It was cute, but insanely unbalanced. It took until 50% for any romance to develop but then rushed through the rest of the relationship, but the first 50% was somewhere between hating each other to professional jealousy? I think both characters were good, but the editing needs to be cleaned up.

My thoughts bit: This is my first book of Kim Fielding's. She has an extensive collection of books so if you're looking for an author that will give you some good reading material for a long time then Fielding may be a good choice for you!

Teddy and Romeo work at the same company. While working on a digital vase they combine their different talents. Romeo is a buttoned-down programmer with a stark office and a brusk attitude. Teddy is dynamic and unapologetically himself. he's the kind of guy who would buy a unicorn pen and won't ever be caught in an outfit that wasn't worthy of a photoshoot.

As these two men work on a project that needs both their talents, they finally get to know each other. When they are dispatched to another city to try and convince an investor to come on board - things get peculiar and amusing.

The fashion icon they've been sent to sets up a really strange set of tests before them - that seem to have very little to do with their work - but the two men commit to doing their best. Turns out, their best is quite hilarious. There are a series of lovely failures that really bring out the quirkiness of these two characters and, in a way, bring them together. Even though I wasn't sure what the challenges had to do with designing a vase, I was amused by their antics.

I really wish that the challenges had made more sense in terms of the business nature of the relationship. It was a bit out of left field and I got a bit sidetracked for a while, wondering why some rich person was able to treat two men as experiments. I feel as though it was an odd choice.

Teddy's challenge is that he's convinced he's not interested in a relationship and at the beginning of the book he's dead set against being serious about anyone. shortly after he begins the challenges with Romeo though - that all falls by the wayside. I was a bit surprised at how quickly these two moved past their challenges to become enamoured with one another. We're talking days here! I'm not a fan of instalove so that aspect of this novel didn't work for me - but I know that a lot of readers really enjoy it!

This novel is touted as a novel with a diverse character. Romeo is black and while he is a great character in some ways, I was uncomfortable with the way that his life was represented. The fact that he is a character of colour really only comes up when he talks about how poor he was growing up and how his mom's cooking was great and soulful. That was problematic for me. I didn't get an authentic feel for this representation. This book could definitely benefit from sensitivity reading. I have no idea how the author identifies so I can't speak to whether this is an "own voices" book.

There were a couple of over-used tropes in this book but the author has a great writing style. The characters were original and well-developed. I enjoyed the interaction between the two characters despite the quick progression of their relationship.

I started this book and was immediately annoyed with Teddy. He seemed immature and superficial. The I hate you because I like you thing doesn't work well for me at all, so I opted to DNF and move on with my life.

Teddy Spenser is really annoying.  Perhaps if it wasn't told entirely from Teddy's POV I would have stuck with it, but as it is, I wasn't enjoying spending this much time with him. Romeo does nothing wrong and Teddy just makes assumptions about him and then picks little arguments because he doesn't want to be attracted to him. Teddy is big into fashion and design, so readers who are likewise inclined may enjoy his approach to life and work. He definitely skews young, so readers looking for characters early in their careers will probably like him more than those of us who want a bit more maturity from grown men.
There are definitely some funny bits! I bet if I liked Teddy more I would have found this a fun read.
Worth noting that there are also some microaggressions in the first 20% of the book (all I read) that even my white ass noticed. I really like this cover and apparently I will never learn my lesson.

I received a digital copy of this book for review.

This book has a lot of elements that I would have loved in other contemporary romance books but didn't quite mesh well together based on my taste. The events in this book are too unrealistic and the actions of Joyce Alexander and the boss of Teddy and Romeo are completely unprofessional and I just can't take everything that happened afterwards seriously. I felt disappointed that this became the turning point of their relationship. I still think that other readers might like this book. It's just not for me.

C'est sans lire le résumé que je me suis dirigée vers ce roman. Il faut dire que j'aime beaucoup les écrits de Kim Fielding et avec ce titre accrocheur, je ne pouvais que vouloir le découvrir !

Teddy spencer isn't looking for love est une romance on va dire de bureau. Ce n'est pas vraiment à proprement parler d'un ennemies-to-lovers, les personnages ne s'apprécient pas de trop au début mais c'est avant tout car ils ne se connaissent pas. Et puis, l'un comme l'autre, enfin surtout Teddy s'est fait une certaine opinion de son collègue infondée.

Teddy et Romeo vont se retrouver malgré eux à devoir non pas travailler ensemble, mais cohabiter un court moment dans une chambre d’hôtel pour le boulot. C'est une petite romance plaisante à lire. Teddy et Romeo sont des personnages adorables, et j'ai aimé leurs interactions, notamment au début où ils se chamaillent. Au final, on sait vers où tout ça va mener, mais c'était mignon de les voir se trouver des points communs et s'attirer petit à petit.

Il m'a manqué un petit quelque chose pour me faire décoller mais j'ai passé un bon moment de lecture avec ces deux personnages ^^
(3,5/5)

In all honesty, I knew Teddy Spenser Isn’t Looking for Love wouldn’t be a book for me from page one. My first thought about it was that Teddy was a judgemental prick, and I can’t say much of the book disproved that for me (and doubly so when you hear Romeo’s story).

This will probably be a fairly brief review because, while I didn’t enjoy the book at all, there’s not a whole lot for me to say about it. I read it, sure, but nothing about it really stood out for me, besides Teddy’s judgmentalness.

I suppose what I can say, though, is that it was a pretty easy read, all things considered. It’s very much a romance without a third act break-up too, so if you’re minded to read those sorts of books, then maybe this one will be for you. I think what really killed it for me, on top of Teddy, was that I didn’t get along with the writing.

But then, I have a sinking feeling that this could all have been foreseen.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin and Carina for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/m enemies to lovers
-workplace romance
-close proximity
-only one bed
-a grump and a cynic
-sexy times in an escape room
-insta love
-an eccentric billionaire
-a contest
-hurt/comfort
-low steam, sweetness

I really enjoyed this book. The enemies to lovers tension as both Teddy and Romeo had to fight to be polite but clearly felt the tension. The contest that they have to set out on, and the situations are a bit incredulous, but it was great escapism for these crazy times. This was a lower steam, that really emphasized the sweetness and the importance of finding that person that understands you in this world.

I did struggle a bit with the ending, but I struggle with most insta love stories. The author does address that to an extent. Overall a sweet read, full of twists and two people breaking down the masks that they present to the world for who it expects them to be rather than who they are.

Rating: 4
Steam: 3 (but really a 2 overall)

I'm not sure about this book... it might be... homophobic? In that it conforms to potentially harmful gay stereotypes. But I don't feel particularly well-placed to judge not being a gay man myself. If I could have a word with the editor, I'd ask them to reconsider their depiction of Teddy. But, again, this might just be me!

This book was a solid 3 for me.
I hated that Teddy compared everything to his ex! I hated that .
I'm always good for a work place romance but I just wish there was more of a connection btwn the 2 MCs.
Lots of telling not enough showing

This was such a cute little story about a workplace romance between two unlikely coworkers. Teddy has always thought Romeo was a little off. He's the only one with a personal office and he always comes off as rude and abrasive. But as the two of them work together on a project for an eccentric former fashion designer who asks them to complete three tasks to prove themselves and being capable of working together, they grow closer and closer, and Teddy begins to realize that all the things he thought about Romeo are not true and that there is a sweet, shy individual underneath all the assumption Teddy had made about him.

This book was just super cute and a quick read and I thought the project they were working on with the smart vases was really interesting and unique. I really loved these two and their wonderful, adorable, and sweet story together <3

I’ve enjoyed a few Carina Adores books but this one was just a miss for me. By the description of this novel, I expected a fun, lighthearted read. Instead, I got something dense and hard to read. When I end up skimming over paragraphs to get to the dialogue, that’s definitely too much descriptive information about someone’s office space.
And the romance? Not there for me either. It’s framed as an enemies to lovers, but from the first few pages you can tell Teddy is already infatuated with Romeo. Teddy is a little over the top, but Romeo just falls flat.
Not a big fan of this one over here.

Very cute, light read. A familiar plot with some quirky twists that make it unique. There isn’t a whole lot of tension though, so I wasn’t compelled to flip the pages but that might appeal more to others.

Thank you Carina Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

I have such a soft spot in my heart for geeky boys who are trying to find their place in the world and aren't afraid to be who they are. Romeo Blue (poor boy - I really do feel for him with a name like that) - grew up poor in a very close knit family. He's a software engineer and he's truly found his dream job at the start-up he's working at. He's socially awkward and doesn't feel like he can be himself or really fit in well socially. Teddy is more sure of himself and owns his own style and applies it well throughout his whole life. He isn't as confident in himself as he probably could be outside his comfort zone. His last relationship didn't work out and seems to have done a number on him. He and Romeo are definitely opposites and Teddy judges Romeo pretty harshly - I think because he is attracted to him and needs to put distance between them. Their work trip to Seattle puts them in close proximity (including the old only one bed available trick - I love that one). They are so adorable it hurts as they go through the challenges set for them and find each other in the process. I will say though - the escape room scene put me off of escape rooms for life. I could never have even gotten half as far as the boys did!

I did think the end rushed their relationship a bit - but I kind of forgave it because they were just so freaking cute.

I highly recommend this as a feel-good office, frenemies to lovers romance.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

I didn't really understand the story (the reason for their collaboration didn't really make sense to me) and the pace of their relationship was just too fast for me. I think this was mostly just a case of the writing not connecting with me.

This book was not for me, although the narrative is entertaining ... the plot totally took me out of the story.

I didn't like the instalove and neither did this allusion to "enemies to lovers" that is forgotten as soon as it is presented. There is also the cliche of "sharing a bed", which I don't understand why causes so much drama, it's not like the characters are teenagers, we are talking about adults.

The idea of this client demanding that the characters need to have good "chemistry", instead of analyzing the product in which she wants to invest seems ridiculous to me and that is what took me out of the story.

This book was cute, first off. I liked the “tropes” the author wrote about, like enemies to friends to lovers. There only being one bed.
I liked the rep of no white characters , as well as a pansexual character.
It was kind of “instalove”, despite the main character saying several times he didn’t believe in it. It was hard to believe two of these characters would fall in love over a few days after knowing one another for years and “hating” each other. After a quick couple conversations, they’re suddenly realizing they’re totally different people then they thought.

Not much in way of showing the character development, but telling it. It was short, around 80,000k i believe. It read, to me, like a short fanficiton. It was cute and lighthearted, nothing serious.

I did enjoy it and read it all in one sitting.

ENGLISH/ESPAÑOL

~ENGLISH~

The ARC for this novel was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Teddy Spenser isn't looking for love is a sweet and simple story about a talented designer who is focused on making the products of his current company, Reddyflora, a wonder in the eyes of customers. Teddy is not in his prime, however. He can barely pay the rent for his apartment, his work is very time consuming and to top it off, he always has to deal with his arch enemy for new projects.
Romeo Blue is the complete opposite of Teddy. He's a software engineer who programs the code of Reddyflora's products. To Teddy, he's the typical rich, pretentious guy who gets special treatment.

Working with him at times is a necessary evil, but Teddy is grateful that he doesn't stay too long by his side. Not that he is attracted to him (Oh God, no!), Teddy has promised not to look for love, not to take an interest in it and to continue with his work. Nothing more matters.
However, when their boss announces to both of them that their new project may be financed by Joyce Alexander, a very famous fashion designer, Teddy loses his mind with excitement.
Now Teddy must visit Joyce and convince her to finance the new product. The problem? Romeo Blue must go too. Which means that he will spend every free moment with his arch enemy.

On that business trip, Teddy will discover other facets of Romeo and perhaps new feelings will begin to blossom between them. Teddy Spenser is not looking for love, but perhaps Romeo is the person who will make him doubt his promise.

This story is extremely sweet and adorable!
Teddy is an extremely creative and funny boy. He likes design and is a drama queen through and through, having him as the narrator makes the story feel fresh and dynamic, especially when he has his interactions with Romeo.
These two are so different that it is not surprising that they collide so much, however, as the book goes on you can feel the tension between them rise and that causes the personality clash not only to become interesting, but also very funny, especially because of the chemistry they have.

I must say that even though I liked Teddy as a narrator, I found Romeo an extremely lovable character. He is a serious boy, extremely smart but also shy who, due to his physique, appears to be someone more rigid than he is.
I adored Romeo, he filled me with tenderness and I found him to be a completely wonderful.
Knowing more about him, his family, his flaws and fears only increased my fascination with him.

Still, the book did not fascinate me.
At the beginning I felt that the plot was going very fast. At the moment I did not understand what the project was about and there were no important data of an introduction such as: Since when Teddy works in Reddyflora? How long have he known Romeo? Why is there this strong (and personal) enmity between the two?
Somehow I felt that the introduction to the book had been cut off, or that maybe I should have known who the protagonists were or where they work from before, which confused me a lot.

After that is the fact that some things didn't seem to make sense. This personally only annoyed me a little, but sometimes the things that happened didn't make sense at all. Even if I was trying to make sense of it.
On the other hand, there is the fact that the story takes place in a few days and, therefore, the romance feels like an instalove, rather than a slow burn or enemies to lovers. Personally, it seemed to me that the romance happened very quickly.

Even so, the story is very entertaining, it's the type of story where there is not too much drama but there are dynamic and very interesting scenes, sweet interactions between the protagonists and the use of clichés that more than one could be excited.
In itself, this book could be very useful for those times when you want to delve into a light novel or get out of a reading block~.

~ESPAÑOL~

El ARC de esta novela fue proporcionado por la editorial a través de NetGalley a cambio de una reseña honesta.

Teddy Spenser isn't looking for love es una historia dulce y sencilla que trata de un talentoso diseñador que se centra en hacer que los productos de su actual empresa, Reddyflora, sean una maravilla para el ojo de los clientes. Teddy no está en su mejor momento, sin embargo. Apenas puede pagar la renta de su departamento, su trabajo le consume mucho tiempo y por si fuera poco, siempre tiene que tratar con su archienemigo para nuevos proyectos.
Romeo Blue es todo lo contrario a Teddy. Es un ingeniero especializado en software que programa el código de los productos de Reddyflora. Para Teddy, es el típico chico rico y pretencioso que recibe trato especial.

Trabajar con él a momentos es un mal necesario, pero Teddy está agradecido de no permanecer demasiado a su lado. No es que le atraiga (por dios, No!), Teddy se ha prometido no buscar el amor, no interesarse en él y seguir con su trabajo. Nada más que eso importa.
Sin embargo, cuando su jefa les anuncia a ambos que su nuevo proyecto puede ser financiado por Joyce Alexander, una diseñadora de moda muy famosa, Teddy pierde la cabeza de la emoción.
Ahora Teddy debe visitar a Joyce y convencerla de financiar el nuevo producto. ¿El problema? Romeo Blue debe ir también. Lo que significa que pasará cada momento libre con su archienemigo.

En ese viaje, Teddy descubrirá otras facetas de Romeo y quizá nuevos sentimientos empiecen a florecer entre ellos. Teddy Spenser no está buscando el el amor, pero quizá Romeo sea la persona que lo haga dudar de su promesa.

Esta historia es sumamente dulce y adorable!
Teddy es un chico sumamente creativo y gracioso. Le gusta el diseño y es una drama queen completamente, tenerlo como narrador hace que la historia se sienta más fresca y dinámica, especialmente cuando tiene sus interacciones con Romeo.
Estos dos son tan diferentes que no es de extrañar que choquen tanto, sin embargo, conforme pasa el libro puedes sentir la tensión entre ambos subir y eso provoca que el choque de personalidad no sólo se vuelva interesante, sino también muy divertido, especialmente por la química que tienen.

Debo decir que, pese a que me gustó Teddy como narrador, Romeo me pareció un personaje sumamente adorable. Es un chico serio, sumamente listo pero también tímido que, por su fisico, aparenta ser alguien más rígido de lo que es.
Adoré a Romeo, me llenó de ternura y me pareció una persona completamente maravillosa y sincera.
Conocer más de él, su familia, sus defectos y miedos, sólo hizo que mi fascinación por él aumentara.

Aún así, el libro no me fascinó.
Al iniciar sentí que la trama iba muy rápido. De momento no entendía de qué iba el proyecto y no había datos importantes de una introducción como: ¿Teddy desde cuando trabaja en Reddyflora? ¿Desde cuando conoce a Romeo? ¿Por qué hay esta enemistad tan fuerte (y personal) entre ambos?
De alguna forma sentí que le habían cortado la introducción al libro, o que quizá debería de saber quiénes eran los protagonistas o dónde trabajan desde antes, lo que me confundió muchísimo.

Luego de eso está el hecho de que algunas cosas no parecían tener lógica. Esto en lo personal sólo me molestó un poco, pero en ocasiones no encontraba sentido a lo que leía.
Por otro lado, está el hecho de que la historia transcurre en pocos días y, por ello, el romance se siente como un instalove, más que un slow burn o un enemies to lovers. En lo personal, me pareció que el romance sucedía muy rápido.

Aún así, la historia está muy entretenida, es del tipo de historia donde no hay demasiado drama pero sí hay escenas dinámicas y muy interesantes, interacciones dulces entre los protagonistas y el uso de clichés que a más de uno podría emocionarle.
En sí, este libro podría ser muy útil para esas ocasiones en que quieres adentrarte en una novela ligera o salir de un bloqueo lector~.

While I’m still fairly new to the romance genre, it was hard to resist this adorable, lighthearted enemies to lovers book. It was the perfect antidote to a long and frustrating day at work: full of laughs, lighthearted fun, and gorgeous visuals (I would seriously love to cozy up in Teddy’s apartment, I loved reading all of the little details about his space).

Some things I really loved about the book (spoilers ahead):

I loved Teddy as the main character, he was very lovable and sweet, and I enjoyed that he wasn’t perfect, his pettiness and judgment led him to make a lot of assumptions, and his process of realizing that and challenging his perspective made for really great character development

I really loved Joyce Alexander, despite her interesting and odd (and maybe unrealistic) challenges for Romeo and Teddy, she was magnetic and I loved her eccentricity. She was surprisingly generous, and it was obvious that she cares about the products and people that she backs.

Romeo’s secret nerdiness probably shouldn’t have been a surprise, given the fact that he’s a software engineer, but I loved all of the moments where he started explaining things to Teddy. I also loved Romeo’s family, it was nice to hear all the wonderful things he thought about then and then to actually get to meet them.

One of the biggest things that I loved about the book is that it didn’t use homophobia as a plot device. It was refreshing to read a queer romance where the main conflict had nothing to do with the character’s queerness, just plain misunderstandings.

One of the only things that I didn’t really love was that the marriage proposal ended the book on a bit of an eye roll for me, romance being a genre I don’t typically read may be a factor in this, but I feel like I couldn’t suspend my disbelief enough to find it believable that Teddy and Romeo would decide to get married after only spending a week together? Maybe it’s a callback to Lindsay’s mother getting married after only a week, but I don’t know. I think it would maybe have been better in the epilogue set 2 years later.

Ultimately, I still loved the book and I would definitely recommend it to others looking for something lighthearted and fun to read.

I have such conflicting feelings about this book. I wanted to love it so much but, ultimately, it just wasn't for me. At its core, romance is a fantasy genre. Because of this, I’m willing to suspend my disbelief for a lot so when these two characters had to do things for their job that I'd never even consider doing, I was perfectly ok with letting that ride to see where it goes. The same way I'm willing to read books about magic and mythical creatures, I'm willing to believe an investor in any company would be requiring any of these things of tech & design staff!

The story takes its time to get going but then once it does, it's like from 0 to 100. I was shocked by how how fast their relationship went. I love enemies to lovers but - they weren't really enemies. Ok, fine. Only one bed? Love it! Insta-love? Not for me but I can consider it. Insta-love + only one bed + forced to work together? Hard sell but I'm open! It's important to keep in mind that this entire story takes place in so little time, it's hard to really get a feel for these lovebirds and what they're going through internally or domestically.

I was really bugged by the lack of adult development of Romeo before the story even begins. We don’t learn much about Romeo until nearly 40% into the book and when we do, well, he’s incredibly dreamy. I can picture him so clearly in my head, I practically salivate. So what’s the problem? As I learned more about Romeo Blue, I felt that he was pretty underdeveloped. Not as a character but just as a man. Every time Romeo doesn’t know how to do something, he blames it on having grown up very poor or not having learned it as a kid (because they were poor). It's not rare or even shocking that someone has grown up poor in this country and it's completely understandable that these experiences shaped him. However, he’s not a kid anymore - he’s an actual adult, post-college, with a job that may not pay much but he’s certainly not poor anymore. Despite that, so much of him is frozen in place even to the point where he doesn't believe he's a capable of cooking something "good" despite being able to cook southern food (meaning he obviously has, at minimum, the fundamentals down). It became very clear to me early on in “knowing” him that he hasn’t branched out of his youth because he hasn’t wanted to and he often seems incredibly insecure (but not shameful) about every aspect of his life.