Honestly, what Dot & Needle said. 💁‍♀️

LOATHE provided me a great amount of reprieve from a ✨ stressful week ✨, and I certainly did enjoy our spunky, capable protagonist, and the OwnVoices Korean American/East Asian representation. It was really nice 🥺 and I am grateful for it.

I was also intrigued by exploration of the gaming industry. This is my first venture into a book delves into the shoes of a BIPOC woman in the gaming industry, and I appreciate the examination of misogny and toxic masculinity that's entrenched itself into workplaces and its detriments. The book wasn't the easiest to pill to swallow when Suzanne Park aptly captures the agony of BIPOC women navigating in White, Male dominated spaces. I would really argue that this book is a Women's Fiction, than a Romance.

Objectively, I would have given the book a 2 stars, but I really did enjoy the book. My gripe with LOATHE is that many characters appear as one dimensional caricatures with very little depth to them. Melody appeared to be a very typical, cookie cutter protagonist, and I wasn't a particular fan of her parents' Asian accent used as comic relief. Not my shtick, yanno? I'd argue the same for Melody's colleagues but some men are borderline caricatures with their misogynistic clownery, so👀.

Moreover, a lot of really important issues were presented, but I felt they were resolved too quickly, and I personally felt that this was a misopportunity to critically interrogate these issues and provide a bold conclusion, and end the book with a bang. Also, the writing style wasn't my cup of tea. A lot of tell, very little show, and the occasional head-hopping.

Fun, Hilarious, Romantic. This book was more than I expected in such a good way. I found myself smiling and laughing along with the characters. I enjoyed the strong female role in STEM.

Thank you for allowing me to read and give my opinion.

As much as I wanted to love this, I can't help but feel disappointed. I was super excited to read about Melody's experience as a video game producer, and this book does a great job illustrating her experiences with sexism and racism in an industry dominated by white men. And on that front, I really enjoyed the book. However, I came in really expecting a hate-to-love office romance, but the romance was both very on-the-backburner and barely a hate-to-love. The love interest was a flawless too-good-to-be-true type that just did not feel fleshed out. Also, I didn't love how the parents only really functioned as a punchline or as comedic relief with practically no development either.

Ok... This book took me FOREVER to finish. Like a very long time. To the point where my husband just kept asking why I was still reading it. And I still don't know why I did.

First off, I think the premise of this book was exciting. A rom-com, girl gamer story-yes! But then you read it and quickly realize that is both light on the rom and the com.

Now, I very much appreciate any book that shines a light on the problems that girl gamers face. It is necessary! But this story was just so jam-packed with stereotypes and swearing that it was really off-putting. From her cruel parents to the complete lack of kind male gamers, it was hard to find likable characters in the story. Even our lead "gamer girl" was underdeveloped-I swear until the final pages it doesn't really indicate that she does, in fact, game. I just know what to do with this one. I also don't know what genre to put this into.

Otherwise, kudos for highlighting the toils of girls in the gaming industry. And extra kudos for the diversity. But this book is just not my cup of cocoa at all.

When I pick up a romantic comedy, I fully expect to laugh or you know chuckle. Even just a giggle or a smile on my face would be good. But here, I just cringed. I also think listening the narrator's accents didn't help in the matter either. The 'humor' felt forced and that bothered me right from the start.

I found the characters irritating and frustrating which made me want to stop reading. Fortunately, it only took me a few hours to go through this book but still, I didn't enjoy it. I was patiently (or not so patiently) awaiting for the romance to grow and for my interest to pick up but that didn't really happen. The video games environment could have been refreshing but the author made it completely toxic as she tried to accentuate the problems that can present themselves there. Also, the relationship with her parents was annoying and every interaction made me want to roll my eyes. Like... you want her to get married, we get it!! The author tried to make this book funny but it just wasn't.

Sadly this book wasn't for me and after reading reviews from this author's debut novel I'm not sure if I'll gave it a chance.

(Thank you for letting me read and review an arc via Netgalley)

4.5 stars = Loved it! Would re-read.
This was terrific! I enjoy enemies-to-lovers stories, but this was so much more. The romance was almost secondary to the larger story of Melody at work, pushing her game through despite all of the roadblocks, and dealing with the haters and trolls. It's still there - and it's delightful. I loved Nolan! But there's a lot more to love here than just a great romance.

The game building pieces of this mostly happened off page, so there's not a lot of technical bits to this. I liked that the focus stayed on the people and the outcomes. There are some laugh-out-loud moments in this as well as a few where you just want to punch your fist in the air.

Lately I have enjoyed a lot of books - both for teens and adults - where women in technology are fighting for a seat at the table. And I am here for all of them. Don't miss this one! (Language, TW: Harassment)

Unfortunately, I just can't keep reading this. I got to 50%, but can't continue. The bitterness and exaggerations of working in the games industry is just too much. Are there guys in the industry who are dicks? Yes, but not a single person at this company wasn't. That is incredibly unrealistic.

It also made it difficult to care for Melody at all when she spent so much time trolling her "typical Korean parents."

I guess that is ultimately the issue I have with this book: It's just a bunch of stereotypes that are exaggerated to attempt to evoke emotion.

1 Star

DNF'd at 20%

I really wanted to love this story because it sounded so promising—a workplace romcom in the gaming industry—but what I read was way too abrasive for my taste. No one was likable. The work environment was horribly misogynistic, and the pranks played were super juvenile. Even one of the protagonist's "best friends" was caustic.

I didn't find any of it comedic, and I decided I didn't want to wait around for whatever romance there was going to be.

I have another book by this author on my Kindle—a YA romcom—but I'm a little gun-shy now to try it. The writing wasn't as polished as I'm used to, and I'm honestly not sure a different genre and setting is going to fix that. 😐

Maybe this author's work just isn't for me. Bummer.

Melody Joo has recently started her new job as a video game producer at Seventeen Studio. Her idea (which originally conceived as a joke) of a game that has male strippers in a post-apocalyptic world fighting zombies suddenly becomes the next big thing. She ends up being in charge of the game development. As if it isn’t challenging enough, she also has to deal with her sexist boss and co-workers plus online trolls.

I was informed from the beginning (when I received a review request for this book via email) that this is an #ownvoices women’s fiction so I was quite confused why it’s being marketed as enemies-to-lovers rom-com. Probably because of the title and cover, which are quite misleading. There is romance in this book but it wasn’t really the main focus and it’s a little bland if you ask me.

This book focuses more on Melody. Her struggles in a toxic and misogynistic woking environment and how she deals with racism and online harassment. There were a lot of scenes that made me very furious. Not to mention that what Melody is dealing in this book is happening in real life. Not only in gaming industry but everywhere in the world. I had to stop from reading so I could calm myself down.

Melody is determined and clever. I personally liked her. I didn’t care for the other characters because they all felt one-dimensional. I liked playing online games so it was interesting for me to see all the process of creating and developing a game.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, the romance was very flat. I didn’t care if Melody and the love interest will end up together or not. I wasn’t also satisfied with how some of the issues were resolved towards the end of the book.

Despite of the heavy themes/topics in this book, I still thought that it’s a good story with an important message. If you’re looking for a lighthearted and feel-good read then this is not the book for you. If you want to read a story about an Asian-American woman and her fight against patriarchy especially in the video game industry, then you might want to consider reading this book. But please be aware of the trigger warnings.

Another great Suzanne Park read! It definitely had a rom-com feel but more com, less of the rom which was fine! Like a lot of movie rom-coms, there are definitely over the top moments but it worked for the movie Bridesmaids and it worked for me in this book . Speaking of bridesmaids, this crew of friends was probably not my fave but I appreciated that it was more realistic than the constant show of best friends that are loyal and will drop anything at any second. That's amazing but I love that friendship can be more casual and new (post-college) and not always ride-or-die but I'm here for you as much as I can be. The book's protagonist is a young Korean-American woman navigating the sexist and racist arena of the video game industry. My husband used to work in video games and it really is so heavily male dominated. While again, some scenes may have been over the top for comedic purposes, the root of the issues and situations is unfortunately very true to the industry, I think. Made me think of nonfiction book Brotopia by Emily Chang about women in tech. One highlight in this #ownvoices book is the Korean parent representation! I laughed out loud so much reading about Melody's parents. This is why I love reading #ownvoices - makes me nostalgic for my childhood and my friends! There's a scene where the parents have an issue with the timing of a birthday call and I remember my dad used to get so mad if I called too late in the day on his birthday, saying it was meaningless to be an afterthought and I should always call early in the morning..... as he forgot my birthday completely this year (and called to say it's because he's old!) hahaha! This book has a lot more depth than I expected and Suzanne Park has definitely become an auto buy author for me!

Thank you Avon Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Loathe at First Sight follows Melody Joo, a newly hired video game producer at Seventeen Studios. Her workplace is full of sexist, annoying tech dude-bros who are constantly making inappropriate comments, often directed towards Melody and the (few) other women in the office. However, things start looking up for Melody when her video game idea is unexpectedly pitched and accepted, and she is in charge of taking it to completion. And by the way, the video game is about scantily-clad male strippers trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world.

Suddenly launched into the gaming spotlight, Melody finds herself in her own battle against impossible deadlines, internet trolls, and her attraction towards Nolan, an MBA intern on her team who also happens to be her CEO’s nephew.

I really enjoyed this book, although I was really stressed out by the first half! Melody has to endure a LOT - sexism in the gaming industry, trolls constantly trying to undermine her project and character, and parents and friends always inquiring about her weight and love life. I think if you’re going into this book for a lighthearted romance, I don’t think this was that book. It’s more a character-driven novel about Melody learning to survive and succeed in a certain work environment, that also had a lot of humor with a small sprinkling of a slow-build romance. I could really relate to Melody because of how I’ve been treated at work and social settings as an Asian woman, so I appreciated her resilience and how she doesn’t take any shit. I also loved how the book highlighted the importance of professional mentors and allies, and how it can be easy, yet damaging, for kids of immigrants to not want to ask for help.

I also feel like this isn’t talked enough about, but I’m so impressed by the amount of research Suzanne Park did on the gaming industry in order to write this book. I for sure thought she had a gaming or at least a tech background, as she described everything in such detail, from the conventions to the office setups, to even how marketing for the game would work.

I think everyone should check this book out, as there’s something for everyone in the story.

The summary of this book provided by the publisher is off the mark. This really isn't an enemies to lovers book. In fact the "loathing" part of the book is very short lived. Romance element is nearly non-existent. I think the book would get better reviews and more interest if it was marketed more as a female empowerment book. Melody has to deal with and overcomes a lot of misogynist and racist crap in her job. Highlight her strength and power in the summary and you'll find the right audience for this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the free eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This book was so much fun and such a refreshing surprise!

I think it’s technically an enemies to lovers romance but I think it’s 100% more about a woman working hard in a male dominated field and fighting to prove herself and get the recognition she deserves. I am not a big gamer at all and have no exposure to video game programming or production BUT I still greatly enjoyed this novel!

I loved the perspective the author wrote about what it’s like to not only be a female in the video game industry but as a Korean female in the industry. She has to deal with a lot of sexist, racist, misogynistic behavior, it’s so messed up! Cyber bullying, harassment, and stalking are discussed in this novel.

The romance in this novel is pretty low key and I think the story focuses on Melody more as a badass individual! (Which is totally fine by me even if I’m a sucker for all things romance)

If you love gaming, you should read this book!
If you aren’t a big romance reader, I’d still recommend to you because of the lightness of the romance in this story!
If you love reading about women in STEM being badasses in male dominated industries, you should read it!

This is my first book by Suzanne Park and I’m a fan!!

Melody Joo is excited to land her dream job as a video game producer but this job has a lot of challenges, especially for an Asian woman in the gaming industry with annoying CEO and biased coworkers but the story does not end here. There is a new army of cowards who are ready to pull you down when you are trying to change the norms and do something out of the box. Yes, you got it right, the social media trolls.

This book very well portrays the struggle of a woman in the gaming industry and is quite relatable for all the females working in male-dominant industries with a misogynistic environment.

It beautifully portrays that fulfilling dreams will never be easy but persistence and perseverance is the key. We need to work harder and strive for what we want. Success and respect will come along and quitting is never an option.

Suzanne always comes up with innovative ideas and concepts in her books. Her first book The Perfect Escape was about a zombie escape room and weekend-long survivalist competition.
In this one, Melody Joo strives and shines and romance and our hero Nolan does not mind taking a backseat. I will strongly recommend this book and definitely looking forward to the next one by her.

DNF @ 32% for now

this book just isn't working for me right now? it's something that i'll probably try to pick up again in the future, but i'm just not feeling it right now. there's nothing objectively bad yet, just not quite for me in this moment.

I kept waiting for the romance. I like the idea of showcasing the struggles of an Asian woman in a male dominated industry, but wanted more romance from it. I really enjoyed Perfect Escape, but this one fell flat for me. Thanks for letting me try!

Thank you so much to @suzannepark and @avonbooks for my gifted copy of Loathe at First Sight! This was such a fun and enjoyable book.

Goodreads synopsis: Melody Joo is thrilled to land her dream job as a video game producer, but her new position comes with challenges: an insufferable CEO; sexist male coworkers; and an infuriating—yet distractingly handsome—intern, Nolan MacKenzie, aka “the guy who got hired because his uncle is the boss.” Just when Melody thinks she’s made the worst career move of her life, her luck changes. While joking with a friend, she creates a mobile game that has male strippers fighting for survival in a post-apocalyptic world. Suddenly Melody’s “joke” is her studio’s most high-profile project—and Melody’s running the show.

This book was just as cute as it sounds, with an AWESOME protagonist. I loved Melody’s character. It’s always great to see a woman in a male-dominated workplace who is killing it, especially with the odds stacked against her. She’s easy to adore and root for throughout the book.

At first, I didn’t see the main relationship as the one that would be focused on in the book. I honestly thought it would be more of an enemies to lovers book than it was, but I’m okay with that. It was definitely a slow burn romance, but it kept things very appropriate at work for Melody, which I appreciated. I won’t say more than that about the romance aspect of the book because I don’t want to accidentally give out any spoilers.

As much as I enjoyed Melody and Nolan, I really despised Melody’s boss, Ian, and her parents. The three of them were not likeable (though I think it was meant to be that way), and absolutely horrible to Melody in their own special ways.

This book is brand new, just released this past Tuesday.

A highly-recommended adult book for Asian readers that highlights the importance of feminism, with additional sprinkles of workplace romance and scoops of video games.

Suzanne Park is back at it again with another gem and she delivered the lines, the banter, and the swoons on the spot.

RATING: 4stars

I was really excited to receive an ARC of this as I was interested in reading about a heroine working in the gaming industry and the author is also a comedian so I was expecting some great rom/com moments. But I could not get over how the parents’ accents were used as a cheap laugh. I really struggled with this. A LOT.

I understand that some Korean/Korean-American parents do, in fact, have accents, but holy crap I hate to see every single Korean-American mother reduced to a “Why you no have husband” punchline. It was such a one-dimensional portrayal and it read like an awful stereotype despite being an #ownvoices book.

It’s so rare to find romances with an Asian-American heroine (don't even get me started on the lack of Asian-American male leads) and I was bummed to see this book lay on the stereotype so thick.

Read this book in a day and a half!
Loved this book!
*strong Korean Female lead
*shows what a women goes thru in the tech world
*enemies to lovers trope
*strong supportive female friends

I think I mostly enjoyed this book because it wasn't a in your face romance book. Yes it does have some but it's not what makes this book it's not on every page. No this book is what Melody has to go thru and put up with as a women in the gaming tech community. It's her having to prove time and time again she is just as if not more capable then the men.

Give this a read you will not be disappointed one bit!