as someone who honestly isn't very fond of the hate to love trope in romance books, i was prepared to not love this one very much, considering it is a retelling of the one who started it all: pride and prejudice. i knew i'd enjoy it to some extent, because i really enjoyed the first installment of the series, but i was preparing myself to not be that connected to the couple itself. oh how wrong i was, and how happy to be wrong i was too.

lizzy and will gave me everything i needed and so much more. from the very start, i was enthralled with their dynamic, going into that classic banter between people who clearly dislike each other and watching that banter turn into a friendlier one. i couldn't help my cheesy grin when we finally got to the more romantic/couple-y scenes. i literally can't stop thinking about them ever since i reached the end" and i'm sensing a reread will be coming sooner rather than later.

the secondary characters were EVERYTHING. i had a blast with each one of them, their different personalities and how that shined through every scene. throughout the book, i was caring for jane and charlie almost as much as the main characters, and if that doesn't say what a great job they did with all these characters, i don't know what can.

truthfully, i'm having trouble with putting into words how much i loved this book, and to quote knightley himself *wink* *wink*, “Well, if I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.”

audrey bellezza and emily harding are quickly going into my list of auto-buy authors. i can't wait for what's coming next from them (specially coming from these series, hello!)

ARC kindly provided by the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.