Review: Scorpio Hates Virgo by Anyta Sunday

Posted March 20, 2018 by Lola in Contemporary, Review, Romance / 6 Comments

LolaReview

Scorpio Hates VirgoScorpio Hates Virgo (Signs of Love #2)
by Anyta Sunday

Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Contemproary Romance/ MM Romance

Blurb:
This year is all about healing the heart, Scorpio. It’s time to leave negative attitudes and stoic facades at the door and let others see the real, more vulnerable you.

Percy Freedman is not grieving. Absolutely not, take that back at once. No, he’s entirely sure that selling his dead aunt’s home and leaving the neighbors he’s known for years is the sane thing to do. Who in their right mind would keep the house that smells like all the hugs he’ll never have again?

Nobody, that’s who.

Well, except his cul-de-sac neighbors. They all seem to think some paint and new furniture will clean the emotional slate. They all want him to stay.

Even his nemesis, Callaghan Glover.

Especially his nemesis, Callaghan Glover.

Lured into a game of Sherlock Gnomes, Percy finds himself hanging out with his neighbors more than might be considered healthy. Along with juggling new and surprising verbal grenades from Cal, and his burgeoning friendship with Gnomber9, Percy is starting to wonder if selling might have been the grief talking after all . . .

That’s right, Scorpio. With a little patience, heartbreak might be a thing of the past . . .

My Review:
I received a free copy through Netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

I loved the first book in this series and I’ve been eager to pick up book 2. But at the same time I was a bit hesitant to start it because I was afraid it wouldn’t be as good as book 1 and it sounded like this would be an enemies to lovers book, which is a trope I am not a big fan of. It turns out the enemies to lovers trope was more a friends to lovers which totally worked for me. It wasn’t as good as book 1, but that’s okay.

Scorpio Hates Virgo follows the story of Percy who is a Scorpio and has a crush on his neighbor Cal, who is a Virgo. They pretend to hate each other and say they’re nemesis, but they mostly have a lot of back and forth banter or verbal sparring as they call it. They get on each other nerves and have witty retorts and slowly they realize they don’t hate each other at all and maybe they never did.

It’s a very slow burn romance, with more of a friend to lovers trope than enemies to lovers. I really liked reading about these two, their back and forth banter was great to read about. And these little hints they might like one another that slowly build up throughout the book are awesome. The start of the book felt a bit slow and I couldn’t fully get into it at first, but once I did I had trouble putting it down.

And while I really enjoyed this book there was that slight niggle that it wasn’t as good as book 1. In some sense it’s the exact same type of book, a good slow burn romance with lots of banter and friends who slowly grow into more. But at the same time it also was very different. And while I really liked the romance, I didn’t love it as much as the romance in book 1. And as loved book 1 so much I couldn’t help but compare the two books a bit. But it definitely is a great sequel and the author really writes great slow burn romances. And I am eager to read book 3.

This book can easily be read as a standalone. There is a small cameo appearance of the couple from book 1, but it’s only a small scene and a phone call. It was a fun touch for those who have read book 1. The mother of one of the main characters in book 1 is a side character in this one. Which I thought was a fun addition and is also the reason how the whole horoscope thing gets added in these books. As she sends her son and daughter the horoscope in book 1 and in this book she sends their neighbors their horoscope.

One thing that this book had and the first book didn’t was a great setting. The story focuses around a cul-de-sac and the neighbors that live there and it was like a mini small town, which was awesome. They are such a tight knit group and I loved reading about that. I just wished there had been more of it as I kept forgetting who was who from the neighbors and as much as I got the whole community feel I wouldn’t have minded to feel it a bit more and get a better insight in the side characters personalities

I thought both Percy and Call were great characters to read about. We only get the story from Percy’s point of view, but get to know Cal quite well too as he’s the love interest. Percy is still grieving as his Aunt just died and now he inherited her house and plans to sell it. Percy has been hurt before and feels like everyone he cares about leaves him. And I felt so bad for him at times and wished he would get someone that cared for him and wouldn’t let go and it’s so awesome when he finds that person in cal. I also liked how helpful and caring Percy was, with massaging (he’s a masseur) and helping other characters. He seemed a genuinely nice person.

Cal made for a great love interest with how he was there for Percy and the things he did for him that we only later realize and even the lies he tells so he can connect more with Percy. I liked his dinosaur obsession and love for dictionaries, although I wouldn’t have minded to see this come into play a bit more. While Percy is gay, for a long time we’re not 100% sure that Cal is as well or what exactly his sexual orientation is, until the end.

I have to admit I didn’t really care for the whole house plot line. Percy inherits his aunts house and plans to sell it, but others try and convince him to stay. I’ve read so many books that do this and I just knew by the end he would keep the house and I dislike having to go through the drama of whether he will sell it or not. And frankly in this book I would’ve liked more of Percy’s thought process about the house as I felt like now it was kept a bit of a mystery what he was thinking and I didn’t really care for that and had rather understood his doubts and emotions.

That’s actually another small complaint I had. It felt there were so many great topics addressed in this book, that were only touched upon. Percy’s grief, his fear of people leaving him, Cal’s struggle with his sexuality, Cal’s dad that left, Ellie who was a bit down, the cul-de-sac neighbors, Percy’s cousin Frank, Cal’s masters, Cal’s dinosaur obsession and I am sure I am forgetting some things. Anyway there was a bunch of emotional issues and potential story lines that I would’ve liked to see explored a bit more. It feels like they get touched upon, but not explored as much as I would’ve liked. The book stays pretty light hearted and I wouldn’t have minded if it got a bit more emotional at times. There’s one or two scenes were Percy really bares his heart and there were great and I would’ve liked a bit more of that.

To summarize: Scorpio Hates Virgo is a great slow burn romance and I loved seeing it all play out. It has more of a friends who pretend to hate each other to lovers trope than a real enemies to lovers trope. I liked both Percy and Call and their romance was great to read about. I liked seeing them slowly grow closer and closer. The romance has only a little heat toward the end, but is mostly a very sweet romance. These two were great together and I enjoyed seeing them figure it all out. I did miss something in this book that the first book did have and I am not entirely sure what it was. There were a few side plot lines and some issues that I would’ve liked to see explored a bit more. I liked the tight community of neighbors who live on the cul-de-sac where Cal and Percy lived. I didn’t really care for the house plot line. It was a very addictive read that I had trouble putting down once I got past the first few chapters. There was a small way it tied in with the first book and a cameo appearance of the first books couple and the other of the main character in the first book is a side character here too. Which was a nice touch, but I think it also works perfect as standalone. I really like how this author writes her slow burn romances and I hope to pick up book 3 soon.

4 Stars

Links:
Goodreads
Amazon

You can also read my review on Goodreads and Amazon.

What’s the best slow burn romance you read so far this year?

Tags: , ,


6 responses to “Review: Scorpio Hates Virgo by Anyta Sunday

  1. I’m actually more interested now that you say its a friends to lovers. I like when a relationship takes its time and this one especially since Percy wasn’t even sure Cal was gay. That neighborhood does sounds like a great plus! I love when a setting is fun and interesting.
    Even though it didn’t quite have the spark of book one, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
    Sophia Rose recently posted…What Would These Romantic Suspense Heroines Do With Lisa Renee Jones, Melinda Leigh, and Elisabeth Naughton #GiveawayMy Profile

    • Same here, I was a bit hesitant as I not always enjoy enemies to lovers, so I was happy it turned out to be friends to lovers instead. It was great to see them grow closer and how Percy thought Cal was straight and didn’t dare make a move at first. the neighborhood was so fun to read about. The author really writes slow burn romances well and even tough it wasn’t as good as book 1, it was still a great read.

  2. Glad the enemies to lovers worked well for you, even if it was more of friends to lovers. The banter sounds fun! Slow burns are always a plus. That’s great that you liked the characters so much too, although bummer that the book didn’t explore some of those emotional issues more. Overall sounds like you enjoyed it though!
    Kristen @ Metaphors and Moonlight recently posted…Book Review: Sleight (AVRA-K Book 1) by Jennifer SommersbyMy Profile

    • They just sort of pretended to not like each other, but they were more friends than they ever were enemies. The banter was great and this author can write slow burns really well. I had hoped that some of those emotional issues were explored a bit more. But overall it was a great read. I hope to pick up book 3 soon.

  3. I do like a good slow burn romance, and I’m glad it was more friends to lovers than enemies to lovers. I like both tropes, but it’s good it fit what you prefer. Sorry you didn’t love it as much as the first book. I find that happens sometimes with companion books because you don’t always love the couples as much. Thanks for sharing!

    -Lauren
    Let’s Get Beyond Tolerance recently posted…Love, Simon is…AmazingMy Profile

    • I am not a big fan of enemies to lovers, so I am glad it ended up being more friend to lovers trope. And the slow burn romance was so well written. Book 1 got one of my rare 5 star ratings, so I figured book 2 would have a hard time living up to it and I liked the first couple a bit more. I am curious to see what I think of book 3, I hope to read that soon.

Leave a Reply to Lola Cancel reply

CommentLuv badge

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.