Overall Grade: 4.5 ⭐️
Want to play the game Two Truths and a Lie to discuss Lauren Rowe’s Falling Out of Hate with You? Let’s begin. This book has inspired me to read more rockstar romances because I’ve been missing out. This story should probably be titled “Misunderstandings and Misconceptions” because the hero, Savage, and the heroine, Laila, make assumptions about each other that complicate their journey. And….this book is not STEAMY in the slightest. Okay, so which is the lie?
I’m fairly certain you can find it easily. Falling Out of Hate with You is indeed steamy, BUT it’s done so carefully and most of it crafted in the minds of her two characters that, quite honestly, this book reads like a slow-burn romance. When they do get physical, it is off the charts hot. The fact that we’re told multiple times that Savage has an “oral fixation” should be an indication of what that hero can do to his heroine…and he does it.
Here’s what I love the most about this book, though. See, I appreciate duets, but they oftentimes DRIVE ME CRAZY. Why? Because I’m impatient, and I want my guaranteed happy ending in one book. Additionally, there are authors in romancelandia who create a duet when they should have written one book, but it seems like they draw it out to sell more books. With Lauren Rowe’s Falling Out of Hate with You that does not at all feel like the case. In fact, this book is a steady stream of foreplay between her Savage and Laila. This book is necessary to build to where I think she’s going in the second and final book, Falling Into Love with You. Savage and Laila require the space of this book to set up their growing tension of hate to love in order for it to find resolution in the second book. Even more, these two have messed up thoughts about relationships, and by the end of this first book, they are only beginning to figure it out, which means they will need to work through their character psychologies before they can even consider finding a relationship together. I think, once they do, it’s going to be an explosion of romance. But…by the end of Falling Out of Hate with You, they aren’t quite there. There is the promise of a happily-ever-after, and Lauren Rowe doesn’t really leave you hanging on a huge cliffhanger. Therefore, the ending of this book feels satisfying, and there isn’t a huge urgency for the next book at that moment. Thankfully, Rowe isn’t making us wait too long, given that the second book of the duet is releasing shortly.
All the ways that Lauren Rowe has constructed Falling Out of Hate with You and this duet seem intentional and smart. This is honestly my first Rowe read, and I’m impressed with her universe building, her extras for her book universe, and her ability to see beyond one book to many. The fact that she’s done one of my favorite things in her book, namely creating a song and providing it for her readers, makes me love this story even more.
I’m not lying. If you want to explore rockstar romance OR you’ve read Rowe’s rockstars before, then you’ll want to read this book. Be forewarned, though. Savage and Laila won’t be your favorite people because they haven’t yet learned to be vulnerable. You see the fringes of it in Falling Out of Hate with You, but you know there is the promise of a big love in book 2. Be patient, and stage dive into this book…
In love and romance,
Professor A
Professor Romance 