Dear Enemy Paperback – March 31, 2020

Loved then characters! Then story keeps you involved and entertained the whole way. Would definitely recommend! I can't wait to read more from this author.

I’m a big fan of Kristen Callihan’s style of writing. It’s so easy to find something to like in her characters. In this case Delilah is sassy, doesn’t have trouble standing up for herself, and is a normal size woman who likes to eat. Macon’s past behavior makes way for this new sexy Macon who disarms her by turning her old nickname Tot into a term of affection. Pretty soon they are developing an affection for each other that makes Delilah uncomfortable and Macon say ‘finally!’.I love the enemies to lovers trope and this one is handled really well. Clever dialog, serious attraction, and lots of hurry up and wait. This is a slow burn romance so if you like sexy times from the moment they meet again, you have to wait a bit until the heat gets turned up. I like slow burn romances because it gives the characters time to connect and in the case of Delilah and Macon they had a lot of hurt to overcome. Macon caused a lot of trauma for a sensitive teenaged Delilah which scarred her future. I loved how horribly he felt and how hard he worked to make things right.I’m so glad I got around to reading this because I bought it in March of last year when it came out. The best thing about waiting to read it is that she has another book out now. These aren’t a series, but they live in the same world which can be interesting and I’m looking forward to seeing how the connection plays out.

When you grew up in the presence of two beautiful people, it was hard to convince yourself that you’re worth much too. Especially if one of them made your childhood and teenager life a ‘hell’. That was the reality for Delilah, from the first meeting with her neighbour’s son Macon Saint, there was a connection between them, sadly not a good one but one of negative banter and mean glances. And the fact that her sister Samantha (Sam) and Macon became good friends and later even a couple, made that Delilah saw Macon more then she wanted to. But luckily, she and her family moved away when she was 18 years old and that was the last time that she saw Macon. But now ten years later, out of nowhere, he’s texting her!! The last thing that Delilah wanted was to relive the past or meet Macon but she doesn’t have a choice. Her sister Sam stole something precious of him and then disappeared. So now it was up to Delilah to make this right, so she doesn’t have another choice then to meet him and convince him not to put charges against her sister. Will it be different this time? Now, that they both are older and wiser? There is definitely something different about their banter and glances now, they are now more sexual and hotter than when they were teenagers.Secrets and feelings are revealed and Delilah will discover that every memory has two sides of a story. But will she be able to let go of the past and build a future with Macon? Or is the past and her hurt too strong for that?To be complete honest, the first (and the second) time that I read the blurb of this book, I found it difficult to decide if the story would be a dark-enemy-bully story or a lighter version of that. So I wasvery hesitant to read it, although I had enjoyed Kristen Callihan’s books in the past.But then I was lucky enough to receive a copy (through Netgalley) of the book ‘Make it sweet’, the writer newest book and after reading and loving that book, I got curious about this book. Because although it isn’t official a series, the two books are in some way connected to each other. The main male character (Macon Saint) in this story act in the same Hollywood TV-series as the female main character from ‘Make it sweet’. Macon and Delilah (from this story) even get married in ‘Make it sweet’ so that got me very intrigued about Macon and Delilah’s story.To my delight and surprise ‘Dear enemy’ was lighter and funnier then I expected but it was also emotional at times. To me, it was the ‘perfect’ enemy to lovers story. Where the characters are now adults and also act like ones when they remember and talk about their past and the mistakes they made then.The story was in the present time and the past was slowly revealed in little bits . The pace of the story was fluent and I liked the alternation between the present and the past. It gave a good inside into their feelings and made you understand what had happened in the past and because we got both POV’s in the story, we got to know why both reacted the way they did. I appreciated the fact that both of them acknowledge their mistakes and realized that both had changed since then. I really loved how they slowly grew closer during the story and opened up to each other. Because in the end they were both lonely people, looking for someone to love and understand them. Both loved their work and gave it their all but work can only do so much, it can’t love you or hold you when you need a hug. Both character were really fascinating and wonderful. They were both intelligent, loyal to the people they cared for. The banter between them were fascinating and entertaining. The story managed to surprise me a few times and as a reader I love that!I’m very happy that I decided to read ‘Dear enemy’ because I loved it just as much as ‘Make it sweet’ and I really hope that the writer Kristen Callihan will write another story in this wonderful world.

I wish I knew how much I was going to love the second half of this book when I was reading the first, because I had already disconnected from the story by the time I got there. Kristen Callihan is one of my favorite authors and enemies to lovers is my absolute favorite trope, so this SHOULD’VE been a homerun for me, but… it just wasn’t. The writing is fantastic, the relationship develops into something truly beautiful, and the slow burn was tortuously perfect, but the history these two share is where the problems lie. We’ll get into that in a minute.The story follows Macon and Delilah, two people who grew up together and whose hate for each other strongly mirrors love. Macon wasn’t the nicest person back in high school, and his cruelty left permanent marks on Delilah… and that’s not even taking into account his relationship with her sister. When Delilah’s sister unknowingly reunites them years later, it’s obvious that there are still plenty of feelings between them, good and bad.Callihan is a skilled writer, so there is a LOT that I loved about this, from the great dialogue to the chemistry that ignites between these two later on. It’s definitely a tension-filled read, and that made the back half so engrossing. I could feel the emotion and was pulled back into a story that I had, sadly, become disconnected from. My problem is just how long it took for things to turn a corner. This borders on a bully romance, with a very messy history involving Macon dating Delilah’s sister for years. Though there’s no love lost between Macon and Delilah’s sister, she remains a huge presence in their relationship throughout the course of the book. I could MAYBE get over a hero having dated the heroine’s sister (and have, plenty of times), but this time it just came up so frequently that it got in the way. I also LOVE enemies to lovers but don’t tolerate bully romances well, so I wish we had seen some of the good times sooner. I’ve got extremely complicated feelings about this book, and I think that if I reread it knowing how much I would love Delilah and Macon as a couple later on, it would be a completely different experience. But I’m not sure that my rating would change. I’ll be buying whatever Callihan writes next - that was never in question - but I’m going to have to stew on this one a while longer to see how I truly feel about it.

Delilah and Macon’s povs are so strong, so well written, their personalities grab you from the get go and don’t let go.I’m not usually into bully romance, but it helped that D and M are both grown up now. Macon’s past explains a lot and we learn he’s written letters to her over the years that he never sent.Their slow burn romance is a roller coaster of emotion.5-star read!

" - 𝗪𝐡𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡?”⁣- 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫."⁣⁣Depuis l’enfance, Delilah et Macon se détestent et ça ne va pas en s’arrangeant quand Macon commence à sortir avec la sœur de la jeune fille. Des années plus tard, Delilah est forcée de payer les bêtises de sa sœur en travaillant comme secrétaire pour un acteur en vogue qui n’est autre que (vous l’auriez deviné) Macon Saint.⁣⁣Je devais vivre dans une grotte pour ne pas avoir connu ce livre plus tôt. C’est la seule raison que j’accepte et qui expliquerai pourquoi je ne l’ai jamais vu aux côtés des romans à succès de même genre. Ce qui est sûr, c’est qu’il n’aurait pas à rougir de se retrouver sur la même table que ces bouquins.⁣⁣Un slow burn comme je n’en avais pas lu depuis un bon moment. L’alchimie est présente dès la première interaction pour ne cesser de croître et de nous électriser à mesures des chapitres passés et des barrières entre les personnages levées. ⁣Les joutes verbales sont succulentes, mais voir ces adversaires de longue date se retrouver et se redécouvrir, c’est encore mieux. Le double pov est un plaisir que ce soit, évidemment, pour s’attacher aux personnages, mais aussi pour mettre en lumière les zones d'ombres qui teintaient leur relation depuis l'enfance.⁣⁣Une totale découverte, une grande surprise et une de mes meilleures lectures de cette année ❤️

4.5 🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭Spanish & English OpinionESP ::Me gustó mucho este libro. Es un enemies to lovers pero con una premisa muy original y una historia creíble.Los personajes secundarios son muy importantes y ninguno puede ser indiferente (amo a North. Detesto a Sam).La pareja principal es INCREÍBLE. Me encanta su historia y me gusta que las heridas e inseguridades de niñez tienen un impacto. Aquí la evolución de la historia no viene desde mágicamente ignorar lo pasado, sino de aprender y entenderlo. Y ese es un mensaje que ni había visto de forma tan clara en un libro así.Súper recomendado.ENG ::I enjoyed this book way too much! Enemies to lovers but with a completely original and believable story.The secondary characters are amazing and there’s no way to remain indifferent toward anyone. (For example, I LOVED North and DETESTED Sam).The main couple is everything. I love their story and what I really respect the most is that their past is not forgotten and swept away just because. It’s a knowledge, pulls old insecurities and it has to be healed in order to give in to love and evolution. This is something that I haven’t seen on a book with this plot and I really enjoyed it.A great book!

Callihan hat ein magisches Buch über die erste große Liebe mit all den emotionalen Höhen und Tiefen geschrieben, das den Leser packt und bis zur letzten Seite nicht mehr loslässt.Die emotionale Verletzlichkeit in der Zuneigung zu einer Person wird brilliant durch die Kontrastierung mit der jugendlichen Unsicherheit und Unreife herausgearbeitet und komplementiert mit familiären Problemen, die im Unsichtbaren lauern. Doch das Licht von Liebe, Zugehörigkeit und Freundschaft scheint immer durch, so dass es nie zu triste wird. Im Gegenteil, erst durch das Dunkel kann das Licht der Liebe seine Kraft zeigen. Macon und Deliah sind runde, tiefgründige Charaktere, die man einfach liebhaben muss.Grandios und eine meiner liebsten "from enemies to lovers" Story! Unbedingt lesen!

I was an amazing book i absolutely loved read this book and recommend reading it definitely. It was a good book and emotional one