Hidden Gem Romance of the Week: For the Record, I Hate You

There are some books you finish and immediately wonder how they managed to fly so far under the radar. That was For the Record, I Hate You for me. I finished it thinking, how does this book have fewer than 1,000 ratings on Goodreads?

Seriously. If you love second-chance romance, put this one on your TBR.

I gave For the Record, I Hate You by Amanda Gamble 4.5 stars, and it checked so many of my romance boxes. We have second chances, forced proximity, revenge, unresolved feelings, plenty of angst, great banter, and that delicious tension that comes from two people who very clearly still have feelings for each other but have a lot of baggage standing in their way.

And somehow, Amanda Gamble manages to balance all of that with her signature dry humor and wit, which I absolutely loved.

The Story

For the Record, I Hate You follows Eli and Derek, who have known each other since childhood. Their friendship eventually turns into something more, and after years of being close, they finally take that step and sleep together.

Unfortunately, their happiness is incredibly short-lived.

Just a week later, a terrible accident happens, and Derek abruptly ends their relationship. He completely shuts Eli out, leaving her heartbroken and with absolutely no idea why he would do something so devastating.

Four years later, Derek is back in town and living with his mom.

And because apparently four years of separation wasn't enough to make things complicated, Eli works for his mother as a florist. Which means the two are suddenly thrown back together and forced to see each other regularly.

Naturally, there are still a lot of unresolved feelings between them.

Eli isn't exactly interested in forgiving Derek and moving on, either. She's angry, she's hurt, and she wants revenge.

That's where her friend comes in with a plan: convince another woman to pursue Derek, make him fall for her, and then break his heart.

It's a messy little revenge scheme, and while I will admit that Eli's friend was probably my least favorite part of the book—she drove me absolutely insane at times—it does set the stage for plenty of drama.

Because as Eli and Derek continue to find themselves thrown together, it becomes increasingly obvious that four years haven't erased what they felt for each other.

Not even close.

The Second-Chance Romance I Didn't Know I Needed

The best part of this book for me was the tension between Eli and Derek.

There is so much history between these two, and I loved watching all of those old feelings slowly come back to the surface. They're dealing with hurt and resentment, but underneath all of that is the very obvious fact that they still care about each other.

And then there's the mystery surrounding their original breakup.

Why did Derek suddenly shut Eli out? What actually happened that night? And why was he willing to completely destroy their relationship rather than tell her the truth?

Those questions kept me invested throughout the book, and I loved watching everything slowly unravel.

This isn't just a romance about two people who happen to have dated before. Their history is actually important to the story, and the emotional baggage they carry into their second chance gives the relationship a lot more depth.

What I Loved

The tension. If you love a romance where you can practically feel the unresolved feelings between the characters, this delivers.

The banter. Amanda Gamble's dry humor was one of my favorite parts of the book. There were plenty of moments that made me laugh, which helped keep the heavier parts of the story from feeling too overwhelming.

The yearning. These two have history, and you can feel it. I love when a second-chance romance actually makes me believe that the characters have never completely gotten over each other.

The emotional depth. Beneath the revenge plot and romantic tension, there are some genuinely emotional questions about hurt, forgiveness, and whether you can ever really move forward when you don't understand why someone broke your heart in the first place.

What Kept It From Five Stars

My biggest issue was Eli's friend and the revenge storyline.

I understood what the author was doing, and it definitely added drama to the story, but there were times when I wanted to reach through the pages and tell this woman to please stop.

She was easily my least favorite character, and some of the decisions surrounding the revenge plot kept this from being a five-star read for me.

But honestly? That's a pretty small complaint considering how much I enjoyed the rest of the book.

Final Thoughts

If you're a second-chance romance girlie like me, I really think For the Record, I Hate You is worth picking up.

It's angsty without being completely consumed by angst, romantic without taking itself too seriously, and filled with the kind of tension and unresolved feelings that make a second-chance romance so addictive.

And I genuinely don't understand how this book has fewer than 1,000 ratings on Goodreads.

So if you're looking for a romance that feels a little under the radar, add this one to your TBR.

I'm giving For the Record, I Hate You 4.5 stars, and I'm officially campaigning for this book to get the attention it deserves.

Want to Read It?

If For the Record, I Hate You sounds like your kind of romance, you can grab a copy here:

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