ARC Review: ‘Something Like Hate’ by Piper Rayne
I received a complimentary copy of the book from Valentine PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Something like Hate
by Piper RayneSeries: Chicago Grizzlies #1
Published by Self-Published on September 26, 2023
SubGenres: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy
Format: eArc
Source: Valentine PR
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I love him.I loathe him.
It’s like plucking daisy petals in my head, but he’ll never know.
When Miles Cavanaugh, the best safety in the league, was traded to the Chicago Grizzlies football team last year, I could finally breathe. Temptation was miles away.
How naïve to think it would end there because when the opportunity to write for a national magazine based in Chicago lands in my lap months later, I can’t turn it down. Sure, it’s a big city, but the sexual energy feels like a beacon between us the minute my plane lands.
To make matters worse, I end up having to take over the job of reporting exclusively on the Chicago Grizzlies. Which means traveling with the team, interviewing players, and pretty much having an all-access pass to their lives during the season.
Miles and I put up a great front, quickly hating on one another, but we both know it’s a lie. We also know the rules are simple. For me, don’t sleep with the subject of your articles. For him, don’t sleep with the journalist who can make or break your career.
I thought straight-laced Miles Cavanaugh followed all the rules… oh how wrong I was.
I knew the author duo Piper Rayne would eventually give us Miles and Bryce’s book, especially since they teased us enough with their interactions throughout the Kingmsen Football Stars series. What better way to give us their book than giving Miles an opportunity to shine with his new football team and Bryce to write for a national-based magazine in Chicago, Illinois? The best part is they have no clue they are in Chicago together until their new friend group/football team introduces them to one another, but they already know each other, and they can’t stand one another.
First, if you have not read the Kingsmen Football Stars series before reading this book/series, then I highly recommend reading it. I know each book can be read as a standalone, but if you are anything like me, you’ll want to know where Miles and Bryce first met. The author duo does go into detail on it in their full-length novel, but take my word for it: you’ll want to start reading the Kingsmen Football Stars before diving into the Chicago Grizzlies. You’ll get a better reading experience if you start with that series and then read the Chicago Grizzlies. Plus, you’ll understand Miles’s frustration on why he was upset with being traded to the Grizzlies. The poor guy can’t seem to catch a break, and he’s always having to prove himself, either with being on a new team or a new position.
I loved Miles Cavanaugh in this book, and he actually may be my new favorite fictional football player. It’s all thanks to how Piper Rayne wrote his character. He’s not like his teammates, especially Damon, who you’ll get to know more of in Miles’s book. Miles is looking for his future wife and having a family, eventually. He knows his endgame is someone he’s already had the pleasure of being with, but she’s stubborn and doesn’t want to give them a chance, especially when she believes he despises her. Miles in no way despises her because this man has the biggest heart when it comes to Bryce. Seriously, he was such a sweetheart, even when Bryce found him annoying whenever he was there rescuing her.
I loved Bryce too because here she is in a new city proving herself, just like Miles when it came to her new job at a well-known magazine where the reporters/writers are cutthroat and make her feel unwelcome. She is determined to prove that she’s an amazing reporter, even when she has people wanting her to fail. Her biggest supporter, actually, maybe the football player that she used to write horribly about in San Francisco.
I’m a big fan of books that have two characters who hate each other so much that they can’t stand to be around one another and try to make each other uncomfortable, but when it comes to Bryce and Miles, it’s obvious there was something more between the two. They just needed to be forced together constantly in this book to give into those feelings for one another finally, and I was there for it. It was off the charts when it came to Miles and Bryce being together, even though they had to keep it secret due to their jobs.
The drama at the end of the book may have ticked me off in a way that I was cursing at the book, but how everything came together was friggin’ epic, in my opinion. I loved how Bryce handled her issue like a boss, and Miles was willing to jeopardize his career for Bryce. This is why Miles gets the top spot for being one of my book husbands. Not book boyfriend, but book husband because he’s husband material. Bryce is one lucky gal for having him in her life, and she knows it. =)
I LOVED this book by the author duo, Piper Rayne, and I can’t wait to read Damon and Cooper’s books. These ladies know how to write Contemporary Romance/Romantic Comedies books with unforgettable characters that feel real that you end up falling hard for.
Story Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Steam/Spice Rating: 🌶🌶
Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of the Chicago Grizzlies series, but each book can be read as a standalone.
Would I recommend this book? Yes. I recommend this book to readers who have been waiting for Miles and Bryce’s book since their intro to the Kingsmen Football Stars series. This book was worth the wait!!
Genre/SubGenre(s): Romance | Contemporary Romance | Romantic Comedy
Trope(s)/Element(s): Sports/Football Romance | Enemies to Lovers | Hate to Love | He Fell First | Forbidden Romance | Workplace Romance | Secret Relationship | Reporter/Writer FMC | Defensive Football Player MMC
Favorite Quote(s): “At some point, those reasons won’t hold up. I’m done being on the sidelines, Bryce. I want to play the game, whether I win or lose. I just want to play.” I look up at him, meeting his gaze, and he steps closer. “Put me in, Coach.”
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About Piper Rayne
Piper Rayne is a USA Today Bestselling Author duo who write "heartwarming humor with a side of sizzle" about families, whether that be blood or found. They both have e-readers full of one-clickable books, they're married to husbands who drive them to drink, and they're both chauffeurs to their kids. Most of all, they love hot heroes and quirky heroines who make them laugh, and they hope you do, too!
My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)
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