A review by fanygrza
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

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

2.0

I think I would've liked it if I had read it in the 2000s. The story is solemnly focused on the male alpha personality of Joshua and the silly quirky tone of Lucy and lacks plot and character nuances. Even though the autor tried to portrait Joshua as a healthy masculinity character, he has a lot of toxic masculinity traits that are romanticized throughout the book. 

Thus, I really didn't dig their enemies to lovers relationship—I think the reason they hated each other was ridiculous. Their whole relationship was based on the old concept that if a boy likes you, he treats you badly. Lucy spent a lot of the time being emotionally abused, and Joshua seemed to only care about her emotions once she started to show some interest in him.

This, plus the lack of diversity in characters made it really uncomfortable for me to read it atItimes. I would definitely not read it again but if you're okay with these kinds of things, then you may enjoy this. It has good writing and could've been a great story if it wasn't for the whole romanticized idea of violent love.
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