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The Cocktail Correspondent: The Hating Game

The Cocktail Correspondent

Alright, here’s what caught my attention: a contemporary romance that’s been sitting pretty at the top of every “enemies-to-lovers” recommendation list since 2016. The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. And let me tell you, the internet has opinions about this one.

Here’s what I found digging through dig through the internet’s collective opinion and figure out what the hell is going on with this book.

Image: Amazon

The Intel

What I Found (The Legwork)

I spent my recent research sessions reading through hundreds of Goodreads reviews, Reddit discussions on r/RomanceBooks, and various forum threads. And here’s the deal: this book is polarizing as hell.

The Love Affair (or Hate Affair?)

Reader Arianna gave it 5 stars and said it’s “fabulous! It was fun, entertaining and so refreshing.” She calls the slow burn relationship “perfection” and the witty banter “fantastically done.” Over on Goodreads, Yun describes it as having “clever and witty barbs that had me chuckling to myself page after page” with “visceral and delicious” tension between the main characters.

But here’s where it gets interesting. Multiple readers mention re-reading this book multiple times. Chelsea admits: “I’ve read this book so many times now I could probably recite all the swooniest bits from memory.” Another reader, Jessica, literally writes marriage vows to the book: “if i could marry a book and spend the rest of my life with it, it would be this one.”

When a book inspires readers to write marriage vows, you know something’s working.

The Problematic Elements Nobody Wants to Talk About

But flip the coin and you’ll find readers who gave it 1 star and called it out hard. Sil’s review is a 2,000-word takedown citing fatphobia, ableist language, slur usage, and an “abusive hero” who “uses his big body to an advantage towards Lucy’s small body.” She writes: “Joshua Templesomething is a very abusive hero. He is also very controlling to the point to click CALL END to a phone call Lucy is having with Danny.”

Skyler Autumn is even more direct: “I am so pissed at this book and at all the people who got this book a average 4.24 rating on Goodreads. How!?!” She tears apart the “nice guy bashing,” the obsessive fixation on Lucy being “5 foot tall,” and Josh being rewarded for “basic human decency.”

The criticisms aren’t minor. They’re about consent, power dynamics, and problematic language that some readers found unforgivable.

The Audiobook Question

If you’re thinking audiobook, here’s the deal: Katie Schorr narrates, and opinions are split. Anne’s 2021 re-read via audiobook notes: “I liked the voice in my head better” and found some of Schorr’s “tones and inflections” didn’t match her mental image of the characters. But Christy loved the audio, saying she “couldn’t wipe the smile off my face” while listening.

The audiobook works if you’re okay with someone else’s interpretation. If you have a strong internal voice for these characters already, stick with print.

The Reddit Verdict

Over on r/RomanceBooks, one reader wrote an “obnoxiously obsessive review” explaining they quit after two chapters. The comments section became a battleground: some agreed it was overhyped, others defended it as “the most intensely enemies to lovers contemporary romance” they’d read.

The consensus? This book is constantly recommended for enemies-to-lovers fans, but whether it works for you depends entirely on your tolerance for certain tropes and problematic elements.

What’s NOT There

Surprisingly? Not much BookTok presence for a romance this popular. No massive YouTube essay breakdowns. The buzz lives primarily on Goodreads, Reddit’s r/RomanceBooks, and book blogs from 2016-2018. For a book with half a million ratings, its social media footprint is weirdly quiet in 2026.

My Analysis (Based on the Evidence)

This book lives or dies on whether you find Josh Templeman swoon-worthy or stalker-ish. Readers who love it describe him as “secretly sweet” and “vulnerable.” Readers who hate it point out he painted his bedroom walls the color of Lucy’s eyes before they were together and call it obsessive behavior. Both groups are looking at the same character.

The size difference fixation is real and relentless. Multiple negative reviews cite the constant mentions of Lucy being “tiny” and Josh being “huge.” If you’re tired of romances where the heroine is described as “small enough to fit in his pocket,” this will drive you insane. If you love that dynamic, this book delivers it on every page.

The audiobook is a wildcard. Some listeners loved Katie Schorr’s narration. Others found it didn’t match their mental voices and wished they’d stuck with the book. If you’re an audiobook-first reader, this one’s risky.

It’s a debut novel that reads like a veteran’s work. Sally Thorne’s writing is sharp, the banter is genuinely witty, and the slow burn is expertly paced. Multiple reviewers expressed shock that this was her first book. Whatever issues readers have with content, nobody’s calling the writing amateur.

The re-readability factor is off the charts for fans. Readers who love this book don’t just love it once—they come back to it annually. That’s not typical for contemporary romance. It suggests the comfort-read factor is strong.

The problematic elements are not minor quibbles. The criticisms about language, power dynamics, and gender stereotyping are substantive. Whether those bother you will determine whether this book works for you.

The Question Nobody’s Asking

Why does a book about two assistants at a publishing house inspire readers to write marriage vows while simultaneously making others write 2,000-word critical essays?

Here’s my theory: The Hating Game is a litmus test. If you’re the type of reader who can overlook problematic elements for witty banter and chemistry, you’ll adore this. If you can’t separate the art from its issues, you’ll hate it. There’s no middle ground with this one.

The Verdict

Read if: You love enemies-to-lovers, you’re okay with obsessive male leads who track your outfits in a planner, you want witty banter and slow burn, you don’t mind size-difference fixation.

Skip if: Problematic language is a dealbreaker, you want a hero who asks consent before kissing the heroine in an elevator, you’re tired of “tiny woman/huge man” dynamics, you need fully developed side characters.

Start with the audiobook if: You like narrator interpretation and don’t have strong mental voices for characters yet.

Fair warning: This book will either become your comfort re-read or the romance novel you rant about to friends. There is no in-between.

The Cocktail: Elevator Kiss

Named for the scene where Josh kisses Lucy in the elevator “to prove a theory” (read: without asking first, which is either swoon-worthy or a red flag depending on who you ask).

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz bourbon (because Josh Templeman strikes me as a bourbon guy)
  • 1 oz fresh lemon juice (for Lucy’s tart personality)
  • 0.5 oz honey syrup (the sweet underneath all that hate)
  • 2 dashes Angostura bitters (the problematic elements that won’t go away)
  • Sparkling water (to represent the tension that keeps building)
  • Lemon twist (because everything in this book involves staring contests and twisted dynamics)

Instructions:

  1. Combine bourbon, lemon juice, honey syrup, and bitters in a shaker with ice.
  2. Shake until your arms hurt (like Lucy shaking with frustration at Josh’s smirk).
  3. Strain into a coupe glass.
  4. Top with a splash of sparkling water.
  5. Express lemon twist over the drink and drop it in.

Tasting notes: Sweet and sour with a bitter edge. Sound familiar? Yeah, that’s this whole book in a glass. The effervescence represents all that unresolved sexual tension. The honey is the secret sweetness Josh hides under his asshole exterior. And the bitters? Those are the parts of this book you can’t quite shake, for better or worse.

The Bottom Line

Half a million Goodreads ratings, a 4.24 average, and readers writing literal marriage vows to it. But also 1-star reviews calling out genuine problematic content. The internet is split down the middle, and both sides have receipts.

The discourse doesn’t wait.

Got intel on a book the internet can’t stop arguing about? Send it my way. But remember: I want links to actual discussions, not “I heard somewhere…” If you can’t link to it, it didn’t happen. DM me on social or drop a comment below with receipts.

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