The Hating Game in Aussie Readers

Aug 04, 2016 Kat at Book Thingo rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: australian-authors, review-copies, romance-contemporary, vomit-list, poo-list

An amazing debut that marries chicklit and romance in the very best ways. The hero will melt you.

Full review at Book Thingo.

This is a romcom that starts off with the I-hate-you-because-I-love-you trope, but surprisingly ends up in a much gentler place. I'm not a huge fan of workplace shenanigans so I wasn't enamoured at the start, but when Josh and Lucy finally spend time together and their feelings start to show, I was totally invested in their relationship. (It helps that there was vomit invol ...more

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Jul 26, 2016 Bree T rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: chick-lit, arc, netgalley, kindle-version, romance, aww2016

I’ve been frustrated with reading lately because I keep picking up books that sound like they won’t be depressing and getting hit with wham! cancer. Or wham! dying hero. I am not in the mood for any of that right now, so I remembered that I’d requested this and it sounded like there’d be no potential for tragedy – right up my alley at the moment. Books only have to have all the characters come through unscathed and I’m happy.

But oh woah. This book. This book.

Guys with dark hair and blue eyes are I’ve been frustrated with reading lately because I keep picking up books that sound like they won’t be depressing and getting hit with wham! cancer. Or wham! dying hero. I am not in the mood for any of that right now, so I remembered that I’d requested this and it sounded like there’d be no potential for tragedy – right up my alley at the moment. Books only have to have all the characters come through unscathed and I’m happy.

But oh woah. This book. This book.

Guys with dark hair and blue eyes are my thing. Animosity as a front for lust is my thing. Witty banter is my thing. Realising the guy is utterly tormented over his feelings for the girl is my thing. This book is basically all of my things in one wonderful package. And it was amazing. I think I’ve read it three times, maybe four in two days.

Ugh, this story gave me all of the feelings. It made me laugh sooo many times and almost got me to cry a couple of times as well. Our narrator is Lucy, a (very) petite sweetheart who serves as executive assistant to one of two CEO’s in a merged publishing company. Joshua Templeman, a giant, serves as the other and the two share an area outside of the twin offices and spend their days engaged in games of loathing. They are as different as two people could be in many ways – Lucy is faultlessly nice, a bit of a pushover, wants to be universally loved by all at the company, and she is – except, she believes, by Joshua Templeman. In contrast, Josh is a ruthless hardass, terrorising most of the company, accepting no excuses, giving no extensions.

Lucy has always believed that Josh hated her but when she tries to make him notice her, tries to punish him in a way, by wearing a hot dress to work and claiming to have a date it sparks a reaction in Josh that she never could’ve imagined and it.was.glorious. The chemistry between the two, which simmered as a sort of weird resentment explodes as Lucy comes to realise that perhaps she’s been misinterpreting not only her own feelings for Josh but definitely his for her as well.

The reader has to interpret Josh’s feelings and thoughts through Lucy’s eyes as we’re not treated to his point of view so at first of course, Josh comes across as a total asshole because that’s the way she sees him. Lucy begins to scratch the surface of the impeccably dressed implacable Josh, exposing the insecurity, thoughts and feelings underneath. Josh is such an interesting character, the more time Lucy spends with him, especially as it begins to drift into after office hours, the more layers of his personality she reveals, the more the way that Josh comes across on the page, changes. Lucy learns to read him more, identify and interpret the expressions that she previously didn’t notice or didn’t understand, especially the ones relating to her. Lucy realises that she alone might hold the key to unlocking wall that Josh has built around himself – her thoughts and attitudes are often the ones that shape their interactions. When she’s hostile, Josh becomes closed off and abrupt. However if she drops her guard….she gets more. Much more.

I can’t find the words to explain just how much I loved this. Just sometimes you find a book that’s perfect and this was one of those for me. I sort of wish I could read a thousand more, just like this one but perhaps I love it so much because I can’t. I loved the burn of this, the way that Lucy came to realise precisely how and why things had been acrimonious. Their evolution is awkward and not at all smooth. Lucy is at times, quite breathtakingly dense as she fails to understand precisely what has Josh tied up in a knot but her slow realisation is done so well. She’s prone to the odd freak out as she negotiates the changing landscape and Josh’s way of dealing with them is adorable.

The only thing I don’t like about this book is that it’s a debut. That means I have no backlist I can go and immerse myself in. Sally Thorne needs to write more books….and quickly. ...more

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Oct 25, 2017 Nicola Marsh added it

Shelves: aussie-authors, contemporary-romance, read-in-2017

Feel-good fun.

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Jan 05, 2019 Ang -PNR Book Lover Reviews rated it really liked it

Funny, cute and romance!

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Sep 03, 2018 Marg rated it really liked it

Shelves: aww2018

Fun read. Perfect for a 3 hour plane flight.

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Jan 03, 2018 Amanda rated it it was amazing

Hilarious! This is my favorite romance trope and this was SO GOOD. Super entertaining, single afternoon read. An excellent way to start the year for sure.

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Feb 25, 2017 Teresa rated it really liked it

I absolutely loved how cute and fun this book was. So nice to read something uncomplicated.

I did wish there was more, but I'm okay with the ending. ...more

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Aug 21, 2022 Karen rated it it was ok · review of another edition

A real chick lit novel, boy and girl hate each other and then they fall in love. An easy to read book, which I did whilst on holiday lying by the pool. Lucy Hutton is an Executive assistant for a co-CEO of a small publishing company, and Joshua Templeman is the Executive assistant for the other CEO. They hate each other and are always trying to outdo each other, and then they are both competing for the same job as Chief Operating Officer for the company. It is not until they go to paintball outi ...more

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