Lucy has been the assistant to the Editor-in-Chief of Gamin Publishing, and Joshua the assistant to the Editor-in-Chief of Bexley Books since before the merger. Now their bosses have adjoining offices, and Lucy and Joshua have desks in one shared space. Which would be fine if they weren’t complete opposites. Where Lucy is quirky and cheerful, Joshua is meticulous and cold. Everyone at Bexley and Gamin loves Lucy and fears Joshua. They are bitter enemies. Nemeses. Then, their bosses announce a new position opening, and Lucy and Joshua are both in the running. As the competition heats up, so do new tensions, and Lucy discovers that maybe, she doesn’t hate Josh. Maybe it’s all just another game they play: The Hating Game.
This story stood out to me mainly because it’s only told from Lucy’s point of view, unlike most romances which alternate between hero and heroine. It worked well. I didn’t particularly enjoy the sheer amount of objectification that Lucy did of Joshua once things got going, but it did end up serving a purpose. I can’t tell you a lot about it without spoiling some of the jokes, but I will say that the paintball incident was probably my favorite. This quirky rom-com hit all the right buttons and was the perfect antidote to the reading slump I was in. I especially loved Lucy and Josh’s relationship because of how they supported each other when things, as they inevitable do in romance novels, go sideways.
HHC Rating: 4 Stars.