The Hating Game
When I started reading The Hating Game, I was immediately drawn in. The contemporary romance novel by Sally Thorne is about executive assistants to the co-CEOs of a publishing company. Lucy and Joshua are two opposites who deeply hate each other. They spend their days sitting across one another, displaying their feelings through passive aggressive maneuvers. When they are pitted against each other for a promotion, themes of rivalry and romance arise.
While each character has rather interesting qualities, my favorite is the narrator Lucy. She is witty, bright, and energetic with a colorful personality. Her persona strongly contrasts Joshua’s. Lucy craves adventure and is free-spirited. Her coworkers view her as organized and intelligent. However, readers realize not far into the story that Lucy is rather lonely. Her parents own a strawberry farm in a different state and she got into a disagreement with her only close friend. This character is complex because she gives off a lively persona but on the inside feels alone.
Lucy is not the only lonely character in The Hating Game. Joshua, although afraid to admit it, feels like he does not live up to his family’s expectations. To others, he seems emotionless and cold. Since they work right across from each other, Lucy notices that he is not as tough as he appears to be. I think their dynamic once realizing their similarities makes the story much more interesting. It gives them a stronger connection besides working together. Once they are aware of their shared experiences, they stop hating each other so much.
I have not finished the novel yet but am excited to see where the story takes Lucy and Joshua. The plot seems predictable but there are twists and turns every chapter. It gets exciting to see how Lucy and Joshua interact when they cover up their feelings for each other with hate. At the start, I did not have much empathy for them. However, I connected to them after reading about their habits and longings. Based on what I’ve read so far, I recommend The Hating Game to anyone who wants a gripping story full of laughter, love, and well, a bit of hate.
-Noreen
I'm not sure if you have watched the show Brooklynn Nine-Nine, but you dynamic between the two characters sounds similar to that of characters in the show. I think it is an fascinating dynamic to read about and see how the dynamic changes and evolves. It is also interesting to see what brings two characters closer together.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a fun read! It’s nice that even though the plot seems predictable, there are still some surprises. From reading your description, it sounds like the book kind of has a different take on the whole saying of “opposites attract,” since Lucy and Joshua are more alike than they seem.
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds really good! The characters sound really complex, even if the plot is a little predictable. The characters dynamic sounds interesting too. Great review!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a fun book to read! The characters and their personalities seem really interesting to read about, as well as the dynamic between Lucy and Joshua. Great review!
ReplyDeleteI find this book quite intriguing. The novel must be really good if there are already so many good things going on before the end. It's fine if the plot is predictable, as long as the story is still interesting that still makes it a good read in my book! I feel like the chemistry between the two characters is going to be fun to read about.
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds so interesting! It sounds like a fun version of the "enemies to lovers" trope with engaging and relatable characters. I also like that the story seems predictable but has twists and turns.
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