The Hating Game: A Spicy Enemies-to-Lovers Romance

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.

“Anthony, it’s been real.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Hating Game ~ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Review: I know it's common to hear "oh, yeah, the book was better" but when I tell you THE BOOK WAS BETTER I genuinely mean that 👏🏼THE👏🏼BOOK👏🏼WAS👏🏼BETTER!!! The Hating Game is a nice little quick read that can help with reading slumps but mother above PLEASE read the book first. I wouldn't even recommend watching the movie. The film messed with the characters and the plot... and (in my opinion) it didn't do the book justice. I genuinely enjoyed it and would 100% recommend it to anyone looking for a short, sorta spicy, romcom read. Just. Not. The. Movie. “Shortcake.” “I do not know anyone by that name.” “Play with me for a minute,” QOTD: What’s your favorite fruit?

"The trick is to find that one person who can give it back as good as they can take it." Best book of 2016 hands down this book was the best of the best. I absolutely adored this novel. I read this in one sitting and then I did something I hardly ever do, I reread it over and over. I can't get enough of this story and its characters. I love it! So Lucy is this short firecracker that you can't help but adore. She's loved books ever since she was little and now she has her dream job - she's working in the book publishing industry, where all the magic happens. However, there is one downside - Joshua Templeman. Joshua is this surely giant who seems to have it out for her. He's constantly poking at her, trying to get a rise out of this short firecracker. Which in turn, makes Lucy absolutely hate him. In fact, the password for her computer is Ihatejoshua. "I type my password: IHATEJOSHUA4EV@. My previous passwords have all been variations on how much I hate Joshua. For Ever. His password is almost certainly IHateLucinda4Eva." However, as the reader, you definitely know that Joshua doesn't hate Lucy. Not even remotely. The big giant is absolutely in love with her and lemme tell ya, it was an absolute joy to read along as he tried to woo her. You start to notice all the little things that Lucy is to oblivious to see. The trouble is, Josh is incredibly shy so he's terrible at trying to get Lucy to notice his feelings. "Shyness takes so many different forms. Some people are shy and soft. Some, shy and hard. Or in Josh’s case, shy, and wrapped in military-grade armor." I got so wrapped up in this book which is something that hasn't happened in a while. I got lost in this story, laughing at all the antics Joshua and Lucy pulled. Their banter was hilarious, I'm pretty sure a book has never made me laugh as much as I laughed during this one. But along with the hilarity, this is an incredibly moving and sweet love story. "I love strawberries. So much, you have no idea." He sounds so kind that I feel a wave of emotion. I can't open my eyes. He'll see I have tears in them. Absolutely loved this! I cannot wait to see what comes next from Sally Thorne!

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne 5 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.”

I think the hype around this book raised my expectations too high because I'm not seeing how this lives up to all of its amazing reviews. That being said, I did enjoy this and there were definitely some cute moments throughout. At the beginning, I was slow to warm to both Lucy and Joshua although I do admit I was very much amused by their banter and competitive natures. I did start off being more irritated with Lucy as she was just "too": she was too nice to people to the point that they constantly took advantage of her; she cared too much about what others thought and tried too hard to get people to like her and if they didn't, she was too easily hurt. However, her character does experience some growth by the end which was a pleasant surprise. While not as evident until later in the book, Joshua certainly had his own struggles also relating to self-confidence and self-acceptance, but dealt with his insecurities in a different manner. Honestly, it really wasn't until the last 40% that I saw the greatest potential for the two leads as they were forced to discuss and deal with their unique personal issues. Most of these had been kept secret until then, but I felt satisfied with the resolution. At that point, both Lucy and Joshua became much more endearing to me as they demonstrated a greater vulnerability with each other and a willingness to be more truthful in their relationship. One thing that I really didn't like was the heavy emphasis on people's physical appearances whether it be their physique, smile, eyes, size, etc. I understand that this aspect is a given with romance novels, but it felt excessive especially given one character's dislike of only being admired for his/her body. Despite this confession, neither the character who hated this treatment or anyone else stopped obsessing over how others looked. This could have been handled so much better. I also became really annoyed with the constant reminders about Lucy being short, small, tiny, little, etc. I get it. I got it after the first five times. Gripes aside, I can see why so many people love this book as it certainly has some positive aspects. Perhaps if I hadn't expected to be wow-ed, I would have enjoyed it more. It's still a solid read and worth picking up if contemporary romance interests you.

PLATINUM I recently attended a Writers Retreat where one book in particular was mentioned, and I use the term mentioned very loosely, what actually happened was they demanded we all read it immediately. Suffice to say, I purchased the ebook that night and dove in, immediately I was smitten, utterly invested and truly in love with every single word written by Sally Thorne. "Watching you pretend to hate that nickname is the best part of my day." Lucy Hutton always dreamt of working in the publishing industry, as an avid reader her love for all things books was greater than anything she'd ever known, being hired by Gamin Publishing was everything she had ever imagined, but when her beloved company was on the brink of collapse and amalgamation with another struggling publishing house, Bexley Books, became her reality, her career goals stayed alive, just barely, with a host of personnel cuts and the loss of her best friend Val, her work world was rocked. The day she met Joshua Templeman seemed like a possible new beginning, but his cool disregard of her almost immediately sent shockwaves through her usually cherry demeanor, a war began that day and with every day that past their mutual dislike of each other grew. "You've broken me down so completely, I can't even handle it when a guy tells me I'm beautiful." The Hating Game written in the first person point of view painted Lucy as both incredibly smart, and extremely funny, every snarky thought, every snappy comeback, every moment of despair mixed with joy as Joshua became Josh in front of her eyes. Every moment in this book served to cement my love of the author's words, I was invested immediately, but each new chapter brought with it feelings of awe, the more I read the deeper in love I fell, the more real Lucy and Joshua felt, the more their personalities jumped off the page and straight into my heart. "I'm about to lose something I never had to begin with." The Hating Game is slow burn in the very best way, Thorne builds not only the connection between her hero and heroine but the readers attachment to them, their witty dialogue served to lure the reader into losing themselves in one of the best bouts of drawn out verbal foreplay that I have ever experienced. Usually when I enjoy a book it only serves to make me want to devour the words, here however I simultaneously wanted to speed read my way to end, and slow down in order to savor every moment. I loved every second here, I wanted to drown in Thorne's words, I wanted to escape into Lucy and Joshua's world, stand in the corner, watching them like a creeper, I wanted to befriend them, I wanted to relax with Lucy over a glass of wine after a long day at work, I wanted to know everything that happened in between every moment, every lost look, every sigh, every secret smile. The Hating Game has quickly became one of my very favourite books, climbing it's way onto not only my Best of 2016 List but my favourite of all time list. If this is how Sally Thorne marks her debut into bookworld, I can only imagine what she has yet to do.

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.

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 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.