SPECIAL POST: Better Hate Than Never by Chloe Liese

I told Berkley I would

NOTE: this post is different than something I normally do. I would love some feedback on it! Berkley reached out to me asking if I would be a part of their blog tour for this book and I said yes. Substack isn’t a traditional blog, but it’s what I have and they accepted it. This will not be a normal occurrence, and I promise I will be honest in my reviews!

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If you have witnessed my bookstagram stories, you KNOW how I feel about Chloe Liese. Her Bergman Brothers series is one of my favorites of all time. She writes in a way that makes people feel seen and deserving of the best in life. Her books have made me laugh, cry, and push them into people’s hands.

Her newest book is Better Hate than Never, RELEASING TODAY IN THE BOOK WILD.

When she started the Wilmot Sisters series, I was admittedly nervous. Departing from my beloved Bergmans? But I should have known better. Liese had created a new world of characters I care for deeply.

This book is about Christopher and Kate. She’s the sister that’s been gone traveling the world pursuing photography, he’s the neighbor turned chosen family of the Wilmots and they have always, always, butted heads. Until she returns home and he cannot deny his frustrations re: attraction to her.

This book has a slow burn, a drunken night of honesty, romantic endeavors, pasta making, migraine representation, ADHD rep, and is a retelling of The Taming of the Shrew. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT? But honestly, I really did enjoy this book. Not all romance books are created equal, but Liese proves she’s continually up there with the best.

But let me talk to you on a personal note about this book.

I…do not like being in my own brain. I feel like I’m constantly at war with what I wish I would do and what I actually do. Early on in my relationship with my husband, we figured out illustrations for our brains to help us understand each other better. His brain is a series of brick walls that get higher the farther they go back. He has a singular thought and remembers everything. Where as my brain has twenty five tabs open…always. And they often shut down and I start over. Or I forget five tabs that were important like where the heck my airpods or wallet or keys are even though I have created a designated spot for them about thirty times.

A couple of months ago, like everyone, thanks to tiktok/instagram, I had the thought, “Maybe I have ADHD.” I dismissed it pretty quickly because I didn’t want to get caught up in a trend diagnosis, but the more I read about how it presents in women specifically, the more I thought, “hmmmmm.”

Then I read this book.

There’s a chapter where Kate, tried to describe her brain to Christopher. And y’all, the way I cried. I immediately handed the book to Connor through a wall of tears and said, “This is how I feel.”

Now, I’m not saying I have ADHD, but this book and Chloe Liese’s descriptions are giving me the bravery to pursue some sort of help or confirmation of the battle going in my head.

(even now I am second guessing putting this out in the world but I am because this book is worth the honesty.)

Even if you don’t personally struggle with any of the representations in this book, I can promise you someone you know or love does. That’s what Liese does so well in my opinion. She shows the different things we can all struggle with- from health issues, food sensitivities/allergies, neurodivergence, infertility, and sickness- on a daily basis, and yet each person is deserving of love and a good life.

If you haven’t read any of Chloe Liese’s books, I hope I convinced you!