Sally’s third novel Second First Impressions is released AU/NZ 31 March 2021, and US/CAN 13 April 2021. Anyway, I'm not sure what to say about this that hasn't already been said. If you're looking for a fantastic romance novel that will keep you smiling throughout, this is the book for you. 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 and 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. The Hating Game by Sally Thorne – eBook Details Now a movie starring Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell, USA Today bestselling author Sally Thorne’s hilarious and sexy workplace comedy all about that thin, fine line between hate and love.

I am so pissed at this book and at all the people who got this book a average 4.24 rating on Goodreads. How!?! Is the author bribing people? Has she held your loved ones hostage!? I’d have to be a thousand years old to forget the way he kisses me. It’s the fresh new bud of something that could one day be something remarkable…” I think about what kind of girls he probably dates. Tall, cool blondes. I feel it in my tiny undersized brunette bones." This just screams the "I'm not like other girls he has dated" trope which I hate. And very girl vs girl personality she has. She doesn't hate women, Lucy I mean, but she is always thinking like the girls Joshua would have dated or dated before her and they were always "blonde and tall and beautiful and nothing like her." This bothers me so much. So what the hell does it matter if they were blonde? Being blonde doesn't mean anything and you are just stereotyping people, Lucy. Come on, be better. There’s a fragility in this kiss I would have never expected. It’s the same as the knowledge that one day this memory will fade. He’s trying to make me remember this. It’s so bittersweet my heart begins to hurt. This is a really fun book to read. The characters are adorable and loving and full of ‘sparks’. The plot is great although I wish the ‘hating game’ part lasted a little bit longer. But a really well written fun read.Also if you noticed, Lucy is ableist as well. She constantly uses the words "psycho" "mental" "crazy", etc. And in this passage she compares "scary-looking woman" with the fortune teller, so that clearly depicts how Lucy sees them. And then she uses ableist terms. What's new about these white romance novels tbh. I truly expected something else when I started this book, not all of these problematic quotes and words. I did expect it to be this white because there is not one POC in this book which it's weird because the worls IS NOT WHITE, PEOPLE. THE WORLD IS DIVERSE, IT HAS PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT CULTURES. But white people like to think they are the only ones in the world to be honest. So in Lucy's work place there are only white people. They even describe the white skin of one of the coworkers like he has "silver-blond skin." That's such a weird term and it just shows me the heights people want to go to describe white people. Ok. in: “I’ve been trying to drag you down with me. In the worst, most ill-conceived and socially retarded way possible.” Ok, so this is the second time I've been disappointed by a contemporary romance audiobook that I loved when I read it. Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide. Get started Close

Lucy is hardworking, dedicated, generous, kind, and loyal. Joshua is organized, disciplined, and ambitious. Both of them are exemplary at their jobs, despite their disparate styles. Once they get over their miscommunications and really talk through their issues, each sees how the other is good for them. Helen is a supportive and caring boss, but Bexley is a sexist "good ol' boy" who dismisses Lucy and Helen. Full disclosure: there is a bit of a love triangle in this. Josh doesn't consider himself a "nice guy". In fact, he's a bit bitter about the whole nice guy thing. And Lucy is a nice girl, at least outwardly (she has a bit more spunk on the inside...hahahahaha). She wants a nice guy, and she tries to be interested in a nice guy, but the niceness cannot compare to the intensity of her "hatred" for Josh. He even encourages her to try it with the nice guy, dares her to be with him, in fact. This was maybe the only time I felt a bit off about the book. I wish I could use my thumbs to pull his mouth into a huge deranged grin. As the police drag me out in handcuffs I'll be screeching, Smile, goddamn you."And now, Josh, you’re telling me you didn’t get a proper date when you could have denied the sex and maybe, I don’t know, asked for a date instead, Or Something???????? Did I miss something?? Sally’s third novel Second First Sally Thorne is the USA Today bestselling author of the office rom-com The Hating Game (2016). It is her debut novel that has sold in over twenty-five countries and is being made into a major motion picture, directed by Peter Hutchings and starring Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell. Filming wrapped in December 2020. It was named in the top 20 romance novels of 2016 by the Washington Post and was a top ten finalist in the Goodreads Choice Awards romance category. The Hating Game has been cited as a book that has reinvigorated the romantic comedy genre. More bizarre quotes: "His sweat smells like rainwater and cedar, leaving a faint rosemary-pine tingle in my nostrils." Wow I didn't know sweat smelled like rainwater and apples and rainbows and flowers and Lucy is always smelling Josh 24/7. This reminded to SJM books *cough* you all know how she loves to say how male someone is or how male this situations is lmao and include scents to every single male character that appears in those books. So I believe The Hating Game has that kind of writing in mind. This is another one of those books I've owned since it (almost) came out but I never got around reading it. Funny story: I almost bought another copy of this because I thought I lost my copy of it. I'm embarrassed to admit that I almost cried. Books are expensive. I'm so glad I found my copy and didn't buy a new one though, or I would have been crying but they wouldn't be happy tears.