Joshua Hortinela is no stranger to the Australian book scene. Based in Sydney, this bookseller-turned-author has been a big supporter of Australian fiction for many years, and now it is finally his turn to release a debut into the world. Hate You to Love You is at once a sweet and cosy addition to the growing sub-genre of romance featuring gay couples. How he managed to find the time to write a novel, in amongst reading so many new releases, moderating book events and attending launches is anyone’s guess.
This love of books and reading – and cocktails – is something Joshua shares with his main character, Filipino Australian freelance journalist Carlos Reyes. At 25, Carlos feels the rug being pulled out from beneath him. His father, who introduced him to the magic of romantic comedies like Notting Hill, died after a quick and brutal bout of cancer, and now his mother is thinking about selling the home they all lived in.
All of Carlos’s friends are moving on to the next phase in their lives. But Carlos? His job at an online magazine is on the line if he doesn’t start turning in better content, his love life is non-existent, and to make matters worse, he seems to be getting more and more accident prone by the minute. (Seriously, Carlos engages in some big time physical comedy in this book, from throwing up on his date in the first chapter to falling over and ending up covered in food multiple times.) Things have to start changing for the better, right?
Wrong. Carlos’s job is saved by a strange request from a reclusive Australian author who made it big writing an urban fantasy series, then disappeared while touring her debut adult literary fiction masterpiece amid rumours that her much-publicised romance with another rising literary star had gone sour.
Carlos is mystified as to why Claudia Leighton would request him to cover her re-emergence into the spotlight, but he isn’t one to turn down such an opportunity. Even when it comes with a catch, in the form of his ex-boyfriend Elliot. The same ex-boyfriend who broke up with him before the trip of a lifetime, leaving him heartbroken.
It’s clear from the outset of reading this book that Hortinela is more than just a fan of the romantic comedy genre. He’s the kind of expert you want on your table at a Sex and the City quiz night, and the person you should go to if you need reading recommendations after finishing everything by Emily Henry. In fact, in many ways, this novel feels like a mash up of Emily Henry’s most recent novel Great Big Beautiful Life (with less detail about the author in question) with Patrick Lenton‘s recent novel In Spite of You.
No doubt there are other references and influences that I am missing, as I am by no means an expert. But you don’t have to be an expert to realise that there are tropes galore in Hate You to Love You, from that of forced proximity (with Carlos and Elliot needing to work together to make this tour a hit), grumpy and sunshine (though Carlos is less of a ray of sunshine than he would like to think he is) and the only one bed trope thrown in to boot. Blending homages and literal references to the romantic comedy genre, Hate You to Love You is the result of a lifelong love of these kinds of stories.
At once comforting and familiar whilst also wholly it’s own, unique take, the story blends cotton candy un-reality – such as Carlos’s job, which seems too good to be true, even if he is at risk of losing it – with moments of deep emotion. It’s hard not to feel at times like the balance is a little skewed towards the former, however, as Carlos’s tendency to withdraw into his big feelings limits his ability to share his vulnerability even with us, the readers. The biggest punches of the piece feel as if they have been held back a little too much, and more time could have been spent developing storylines such as the truth behind Claudia’s disappearance at the Edinburgh Book Festival, and what really happened with Carlos and Elliot.
I did love, however, that Hortinela is not afraid to make his main character less than likeable when needed. Carlos is going through things, and he’s very young. He’s not able to step up and put his issues aside, even when he knows his friends have things going on too. Though he acknowledges that he is being a bad friend by not checking in or doing more to help, the reader will understand that he’s just not able to – after all, you have to put your own oxygen mask on before helping others, and Carlos does not realise just how deep he is in his tailspin until it is too late. When he is called out on his bad behaviour, true to rom com form, he finds a big showy way to redeem himself, and in his doing so, Hortinela gets to put another hallmark of the genre (the big, romantic gesture, even if it is a platonic gesture) into play in a satisfying and heartwarming way.
If you can put your disbelief aside, as one usually must if they are to fully enjoy the wish fulfilment potential that this genre offers, then you will be rewarded with the rom com to celebrate all rom coms – a love letter to the genre, to friendship, to family and to staying true to who you are.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Hate You to Love You by Joshua Hortinela is out now from Atria Books. Find a copy at your local bookstore HERE.
