The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

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Source: advance e-galley courtesy of William Morrow Books on Edelweiss

Debut author Sally Thorne bursts on the scene with a hilarious and sexy 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 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.

Source: advance e-galley courtesy of William Morrow Books on Edelweiss

Two ultimate rivals facing off every day, doing their best to out-maneuver one other makes The Hating Game a quirky and witty office romance that’s full of surprises.

Lucy and Joshua are forced to work together at a publishing house because of a merger that was badly needed to save both companies that they worked for. As a result, many people lost jobs or were forced to work with replacements. Lucy and Joshua are both ambitious, stubborn and cynical. Each is indispensable to their respective bosses. To pass the days, they come up with games to see who caves first. Lucy and Joshua are opposites. Everyone in the company knows that they don’t get along and it’s kind of a joke. Now they’re gunning for a promotion and only one of them can win. Talk about the ultimate competition!

The writing to me felt informative though I didn’t find it a distraction from the story. I loved the pace, their silly-quick banter and how Lucy and Joshua try to outwit each other at every turn. The thing is, they don't realize how much they both thrive on challenging each other the way they do. Joshua forces her to be more firm as a manager while Lucy’s influence helps to soften him around the edges. So as certain forces encourage them to become closer, there’s always this inkling in the back of her mind as to whether she can trust what’s happening and what it will mean for her career. Their games are fun but they’re ridiculously adorable when they set aside their differences.

I’ve wanted an adult romance that’s atypical from what I’ve read recently. Office romances can be tricky due to the politics involved and the potential for a disastrous outcome, all of which is alluded to in here and which is what makes The Hating Game so appealing!

~ Bel

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

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One single mom. One chaotic family. One quirky stranger. One irresistible love story from the New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You.

Suppose your life sucks. A lot. Your husband has done a vanishing act, your teenage stepson is being bullied and your maths whiz daughter has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you can’t afford to pay for. That’s Jess’s life in a nutshell—until an unexpected knight-in-shining-armor offers to rescue them. Only Jess’s knight turns out to be Geeky Ed, the obnoxious tech millionaire whose vacation home she happens to clean. But Ed has big problems of his own, and driving the dysfunctional family to the Maths Olympiad feels like his first unselfish act in ages... maybe ever.

One Plus One is told from four POVs – Jess, Ed, Tanzie and Nicky. Entrepreneur Ed is in legal hell due to allegations of insider trading. Jess is a single mom, trying to make ends meet for her daughter and stepson by cleaning houses. Tanzie is a very gifted student and an incredible mathematician who has the opportunity to go to a swanky private school that would nurture her brain if only she can scrounge up the money for it. Nicky is her older half-brother who would love to see her escape their neighbourhood and public school where he’s often picked on and beaten up by the neighbourhood bully. The only connection that Jess has to Ed is that she cleans his house.  One day, as he’s driving he sees Jess and her family by the roadside talking to the police. Jess was pulled over (see she’s not supposed to be driving and that car she was driving was a bit of a disaster.) Ed jumps in to offer them a ride to Edinburgh so that Tanzie can make the maths competition. Jess accepts out of sheer desperation and lack of a better option. Ed does it for no other reason than to just do something good in his already messed up life.

It's hard not to love this story that’s paced so well allowing the characters to develop and open up. Everyone starts out with an idea about themselves, what they’ve done with their lives so far and how they fit into the scheme of things. Throughout the course of the book, each character’s perspective is altered. Previous preconceptions are slowly stripped away as they learn about what the other’s reality is. Being with Jess’ family gives Ed a glimpse of what life’s like for a family on a very limited income. One particularly enlightening conversation takes place when Tanzie recounts a list of what a certain amount of money can buy them at the store. Ed is by no means a millionaire but he lives comfortably. The point of that conversation being that he doesn’t have to worry about money every day whereas Jess has to account for every bit of it daily, and choose between which bill takes precedence over the other. Same goes for Jess when she learns of the legal troubles he’s facing. Just goes to show you that you can’t make assumptions about people. Tanzie and Nicky are quieter, offering introspective but illuminating views of the world through their inner monologue.

This is a motley crew of awkward people who come together through fate or coincidence – whatever you’d like to call it. It’s a big risk for these strangers to trust one another and along the journey, they discover more about themselves as they do about each other. There are laughs, tears, ridiculous scenarios and also triumphant moments that’ll warm your heart. One Plus One made a fan out of me, so much so that I immediately bought Moyes’ other book, Me Before You as soon as I was done with it. I really enjoy her writing and how she allows her characters to tell their stories without feeling rushed. If you’re looking for an entertaining summer read that leaves you feeling very content, then add One Plus One to your list.

 ~ Bel