This is my favorite Sally Thorne novel and it’s also at my top ten all my favorite romance books list! Whenever I feel anxious, sad, tired, I reread this book to brighten my mood and enjoy every second of it! Lucy was an awesome narrator and a fantastic, endearing heroine. I loved her portrayal. She was sweet, kind, considerate and so much fun. She was a genuinely good person, a refreshing, relatable character I’m sure many readers will love from the very beginning. I think what I loved the most about her was the way she pushed Josh’s buttons. *grin* Pure entertainment! As for our male main character…Josh was so much more than I’ve initially thought he will be. He was arrogant and a little cruel, but not too much to be annoying and like Lucy he loved their “silly” games. Btw, I totally loved their games myself.

At any rate, I ran across this in my ongoing quest to find funny romances that make my heart go pitty-pat. This is a romance. It's no spoiler that things DO change between them. Love and hate are a fine line, after all. Both invoke a lot of similar mental and physiological responses. So when the line blurs between these two and all that pent up aggression between them becomes filled with the promise of a non-destructive outlet, whoa. I really enjoyed Lucy’ POV, but I have to admit I really missed Josh’s because there were many times when I wanted so badly to be in his head. Also, I wouldn’t have minded an epilogue...just saying! It's childish and immature and a ridiculous way to spend your work day. I thought it frigging was hysterical.This is another one of those books I've owned since it (almost) came out but I never got around reading it. Funny story: I almost bought another copy of this because I thought I lost my copy of it. I'm embarrassed to admit that I almost cried. Books are expensive. I'm so glad I found my copy and didn't buy a new one though, or I would have been crying but they wouldn't be happy tears. I'm so tired of this dynamic. And Lucy is cute in a way that I finally understand why people hate Zooey Deschanel's characters. It's overwhelming. Suffocating. Lucy is like Jess from New Girl on steroids. She says silly things that no one would say in real life because they have mental filters. Think about merging two company makes two executive assistants miserable : but this time those assistants don’t try to match make their bosses like Netflix’s Set it up movie ( another good written romcom script I highly recommend) because merging of Bexley Books and Gamin Publishing also means they will fight against each other to get the promotion they worked for. Lucy's date with Danny clearly didn't go well. Danny kissed her, but she didn't like it, so Josh won. She's now at his apartment, telling him this, admitting it, yada yada. As Lucy is about to leave, this is their conversation:

I should mention that the ultimate aim of all our games is to make the other smile, or cry. It’s something like that. I’ll know when I win.” And while I realize there needs to be some sort of will-they-won't-they tension, I would appreciate it if the author put a little more thought into it than she did this time around. Dawson, Angela (December 7, 2021). "Lucy Hale And Austin Stowell Connect In 'The Hating Game' ". Forbes . Retrieved June 14, 2023. This is my favorite book I've read this summer. Debut novelist Sally Thorne positions herself as the next Sophie Kinsella in this sassy, sexy romance that brings new energy to the trite enemies-turned-lovers narrative.' - Cristina Arreola, BustleThese two are so ADORKABLE together. Their banter, their stupid fights and games, their flirting, gah . . . their dynamics is everything! Being in their presence is so addictive. I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face even if I tried. They are so much fun to hang around I never wanted this book to end! Everything that happened in this book was either extremely cute or extremely sexually tense and I loved that. I think this might be the first rom-com novel I consider re-reading one day. It was precious. WOW! OMG! WHAT DID I JUST READ?! I AM NOT FUNCTIONING RIGHT NOW! MY HEART IS ON THE VERGE OF FAILING. One of the tragic things about being so out of the loop with the book world is I DID NOT KNOW THERE WAS AN EPILOGUE. And not only an epilogue, but probably the best epilogue ever written, anywhere, anytime!

Not dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. HATE. Lucy can’t understand Joshua’s joyless, uptight approach to his job and refusal to smile. Joshua is clearly baffled by Lucy’s overly bright clothes, quirkiness, and desire to be liked. I’d have to be a thousand years old to forget the way he kisses me. It’s the fresh new bud of something that could one day be something remarkable…”

Sally lives in Canberra, Australia, with her husband- plus a pug called Delia and a horse called Louie. I get the lunch break dots, but, marking when she smiles at someone? It was probably when she smiled at other guys, considering everything else that’s happened and been said. I mean, he even kept the Post-it note she kissed and plastered it on his refrigerator . . . And also, making a mark for when she wore a dress or skirt? He's quite the observer, if you ask me. I can easily see myself re-reading this over and over again. And I cannot wait for more releases from this author. I think she'll become quite a heavy-hitter in the romance genre if she keeps up this level of work. Hating someone feels disturbingly similar to being in love,' says Lucy Hutton, who can't stand fellow executive assistant Joshua. There's only one place this could go...but it's good fun getting there.'- People Magazine I think about what kind of girls he probably dates. Tall, cool blondes. I feel it in my tiny undersized brunette bones." This just screams the "I'm not like other girls he has dated" trope which I hate. And very girl vs girl personality she has. She doesn't hate women, Lucy I mean, but she is always thinking like the girls Joshua would have dated or dated before her and they were always "blonde and tall and beautiful and nothing like her." This bothers me so much. So what the hell does it matter if they were blonde? Being blonde doesn't mean anything and you are just stereotyping people, Lucy. Come on, be better.

I should mention that the ultimate aim of all our games is to make the other smile, or cry. It’s something like that. I’ll know when I win. Books like these are exactly why I have stupidly high expectations in men. In relationships in general. I’m doomed! Both love and hate are mirror versions of the same game-and you have to win. Why? Your heart and your ego.” In short: JOSH AND LUCY WERE AMAZING and I even liked the sub-plot! XD I mean I couldn’t help but wonder why Josh was the way he was with his family but when I finally found out it all made sense! Poor Joshua! I wanted to hug and cuddle him! Okay, maybe I also wanted to touch his sexy muscles, but hey I’m just a girl! He sounded way too delicious to pass on such an opportunity. ;-PKaty's review also talks a lot about the heroine's feelings of loneliness and failure, as well as the way a big argument between them is resolved: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... I feel so much affection for them both--it's one of those things where you come out so pleased that they found each other. The book was read by Katie Schorr and it's not that she did a bad job, it's just that I liked the voice in my head better. Ok, so this is the second time I've been disappointed by a contemporary romance audiobook that I loved when I read it.