The Hating Game Book Club Kit

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne is the official February 2021 pick for the Peanut Blossom Book Club for Recovering Readers.

A copy of the book The Hating Game is on the table.

My favorite part of the Peanut Blossom Book Club is watching for book recommendations that pop up over and over again. I add them to my watchlist and then use that as the starting point for making our monthly picks for the new year.

Our February pick is exactly this sort of book. So many of our members have enjoyed and recommended this book as a must-read that it has been on my To Read list for ages.

I love to pick quirky romance books for February and with the title: “The Hating Game,” I just couldn’t resist.

Scroll down for more info about the book.

Peanut Blossom Book Club

This book club pick is one of the awesome books from our seventh year of book club.

We’re still going strong! Want to join us?

You can join our book club for free by signing up for my email newsletter right here:

What Is The Hating Game About?

“Debut author Sally Thorne bursts on the scene with a hilarious and sexy workplace comedy all about that thin, fine line between hate and love.

Nemesis (n.) 1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome.

2) A person’s undoing

3) Joshua Templeman

Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. Not dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate. And they have no problem displaying their feelings through a series of ritualistic passive aggressive maneuvers as they sit across from each other, executive assistants to co-CEOs of a publishing company. Lucy can’t understand Joshua’s joyless, uptight, meticulous approach to his job. Joshua is clearly baffled by Lucy’s overly bright clothes, quirkiness, and Pollyanna attitude.

Now up for the same promotion, their battle of wills has come to a head and Lucy refuses to back down when their latest game could cost her her dream job…But the tension between Lucy and Joshua has also reached its boiling point, and Lucy is discovering that maybe she doesn’t hate Joshua. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game.”

Get your copy of the book here.

The Hating Game Book Club Discussion Questions

I believe the best book club questions to spark a lively discussion in your group help readers make personal connections to the story.

You can read about how to write the best book club questions on your own here, but hopefully these will get you started!

Question 1:

Have you ever experienced a workplace rivalry or competed for a promotion?

Question 2:

Would you have felt comfortable letting Josh care for you with a stomach bug? Is that expected behavior while dating?

Question 3:

Were your parents pleased with the work path you chose? Were they more like Lucy or Josh’s family?

Question 4:

Would you ever date someone from your office?

Question 5:

The Hating Game is being made into a movie. Who would you cast as Lucy and Josh?

Question 6:

Have you ever had to stand up for your partner to their family?

Question 7:

Where do you see Josh and Lucy next?

Host a Watch Party

The Hating Game has been turned into a movie starring Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell.

Get your book club friends together, pop the popcorn, and host a movie watching party:

Book Club Party Menu

I think it is so fun to plan your book club dinner menu or dessert list based on the theme of the book but sometimes basing it on the time of year is a smarter choice.

For your The Hating Game book club party, serve a variety of fresh strawberry recipes and simply pretend they are from Lucy’s parent’s strawberry farm!

Start with my sweet strawberry lemonade which could easily be used to make a wine spritzer with sparkling wine.

Then set out a bowl of strawberry mango salsa with cinnamon pita chips for dunking or serve it with crostini and goat cheese like my strawberry bruschetta.

For dessert, you could have a pink lemonade cake or a strawberry cream pie.