Enemies To Lovers | Laura Jane Williams
REVIEWED BY LINDA HILL
After suffering burnout, high-achiever Flo Greenberg really needs this relaxing holiday in Greece with her family. What she doesn’t need is close family friend Jamie Kramer tagging along. With history between them, Flo is determined to put Jamie firmly in his place – if she can.
Enemies To Lovers: book review & synopsis
Enemies to Lovers does exactly what the title might suggest, but my goodness it’s a tangled and entertaining romp to get from one situation to the other.
There are moments of high humour and deep emotion. There are twists and turns in the story. There’s fizzing sexual attraction. But the real success of Enemies To Lovers is the sensitive understanding of real people that underpins the action.
I thought Flo was a brilliant character. She is intelligent and beautiful and yet suffers dreadfully from a need to please others. Her mental health has played a big part in shaping her personality and actions, and it is fascinating how her family react to her after her breakdown. In doing their best to protect her, they inadvertently reinforce her feelings and create problems of their own.
If that sounds dark and unappealing, don’t be fooled. Laura Jane Williams has a lightness of touch, coupled with a real sense of humour that means this story zips along. Add in Flo’s friend Hope whose WhatsApp messages provide advice like Shakespeare’s Touchstone, and there’s cracking entertainment to be had from this story.
Jamie, too, is a real triumph. He’s physically gorgeous (especially as he doesn’t have a man bun), making the reader fall in love with him very early on and he blends traditional sensitivity with taciturn stubbornness to perfection. Through him the story explores friendship, loyalty and trust, adding interest to the engaging plot.
The Greek setting is glorious…
Enemies To Lovers enables readers to travel without leaving the comfort of their own home. Descriptions of the area around the villa, the sun and the sea, are clear and vivid, but it’s the food that is most effective. It’s really hard to read the story without feeling ravenously hungry. It makes you want to hop on a plane immediately and head to the nearest taverna.
Enemies To Lovers is a smashing book. Of course it has a love story that is resolved exactly how readers might expect, but that is where the strength of the story lies. It’s escapist and romantic (and actually quite sexy) and it takes the reader on holiday along with Flo. I finished the story feeling I’d had a proper break from the trials of life. Super stuff.
Enemies To Lovers by Laura Jane Williams is out now (Penguin, PB, £9.99) and available from Amazon.
Read more fiction reviews by Linda Hill including Island In The Sun by Katie Fforde, The Trap by Ava Glass, Look In The Mirror by Catherine Steadman, I Died On a Tuesday by Jane Corry, Redemption by Jack Jordan and The Unforgettable Loretta, Darling by Katherine Blake.
