Best Enemies Forever by Olivia Hayle
Marrying the man I hate is bad enough. But falling for him? That'll be the death of me. Gabriel Thompson and I are like oil and water. Our New York families control two of the nation's largest companies and the business rivalry is decades old. We've carried the torch ourselves since childhood. But then we bump into each other after a conference in Vegas. Drinks are involved, and he utters the three little words I can't resist. I dare you. The next morning we wake up hungover, late, and worst of all, married. It's a PR disaster. To save our reputations, we have to sell this marriage to the media and to our families. Go to parties. Move in together. Act in love. Neither of us have ever mentioned that one drunken night in college, when we crossed lines branded into us from birth. I'd assumed he'd forgotten and moved on. He hasn't, and he's determined to show what I've been missing. But Gabriel is too confident, too smug, and far too attractive for anything real. I can never let my guard down. With his ring on my finger, we're destined to be enemies forever. Til' death do us part... unless we kill each other first.

 

Olivia Hayle is one of my 1-Click authors. Instant auto-buy, no regrets.

Usually, the “accidentally married in Vegas” trope doesn’t catch me. This time, it did.

The Characters

Connie: She’s tough and imminently capable — and struggles so much with feeling like nothing she ever does will be enough for her family to see her as that. She wants to be seen, wants to be trusted — and can’t trust the men in her family with her problems, because then they’ll never trust her to take care of herself. It’s a sticky situation to be in, and I feel for her on a deep, deep level. She wants to be seen, and loved, and she’s slowly starving emotionally. Until Gabriel.

Gabriel: He’s been harboring feelings for Connie for a long, long time, loving their confrontations because they were their only interactions for the longest time, and when he’d riled her up, she’d at least looked at him. And he sees her. Champions for her. Offers unwavering support, and trusts her capabilities. And he hides it all with his smug, smirking teasing.

What I loved about it

How obvious it is how deeply Gabriel loves Connie — to everyone but her, if they choose to look. But both their families are blinded by their rivalry, so no one looks. But he loves her, and he takes so much care not to force her into anything she might not want because he loves her and wants her to be happy, no matter what that means for him. He wants her to come to him because she wants it, and him.

What I missed

Complicated father-daughter relationships are my weakness, they get me every time. And here, the reconciliation between Connie and her father never comes. The moment of truth between Connie and her brother is a start, but her father never has to confront the conflict between them. It’s swept under the rug, like so many things in their relationship, and it leaves me a little disappointed with the missing resolution.

Spice Rating: 🌶🌶🌶/5

What Olivia Hayle does really, really well is a long, slow build-up. There are only a few explicit open-door scenes, but they’re well worth the wait. It never feels like not enough.

 

Fave Quote

Only she’s a good girl with teeth, and I’ve always loved getting her to bite.

Tropes/Keywords
  • Enemies to lovers
  • Family rivals
  • Drunk Vegas Wedding
  • He falls first
  • Only one bed

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