Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Dear Enemy

I was unprepared for this book. When I was reading Make It Sweet and these characters, Delilah and Macon, popped up I could tell they had their own story. Little did I know it was so full of angst, bitterness, and heartache. Talk about a second-chance romance. It may not seem that way at first since these two grew up together and seem to hate each other, but there is always more to things than meets the eye.

For some reason, I have such a hard time with stories that have siblings who are terrible to each other. Especially when it seems the parents are oblivious. The way Delilah’s sister takes advantage of her and everyone else around her grated on me. Being as Macon and said sister dated all through high school and are back in each other’s lives without Delilah being aware had me instantly suspicious of Macon’s real motivations. Yet once Macon’s voice starts to be heard it’s easy to see he’s not as bad as Delilah thought. But was he in the past?

There is no easy answer to that question. This story took me high and brought me low. I ached for Delilah and, once I knew Macon had good intentions and was indeed honorable, I wanted her to be able to give into their pull. Nobody writes a slow-burn romance like Kristen Callihan.

This is a story where a grovel is most definitely needed. Macon’s grovel comes via old letters he wrote to Delilah and those letters killed me. These two deserve their HEA together.

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chloelj27's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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pippamillerxoxo_'s review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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dianaschmidty's review

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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risseandshine's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Delilah Baker hates Macon Saint. Macon Saint hates Delilah Baker. Well…sort of.

Ten years after his bitter remarks and inappropriate nicknames, Macon gets in touch with his favorite childhood target Delilah again. His assistant (and ex-girlfriend) happens to be Delilah’s sister and she suddenly disappeared with a treasured heirloom. As payment, Delilah agrees, albeit reluctantly, to be Macon’s in-house personal chef. A seemingly straightforward agreement proves to be complicated when attraction starts to simmer and feelings slowly unravel. In the end, it seems that the two childhood enemies may not be destined for hate after all.

I’m a big fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope and this one undoubtedly delivered on the kind I prefer: the “enemies” part had a foundation. Macon and Delilah had an antagonistic history and that was clearly shown all throughout the story. I really loved the use of diary entries and letters to show their relationship backstory as children and how it morphed into something different as time passed.

Macon here had a difficult past and that pushed him to use hate as a shield. Understandably, Delilah pushed back with Macon hitting her where it hurts the most–how she sees her appearance. Macon was a character I was fully prepared to dismiss considering how he treated Delilah in the past. However, he was written in a way that his motives and thoughts were easy to grasp and relate to even though he wasn't exactly the nicest kid back then. It also helped that his present actor self didn’t act like a stereotypical spoiled celebrity. As for Delilah, she was an overall immovable force and I loved that about her. She isn’t one to back down and that was evident even in the flashbacks. I’d say her biggest flaw had to be her tendency to shoulder burdens on behalf of her family; there even came a point where she annoyed the living hell out of me because of that flaw. Still, she was a solid character that I eventually adored, especially with her dynamic with Macon.

I was expecting to give this book at least a four-star rating mainly because of the amazing back-and-forth between hero and heroine, but I eventually changed my mind. Everything was going interestingly well but then the middle part felt way too dragged out. I get that the romance was supposed to be a slow burn, but I lost touch with a lot of scenes that I personally felt could have been left out or even written in a more concise manner. Thankfully, this book had a saving grace at the very end. The intense outpour of emotion from the past that met with the present convinced me that Delilah and Macon are a couple worth rooting for.

It isn't exactly a favorite but I still recommend picking this book up if you want a simultaneous serving of the enemies-to-lovers and bully tropes in your romance with an emphasis on delicious banter between the main characters.

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dkgreads's review

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emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Oh. My. Freaking. Heart. What an EMOTIONAL ride! It’s no secret that enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and this book did it WELL. I absolutely ate up the snark that flew like bullets between Delilah and Macon! It was the reconciliation of their past that did me in though and had my heart ACHING. Oh man, and that bubble bath scene? Two words: KINDLE MELTING.

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sarah_thebooknerd's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

4 ⭐️
2 🌶

I enjoyed this book not as much as Make it Sweet by the same author. I appreciated that the bullying from childhood was not glossed over and it was addressed and worked through. The sister in this book did not pay enough for her behavior, I could not imagine my sibling hurting me the way that her sister did.

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findmeinunderland's review

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challenging emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book was funny and so cute, it kept a smile on my
Face. Absolutely loved Delilah and Andy and Macon, even if I hate his name because what is that?

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