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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
lighthearted
medium-paced
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
I was pretty disappointed with this story and the movie. I wanted so badly to love it, and I see that some do! However, I struggled to like the characters. Everything felt so incredibly rushed. The enemies to lovers trope was great and I loved the premise of being in publishing but we never actually saw the characters go head to head at the job. They just hated each other from the beginning.
Then, all of a sudden, they are making out in an elevator. That scene felt rushed but also the fact that Lucy felt like he was a predator and then was cool about his tongue being down her throat left me a tad uncomfy.
Again, I liked these characters but I needed them way more fleshed out. Because of that, all of their development felt rushed. I wanted a bit more than one conversation at the wedding but I did love the stand off between Lucy and Anthony. Fabulous.
And the ending! I wanted to see her interview. She worked for it the entire book and then….nada.
Then, all of a sudden, they are making out in an elevator. That scene felt rushed but also the fact that Lucy felt like he was a predator and then was cool about his tongue being down her throat left me a tad uncomfy.
Again, I liked these characters but I needed them way more fleshed out. Because of that, all of their development felt rushed. I wanted a bit more than one conversation at the wedding but I did love the stand off between Lucy and Anthony. Fabulous.
And the ending! I wanted to see her interview. She worked for it the entire book and then….nada.
Wow! Such a romantic and steamy read! Love the ambition of the main characters and the workplace drama. This book has all the feels! My one issue that demoted my rating for 4 stars is that Lucy keep describing Josh as scary. He is big and she says multiple she fears for her safety and thinks he’s going to hurt her. I understand that Thorne was trying to envelop our main character with testosterone and a large male presence, however, this language is so unhealthy. And!! At the end, they talk about how Lucy has never been scared of Josh!! Like…what?? Let me show you the many pages in which she uses the word fear of his size or of him hurting her! Nooooo!!
3.5 stars!
I enjoyed this a lot. A workplace hate-to-love relationship that was entertaining, sweet, caring, and sexy. Bonus: it involves the book publishing industry!
Things I liked:
- Josh and Lucy (the two main characters) really took the time to get to know each other throughout the course of their relationship. They talked directly about their communication style and their history and how that shaped their personalities today. Out of the two, I think Josh's construct was more multifaceted and whole, but Lucy felt like a friend and I liked her a lot as well as a person, less so as a character.
- Even though I don't know much about the background of publishing, work relationships seemed authentic and didn't diminish the efforts of anyone.
- Characters tested their relationship against the boundaries and dynamics of different environments (family, work, illness), which added layers to the book.
- Exploration of shyness as a trait and where it can be misconstrued as standoffish etc.
Things I disliked:
- The author needs a thesaurus for "staring".
- The repeated use of the phrase "The ____ Game" was well intentioned but ultimately felt a little campy.
- Secondary characters were a downfall. They seemed like they needed to fit one particular personality characteristic and that was their entire role in the story and therefore seemed too forced and purposeful in comparison to Josh and Lucy's character arcs. A good example of where secondary characters seemed effortless but whole is in [b:The Wedding Date|33815781|The Wedding Date|Jasmine Guillory|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1515694525s/33815781.jpg|54728554]. Comparing the two books, The Hating Game falls short.
- Every time a character would get aroused, the author would ALWAYS mention their eyes "darkening" or their pupils taking over their entire iris. Even though this is definitely a physiological reaction of arousal, I don't think I've ever experienced or heard anyone talk about how HUGGGGGGEEEEE someone's pupils are when they're going to funky town.
- One of Lucy's ex boyfriends (who we never meet) is mentioned several times in passing but ONLY when the author described how strong, muscular, and tan Josh was. I think this is on the author and not necessarily a flaw/opinion of Lucy's because there is a way to state that a person prefers a physical body type (whatever that may be) without mentioning in the narrative that some random person was meek, short, skinny, and therefore is a huge glaring red flag. I'd like more books where men who aren't 6'4, tan, and perfectly symmetrical in muscularity, are built by an author into a character construct that is lovable and worthy of relationships, or at very least, not looked upon like a sniveling little ant. And it's not like this person had some other personality traits that were way "worse" or added to their undesirability, it was that their body was repeatedly mentioned as their deigning flaw.
Overall, lots of fun and kept me engaged, and not harmful, but not one of my absolute favorite romances. I'm keeping the book but it's not going on my favorites shelf.
I enjoyed this a lot. A workplace hate-to-love relationship that was entertaining, sweet, caring, and sexy. Bonus: it involves the book publishing industry!
Things I liked:
- Josh and Lucy (the two main characters) really took the time to get to know each other throughout the course of their relationship. They talked directly about their communication style and their history and how that shaped their personalities today. Out of the two, I think Josh's construct was more multifaceted and whole, but Lucy felt like a friend and I liked her a lot as well as a person, less so as a character.
- Even though I don't know much about the background of publishing, work relationships seemed authentic and didn't diminish the efforts of anyone.
- Characters tested their relationship against the boundaries and dynamics of different environments (family, work, illness), which added layers to the book.
- Exploration of shyness as a trait and where it can be misconstrued as standoffish etc.
Things I disliked:
- The author needs a thesaurus for "staring".
- The repeated use of the phrase "The ____ Game" was well intentioned but ultimately felt a little campy.
- Secondary characters were a downfall. They seemed like they needed to fit one particular personality characteristic and that was their entire role in the story and therefore seemed too forced and purposeful in comparison to Josh and Lucy's character arcs. A good example of where secondary characters seemed effortless but whole is in [b:The Wedding Date|33815781|The Wedding Date|Jasmine Guillory|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1515694525s/33815781.jpg|54728554]. Comparing the two books, The Hating Game falls short.
- Every time a character would get aroused, the author would ALWAYS mention their eyes "darkening" or their pupils taking over their entire iris. Even though this is definitely a physiological reaction of arousal, I don't think I've ever experienced or heard anyone talk about how HUGGGGGGEEEEE someone's pupils are when they're going to funky town.
- One of Lucy's ex boyfriends (who we never meet) is mentioned several times in passing but ONLY when the author described how strong, muscular, and tan Josh was. I think this is on the author and not necessarily a flaw/opinion of Lucy's because there is a way to state that a person prefers a physical body type (whatever that may be) without mentioning in the narrative that some random person was meek, short, skinny, and therefore is a huge glaring red flag. I'd like more books where men who aren't 6'4, tan, and perfectly symmetrical in muscularity, are built by an author into a character construct that is lovable and worthy of relationships, or at very least, not looked upon like a sniveling little ant. And it's not like this person had some other personality traits that were way "worse" or added to their undesirability, it was that their body was repeatedly mentioned as their deigning flaw.
Overall, lots of fun and kept me engaged, and not harmful, but not one of my absolute favorite romances. I'm keeping the book but it's not going on my favorites shelf.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Cute, fluffy, easy to read romance. Enjoyed that the central conflict didn’t cause me to be annoyed that they don’t just talk to each other.
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
they were super immature but this book has some SERIOUS dialogue and they're cute as all heck.
3.5 stars rounded up.
3.5 stars rounded up.