The Hating Game

This book is the second book I've read by Talli Roland (I went on to read the third - Watching Willow Watts after this), and I think (like a lot of others are saying), she could become a firm favourite in my chick lit collection. Like Build-a-man (the book I really enjoyed, that led me to seek out other Talli Roland books), this was well observed and fun. I really warmed to the main character and was rooting for her all the way through, as she was refreshingly the opposite of most chick lit protagonists. It gave such a well humoured, and sometimes scary insight into how reality TV works, which made for entertaining and thought provoking reading. OK so it is still chick lit, but at least it carried a valid message. And do you know what I loved it! The only faults I could find, was the lack of character development for Jess and sometimes the suspension of dis-believe that the main character would have gone through with it all, though that was explained adequately enough with her debts etc.... Also the first few pages were a bit gratuitous and far fetched. PLUS I'd have liked more fall out and reaction over the Adam situation towards the end... On the whole, another cracking read from Talli and I look forward to what else she comes up with. (I'll be pre-ordering Build a couple or whatever the sequal to build a man is rumoured to be called)

Mattie Johns is one of the feistiest characters I've met in a chick lit book for a long time. She's quite abrupt at first until you realise, as the layering builds up, that this is a cover up for a broken heart. Her journey throughout the book had me wanting her as my best friend by the last chapter. The premise of the book is so brilliant and is one of the few books where from the minute I started to read it, I wished that I'd thought of the idea first. What a funny thing to happen, dating your exes, how awful could that be! I loved that no matter what was thrown at Mattie, she just got on with it. Nothing phased her - believe me, I would have run a mile at some of the things they gave her to do on the television show. There was a great twist in the middle of the book which made things stay fresh and interesting. And Talli kept on twisting the story. It had me laughing in places, yet there was a darker side to it as well. And it was reality television at its ugliest, feasibly seeing producers going to great lengths to get ratings despite the feelings of the contestants. For me, The Hating Game was clever, colourful and modern. The characters were convincing (you could definitely see why the guys were Mattie's exes!), the plot kept on twisting and the pace was fast. I really enjoyed this book. Talli Roland is definitely a name to watch out for in the future.

I enjoyed reading this as a light read over a few days. It's a classic rom com novel where you know what will happen but don't really mind. However, there are some problems. The main one is that Matti, the lead character, is so thoroughly unlikeable. She's snappy, bossy and generally unpleasant to most people most of the time. I found myself more interested in the fortunes of the side characters, because they were more appealing. It's a bit of fun, great for a holiday, but any notion that it is in the same league as Sophie Kinsella novels, is sadly misguided. No problems with the Kindle edition.

The book was easy to read & a good switch off book for holiday but no great depth to it. Characters were quite straightforward and story a bit predictable. Not great but OK!

Before you waste your money on this truly terrible book - think twice ( I know it seems cheap but, like me, you'll soon regret it). I was persuaded by all the positive reviews to give The Hating Game a try; but as soon as I tried to read it I started wondering if the reviewers had actually read the same book. Two dimensional, unbelievable and often downright unpleasant characters play out a ridiculously unlikely plot. The dialogue is wooden and the narrative could have been written by a GCSE student for their coursework. One of the most unappealing books I've ever read. To be avoided even if Amazon starts giving it away for free.

I really enjoyed the hating game! The main character, Mattie was very likeable and so were the rest of the characters. I liked how Silver and Baz tried to spice things up at any opportune moment. I thought that Nate's idea for the show came a bit sudden and at times, the book was a little slow. However, overall I enjoyed it and I would recommend it to any chick lot lover!

Mattie Johns runs a recruitment agency, but things are not going too well for her. When she broke up from her ex Kyle Cook, he had taken almost half her clients when he had set up his own agency. Business was now so bad that Mattie is about to go bankrupt. Then when Mattie is approached to appear and take part in a brand new TV reality show and is told that the price money is two hundred grand. Mattie sees this as the answer to all her problems and agrees to take part. Little does Mattie know that the show she was told was called "Second Chance for Romance" is actually a show called "The Hating Game" and that Mattie had been selected to take part due to her having a long line of exes to choose from because "The Hating Game" is actually a dating game that the contestants that Mattie will be choosing to date, are actually four of her exes! With the TV production company not been entirely honest with Mattie, just how far are they prepared to go to make and manipulate in order to make entertaining television and to get good ratings? Talli Roland books really make me laugh. They are written with really good humour that make you laugh out loud at times but also gasp at times at the behaviour of some of the characters. The Hating Game is a really great, enjoyable and entertaining read.

I’ve probably had this book on my Kindle for years! And now I’m finally happy to say I’ve read and enjoyed it. It’s not what I normally read—contemporary rom-com or chick lit for adults (I tend to stick to YA) so that was interesting. The idea of a game show called The Hating Game was unique and great, and fun to see how the plot played out. The F-words weren’t really my thing, or the sexual references/innuendos, but other people might not care about that. But in general, the humor made me smile; this novel was a nice light story that kept me reading until the (satisfactory!) ending.

The amount of plot twists is nuts, and I'm still dumbstruck with it, but it's a great and fun read. I devoured it in a week!

The story is about a young entrepreneur who tries to rescue her business by going on a dating show that promises 200.000 pounds as price money. What she doesn't know is that all the men she is going to date are her ex boyfriends and the producers obviously try to manipulate the dates as much as possible to keep rates up. Mattie, the main character, is a strong and independent woman, but she is also quick in leaving people who are closest to her in order not to get hurt. I think the author focuses too much on Mattie's past as an excuse for everything - hurting her friends, boyfriends and basically never giving anyone a chance to explain themselves. Mattie just shuts them out of her life when she thinks people might hurt her. I wish she at least would apologize once in the book for her behavior, but for some reason it's all explained away by having issues with her father. Another fact that I really didn't like about the book is that the author obviously hasn't done any legal research regarding reality show contracts. The book is set in Great Britain and the contract Mattie signs would never be legal there. While this might be okay regarding "harmless" clauses about money, I'm a little shocked that the author seems to think that you can actually make criminal aussault and murder legal by signing a contract. It just feels like there is some sense of justice lacking and it kind of destroyed the book for me.

From the first line of "The Hating Game", I knew that this would be a book I could sink myself into. The first few bits of dialogue and story line had me cracking up every few seconds! The main character in this book is, at first, hard to like. I admit that Mattie Johns is one frightening woman. Man-eater truly does describe her personality. She is the kind of woman that comes off as if she is the ultimate hard-ass. But after digging deeper into her character, the reader will find that Mattie has something more to her than just a hard shell. Mattie is so unlike many romance heroines, and I find that very refreshing. It's nice to find a woman who is in control of her life in a romance novel. The ultimate twist is The Hating Game itself. The idea of a game show pairing a person up with his/her exes is absolutely crazy! Imagine what that would be like in real life. It's a twist that makes the book even more interesting. One of the best things about the book is the "behind-the-scenes" look at reality tv itself. "The Hating Game" will give you many laughs as well as heartfelt moments that you will absolutely adore. You will be into the book from the beginning and not want to set it down for fear of missing something, I know I was.

I bought this after finishing build a man and construct a couple and I thought I'd give this a try. The characters aren't as likable or relatable as her other books but I like how it isn't super predictable. It keeps taking turns your not expecting and it kept me turning pages. I like her as an author but this isn't my favorite book of hers. It's still a fun read and I would recommend it to any one that likes her as an author.