Author: Sally Thorne
Started: September 7, 2018
Finished: September 11, 2018
Pages: 374
Genre: Fiction
First Sentence: I have a theory.
Summary: [From BN] 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.
Thoughts: I kept seeing this book crop up on recommended lists. It was all over the place. I hadn't read a rom-com in quite some time so I decided to toss it on my library holds list. It arrived just in time for me to take it on The Husband and my's stargazing vacation. Well, it rained the whole time we were there. There were no stars to be had and it was too wet and muddy to hike most days. Luckily, the cabin we rented had a fireplace and a comfy sofa with cozy blankets. On the rainiest day, I polished this book off in a glorious binge of reading.
As a book, I have to be honest, it's not great. It relies on tropes, the male lead is kind of sketchy in his actions, and the setup is totally contrived. I'm sorry, some of the action of the characters are so wholly unbelievable that they felt comic. As a reading experience, on the other hand, this book is awesome. I didn't want to put it down because there is fantastic chemistry jumping of the page and the writing is decently well paced. Yes, the situations are a stretch for the average person, but the heightened tension and drama kept me reading all day and well in to the wee hours.
If not already optioned, I fully expect this to be turned in to a movie. It had that sort of cinematic quality dancing in my head.
I'd see it.
Rating: 8/10 [Terrific]
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