{An Obsessively Yours Review} Hate Me Take Me by Laura Bishop

Hate Me Take Me by Laura Bishop
Series: Obsessively Yours #2
Narrator: Andi Eloise, Tor Thom
Published by Atria Books on August 4th, 2026
Genres: Dark, Fiction, Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Format: ARC, eBook
Buy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks, Audible, Publisher, Storygraph, Chirp, Libro FM
Goodreads

For fans of Lights Out and You, this follow-up to Love Me Stalk Me is a dark rom-com about a woman matched with her fantasy boyfriend by an AI app—unaware he’s actually her ex-husband, back to win her over in disguise.

When Amanda signs up for a beta feature of the Obsess AI boyfriend app—a secretive new match program that claims to pair users with real-life partners who match their fantasy settings—she thinks it’s just another marketing gimmick.

Sure, the guy it gives her is hot. Brooding. Protective. Motorcycle included. But he won’t take off his helmet. Won’t tell her his name. And somehow, he knows things no one else should.

She should be freaked out. She should stop letting him make her feel things. But something about him feels…familiar. What Amanda doesn’t realize is that the man behind the helmet isn’t a stranger at all. It’s her ex-husband. The one who walked away without a word. The one she’s spent years trying—and failing—to forget.

Now he’s back. And he’s not asking for permission. He’ll stalk her. Protect her. And when she begs him to take off the helmet and finally show her who he is? He’ll remind her: She asked for this.

She thought she was falling for someone new. But the truth? She might be falling for the one man who already broke her heart...and this time, he’s not letting go.

I received Hate Me Take Me for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The title of Laura Bishop’s new novel, Hate Me Take Me, seems to me to come from the MMC, Kade’s, point of view. If it were to come from Amanda’s point of view, it might just as easily be Break Me Take Me. Either way, this is a novel that will break you into pieces and knit you back together in the best way.

Most romances follow a familiar three-act structure, but Hate Me Take Me felt like four distinct emotional movements. First comes Amanda’s life after heartbreak, then her unexpected connection with a mysterious man, followed by the truth behind his identity, and finally the emotional aftermath that forces both Amanda and Kade to confront eight years of pain. Laura weaves those emotional stages together seamlessly, delivering laughter, heartbreak, healing, and a payoff eight years in the making.

Amanda was introduced in the first book of the Obsessively Yours series, Love Me Stalk Me. She is the perfectly imperfect best friend of Izzy. While reading Izzy and Cal’s story, I paid attention to the pink-loving, fiercely protective Monach stylist. She could kick ass while wearing four-inch heels. In Hate Me Take Me, she proved she was more badass than I thought possible. Bishop makes Amanda’s emotional journey feel painfully real, from her Vegas wedding and honeymoon to her devastating heartbreak, getting her life together, and trusting an AI boyfriend to fill the space where her husband should be. Amanda’s layers are revealed as she falls for her husband again. Bishop doesn’t skimp on the spice either. Who knew there were so many things that could be done while wearing a motorcycle helmet?

As for Kade, he is the ultimate protector. The man who thought that if he were gone from the life of the only woman he could love, she’d be safe. When he walked away, he took so many choices from both of them. He wears the helmet to disguise his identity, of course. From his point of view, we discover his pain and obsession with keeping Amanda safe by whatever means necessary. At more than one point, I feared for Kade’s life, but I trusted Bishop to surprise me with an off-the-wall solution that somehow worked.

From beginning to end, Hate Me Take Me is a funny, thought-provoking, dark romance that will leave you with a pile of tissues and a yearning for more from Laura Bishop. I don’t have many authors whom I will automatically buy, but Bishop has officially earned a place on that short list. I can’t wait to see what else she will throw our way!