YOU DESERVE EACH OTHER by SARAH HOGLE

“You’re a demon,” I tell him
“And you’ve been a ghost,” he breathes

When asked to review You Deserve Each Other, the debut from Sarah Hogle, we read the synopsis and immediately said yes. Now, after finishing we can’t believe this is a debut novel! What a fantastic read with an interesting twist on the enemies to lovers’ trope! With Naomi and Nicholas hellbent on antagonising one another at every opportunity, it’s more a lovers to enemies to lovers’ theme and we lapped up all the funny, crazy, heartbreaking and beautifully emotional moments!

‘When you build a life with someone, so many of your building blocks prop up your partner, and you’re propped up by theirs until your foundations merge and walking away risks destabilisation for you both.’

Twenty-eight-year-old Naomi Westfield and thirty-two-year-old Nicholas Rose are engaged, and only three months away from tying the knot when they find themselves questioning their relationship, irritating one another, playing pranks on each and wondering if their wedding will, in fact, proceed.

Told through Naomi’s inner monologue we learn how utterly frustrated Naomi is with her relationship, her career and her family. Her insecurities intensify her antagonism towards Nicholas who has a stable career and is a doted-upon son. Naomi feels as though she’s been relegated to second place in Nicholas’ life, her feelings manifesting into her wanting to possibly call off their wedding.

‘There are hurts. I feel them all over, like stab wounds: the distance that we both allowed to settle in, ruining what should have been the happiest year of our lives.’

Nicholas’s overbearing mother, Deborah wears on every one of Naomi’s last nerve as she dictates every part of their upcoming nuptials, and her constant demands on Nicholas leave Naomi frustrated. But how does Nicholas feel? Can he see a point where their relationship can be saved?

“You stopped seeing me, Naomi. You stopped wanting me. “

Sarah Hogle delivered a debut filled with witty banter and some laugh out loud moments as Naomi and Nicholas try every trick in the book to ‘one-up’ each other in the revenge stakes! Some of their exploits were ingenious! The emotion certainly pulled at our heartstrings in a story that, beneath the wit and antics, is a beautiful romance/love story between two people who have lost their way.

“I don’t know where you’ve been all year, Naomi. Your body’s here, but your head’s somewhere else. You’ve gone and left me all alone.”

We did take a little while to warm to the story as we couldn’t get a read on Naomi and Nicholas, with Naomi coming across as the aggressor, however, once we became invested and the emotion of the characters came to fruition, we were held spellbound as Naomi and Nicholas navigated their troublesome relationship, through all the pent up hurt and miscommunication.

“Relearning you has been the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

A little reminiscent War of the Roses/Mr and Mrs Smith (though without the violence!), we were completely dazzled by, and invested in the characters, the romance and the eventual outcome of Naomi and Nicholas’s story. Not to mention swooning crazily over Nicholas. This guy… we loved him! If you love the enemies to lover’s trope, you need to grab this book!

‘I wish I could see inside his head to know how he feels about me. ‘