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Reacting to Bad Reviews of My Favorite Books #1 | The Hating Game

Okay. This is going to be bad.

Hey guys! For the past couple of months I’ve seen people react to good comments of books they dislike, so I thought it would be interesting if I reacted to bad comments of books I love. I’m not going to lie, I am extremely nervous. I believe that everyone has the right to share their opinions (as along as they’re being respectful), and I obviously don’t expect everyone to love the things I love and vice-versa. Because of that, I think reacting to bad reviews of my favorite books will be an interesting experience. It is not nice to listen or read criticisms on things that you like, but I do believe it is important to always search for different perspectives. Listening to others and soaking in as much information as possible is the only way that we can truly have an informed opinion on any given topic.

Though, before we begin, I wan’t to clear up a few things.

  • I’m limiting this to only 2 star reviews.
  • I’m linking all of the original ones in the quotes.
  • I will not be including reviews of people that DNF the book. I don’t think people should rate books that they didn’t finish.
  • I will be reacting to the content and tone of the review (I will possibly weep a little as well).
  • I am not trying to ‘trash’ or undermine the authors of these reviews in any way, and even if I get annoyed I will always try to be as respectful as possible.
  • I’ll try to make these as spoiler free as possible, but there might be some spread throughout the post. So proceed with caution.

The first book I chose is The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. I really like this book and had an amazing time reading it. At the moment it is one of my favorite romance novels. It has an average rating of 4.14 stars on Goodreads.

[Add to Goodreads]


I foolishly thought that I would learn a lot about book publishing by reading this chick-lit story. It’s not realistic AT ALL. Just another rom-com.

Cristina Monica’s Review

Well. What can I say? I think this says it all. It is a rom-com.

Honestly, it would’ve definitely added to the story if there had been more insight into the publishing business. That is a good idea. But I do think it’s kind of weird that someone would try to learn about the business from a book that sells itself as a chick-lit 😬 .

Personally, I don’t like this review very much. What I included here is it. There is no more review. I know this is probably just a small part of what bothered this reader, but I think they could’ve at least given us a little more to go on in regards to what they didn’t or did enjoy πŸ€·πŸ½β€β™€οΈ.

The Big Issue: Josh gets a Big Sob Story which is supposed to reinterpret every jerky thing he did through the story, and give him a free pass for apparently bad behavior.

Eilonwy’s Review

I thought this review was wonderful πŸ˜…. Honestly, if you’re debating whether or not to read this book, this review would definitely steer you towards DON’T. Still, it is very well done and I read the entire thing (even though it hurt). This reviewer even made me realize a few things I hadn’t noticed before… Which I really appreciate ☺️. Once again, reading different perspectives only helps me grow as both a reader and a person, which hopefully will help me become a better reviewer as well.

There are just so many things wrong with this book. Firstly, somebody tell this woman that just because you are short (which she reminds us after every two pages) you don’t automatically get to be 12. You’re 28 ffs, grow up. 

Zainab’s Review

This review I didn’t like as much. This reader did not like Lucy at all, which I respect. Still, I don’t think that her personality was immature. What I do think is that the person that wrote this review could’ve given a few more reasons for their rating πŸ˜•. I mean, if you’re taking the time to write a review the least you could do is actually explain what you did or didn’t like. Overall, they just described how annoying they thought Lucy was and nothing else. The meme was kind of funny though.

But holy shit, Lucy is a dick. She is an ASSHOLE. She gives me major manic pixie dreamgirl vibes, but that might just be that I’m cynical after the dickish shit she got up to. Josh is no picnic either–he’s controlling and more than a bit jealous–but at least he seems to be into open communication. Lucy on the other hand, is a dick to him pretty consistently throughout the book. She’s also constantly making fatphobic comments… Not cute.

Emily’s Review

I thought this was absolutely hilarious 🀣. I laughed so much after reading this. I am a big fan of rants or any type of writing in which the personality of the author shines through. And also, she’s not that wrong 😬. Lucy can be annoying and there are moments when she definitely can get on your nerves. I am a big fan of this review as well.


So… This was interesting.

I actually had a good time reading these reviews and giving my opinion. I laughed, I cried, I yelled and I learned… Truly an experience.

What did you guys think of these reviews? I can’t wait to continue reading bad/mean ones of books I love, is that weird πŸ˜…?