They Hate Each Other

By: Amanda Woody

Narrated by: Anthony Rey Perez, Robbie Daymond

Jonah and Dylan get along like oil and water. Until a fake dating ploy gives them new perspective, and they realize that “falling for your enemy” isn’t as impossible as it seems.

There are plenty of words Jonah Collins could use to describe Dylan Ramírez. “Arrogant,” “spoiled,” and “golden boy” to name a few. Likewise, Dylan thinks he has Jonah accurately labeled as an attention-seeking asshat who never shuts his filthy mouth. Their friends are convinced Jonah’s and Dylan’s disdain for one another is just thinly veiled lust—a rumor that surges like wildfire when the two wake up in one bed after homecoming.

Mutually horrified, Dylan and Jonah agree to use the faux pas to their advantage by fake dating. If they can stay convincing long enough to end their “relationship” in a massive staged fight, they can prove their incompatibility to their friends once and for all. But the more time they spend together, the more their plan begins to fall apart—and the closer they come to seeing each other clearly for the first time.

©2023 Amanda Woody (P)2023 Listening Library

Critic reviews

"The boys’ banter sizzles and delights, but Woody’s true power shows through in the intricately realized characters’ tender depictions of support, kindness, and capacity for change." --PW

Loved it!

Finished listening in 2 days! Don’t think about it, just get it! You won’t be disappointed

A pleasant surprise

I wasn’t a fan of how the main characters got together but by the end, this became a favorite for its wonderful representation and the respectful way it tackled the challenges facing the protagonists and their friends.

Heartwarming and emotional

I absolutely loved every minute of this adorable love story. Well written and incredibly charming. Highly recommend it!

Perfection.

The performance , the story, the characters, the romance, the drama…it’s was everything and more. Dylan and Jonah will go down on my list of best enemies to lovers. And the fantastic writing aided with the amazing ability of the readers, should put this book as one of your top “to be reads” !!

Just...woooow!!!

Hands down one of the best books I have come across! Your friends always think they know what's best for you...and in the case of Jonah and Dylan, their friends hit the nail on the head! The writer captured the fake dating and the fallouts perfectly. I did not want this to end. The narrators were a perfect match for this book. I want more!

One of the best boy love novel

Storyline’s cute. Characters’er deep and cool. The book’s also well written. Recommended. I am looking forward to read more of this author.

Sweet Romance with some Angst

I very much enjoyed this one. Would have liked more about the side characters but loved the enemies to lovers storyline!

Wise young guys

I liked the story better than I thought I might. The description suggested standard teenage angst albeit LGBTQ+ angst. There was depth and an element of character depth even if the boys were a bit too well-adjusted for there traumatic history and too wise for their first-time experiences. The voices were an active part of the enjoyment with well-intentioned effort offered to their characters.

Incredibly performed and deeply relatable

I feel like it's such a struggle to find queer romance novels I actually vibe with, and this one was a gem I was not expecting to find.

The story progression here manages to take a pretty tried and true romcon cliche and still do something fun with it. But more than the overdone premise, what really actually sells this book is the meat beneath it. Both protagonists are very well-written, with lots of relatable trauma that grounds itself pretty realistically. They think and behave like actual people do, which is surprisingly hard to find in this genre, and the tender moments really manage to hit home.

The vocal performances are also top notch, with Robbie Daymond especially hitting it out of the park. An absolute joy to listen to these two.

Honestly I'd have loved to give this a perfect 5 in everything, but my one point of criticism is that of the two protags, Dillon is slightly less well-written. His trauma, while grounded in a realistic situation, inspires behavior from him that sooooometimes suspends disbelief a little too much, particularly with regard to his brother. He's also given a slightly less satisfying wrap-up to his arc. These small points of contention do bring down my rating just a tad, but honestly, they're pretty small issues.

Good

It’s so good it’s like what I expected but it ain’t boring and it’s very nice