Cruel Hate (Hidden Valley Elite Book 5) by Isla Vaughn – Review by Shea Gilkerson 9/21/23

Cruel Hate: A College Sports Romance by Isla Vaughn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Big fan of Isla Vaughn and the way her prose and world building draws you right in. I personally have trouble remembering sometimes that these students are in high school and early college, but to be fair I have never been an elite member of anything, been a con artist, Olympic level diver, NFL level football player, or anything else the rest of the characters deal with in this series. Regardless, as far as any type of “complaint”, that’s probably it.

Phoenix and Aspen are from different places in life. Phoenix has made it to college alongside his cousins and is leading the Thane University football team as the star QB as a freshman. He meets Aspen and neither are fans of the other. After a fling, Aspen finds herself pregnant. While neither are happy with the situation, they both have things happening that would be easier if they presented themselves as a couple. In the midst of pretending to be together, they both develop feelings they refuse to acknowledge or communicate about. There’s a lot of very immature ways to handle things between them, but the chemistry, fear, angst, confusion and so many other emotions keep you enthralled through the read.

Another win in the series!

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