The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

I was surprised at how hard this book was to read, for me. I'm a big believer in "reading what you need" and after going through a breakup not too long ago, I don't think I was in the right head space yet for this book. I really did enjoy it and I do think that it helped me heal a little bit. I also love any book that is about books.

This book made me laugh and had my heart swell. The banter between Josh and Lucy is hilarious and infuriating. Their tender moments make you want something similar in your own life if you don't already. The sweet moment between Elaine, Josh's mom, and Lucy had me crying so much. The thing is, if I didn't just go through a breakup, I think I would have overlooked that part. It's not something other people in my book club picked up on. That's why I love books so much. Your experience with a book is uniquely yours and if you read that book again, it's going to be different from the first time you read it.

Read this book. It's a great beach read and something fun to read. I promise it is, I'm just up in my feels lately! This was such a fun book club read and can't wait for the next one! You can pick this up for $10.34.

Favorite Quotes:

• "I have a theory. Hating someone feels disturbingly similar to being in love with them. I've had a lot of time to compare love and hate, and these are my observations. Love and hate are visceral. Your stomach twists at the thought of that person. The heart in your chest beats heavy and bright, nearly visible through your flesh and clothes. Your appetite and sleep are shredded. Every interaction spikes your blood with a dangerous kind of adrenaline, and you're on the brink of fight or flight. Your body is barely under your control. You're consumed, and it scares you."

• "Books were, and always would be, something a little magic and something to respect."

• "'Watching you pretend to hate that nickname is the best part of my day.'"

• "There's a fragility in this kiss I would never have expected. It's the same as the knowledge that one day this memory will fade. He's trying to make me remember this. It's so bittersweet my heart begins to hurt."

• "I'm about to lose something that I never had to begin with."

• "Fight with me, kiss me. Laugh at me. Tell me if you're sad. Don't make me go home."

• "The table seats eight. Me, Josh, his mom and dad, Mindy's parents, and Mindy's brother and sister. I'm at the head family table. If I had known this would happen when I brashly offered my services as Josh's chauffeur, I would have punched myself in the face."

• "'If you knew the kind of little miracles happening every moment you breathe in, you wouldn't be able to handle it. A valve could close and not open; an artery could split, you could die. At any moment. It's nothing but miracles inside your tiny city.'"

• "it's the fresh new bud of something that could one day be something remarkable, but I have severe doubts that it could survive in the real world. This bubble we're in? It's not reality. I wish it was, and I wish we lived here. All of this, I should say out loud to him, but I don't have the courage."

• "'Take me in there, feed me pastry, and then drive me back to your pretty blue bedroom.'"

• "All I want to do is kiss you until I fall asleep. I want to slide in between your sheets, and find out what goes on inside your head, and underneath your clothes. I want to make a fool of myself over you."

• "He taught me things in the space of two minutes that the span of my lifetime did not."