On the HahaFiction shelf
The Hating Game
Audiobook available · 12 hr 18 min
A publishing merger leaves executive assistants Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman working opposite each other. A promotion could make either the other’s boss, and Lucy’s determination to win gets harder to explain once she starts wanting Joshua’s attention for different reasons.
From the author’s blurb
“There’s the Staring Game. The Mirror Game. The HR Game.”Read the full description at Sally Thorne’s official book description
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What makes it funny?
Lucy and Joshua give everyday office hostility rules and names: they stare, mirror each other and turn HR into another contest. Kirkus singles out Lucy’s private commentary and Joshua’s sharp replies; readers in book groups especially enjoy their workplace sparring.
The comedy at work
Each exchange invites another attempt to score a point. Once attraction enters the rivalry, Lucy has to interpret the same behavior as a possible insult, a competitive tactic or flirting.
Try this if…
Readers who enjoy prickly office romances with persistent verbal sparring have plenty to follow here. Book-group readers also describe returning to its light, sweet romance as a comfort read.
Good to know
The romance has sexual heat. Some readers found Lucy immature or irritating, and others felt the story was too predictable.
From book groups
Questions readers ask
- Is the book worth reading before watching the movie?
- Readers recommend reading it before the film and say they found the book funnier.
More funny contemporary romance
Sources & further reading
- The Hating Game audiobook by Sally Thorne, Apple Books
Book information
- The Hating Game audiobook by Sally Thorne, OverDrive / Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative
Library catalog
- The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, author website
Author commentary
- Kirkus review
Review
- Author: synopsis and edition
Author commentary
- Reader discussion
Reader discussion
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