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 |
| Series: | Falling Trilogy (Book 3) |
| Pages: | 395 |
| Genre(s): | Contemporary New Adult |
| Trope(s): | Rockstar Romance Second Chance Romance Sports Romance (American Football) |
| Point of View: | First person, past tense, dual viewpoints (H & h) |
| Location: | Philadelphia, US |
| HEA: | ✔︎ |
| Release Date: | 6th May, 2021 |
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Uplifting and satisfying conclusion
Ah! It’s here and I can finally breathe! And then hold my breath again as Bay and (I’ll still call him) Dare try to make this the right time and the right place for their love to last and for the pair to be together. Will this be the right time or are they doomed to be apart forever?
Now come on, we know Ms 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.
Although I didn’t realise it at the time, I see now that the second book in this trilogy (The Sin of Kissing You) was Dare reaching his breaking point and hitting rock bottom, now it’s Bay’s turn to get to that point. It’s still told in dual viewpoints but that’s what I got from the story.
Which reminds me, this book is NOT a standalone. It’s a HEA, sure, but you do need to read the first two books (The Art of Falling for You and The Sin of Kissing You) to get any kind of understanding and satisfaction from this final story as all three books deal with the same couple.
“Never a more perfect couple were Bay and Dare and I loved every tear-stained, angsty, nail-biting, book tossing minute of their adventure together.”
And satisfying is exactly the right word for this book. As I read, I wondered if I would feel any sort of conclusion and truly believe that Bay and Dare would make it this time. So when I got to the end I was delighted that you could see that this time was forever. Never a more perfect couple were Bay and Dare and I loved every tear-stained, angsty, nail-biting, book tossing minute of their adventure together.
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 in the hopefully near future!
This story didn’t wreck me as much as the first two books in the series and as much as I had feared. Both Bay and Dare were more mature and more aware of their limitations and their boundaries. What made that 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. I would pass my kindle and smile as I remembered the story I’d just read, getting a hit of that happiness each time. And without sounding like a kook, this story also 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. 5 very satisfied 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.
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Falling Trilogy:
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Audiobook Review: The Art of Falling for You by Maya Hughes 🎧 - Jo Reads Romance
27 September 2021 at 9:11 pm[…] I read and thoroughly enjoyed this book earlier in the year so when it become available in audio I fair jumped at the chance to relive this first part of Dare and Bay’s trilogy. Yes – if you’re new to these stories, this particular book ends in a cliffhanger with Dare and Bay’s story continuing in The Sin of Kissing You and then The Hate of Loving You. […]