CBR Bingo: Not My Wheelhouse

There are not many genres I consider “Not in my Wheelhouse” but I don’t think I have reviewed a single kissing book during my time as a Cannonballer so I took to Twitter and the overwhelming suggestion y’all gave me was for The Hating Game. 

Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other; they spend their workday, in their shared office, playing passive aggressive games in hopes of irritating the other person. A new position at their publishing company is created which puts them at even greater odds against one another but they soon discover there is a fine line between love and hate.

There is an even finer line between romantic story line trope of going from enemies to lovers and the excellently written, believable romance Thorne manages to deliver. There is an unexpectedly strong narrative woven into all the canoodling and anticipation one expects with a romance novel. I don’t think it is a spoiler to say, in the end, Josh and Lucy get romantically involved however the lead up to their coupling was full of predictable obstacles (love triangle) and (spoiler of course Josh always loved Lucy ) as well as surprises (the third act reveal of exactly why Josh is wary of relationships) that keep the reader invested to the end.

I have a theory. Hating someone feels disturbingly similar to being in love with them. I’ve had a lot of time to compare love and hate, and these are my observations.

I’m not sure there is much I can add about the plot of The Hating Game that hasn’t already been said in previous reviews so I will be short and sweet: I liked a kissing book, I really did. While I don’t see myself seeking out more romance novels this year I think The Hating Game has opened me up to the possibility of reading another well reviewed, more mainstream, kissing book in the future so keep me posted guys.