The Hating Game
Author: Sally Thorne
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: William Morrow 
Published: August 9, 2016
Pages: 387
My Rating: ★★★★

Nemesis (n.) 1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome; 2) A person’s undoing; 3) Joshua Templeman.Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. Not dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate. And they have no problem displaying their feelings through a series of ritualistic passive aggressive maneuvers as they sit across from each other, executive assistants to co-CEOs of a publishing company. Lucy can’t understand Joshua’s joyless, uptight, meticulous approach to his job. Joshua is clearly baffled by Lucy’s overly bright clothes, quirkiness, and Pollyanna attitude. 
 The perfect hate to love office story.

I was so worried this book was going to be another flop or a typical chick flick novel. All the reviews for the book have been absolutely stellar so I went into it hoping not to be disappointed like so many other times. But I am happy to report that I absolutely adored this novel. Way more even than I thought I would. Yes, it is kinda predictable but that is what makes it so delicious at the same time. I wish Joshua Templeman was real. Why can't he be real?! The book is soooooo freaking cute. It will make you giggle and squeal like a little girl rooting for the romance of Lucy and Joshua. Yes, I actually squealed out loud while reading. #Embarrassing...... good thing I live alone. I could not put down for the life of me and read the book super fast. 

The only reason this is not a five star for me is just because of the predictability. Plus, at times I found myself saying out loud, "Lucy, how dense can you be?!!!! Josh freaking adores you." The love to hate trope is my favorite. The banter between characters is a favorite of mine followed by intense kissing. Maybe it's the hopeless romantic in me but I could not get enough in this read. Here is a new favorite of mine.

Sally Thorne lives in Canberra, Australia, and spends her days writing funding submissions and drafting contracts (yawn!) so it's not surprising that after hours she climbs into colorful fictional worlds of her own creation. Sally believes that romance readers are always searching for intensity in their next favorite book--and it isn't always so easy to find. The Hating Game is her first novel.