This book, hands down the best book I’ve ever read. My absolute FAVORITE. Ever. Like in my whole entire life! Words cannot express the connection I am feeling with this book. I am a lover of all books, but this book was different. I have never loved a book, its characters, and their love story as soon or as much as I did this one. "To be in love...It's powerful and completely debilitating all at the same time. It's ecstasy and agony, and it's one of the single most terrifying feelings in the world." Feeling this many emotions, all in ONE book is new to me... Hell, I have never experienced this many emotions within 5 hours, ever. Oh gosh, there were times I felt like the oxygen was being sucked out of my lungs, making my heart hurt so badly. Many times I wanted to unread words to stop my heart from feeling all of the emotions running through every inch of me. But it was more than just a heart crushing story, and as many times as it brought me to tears, I would turn the page and almost immediately start LAUGHING-OUT-LOUD. As if the author knew I needed to be reeled back in, she filled me up with butterflies and happiness and giving me hope. I went from love to hate to love within seconds, coincidence? I think not. "No bottle is big enough for human emotion. Love, hate, anger, happiness, and deep melancholy. Each one exists for a reason. Emotion is real. It's meant to be released. It's meant to be lived." Whitney, the female main character was confident and strong; I fell in love with her first, which NEVER happens. Extremely guarded, she projected this, take-no-bullshit-attitude, that I loved, but what I admired about her the most, was her loyalty. Always doing what was right, even if that meant putting the wants and needs of other ahead of her own. I loved Blane too, there was nothing not to love about Blane, well there is one thing. The relationship between the two was palpable from the very beginning. The back and forth banter between Blane and Whitney was amazing…. And then there was Gram, and to say she was absolutely hysterical is an understatement! Gram was blunt and so very obnoxious, slightly delusional, but full of so much wisdom, she knew what was best for Whitney, always. Gram was literally the icing on the cake, and icing is my favorite part! Without Gram, I don’t think there would be happily-ever-after. Without Gram, I wouldn’t have loved this book so much, and I probably would have been sleeping 2 hours after I finished reading, instead I was sobbing unsure if I was happy, sad, angry, needing more (.. it was all of the above) This book was my highest roller coaster ride, the up’s and the down’s, I would not change a thing and I loved every moment of the ride; this is a ride I plan to take over and over again! After reading some other reviews, I saw several reviewers that made note of one thing, and I totally could see where they’re coming from, and why it was interpreted negatively. My interpretation was the opposite, I told you it like an all-encompassing love, and I have to defend its honor.. like a devil’s advocate so to speak, my interpretations that others saw differently, are most definitely considered spoilers(view spoiler)[ My thoughts on “Being in love with 2 people”, in my opinion there were several things said and several dropped hints about, Blane’s feelings towards Whitney, and even more actions – I feel as though Whitney was his first love, and was truly in love with her, and Whitney was just oblivious. Gram said, “He used to point that intensity at you… But as thickheaded as you are, you never noticed” (Far-fetched..? You be the judge, I would love your input)I feel like Blane settled with Franny because he didn’t think Whitney reciprocated his feelings, and unbeknownst to both of them, I think she did, she was too guarded to see it, and too stubborn to think it. “He came around a lot. That part you know. And then Fanny showed up. It took a little time [ 7 months to be exact ] but after a few smiles and a lot of dropped signals from you, he was all hers.” Do I think he was in love with Whitney? Absolutely, I have zero doubts. Do I think he was in love with Franny? I think what began as a friendship became more, possibly longing for what he had with Whitney? But then, when Franny got pregnant, I definitely think their connection deepened, and then he became a caretaker because of her mental state, I felt it was friendship that developed into a caretaker role, kind of love. Not actually in love, I know he said he was in love with both, I just don’t think it was to the same degree. When he came to tell her that they couldn’t be friends anymore, he was breaking up with her. And then he shunned her out because he couldn’t deal with the emotions he felt for her all while trying to make things better for Franny.. Franny filled his Whitney void, and as long as Whitney was around, and accepting of their relationship, he had the best of both worlds. I am pretty sure Gram agrees with me, her letter to Whitney pretty much summed up any lingering questions. “Hoping you’d come to the realization that he’d loved you all along all on your own” “From the first time I saw you and Blane together, I knew you were meant to be soul mates, I knew you completed each other in a way that’s rarely found” Why else would Gram fight so hard to make sure that they ended up together? (hide spoiler)]
There are times when you find a book – a true gem, a rarity in this book world that is over-saturated with the typical stories of bad boys and virginal girls, and be completely blown away. When I signed up to review Hate, I had no idea what it was about. I simply liked the cover. Its simplicity drew me in. There was no ‘sexy couple’ featured, or a man with well-defined abs. It was just a pretty purple, and had hands holding a cracked heart. It made me curious. What would I find inside?The answer to that is simple, and yet complex. BRILLIANCE. EMOTIONS. FEELINGS. A story that is so touching I can’t get it out of my head. And I’ve tried! I’ve read a few books since, but I keep going back to Hate. I’ve not felt this way since The Sea of Tranquility a couple years ago. Before that, I’d say Beautiful Disaster. I know these are big comparisons to make, but for me, it’s the only possible way to convey my hardcore love and adoration for this story.Hate: A Love Story is told through the words of one Whitney Lenox. She is not the stereotypical female voice we are used to, and that alone was enough to win me over. Her voice is refreshingly unique. She is the kind of person you could see yourself becoming friends with – if only she’d be willing to let you in. Whitney’s downfall is her inability to let people in. She tends to focus on one aspect of her life, and cannot see past whatever it is. Her best friends were forced upon her by the “Can’t-Help-But-Fall-In-Love-With-His-Charm” Blane, who later added Franny into the mix. They become her everything."I’ve heard people say that a true connection with someone else goes beyond the reasonable. It goes beyond science and fact, and instead, takes root in the connection of your souls."The above quote means more to me than just a romantic connection. This can be witnessed throughout the story while watching Whitney and Gram interact. Gram provides much needed comic relief through the entire story. And believe me, it’s perfectly integrated in situations which were at times overwhelmingly depressing. The two of them have a real bond that goes beyond just being related by blood. Their relationship is honestly one of my favorite things about Hate.From page one, I was transfixed by the story. Laurel Ulen Curtis somehow perfectly intertwined comedy and devastation, giving me relief in times when I was almost at my own emotional breaking point."One meant holding on. The other meant letting go. And I just couldn’t seem to commit to either one. How do you let go of the person you’re in love with? But how do you hold on to someone who’ll never love you back?"And minutes later,"You’re the one keeping me in Soaps for now. As long as I’m getting something out of you, I figure it pays to try not to screw this up."Curtis’s storytelling skills are remarkable. Amidst all the sadness and heartbreak, you are still hoping that Whitney will get what she wants out of life. You will fall in love with Gram, and most likely, aspire to be her. You will want to quit reading out of frustration for what these characters go through. The romantic scenes are breathtaking and perfectly complement the story. You will feel every emotion on the spectrum. Most importantly, this book will make you FEEL. ALL. THE. FEELS. I know I did. Filled with angst, love, humor, loss, fate, and redemption, Hate: A Love Story is EVERYTHING. It has all the elements I look for in a favorite read, and it rocketed into position 1 for my favorite of 2014. Now, it’s your turn to fall in love with Hate.
What do You think about Hate: A Love Story (2014)?
2 TRIGGER STARS ★★ "To be in love...It's powerful and completely debilitating all at the same time. It's ecstasy and agony, and it's one of the single most terrifying feelings in the world."I swear that these days all the books are on a mission to deceive me with their pretty covers, eye-catching titles (look at how interestingly ironic this one was!) and promising blurbs. Why why why?! Honestly I'm so wiped out after a day's work to be even writing a review but then I look at this book and remind myself the amount of effort I had to put in to pull myself through this read. So here's my $3.99 two cents of worth.*******First, let's talk about that blurb. I know, it pretty much offered nothing about this book or what it's about except it's a love story filled with...hate? Damn that irony totally pulled me into this one.Warning: This standalone novel contains explicit language, sexual content, and potential triggersSo I do enjoy going into a book blind once in a while but sometimes, we all just want a hint of what we might actually get into. There are some triggers that people may get uncomfortable with, so it's better to be forewarned. To be fair enough, let me just list those triggers into a spoiler tag. But please only open it if you're an eager beaver and have a certain definite set of triggers that will sure to put you off. If not, move along and who knows, you may enjoy this book without knowing what triggers are ahead.(view spoiler)[(view spoiler)[(view spoiler)[Love triangle (sorta), abortion, depression, 9/11 incident, suicide, terrorism, death (hide spoiler)]
—Jasmine
This book has pulled so many emotions from me ranging from sheer happiness to gut punching heart wrenching pain and sadness. Whitney has the kind of friend in a guy that most girls wish they could have. Closeness and openness and love. When Blane brings Franny into their friendship you would think the duo would fall apart but in fact it may actually pull them closer and pull the further apart? My favorite character in the whole book is her Gram, she is witty and spunky, sassy and is a soap opera
—Jen
*SPOILERS-Oh my goodness! I can't even begin to describe the amount of love and hate that I have for this STORY! Love being the absolute awesomeness of the story and the hate because it is so awesome that I never wanted it to end. There are some issues in this book that not many authors are courageous enough to write about, but Laurel has. Abortion, depression, suicide, 9/11, terrorism, cancer, and a never ending decade long love for a soul mate. She looks at the hard to chew actions in life that some of us go through and she put the happily ever after at the ending.Whitney is a fictional girl/woman in a book but portrays a lot of us in real life. She has a heart of gold, but doesn’t want it to get broken so she guards it a little too close and ends up pushing people away from her in the process without meaning to. But at the same time she lets in a select few people. She has this epic friendship/love story with Blane that will give you whiplash (in a good way!) The ups and downs that these two characters go through with Franny, Mr. Hunt and Gram just makes you fall in love with them even more and hold a deeper appreciation for the things that you have in your own life. Gram is by far the best character in any book I have ever read. Her character makes you laugh so hard you cry and makes you cry so hard you laugh. You wish that you had a Gram just like the one in the book in your life!I could tell you all the things that I love in this book that makes this my all-time favorite book out of the thousands I have read, but I’m not. There are just too many that you need to experience for yourself! I beg you, please read this book! You will truly be sorry if you don’t and miss out on one of the greatest books of the YEAR!*ARC given to reader for honest review*
—Billi
