A review by cait_margaret
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

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

2.5

This was fine? Which feels so underwhelming to type after the hype it has received for years, but I just never really connected to the story or the characters. Josh and Lucy had a hell of a lot of chemistry but their motivations were so hard to keep up with. Maybe it’s because we’re getting the story from Lucy’s perspective and she seems so over dramatic, but it felt like we were constantly slamming between extremes and I just never felt like I had a handle on where they stood. Also, there was some weird stuff about characters’ physicalities that I didn’t like reading (i.e. the way one boss’s description correlates being fat and bald to the fact he’s a creep and an asshole? not here for that, nor the constant underlining of how huge Josh is and how tiny Lucy is). I also hated how much Josh’s behavior at the beginning just comes across as disgusting harassment. Still, the chemistry was real and the actual romance scenes were fun, and in general I really liked the last quarter of the book.
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