The Hating Game: A Novel

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Bottom line: Can someone lend me a megaphone? I want to emit a piercing shriek and I want everyone to hear it. I feel so conflicted about The Hating Game. It was like I was playing out my own version of the love/hate game with the book while reading it.

I felt a love/hate relationship with the ending. It was good but I felt a little unsatisfied. While it tied up the storyline, it also felt as if it ended abruptly. My original review of this is from 2016, and contains many Disney GIFs and mentions of myself grinning and also open yearning. Lucy and Josh both agree Nice Guys are overrated. Um, no. We need more Nice Guys in fiction and real life because a healthy relationship is sexy. Plus, Lucy loves mentioning that Josh can lift her up and that somehow makes him so much better than her old boyfriends. It's childish and immature and a ridiculous way to spend your work day. I thought it frigging was hysterical.

This is a really fun book to read. The characters are adorable and loving and full of ‘sparks’. The plot is great although I wish the ‘hating game’ part lasted a little bit longer. But a really well written fun read. This is still a cute-adjacent book. We follow Lucy, who is tiny and has a lot of hair, and Josh, who is very large and very handsome. They're in the house. He stays the weekend, cooking for her and feeding her medicine and changing her clothes. As a bonus, he cleans her house too. Still caught in the impossible state of feverish delirium, she starts telling him things she'd never tell him in real life. How does The Hating Game depict sexual relationships? How is sex portrayed differently when the characters are in their 20s than when they're underage?

I love love love hate-to-love romances, and this one is done so well and so uniquely. We've got forced proximity on a daily basis, glorious banter, and oodles of sexual tension. OODLES. And guess what? The most romance-y novel I found agreeable was a book with the title The Hating Game. You see what I mean? There is not much I love more than an epic hate-love romance/office romance. And this one is on the top of the favorites list. It’s FUN and ENTERTAINING and HILARIOUS! Joshua and Lucy are quite the pair. When they find out that they are both gunning for the same job promotion, things get even worse between them. The tension between them is at an all time high. The emotions are running like crazy and it leaves Lucy more confused than ever. 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.You’re not going to miss me, are you? You can manage one little Tuesday on your own.” He touches the little toy car in my hand and spins the wheels a little. I try to be nonchalant, but he probably sees through it.

Now they're up for the same promotion and Lucy, usually a determined people-pleaser, has had enough: it's time to take him down. But as the tension between Lucy and Joshua reaches its boiling point, it's clear that the real battle has only just begun . . . 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! Lucy is hardworking, dedicated, generous, kind, and loyal. Joshua is organized, disciplined, and ambitious. Both of them are exemplary at their jobs, despite their disparate styles. Once they get over their miscommunications and really talk through their issues, each sees how the other is good for them. Helen is a supportive and caring boss, but Bexley is a sexist "good ol' boy" who dismisses Lucy and Helen. Josh then tells Lucy he wants her to have her date with Danny and kiss him and that he wants to know if it was good. He says the Or Something Game cannot proceed until she tells him. He then says if the kiss isn’t as good as his (Josh), she can’t kiss him (Danny) again.How would we react if this were in a guy's POV and he kept talking about how tight that ass is or how great her boobs are? A few times is great, welcome even. S/he thinks her partner is beautiful and sexy. But if you keep on mentioning it every time you're together, it raises eyebrows.