The Hating Game

I saw The Hating Game everywhere, and saw it was coming out as a movie. Well that was it lol, I had to read it. Iv had it on my TBR for ages, like seriously why did I wait this long to read it, this book has become one of my favourite books of the year, absolutely loved it and couldn't get enough of this read and wanted more. Lucy Hutton is a charming and kind, she tries to please everyone, but stuck in an office and facing her nemesis Joshua Templement who’s an organised, neat, very efficient and his work shirts, well he has a colour for each day. The feeling is mutual between them both they hate each other, they have different games, they play. The staring game being one of their favourites. They have to beat and outdo each other at everything. So when a massive promotion goes up the games start and Lucy wants it, she can't let Josh win this, if she wins she will become his boss, she loses and she will resign. But as they go to war for the job , feelings start to strike after a kiss happens in the lift, and makes them both wonder if they actually hate each other, or if it is a game to just win. Haha Lucy and Josh omg they are both amazing characters, I enjoyed everything about this book, there were some absolutely hilarious scenes, the paintballing scene got to be one of my favourites, it was fast pacing read, always something exciting and funny going on lol, there was also some such sweet moments, gave me butterflies, Josh is awesome loved him, and to find he had so much more going on behind the scenes, actually explained why he was the way he was. I mean I wouldn't mind if Josh was my man at all. Sally Thorne you are a genius and I can't wait for the movie. I'm counting down the days, I can't wait to see this epic book come to life. Haven't read it yet, I can't recommend it enough, I will defo be reading this again.

"I have a theory. Hating someone feels disturbingly similar to being in love with them..." * Lucy Hutton, with her bright and sunny disposition, is loved by everyone at Bexley and Gamin. Everyone that is except for Joshua Templeman - her arch nemesis. Their hate for eachother is only intensified by working in a shared office for 40+ hours a week. Everything is a competition between them, leading to The Staring Game, The HR Game and, of course, The Hating Game. Things are about to get heated as a promotion is up for grabs... For one corporate position. If Lucy wins, she'll be Josh's boss. If she loses, she'll resign. But when an elevator ride leads to a steamy, hot as hell kiss Lucy starts to wonder if she's got it all wrong. Maybe they don't hate eachother...maybe it's something else. Or maybe Joshua is playing another game. * "Books were, and always would be, something a little magic and something to respect..." * The Hating Game was an addictive read and a lot of that was because of Joshua Bloody Templeman! There were so many times this man had me swooning - the elevator, paintballing and playing nurse just to name a few. It's a great take on a few of my favourite tropes - grumpy/sunshine, office romance, enemies to lovers. And I liked Lucy, with her quirky outfits and her friendliness. But I didn't love her. I think at times her actions just went a little too far and that made me cringe. I mixed this up between audio and eBook and finished it within a couple of days. It's a great read and I get why it's popular. This was my first book by Sally Thorne and is gladly read more of her work! * "The Hating Game. You versus me. It’s the only way this can possibly end...”

Where do I begin with this complete and utter gem? There is something about this novel that consistently draws me back - I have read it at least 4 times since my discovery of it earlier this year and I still cannot get enough. My hard copy is filled with bookmarks and post it notes and is beginning to wear along the spine, the pages are now appearing dog eared and over-read (which is slightly disastrous for those of us who like our books to remain in good condition) and so the decision was made that a kindle copy had to be purchased - which is even better news for me because, hello?? so much easier to cart around now, i'll probably read it even more than I already have been! - let's be honest, there's no probably about that. We will start with our protagonist - Lucinda Hutton. Career minded, driven, intelligent, funny, beautiful (but doesn't know it) - our very own Strawberry Shortcake. It is damn near impossible to not fall in love with her and her authentic demeanour despite (or maybe because of?) her continuous - and sometimes self obstructing - desire to be liked by everybody she meets. Contrast to our hard faced Joshua Templeman, typical tall, dark and handsome and shamelessly curt - who's only desire, it seems, is to have everyone quaking in fear around him. A first encounter, a fleeting moment, a smile not returned and Lucy is utterly convinced that since the first day of their working relationship Joshua Templeman has been one up, walking around with her smile in his front pocket - smug as can be and this will just not do. Sally Thorne creates a humorous dynamic between the pair that sees them constantly competing - the aim of their game to make the other smile or cry. Lucy is nice and Joshua cannot think of anything worse and so everything they do revolves around their unwavering resentment for each other and their childish games and witty exchanges are hilarious to follow. It becomes flagrantly obvious very early on in the story that Josh is not the hard-faced person he makes himself out to be and when a surprising, unexpected (and don't forget steamy) kiss occurs between the pair the dynamic of the couple completely shifts and we're thrown into what feels like an alternate universe where we find that Joshua Templeman's hard exterior has all along been protecting the softest of centres. I devoured the book within one evening the first time I read it, staying up until 4am to finish it - I completely and utterly fell in love with Joshua the more I learned about him. He is a character you can easily connect with, he is flawed but has the kindest of hearts. With each new encounter between the pair his tough exterior is slowly chipped away and what's left is a shy and delicate romantic - it is enough to make any lady swoon! Their romantic encounters, adorable nicknames and intense/passionate connection is charmingly beautiful, sickly sweet - enough to give the reader cavities, I swear - and so tender (I basically grinned the entire way through) I could go on to write essays, articles even books about this book - I have so many thoughts and feelings about the characters and their connection. Every girl dreams of a love like this and I think it really hits the spot for those who love the chick-lit genre. Of course I would recommend this to anyone I know, anyone I don't know - just every living soul really. And I would love to have in depth discussions with fans of the book for their take on both characters connection together and their individual characters and backgrounds. I implore you all - give it a chance, because I promise you will not be disappointed. Sally Thorne has set herself apart from many of the authors I read and has fast become one of my favourites and I am exceedingly excited to see what she will bring to the table next.

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*

This sure is a 5/5 for me ! The best Romance novel I have ever read and the best book I have read this year.. I was soo glued to it that I had to finish it in a day .. Men like Josh are exactly why my standards and expectations of the gender are high ... Enjoyable feel good rom-com . Totally in love with Lucy and Josh ! Awesome work by Sally for a debut . I Will surely be picking up her other books ...

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Sally Thorne is quickly becoming one of my new favourite authors. I loved the wit and the banter between Lucy and Joshua and the slow burn kept me enthralled. I especially loved the ending. Please be aware that there are some very spicy scenes.

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 🍓♥️

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.”