Love Me Never by Sara WolfLovely Vicious #1
Published by Entangled: Teen on April 5, 2016
Age Group & Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Realistic Fiction, Romance
Format: eBook
Source: Publisher
Don’t love your enemy. Declare war on him.
Seventeen-year-old Isis Blake hasn’t fallen in love in three years, nine weeks, and five days, and after what happened last time, she intends to keep it that way. Since then she’s lost eighty-five pounds, gotten four streaks of purple in her hair, and moved to Buttcrack-of-Nowhere, Ohio, to help her mom escape a bad relationship.
All the girls in her new school want one thing—Jack Hunter, the Ice Prince of East Summit High. Hot as an Armani ad, smart enough to get into Yale, and colder than the Arctic, Jack Hunter's never gone out with anyone. Sure, people have seen him downtown with beautiful women, but he's never given high school girls the time of day. Until Isis punches him in the face.
Jack’s met his match. Suddenly everything is a game.
The goal: Make the other beg for mercy.The game board: East Summit High.The reward: Something neither of them expected.
A copy of the book was provided for review purposes - thank you! Receiving a copy does not guarantee a positive review and therefore does not affect the opinion or content of the review.
Love Me Never is such a risky read for me, but the synopsis screamed, “I’M INTERESTING. TAKE A CHANCE ON ME.” It might not be cute and adorable, but it has the best tagline ever: Don’t love your enemy. Declare war on him.
A first kiss… that’s something a girl should cherish. It’s something you should share with someone you really love. You shouldn’t lose it in a petty high school battle of wills to someone you hate.
Thus resulting in a person who avoids contemporary taking a plunge (I seem to be doing this a lot lately…) and hoping for the best. Love Me Never isn’t a book I would go for – we have a main character who obviously has a horrific past and a guy who is a popular douche bag. Put them together in a high school and they hate each other’s guts and attempt to ruin each other’s lives.
BUT THE TAGLINE, THOUGH. It screams next favorite contemporary book, self! This coming from frantic little brain cells while deciding whether or not I want to read the book.
It didn’t go bad at all. In fact, I think I spent more time giggling over the book than actually analyzing it with my reviewing lenses. I spent more time writing laughing emojis than actually writing legit notes. And I spent more time late at night trying not to laugh so hard and waking up my mom in the process.
Definitely a sign of a good book when I’m rendered into a puddle of giggles.
From early on in the book, Isis Blake comes across as someone extremely sarcastic and snarky. She comes across as someone who is always angry and bitter with the world. But inside, Isis is a girl who encountered someone who hurt her emotionally and possibly physically, and as a result, Isis comes out of that event as someone with very low self-esteem.
Jack Hunter, on the other hand… is quite similar to Isis in terms of personality, although his self-esteem is on the opposite end of the spectrum. In the few pages of the book where Sara allows a peek into Jack’s mind and thoughts, he comes across as someone covering up sadness – he’s not as angry and bitter as he wants the rest of the world to think.
And then there’s the revenge. It is definitely petty revenge – Isis launches a war on Jack all because of an apology who reminds Isis of her past self. Some of the things Isis and Jack put upon each other is so ridiculous and stupid, but their reactions and words makes it humorous and enjoyable. The best kind of pettiness to read about.
Love Me Never is vengeful, dark, hilarious – cliché as this may sound, it is definitely a book worth reading.
RELATED: Check out my review for the sequel, Forget Me Always, or Sara Wolf’s fantasy, Bring Me Their Hearts.
Sophia started blogging in February 2012 for the hell of it and is surprisingly still around. She has a GIF for nearly everything, probably listens to too much K-Pop and is generally in an existential crisis of sorts (she's trying her best). More of her bookish reviews and K-Pop Roundups can be found at The Arts STL.
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