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speculativebecky 's review for:
The Hating Game
by Sally Thorne
Unfortunately The Hating Game by Sally Thorne was not my jam. I’m a rare romance reader (tbh just one of the people who’ve gotten interested in romance by loving Jasmine Guillory’s books) and I’m pretty picky about love stories. So I’m prob not the person you want to take romance book advice from (unless maybe you’re also a tentative reader of the genre that sometimes feels like a cold hearted monster when romance doesn't make you swoon?) but here are my thoughts anyway!
Immediately, I realized I don’t think I like the enemies-to-lovers trope. If the protagonist describes the love interest as contemptible, my reaction is “ok! Goodbye to that guy!” and then I feel frustrated that she continues to obsess over him. Which is, of course, because there’s actually attraction there, but I don't buy into it due to this self deception.
It took the first third of this book for me to get into it; when you finally see a little of Josh’s soft side it’s a huge step in the right direction but I felt like the book was too long, and I had to push through too much angst.
I don’t know if I’m just being nitpicky about something that others just roll past in pursuit of the central love story, or I don’t know how things work in a small publishing house, but it was so confusing to me that the characters, who are assistants to their company’s two CEOs, were competing for a new COO position. Please tell me if that felt realistic to you, because I couldn’t reconcile their not-prestigious titles with them being in the running for a Chief position. Yes, they were described as “keeping the company running”, but it still felt like a big career jump that everyone in the organization was enthusiastically on board for.
What I liked: Lucy is a compelling protagonist, I related to her insecurities and loved her sweet relationship with her parents. I liked when the characters opened up to each other, even if it was too few and far between for my tastes.
Immediately, I realized I don’t think I like the enemies-to-lovers trope. If the protagonist describes the love interest as contemptible, my reaction is “ok! Goodbye to that guy!” and then I feel frustrated that she continues to obsess over him. Which is, of course, because there’s actually attraction there, but I don't buy into it due to this self deception.
It took the first third of this book for me to get into it; when you finally see a little of Josh’s soft side it’s a huge step in the right direction but I felt like the book was too long, and I had to push through too much angst.
I don’t know if I’m just being nitpicky about something that others just roll past in pursuit of the central love story, or I don’t know how things work in a small publishing house, but it was so confusing to me that the characters, who are assistants to their company’s two CEOs, were competing for a new COO position. Please tell me if that felt realistic to you, because I couldn’t reconcile their not-prestigious titles with them being in the running for a Chief position. Yes, they were described as “keeping the company running”, but it still felt like a big career jump that everyone in the organization was enthusiastically on board for.
What I liked: Lucy is a compelling protagonist, I related to her insecurities and loved her sweet relationship with her parents. I liked when the characters opened up to each other, even if it was too few and far between for my tastes.