Better Hate Than Never

July 1, 2023

Liese's second "Wilmot Sisters" novel, after Two Wrongs Make a Right, reimagines Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. Katerina Wilmot and Christopher Petruchio have disliked each other, most passionately, since they were childhood neighbors. Ever the free spirit, Kat has spent her adulthood roaming the world and doing her best to avoid her Christopher, her sister's best friend and her own biggest enemy. Then her luck runs out and she must return home to nurse an injured shoulder. Broke and broken-spirited, Kat is even more on edge with uptight ethical investor Christopher, and their decades-long battle of wits runs even hotter, prompting Kat's family to ask Christopher to take it down a notch. Doubting that the suddenly sweet Christopher isn't just putting on a good-guy act, Kat finds herself lowering her guard until a kiss changes both their views. VERDICT Another lovely contemporary romance from author Liese, who, with Christopher's migraines and Kat's ADHD, continues to realistically and lovingly showcase chronic health conditions and disabilities in her novels. This is a must-buy for library collections.--Elizabeth Gabriel

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August 14, 2023
Liese’s charming second Wilmot Sisters romance (after Two Wrongs Make a Right) offers a loose contemporary riff on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Photographer Katerina “Kate” Wilmot marches to a different drummer, a side effect of her ADHD. Orphan Christopher Petruchio was unofficially adopted by the Wilmot family, his neighbors, after his parents’ death and has loved Kate from a distance since they were both children, but covers it up with snark and hostility. Their fights are legendary among the Wilmots—but when a drunken Kate confesses to Christopher that her animosity is rooted in deep insecurity and a genuine belief that he hates her, Christopher is left determined to fix their relationship and prove his love. Liese brings this unexpected couple to vibrant life, making a case for how their differences can work together beautifully. Shakespeare fans will enjoy the clever nods to the classic throughout, but readers won’t need to be familiar with the original to be swept away by this enemies-to-lovers tale. With a real depth of feeling and plenty of swoon-worthy moments, this keeps the series going strong. Agent: Samantha Fabien, Root Literary.

September 15, 2023
World traveler Katerina Wilmot is beginning to think that temporarily moving back home to New York City may have been a mistake. This revelation dawns on her the moment she bumps into an old family friend and perpetual thorn in her side, Christopher Petruchio. However, after immediately defaulting to their life-long habit of verbal sparring, Kate is surprised when Christopher later begins displaying a kinder, gentler side. But is Christopher's new considerate yet annoyingly hot persona just an act? Or is Christopher finally beginning to understand Kate? In the second stellar addition to her Shakespeare-inspired contemporary rom-coms, Liese (Two Wrongs Make a Right, 2022) puts her own clever spin on The Taming of the Shrew with a pinch of 10 Things I Hate About You thrown in for good measure. The result is a sweetly sexy love story that not only includes a paean to the joys of fall flavors, particularly in the form of doughnuts, but also addresses the challenges of living with ADHD with insight and compassion.

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