RoomHate by Penelope Ward

Standalone Contemporary Romance

“It’s always when you want time to stand still that it flies the fastest.”

When I received a surprise package in the mail from Penelope Ward with the new sprayed edge RoomHate in it, I was surprised to realize I never read it. The book had been in my Kindle library for years! But now that I’ve read it, I get the hype. RoomHate is classic Penelope Ward: angsty AF, emotional, sexy, and packed with simmering tension that feels so real, you can practically feel it radiating off the page. (Bonus: The new paperback has bonus content from the male POV).

The story starts with Amelia inheriting half of a beach house from her grandmother. The problem is, the other half belongs to Justin—her childhood best friend turned total stranger who now hates her with a passion. You can practically feel the old wounds bubbling just beneath the surface when they reunite after years of silence and unresolved issues. And that simmer? Yeah, it boils over.

“You were always there… until you weren’t anymore. Losing you taught me not to count on anyone but myself. It shaped who I am today… and that’s not necessarily a good thing.”

RoomHate had all the things I love in a second chance/enemies-to-lovers romance: pent-up resentment, old love buried under layers of pain, and that addictive will-they/won’t-they slow burn that makes you want to shake your Kindle and scream, “Just kiss already!” There’s also an added complication that made things even more intense. Thankfully, it never crossed into the territory I was worried about, but it kept me anxious the whole time. And just when I thought I had a handle on where things were going, the story took a turn I didn’t expect and completely pulled me in a new direction.

“We both came from broken homes, but from the moment I met you, my world seemed a little less broken.”

Likes:

Emotional tension you can cut with a knife.
Childhood best friends to enemies to lovers—YES.
A twist that changed the direction of the book.
The way they saw each other even through the anger.
The sexy, slow build that kept things simmering.
Justin’s growth over the course of the book.
The switching of past and present never confused me.
The steam-to-story ratio was spot-on.

Dislikes:

I wanted the conflict to resolve just a little sooner
A certain situation made me super anxious—it stayed just on the right side of the line–but the line got blurry, and I felt bad for everyone involved

The Down & Dirty:

RoomHate is an emotional, angsty slow burn with simmering second-chance tension, a beach house backdrop, and a hero you’ll want to strangle and swoon over at the same time. It’s about old wounds, unresolved feelings, and finally facing the past head-on. If you love enemies-to-lovers with depth, steam, and a few well-placed surprises, RoomHate delivers. Just be prepared to yell at your Kindle a few times while you root for them to finally get it right. This new paperback with little keys on the edges is adorable!