This review was originally posted on my blog, Sav Scribbles. 
 BECAUSE YOU LOVE TO HATE ME was an anthology I was slightly scared to read because I was afraid that each story would leave me wanting more. 
 Instead, almost every story had a perfect length, and the commentaries added something I loved to the story. 
 I'd love to discuss each story in full length, and could probably write an essay for each one, but I don't want to do that and I know you don't want to read that, so here we go. 
 First up, Renee Ahdieh's THE BLOOD OF IMURIV. . While it wasn't a horrible story, I didn't thoroughly enjoy it; I felt like it needed more development and it would've worked more as a full-length story. 
 What I did thoroughly enjoy was Christine Riccio's commentary. It was just as hilarious as all her booktube videos, which is high praise. 
 Next up, Ameriie's JACK. . The story was mediocre, the ending was wonderful, and the prompt was fabulous. I simultaneously didn't like how long it was and understood that it had to be long to develop the villainy. 
 Tina Burke's commentary made me appreciate the story more, and I appreciate that ability to make me appreciate something. 
 Third was Soman Chainani's GWEN AND ART AND LANCE. . This story was really good and left me wondering who was the true villain. The formatting was also unique, which I always love in a story, and the fact that this wonderful story was told through texts and still had lots of depth is incredible. 
 The formatting of Samantha Lane's commentary also caught my eye and made me think about the characters in GWEN AND ART AND LANCE on a deeper level. 
 One of my overall favorites, SHIRLEY & JIM by Susan Dennard. . I've been obsessed with Sherlock Holmes recently, and this story had perfect timing. It was the perfect timing and I'm astonished that Dennard could create an incredibly entertaining and on-the-edge-of-your-seat story from a three-word prompt. 
 I've always loved Sasha Alsberg's personality, and it showed in her commentary. It was hilarious and the format was cool, not to mention the story within itself. THE ENDING OF IT. Also, "You got this!" made me laugh. 
 Up next was Sarah Enni's THE BLESSING OF LITTLE WANTS. . While I did love this story a lot, something just wasn't there. Despite that absence, I loved this story and I want moreeeeee. It was so interesting. 
 Sophia Lee's commentary really made me think: who WAS the villain in the story? 
 Sixth was Marissa Meyer's THE SEA WITCH. . What. A. FABULOUS. Story. I didn't realize how much I needed a good dose of Meyer's writing. It was the perfect length. Oh dear, I loved it so much. 
 Zoe Herdt really knew how to play to Meyer's strength (fairy tale retellings) with the prompt, and her commentary was really fun. (I may have gotten a villain as my result from the quiz. Oops?) 
 Following Meyer was BEAUTIFUL VENOM by Cindy Pon. . Another one of my absolute FAVORITES. I enjoyed every bit of the story, and the prompt was really funny to me for some reason. Cindy Pon's mind is somewhere I'd love to be and I'm definitely reading more of her work after that fabulous story. 
 In contrast, Benjamin Alderson's commentary was only good in the last story. I wasn't really entertained or gain any new insight into the story. Despite that, I still appreciate him for giving the prompt that inspired BEAUTIFUL VENOM. 
 Yet another one of my favorites was Victoria Schwab's DEATH KNELL. . The story made me want more and it was so interesting and and and AAAAH. I had high expectations and DEATH KNELL exceeded them. I loved it. I couldn't have asked for anything better. Schwab's mind is another I'd love to be in. The prompt also made me realize that I somehow knew it was set in Ireland. HOW, SCHWAB?! 
 Jesse George is one of my favorite booktubers (among many others), and his commentary was also one of my favorites. While it wasn't as lighthearted or entertaining as other commentaries, it was still incredibly relatable and insightful. It only furthered my love of DEATH KNELL. 
 Furthering the streak of my favorite stories in this anthology was Samantha Shannon's MARIGOLD. . Now that's a story. It was incredibly developed and had me on the edge of my seat. I'm definitely going to read more of Samantha Shannon's work now. Oh it was so good. 
 Regan Perusse's essay was mediocre for me. It didn't add anything, didn't take away anything. I enjoy watching her videos from time to time, but her commentary just didn't do it for me. 
 Sadly ending the streak was YOU, YOU, IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU by Adam Silvera. . I didn't hate this story, but I surely didn't love it. I enjoy his full-length novels much better. I couldn't point out why I didn't like this novel to you, since it had all the elements I usually love in a story (crime lords, kick-butt protagonist, a good amount of twists). 
 Catriona Feeney's commentary worked just as much for me as the story. It didn't add anything and didn't take away anything, and actually left me slightly confused. It was kind of all over the place. Despite my not-being-entertained by the story or commentary, I still don't think they were horrible. 
 One I was surprised to like was JULIAN BREAKS EVERY RULE by Andrew Smith. . I DNFed Smith's other book, GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE, and recognized his style of writing about halfway through, but somehow enjoyed it this time around. The concept and prompt were really cool, but I think that the plot of the actual story really differed from the prompt. That being said, the story was really cool and I enjoyed it. 
 I wholly agree with Raeleen Lemay's thought of "loving" psychopaths, and her commentary made me want to read the story again. It was perfect and made me think for a little while longer about the story. 
 Next was April Genevieve Tucholke's INDIGO AND SHADE. . While I wasn't blown away by this story, it still lingers in my mind because of one question: who's the villain? I want to write an essay answering that question. The story itself was very unique and I enjoyed it. 
 Whitney Atkinson's prompt didn't really make sense to me (which is fine; I still loved the story) and her commentary didn't really connect to the story for me; I feel like she wrote the commentary without the actual story in mind: it was too focused on actual Beauty and the Beast and not how the story twists that around. Despite my discontent with the commentary, I don't think it took anything away from the story for me. 
 Last in this anthology was SERA by Nicola Yoon. . I absolutely LOVED this story and it was a great note to end the anthology on. Nicola Yoon needs to write more stories like this! My only complaint is that it isn't longer. 
 Steph Sinclair and Kat Kennedy's commentary was really funny and also a great note to end on. While it wasn't directly related to the story, I still loved it and could draw connections between what they said and points in the story. 
 In conclusion, I loved most of the stories in this anthology, and I would recommend BECAUSE YOU LOVE TO HATE ME to everyone. It really got me thinking about what defines a villain. 
 Two final notes: I learned with this review that I don't know how to spell villain (I keep on switching the i and a around, whoops) and the little symbols for the stories and prompts were SO COOL.