The Hating Game by Sally Thorne – Book Review aka the best enemies to lovers romance 💕

Hello lovelies!

Today we gather because I finally managed to write a review for The Hating Game by Sally Thorne also known as “the best enemies to lovers romance”. There, I said it.

Title: The Hating Game

Author: Sally Thorne

Synopsis: Nemesis (n.) 1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome.
2) A person’s undoing
3) Joshua Templeman

Lucy Hutton has always been certain that the nice girl can get the corner office. She’s charming and accommodating and prides herself on being loved by everyone at Bexley & Gamin. Everyone except for coldly efficient, impeccably attired, physically intimidating Joshua Templeman. And the feeling is mutual. Trapped in a shared office together 40 (OK, 50 or 60) hours a week, they’ve become entrenched in an addictive, ridiculous never-ending game of one-upmanship. There’s the Staring Game. The Mirror Game. The HR Game. Lucy can’t let Joshua beat her at anything—especially when a huge new promotion goes up for the taking. If Lucy wins this game, she’ll be Joshua’s boss. If she loses, she’ll resign. So why is she suddenly having steamy dreams about Joshua, and dressing for work like she’s got a hot date? After a perfectly innocent elevator ride ends with an earth-shattering kiss, Lucy starts to wonder whether she’s got Joshua Templeman all wrong. Maybe Lucy Hutton doesn’t hate Joshua Templeman. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game. (Goodreads)

---

5 stars: Persephone – Queen of the Underworld and Goddess of Spring. Persephone is my favourite goddess because she is full of contradictions – she represents both strength as queen of the underworld and a softness as a floral maiden. She teaches me how it’s okay to be both. If Persephone appears, that means that the book was one of the best books I’ve ever read, that it holds a particular place in my heart and that it is now part of my favourite books ever.

Pheme: The goddess of fame, gossip and renown – This goddess will be invoked when a book has received a lot of attention and is praised by critics and the book community. She will be featured whether the book lived up to my expectations or not.

One of the best enemies to lovers romances I have ever read.

I love the enemies to lovers trope and I have to say this is one of the best books I have read with the trope. This is enemies to lovers perfection. Both aspects of the enemies and lovers part were well written and it made for great character development and plot. It felt like I was slowly peeling different layers to discover the subtle, intimate, soft and cute moments. I still don’t know how the author dealt with the trope so well. I am in awe.

Lucy was a great main character. I loved being inside her head. She is incredibly funny in that sarcastic self-deprecating kind of way. And her repartee is impeccable. I found myself laughing out loud from her banter with Josh. And I mean out loud. I also loved seeing Lucy’s growth; how she learned to stand up for herself in every aspect. The scene she stood up to a certain character and said “Anthony, it’s been real” was iconic.

This book worked because Lucy and Josh’s chemistry was off the charts. I mean I needed to take a break after reading about their first kiss in the elevator. From their stares to their steamy scenes I was hooked and enthralled. Every single one of their interactions was mesmerizing and I could just see the love between them. There really is a thin line between love and hate.

“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 schredded. 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 háve to win. Why? Your heart and your ego. Trust me, I should know.”

I adored (yes, adored) seeing her play games with Josh. I was LIVING for their games. It made us see the “enemies” aspect of the book so well and it was even better when they were rivals. But as the story went along it was nice to see their dynamic change and the truth about their feelings unraveling. From the nicknames “SHORTCAKE”, to the intimate gestures and the little revelations along the way. What really made this book amazing is the little details like the specific colour Robin’s egg blue, the colour of her red lipstick called Flamethrower and so many others which made me get lost in the story completely. Josh was one of the best romantic leads and the fact that he loved lucy from day one killed me. I love him.
I liked every single line and if I had another copy of this book, there would be highlighter and tabs almost on every single page. These two shared an intimacy that is so rare and I soaked up every single moment. The last chapter killed me. Enemies to lovers perfection I tell you.
This chaotic review doesn’t do the book justice. 

The Viscount Who Loved Me (Bridgertons #2) by Julia Quinn – book review! (aka my new favorite romance novel)

Hello lovelies!

I just finished this book and my heart hurts. It is so full of light and happiness and dare I say love?

Just like the whole world I watched the Bridgerton tv show and I loved it. The story featured some of my favorite tropes: enemies to lovers, and fake dating. I also cannot tell you how much the representation meant to me. People of color in Regency-era?? Yes yes yes.

Title: The Viscount Who Loved Me (Bridgertons #2)

Author: Julia Quinn

Synopsis:

1814 promises to be another eventful season, but not, this author believes, for Anthony Bridgerton, London’s most elusive bachelor, who has shown no indication that he plans to marry.
And in truth, why should he? When it comes to playing the consummate rake, nobody does it better…
—Lady Whistledown’s Society Papers, April 1814But this time, the gossip columnists have it wrong. Anthony Bridgerton hasn’t just decided to marry—he’s even chosen a wife! The only obstacle is his intended’s older sister, Kate Sheffield—the most meddlesome woman ever to grace a London ballroom. The spirited schemer is driving Anthony mad with her determination to stop the betrothal, but when he closes his eyes at night, Kate is the woman haunting his increasingly erotic dreams…Contrary to popular belief, Kate is quite sure that reformed rakes do not make the best husbands—and Anthony Bridgerton is the most wicked rogue of them all. Kate is determined to protect her sister—but she fears her own heart is vulnerable. And when Anthony’s lips touch hers, she’s suddenly afraid she might not be able to resist the reprehensible rake herself… (Goodreads)

5 stars: Persephone – Queen of the Underworld and Goddess of Spring. Persephone is my favourite goddess because she is full of contradictions – she represents both strength as queen of the underworld and a softness as a floral maiden. She teaches me how it’s okay to be both. If Persephone appears, that means that the book was one of the best books I’ve ever read, that it holds a particular place in my heart and that it is now part of my favourite books ever.

---

It has been announced that there would be a second season of the Bridgerton TV show and I couldn’t be happier because I adored this book.

This book feels as if the author looked inside my head and wrote everything I loved. When I read the synopsis I was hooked right away and now that I read it I can’t stop thinking about it. I didn’t know I needed Sexy Pride and Prejudice books in my life but here we are; I will only be reading Rake (aka Regency-era fuckboys) romances from now on.

The writing style was fantastic. It was fluid, swift and easy to read. The author flawlessly alternated between dialogue, plot and description. I couldn’t get enough. I wish this book were 800 pages long and even then it wouldn’t be enough.

The romance was OFF THE CHARTS. The chemistry was insane and instant; This is classic enemies to lovers and what I love most about this trope is the yearning and banter; when everyone can see they love each other except the protagonists. I got all of that and even more. Their interactions were always electric and it made me believe in love; I want to experience that and I feel like this is what romance novels are about.

I loved all the 19th century elements from this book. I loved reading about their traditions and way of life. The focus on appearances and manners were so interesting and I loved the irony used by the author. I think the dual perspective was so well-done and different from anything I’ve read. We got to glimpse each of their thoughts and see how they each felt during an event. It was so good. I highlighted so many quotes and passages! I repeat: I cannot get enough.

One thing I really liked about the tv show and that was present in this book is the family aspect. I loved the bond that Kate shared with her sister Edwina, how sincerely she cared for her. I also loved the way she was close to her stepmother Mary. Their bond was so beautiful to read about and I nearly had a tear in my eyes. The Bridgertons were also fun to read about; I loved how they teased each other and their whole loving and chaotic dynamic; especially during The Pall Mall game (which was my favorite scene of the book).

I think I cannot give this book justice if I don’t talk about the smut. I have no words. The wedding night scene was one of the best smut scenes I have ever read; it was sincerely wonderful; it was explicit but not crude and I loved the way it was written. This scene will live in my mind forever.

I also liked the fact that we explored different aspects of the story; Kate and Anthony each had issues that they needed to overcome and their personal journeys were wonderful.

But I gave this book 5 stars because of all the little things that made this book great: Kate’s dog Newton, Lady Whistledown’s columns, Anthony’s thoughts when he was falling for Kate, the mallet of death, the second prologue, the intimacy from little acts of service like when Anthony helped Kate with her bonnet and so many little things that went unnoticed. I cannot recommend this book enough.

Have you seen the TV show or have you read the books? Let me know in the comments!

Karla xx