The Hatesick Diaries by Saffron A. Kent

The Hatesick Diaries by Saffron A. Kent is a love and hate story that spans six years of frustration, jealousy, angst, and heartbreak between two unlikely individuals who had nothing and everything in common. Reign and Echo's story was everything I anticipated and full of tropes I loved: a very steamy romance with lots of dirty talk, opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine, push/pull, and with a hero who was insanely obsessed and possessive of his heroine. She was the light of his life—his Bubblegum, whereas he was the night in her world and her Bandit. The nicknames they had for each other was reminiscent of past relationships in the St. Mary's Rebels universe, which was a nice touch to "end" the series and introduce the Bad Boys of Bardstown.

"I want to be so connected to you that no one, not even you, could ever tear us apart."

Another layer to Echo and Reign's story was also one of longing and forbidden love. Despite his harsh demeanor and words to her, Reign loved Echo deeply but never thought he was worthy of her. She deserved better than him but he wasn't willing to let her go, which ultimately tortured them both in the process. Echo was incredibly sweet, naive, loving, but also fiercely loyal and stubborn. Reign was her complete opposite in the fact that he was intense, possessive, obsessed, and only had eyes for Echo. However, he was also self-destructive and intentionally push her into the arms of someone else. It was messy, frustrating, and complicated but it was always clear to me that Echo and Reign were meant to be.

"I'm insane for you. I'm obsessed with you. You're the life in my veins and you're the thing I crave more than air. I'm sick for you, Echo."

In the end, I loved that Echo and Reign were able to absolve their guilt over what happened and come to terms with their love for each other. It was painful to realize that there was always more to Reign's background and story than meets the eye. He was a tortured hero who simply wanted someone to love and believe in him… and Echo did just that. We were also introduced to several new characters in this book including Homer Davidson, Maple Mayflower, Snow Jones, and Ark Reinhardt. I highly recommend this book to those who love the forbidden and second chance romance trope between a possessive bandit of a hero who stalks and overprotects his sweet bubblegum heroine who shakes his control at every turn.

*This ARC was generously provided by the author and publisher for an honest review*

Rating: ★★★★★