Review: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne || When the Game of Hating becomes more that just a Game

Title: The Hating Game
Author: Sally Thorne
Standalone
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, [Adult]
Heat Rating: Pretty warm
Page Count and Format: 387, Ebook
Published: August 9th, 2016 by William Morrow
Source: Purchased
My Rating:

Blurb (from Goodreads):

Nemesis (n.)
1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome;
2) A person’s undoing;
3) Joshua Templeman.

Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. Not dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate. And they have no problem displaying their feelings through a series of ritualistic passive-aggressive manoeuvres as they sit across from each other, executive assistants to co-CEOs of a publishing company. Lucy can’t understand Joshua’s joyless, uptight, meticulous approach to his job. Joshua is clearly baffled by Lucy’s overly bright clothes, quirkiness, and Pollyanna attitude.

Now up for the same promotion, their battle of wills has come to a head and Lucy refuses to back down when their latest game could cost her her dream job… But the tension between Lucy and Joshua has also reached its boiling point, and Lucy is discovering that maybe she doesn’t hate Joshua. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game.

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Oooo why didn’t I read this earlier!!! My fault, my fault! (The cover might be at a little fault too!) I took ages to pick this one up and oh gosh, I was sooo not expecting how it all turned out. This book was right up my alley, and exactly what I needed after so many fantasy books. Honestly, I wouldn’t have picked it up if Raven @ Dreamy Addictions hadn’t recommended this to me.

Lucy and Joshua have always hated each other. Since the very first day, they started working face to face. And now they are up for the biggest fight in their working career and the one who loses has to leave the company for good. But this cat and mouse game is on the edge of something else, and they slowly begin to realise what they feel for each other maybe something more than hate.

Oh, my dear gosh!! What a beautiful angsty feel read and hilarious at the same time! I haven’t read this kind for quite some time now and I quite enjoyed it! Lucy and Joshua are at each other’s throat every day and they have no problem in showing that. They are quite well known in the whole office because of that. They absolutely hate each other’s guts. And I loved the continuous banter between the two! Sometimes they were too much, sometimes hilarious. The banter, sassy and witty remarks kept this book pretty interesting throughout its course.

“The trick is to find that one person who can give it back as good as they can take it.”

Lucy and Joshua both were amazing characters! Lucy was a cute furball of brightness and Joshua although was quite strict on the front and a jerk, but behind that facade was a caring and such a sweet guy. The tension between them was quite visible even though they were not aware of it from the very first. Although they couldn’t tolerate one another, they couldn’t stop helping each other at the time of their crisis either and with that began the understanding of new emotions and never had they faced any other who challenged them so much.

“He taught me things in the space of two minutes that the span of my lifetime did not.”

Honestly, it was such a fun ride! They figured each other out so perfectly and their chemistry was off the charts! It was like although they hated each other, they could absolutely complete each other’s sentences. It took a looot of time for them to catch up but I looooved the slow build up. It was absolutely perfect how everything was executed in the end and Lucy’s epic face off with Joshua’s father was the very best thing in this book!! Loved it so freaking much. It was bloodydamn hilarious and quirky! And I respected her even more for that.

Overall, The Hating Game was a quick and fun read, full of angst. The plot was executed neatly and I wasn’t bored for a second. The characters were amazing and managed to win my heart and I loved Joshua and Lucy together. They were like fire and ice but hella perfect for each other! The writing was smooth and easy to read and the pace was even throughout the book. I am definitely looking forward to reading The Comfort Zone by this author.

Recommend it?

Yes!

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So guys, have you read this book yet? What did you think about it? And if you haven’t, is it in your tbr? Are you looking forward to it?

• 4 stars
• 4 stars out of 5
• A
• Adult
• August release
• contemporary
• ebook
• own-copy
• Purchased
• romance
• Sally Thorne
• standalone
• The Hating Game