The Romantic Comedy Book Club
Written on Sep 3, 2022
Debut author Sally Thorne bursts on the scene with a hilarious and sexy workplace comedy all about that thin, fine line between hate and love. Nemesis (n.) 1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome. 2) A person's undoing 3) Joshua Templeman Lucy Hutton has always been certain that the nice girl can get the corner office. She's charming and accommodating and prides herself on being loved by everyone at Bexley & Gamin. Everyone except for coldly efficient, impeccably attired, physically intimidating Joshua Templeman. And the feeling is mutual. Trapped in a shared office together forty (ok, fifty or sixty) hours a week, they've become entrenched in an addictive, ridiculous never-ending game of one-upmanship. There's the Staring Game. The Mirror Game. The HR Game. Lucy can't let Joshua beat her at anything-especially when a huge new promotion goes up for the taking. If Lucy wins this game, she'll be Joshua's boss. If she loses, she'll resign. So why is she suddenly having steamy dreams about Joshua, and dressing for work like she's got a hot date?
After a perfectly innocent elevator ride ends with an earth shattering kiss, Lucy starts to wonder whether she's got Joshua Templeman all wrong. Maybe Lucy Hutton doesn't hate Joshua Templeman. And maybe, he doesn't hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game.
- ISBN10 1509413499
- ISBN13 9781509413492
- Publish Date 9 August 2016
- Publish Status Unknown
- Publisher HarperCollins Publishers Inc
- Imprint HarperCollins
- Format Audiobook
- Language English
Reviews
I found out on Instagram that The Hating Game has been made into a movie and will be released in December 2021. I thought it was finally time to read the book after having it on my TBR for a while now. I always try to read the book before seeing the movie/tv show that the book has adapted. (Sometimes that doesn’t work out, but in this case, it did.) Thanks to my local library for having a copy for me to borrow to tackle reading The Hating Game finally.
Storyline/My Thoughts: Firstly, The Hating Game is the first book I’ve read by author Sally Thorne. I’m going to admit right away I almost DNF’d this book because I wouldn’t say I liked how it was told from only one point of view, and Lucy was driving me crazy. Her details on certain situations were confusing at times if that makes sense. I wish I could’ve gotten Josh’s point of view, but I know it probably would’ve taken away with where Sally Thorne was having the story go as far as Lucy and Josh’s relationship together.
What did I enjoy about this book that prevented me from DNFing?
- The Enemies to Lovers Trope is what kept me reading. Lucy and Josh work together at a publishing company. Neither of them likes each other and makes it challenging to work together. The HR department doesn’t even like these two working together. I actually liked these two characters interacting with each other. (I did wish I could’ve been inside of Josh’s head to see his reaction to Lucy.) They both were fighting over a new managerial position that their bosses had created in their company—the constant banter on who was going to get the position kept the book interesting.
- The minute Josh and Lucy are due to get together, Josh is very respectful of boundaries. He doesn’t want to take it too far and doesn’t want Lucy to forget about him. Lucy was the one who couldn’t handle waiting when it came to Josh. She was confused the whole time.
- I liked getting to know both characters and their backgrounds. Josh is from a family of doctors, and Lucy is from a small-town farm living and now lives in the big city.
Here’s a couple of things that bothered me, though, with the book:
- The ending. It felt incomplete, and I really wish there would’ve been an epilogue. I felt that there was no actual conclusion and happily ever after with the characters.
- There was an issue with Lucy at first since the book was only told from her point of view. She drove me crazy at times with how she handled certain situations, and she described everything. Some of it didn’t make sense. (I’ve stated above in my review.)
Other than those two things, I did like the book. I give it four stars and hope to read more from Sally Thorne soon.
Standalone or Part of Series: It’s a standalone book.
Steaminess: ⭐️ ⭐️
Trope: Enemies to Lovers; Office Romance; One-Bed; Forced Proximity
HEA: Yes. (somewhat) I wish there had been a epilogue to this book.
Would I recommend this book? Yes. If you enjoy Contemporary Romance, that involves the tropes above that I listed.
scarr
Written on Feb 11, 2021
leahrosereads
Written on Aug 25, 2019
boghunden
Written on Aug 12, 2019
I've heard so many great things about it, but it just didn't do it for me. I felt like nothing happened.
It probably doesn't help that hate-to-lovers isn't exactly my favorite trope, and I also tend to dislike slow burn romances. This book had both of those things.
I also have to admit that the fact that it was several lacking some steam! I'm not even gonna say I'm sorry about that. Part of a good romance novel to me is the steam. This book had one sex scene and it happened in chapter 24, I believe, and it wasn't really all that good. There was potential for so much more, the chemistry was definitely there!
Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate this book. Not at all. It was sweet and swoony, I just expected more. I liked Lucy's character a lot, and I also grew to like Josh. I loved when Lucy told off Julia, and also Josh's dad.
I liked the writing style of the book, it was well written. It didn't read like a debut novel at all! I'm thrilled to read the author's next book.
Joséphine
Written on May 17, 2019
I just wish I could’ve skipped over this one scene that I found uncomfortably aggressive (some might say passionate but I’m not part of that group). Obviously, seeing how this is a romance novel, there were intimate moments but again, I would’ve loved to skipped those parts. Too bad it’s harder to skip ahead without going too far in an audiobook compared to a paperback.
Anyway, besides those parts, I really enjoyed the dynamics among the characters, and I have to say, the conclusions to the story absolutely made this book.
maggiefan
Written on Mar 30, 2019
Mercy
Written on Jul 28, 2018
I don't know how to feel about this book. I'm torn between deciding whether I find it cute or creepy. 😂😂😂
Leigha
Written on Jun 21, 2018
So many reviewers enjoyed this one, but I was not one of them. Personally, I did not like the writing style. It seemed to hover between purple and beige prose. Sometimes the description would be too overwhelming, while at other time I felt like the story was missing a lot of details. I suggest you read a chapter or two prior to purchasing it in case you too have an issue with the writing.
While the plot was enjoyable, I found the characters to be lacking. Lucy is charming, but not all that interesting. Joshua is broody, and occasionally his behavior becomes boorish. The two had chemistry, but their connection was missing. It bothered me that Joshua kept shooting down Lucy's offers of friendship. You can be both friends and lovers, people. You can have it both ways!!! In the end, I couldn't connect to the characters and I couldn't connect to the story.
tl;dr While an enjoyable plot, the characters and writing style were not for me. Perhaps they will be for you!
Cocktails and Books
Written on Jun 7, 2018