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caitlincrtr's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Self harm, Mental illness, and Emotional abuse
capybooks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
As far as the enemies-to-lovers trope goes, The Hating Game takes the cake. There are so many things I love about this novel - the elevator scene in chapter 6, Josh looking after Lucy when she was ill, the flowers Josh sends Lucy (THE NOTE đđ„ș), Lucy standing up for Josh against his father. All brilliant scenes! One slight issue I had was I feel like âhateâ is too strong a word for this story. The characters say they hate each other, but do little to actually show that, although I do understand the whole idea is them saying they hate each other as opposed to admitting the feelings they both have. The Hating Game is a lighthearted, hilarious and feel-good novel, and I canât wait to read it again soon.
Graphic: Vomit and Sexual content
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, Medical content, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Death, Sexual assault, and Self harm
sarahmcg's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
A quick read, perfect for those who love enemies-to-lovers, workplace romance, grumpy/sunshine tropes. This was honestly a fun read, even though I guessed âthe big twistâ pretty far ahead. It was fun watching the FMC, Lucy, slowly peel back the layers of her co-worker and enemy, Josh, to find out that he could actually be very sweet, caring, and thoughtful under that gruff, aloof exterior.
Itâs obviously a rom-com, if you donât take it too seriously and can suspend some disbelief, itâs a really enjoyable read.
Honestly - thereâs two reasons I took a whole star off! And I canât do this review without noting these critiques.
1) For some ungodly reason, when the author was describing the red lipstick the FMC wears, one adjective was âslit-wrists red.â Why? Just⊠why?
2) Also, there were some body-shamey moments where the author described the HR lady as a âdumpy frazzled ghost.â And there were a lot of the description of the two MCs focuses on how teeny, tiny and pint-sized she is and how big and muscle-y and giant he is. Thatâs fine itâs just⊠I definitely prefer reading romance with more body diversity/inclusivity (*ahem* enter the Brown sisters series by Talia Hibbert).
Anyway, I enjoyed it, even though I needed to make those complaints!
Itâs obviously a rom-com, if you donât take it too seriously and can suspend some disbelief, itâs a really enjoyable read.
Honestly - thereâs two reasons I took a whole star off! And I canât do this review without noting these critiques.
1) For some ungodly reason, when the author was describing the red lipstick the FMC wears, one adjective was âslit-wrists red.â Why? Just⊠why?
2) Also, there were some body-shamey moments where the author described the HR lady as a âdumpy frazzled ghost.â And there were a lot of the description of the two MCs focuses on how teeny, tiny and pint-sized she is and how big and muscle-y and giant he is. Thatâs fine itâs just⊠I definitely prefer reading romance with more body diversity/inclusivity (*ahem* enter the Brown sisters series by Talia Hibbert).
Anyway, I enjoyed it, even though I needed to make those complaints!
Moderate: Fatphobia, Infidelity, and Vomit
Minor: Self harm
brendaxxo's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
I feel a chill of fear when I see his big thumb push the B button. He looks down at me, his eyes dark and intense. He's clearly deliberating something. Maybe he'll murder me down there. I'll end up dead in a dumpster. The investigators will see my fishnets and heavy makeup and assume I'm a hooker. They'll follow all the wrong leads.
Meanwhile, Joshua will be calmly bleaching all my DNA off his shoes and making himself a sandwich.
"Serial killer eyes." I wish I didn't sound so scared.
my thoughts about this story can be perfectly summed up in two words: hot mess. on one hand, i was thoroughly entertained (i devoured this in one sitting) but i also have some major gripes with the story. essentially, it was fun until i had a critical thought. then it was weird... and then it was horrible.
one or two mentions about a height difference is fine, but the constant reminders about lucy being tiny and josh's huge stature felt like the story was crossing into fetish territory. couple that with the fact that on more than one occasion lucy feared for her life and felt unsafe around josh, noting his strong serial killer vibes. i'm sorry, is this not supposed to be a thriller about workplace harassment and subsequent murder??? because this is the perfect setup.
to be fair, iâm not the biggest fan of enemies to lovers (
some of my other complaints are that everyone is one dimensional, neither lucy nor josh had friends or even a life outside of their job, joshâs eyes changed colors like a mood ring somehow, lucy was one of those âiâm not short, iâm fun-sizedâ people, lucyâs internalized misogyny was never challenged or broken down, and those âand everyone clappedâ moments at the end (no they didnât đđ). this is thorneâs first book, so i could excuse the occasional bad or cringy writing, and i could raise my suspension of disbelief enough to allow for certain contrived plot points, but this story has SO many cliches that it simply felt unoriginal and uninspired.
thorne almost lays an interesting foundation, but she never dives deep into her characters.
this was a trainwreck i couldn't look away from. the best scenes were the elevator scene (if you block out the serial killer mess) and the singular âyouâre always beautifulâ moment that was quickly ruined. don't hold your breath, it doesn't get better than that. i originally gave this two stars but then i asked myself, what did i actually like about this book? it's a quick and easy read, but that's all it has going for it. i viscerally hate everything about this book. i'm convinced sally thorne lost the plot. one star.
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship
Minor: Self harm
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