USA Today Bestseller!
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. … 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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Cute story with likable characters.
By far, my most favorite rom-com! Love the banter, love the characters, love all the steam! I can’t wait for the movie! Sally Thorne has outdone herself.
Okay, I actually really liked this enemies to lovers, co-workers, kind-of-rivals-but-not-really book! Overall, the plot combined with Sally Thorne’s writing style made The Hating Game such an enjoyable read! I only found myself skip a few lines here and there —not so much because I was bored, but because I wanted to skip to the tea!!
So. Lucy and Joshua are not your typical friendly co-workers. They hate each other’s guts, —or so they thought at first. One thing’s for sure: their working environment is never filled with boredom. The chance for one of them to get a promotion is the last thing their already fragile relationship needed. One of them will have the chance to become the other one’s boss. Neither Joshua nor Lucy will ever live with that kind of humiliation —having to obey their nemesis’ commands. And so the rivalry begins.
The rivalry, though, is accompanied by chemistry. Lust. Need. Feelings both of them had for a long time, but didn’t want to admit them. Suddenly, Lucy doesn’t see Joshua as a person she hates, a cruel man who doesn’t now what ‘nice’ means. Instead, she sees the niceness in him. And all of a sudden, she can’t stay away. But the same goes for Joshua.
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“You’re shipwrecked onto an uninhabited island. What three things would you take with you?”
“A knife. A tarpaulin.” He thinks for a long time on the last item. “And you.”
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I could not put this down! I loved both characters and their banter throughout. Could not stop smiling while reading and I’m sad I read it so fast because I want to go back and read it again! There are some steamy scenes in this novel but completely worth the read. This book is a keeper.
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This is my second time reading this book. I still felt fully committed to this story. I absolutely love the angst between the two characters and the BANTER! I loved the quick quips that this author came up with. In my second read of it, as happy as I am for a happy ending, it felt a bit cheesy in the things he was saying. REGARDLESS – I still love it. Its so fun!
This book was so funny that I kept pausing to read passages out loud to whomever was nearby. Sally Thorne has a gift for dialogue and for choosing just the right word.
This book was so sexy and romantic that I was eyeing my husband across the room, where he was innocently watching television, with a rather predatory look.
I read it in two sittings; I REALLY did not want to put it down. A pure delight of a romantic comedy.
This is a funny, sweet, and lovable story!
I love The Hating Game. The bantering between Josh and Lucy and their sometimes juvenile games left me laughing so hard. It is also a story about family dynamics with no angsts. I love a feisty heroine who defends her man. For her first novel, Sally Thorne aced this!!
This is going to be one of my favorite books to re-read when I need some laughs.
Easy read, but loses steam after the mid-point.
Absolutely loved it – hilarious and quirky
This might be one of my new all-time favorite books. The build up of the enemies-to-lovers relationship between Lucy and Josh is one of the best examples of the trope out there. I was rooting for them, but also extremely entertained by their rivalry! Absolute must read if you’re a lover of enemies-to-lovers!
I looooooooved this! I really wanted something light and funny after my last read (which was depressing) and boy did I get it. I legit laughed out loud multiple times while reading this book and it reminded me of Sophie Kinsella’s books. I enjoyed it so much that I didn’t want it to end and when I did reach the end I wanted to go right back to the beginning and start it all over again. There’s something about a love/hate/love story.
I really wish there was a sequel…..Sally Thorne pleeeaaasssee write one! Please don’t let this be the end of Joshua (sigh) and Lucy! In the meantime, I will read 99 percent mine which I hope I will love as much this
I’m CONSUMING audiobooks right now–they’re keeping me sane through COVID–and the narrator of THE HATING GAME was fabulous. The storyline was such fun, and I loved the dialogue and the humor and pretty much everything about this enemies to friends story. Joshua and Lucy are both brilliant characters. As a petite woman, I got Lucy big time (I cracked up about her Smurf collection). And Josh, sigh, is a different kind of tortured hero. I was sad to say goodbye to them.
Heartwarming, funny, sexy, and an absolutely delightful read!
A Hate to Love relationship. By far one of the best ones I have read.
Lucinda aka Lucy has to sit across from Joshua at work the person she hates the most every day at work. The feeling between them both is mutual, until a job promotion comes up for the taking the rivalry between each other becomes brutal.
The slow burn of the characters coming together is really different from any other hate to love relationship. The hatred for each other is there, but it slowly turns in to love unlike other books where cupid drops love dust on there head or shots them in the butt with a love arrow and next thing you know they are jumping in the bed together.
After reading both Sally Thorn’s books I can say she is differently one of my favorite authors!
I loved this book – it was so funnY! However I purchased her 2nd book, 99 Percent Mine, and was very disappointed. The only good thing about 99 Percent Mine is that it contains an epilogue to The Hating Game.
I loved this book so much and I can’t believe it took me so long to find this book. I love a great enemies to lovers story and Sally Thorne wrote this book so perfectly. I immediately loved every hating game that Lucy and Josh played and of course I was Team Lucy in the beginning. But by the end of the book I was Team Josh and was rooting for these two to end up together.
I read this book in the span of just over a day and I can’t wait to re-read it already. There are so many little things that makes this book perfect! This book has the perfect amount of angst, steam and sweetness. There were parts of the book where I had tears streaming down my face and I felt so much for these characters. If you love a great enemies to lovers romance please run to pick this book up! Thank you for a wonderful book Sally Thorne – one that I will be re-reading over and over again 🙂
Is it possible for characters to flirt with you? I fell for them.
review on my blog
https://www.emilythebooknerd.com/2019/01/the-hating-game.html#more
This was such a treat to read! I absolutely adore enemies to lovers romances, and this book certainly delivered (with the bonus of several funny moments that actually made me laugh out loud). If you’re in the mood for a good contemporary, I can’t recommend this highly enough!
I adore the enemies-to-lovers, hate-you-but-also-fancy-you trope and The Hating Game does it soooo well. There’s so much snarking and flirting and sexual tension you could cut it with a knife. It’s just been announced that this is going to be made into a movie, and I cant wait!
he story was brilliant and the audio was PHENOMENAL!!! One of my top favorite audios, ever! Katie Schorr was exquisite in her narration. She beautifully captured the feelings Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman experienced; frustration, apprehension, sexual tension, love … all of them, all the feelings. She portrayed their happy times and sad times, but especially, the awkward and funny moments.
If you’re looking for an audiobook that will put a big smile on your face and a warm feeling in your heart, and let’s face it, right now, we all need that, grab The Hating Game.