A Love Hate Thing – Whitney D. Grandison
464 pages | Published January 2020
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After recovering from being shot, Tyson ‘Trice’ finds himself thrown into the wealthy town of Pacific Hills. He is welcomed with constant stares and the feeling of not belonging. After the past he has had he isn’t too bothered with how the rest of his life will turn out. Golden girl Nandy, also Tysons childhood friend, is the queen of Pacific Hills. She had built a pristine image and after learning her parents are taking in a troubled young man, she fears her reputation will be burned down. Over time the thin line between love and hate gets thinner, and the attraction between them can’t be ignored. Tyson begins to bring out the real Nandy, while she tried to break away at the walls guarding his heart. With the constant pull Tyson has to back home, it will be a miracle if he makes it through the summer at all.
So, I got this book a while ago and it sat on my shelf for a while. Like a lot of books do when your to be read shelf is every growing. But I wish I had read this one sooner. It was beautiful, heartbreaking, and frustrating all at the same time.
Two completely different worlds collided in this story, and as much as I don’t want there to be judgement of others in the world, the reality is that it’s there. It does happen, and it takes people like Nandy and Tyson to challenge those barriers. Nandy’s parents, Parker and Max, are amazing individuals and I want to make sure they get the credit they deserve. Maybe they aren’t the main characters in this story, but they are the kind of people I want to surround myself with. The morals they stand for and the way their present themselves was inspiring to see, and I feel like Nandy, Tyson, and Jordy will continue in their footsteps with the way they approach the world. They were a breath of fresh air, and I want to see more characters, and people in the real world, like them!
Tyson, was someone that brought people together wherever he was. He was a big factor in his friendships back home, and he was someone who brought together people who didn’t hang out before in his new home. As complex as he seemed to be, what he wanted from life was fairly simple I thought. He wanted to belong, and he wanted to be loved for him.
Overall, I thought this story was well written, and I loved the alternating perspectives of both Nandy and Tyson. I felt I was able to relate to both of them, but in different ways. Their friendship was so natural, and the way they evolved over time was nice to see. I enjoyed how they knew everything about one another, and how they remembered so much of their childhood together, even after years apart.
Hayl Writes 