The Hating Game

The Hating Game, published in 2016, is Sally Thorne’s first novel. The enemies-to-lovers office rom com became a USA TODAY bestseller in 2018 and has been published in more than 20 countries. Oprah Winfrey ranked it seventh among the 20 best romance novels of all time. In 2021, Vertical Entertainment produced a film adaptation of the book, directed by Peter Hutchings and starring Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell. Harper Collins published a movie tie-In edition of The Hating Game in 2022. This study guide uses the original 2016 edition published by William Morrow Paperbacks.

Plot Summary

The novel opens with 28-year-old Lucy Hutton at her desk at Bexley & Gamin Publishing. She engages in the “Mirror Game,” one of the many “hating” games she plays with Joshua Templeton, who works at the desk opposite hers. Lucy and Joshua are executive assistants to the co-CEOs, Helene Pascal and Richard Bexley. Lucy notes that one of the most important things to know about her is her hatred for Joshua Templeton.

The following day she snoops at Joshua’s desk for information to use against him, finding codes she can’t decipher in his day planner. The mail courier brings Lucy a package containing a hard-to-find Smurf figurine to add to her collection, and Joshua accuses her of caring too much about what others think of her. Joshua teases her about her upbringing on a strawberry farm, unintentionally reminding her of how homesick and lonely she feels.

At a staff meeting, Helene and Mr. Bexley announce that they’re creating a new position of chief operating officer, and Helene encourages Lucy to apply. Joshua and Lucy begin a competition for the job. Lucy video chats in the evening with her parents, the only people she talks to because she has no friends. They ask about Joshua making her work life miserable, and she tells them about another coworker, Danny.

That night, she has an erotic dream about Joshua, awaking aroused and disturbed. She dresses in a sexy black dress that morning to throw him off his game, and he asks whether she has a date. She lies that she does, and Joshua says he’ll be at the same place at the same time. In a fit of panic, she approaches Danny and asks him out.

Joshua offers to give her a ride to the bar. He stops the elevator and deeply kisses her, surprising her. She meets Danny, and he tells her that she’s beautiful. She goes to the bathroom to cry. Joshua shows up with her coat and asks why she’s crying. She tells Joshua he’s “ruined” her, that because of him she can’t handle a man telling her she’s beautiful. The next day, she receives roses with the note: “You’re always beautiful” (78).She assumes the roses are from Danny.

The office plays a paintball game in an effort to build comradery. While there, Lucy feels dizzy and hot. She gets very sick, and Joshua helps get her home. He stays to take care of her once he learns there is no one else to do so. Joshua has his brother Patrick, a doctor, come over to take a look at Lucy, and she overhears Patrick talking to Joshua about his upcoming wedding. Patrick convinces Joshua to go to the wedding and to bring Lucy. While she’s sick, Joshua and Lucy are vulnerable with each other and grow closer. Lucy realizes she doesn’t hate him.

The day she goes back to work, Danny comes by and asks to give her a ride. He brings her daisies, and escorts her up the elevator to her desk. He asks her to dinner that night and kisses her on the cheek, upsetting Joshua. She gives Joshua strawberries as a thank you gift, and learns the roses had been from him. She tries to get him to kiss her, but he holds back. He tells her he wants her to kiss Danny that night; if she doesn’t feel that no one kisses her like Joshua, he will wish them well.

Lucy kisses Danny, feels nothing, and they agree to be just friends. She goes to the street where Joshua lives, and they run into each other on the sidewalk. She tells him no one kisses her like he does, and they kiss. In his apartment, she sees his bedroom is Robin’s egg blue. He tells her he won’t have sex with her because if they only do it once, he wants much more time. After work, she can’t help herself; she calls Joshua but hangs up. He calls her right back, and they agree she should go to his apartment. They make out again, but Joshua won’t have sex with her.

At work, Joshua tells Mr. Bexley that he won’t need help beating Lucy for the job. Lucy feels that he’s played her. She meets Danny for coffee to discuss her interview presentation, and Joshua is bothered once again. Joshua tells her to bring her weekend bag to work the following day as they’ll leave for the wedding from there. The next day, Lucy hears Joshua and Mr. Bexley arguing. She’s worried what it’s about, but no one will tell.

During the drive to the wedding, Lucy and Joshua flirt and discuss how attracted to each other they are. She admits the erotic dream she’d had was about him, and that she’d had to wrangle that first date with Danny because she’d lied about meeting someone. At the hotel, Joshua and Lucy fool around, but are cut short when Joshua’s mother Elaine calls him, needing help with wedding decorations. By the time Joshua returns, Lucy’s fallen asleep.

Joshua tells Lucy that women in the past have wanted him only for his looks; once they got to know him, they left him for a “nice” guy. Joshua is clearly bothered at the wedding. Lucy eventually learns Mindy, the bride, is Joshua’s ex-girlfriend. Lucy assumes he must have brought her as a rent-a-date. Elaine assures her that’s not true, that she’s different from anyone else who came before.

Lucy almost leaves, but Joshua convinces her that he didn’t need moral support regarding Mindy; he needed support because of his father Anthony, the one who truly broke his heart. That night they finally have sex; it’s the most amazing sex she’s ever had. They have sex again in the shower the next morning. At the wedding brunch, Lucy stands up to Anthony. She defends Joshua and tells Anthony how extraordinary Joshua is.

Lucy and Joshua go back to the city. They admit they love each other. He tells her he always has. He intentionally painted his bedroom the color of her eyes. He tells her he is changing jobs, and that she will be the new COO of Bexley and Gamin.