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Book profile · reviewed 26 September 2026

The Hating Game

by Sally Thorne · 2016 · 376 pages · Contemporary Romance · standalone

Sally Thorne standalone, 376 pages, 3/5: office enemies, slow simmer then fast ignite. Elevator kiss in the second quarter. Explicit scenes wait until the final quarter. HEA. Workplace-power CW.

The Hating Game did not invent office enemies-to-lovers. It just made every book after it have to try harder.

Mood · 🎭 Competitive tension &#128155
Office enemies Slow burn 3/5 Moderate Standalone Full spice guide →

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I need this in my hands tonight → Don’t read it. Hear the first sentence →
15 seconds · then you will not stop
The Hating Game did not invent office enemies-to-lovers. It just made every book after it have to try harder.
Sally Thorne · The Hating Game
0:00–0:15muted preview
3/5 office slow-burn · explicit waits until the last quarter Kindle before this tab cools Audible trial often $0
The Hating Game did not invent office enemies-to-lovers. It just made every book after it have to try harder.
Feels like: The Hating Game did not invent office enemies-to-lovers. It just made every book after it have to try harder.
TL;DR: Spice 3/5 — a masterclass in delayed gratification. The tension is the foreplay. The explicit scenes are the exhale.
Mood
🎭 Competitive tension
Spice
🌶️ 3/5 Moderate
Pacing
⏱ Slow simmer, fast ignite
Length
376 pages
Ending
&#128155
Lane
Contemporary Romance
Series
Standalone

The Hating Game bibliographic record

Title
The Hating Game
Series / position
Standalone
Author
Sally Thorne
Publisher
William Morrow Paperbacks
First published
2016-08-09
ISBN-13
9780062439598
ISBN-10 / ASIN
0062439596
Pages
376 (this edition)
Language
English
Genre
Contemporary Romance
Spice (SBC)
3/5 Moderate · open-door

How The Hating Game actually reads

Realizing you have memorized your enemy’s coffee order, eye color, and the way they smell when they lean too close — and calling it hatred.

376 pages. Competitive tension. Shared desk. First-person internal monologue. Character-driven, not event-driven.

Spice 3/5: weaponized eye contact, then the elevator, then private-space almosts, then earned explicit payoff.

Who should read The Hating Game tonight

Swipe right if…

  • Slow burn where both people are in denial is the ask
  • Witty verbal sparring is a love language
  • An office that actually feels like an office matters
  • Guaranteed HEA, no series homework
Yes — see Kindle or Audible below

Swipe left if…

  • You need high spice early — this makes you wait
  • Constant internal monologue annoys you
  • Workplace power dynamics feel uncomfortable rather than fun
  • You want complex external plot over character heat
The Love Hypothesis instead →

Where the heat actually lands

3/5 delayed. Tension first. Explicit in the final quarter. Full breakdown: How spicy is The Hating Game?

0–25%

Weaponized eye contact

Insults and staring contests across a shared desk.

25–50%

The elevator

Confined space, argument, unplanned kiss. Slow burn cracks.

50–75%

Outside the office

Private spaces. Almost-moments. Thorne draws it out.

75–100%

Full payoff

Explicit scenes in the final quarter. Vulnerability over acrobatics. HEA.

How do you want this in your head in the next ten minutes?

If you already know

Search the edition

Do not panic-buy. Read twenty pages first.

See editions →

Content heads-up

Workplace power dynamics, explicit sexual content (late), family pressure, body image comments, mild emotional manipulation, alcohol use.

Tropes: Enemies to Lovers · Slow Burn · Forced Proximity

Books like The Hating Game — pick the rail

Same fake-dating adjacent

The Love Hypothesis

STEM. One hotel scene. 3/5. Not a shared-desk war.

See /books/the-love-hypothesis/

Same Henry-adjacent contemporary

Beach Read

3/5 forced proximity. 361 pages. Not office enemies.

See /books/beach-read/

Spice only

How spicy is The Hating Game?

The Hating Game is 3/5 Moderate — Spice 3/5 — a masterclass in delayed gratification. The tension is the foreplay. The explicit scenes are the exhale..

Same craving

Books like The Hating Game

The Hating Game · 3/5 Moderate · Enemies to Lovers + Slow Burn · standalone · 376 pages · 🎭 Competitive tension · Contemporary Romance · CW: Workplace power dynamics

The Hating Game questions

How spicy is The Hating Game?

3/5 Moderate. Delayed gratification — explicit scenes in the final quarter, not chapter one. Full spice guide →

Is The Hating Game a series?

Standalone on this profile. HEA. No cliffhanger homework. 376-page; Standalone; Office enemies; 3/5 Moderate; The Hating Game did not invent office enemies-to-lovers. It just made every book after it have to try harder..

Is there an audiobook?

Yes. Audible sample is usually one click. 376-page office enemies, 3/5.

Does it have a happy ending?

HEA on this profile. 376-page; Standalone; Office enemies; 3/5 Moderate; The Hating Game did not invent office enemies-to-lovers. It just made every book after it have to try harder..

What CW is published?

Workplace power dynamics, late explicit sex, family pressure, body-image comments, mild emotional manipulation, alcohol. 376-page; Standalone; Office enemies; 3/5 Moderate; The Hating Game did not invent office enemies-to-lovers. It just made every book after it have to try harder..

Last chance to stop scrolling

If you wanted STEM fake-dating, that is The Love Hypothesis.

When you are ready, start with Kindle, paperback, or Audible.

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After this one

One Friday book. Mood and spice already checked.

Send Friday’s match →
The Hating Game · 3/5 Moderate
3/5. Late explicit. Office enemies. Standalone HEA.
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