As Long As You Hate Me

by Carrie Aarons

I have read quite a bit of Ms Aarons work this year and each one has proved that this is an author that doesn’t seem to know who to put a bad word on paper because like all of the others this was a great read.
I won’t say that it is my favourite, but it was not far off!
I quickly got to grips with the characters, but I liked the fact that the author held the story a little tighter, reeling me in with Kara and Dean and then hooking me completely with their journey.
Kara and Dean’s high school romance was no different than the vast majority of high school romances, great while it lasted but life and adulthood took their toll and both parties end up going their separate directions.
But now ten years later, Dean isn’t the same young man that left town and Kara in search of fame and fortune, nope he is the biggest thing since sliced bread in the rock world and living a life that Kara could only dream of in Hollywood. Or he was until some serious accusations are levelled his direction and he heads home, to attend a friend’s wedding and take the opportunity to get his head together.
Kara has never forgiven him for the way she felt when he left, she was crushed and having never listened to his music, she is oblivious to the fact that she permeates every one of his songs, he has never forgotten her, much less left her behind, he carries what he not only felt then but feels now with him on a daily basis, so in his time of need he has one person he can turn too for help and while some may think that he has a nerve, I think he knew that no matter how they parted, what they had was something that was still unresolved and the feelings they have run pretty deep.
Dean wants Kara to pretend to be his girlfriend and eventually his fiancée in a bid to try and clean up his image, whilst the ongoing allegations are dealt with. Will she help him out? Or will she tell him to take a hike? well, that was the problem because if she accepted, life was about to become a whole lot more complicated than it really needed to be.
I liked that Kara wasn’t interested in his fame and fortune, I also liked the fact that she became so protective of him and what was happening to him, but darn it Dean was a tough guy to get to grips with, sometimes I just thought that he needed someone to give him a slap upside the head and other times, I could have worshipped the ground he walked on.
Anyway, the connection as you may have already guessed was one that when picked up, ironed out and set on the right track…took off at a pace that was electrifying. The banter between them and the chemistry was superb!
But the question really was…could they keep up the pretence or was fact and fiction about to swap places?