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chandasolara 's review for:
The Hating Game
by Sally Thorne
Okay buckle up because I'm about to dive in. This does contain some spoilers, which I've blocked off, but I didn't think it was necessary to mark the whole review as a spoiler. Gimme a heads up if you disagree and I'll change it!
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
Overall rating: 2.5/5 (I'm giving a generous 3* because a lot of this book gave me the ick and I think I'm in the minority here)
Content Warnings: fat phobia, workplace sexual harassment, codependency, emotional abuse (I'm probs forgetting some)
So I started this book because I wanted something light and fun to read after finishing a book about Chernobyl, and to some extent it did deliver. The witty banter was on point and the characters were likeable enough in their own right that I flew through the novel in a day. However, some things rubbed me the wrong way.
A lot of people have talked about the way that fat phobia comes into play in this book, both in Josh's boss' appearance and Josh's internalized fat phobia, so I'll skip the rant there. Same to the workplace sexual harassment note. My biggest problem after that was the relationship in general.
I just didn't ever fully believe the romance. Maybe I'm a skeptic, but it was just very rapid that everything changes. And I get that it was supposed to be a hookup and whathaveyou, so it was never necessarily going to be a slowburn, but it did strike me as a little odd how immediately and entirely Lucy was in the situationship after hating Josh. Granted, we come to learn that her hatred is rooted in
A lot of their relationship felt to me as though both of them were running away from their own problems by hooking up, and I just couldn't ever really see it lasting. I actually was kind of rooting for them to just hook up and be done with it because 1) it'd be hot and 2) I think it would have been more believable re: the plotline.
The one thing that bothered me most, I think, is the ending. It was rushed and not satisfactory at all. This huge job opportunity that we've read about throughout the whole book, which Lucy works her ass off for and is the biggest source of tension in their situationship is watered down to a singular page dismissal.
I don't know... it felt like a disservice to all the character development that we saw throughout the book.
The last thing I'll mention that totally and completed ripped me out of the book is the use of the R word in the love declaration at the end. This book was released in 2016. I've known that using the R word to describe anything is problematic since I was in grade school (circa 2000). How long are we going to keep having a discussion regarding the ableism present in comparing intellectual capacity to awkwardness in social situations? Social anxiety? Cool, let's address that! But don't call it something it's not. It turned me so far off that I nearly dropped the book right there and I was probably 99% complete. It's not cute. Be better.
Overall, despite my qualms, I didn't hate the book. I do think there are parts that could have been done better, but the characters were fun, the banter made me laugh out loud a couple times, and I did enjoy the enemies-to-lovers trope because I'm a sucker for it. Definitely a quick read if you're looking for something light, but be mindful regarding triggers and topics that can be a bit squicky.
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
Overall rating: 2.5/5 (I'm giving a generous 3* because a lot of this book gave me the ick and I think I'm in the minority here)
Content Warnings: fat phobia, workplace sexual harassment, codependency, emotional abuse (I'm probs forgetting some)
So I started this book because I wanted something light and fun to read after finishing a book about Chernobyl, and to some extent it did deliver. The witty banter was on point and the characters were likeable enough in their own right that I flew through the novel in a day. However, some things rubbed me the wrong way.
A lot of people have talked about the way that fat phobia comes into play in this book, both in Josh's boss' appearance and Josh's internalized fat phobia, so I'll skip the rant there. Same to the workplace sexual harassment note. My biggest problem after that was the relationship in general.
I just didn't ever fully believe the romance. Maybe I'm a skeptic, but it was just very rapid that everything changes. And I get that it was supposed to be a hookup and whathaveyou, so it was never necessarily going to be a slowburn, but it did strike me as a little odd how immediately and entirely Lucy was in the situationship after hating Josh. Granted, we come to learn that her hatred is rooted in
Spoiler
the fact that he dismissed her when she wanted to be friends with him, but we went from her hating him, having a sex dream about him, and then she's running away to his house and literally sniffing him at every opportunity--and not even a cute, discreet sniff. I'm talking full-on nose in the chest, inhaling like a madwoman sniffs.A lot of their relationship felt to me as though both of them were running away from their own problems by hooking up, and I just couldn't ever really see it lasting. I actually was kind of rooting for them to just hook up and be done with it because 1) it'd be hot and 2) I think it would have been more believable re: the plotline.
The one thing that bothered me most, I think, is the ending. It was rushed and not satisfactory at all. This huge job opportunity that we've read about throughout the whole book, which Lucy works her ass off for and is the biggest source of tension in their situationship
Spoiler
(other than, y'know, Josh supposedly loving her all this time and the awkwardly aggressive "love triangle" that Josh cavemans out about),Spoiler
We never get to the presentation. Heck, we don't even know if Lucy gets the job. Instead, Josh quits, Lucy presumably gets the position, and we end happily ever after.I don't know... it felt like a disservice to all the character development that we saw throughout the book.
Spoiler
Personally, I would have preferred Josh to have his moment with his dad (because even though I enjoyed Lucy's dressing down of his dad, it felt almost performative to me) and then read Lucy kicking ass at the interview. Maybe then I wouldn't have been so squicked out by Josh just quitting so Lucy gets the position. But I'm also picky and really value actual girl power moments instead of a conciliatory victory against someone I view as an equal and a challenger. If I was Lucy, I'd have felt slighted--as though he thought he'd get the position and white knighted by quitting so he wouldn't take the opportunity from me.The last thing I'll mention that totally and completed ripped me out of the book is the use of the R word in the love declaration at the end. This book was released in 2016. I've known that using the R word to describe anything is problematic since I was in grade school (circa 2000). How long are we going to keep having a discussion regarding the ableism present in comparing intellectual capacity to awkwardness in social situations? Social anxiety? Cool, let's address that! But don't call it something it's not. It turned me so far off that I nearly dropped the book right there and I was probably 99% complete. It's not cute. Be better.
Overall, despite my qualms, I didn't hate the book. I do think there are parts that could have been done better, but the characters were fun, the banter made me laugh out loud a couple times, and I did enjoy the enemies-to-lovers trope because I'm a sucker for it. Definitely a quick read if you're looking for something light, but be mindful regarding triggers and topics that can be a bit squicky.