Reviews with content warning for Medical content - The Hating Game

i really enjoyed this romance and had a lot of fun while reading it. i thought the banter between the two characters was so funny and it did make me laugh at times. their relationship had a very natural progression and nothing felt too rushed. the chemistry was completely believable and they both had me enraptured and rooting for them.

however, the reason this is rated 1 star and not 5 is because in the first printing of the book the author used the r-slur. On page 358, josh refers to himself as “emotionally stunted”, which was what was changed in later printings. why is that a word authors still feel the need to use in their books ? its so completely unnecessary and i would have never known if i hadn’t read reviews myself. its great that it was changed, but it shouldn’t have been used in the first place. ableism isn’t cute or quirky so stop using the r-slur. in addition to this, there was also unnecessary amounts of fatphobia. fat and ugly were essentially used interchangeably throughout the book. this outdated idea is simply not true ?!?!?!?! fat does not equal ugly and i can’t even believe the author included that ?

also, the whole “lucy being way shorter than josh” was ridiculous at times. she referred to herself as small and squishy too many times throughout the book. there are much better ways to emphasize a height difference. she also made it a point to compare her body to josh’s and how she was so “squishy” in comparison to his muscle toned figure. i just felt it was so unnecessary.

despite that, this has definitely become a comfort read for me. i feel like there’s a lot the author can learn from in this book and i encourage her to do just that.

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beca_reads's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This book lived up to the hype but I can definitely see problems with it that could easily be overlooked such as the fatphobia and ableism throughout the book. I did personally find Josh quite creepy and controlling at points, and Lucy bringing up her height every few seconds was not necessary at all. I also wish that the book had told us where it was set, I constantly was having to remind myself that it was somewhere in the U.S and not the UK.

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audreyyu213's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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

4.75

soooooo cute and sooo good! very similar to spanish love deception, but also different. loved how they slowly got together. lucy is such a fun character especially when josh is involved. loved all their shenanigans and overall an indulgently sweet read!

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sigynmoon's review against another edition

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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? N/A

1.0

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whatrhireads22's review against another edition

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challenging funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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readwithde's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I was sorely disappointed by what many claim to be the pinnacle of enemies-to-lovers romance.

First, there is not a single minute where they seem to be true enemies. They annoy each other, play games like The Staring Game and other elementary school variations on flirting. They may both be guarded and competitive, but not enemies. Their early interactions walk the line of flirting and annoyance, and the backdrop of the office and co-workers make it work.

When Lucy gets sick, we see chemistry and connection between the two, especially as Josh does so much to care for her. His protectiveness and possessiveness is obvious, as well as his interest and jealousy.

They really could have moved into a friends-with-benefits situation, or even a decision to just be friends, but they continue to ride the line between sexual tension and indecision.

Lucy stalks him, and at one point literally throws herself at him, constantly asking for kisses and sex. Then, when it is time for them to go away for his brother's wedding, she is nervous and upset about the possibility of sex. Which she then tries to have as soon as they arrive. Josh is just as hot and cold, claiming to need days and weeks for their "one time only" while waiting until the last minute and constantly putting her off.

There are so many red flags -- like him admitting women have used him for his body, then her bringing up his looks repeatedly. While some of these are marginally addressed, it is hard to believe Lucy is in love when she spends most of the book trying to learn about him. It just feels fake and unreal.

On top of all this, there is no plot climax, just a series of emotional speed bumps. The entire narrative spins around the promotion they are fighting for, but that is resolved in a few sentences at the very end of the book.

Josh's plan doesn't even make sense -- he has all the time in the world to get her to love him without the promotion and HR between them.

The steamy scenes were excellent, but not enough to distract me from the narrative train wreck. Everything else worth reading was skipped over in the epilogue.

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tiitu's review against another edition

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funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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