Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman sit opposite one another at a merged publishing company, turning the working day into a contest. A promotion makes their competition consequential: one may become the other’s boss. Attraction complicates Lucy’s confidence that she knows what every look and remark means.
The Hating Game offers a concentrated workplace-rivalry romance for readers who enjoy sparring and a heroine’s intensely personal narration. Its appeal depends on how readily you accept the games themselves. This researched editorial assessment compares trade criticism with firsthand reviews and community discussion; it does not claim that Eikna has read the novel.
Best for readers who want an office rivalry built around chemistry and verbal play. The reservation is credibility: the rituals and Lucy’s assumptions can be entertaining within the fantasy while frustrating readers who want more believable professional behavior.
A numeric heat level has not been established. Read the review’s heat and content discussion for attributed descriptions before choosing. An unknown level is not a closed-door or no-spice promise.
The heat-level guide explains detail and frequency; the glossary entry for spice separates sexual content from quality.
The romantic outcome is not established in this summary. A romance label does not independently confirm an ending. Consult the discussion before choosing if closure is essential.
For the difference between romantic commitment and wider plot closure, compare HEA, HFN and cliffhangers.
Standalone or continuing-series status is not established in this summary. Read the existing format and series guidance for any available context; do not assume a missing series entry means the book stands alone.
The series-order guide explains what to check when a complete romance belongs to a connected world.
| Author | Sally Thorne |
|---|---|
| Selected ISBN | 9780062439598 |
| Format | US trade paperback |
| Imprint | William Morrow Paperbacks |
| Selected edition date | 9 August 2016 |
| Selected length | 384 pages |
Publisher premise and format guidance We may earn a commission from purchases through our links, at no extra cost to you. Find this book on Amazon. Edition details also checked against the linked retailer; dates refer to this edition, not necessarily first publication.
The author’s description identifies a promotion that would put one assistant above the other. This gives the opposition more substance than a brief bad first impression. Even so, Lucy’s interpretation of Joshua is part of the story’s uncertainty; a rivalry label does not settle whether their feelings are equally hostile.
Choose it when competition makes romantic attention more interesting to you. The setup also asks a useful reader-fit question: do you enjoy discovering that a narrator has misread another person, or feel impatient when the misunderstanding appears obvious? That preference is more informative than a promise of universally great enemies-to-lovers chemistry.
Kirkus praises the comic voice and chemistry. Publishers Weekly also likes the verbal exchange and heroine, while finding the resolution too neat. Literary Elephant enjoys the sarcasm and describes a compulsively readable story despite objections to the workplace games.
That overlap supports our positive romance score without requiring every plot choice to receive the same verdict. Readers seeking quick dialogue and a close focus on two people have a clear reason to sample it. A love of banter alone may not carry readers who dislike the underlying behavior.
Literary Elephant finds the reliance on Lucy’s assumptions both useful to the plot and irritating, and objects to Joshua’s treatment of another man. A detailed Reddit critique also questions Lucy’s characterization and repeated emphasis on the couple’s size difference. These are specific objections, not evidence that all readers reject the pair.
Our character judgment remains a positive leaning rather than an exceptional score. The novel’s intensity comes partly from a narrow viewpoint; the same focus can make a reader feel boxed into interpretations they do not share. If you want both protagonists’ thoughts directly, check the narration before buying.
PW’s ending reservation tempers the craft assessment; Kirkus finds freshness inside an expected plot. We value the supported comic execution but retain the independent concern about how much disbelief the professional setup requires. Predictability and craft are different questions: knowing the romantic direction does not tell you whether the route is enjoyable.
The emotional reading route is discovering vulnerability beneath antagonistic routines. We rate that supported appeal cautiously because readers who find the games petty may not reach the same investment. Fictional workplace hostility should not be treated as practical advice for winning a coworker’s affection.
The author positions the novel as sexy, and the inspected criticism discusses sexual scenes. It is not offered here as a closed-door recommendation. We have not completed a scene inventory or exact heat calibration. Source-backed reservations include intimidating behavior, jealousy and unkind treatment; these are selective notes rather than a comprehensive warning list.
The selected US paperback is William Morrow, ISBN 9780062439598, dated 9 August 2016 and recorded at 384 pages. Other formats have different identifiers and pagination. We assess the novel rather than transfer judgments from its film adaptation, and keep ending satisfaction and re-read appeal outside the provisional score.
| Inspected source | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Sally Thorne: official book page Find this book on Amazon | Premise, career stakes and selected US paperback metadata. |
| Kirkus Find this book on Amazon | Praises comic voice and chemistry within a predictable premise. |
| Publishers Weekly Find this book on Amazon | Praises banter and heroine but finds the resolution too neat. |
| Literary Elephant Find this book on Amazon | Enjoys sarcasm and readability while questioning assumptions, immaturity and jealousy. |
| Reddit: detailed critical review Find this book on Amazon | Questions characterization and repeated size emphasis; selected testimony, not consensus. |
Checked 3 October 2026. These are selected responses, not a representative reader survey. Promotional quotations are traced to their original review; bots and secondhand recommendations do not count as reading testimony.
Provisional Eikna score: 3.7/5. Based on romance, characters, writing, emotional impact (85% of the full weighting), normalized over those supported dimensions. Ending satisfaction, re-read appeal remain unscored. Evidence confidence: Moderate. This researched editorial judgment may change when those gaps are assessed.
4/5 · Strength with reservations
Strength in sustained verbal chemistry with genuine external competition, moderated by objections to the behavior.
3.5/5 · Strength with reservations
Positive leaning from the comic heroine and developing vulnerability, with significant narrow-viewpoint and jealousy reservations.
3.5/5 · Strength with reservations
Positive leaning on dialogue and readability, moderated by realism and resolution criticism.
3.5/5 · Strength with reservations
Supported vulnerability and chemistry create appeal, but behavioral objections limit confidence in broad emotional effectiveness.
Descriptive; not a quality score
Unscored
Unscored
Heat is descriptive and excluded from the quality score. Our rubric and provisional-score method.
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Yes. The official description identifies two assistants competing for a promotion that could place one above the other.
No. We compare criticism of the novel; adaptation judgments do not establish its quality.
The checked criticism discusses sexual scenes. We have not assigned an exact Eikna heat score.
Keep publishing professionals and verbal friction; change a shared-office promotion contest for a different career and family setup.
Try another work-linked romance, replacing competitive games with an academic fake relationship.
Emily Henry
Keep creative working lives and change office rivalry to a two-writer collaboration with separate grief cautions.
Each route carries forward a particular premise or reader preference. These editorial comparisons do not promise identical heat, endings or personal response.
Enemies-to-lovers guide distinguishes serious opposition from professional competition and sharp conversation. Read it when you want to understand how much hostility a recommendation actually involves.
Contemporary-romance collection compares relationships in recognisable modern lives, including careers, families and public expectations. The notes explain how those everyday responsibilities shape each premise.
Choose it for tightly focused verbal chemistry if heightened office behavior works for you. Sample Lucy’s voice first; liking the trope does not guarantee that you will enjoy its particular games.
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Our rivals-to-lovers guide compares workplace, academic and sports competition, and explains how a shared contest differs from personal hostility. Use its reader questions to decide which kind of tension you want next.
Contemporary Rivals to Lovers: Shared Ambition and Changing Respect compares the surrounding relationship dynamics and explains the evidence limits for this selection.
Enemies-to-Lovers Banter: Wit, Rivalry and the Line Between Them compares the surrounding relationship dynamics and explains the evidence limits for this selection.
The rivals-to-lovers reading collection explains the particular competition or relationship history behind this choice and compares it with other reviewed books.