was just a bloke...dealing with stuff. The more I got to know him, the more I liked him. Yes, he wasn't always nice but the situation surrounding the un-nice parts were really the reason for his douchewaffleness.

Great story, loved Reed's grandmother and her manipulating ways. The sexy times come way later in the story but I didn't mind. We really had to get through all of the hidden hurts before they could ever be together.

I'm so glad I waited and listened instead of reading. The narrators do an amazing job and I was sucked in from start to finish. I will be back for more from Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward in the future, I'm sure of it.