Deliciously fun and super sexy. Sally Thorne's The Hating Game stole my life for two days. I couldn't put it down till Lucy and Josh's all-consuming hateship...
Nah. I can't afford to spill the tea before the real deal begins😄
The incomplete comment above is Valerie Frankel's praise for Sally's book.
PUBLICATION DETAILS
TITLE: The Hating Game
AUTHOR: Sally Thorne
CATEGORY: Romance Fiction
PUBLISHER: Harper Collins e-books.
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 2016
PLACE OF PUBLICATION: Australia
NUMBER OF PAGES: 306
ISBN: 978006243904
TEXT EXPOSITION
Sally Thorne's The Hating Game tells the story of the merging of two different publishing houses which were at the verge of collapsing due to the economic situation of the country. The economy affected sales and was responsible for the folding up of many other publishing houses in the town. This merge brought together two intelligent workers of the Bexley Books and Gamin Publishing house - Joshua Templeman, a calm, disciplined and scary geometric lord who has his subordinates running on their toes to get their job perfectly done before the deadline, takes care of overseeing all the accounting details of the publishing house and is also the assistant to Bexley the CEO of Bexley and Gamine Publishing house. He has also taken it upon himself to annoy the living daylight out of Lucy, his other working half. Lucy Hutton is what I'll refer to as a book nerd, writing, reading and reviewing writings for Helene Pascal whom she's her executive assistant. Lucy is well known for her red lipstick, beautiful smile and unnecessary compassion which causes her subordinates to keep on giving flimsy excuses for not submitting reports on time and requesting for extensions everytime and she agrees to it just to stay a good guy- this, Joshua finds pathetic.
Lucy hates Josh so much that her password says Ihatejosh4eva. Her reasons for hating josh comprises of different facts such as:
- On their first meeting, Lucy upon hearing would be working with Josh, got him a plant in a vase and greeted him with a smile. Josh ignored her totally but accepted the vase.
- Lucy feels he's a control freak as he has a habit of wearing an unchanging pattern of shirts in the order of the days of the week.
Josh corrects every single mistake of hers. - After the work merge, he compiled a list of people to be fired and it included all her work friends.
- He calls her shortcake.
The story takes an unexpected but interesting turn when Bexley and Gamine make an announcement that a new position will be added to the company and that's the position of a managing director who will oversee the running of the Publishing house and report directly to them (CEO Bexley and co CEO Helene). External panels were set to avoid any biassed judgement knowing fully well that Josh and Lucy will be applying for the same role.
Lucy assures that if Josh gets the job she'll resign and asks Josh to do the same. Josh disagrees initially and Lucy promises to fire him but in the end they both agree they'll resign if either of them wins.
The sexual tension begins when Lucy has an erotic dream which involved Josh stroking her thighs and whispering to her that "he's gonna work her so fucking hard". Lucy is at the verge of climaxing when she jerks to consciousness feeling very horny and wet. The next morning, Lucy deliberately puts on an extremely short black gown with red heels and of course her usual red hot lipstick. The purpose is to get into Josh's head but her plans sort of begins on a bad note as she falls face flat into their office leaving an already mesmerized Josh amusingly bewildered. Unable to contain his curiosity, Josh asks if she has a hot date for the night which she lies about by replying in the affirmative Just so she doesn't look like a coward.
She arranges a date with Danny, a fellow worker from the graphics design department so she will indeed prove to Josh that she had a date and that's because Josh would be there at the venue she lied about.
In the elevator, on their way out of the office, Josh strikes a conversation and asks Lucy if she really hates him. He locks the elevator and they share an intense kiss. A confused and probably raging Lucy later runs out of Josh's car even though it's pouring outside. She'll rather walk in the rain to meet Danny. She's furious thinking Josh was trying to play the "get into the other person's head". From the moment Josh learned the date was with Danny, his jealousy rose 100° hotter.
Josh and Lucy's relationship takes a different turn when Lucy is shot with a paint ball during the company's team outdoor game. Lucy falls ill and Josh drives her home. He becomes nothing but concerned and stays to watch over her the entire time. Lucy in a bid to repay Josh offers to do a couple of weird things but Josh doesn't budge. Want to know the rest of the story? Get the book!
TEXT EVALUATION/CRITIQUE
Sally Thorne's The Hating Game is nothing short of the confirmation that unlike poles attract. Josh Templeman, a strict, organized, handsome but shy god meets Lucy Hutton, a sassy, smart, sexy but disorganized assertive book nerd and together their relationship which started off with an impression that Josh and Lucy hate each other, blossoms to one where these blooming lovers complement each other in everywhere.
Apart, they are at loggerheads, competitive, angry individuals but together they become powerful, admirable and really strong couples.
Sally's arrangement of their relationship transitioning is top notch! First, Josh seems to dislike Lucy and Lucy hates him as well for reasons which have been clearly stated in the text exposition. Next Sally builds a sexual tension in them through Lucy's dream.
Josh's attitude begins to change from nonchalant to concern and need to protect Lucy from the moment she fell ill and got shot at the paintball gun game.
Lucy feels indebted to Josh after he took care of her while she was ill and she'll do anything to make up for it. She wants them to be even as always only that it's for a good cause this time.
Josh asks her to accompany him to his brother's wedding. Spending more quiet moments like these together gives these individuals the opportunity to get to know each other better and spend quality time together too. This again keeps transitioning their relationship.
My best part of this story is when an assertive and sassy Lucy lectures Josh's dad about who his son truly is and how he should be proud of him no matter his profession. She leaves the wedding guests totally stunned. Of course she's charming and I love her. This singular act felt like the last straw that solidified their relationship. Josh couldn't afford to lose this charming soul.
But then there was the barrier of the competition for the office of the Managing Director of Bexley and Gamine Publishing house. How far do you think these two can go with their game and struggle for power? How far do you think Josh is willing to go to prove his love for Lucy Hutton? Get the book and find out!
Lastly, this book was a worthy read and here's why:
Two different people come together and as expected there's conflict initially. As time goes on they begin to adjust and see each other for who they truly are. There's compromise, there's concern and there's support for each other. This is exactly what true love looks like.
Additionally
This book has a movie version. If you can read and watch it too, that will be awesome. If you've watched the movie already or read the book, I'll love to hear your thoughts on it. To make it easy, I drafted a few questions to aid the response.
What was your favourite part of the book or movie?
Did reading the book or watching the movie have any impact on your mood?
The book had different games in it though the dominant one was the hating game. Which other game did you find most hilarious or interesting between Josh and Lucy?
Send in your response 🤗
I wrote a review on a local literature last week, I decided to write on a foreign one this time. Here's the link if you're interested. Book Review - Season of Crimson Blossoms
Cover image created by me using Canva
About The Author
I am a witty, adventurous and nicheless writer who loves to sing, take pictures, teach and travel. I am currently an English Education student at the University of Nigeria Nsukka. I am also a young children's teacher who homeschools kids during holidays. I love to share my life experiences through writing with the hope of inspiring as many people as possible on the Hive space.