Henry is a seasoned romantic comedy writer. But Emily Henry makes that easy equation look pretty difficult in her third novel “Book Lovers.” Enemies to lovers is all about the tension! The unspoken feelings! The miscommunication! The passion! The way they don’t hate each other, not even at all! The crux of enemies to lovers is a simple reversal of expectations.
Who among us can forget Julia Stiles’s character in “Ten Things I Hate About You” reading a poem addressed to her enemy, played by Heath Ledger, that ends with “But mostly I hate the way I don’t hate you, not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.” No one, that’s who. I mean, anyone with a soul can admit that Elizabeth telling Darcy that he is the last man on Earth she could ever marry (while he stares longingly at her in the pouring rain) is damn good cinema.
From “Pride and Prejudice” to “When Harry Met Sally,” as a society, we cannot get enough of weirdly charged meet-cutes and declarations of hatred that turn into passionate kisses. While I don’t personally get it - call me old fashioned but I’d rather my significant other like me instead of abhor me (been there done that!) - enemies to lovers is a long time favorite. But - in accordance with the truism that the opposite of love is not hate, but rather indifference - the crown jewel plot line of contemporary romance is enemies to lovers. You will stumble across microgenres like friends to lovers, co-workers to lovers, childhood neighbors to lovers, sister-in-law to lovers (hello Bridgerton season two!), strangers to lovers, fake lovers to lovers, fake lovers to lovers but for young adults - the list goes on. Don’t believe me? Just walk into any bookstore’s romance section. There are many ways to begin a love story.
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