A review by imme_van_gorp
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

3.5

This was cute, but it didn't exactly sweep me off my feet. It's obviously a cliché premise, although that never really bothers me. If anything, it's more that there wasn't much that really stood out: it was all sweet, but not something that made my heart flutter uncontrollably, if you get what I mean. 

Also, the overall writing style wasn't really for me. There isn't anything wrong with it in general, but it just did not seem to fit with the story all that well. It was a bit too serious and stiff for a rom-com and made some parts slightly boring.

Lucy and Josh are both likeable characters in my opinion, but I think I liked Josh more. However, I do have to wonder at his abilities to make a girl like him, because I can 100% understand Lucy being confused about what his feelings were. I guess I'll never really get the "I like you, but I'll act like I hate you" thing. It makes little to no sense to me, but oh well, some people are just different I guess. 
I do like the way Lucy and Josh went back and forth in this book though; they seem like an even match. I didn't find their banter particularly funny or anything, but it was entertaining nonetheless because of their chemistry.

We eventually find out Josh did all his little annoying things out of fascination and love for Lucy, but it's a shame we don't get to hear those true feelings until so much later in the book (even if we had already guessed the jist of it): it's one of the main flaws when romance books like this aren't dual POV. 
I mean, some might say the not-knowing helps with the tension, but I am not one of them. I like knowing when the other person is enamoured with the other, especially when it's at that moment still unrequited. I am a sucker for pining.