Tag: romcom

Book Review, reviews

Book Review: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, Harper Collins, Paperback, 384 pages, Waterstones, £8.99

There’s a very fine line between love and hate and Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game, shows just how similar these emotions can be.

Synopsis

The Hating Game follows the gate between colleagues Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman. As soon as we read about a new job opening at Gammon & Bexley Publishing, the readers are plunged into the hating fest whilst watching Lucy and Josh compete for the Creative Director position.

Review

One of the best features of The Hating Game is Sally Thorne’s use of dialogue. I often found myself reciting some of the discussions between Lucy and Josh because they were just so good. I also couldn’t help belly-laughing at some scenes and re-read them a few times before continuing with the novel.

One element I was pleased to read was Thorne’s use of sarcasm between Josh and Lucy. Sarcasm can be really challenging to write. Not because each part of the joke needs to be written in order for it to be understood, but for the simple fact that it is very easy to misinterpret sarcasm. The sarcasm used between Lucy and Josh makes for excellent banter between the characters.

Another striking feature within this book is the characterisation. Whether Lucy and Josh are arguing, flirting, competing or even doing their job in the office, you can tell who is who, just by their actions. The phrase show don’t tell applies significantly to Thorne’s characterisation and provides its readers with a lesson on creating memorable characters.

The emotional connection that Thorne creates between the characters and the readers is truly magical. Whilst I would love to read a sequel, I would hate – pardon the pun – for the book to go in a different direction than it has done.


My only criticism is that I felt the ending was rather abrupt. I understand that this is a romance novel but I became so invested in the characters that I’d have liked to know a little bit more about their ending in relation to their future prospects.

Although I finished this book just before my holiday, I would thoroughly recommend this book as a holiday read. I was kicking myself afterwards, wishing I’d read it by the pool!

The Hating Game is a feel-good and uplifting read that I can guarantee you’ll want to read again, as soon as you’ve finished.

Book Rating: 4.5/5

Don’t believe me? Grab a copy here and see for yourself!

Book Review, reviews

The Flip Side by James Bailey

James Bailey, The Flip Side, Paperback, 358 pages, Waterstones, £7.99

Who says you can’t leave love to chance?

The Flip Side begins straight in the disaster zone for Josh. It’s New Year’s Eve and Josh has thought long and hard about proposing to his girlfriend Jade. However it’s only when Josh is left single, with no job or home to go to, that we really begin to go on this heads-or-tails journey. Every choice he makes from this point onwards will be made through the flip of a coin. The Flip Side follows Josh’s journey of finding his confidence and the right girl, in this life-changing year.

Narrative

Interestingly this is the first rom-com I’ve read with a male author. It’s therefore no surprise to be told that it’s written from a male’s perspective. This has quite a different approach to what is normally considered as a rom-com. The reader may find it unusual to hear about Josh’s feeling towards #Sunflowergirl as the readers of rom-com never really see this type of story from a male’s point of view. It really did make me wonder what goes on in the mind of male characters from other books I’ve read!

Pace and Structure

At the beginning of this book, the pace was really fast. It was gripping as you could see the story developing rapidly and it was flooded with humour. At times, the pace did seem to slow a little and I began to feel that the driving force for the remainder of the plot felt more like a to-do list.

Some of the scenes didn’t seem realistic to me which made me question the characters’ choices. I really liked reading about Josh and his #sunflowergirl however I would’ve liked the book to contain more of this at times. Their conversations were so interesting that it made me question why we had to wait so long to finally reach this point. I was initially reading this book in the hope that I would see their relationship blossom. However the novel’s focus tended to be more on finding #sunflowergirl rather than their relationship.

I did enjoy this book and found it a pleasant read but it wasn’t the book I thought I’d picked up. I wanted to know more about Josh’s relationship with #sunflowergirl, the types of problems they’d faced and how they felt about the coin toss. For me though, I felt that it ended a little too quickly as I felt like I was just starting to get to know #sunflowergirl. It was as if she wasn’t considered a main character to the novel and I would’ve liked her to be.

I would still recommend this book to my friends and family but perhaps with a bit more insight into the structure of the novel.