Hate, Rinse, Repeat Review -

Thank you so much Netgalley, Whitney Dineen, and Melanie Summers, for the opportunity to read and review Hate, Rinse, Repeat! I am so happy to be getting into my Christmas book reviews. I know it might be a little bit early, but I love a great Christmas-y romance and if I could, I would just do that all year round! Actually I guess nothing is stopping me from doing that but it feels wrong to me to be reading about Christmas in June. So maybe it’s just me stopping me…

Anyways, I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to get into it! Here’s the cover description. Keep reading to see my full review!

“Christmas is a time for hate…

Maisy Moore is not looking forward to the holiday season. As owner of the only hair salon in Gamble, Alaska, she’ll be run off her feet helping her clients get dolled up for Christmas and New Years Eve parties. Parties she’ll never be invited to.

But that’s not the worst of it. As a single mom, she knows she still won’t be able to give her seven-year-old son, Jack, the kind of magical Christmas his classmates get. Telling him how much she loves him will only get a kid that age so far. If only she could give him what he really wants—to know who his dad is.

The last thing Maisy needs is for NHL star Chase Evans to come waltzing back into town like he’s God’s gift to women. But that’s exactly what Chase does.

After a taking a crosscheck from behind, Chase’s season is over. Instead of scoring goals, he’s recovering from shoulder surgery, and according to his mother, there’s no better place to recover than home. Because let’s face it, basking in the glow of local adoration won’t be too bad. There are no fans quite like hometown fans.

The last thing Chase expects is to find Maisy Moore still single. He decides to see if maybe they could rekindle their brief romance that occurred the night of their ten-year high school reunion. But when he tries to talk to her, he discovers Maisy’s feelings of lust have turned to loathing. And he’s determined to find out why.

Will Maisy manage to keep the identity of her son a secret? Will there be a holiday miracle that will reunite two hard-headed lovers? Will the BOGO special on shampoo and conditioner be a hit?

Find out in the deliciously funny and ridiculously romantic final installment of the Love is a Gamble Mom-Com Series.“

Review: Hate, Rinse, Repeat by Whitney Dineen and Melanie Summers

Hate, Rinse, Repeat is the third book in the A Gamble on Love Mom Com Series by authors Whitney Dineen and Melanie Summers. Sadly I have not read the first two yet, however after reading this gem, I plan to ASAP! Luckily, if you haven’t read the first two yet, you don’t need to to enjoy this story.

This book has quite a lot going for it. Secret kid? Check. Enemies to lovers? Check. And second chance romance? Check. I loved the whole premise of this story, and parts of it had me in tears.

Maisy, now hairstylist, business owner and mom to 7 year old Jack, didn’t have the greatest time growing up. As someone who was bullied quite a bit growing up, I felt a sort of kinship with Maisy. I know a lot of people probably feel like Maisy was just horrible for keeping her son from his father, but I am not so quick to jump on the Maisy sucks train! Maisy has a lot of trauma that she needs to deal with. Starting with her own father bailing on them, being bullied through most of her childhood, and then the loss of her mother. Thankfully, by the end of the story she is well on her way to healing.

I felt really bad for Chase at the beginning. Losing your career that you are so passionate about because of a cheap shot is terrible. I actually think he was too hard on Maisy when he learns the truth. I mean, he did leave town and never bother to come back. So why would Maisy ever think that he would want to stay and have a family? I understand how she could conclude that her son would be better off not knowing a all rather than knowing that he his dad didn’t want him.

No, I don’t think it was the right thing to do, but I understand how Maisy really would have felt that way.

Anyway, I’m rambling. I loved Chase and Maisy and I adored Jack. He was just too cute. This story was a beautiful story that was filled with heartbreak, and loss but also with forgiveness, second chances and most importantly forgiveness.

What I loved most

First and foremost, I really loved the relationship Maisy has with her son. As a mom (who happens to be a little over emotional sometimes.) with a 7 year old son, I found myself getting teary-eyed just from the connection these two have. Plus Jack is just the sweetest kid ever.

I also loved how quickly Chase fell in love with Jack. I mean how could you not? Chase found out he had a son and immediately made him the priority. I know in that situation a lot of people probably wouldn’t know what to do, but he jumped right in and said I’m going to be a dad now. I thought it was pretty amazing.

Lastly, I actually liked that they went into detail regarding Maisy’s past and her working through it. I think a lot of romances, especially Christmas romances, are so sweet but don’t have a lot of depth. I still love those sweet romances but I like a story with some emotional depth as well.

What didn’t I like?

Honestly, there wasn’t a lot I didn’t like. Other than the fact that I couldn’t put it down… I sat in my work parking lot to finish it because I didn’t even want to drive home without knowing how it ended!

The only thing I guess would be that I feel like it could have been just a little bit longer. I would have loved their relationship to have built a little more. It was almost like one day Chase doesn’t even want to look at Maisy and the next day he wants more of a relationship with her. I feel like that was more trying to wrap the book up rather than making it a little longer.

Also, I typically read much more… I guess we could say spicy romance books. This book is completely PG, which I thought I would mind but the story is so sweet I think spiciness would have ruined it.

I’m so happy to have read Hate, Rinse, Repeat and I recommend it to anyone who loves a sweet holiday romance. If you do, I promise this one will not disappoint. Now I can’t wait to read the rest of this series!

**I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley in exchange for my honest and voluntary review. All thoughts and opinions are my own**