“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.
Love and hate are visceral. Your stomach twists at the thought of that person. The heart in your chest beats heavy and bright, nearly visible through your flesh and clothes. Your appetite and sleep are shredded. Every interaction spikes your blood with adrenaline, and you're in the brink of fight or flight. Your body is barely under your control. You're consumed, and it scares you.
Both love and hate are mirror versions of the same game - and you have to win. Why? Your heart and your ego. Trust me, I should know.”
I always set a yearly goal of how many books I will read in a year (a goal I am killing this year but usually fall woefully below every other year on record). In recent years I have upped the ante with myself and thrown in an extra reading challenge twist just for "funsies". My "just for funsies" challenge this year was to explore a genre I had previously written off as "not for me". I consulted a friend who I knew would give me a good list of romance read recommendations to start from. The Hating Game was one of her recommendations and I am pleased to say that I enjoyed this book so much more than I was expecting!
Lucy works at a successful publishing house in an office she shares with Joshua, a coworker that she hates. When a promotion becomes available Joshua and Lucy both go for it with one little competitive twist. If Lucy gets the job, she will be Joshua's boss, if Joshua wins, Lucy will resign leaving behind her dream of moving up in a company she enjoys working for.
If it wasn't abundantly clear above, I know next to nothing about the romance genre as a whole. I had to google search the definition of "regency romance" and "romance genre tropes". I know what all of those words mean separately, but the reviewers I follow use them in such a way that they take on a totally foreign meaning to me. What I can tell you, is The Hating Game was a fun read. It was engrossing and I breezed through the audiobook version in two sessions of rage cleaning the bathrooms in this Quarantine Hell-House.
I assumed that ALL books in the romance genre were cheesy poorly written books with weak female leads. This book disproved all of those preconceived notions in the first several chapters and reminded me of all of the reasons I should venture outside of my reading comfort zone. The humor and characterization pushed a very average plot line into four star territory. This is not the first romance book I have read, but it is the first one that had me excited to explore more within this genre!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Stars
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