The Hating Game: A Spicy Enemies-to-Lovers Romance

By Sally Thorne

Now a movie starring Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell, USA Today bestselling author Sally Thorne’s hilarious and sexy enemies to lovers workplace comedy all about that thin, fine line between hate and love.

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 and witty banter 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, a classic grumpy sunshine dynamic.

Now up for the same promotion, their battle of wills has come to a head and Lucy refuses to back down when their latest game could cost her her dream job…But the tension between Lucy and Joshua has also reached its boiling point, and in this slow burn romance, Lucy is discovering that maybe she doesn’t hate Joshua. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game.

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Published Aug 9, 2016

384 pages

Average rating: 7.26

640 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *The Hating Game* is a delightful, entertaining enemies-to-lovers romance praised for its sharp banter, electric chemistry, and engaging c...

Shelli Armstrong
Jul 19, 2026
8/10 stars
I actually really loved this book. I LOVE the banter. I love Josh and Lucy and their wit and their chemistry. This is easily one of the best romances I've read this year.
AbbeyLileTaylor
Aug 29, 2023
8/10 stars
Solid 4.5 stars ❤
TheCleverReader
Feb 03, 2023
10/10 stars
This book was so adorable! I'm loving these adult RomComs so much lately and this is no exception! The banter between Lucy and Joshua's love hate relationship was perfectly done. The two of them together made this book so enjoyable and I was entertained by the ups and downs of their work place relationship. I can't wait to read 99 Percent Mine because I loved this one so much! It was a perfect read for February!
Lizzi
Jun 08, 2026
10/10 stars
Wonderful, entertaining, hilarious

I loved this book. The characterization was incredible. I really got a feel for who they were and what they wanted. The ending was sweet and I look forward to watching the movie.
Madison
Jun 02, 2026
2/10 stars
no comment just glad that it’s over
(btw i read this awhile ago and never realized that i didn’t rate it)

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