Rated 5 heart eyes
I asked for recommendations on the Cannonball Read Facebook page for a romance with humor, good chemistry between the main characters, and a good plot. The Hating Game was described as “hilarious and quirky and perfect.” I read it and loved it so much. Definitely a book where I was staying up later than I should be reading because I wanted more.
Lucy and Joshua are both assistants to the CEOs of two publishing companies that merged together. Lucy is sweet and cheerful and small, Joshua is cold and scares people and is a big guy. Clearly he’s going to have some deep family issues, lol. They are extremely competitive with each other, playing games as they sit in the office all day. When a promotion is offered that only one of them can have, the games intensify.
This book is just delicious. I enjoyed it so much, it was exactly what I was looking for. The two main characters are very different but come together in a completely believable way (not just in a hey were complete opposites what are you going to do sort of way). It’s got some laugh out loud moments. It’s got plenty of steamy scenes but not very many actual sex scenes (which given they start dating-ish in the middle of the book makes sense to me). There are not very many extra characters, you do meet Lucy’s parents and most of Joshua’s family at his brother’s wedding. Neither character has any friends, which seems a little odd given Lucy’s personality, but I guess she’s very dedicated to her job (and does nothing but chat with her parents on weekends?)
Both characters make mistakes with each other. I MUST mention the reveal about Joshua’s motivations at the end of the book. I swooned so hard. Oh my goodness. I might have clapped for joy. Thank you for the recommendation, and I am very much looked forward to reading the others. Cannonballers are the best!
Yay! Another convert to Sally Thorne. You’ll get a lot of good romance recommendations here. If you haven’t already, check out Mrs. Julien’s blog. Or you know, ask her or me or the group over on Facebook.
This really is the most lovely book and one I would love to see turned into a movie.
Your next book needs to be Lucy Parker’s Pretty Face. If you liked Hating Game you will like Pretty Face, and Mrs. Julien and Malin have already swooned all over it.
This was the best romance I read last year and I think it’s a classic. Lucy Parker is also where I would suggest you look for another contemporary romance.