The Hating Game

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐I absolutely loved this book! The constant banter between Lucy and Joshua had me smiling the whole time. Watching them go from hating each other to falling in love was so much fun, and their chemistry was amazing! Joshua was hands down my favorite part of the book. 😍This is the perfect enemies-to-lovers romance with an amazing grumpy vs. sunshine dynamic. If you’re looking for a cute office romance filled with tension, witty banter, and a swoon-worthy MMC, I definitely recommend this one! 💕

This was an enjoyable story that hit all the right spots. Josh and Lucy are polar opposites that work opposite each other as executive assistants (something like that anyway) of a publishing house. She's cheerful, popular and excessively nice to the point where her co-workers walk over her. He's brusque, ruthless and feared at the company. Lucy just wants Josh to like her but having given up all hope to ever get along, they play these little inter-office games designed to one up each other and get on one another's nerves. When a lucrative job opportunity arises, it's game on between the two.It was entertaining and a cute take on the enemies to lovers trope with some laugh out loud moments delivered dryly by Lucy. If you're not a fan of insanely positive and upbeat people, Lucy might grind your gears a bit but I really liked her character for the most part. Josh was a tall, cool drink of handsome and was perfect as the love/hate interest. I loved the little idiosyncrasies between the two. There was a bit of repetition from Lucy who's the story teller. Not terrible, but lots of talking about how swoony and fit Josh is and how she just wants him to laugh and like her. As is common with this trope, the plot takes a predictable path and the big build up to a key event where Lucy has to be Josh's plus one to a family event could be picked a mile away. A couple of bits were a bit over the top and made to be more dramatic than they actually were, making it almost a bit of a cringe fest. That being said, it was still a sweet, feel good read with a really happy ending that hit all the right notes to give you that warm, gooey feeling.

FINAL DECISION: This book isn't what I expected from the blurb. I expected a lot of backstabbing and undermining and anger and angst. But this book was such a beautiful romance. I loved both these characters and how their relationship developed. It is a slow-burn romance but not boring -- just wonderful.THE STORY: Lucy Hutton's nemesis is Joshua Templeman. Lucy and Joshua are executive assistants to the co-CEOs of a publishing company. Now they are both competing for the same promotion. Neither is going to back down from the competition, but at that precise moment, Lucy begins to get to know Joshua better. Perhaps neither really hates the other as much as Lucy expected -- or is Joshua playing the long game in winning the competition between them?OPINION: This book was hot several years ago. I have to admit that I wasn't attracted to the book then. I ended up reading it recently for a book club. Unlike many "hot" books, this one was amazing.From the first page to the end, I loved the couple and the story, even though it has many elements that aren't my favorite -- such as it is told in the first person present (by Lucy), and we never get Joshua's perspective other than what Lucy learns. But it worked for me because it ended up being precisely what the story needed to work.Lucy is sweet but surprisingly determined and strong when it matters. Joshua ... no, I can't say any more because it will give the story away. I can say that Lucy's perception of Joshua is that he is a stick-in-the-mud, cold person, and a big jerk. When she finds herself attracted to him, she can't imagine why.What I love about this book is that it takes all the tropes of the office romance from 20-30 years ago and writes in a new and unexpected way. I've read stories like this many times before, but this book never gave the easy, expected answer. It is modern and funny, but it is also sweet and romantic.It wasn't the typical angsty and angry enemies-to-lovers story that I was expecting, but it was definitely worth the reading.WORTH MENTIONING: THE HATING GAME was made into a movie.CONNECTED BOOK THE HATING GAME is a standalone.STAR RATING: I give this book 5 stars.

I saw the movie first, which was great, but the book is better! The dialogue, the banter, the chemistry, the storyline: all intriguing, engaging and satisfying.

This is my first book by Sally Thorne. I know there was a lot of talk about it and great reviews, so I thought it would be a great beach read. While I liked the book, I felt it was a little too wordy for me. There were a lot of descriptions that seemed to repeat, so sometimes I just skimmed through them. I like details but some can be too much. I liked the office “hate”. I liked the games they played, “knowing” they both kind of hated each other. The rivalry was great, but it also hinted sometimes that maybe they didn’t hate each other that much. I liked how spunky Lucy was. She was cute, sarcastic & fun. Josh, on the other hand, was a little broody, like he didn’t want to be there most days. He was fun to read about though. I do feel their first schmexy time in the hotel was a bit drawn out with descriptions and chatting between the characters. I wasn’t feeling the connection between them. Maybe because this was her first novel and I’m reading it many years later after reading so many novels where authors have improved their writing from the time they started. I do plan on reading more of Sally’s novels, as this one still had a great storyline.

Okay, it’s been a while since I’ve read a single POV romance book, so I was often wondering what was going through Josh’s mind. But despite that fact, this was such a cute book. The spice was very tasteful for the kind of book this was. It wasn’t quite closed door, but the door certainly wasn’t as open as I’m used to. It took me a minute to get into the first few chapters, but once I was in, I was freaking IN! I couldn’t wait to figure out what happened at the end. I was pleasantly surprised. I absolutely loved the playful banter between Josh and Lucy. Josh’s character growth and development was soooo captivating. While I loved Josh, Lucy’s character really grew on me. Especially her badass rant towards the end. Boss energy. This will definitely be on my roster when I want an easy, cute, funny book to read.

I was a little late on the game when it came to reading this book but decided to randomly give it a go. I tore through this book in less than two days. Was it perfect? No. Did I thoroughly enjoy it? Yes!What made it good:- The characters, Lucy and Josh, were well written.- Lucy and Josh's relationship, Enemies to Lovers, was well executed and fun to follow. I loved Josh's jealousy when it comes to Lucy and other guys (I read some reviews that it was a little possessive but I thought it was quite realistic when you consider he wants her.) I loved Lucy's lust for Josh. It was easy to imagine that she both hates him and wants him.- I like that Josh came with some flaws and complexities. He wasn't just a handsome, arrogant dude.- I enjoyed the workplace competition and the overall premise that Lucy and Josh play these little workplace games to get at each other. Was it mature and professional? No. But it's a fictional book about two young adults (I'm guessing in their late 20s... can't remember if that was ever explicitly put out there) who are workplace nemesis. It was fun to see them go head to head.What was not so great about the book:- Lucy's inner dialogue could be confusing at times... I had to pay close attention to whether or not she was thinking something or saying it out loud. I started listening to this book in audio version but really struggled to decipher if the main character was talking or thinking. I ended up downloading the kindle version instead (I was already a few chapters in and couldn't wait for a hardcopy to come in the mail).- I felt a love/hate relationship with the ending. It was good but I felt a little unsatisfied. While it tied up the storyline, it also felt as if it ended abruptly.- There were a few events in the book that seemed drawn out and the multiple chapters on these events didn't add any more depth to the story (when Lucy was sick, the wedding, etc.).Overall, I really enjoyed this story! I'm not typically a RomCom reader but I judge a good book by whether or not I can't put it down and how I feel after it's over. I breezed through this one and kept thinking positively about it for the next few days.

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne5 stars!!!“My hostage. My blackmailed, unwilling captive. Stockholm Shortcake.”There is nothing like a good hate/love book to get your reading mojo well and truly pumping and that is exactly what The Hating Game delivered. Sally Thorne captured everything about those office relationships where competition takes on a whole new meaning and to think that this is her debut novel, I was totally blown away.Enemies to lovers is one of those tropes that literally has me salivating. You learn more about a person through their actions in that kind of environment, especially in the work place. It is harder to hate than it is to love and there is often a very fine line between the two. Sometimes there is that genuine hate, because let’s be honest, there are a lot of douches and b****es in the world, but more often than not we hate as a veil of our true feelings and that was definitely the case with these two.“Shortcake, if we were flirting, you’d know about it.”“Because I’d be traumatized?”“Because you’d be thinking about it later on, lying in bed.”Two publishing houses struggling in the economic climate merge to ensure the viability of at least one of them, two CEO’s, two assistants. One male assistant, one female assistant who knock their a**es out week after week to be the best. This was all about one-upmanship. Who could work the longest hours, who was more efficient, who has the best ideas etc.: Their competitiveness was the source of many hilarious scenes, yet so relatable having been in a similar environment myself. But they loved to hate one and other, their inter-office games of “hate” had me laughing so many times and this book was written so well their story effortlessly flowed from page to page. This was an easy read, a real page turner.“The trick is to find someone who’s strong enough to take it. That one person who can give it back as good as they get.”Lucy Hutton was working in a place that she had dreamt of since she was a teenager. For her, publishing had always been her dreams albeit maybe not as a PA to the CEO. Her position had left her friendless because of everyone’s “snitch” mentality and her only source of enjoyment in her working day were her battles with Joshua. These two sat in the same office where daggers were drawn from clock in to clock out. Where juvenile staring competitions were the norm and trying to decipher codes and logins were their speciality.“I feel like your Easter egg.”Joshua was a whizz with numbers, he kept himself to himself and was definitely a closed book. He was an ornery man of rituals and order and was as predictable as they came. But who was Joshua Templeman? With a new position being made as COO, a promotion for Lucy or Joshua, battle lines are well and truly drawn as both know that neither one could work for the other. This was a fight to the death in more ways than one. Lucy begins to see a different side to Joshua when little chinks in his armour are slowly revealed, could this be who Joshua Templeman really is and god forbid Lucy for actually…falling in love.“The energy that usually lashes ineffectively inside each of us now has a conduit, forming a loop of electricity between us, cycling through me, into him. My heart is glowing in my chest like a bulb, flashing brighter with each movement of his lips.”The humour and banter in this book was contagious from start to finish, the dialogue was spot on and the chemistry was seriously off the charts. Even in hate mode you could feel those flickers of electricity and you were constantly on edge just waiting for them to ignite into a raging inferno. These two as enemies were hilarious, as lovers totally swoon worthy. I adored EVERYTHING about this book. I made the mistake of starting this late in the day and then read into the early hours of the morning, I couldn’t put it down. The characters were infectious, the plot was riveting and as each layer of Joshua Templeman was revealed my heart just got mushier and mushier. For those that love enemies to lovers this is a must read and the story will speak for itself.“This is the best game I’ve ever played in my entire life.”

This book was absolutely amazing from start to finish. The story, emotions, and characters stayed with me even after I finished reading. Definitely one of the best books I’ve read!

I loved this book from start to finish. I couldn’t put it down for a second it was just so good. This is like the holy grail of the enemies to lovers trope and I don’t think I’ve ever read anything with this trope that’s written so well. The characters, the plot, the style *chefs kiss*

Principalmente compré este libro porque lo vi tan bien de precio que dije pues por probar tampoco voy a perder tanto. Con lo que no contaba era con todo lo que iba a ganar. WOW.Sigo sin superar este libro, de verdad. La forma que los personajes y la historia te atrapan y no te dejan soltar el libro. Sí que es verdad que al principio el enemies es llevado a un extremo que te quedas ????? Tampoco hace falta. Pero muy rápidamente se rompe la barrera y aunque sigue esa rivalidad se va viendo como los personajes van cayendo (o habían caído ya antes sin darse cuenta 😉) y es algo maravilloso.La forma en la que Josh y Lucy se complementan, se conocen tan bien, como se han dejado absorber por esa rivalidad que realmente era mucho más. Increíble, 100% recomendando. Tanto la lectura como la compra.Si sois fans del romance, del enemies to lovers, este es vuestro libro. Además no es muy difícil de entender (por ser en inglés, que quizá eso pueda tirar para atrás) y el ritmo es muy dinámico y pasan los capítulos que ni te enteras.Los últimos capítulos uf, menuda montaña rusa.Shortcake 🍓♥️

Das war so ein gutes Buch. Ich war erst etwas skeptisch, weil ich den Kleinkrieg der beiden nicht so positiv entgegengeschallt habe aber am Ende war die Umsetzung super.Die Charaktere fand ich beide so toll und die Persönlichkeiten sind super klar geworden.Natürlich war es klar, wie es ausgeht, weil es eben Romance ist, aber die Umsetzung und der Weg dahin ist so gut gelungen.Auch Josh Vergangenheit konnte ich super nachvollziehen. Ich hatte echt das Gefühl, dass ich genau verstehe, wie es ihm geht.Das Buch hat mich so gut unterhalten! Ich will es gleich nochmal lesen :D!An Deutsche, die sich unsicher sind, auf englisch zu lesen: Ich fand die Sprache sehr einfach. Kalt versteht man einige Dinge vielleicht nicht richtig, aber aus dem Kontext wird dann immer alles klar.

it starts off pretty slow but towards the middle gets really juicy. i would give it a 3.5 stars because of how it dragged on a lot until it got into their final connection or communication.Cute ending tho.