New Release: Dear Enemy by Kristen Callihan + Review!

Dear Enemy by Kristen Callihan is now available!

From New York Times bestselling author Kristen Callihan comes a smart, emotional contemporary romance about finding love with the most unlikely of people.

As kids, they hated each other. Macon Saint was beautiful, but despite his name, Delilah knew he was the devil. That he dated her slightly evil sister, Samantha, was no picnic either. When they broke up, it was a dream come true: Delilah never had to see him again.

Ten years later, her old enemy sends a text.

Delilah’s sister has stolen a valuable heirloom from Macon, now a rising Hollywood star, and he intends to collect his due. One problem: Sam has skipped town.

Sparks still sizzle between Macon and Delilah, only this heat feels alarmingly like unwanted attraction. But Delilah is desperate to keep her weak-hearted mother from learning of her sister’s theft. So she proposes a deal: she’ll pay off the debt by being Macon’s personal chef and assistant.

It’s a recipe for disaster, but Macon can’t stop himself from accepting. Even though Delilah clearly hates him, there’s something about her that feels like home. Besides, they’re no longer kids, and what once was a bitter rivalry has the potential to be something sweeter. Something like forever.


Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Dear-Enemy-Kristen-Callihan-ebook/dp/B07Y82VC6P/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1585517008&sr=8-3&fbclid=IwAR2ZV07ixzhPaYFbDGbV-88ia_JSmLvF0AsUssQZbAMjTNKBMaowrIRQmnc

Available on KU!

Review:

4.25-4.5 stars

****

 This book was so good! Dear Enemy is the story of Macon and Delilah. They grew up as neighbors and enemies as children and teens. Both were cruel and hurt each other. Macon dated Delilah's sister in high school, too. Now, years later, Macon is a famous movie actor living in Hollywood. Delilah is a chef, hoping to own her own restaurant someday. When her flighty sister, Sam, takes a job as Macon's assistant and steals a priceless heirloom from him, Delilah must step in to save her from jail by taking over her job. Now she is working for her enemy. Only Macon doesn't seem like her enemy any longer. He feels like coming home.

I loved this book. There is a great story and fantastic writing. Macon and Delilah go from enemies to friends to lovers, slow burn style. Their connection and chemistry was amazing. I liked them both a lot. I loved that they had matured since they were kids. They had both made mistakes and hurt each other in the past, but they soon found they were not enemies in the present. They were both two lonely people. No one else in their lives had ever truly seen them for who they were. I definitely felt they were soulmates. This book had fun banter, sweet, sexy and witty moments. I could have read about these two forever. I was happy that for once the hero was the one who had not had a satisfying sex life before the heroine. He was not a manwhore, was more of a loner, and had never truly loved or been loved before Delilah came back into his life. She was just what he needed, an vice versa, to be happy. Although, while I felt secure in their future together, I did want a more firm plan for the future, like an engagement.

As Sam had dated Macon in the past, it was a very immature, not serious, high school relationship. This had the potential to bother me, as sometimes in other books this trope hasn't worked. But I wasn't too bothered by it in this situation. Macon never really liked Sam, nor her him. Their relationship was something for them both to hide behind. Sam was not a good person and took advantage of her sister and hurt her, while pretending to be on her side. It was nothing compared to he and Delilah together.

I also loved the sense of history and nostalgia for their Southern childhood. And I really enjoyed the food aspect and the sense that Delilah's cooking brought to mind shared memories and was a way of sharing love with those she cared about.

Overall, Dear Enemy was just really, really good! Definitely the best book I have read so far this year and will be in my top ten at year end. The writing is amazing. I loved Delilah and Macon and savored their journey to love. I look forward to whatever Ms. Callihan comes up with next!