The Hating Game by Sally Thorne - Restarting May 15th 2023

[Book_Fairy]

julia ☆ wrote: "Chapters 1-3:

[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I actually kind of like the publishing details, it's kind of funny I am not sure about it anymore because of one of my favorite booktubers, but I wanted to go into publishing, so its interesting reading that. I like the banter as well, I just think it's not as good as I wanted. I also feel like the both understand each other pretty well, in spite of the whole "Enemy" thing, they see the parts of each other that nobody else does. (hide spoiler)]

[julia ☆]

Book_Fairy wrote: [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[I agree about them understanding each other! I think they need to since they're so used to poking each other and trying to get a reaction out of one another with their "games". (hide spoiler)]

[Book_Fairy]

julia ☆ wrote: "Book_Fairy wrote: [spoilers removed]"

[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ SO MUCH SEXUAL TENSION!!! (hide spoiler)]

[julia ☆]

Chapter 4-11:

(view spoiler)[Lots of thoughts! The "beautiful" scene with Lucy not knowing how to deal with being complimented and telling Josh he ruined her was so so so sad. It also made it a bit difficult for me to actually buy the romance upon realizing that Lucy felt that way? I guess because if the way someone treated me affected me to that point, I'd want nothing to do with them.

But then! The paintball scenes were so funny and the mutual protection from Lucy and Josh made me laugh so hard. Josh being jealous of Danny were also very entertaining to me.

And everything about Lucy getting sick and Josh sticking around to take care of her and the conversations they had made me reconsider my 'not buying the romance' thoughts lol I want to be sold on this and Sally Thorne is succeeding with the gentleness from Josh and Lucy being so open with him because she's delirious with fever :D (hide spoiler)]

[Book_Fairy]

julia ☆ wrote: "Chapter 4-11:
"

(view spoiler)[ See I buy the romance all the way through, they just needed to communicate better in that scene. I understand the confusion with being complimented, I have that issue as well and not just with one person. I think that scene showed some good character development, showing us that she has her own issues.

I loved the jealousy as well, and also loved absolutely, the fact that they are starting to figure out what they are, though there is going to be something happening soon I just feel it. (hide spoiler)]

[julia ☆]

Chapters 12-16:

(view spoiler)[I'm kind of losing interest a little bit? I was not a fan of Danny being used for one of the games, but I did like that Lucy was very upfront about them staying friends after the kiss and didn't lead him on.

Lucy coming up with the rule that her and Josh being together was only going to be a one time thing didn't work for me? I guess because I know that's going to be a huge lie lol Personally, I don't think it added anything to the plot aside from it being a device to drag this on a little bit longer. It didn't even work, to me, as a way to amp up the sexual tension since that was already through the roof.

I do still love the banter between so much, though! My favorite scenes are always the ones where they stop picking at each other and have a conversation to get to know each other better and make fun of each other in good faith. (hide spoiler)]

[Book_Fairy]

julia ☆ wrote: "Chapters 12-16:
"
(view spoiler)[ There are many things I have not liked about this book so far, but the main thing is their communication, and how even though they make up for it, in those sweet moments, there is too many scenes where they just seem almost toxic. You can argue with that, but it just seems like it sometimes goes too far. (hide spoiler)]

[akacya ❦]

Chapter 1
(view spoiler)[Hopefully Lucy gets better. She’s so childish right now. (hide spoiler)]

[julia ☆]

Book_Fairy wrote: "julia ☆ wrote: "Chapters 12-16:
"
[spoilers removed]"

I 100% agree with you here!

[julia ☆]

akacya ♡̷̷ˎˊ wrote: "Chapter 1
[spoilers removed]"

It gets a little bit better!

[julia ☆]

Chapter 23:

(view spoiler)[ There is absolutely no damn good reason for Josh to have kept the Mindy thing from Lucy and to have put her in that position. (hide spoiler)]

[Book_Fairy]

I am done!

(view spoiler)[I get why people like this book, it has some cute moments and some pretty good moment. I get it when they are with each other, they can be cute, but they can also be slightly toxic. Honestly I was cheering for them as a couple more than I was cheering for them as individuals. This is a problem, because I think the only way to truly vote for a couple in a book is you have to like parts of the characters. Actually scratch that, I did like moments for both of them, but there was too many examples of times where I wanted to wring both of your necks. In the end, I didn't like them as a couple or individually, I just don't know anymore.

Sorry if you liked this book, this is just my opinion. (hide spoiler)]

[julia ☆]

Chapters 24-The End

(view spoiler)[I didn't buy Josh's reasons for keeping the Misty situation from Lucy, so things soured a bit for me. I did love so very much Lucy standing up for Josh regarding his dad, though. That was so necessary and it was great to see her be unwilling to let people walk all over her and someone she cared about.

Regarding the spicy scenes: I didn't think they were particularly spicy? There were like 2-3 sort of spicy scenes that were written in such a way that didn't exactly spark any sort of feeling for me. Their first time actually read more to me like Lucy was being hurt in a bad way than feeling so good it hurt.

It did bug me a little that it took Lucy so long to get a damn clue that Josh was in love with her. I think they needed better communication between them and less "games", in general. Because it took such a long time for them to finally! get together and be on the same page, I didn't get any sort of warm and fuzzy feelings about their relationship because then... the book was over. (hide spoiler)]

I hope whoever is still reading enjoys this more than I did!

[julia ☆]

Book_Fairy wrote: "[spoilers removed]

I feel mostly the same way <3

[Book_Fairy]

I agree with @julia I hope that anyone else reads this book and gets their own opinion on it, and I honestly believe I hope they disagree with me. I am one opinion of many, and just because I didn't like it as much as I wanted, does not mean that I don't hope that you all really enjoy it.

[akacya ❦]

Chapter 3
(view spoiler)[Alright, now we have an even bigger conflict between the two with this new job! This should be interesting. (hide spoiler)]

[akacya ❦]

julia ☆ wrote: "Chapter 4-11:"

(view spoiler)[That upset me, too! Like you said, I can’t imagine ever dating someone who made me feel so low about myself. The scenes where Lucy was sick and Josh took care of her helped his case for sure, haha. (hide spoiler)]

[akacya ❦]

Chapter 17
(view spoiler)[YES! I’m so glad she finally stood up for herself! (hide spoiler)]

[akacya ❦]

Chapter 23
(view spoiler)[Miscommunication trope claims another victim. (hide spoiler)]

[akacya ❦]

julia ☆ wrote: "Chapter 23:

[spoilers removed]"

Right?!

[akacya ❦]

Page 360 (in chapter 28)
(view spoiler)[Ah!! Why did I feel like he’d quit before the job interview? (hide spoiler)]

[akacya ❦]

It seems like this was a bummer for all of us😅 IMO it got slightly better toward the end but the beginning was so rough

[julia ☆]

akacya ♡̷̷ˎˊ wrote: "It seems like this was a bummer for all of us😅 IMO it got slightly better toward the end but the beginning was so rough"

It does! I also had trouble with the beginning, but I still thought the first part was a bit better than the second. (view spoiler)[I wish we had gotten more of Lucy and Josh actually together post-confessing at the end. (hide spoiler)]

[akacya ❦]

julia ☆ wrote: "akacya ♡̷̷ˎˊ wrote: "It seems like this was a bummer for all of us😅 IMO it got slightly better toward the end but the beginning was so rough"

It does! I also had trouble with the beginning, but I ..."

(view spoiler)[For sure! The ending still wasn’t perfect and felt rushed. (hide spoiler)]

[Jenn]

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Date changed. Restarting February 2nd 2022. Happy Reading ☺

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[Ta || bookishbluehead]

I'm starting. :) Time for some romance this month.

[Maddie]

Yes I agree! I'm getting through Year of the Reaper and then diving into this one!

[j2yde]

praying i'll be able to just fly through this book

[Maddie]

I'm sure we will Jayden haha I also have an insane amount of things to read this month

[Ta || bookishbluehead]

24%, ch, 8 (view spoiler)[Her behavior is so ridiculous. I don't get why they hate each other? Or why she hates him, I don't think he really hates her, after that kiss and all... (hide spoiler)]

[j2yde]

just reached chapter 8!

(view spoiler)[hmm, i'm not sure if i'm too fond of this story to be honest. i don't get why the main characters hate each other so much. it feels like it just happened so the story could have a trope, yk? it doesn't rlly make that much sense to me. nevertheless i suppose it's a bit enjoyable? i really like danny and i'm sad she's gonna lead him on only to reject him:( (hide spoiler)]

[Ta || bookishbluehead]

Jayden wrote: "just reached chapter 8!

[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[My exact thoughts!!! I don't understand why they hate each other? Especially Lucy is bahaving like a 12-year old. I do have to say, I enjoy the book more as the story progresses but I'm not too fond of her. (hide spoiler)]

[Maddie]

You guys enjoying it? Chapter 8 seems to be good because it's getting the updates haha

[Ta || bookishbluehead]

Maddie wrote: "You guys enjoying it? Chapter 8 seems to be good because it's getting the updates haha"

Well... the beginning was tough, but the more the story progresses, the more I enjoy it. I'm at 62% now and I think it went up to 3 stars for me.

[Ta || bookishbluehead]

62% (view spoiler)[I wonder why Lucy thinks she has to quit when Josh gets the Job. They clearly don't hate each other anymore. And I HATE that Lucy is taking everything Josh says to heart and thinks he really means it, like the things he said to his boss. He CLEARLY said those things, because he was mad at him and not because he wanted to insult Lucy. It's SO frustrating. All these games and the miscommunication.

Do you guys think he'll pull out of the competition for the job? Is that what he meant, when he told Lucy he could "make it stop"? And why is he so against his brothers' marriage? Is he marrying his ex? (hide spoiler)]

[Maddie]

Oh wow that is really low! I'll start in a few days!

[Ta || bookishbluehead]

78% (view spoiler)["I can't believe I've been so stupid." - Well, I can't believe it either!!! How could she not have guessed that?! I mean, he should have told her, but the signs were so big and bright, it couldn't have been clearer. This is getting on my nerves. (hide spoiler)]

[Ta || bookishbluehead]

92% (view spoiler)[She gave a very nice speech about Josh, that was nice. But you have to help me out here, why is she so convinced to never talk to him after the interviews? Even if only one of them gets the job and the other quits... they still can talk to each other? They could become a real couple? It's not like the other one is instantly imploding or something. What am I missing? (hide spoiler)]

[Ta || bookishbluehead]

100% (view spoiler)[So... he quit, she'll get the job and they still are a couple. Like... why all the drama??

I'll need to sort out my thoughts before I know how to rate this. I didn't like the beginning, then it got a little better, then it got worse and then the last 4 % were okay again. I'm too tired now to make a decission... :D (hide spoiler)]

[j2yde]

yeahh i decided to dnf the story because i'm just not enjoying it and i don't want to waste my time reading something i won't like.

(view spoiler)[ ngl, some of the characters got on my NERVES (cough cough both the main characters). i didn't connect with either of the characters. if anything, i low key ended up hating them more and more as the story continued. also i don't get why/how half of the things that happened happened? like wha??? (hide spoiler)]

[Ta || bookishbluehead]

Jayden wrote: "yeahh i decided to dnf the story because i'm just not enjoying it and i don't want to waste my time reading something i won't like.

[spoilers removed]"

Honestly, that's probably for the best. The last 20% or so it got worse again. The reason for all the hate was just so stupid...

(view spoiler)[There was so much happening just for plotconvenience. Lucy was stupid. And the reason why they were enemies for live was just... He didn't smile at her when they first met - that's the reason. That's why she hated him so much. And now you wonder why he wouldn't smile when meeting his new coworker? Well, he knew he would fall instantly in love if he smiled at her and she would be nice to him... (hide spoiler)]

[j2yde]

WAIT TA YOURE KIDDING RIGHT? THAT WAS THE REASON??? i'm....literally so glad i dnfed this book

[Maddie]

Hahaha I'm definitely interested in this book now

[j2yde]

congrats if u somehow manage to finish all of it tbh

[Maddie]

Haha I'm expecting a 5-starrer because so many of my friends love it. I do wonder if it holds up today

[Maddie]

Chapter 2 (view spoiler)[I'm already really into their relationship. I can't ever see this happening in real life though. Enemies to lovers doesn't make sense to me. (hide spoiler)]

[Ta || bookishbluehead]

Maddie wrote: "Haha I'm expecting a 5-starrer because so many of my friends love it. I do wonder if it holds up today"

I hope you love it Maddie!

[Ta || bookishbluehead]

Maddie wrote: "Chapter 2 [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[Me, too. I don‘t really see enemies to lovers working in real life. (hide spoiler)]

[Maddie]

Chapter 4 (view spoiler)[I also want to see Josh spray coffee out of his nose when he notices Lucy in that short black dress frick yes. (hide spoiler)]

[Maddie]

Chapter 5 (view spoiler)[WOW does she know how to tease. I'm loving this (hide spoiler)]