Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other
An Award-Winning Small-Town Enemies-to-Lovers Rom-Com
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
Author's Note: This slow-burn, low-spice/clean enemies-to-lovers rom-com is set in a small town full of quirky citizens and is packed with pop culture, witty banter, and a guaranteed Happily Ever After--provided they can resist the urge to throw each other off a Colorado mountainside first. After all, Brynn (you probably won't like her at first) is desperately trying to save her career and Sebastian (who's hiding from his own demons) really just wants to be left alone to sing karaoke in peace.
"Quirky small-town settings, enemies to lovers, and crisp, delightful prose . . . [this book] will leave you smiling." -- Emma St. Clair, USA TODAY bestselling author
She's a sunny morning-show host. He's a cynical ex-reporter. They're destined to hate each other . . . Aren't they?
Brynn Cornell has to be stuck in a nightmare. Just last week, she was riding high as cohost of the popular morning show Sunup. She's America's Ray of Sunshine--the girl-next-door beauty who drives up TV ratings while never exuding anything but her trademark positivity and poise. All it took was one huge on-air mistake to expose her snarky side to the world and make it all come crumbling down. Now she's back in her hometown of Adelaide Springs, Colorado, in a last-ditch attempt to convince viewers she's not the mean girl they think she is. All she has to do is apologize and capture some feel-good footage reminding everyone she's just a girl from humble beginnings who's grateful for her big break, and she might manage to preserve both her career and her image. But this town holds painful memories that she's not ready to face.
Sebastian Sudworth was on the fast track to the journalist hall of fame. A superstar reporter with a reputation for being in the center of the action, his fearless, relentless coverage of major events around the globe was winning him awards and accolades--until something snapped inside him and he vanished from the scene under mysterious circumstances. Sebastian sought refuge in tiny Adelaide Springs, working odd jobs and trying to blend in as a scruffy mountain town citizen.
When Sebastian is assigned to chauffeur Brynn around town, Brynn is sure he can see right through her carefully cultivated, sunny persona. But she's determined to do what it takes to maintain her image and save her career--so she'll just have to charm the socks off Sebastian the same way she charmed her viewers. Easier said than done. It's no picnic to play nice around someone you hate . . . especially when you might be crazy about them.
Discussion questions are included, and if you love Brynn and Sebastian, make sure to pick up Bethany Turner's Cole and Laila Are Just Friends and Wes and Addie Had Their Chance!
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Turner (The Do-Over) charms in a squeaky clean contemporary driven by a battle of wits between journalists. After morning show host Brynn Cornell is caught disparaging her tiny Colorado hometown of Adelaide Springs on a hot mic, she must do damage control before the powers that be capitulate to those calling for her firing on social media. Her solution: grab a cameraman and head back to Adelaide Springs more than two decades after she left to make nice with the town's citizens. It just so happens that Sebastian Sudworth, an internationally renowned journalist who disappeared from the public eye for mysterious reasons (later revealed as a mental health emergency), retired to Adelaide Springs. After the incensed town council agrees to let Brynn visit and film an apology, they assign Sebastian to supervise her. When the pair first meet they do, in fact, hate each other, but their animosity belies a different kind of heat. Then a local crisis changes the course of both Brynn and Sebastian's journalistic careers—and brings them closer together. In addition to the appealing and endearingly flawed protagonists, Turner delivers a strong supporting cast, especially cameraman Orly Hillill and generous town mayor Doc Atwater. Readers will long for a quick return to Adelaide Springs and its salt-of-the-earth citizens.
Customer Reviews
Enjoyed this book immensely!
Audiobook Review:
This was such a good story! I enjoyed it immensely. It is a slow burn, enemies to love story. Both the main characters had difficulties in their pasts that shaped their present lives and threw up walls to their futures. As they spent time together, against their will initially, they both had to process and open up. They also learned what they really wanted for themselves. The story was as much about their personal journeys as it was about the romance. Both Brynn and Sebastian had good and bad characteristics, but as we came to understand more and more about them and what shaped them, it was impossible not to cheer for them. There were also a lot of fun secondary characters and I’m excited to see more from them as i understand that there will be a second book. The ending was sweet and felt triumphant in a way. I loved the story.
I generally prefer dual narrators, but a good single narrator can make me forget all about that. That was the case with this audiobook. The narrator is excellent. She conveys the story and emotions well with good inflection and a consistent volume level. Her voices for other characters, especially Sebastian, were very good. I’m even going to look for other books narrated by her. Honestly, probably one of my favourite single narrators I’ve heard.
There is content about trauma from past genocide and atrocities, as well as parental neglect and emotional mistreatment, and marital breakdown. This is a closed door story with no harsh language.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, audiobook producer, and the publisher for a complimentary copy of the book. This review was written and shared voluntarily, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.