Ebook424 pages7 hours
By Sally Thorne
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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About this ebook
Now amovie starring Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell, USA Todaybestselling author Sally Thorne’s 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 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 maneuvers 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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- Romantic Comedy
- Contemporary
- Contemporary Women's
- General Fiction
- Romance
LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperCollins
Release dateAug 9, 2016
ISBN9780062439604
Sally Thorne is the USA Today-bestselling author of The Hating Game. She spends her days climbing into fictional worlds of her own creation. She lives in Canberra, Australia with her husband in a house filled with vintage toys, too many cushions, a haunted dollhouse and the world’s sweetest pug.
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Reviews for The Hating Game
Rating: 4.019618128313891 out of 5 stars
4/5
943 ratings63 reviews
What our readers think
Readers find this title sweet, romantic, funny, and very entertaining. They enjoyed it so much and found it to be a great book to rest and dream. Some readers even cried and couldn't put it down. Overall, readers loved this book and would recommend it to others.
anaelleg-1
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
3/5
3 stars (maybe and a half).
I liked it but didn't love it. I laughed and appreciated the witty banter bewteen Lucy and Joshua, the way they interact and the story is presented. However, I was disappointed by the end. It felt like it all went really really fast and even if I know it was a slow burn (at least on Lucy's part, since we only have her point of view) I still thought the ending was rushed.
But the plot is great, the continuous games between them though silly also kind of hilarious, and it was really pleasant to read!sbojo32
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
Super cute book - it's like a great rom/com movie in book form. While some of this required the reader to suspend belief a little bit, it all worked. You rooted for the characters, you wanted their happy ending, and the writing was great.
erinclark_1
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
5/5
I have to admit that I am not a big romance fan, but this was really funny and enjoyable. Clever banter between the characters. Recommended for fun.
addictofromance
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
ummaryLucy and Joshua are rivals and from the first day they started working together began their hating game. A game they have played for months. Their interactions are full of dislike and hatred. They work as assistants to co CEO's of a publishing house. But the stakes become even higher when both Lucy and Joshua are up for the same promotion and their game becomes even more elevated. Lucy has a love/hate feeling toward her nemesis and even though her deep hidden desire is for them to be friends she knows it is impossible. But suddenly their game boundaries changes after a steamy kiss in a elevator that surprises both of them, how possessive Joshua seems to be, and when Lucy finds herself in a game she is not prepared for....a game that could threaten their jobs when they attempt to try a new and exciting change if they are both up for the challenge...Plot and Story LineYou know I have heard about this book for months and months and I don't know why I kept resisting picking this up. But when it became available for audio at my local library, I knew that it was a sign I needed to give in and try it out and boy I am glad that I did. This book was one of the best enemies to lovers romances I have ever read. This is a trope I don't get a chance to read as often as I would like, and for a debut novel from a new author, the book was simply fantastic and I just didn't want to put my headphones away. These two were so adorable. The story sets off with these two being so antagonistic towards each other, their quick witted bantering was delightful and I got a kick out of their comebacks toward each other. ❝Hating someone feels disturbingly similar to being in love with them. I've had a lot of time to compare love and hate, and these are my observations. Love and hate are visceral. Your stomach twists at the thought of that person. The heart in your chest beats heavy and bright, nearly visible through your flesh and clothes. Your appetite and sleep are shredded. Every interaction spikes your blood with adrenaline, and you're in the brink of fight or flight. Your body is barely under your control. You're consumed, and it scares you. Both love and hate are mirror versions of the same game — and you have to win. Why? Your heart and your ego. Trust me, I should know.❞ But then we start to see a slow change. It becomes slow though, and then their relationship starts to change to a whole different level. They like each other alot and Lucy doesn't know what to make of it. She has always hated Josh, and she does get confused by the new status of trying a different "game". The Kissing Game goes like this, Shortcake. Press, retreat, tilt, breathe, repeat. Use your hands to angle just right. Loosen up until it’s a slow, wet slide. Hear the drum of blood in your own ears? Survive on tiny puffs of air. Do not stop. Don’t even think about it. Shudder a sigh, pull back, let your opponent catch you with lips or teeth and ease you back into something even deeper. Wetter. Feel your nerve endings crackle to life with each touch of tongue. Feel a new heaviness between your legs. The aim of the game is to do this for the rest of your life. Screw human civilization and all it entails. This elevator is home now. This is what we do now. Do not fucking stop. Now Joshua he was delightful and I loved him to pieces. Josh we see truly cares for Lucy, and I love the way he cares for her in little ways without giving too much away. Joshua hasn't had good history with women, they always tend to burn him and so he is pretty closed off. 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. And it could be heart breaking at times seeing the way he is with Lucy. He takes things really really slow with her, which drives Lucy kinda crazy. She just doesn't understand why he is taking things so slow with her and they have to build a new level of trust. These two have their ups and their downs, a certain level of crazy and sexy chemistry that captivates the reader from the first page. Now there was some moments in this book that seriously made me want to shout out. Literally, especially that breakfast moment with Josh's dad...boy I kinda fell in love with Lucy---so fierce and protective of Josh, I had to replay it a few times because I got such a kick out of it. I honestly couldn't get enough of these two and their chemistry. I love their bantering, the humor, the rich emotion that filters through and a couple that wins your heart. I think the only thing I would have changed was the ending, I would have liked to know the outcome of the promotion and see Joshua grovel to Lucy's folks.The NarrationWhat a fabulous narrator we have here....at first I wasn't sure if I would like her. But she grew on me very VERY quickly. She brings in the humor of the book so well and her voice is just the right fit for the tone of this book. I loved the way she showed the levels of emotion and wit with just the right voice and she portrays the book so superb. If you like audio books, you definitely need to try this narrator out.The CoverI am not a fan of the cover, I will admit. I don't care too much for cartoonish covers but I like the colors used.Overall ViewThe Hating Game is a delightful mix of angsty romance, silly yet fun bantering, a full belly satisfying love story that will leave you with a smile on your face. I haven't wanted you this long, and gone through so much, and given up so much, to have you for one night. It's not enough."
breic-1
Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
1/5
"Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. Not dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate."Ugh. I wanted to expand my reading horizons, read some books that I wouldn't normally consider. This had good reviews, not just meaningless "Thank you for the ARC" social media reviews, but even in the New York Times genre column. But this book is truly terrible. It doesn't sink into genre stereotypes, it rises up and smashes them, overwhelms them. Every bad preconception you might have about the romance genre? This novel has it times one hundred. That synopsis? Frans de Waal will have to weigh in on whether characters without brains can hate. Perhaps they can. Yet the main characters are in love with each other and having sex from approximately page two. There is no conflict. And I am maybe insufficiently sexist to enjoy the author's deeply sexist characterizations.
roses7184_1
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
Pardon me while I fan myself, because this book is sizzling! How to describe The Hating Game? It's fun, it's hilarious, and it's full of the type of sexual tension that makes the pages smolder. Insta-love and I have never been friends. Give me a struggle, and an awkward love story though, and I'm yours forever. Sally Throne has written my absolute favorite type of story right here. The one where supposed hate turns to steamy love, and the whole ride is just too enjoyable for words.
First off, Lucy is absolutely adorable. At a toppling 5 feet tall, Lucy is just a ball of gawky and lovable energy. She's the type of character that has no problem making people adore her, but unfortunately craves that attention. Which means she gets stepped all over a fair amount of the time. That just endeared her to me all the more though. I could see the lioness within, and I was so rooting for her. Enter Joshua, her nemesis, and the exact yin to her yang. Joshua is perfectly polished. He's proper, and cold. He's the type of character that people actually fear disappointing. So what happens when you put these two in close quarters? So much. So, so much.
The banter was my absolute favorite portion of this whole book. Watching Lucy and Josh banter, watching the delicious sexual tension slowly unfurl between them, was just wonderful. This whole book is a slow burn. It has perfectly paced romantic moments, interspersed with struggles, to make this a much deeper book than I expected. Lucy and Josh don't just get one another. They have to fight. They argue. They're petty. At the end of the day though, it's still that slow burn towards the ending. I can't express enough how perfectly paced this romantic comedy is! I laughed, I cried, I smirked. So many emotions.
There were a few small things about this story that made it fall just shy of a perfect five star rating. Josh's personality, while absolutely necessary to the story, could be a bit grating at certain times. I'm so glad he had Lucy to set him back on the right track. Overall though, I can promise you that this book is the whole package. The Hating Game is a ton of fun to read! It's well worth a spot on your reading list.