The Hating Game Book Review

Welcome back! Today I am back with a book review. I think its important to note that I did not finish this book, but I read about halfway through which is why I’m justifying reviewing it. I had really high hopes for this book because I love a good enemies-to-lovers story. However, this book just didn’t do it for me, so let’s just get into it.

I had heard about this book because I saw somewhere that it was going to be a Netflix movie starring Lucy Hale. I like her movies, so I thought why not read the book first obviously. If you read (literally at all) you know that within the first couple pages, you can tell if its going to be a book you’re going to like. When I started this book, it wasn’t really something that caught my attention, but I decided to keep pushing through. There were times when I thought, “oh, this isn’t so bad.” But when I stopped reading, I would find myself not wanting to pick it up again.

I didn’t vibe with this book because 1. the main character, Lucy, is so effing annoying. I like her back story though, but as soon as Josh shows any interest in her she starts to get obsessive over him. A weird, you’re-all-I-think-about, I-dream-about-you, and please-love-me obsession. It didn’t start until Josh made a move, but once Josh made a move, it felt like he wasn’t as interested anymore. It felt like Lucy became way more invested once he knew she liked him. Which brings me to my other point 2. It felt like Josh was not into it. Yes, he made the first move, but besides that it seemed like Lucy had to do all the work. So, what’s the point if it feels like a one-sided relationship? Part of me also didn’t trust Josh because they are both up for the same promotion at their work (they work at a publishing company)! Part of me thought, he just wanted to get close to Lucy, so he could figure out her presentation ideas for their interviews and either steal it or one-up her. Like I said in the beginning, I didn’t finish the book, so I have no idea if that actually happened or not.

Other than the two main character, I actually really liked the plot. I loved that they worked for a publishing company, and the idea of both of them being considered for the same promotion gives enough fuel for their hatred. But I am a character driven reader, so if I don’t like the characters its so hard for me to read the book.

Well, that’s all I have today folks. Short and sweet. I would still consider reading this book sometime in the future since I did actually make it pretty far. I also stopped reading because it was taking me too long, and I can’t spend four weeks reading one book when I have a reading goal to finish!

Thank you for reading!