New Adult/Adult, contemporary romances, set in college with a HEA.

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I have read many of Ilsa Madden-Mills’ books. I think her writing style is easy, clear, and bursting with personality. Somehow she always manages to create good characters that even though they might not be the most relatable, are definitely fun to read about. The Hook Up Series might be my some of my favorite books of hers, for they are the perfect combination of humor, romance, sports, and, of course, drama.

Below I’ll have a short review of each book. Even though I distinguish them by their order in the series, they can all be read as standalones and in no particular order. However, if you read them out of order you risk getting some spoilers, not huge ones though. But, if you’re interested in reading them all, I recommend you do so in the order of publication.

Everyone in the room goes silent, and I gape as some of the student sitting around me on the front row get up to make room for them.

FTS. I’m not moving.

I Hate You (Book 3)

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Book 1 | I Dare You

Length: 254 pages.

This book is very short, and I really didn’t take many notes. I like the main characters, especially Maverick. I think he’s very sweet and I love his relationship with his sister. Delaney was good too, but she had the whole how could he ever like me thing going on, which I’m not the biggest fan of. However, as the story moves on and the main conflict unfolds, it all gets much better. This is a nice story, but not my favorite of the series.

Book 2 | I Bet You

Length: 298 pages.

I Bet You is, without a doubt, my favorite book in this series. I think that Penelope was such a good character, and I loved reading about her and Ryker. Also, I am a huge fan of this set up, where they don’t have a fake relationship, but it’s along those lines. I enjoyed that they became friends first and then progressed into something more, though they were obviously infatuated with each other from the very beginning. Also, I loved when the finally truth unfolds and we reach the climax of the conflict. The situation was great and I really liked how it was all resolved.

Also I just need to say that I don’t understand why Penelope uses the word unicorn so much. It is kind of annoying, especially because she doesn’t mean the mythological creature. She uses in a different context, which I considered kind of weird. This is minor, but it was a bit weird.

Book 3 | I Hate You

Length: 302 pages.

I think the concept of this story was pretty interesting. When we start off, our main characters have some history and they don’t really get along anymore. Because of that, there is somewhat of a rivals-to-lovers kind of think going on. However, they don’t actually hate each other and they’re not rivals in any way whatsoever. It’s more like they’re mad at each other and claim to hate one another. It’s very hard to explain, but definitely fun.

Despite this, I do think this is the book in the series that dragged on the most. I understand Blaze’s situation and why he was so hesitant regarding their relationship. But, I think it was a bit too much (plot-wise). Because of that I felt that his internal dialogue felt a little repetitive. Charisma, on the other hand, was amazing. Her personality was very bubbly and compelling. For those of you that haven’t read this book, she speaks with acronyms all of the time. At first I thought I would hate it, but the author did a great job of using them at the right times and not overdoing them, so they really added lots of fun commentaries.

Book 4 | I Promise You

Length: 330 pages.

In my eyes, this book is much more serious than the rest. I feel like everything is more mature, and it is very noticeable how much the author has grown as a writer. The dynamic between the main characters was fascinating and hilarious. I laughed out loud several times, which makes them by far the funniest of all these couples. There was also much more football, which I really appreciate. Obviously we do get some scenes and moments in the other installments, but in this one we got actual scenes in the games, which I always have a blast reading about.

One of the few things that kind of bothered me was the fact that the author kept comparing everyone to famous people. It kind of felt like fan casting, which is not the kind of thing I like to do. Also, it kept changing the way I imagined everyone in my head, cause she didn’t only do it when they were first introduced, it happened whenever the main character made the connection, which was all the time. However, this is really an insignificant issue, I just wanted to rant a bit about it.

A few minutes later, my phone pings with a text from Serena. When’s your birthday?

I smiles and lie back on the bed. October 23rd. You?

Same.

My eyes flare. STFU.

Ha, just messing with you. February 14.

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Overall, these books are great, and I definitely recommend them. I can’t wait to read more of this author’s work.