The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

 

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne is an enemies-to-lovers romance novel with sparkling dialogue and a lot of funny lines.  It is beloved by romance readers (4.15 on Goodreads!) and this debut novel made Thorne a standout in a sea of forgettable characters and happily ever afters.

There's a lot to like about this novel. 

"I begin patting my hand along the wall, trying to find the portal to another dimension, or at least the door to the ladies room, anything to get away from him."  (page 76)

"...there is a third person in my bedroom. A man I've never seen before.  I begin sceaming like an injured monkey." (page 117)

The writing genuinely made me laugh out loud.  

The character of Lucy is a bit hard to find in romance novels. She's self-sufficient, works competently at a white-collar job in publishing, has interesting interests (collecting Smurf figurines! so adorable!), has a great family life with no significant trauma in her background, and is charming and self-deprecating.  But it's not all great here.  Her best friend has ghosted her, her job is stable, but not exactly what she wants it be, and she's incredibly lonely in a city without friends or lovers.  

If you like a slow burn romance, this will definitely fit the bill for you.  The friction between Lucy and Josh is intense and it really pays off with a steamy resolution.

But.

Ugh. Josh is such a terrible person.  We're supposed to accept his jerkishness because he's shy and his dad is mad at him for not being a doctor?  Well, my husband is shy and his father actually gave a toast once at Dr. BB's oldest brother's wedding rehearsal that said his oldest brother was the golden child because he carried on the family tradition in medicine. My husband isn't a jerk.  He has never been a jerk. Ugh. I hated Josh.  Lucy deserves better.

The writing is generally good, but there's so much focus on eye color and shirt color. It was so repetitive.

So.  I don't know. It was fine.  I don't know that it will become a beloved favorite of mine, but it was a good read.  Let's say 3/5 stars.