Review: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

Okay, The Hating Game came out in 2016 and so I am late to the game on this one, but oh my GOD, why didn’t people tell me about this gem sooner!? Is it because I only just recently realized that there was a whole online romance community? (I have a sneaking suspicion that might be why). Well, I finally pulled myself out from the rock that I was hiding over and got a copy of The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. This one is a full ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars for me and here is why, even though this book is by no means ground-breaking.

Sally Thorne navigated the build up of tension between the two leads, Josh and Lucy, perfectly. At the start of this book, their relationship is the stuff of HR nightmares, the two of them going out of the way to annoy, provoke, and titillate each other. Lucy really, really can’t stand Josh and that is what makes the journey that she goes on to falling in love with him so compelling. The framing of the book–the messed up games that they play with each other at work–is also fun. I like the way that the “games” evolve.

The spicy scenes really worked in a way that they didn’t just feel like filler where the author was trying to give fan service to the readers or take up pages. The scenes all functioned to reveal information about Lucy and Josh and ultimately to progress them in their relationship. They were, in my opinion, fairly well written and enjoyable.

For some, it may be a drawback that there is very little B-plot in this novel. For me, it was okay. I felt that I really got to know Josh with Lucy. I do wish that there was slightly more about how Lucy’s career was going, but I forgive the gap in knowledge. The author seems to have just really wanted to center the story around the relationship.

Some people have found the scenes to be somewhat clichéd, but I think that in romance, it’s a given that a lot of scenes are going to be cliché. Romance readers want to see their favorite tropes in new ways or with different characters. We just want to see them executed well. And I think in The Hating Game, they were! I still swoon for “the taking care of a sick love interest” trope. Also the “standing up for bae in front of their mean family” trope. And of course the “I love you, so I’m an asshole” trope.

Some minor complaints, though: it does get tiring to hear Lucy constantly tell us what a tiny, delicate little creature she is, and how Josh is just so, so big and hunky. There is not much (any?) diversity here. And also both of these characters have a weird bias against men who don’t have a huge chip on their shoulders. But scoring based on just my enjoyment of the book? Yeah, still a 5.