Review: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

He’s the one she loves to hate.

Lucy Hutton, baker-of-cakes, charming assistant and professional ‘nice girl’, is waging a war. She’s got the whole office on her side – except for tall, dark and charmless Joshua Templeman. He’s been nothing but hostile since the moment they met and now it feels like nothing matters as much as taking him down.

Trapped together under the fluorescent lights, they become entrenched in an addictive rivalry. There’s the Staring Game, the Mirror Game, the HR Game. Lucy can’t let Joshua beat her at anything, especially when a huge promotion comes up for grabs.

Finally she’s going to destroy the man she can’t seem to get out of her office, the man she hates, the man who’s taking up far too much space in her head. If Lucy wins, she’ll be Joshua’s boss. If she loses she’ll resign. The race is on – but the real games have only just began…

I’m practically screaming – I freaking LIVED for this book. Deliciously sexy and sinfully addictive, The Hating Game is my new favorite Rom Com ever. Do yourself a favor and pick this up NOW.

When I threw my TBR to the wind to read what I deemed would be a trashy romance I thought I knew exactly what I was in for. To be fair though, I don’t typically reach for romances or Chick Lit. The first fifty pages, or first five chapters to be exact, didn’t do much to convince me otherwise; Lucy and Josh were locked in their borderline immature, totally work-place-harassment war. It was an endless cycle of 9 till 5 rivalry and silly antics with not a whole lot of substance. I could feel my eyes beginning to glaze over – I love a book that packs a serious punch. This was the book cluttering my social feed? This was what everyone was raving about??? I was seriously beginning to doubt the hype.

Enter the elevator scene and suddenly the whole enemies-to-lovers narrative got a hell of a lot more interesting and steamy…

Before I had the chance to catch my breath, I was locked onto an insane roller coaster ride of emotions. One I wasn’t aware I’d signed up for. What at first seemed a pretty cut and dry plot became completely unpredictable and suddenly the three hundred and sixty three pages of Lucy and Josh weren’t nearly enough. In fact, even writing about them now makes me want to dive into my bed with a cup of coffee and turn back to page one.

But, before you do rush out to your local book store, I must advise that while the Hating Game is a charming Rom Com it’s also an adult Rom Com. I’m not here to judge or dictate what you read but my younger readers need to be aware that the Hating Game features mature content with explicit language and scenes.

Okay, now we’ve got that disclaimer out of the way, let’s get into the characters and what-not.

Here’s what you need to know about Lucy Hutton; Lucy is quirky, she’s a slight workaholic and she hates Joshua Templeman. Absolutely loathes him. As in arch-nemeses, perpetual rivals, I-hate-you-so-much-I-could-choke-you kind of hate. And it’s mutual. Because Lucy is our protagonist and the Hating Game is told from her perspective it gives Josh this elusive air of mystery.  Just like Lucy, I could never pin him down.  Also like Lucy, I fell for him hard. Romance aside, what I loved about Lucy was that she was like this riot of color in her corporate world. Born and bred in the boonies, Lucy has such a strong and determined outlook but she has a tendency to work late and most of her colleagues walk over her. She’s flawed but such a well-rounded character. Watching her grow into her own was refreshing and inspiring.

Because Lucy is sensitive, quirky and downright hilarious the voice of the novel is sensitive, quirky and downright hilarious. And yet, considering that the Hating Game is a steamy romance there’s actually so much depth to the narrative. The prose is witty and humorous but portrays real emotion. Lucy’s struggles become our own and, as the corporate war wages on, both Lucy and the reader know that there’s no way for either party to win. This ever present cloud creates this amazing, almost pliable tension. I guarantee you won’t be able to put this book down.

Speaking of amazing tension, let’s delve into Joshua Templeman. Can this man just freaking marry me already??? All I can say is that Joshua Templeman has literally ruined me for future romances. Like I said before, Josh has this elusive, totally sexy Mr Darcy vibe going on and I was so here for it. Much like the plot itself, when we first met Josh, I thought I had him all figured out. Nope. Not even close. Josh kept me guessing right up until the last page. All I can say is now I need to go back and re-read the Hating Game because Josh has this complex, emotional history that, in hindsight, was hidden underneath every little game and every single gesture.

And don’t get me started on their sizzling chemistry! Trust me – we’d be here all day. Basically, the Hating Game basically oozes sexual tension and drips electricity. You could pretty much power the entire world on the banter alone. This book practically hums with it.

If you’re still with me, forget low key – I high key loved this book and will recommend it to literally anyone. I’ve already approached my mum with it. If you love quirky Rom Coms that make you feel then the Hating Game has your name plastered all over it. You will devour this book, it will travel with you literally everywhere as you live and breathe these characters. Fair warning though – Joshua Templeman should come with his own warning label. Cannot rave enough.

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