Brynn and Sebastian Hate Each Other by Bethany Turner: Book Review

 *Book received for consideration. All thoughts are my own.

She’s a sunny morning-show host. He’s a cynical ex-reporter. They’re destined to hate each other . . . Aren’t they?

Brynn Cornell has to be stuck in a nightmare. Just last week, she was riding high as cohost of the popular morning show Sunup. She’s America’s Ray of Sunshine—the girl-next-door beauty who drives up TV ratings while never exuding anything but her trademark positivity and poise. All it took was one huge on-air mistake to expose her snarky side to the world and make it all come crumbling down. Now she’s back in her hometown of Adelaide Springs, Colorado, in a last-ditch attempt to convince viewers she’s not the mean girl they think she is. All she has to do is apologize and capture some feel-good footage reminding everyone she’s just a girl from humble beginnings who’s grateful for her big break, and she might manage to preserve both her career and her image. But this town holds painful memories that she’s not ready to face.

Sebastian Sudworth was on the fast track to the journalist hall of fame. A superstar reporter with a reputation for being in the center of the action, his fearless, relentless coverage of major events around the globe was winning him awards and accolades—until something snapped inside him and he vanished from the scene under mysterious circumstances. Sebastian sought refuge in tiny Adelaide Springs, working odd jobs and trying to blend in as a scruffy mountain town citizen.

When Sebastian is assigned to chauffeur Brynn around town, Brynn is sure he can see right through her carefully cultivated, sunny persona. But she’s determined to do what it takes to maintain her image and save her career—so she’ll just have to charm the socks off Sebastian the same way she charmed her viewers. Easier said than done. It’s no picnic to play nice around someone you hate . . . especially when you might be crazy about them.

Bethany Turner has been writing since the second grade, when she won her first writing award for explaining why, if she could have lunch with any person throughout history, she would choose John Stamos. She stands by this decision. Bethany now writes pop culture–infused rom-coms for a new generation of readers who crave fiction that tackles the thorny issues of life with humor and insight. She lives in Southwest Colorado with her husband, whom she met in the nineties in a chat room called Disco Inferno. As sketchy as it sounds, it worked out pretty well in this case, and they are now the proud parents of two teenagers. Connect with Bethany at seebethanywrite.com or across social media @seebethanywrite, where she clings to the eternal dream that John Stamos will someday send her a friend request.

From the start, this story drew me in as we meet Brynn starting her new position on a morning news show, which is quickly put in jeopardy when she accidentally insults her hometown live on air. When she heads back to make her apologies, she meets Sebastion... and well let's just say they get off on the wrong foot. While the storyline drew me in right away, I must admit I did find the rest of the buildup through maybe the first half to be a little bit slow. Honestly, I didn't love Brynn's character at first so this probably played a role in that feeling. Still, it picked up at some point and I found myself really enjoying these two together... as much as I enjoyed the banter when they were not getting along, their chemistry when they came together was all that much better! They were both definitely flawed characters, but I liked seeing them work through things as the story went on. And the ending? Too fun. 

If you like small town, enemies to lovers with lots of pop culture references, this is definitely one to check out!