Why I Loathe Sterling Lane by Ingrid Paulson Pages: 287
on June 6, 2017
Genres: Young Adult, contemporary, Romance
Source: Paperback from publisher
Per her 537 rules, Harper Campbell keeps her life tidy—academically and socially. But the moment Sterling Lane transfers into her tiny boarding school, her twin brother gets swept up in Sterling’s pranks and schemes and nearly gets expelled. Harper knows it’s Sterling’s fault, and to protect her brother, she vows to take him down. As she exposes his endless school violations, he keeps striking back, framing her for his own infractions. Worst of all, he’s charmed the administration into thinking he’s harmless, and only Harper sees him for the troublemaker he absolutely is.
As she breaks rule after precious rule in her battle of wits against Sterling and tension between them hits a boiling point, she’s horrified to discover that perhaps the two of them aren’t so different. And maybe she doesn't entirely hate him after all. Teaming up with Sterling to save her brother might be the only way to keep from breaking the most important rule—protecting Cole.
Why I Loathe Sterling Lane is a young adult contemporary romance by Ingrid Paulson. Why I Loathe Sterling Lane felt kind of like 10 Things I hate about you, which is a movie that I love. It was a really fun read, and I would love to see more from these characters. Why I Loathe Sterling Lane is a standalone novel, but I really want to see a second book, maybe when Harper and Sterling are in college. That would be a lot of fun.
Why I Loathe Sterling Lane is the story of Harper and Sterling. It is told from Harper’s point of view. Harper lives her life by a crazy, and rigid set of rules. Sterling Lane comes blowing into her life and throws all of her rules into chaos. I got a total kick out of Harper and Sterling. They were so similar it was kind of scary. I liked that they recognized that in one another as well. One of my favorite parts of the book was when Sterling turns to Harper after she just executed her revenge prank, and instead of getting mad he said, well I’m surprised. I had no idea we would be friends. It just cracked me up because they totally loved riling each other up, and watching them admit that to themselves was great.
There were a couple of things that irked me about the book. The first was the cover model. I love the cover of Why I Loathe Sterling Lane, but the young lady did not match the description of Harper and that bugged me. Harper is supposed to have very short choppy dark hair and green eyes. The girl on the cover has medium brown long and brown eyes. I just wished the cover artist did a better job matching, but other than that the cover is beautiful. It is very much a style that I love. The second thing was as much as I loved the enemy portion of Harper and Sterling’s relationship, I really wanted to see more of the romance. The romance that was included was great but it was smashed into the end of the book. I want more. Like I said earlier, I really want another book now that Sterling and Harper have realized that they like one another. I think with the two of them, it would be so much fun.
Harper is a good sister. Sure, she is crazy and uptight, but she really cares about her brother and she would clearly do anything for him. Harper got such a bad rep in the book for being crazy, and while she did have her tendencies and she certainly went way too far a time or two, I think she was misunderstood. I really liked her, and I wished that her brother was a little better to her in the start of the story. She was constantly on his side, and it seemed like he was quick to see the worst in Harper and that bummed me out. But their dynamic got a lot better as the story went on and we got to see just how deep the stuff her brother was involved in. Then everything made a lot more sense.
Bottom line: Why I Loathe Sterling Lane was a fun, antics and prank filled enemies romance that I stayed up late into the night to finish. I really enjoyed this one. It was a little over the top at times, but it was always a lot of fun. There was a great romance thrown in but it doesn’t develop until pretty late in the story, so just hang on and wait for it. I would love to see another book in the series featuring Harper and Sterling. They are truly a perfect match.
Why I Loathe Sterling Lane by @IngridEPaulson is a fun antics filled read @EntangledTeen @BookBriefs #Giveaway #Review Click To Tweet
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About Ingrid Paulson
Ingrid Paulson does not, in fact, loathe anyone. Although the snarky sense of humor and verbal barbs in Why I Loathe Sterling Lane might suggest otherwise (and shock those who think they know her best).
Ingrid lives in San Francisco with her husband and children and enjoys long-distance running, eavesdropping, and watching science documentaries. She has always loved books and writing short stories, but was surprised one day to discover the story she was working on wasn’t so short any more. Valkyrie Rising, a paranormal girl power story was Ingrid’s first novel. Expect another humorous contemporary romance to join the list soon.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Sam
You know what, I WOULD love a second book, because I really liked the interactions between Harper and Sterling so much. The ending of this book was really strong too. If there was a next book, and it focused on Harper, Sterling, and their hijinks only, I would be all in. Great review!
Sam @ WLABB
Karen Gagnon
I am a huge fan of 10 Things I Hate About You and this sounds fun! Thanks for the post!
Victoria
Thanks for sharing your review it sounds like an interesting book!
Angela Zhang
I like the cover and the main color!