Six years ago, in the dead of night, I woke up to a cold bed and an even colder future without her.
I would’ve followed her anywhere and she left.
I thought I’d moved on and left all she meant to me behind. But a first love is never easy to forget. Even harder when I once felt our love is inevitable–inescapable. And I’ve been proven right once again.
One night brings us back together and derails our lives. We’re sent on a collision course with a future apart and even scarier–a future together. I’m back basking in the warm glow of her gaze and burning with the unquenchable fire of her touch.
We’ve walked this path before and our shattered hearts have been pieced back together. As easy as it would be to run again, I can’t stop wanting her.
This is our final chance to have what we’ve always wanted–each other. Or it’ll be our ruin.
| Title: | The Hate of Loving You |
| Author: | Maya Hughes |
| Narrator(s): | Emma Wilder Tim Paige |
| Series: | Falling Trilogy (Book 3) |
| Pages / Length: | 438 / 11 hours, 40 minutes |
| Genre(s): | Contemporary New Adult |
| Trope(s): | Enemies to Lovers Friends to Lovers Neighbours to Lovers Sports Romance (American Football) |
| Point of View: | First person, past tense, dual viewpoints (H & h) |
| Narration Type: | Dual |
| Location: | US |
| HEA: | âś“ |
| Release Date: | 1st October, 2021 |
 |  |  |  |
The perfect conclusion
I have been working my way through the audio books of this trilogy and I was so happy to get to this conclusion of Bay and Dare’s (I’ll still call him that for this review) story. The first book is The Art of Falling For You, the second The Sin of Kissing You, and now this one. You MUST read these stories in order or they will not make sense.
Now we know Maya Hughes wouldn’t do us wrong by not giving us the HEA that we deserve almost as much as Bay and Dare themselves, do. We’ve all been through a lot together and while we know it’s all going to be alright, there are still some obstacles to overcome and some nails to be gnawed before we get what we’ve been waiting for.
Where the first book was the the start of Bay and Dare’s journey together and the cataclysmic fallout and end of said relationship, the second was Dare reaching his breaking point and hitting rock bottom. In this story it’s Bay’s turn to get to that point. It’s still told in dual viewpoints and has thoughts and experiences from both our characters, but that’s the dynamic I got from this book.
What I’m loving about listening to audio after reading the ebook of a story is that you actually notice a lot more, or perhaps the narrators just give more nuance to the words as much as they inject much more emotion. Tim Paige and Emma Wilder have been with us throughout the trilogy and to me, they now are Dare and Bay. What I specifically noticed in this audio is the sheer skill that goes into the different voices – male and female – that each narrator does. So when in Dare’s viewpoint, Tim Paige reads conversations between Dare and Bay and I actually found myself forgetting that there weren’t two people talking back and forth. And it was the same with Emma Wilder.
“…[I] loved every tear-stained, angsty, nail-biting, book tossing minute…”
For fans of Maya Hughes, this book also gives us delightful cameos from LJ and Marissa, Berk and Jules – and a quick update about (but no page time for) Seph and Reece. There’s also a quick overlap of the SWANK and Fulton U worlds, which will merge further when Maddy (Bay’s manager) gets her own story with SWANK’s Everest. Many yays for that coming to my kindle and ears in the hopefully near future!
While I knew what was coming (having read the book previously) the story still packed an emotional punch. What made things even more delicious is that when they were together, in some ways, our couple were cute and teasing and like a couple of teens in love. It worked so well, merging together their past with their present and then future.
While I’ve read a number of books where I feel satisfaction at an ending, it’s rare that I feel so uplifted alongside that. I wanted to keep reading – even if it was just the mundane aspects of Bay and Dare’s lives together. And without sounding like a kook, this story left me feeling upbeat and hopeful. If Bay and Dare can find their way to love, happiness and forever together, there’s hope, too, for the rest of us. I’ve loved every tear-stained, angsty, nail-biting, book tossing minute of their adventure together and feel Dare and Bay have been brought to life more fully from these audiobooks. The perfect conclusion to the Fallen Trilogy and definitely 5 stars.
Maya Hughes can often be found sneaking in another chapter while hiding in the bathroom from her kids! 🙂 I’m a romance writer who loves taking inspiration from everyday life, namely my husband and biggest fan. Inspiration also strikes when I hear a song, meet someone new or daydream while at soccer practice.
I’m the mom of three little ones, the wife to an amazing husband and also work full time. Some of my favorite things are cinnamon rolls, white wine, laughing until I can’t breathe and traveling with my family.
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Falling Trilogy:
No Comments