Sammy’s review of The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
Contemporary Romance published by William Morrow Paperbacks 09 Aug 16
I heard all the buzz on Twitter regarding this book. I usually wait a while for the squees to die down before diving in, but I couldn’t help myself. One of my favorite tropes is the enemies-to-lovers stories. The most outstanding one to date is by Christina Lauren. I love the witty banter. You know, all that verbal sparring is really the ultimate foreplay. It’s fun and funny. I am always deeply entertained. The same can be said for The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. I loved this book, but I hated it too. I find myself in book hell right now.
I was hooked from the very first sentence. We meet Lucy Hutton, who is an executive assistant to Helene Pascal, the co-CEO of Bexley & Gamin. Mr. Bexley is also co-CEO of his publishing house. The two companies recently merged due to the current climate in publishing. Joshua Templeman works as Mr. Bexley’s executive assistant. Lucinda and Josh both work across from one another, and they hate each other with a fiery passion. Or so they think. They play lots of games at the office: The Hating Game, The Staring Game, The Mirror Game, The HR Game, Strange Games, a new game called “You’re just so …” We also get: The Kissing Game, Friendship Game, The Or Something Game, The Racing Game, until they get to the Game Changer.
This book is fast paced and lyrically stunning. The chemistry between Josh and Lucy is off the charts. Their daily interactions are clever, sometimes funny, sometimes cruel. The book is told from Lucy’s point of view. I find that sometimes frustrating. I find Lucy to be frustrating too, yet I’m still on board. I am even willing to overlook the first five times she calls Mr. Bexley a “fat little dick.” After the tenth time (there are eighteen separate times she refers to him as fat) I was disappointed. Then at my wit’s end when I read this line:
“That man can smell the sugar? I gave him some to encourage the diabetes, no other reason.”
Or Mr. Bexely was leaving for a breakfast meeting and I had the misfortune of reading this line:
“I think we all know this breakfast meeting is with a plate of bacon.”
I honestly don’t know what to tackle first. I am going to start with the word “fat” that’s being used in a derogatory manner. I get he’s a sleazy bastard, maybe a bit one dimensional. I get he’s a bad guy. Still no excuse for fat shaming. By the halfway mark, I was ready to walk away. The diabetes strikes a nerve with me. I lost my grandmother and mother at an early age to that horrible disease. I can tell you that for them it was hereditary and not due to eating sugar and bacon. It’s ignorant and uncalled for.
There are other issues as well. Josh is shy and a little emotionally stunted. He has a ripped body and Lucy is always mentally lusting over it. Once they change the game from hate playing to kiss playing, she would constantly try to touch his abs, have him remove his clothes, always telling him how beautiful his body looks. He tells her several times, as well as with his actions, he isn’t comfortable with any of it. I, as a reader, know it is because he wants her to like him for who he is, not what his body looks like. Lucy is a little tone deaf until toward the end of the book. I feel embarrassed for her and uncomfortable. If the roles were reversed, I would be calling Josh a creep. So not to be a hypocrite, Lucy is a bit of a creep who is extremely dense. As the book movs forward, I love learning about why Josh is so walled off. Layers and layers are peeled away. It’s those moments that kept me glued to the pages. There’s so many beautiful moments in this book, and then I get toward the end when Josh lays it all out for Lucy and he states:
“You love me.” I see him smile in our reflection at the confusion and wonder in my tone. “Since the moment I saw you. Since the moment you smiled at me, I felt like I was falling backward off a cliff. The feeling has never stopped. I’ve been trying to drag you down with me. In the worst, most ill-conceived and socially retarded way possible.”
If you think I hate fat shaming and double standards? I seriously dislike the word “retarded” in any capacity. I mean, these people are supposed to be intelligent human beings. So here is my dilemma: I loved parts of this book. I loved Lucy with all her flaws, and she had a few. I loved Josh and his flaws. I loved the prose. I loved their messy relationship. I loved all the games they played. I didn’t love all of the issues I mentioned above.
Grade: C
Summary:
Debut author Sally Thorne bursts on the scene with a 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.
No excerpt available.
