Review – The Hating Game by: Sally Thorne

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 40 (OK, 50 or 60) 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.

I see why this is being made into a movie. It will literally be Netflix’s new To All The Boys I’ve loved Before, just more a lot more mature. The Hating Game is absolutely adorably sexy in every way and I flew through these pages.

Lucy clicked so much with me. Her love of books, her aloof randomness and quirky tendencies just screamed me. The fact she can be afraid to admit things aloud also hardcore resonated too. I love how she is never anything but herself through this story. Plus, us short girls gotta stick together! 5’1” here, whoop!

On the other side of this “hating game” is Joshua Templeman. My first absolute high point for him is that he’s not a player in the least, yet he has all the ammunition to be. He caring and intuitive and fit and sexily intelligent. I would utterly fail playing a hating game with him.

The Hating Game is such a quick, quirky and sexy read. If you need a book that will lift you out of a funk or a light-hearted read this is by far it. I cannot wait to see how this movie turns out, I’m rooting for flamethrowers and Robin eggs ;).