Author: Sally Thorne

Rating: 5/5

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

2) A person’s undoing

3) Joshua Templeman

Lucy Hutton has always been certain that the nice girl can get the corner office. She’s charming and accommodating and prides herself on being loved by everyone at Bexley & Gamin. Everyone except for coldly efficient, impeccably attired, physically intimidating Joshua Templeman. And the feeling is mutual.

Trapped in a shared office together 40 (OK, 50 or 60) hours a week, they’ve become entrenched in an addictive, ridiculous never-ending game of one-upmanship. There’s the Staring Game. The Mirror Game. The HR Game. Lucy can’t let Joshua beat her at anything—especially when a huge new promotion goes up for the taking.

If Lucy wins this game, she’ll be Joshua’s boss. If she loses, she’ll resign. So why is she suddenly having steamy dreams about Joshua, and dressing for work like she’s got a hot date? After a perfectly innocent elevator ride ends with an earth-shattering kiss, Lucy starts to wonder whether she’s got Joshua Templeman all wrong.

Maybe Lucy Hutton doesn’t hate Joshua Templeman. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game.

This book has mixed reviews. There are those that loved this book to pieces. And then there are those who wish to throw this book off a cliff and watch the pages liquefy. Thankfully, I fall into the former category. Now, as a non-biased reader, I can acknowledge both sides of the coin; why people detested this book or why they adored it. Before writing my reviews, I take a fine scroll over on Goodreads to hear everybody’s sides. Keep in mind, I’ve already decided on my rating. I just enjoy seeing what other people have picked up on that I may have neglected.

Having read through these reviews, I can see why readers feel the way they do. Things that occurred in this book probably didn’t click with them, but they did for me. So yes, this book is a cliché mess. But I like cliches, and my life is a mess. See where I’m going with this?

I. Love. The. Metaphors. There’s just something about Sally Thorne’s writing that has me in a chokehold. I literally fell in love with what she was writing. It was so straightforward but there was more profound meaning behind every sentence. She didn’t have to spend another few paragraphs trying to get her point across. There was nothing intricate and I love that. The descriptions are everything I need in my life, and it wasn’t excessive descriptions, either. Everything flowed perfectly.

The first page, and Lucy already had me smiling. She’s literally hilarious and may just be my favourite character ever. The thing I treasured most about her was the fact that she never held back, and I’m talking in the context of conversations with Josh. She says what’s on her mind which thwarts beating around the bush. I know she has her faults, like letting people walk all over her, but I loved her, nonetheless.

Lucy is such an authentic main character, there’s nothing far-fetched about her. Her troubles are real, her feelings are real. It felt like things that I would think. She’s a little awkward, has a hobby/is part of a fandom that nobody understands but she still loves it. I won’t use the word quirky because it’ll sound like I’m saying, “She’s not like other girls.” Because she is like other girls and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’ve seen girls like her, hell, I’m one of them, and it’s because I can relate to her that I love her so much.

Going by the Goodreads reviews, I know a lot of people got aggravated with Lucy frequently mentioning that she was five feet tall, and that Josh was a giant. I understand, it can get redundant. But I’m five feet tall too. If I was around a guy, or anybody, that tall, I would constantly think about it, albeit at the back of my mind. So, Lucy talking about it wasn’t irritating for me, because I understood where she was coming from. I think it all boils down to the fact that as cliché as this book is, or how annoying Lucinda Hutton can be, I could relate to her -and, maybe that’s why I loved it so much or could bypass the imperfections in the book that my fellow readers have picked up on.

Josh is an absolutely swoon-worthy character. I can’t even begin to explain it. Every little thing he did had me flushing red. He comes across as a big meanie, but you know the eyes never lie. The moments where he nearly smiles at what Lucy says is what made me love him so much. No matter how hard he tries to be this stone wall, she gets to him. And it’s obvious. Oh, and Nigel, Lucy’s dad, calling Josh everything but his name is hilarious. Jebidiah had me cackling.

I adore the dynamic between Lucy and Josh. They’re barely phased by the ludicrous things the other says. Now, that’s what I call romance. The tension between them was so thick from the first bloody page. Their kiss came a little earlier than I expected, but I didn’t mind because although we didn’t hit the 100-page mark, there was so much chemistry between them that it didn’t even matter. They are perfect together. The attraction was there right off the bat.

Another favourite scene of mine is when they’re paintballing, and Lucy refers to herself as Lara Croft. She’s determined to protect Josh, her teammate, from the attacks so that he can capture the flag safely. Ultimately, she fails, and they both get hit. But it links together perfectly with the end of the book. Lucy refers to herself as Lara Croft, again, when she stands up to Josh’s father on his behalf. She didn’t get to protect him during the paintball match, but she could do it at the wedding. I loved how it came full circle.

I think the biggest lesson this book taught me had to do with romance. Love happens when the time is right. Lucy is 28 years old and she’s finding love with Josh. Young people these days seem to be in such a haste to find love, afraid that time is ticking away. Teenagers seem to think that once you’re in your late twenties, life is over. Old age to them is like thirty. But it isn’t. This book helped emphasise that love literally happens when the time is right.

Although this book had its flaws, I still loved it. I could relate to Lucy, and that’s what makes me so attached to her story. If you’re looking for a quick romance read, this is the book for you. The romance is the main plot, so keep that in mind in case you’re hoping there’s more to it :)