Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for a free e-arc of this title for review.

Make Up Break Up is a second-chance romance (of sorts) focused on Annika and Hudson, two rival app developers. Her app is called Make Up, and seeks to help people through rough patches so they don't end things; his app is called Break Up, and allows the user to hire someone else to break up with their partner for them.

I typically really enjoy enemies-to-lovers romance, especially when it's set in the workplace. But I'm not the biggest fan of new adult, and Make Up Break Up felt like that to me. The two main characters are 24 and 25 years old, but their actions were not quite "adult" in my opinion. Honestly one of my notes to self while reading was, "Just ask, 'U MAD?'" I understand there are young folks navigating these sorts of situations everyday, and I might have adored this book as one of them... but now I'm older, wiser, and want the couples I root for to be nice to each other. (That means no shooting someone in the face with a Nerf gun or breaking their company property the first time you see them in months.)

I'd recommend Make Up Break Up most to a younger audience, or just those with generally more patience than me (so... everyone). Judgmental heroine, somewhat mysterious hero with nice pecs, trying to save a failing business, app-building, office hijinks - if any of these appeal to you, Make Up Break Up may very well be a book for you!

Annika is developing an app called Make Up. She shares her idea with a guy she meets and hooks up with while at a conference in Las Vegas. Hudson Craft becomes her nemesis once she realizes he started an app named Break Up. She is convinced he stole the app concept and is now following her when he moves into her office building. Through their
many interactions it is apparent they have a mutual attraction.

My thoughts: A lovers to enemies to lovers trope with a focus on a strong and determined woman. I enjoyed the characters and most of the book. However, I thought the repeated focus on the technology was drawn out and the resolution of Annika and Hudson at the end was rushed.

This was such a fun and unique romance.

With technology running our lives these days, and having an app for everything, I was excited to read a romance about two rival app owners. One owner's app, Make Up, tries to bring couples together while the other owner's app, Break Up, breaks them up.

At a tech conference a few years ago, Annika and Hudson, had a week long tryst that meant more to both of them than either of them admitted. Flash forward to the present, and they are both trying to pave the way with their new apps. Annika believes that Hudson stole her app idea from that week together. He has been super successful with is app while she is about to be evicted from her office space because of not being able to afford rent. Then, he moves in right down the hall from her!

This was such an enjoyable enemies-to-lovers romance with so much chemistry! I loved the side characters just as much as Annika and Hudson. Both of the main characters are strong, determined, passionate, and vulnerable when it was needed. I loved watching them navigate everything that happened to them on their journey.

I just recently learned that this is Sandhya Menon's pen name for her adult novels and I have never been more excited to pick up the young adult books of hers that have been on my TBR forever.

Grateful to have received a complimentary ARC copy to honestly review.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 1/2

Can we all talk about the bath tub scene, though? Because my mind is still there.

This was a heart warming, quick, enemies to lovers book. My favorite trope of all time. I just love the clashes and angst among the sensual tension that is felt through the whole novel.

The book follows Annika who is a small business owner that has created an app called Make Up (kudos to the author for creating a powerful, strong, smart and creative female!). During a conference in Vegas (that takes place before the book starts) we found out she "hooked up" with a man there named Hudson Craft (gotta use his full name since she always does).. During this drunken intimate filled week with him, she shares her idea of the app and all of her secrets. They go their separate ways.

Hudson, in the meantime, creates an app called Break Up and steals Annika's idea (or so she thinks). Enemies are born. Come to find out, her enemy is moving his office into the same building her office is in. Oh, the angst.

Her business is failing. His business is thriving. One is meant to keep people together and the other is meant to tear people apart. They have to compete with each other in a contest (which Annika really needs to win to get money for her business)... who will win?

I was on my toes reading this book. I could feel the anger, I could feel the tension and I really enjoyed the characters. I found Hudson really snooty and demeaning in the beginning, wasn't sure I would like him. Then I found out his story and my heart melted a little. I also enjoyed Annika and her passion for her business (although her father kinda ticked me off).

I loved the story and I loved the ending. I was smiling so big. And yeah, that bath scene....

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of book!

A pure rom-com with all the tension and chemistry that bubbles and brews when these two characters decide what they really want. Funny with an ironic twist of a couple who think they know what's best for a relationship but still have a lot to learn. New to this author so looking forward to the next one.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley for my honest review.

This is a cute enemies to lovers contemporary rom com that fell a little flat for me because I just couldn't relate to the characters and feel that I may be too old to enjoy romance in the young and hip tech development world. I did like the attraction and chemistry between Annika Dev, CEO of the Make Up App and Hudson Craft, developer of the Break Up app. I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

I'm so sad that this book didn't work for me, when Menon's YA books are my favorite.

The relationship wasn't developed and took the backseat, with Hudson's character getting no development at all. He was bland, so basic, and just there. Annika, meanwhile, was largely unreasonable. She was unnecessarily harsh with Hudson so many times. I get it, she hates Hudson, but it was so frustrating to see her not realize something because she's blinded with hatred.

The ending didn't feel organic - everything was so convenient, and Hudson doing what he did and losing everything, and then Annika not even apologizing for the way she treated Hudson. Everything was brushed under a rug. The ending was also abrupt, and with the romance not being believable, I don't believe in Hudson and Annika's HEA.

I think this is a one-off, and with Menon's track record with her YA books, of course I'll be giving her next adult book a shot.

A really cute romance with a clever concept! I think I like the author's voice/writing better for young adult characters, but this book had the same fun, swoons, and heart that I've enjoyed from her in the past. Looking forward to whatever she writes next!

Make Up Break Up ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for an e-arc!

SUMMARY:
Annika’s up-and-coming app Make Up is her life’s goal. Her number one enemy and idea-stealing ex-hookup moves Break Up into the office next to hers.

MY THOUGHTS:
📱 The enemies turned lovers was so evident in this book because Hudson stole Annika’s idea for an app- I would 😤
📱 Annika was a smart, driven, passionate, relatable character. I loved her relationship with her dad!
📱 I have a total book crush on Hudson. I’m a sucker for hard on the outside and soft on the inside. So charismatic and driven #swoon
📱 The book was well written and I jumped right into the plot.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press Publishing for this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This review is being given voluntarily and full of my own personal opinions.

This was a 2.5-3 star read for me. At the start of this book I was not very fond of any of the characters or their behavior. I will say that once I started reading that the book kept my attention and I was unable to put it down. I have read this author's past work and felt a little let down by this book due to how much I was unable to connect to the characters. I will say that Lily Menon's writing and voice were part of what made this enjoyable and think that she has a lot of potential in the NA/Adult Romance genre.

Romance, especially adult romance, isn't my primary genre. In general, they tend to be a swinging hit-or-miss. But, with the rivals-to-lovers trope, a brown woman in tech as the lead, love, and Lily Menon's signature swoony storytelling, I refused to miss out on MAKE UP BREAK UP — and it did not disappoint!

Annika Dev is the CEO & founder of Make Up, an app designed to bridge the gap where human words sometimes fail: collapsing relationships; and help create long, lasting emotionally-tied relationships with the help of a neural network. A firm believer in the power of love and happily ever afters, Annika is determined to get her app up and off the ground — and she has everything to prove: to her father, who, despite being reluctantly supportive of her business career, still reminds her that medical school is still an option. To Hudson Craft, her rival, the charismatic founder of Break Up, and the exact opposite of everything Annika believes in. And to the world, which is still embedded with gender-bias and is unfriendly place to women of color.

With that, a romance starts — scintillating in its execution, with just the right amount of sweetness and vulnerability. I enjoyed the gradual build up of tension, the stolen looks of longing, the one-week-in-Vegas backstory that slowly revealed itself throughout the book. Most of all, though, I loved the questions the book asked: what role does technology play within social society, and how do ethics play into it? What is an entrepreneur's moral responsibility when it comes to how their technology is being utilized? While these questions were not the main focus, I enjoyed how they frequently came up in the background. What does success mean, and what is too much to sacrifice?

During all of this, the tone of the book stayed fully feministic — something that, and I cannot emphasize this enough, loved so so much. Annika and her best friend/developer, June, both are unapologetic and strong women. In one scene, they empower young female teens, and it was so amazing to witness — women making it big in the tech/business world — both of which are industries that are still overwhelmingly male-dominant — and then inspiring another generation of young girls. We love to see it!

(Shout-out to Annika's relationship with her dad, which was wholesome and sweet and incredibly realistic! I love seeing parental relationships in novels, and I'm glad Annika wasn't alone. Despite their differences, she always had him in her corner, and it was lovely to see.)

There was a bit of suspension of disbelief needed — the neural network's technology was a little far-fetched considering that Make Up was so underfunded, and the fact that there was only one developer was definitely a little away from industry standard. The exploration of technology was a little underhanded, and I found the ending a little underwhelming — BUT I don't think any of these undermine the romance or the themes of the book, and at the end of the day, MAKE UP BREAK UP is still the story of Annika Dev, Indian-American woman, entrepreneur extraordinaire, who finds success AND love — and I could not ask more from a romance!

I recommend MAKE UP BREAK UP to all those who consider themselves fans of the romance genre. Take my rating with a grain of salt, because it is more reflective of my reading preferences than the book in itself — just know that I found it enjoyable and would wholeheartedly recommend it to others!

Ok so, let's start of with the fact that I went through this entire book and I still couldn't tell you what Make Up does. Break Up I understand- that's an app that's pretty straightforward (and as someone who has been ghosted so many times, I would have totally been fine with someone else texting me and telling me that things were over, as long as I had an answer of some sort!). At least a third of the time, Annika was making me cringe and Hudson was so over the top with how into her he was, but I did like their banter and overall, I loved Annika's relationship with her father and with June. I thought those were definite highlights of the book for sure. I also was a huge fan of how Menon showed that Annika and June could do something so technical and set up these neural networks with OLLI and break into those normally male dominated industries. Overall, I liked how Hudson and Annika's relationship progressed, but there were so many cringey moments that made me have to pause reading for a few seconds (not that there's anything wrong with that, I just have a very low cringe tolerance haha). And I loved the ending and finding out why Hudson created Break Up- I had guessed the reason beforehand, but it was nice that that was validated.

Small rant here- I did hate how the whole Indian parent pushing their child to become a doctor stereotype was done in this book- like I get it, that's how a lot of people see Indians and lots of people of Indian descent are doctors, but that doesn't mean that every Indian parent is going to push their child to become a doctor! Annika's dad's reasoning was explained, but it was explained really late in the book, and by then, I felt as though the stereotype was already strengthened, and while in the long run, it isn't really a big deal, it's a little annoying because things like that are the reason people feel comfortable telling me that my parents are so different because they didn't care that I didn't go into medicine when in reality, most parents just want their kids to be happy and successful in whatever they end up doing (rant over).

Overall, even with the issues, Make Up Break Up was a fun read and I enjoyed reading it and getting to know the characters. I'd love to read a spinoff about Blaire or June/Ziggy.

Annika Dev is all about the romance. She believes in the happily ever after and her app strives to help couples make it. She may not be successful at relationships but doesn’t mean she can’t help others. The problem is that her company is not thriving and she is one step away from being evicted from her office space. To make matters worse, her enemy Hudson Craft has moved into the office space next to hers.

One upon a time, Annika liked Hudson, after sharing a week long affair with him in Vegas at a conference. She shared her idea of her app and suddenly he created an app called Break Up. The complete opposite of hers. Just to help couples break up effortlessly.

Hudson is taken back that Annika is so openly hostile with him. He doesn’t even understand until she accuses him of stealing her idea and making profit over it. Then they are constantly fighting and competing for the same investors. As Annika and Hudson spend time together, they realize that some of the previous sparks are still there.

I really enjoyed this enemies to lovers story. Annika is so smart, hardworking and passionate about her career. I can understand why she is so hurt that Hudson would take her idea. The thing is did he really take her idea? She keeps finding herself wanting to let go around him. She also worked on my nerves because she became so judgmental and wanted him to be something else.

The chemistry between the two characters is what wow me. It was a slow longing for one another. I kept waiting for them to finally get together and when they did it was amazing.

The ending is the only thing that held me back from completely loving this book because I felt as the author gave Annika her wish in order to complete their romance. It didn’t sit well with me. I expected a bit more.

Overall, fans of the enemies to lovers trope will love this book.

~ Samantha

The ultimate opposites attract story. Annika and Hudson are rival app developers and adding fuel to the fire is that Hudson took her idea and twisted it creating break up.
.
Annika’s app make up is considered the google translate of failing relationships, while Hudson’s is known as the Uber of break ups.
.
Not only are they now office neighbors but they are also competing in the same investment pitch contest, where for Annika, it is literally make it or break it. She absolutely must win the contest or that’s the end of her app.
.
What happens when two brilliant minds full of witty banter and sparks flying end up getting a second chance at romance? They quickly learn the true value of making up and taking the leap together in the future.

I’ve been in a weird funk lately, the last books I’ve picked in the romance genre have not been winners for me and I was a little scared of starting this book. Fortunately, I enjoyed Make Up Break Up. I wouldn’t say this is an enemies to lovers romance, I think about it more as a rivals to lovers romance.
First of all, I loved Annika! She was fiercely independent, very determined, totally in love with her job and her app, super smart and I loved how she fiercely disliked Hudson. Annika wasn’t the easiest of characters. The fact that she was super focused on getting investors made her seem a little self centered sometimes, but I think it made perfect sense considering how passionate she was about her app and how she saw Hudson’s app. Honestly, that just made me loved her character more.
Hudson was much more than a hot guy. He was definitely a visionary and a workaholic, very funny, charismatic, loyal to his family and very determined to remain successful. I loved the way we could see that he was also sweet and had a vulnerable side. It would’ve been perfect if we got interactions with his family in the story.
The tension and the chemistry between Annika and Hudson was freaking amazing and I couldn’t put my kindle down so I read it in one sitting. There were a lot of funny moments (the pranks were hilarious), a lot of will they/won’t they moments and I enjoyed every single part of their story. Even though they had a fling in the past, the slow burn through the book was so well done.
I really liked the tech setting too: the development of the Make Up app, the PR surrounding the tech world, the struggle to get investors, the financial issues and the fact that sometimes apps aren’t exactly used how the app creator thought it would be. The secondary characters were also great and added different layers to their story: June, Annika’s best friend and developer; Ziggy, Hudson’s VP and Annika’s dad. I hope we get June and Ziggy’s story too.
I wasn’t exactly a fan of the direction that the story went regarding the EPIC investment pitch contest, I was expecting something else entirely. I still loved how this book ended, even though it felt a little rushed. It would have ended smoother with an epilogue. Overall, a cute, entertaining, sweet, funny, charming, refreshing romance in a tech setting.

This book was good. I thought the concept of the main characters having a kind of competing business was interesting. Annika was an okay lead female character. I like that she was diverse but she didn't always seem like the brightest person when it came to reading Hudson. Hudson seemed more down to earth but he wasn't completely on point either. They did have a lot of good scenes together & definitely chemistry. Overall it was a good read & I would recommend it.

Thanks you to the publisher & NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review

**I was provided with an ARC through netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

Make Up, Break Up is a light and fun read following two rival app developers with a history, who constantly clash as they fight for their opposing apps to gain prominence and success in the tech world.

This is Menon's adult romance debut - though I’d personally say it falls more into the New Adult category – and has much of what I have always loved about her YA romance stories from the strong female friendships to great slice of life elements, but the sexual tension and steam factor have been upped a notch.

The rivalry at the heart of the story and banter and chemistry when the two leads were thrown together was super entertaining! However, I feel like the lack of communication/miscommunication that occurred in the story did drag on a little too much, which sort of let the story down and led to the ending being wrapped up quite abruptly.

But all in all if you enjoy the rivals to lovers and second chance romance tropes then you should check this one out!
Final Rating – 3.5/5 Stars

Two, young entrepreneurs battling it out with their latest apps MakeUP and Break Up! It was interesting to find out Annika and Hudson had a prior short relationship in Vegas and she thought he stole her app idea.

The chemistry between them made the story really interesting It seemed like one step forward and two steps back and I was never sure what would happen next which I really liked. I also liked the emotions behind Annika and Hudson and the depth of their characters. I look forward to reading more books by Lily Menon. I received an advance copy of this book and I willingly chose to write an honest review.

A classic rivals to lovers (which is *not* the same as enemies to lovers, I will die on this hill) romance, MAKE UP BREAK UP, is the story of Annika, CEO of an app called Make Up, aimed at giving people a second chance at love, and Hudson Craft, the CEO of Break Up, which is basically InstaCart but instead of grocery shopping for you, the app sends a third party to break up with your partner on your behalf. Talk about coldhearted. The novel opens several months after Annika and Hudson had spent a week getting hot and heavy at a conference together and while Annika is struggling financially to get her app off the ground, Hudson's app is seeing booming success? Annika's one hope for one-upping Hudson? Beating him at EPIC, an upcoming pitch competition that can earn her major financial backing and save her app from folding before it even gets off the ground.

So, what did I enjoy about MAKE UP BREAK UP? For starters, I loved the female STEM representation. Something that drives Annika throughout the book is wanting to show young girls that they can do and be whatever they want, especially in the tech space. We can always use more positive representation like this. I also enjoyed the bond between Annika and her father ("Pluto" was very cute) and ultimately how proud he was of her work by the end of the novel.

Which leads me to the things I did not enjoy. The rivals to lovers nature of Annika and Hudson's relationship felt so off balance. Annika was often cutting to the point of being mean to Hudson and it felt like 99% of the animosity came from her and because he wasn't dishing it back, it made her come across as petty and mean-spirited.

A lot of the dialogue and descriptions felt overly cheesy and reliant on romance novel stereotypes (pretty sure at one point Hudson tasted Annika's mouth like a decadent morsel) and while I know that is what some people look for in romance, it's not my personal preference.

And finally, the resolution of the novel was a little unfulfilling for me given that we've set Make Up and Break Up up as these rival competitor apps throughout the whole novel. I didn't find it gratifying and was surprised given everything we know about Annika and her independent nature (she wouldn't even take money from her dad to help her company!) that she so readily accepted everything.

Overall, I'd give MAKE UP BREAK UP a 3/5 stars.

This enemies to lovers/second chance romance set in the competitive world of tech was a fun, fast read & readers of Menon's YA books may enjoy her first foray into adult romance.

But I admit, I wasn't full 100% invested in these characters or their love story. I just didn't quite feel the connection they supposedly felt, and some of their antics felt kind of childish. I kept reminding myself that they were young 20-somethings, but I still found it hard to believe that two ambitious young CEOs would resort to such juvenile tactics at times.

Also, so much of their conflict could have been resolved with a simple conversation -- which is a quandary I can reluctantly accept in YA books, since teens are still teens. But I expect a little more maturity from my characters in an adult romance, even if they are on the younger side. And ultimately, the book resolved SO quickly.

It was a cute story, and the steamy stuff was excellent. But the book didn't quite resonate or stick with me like I'd hoped it would.