A young tech entrepreneur has a great idea for an app to help couples communicate, called “Make up”. Her nemesis, to whom she explained her idea during the week they spent together in a hotel last summer, turned her idea into the worst thing imaginable- “Break up”, an app to help people break up without having to do it in person. The horrible part is that his business has become wildly successful while hers is still in progress. If he can do something so horrible, how is it that she still can’t get him out of her mind? While her obsession with him is,realistic, it is also over the top because she mentions him constantly. Recommended to fans of “How to lose a guy in 10 days”.

Big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. There was a lot of tropey goodness here: enemies-to-lovers (rivals-to-lovers??), kind of second-chance, work pranks / neighbor pranks, but it never took off. The characters stayed firmly in 2D land, with very little growth throughout the story. I really wanted to care about these two, but I couldn't. The good news is that unlike many of the "romcoms" these days, this one does not veer into super-angst territory. It's mostly a feel good book, about a woman who will do whatever it takes to make her app successful, and the man she thinks is standing in her way. I'd recommend it for those looking for something light and breezy. I also liked the STEM rep!

**Thank you to the publisher and to Netgallery for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.**

Make Up Break Up was full of all of my favorite tropes- enemies to lovers, workplace romance, successful businessman- and then we topped it off with women in tech and I AM SO HERE FOR THAT!

The story of Annika and Hudson has a lot of great things going for it. A fling turned rivalry in the competitive app industry, sexual tension, banter for days, and pretty great secondary relationships. I laughed out loud at times, and my heartstrings were pulled. I found Hudson to be quite charming at times, even with the competitive nature between businesses.

I recommend Make Up Break Up for a fairly quick and low angst read.

Second chances in love are hard to come by, but Annika Dev plans to rewrite relationship wrongs with her innovative app, Make Up, designed to help couples connect better. However, The app’s one-of-a-kind technology is taking longer than expected, and the bank is breathing down her neck. At the same time, Make Up’s rival, a popular new app called Break Up (the antithesis of everything Make Up stands for), is gaining steam in the tech world. To make matters worse, Break Up’s CEO, Hudson Craft, is the dreamy, yet arrogant man who Annika fell for during a tech conference in Las Vegas. When Break Up’s office moves in next door to Make Up, Annika and Hudson go head-to-head in a flurry of sabotage, witty banter, and undeniable chemistry that take them all the way to the prestigious EPIC investment pitch contest. Annika needs the competition prize to keep Make Up afloat, but when Hudson’s shallow exterior starts to crumble, Annika finds that her adversary may be the one to teach her about relationships and communication.

Make Up Break Up by Lily Menon is an endearing enemies to lovers workplace romcom that will entice fans of The Hating Game. I loved reading about a female-owned tech start-up, helmed by Make Up CEO, Annika, and her business partner and best friend June - the app’s developer. Their supportive relationship is filled with relatable quips and heartfelt moments that I recognize in my own friendships. As for Hudson and Annika, their banter builds up with a slow burn of tension and chemistry that had me yearning for the moment these two would come together. While the ending was a tad rushed, and other aspects of the story could have been expanded on further, this was a light read that kept a smile on my face.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

A decent romance with a more modern plot even if the whole app idea from Annika didn’t make sense. She didn’t seem to be ready to be a CEO by any means either.

I was provided with an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This was a pretty standard romance. I am not an avid romance reader, but I do enjoy them every once in a while, and this one wasn't a stand-out, but wasn't so annoying I couldn't read it either.

There were a few grammatical errors that I hope an editor would catch. A more glaring problem that I hope they fix in editing is that there are no page breaks, special punctuation, or any other indication when the narrative is changing from one time/location to another, and reading one paragraph into another with this kind of unindicated change was really jarring. It happened enough times to be really annoying.

As for the plot, I was worried for a while that a book about an app that is supposed to be used to bring people who 'missed their chance' back together wasn't actually going to use the app when the main characters miss their chance, but luckily they did sneak it in right at the end. I wish actually using the app featured a bit more though.
It also really bothered me that Annika kept saying the inspiration for the app was the idea of bringing her parents back together, even though her mom has been dead since she was a baby. It just didn't really make logical sense.
Another thing that didn't make sense was the entire idea of Annika thinking that Hudson stole the idea for his Break Up app from her. Even she talks about how his app is the opposite of hers, so how could any intelligent person view someone creating an app that does the opposite thing as stealing?
And finally, while I enjoy reading about young women succeeding in business, it was hard to believe Annika as a struggling CEO. Basically her company had NO income and would until the app was ready to launch. Yes, they won a grant that funded a lot of their work, but it was clear that the grant money was spent, hence the impending eviction from their office building. June was independently wealthy, but how was Annika supposed to be living with no income? How did she pay rent? Buy food? Pay for gas and bills???
These things bothered me enough to distract from enjoying getting lost in the story, which is why this was a 2 star and not 3 for me.

I received an early e-arc of Make Up Break Up by Lily Menon in exchange for an honest review.
I was interested in reading Make Up Break Up as Lily Menon is a pen name of the author who wrote the When Dimple Met Rishi companion series and this is her first adult romance book. I am new to adult romance myself, and I think that if you're also a beginner adult romance reader, this could be a good starting point.
Make Up Break Up follows Annika Dev, an app developer who is the CEO of an app called Make Up which is basically a 'Google Translate' for couples, I thought that this app concept was really cool and the AI technology that the app uses would be interesting to see in an actual app.
Annika hooks up with Hudson Craft at a conference in Vegas sometime before the start of the book, and Hudson ends up being a rival app developer with his app Break Up. Hudson's app seems so similar to Make Up, which leads Annika to think he stole her idea.
So this was a slowish burn romance, and I think it had the issue of telling versus showing, there were a lot of scenes where I felt there could be more detail but weren't explored further. Annika was also repeating herself A LOT about Make Up and how she felt about Hudson.
I really liked the scene at the yoga studio, I thought it was really funny and there was just enough tension between the characters.
Also maybe this is just my pet peeve in romance but the characters never talked about contraception and I think it's kinda important before you have sex. Like number one is consent and number two is contraception, this book had the consent though.
Overall, I think Make Up Break Up was a good debut romance, and I understand it's really hard to break into writing a different genre and age group so I would give this book a 3 out of 5 stars.

This story had all the perfect pieces of a love/hate rom com! I loved the writing and the character building! Would recommend to friends!

This was Menons first book in the adult romance world and she did not disappoint!
The girl power and motivation we see through Annika was wonderful! Sometimes I wanted to strangle her or cover my eyes for her because I was feeling the embarrassment for her! Hudson was such a great counter balance and the banter he brought to the story was superb.
I tell you this book made me cringe for them, laugh, sob and more! I can't wait to see what she comes up with this

A fun and timely look at the world of online dating and breaking up apps with two very likable characters. I thought this was a fun quick read, although I would have liked a bit more background information for both of the main characters and their two best friends!

Loved this book, it will make the perfect Valentine's Day read! The dating app story line is very relevant and relatable!

Adult rating warning! Lots of sex here.

There were too many tiny holes I poked in this. I thought Menon's writing was engaging and fun, but multiple times I was completely drawn out because there was something I didn't believe or that didn't make sense. And there was a plot twist at the end that felt really unnecessary and kind of cheapened the book a bit.

Overall, though I feel like Menon's writing had potential, I didn't buy the romance or the plot enough to really love it.

I’ll start by saying the writing is excellent and the premise was an interesting idea but I could not get on board with the main character, Annika. She was annoying and kind of naive but supposed to be CEO of a business. It didn’t translate well. Also some details seemed implausible from as little as how she buys a coffee everyday when they’re in dire money problems to as big as.....the ending. I loved the side characters in the story, especially June and Ziggy so there were definitely redeeming moments. I wish they showed more of their story. It was still good enough to pass the time.

A brilliant slow burn romance that goes from hating to loving. You know they will get together but the journey they take was a delight to read. I loved the characters and the storyline was such fun! I was so engrossed with the main characters I didnt want it to end. Loved it.

Sassy second-chances enemies-to-lovers romance set in the world of (anti-)dating apps!

I love a good rom-com, but I can rarely find a modern, hello-we're-in-the-digital-age kind of rom-coms. Yes, it's nice to read about hot people meeting of fancy vacations or bus stops, but ain't nobody talking to strangers IRL these days! Luckily, Make Up Break Up came to the rescue of this genre.

This novel is brilliant, super sassy and full of misunderstandings and romance. The two main characters both work in the tech industry.
Annika's app called Make Up is meant to heal broken relationships.
Hudson's app called Break Up is meant to heal yourself after broken relationships.
The issue is... they are enemies! After a week-long romantic vacay in Vegas, someone's heart was broken and business idea stolen...

So when Hudson's company moves to the same office building as Annika's, some juicy drama is bound to happen. One thousand times yes to a well-written, funny and fast-paced romance novel like this.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

With hate-to-love contemporary romance books, I'm always wary that one or both of the main characters will just end up coming off as irredeemable assholes. This is especially a concern if we are only given one character's point of view. At first, I thought this book was going to fall into that trap with regards to Hudson's character, but as the story continued, the author made me believe that Hudson wasn't an asshole, which made the book far more enjoyable. I would say that the characters' backstories (especially Hudson's) seemed somewhat barebones to me, but honestly, I didn't really care because I was reading this book as a complete escape. The author did a great job of conveying Annika's passion for her company, but to be honest I didn't really care about most of the start-up stuff (it seems I tend not to care about stuff outside the main romance when I read romance). The ending didn't convince me, although I understood why the book had to end the way it did. This book was the fluffy escape I needed during a busy week, and I would recommend this as an entertaining, easy-to=consume romance read that (probably) won't make you want to throw the book across the room.

Thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the eARC of Make Up Break Up by Lily Menon. This was a fun read. Annika has a romantic encounter with Hudson; but that's in the past. Currently, Annika has developed an app Make Up to help couples reunite. She is running her business but soon finds out that she is close to losing it all. The company is in debt. Could things get any worse? Actually, yes........Hudson moves in to the same office building. Hudson has launched an app Break Up to help couples break up. Surely, he stole this idea from Annika?????? When Annika discovers that Hudson is running his business from the same building she is livid.. She can't stand the sight of him......or can she? Annika can't stop thinking about Hudson. What does this all mean.? Soon, both Annika and Hudson have a change to pitch their apps to a company. If Annika wins, Make Up can stay in business. She is determined to win the pitch. So, how does this all play out? Who will win the pitch? And will Annika give in to her desires?

I really enjoyed this book. It's fun, it's interesting, and it's realistic. It was just the right length and wasn't too drawn out! I'm giving it 4 stars. If you are a fan of Rom Coms, Make Up Break Up is for you! This one releases on Feb. 2, 2021!

I was drawn to this book because I love a good rom-com! I had no idea it was Lily Menon's first venture out of YA - I definitely need to check out her other books. I did fall in love with all of the characters but I wanted more to the story. Annika and Hudson's rivalry was perfectly approached and often cringeworthy in the best way! I wanted more background on how they met and the ending felt rushed so I would have loved an epilogue. It was a fun, quick read and I would recommend it to friends!

When I first hear that one of my favorite YA authors was breaking into the Contemporary Romance genre, I got so excited! To say I've been (impatiently) waiting for this book is an understatement. When NetGalley reopened the option to read the ARC for this book, I jumped at the chance!
Make Up Break Up is a romance between two people who shared an incredible week together at a tech retreat. Their chemistry is undeniable during that week they shared, but neither one takes the initiative to see where things go once they both return to reality in Los Angeles and they lose touch.
The next thing the heroine, Annika, knows, the man she left behind, Hudson Craft is a millionaire playboy with a booming business that is an exact opposite of her up-and-coming business. Her still-under-development app.named Make Up is meant to give couples a second chance at love. Hudson's, on the other hand, helps take the hassle out of ending relationships and is aptly named Break Up.
After allegedly taking her idea and flipping it on its head, it's no surprise that Annika can't even stand to read articles about Hudson in the magazines he seems to own front page property in. Then to make matters worse, he takes the vacant office just across the hall to serve as headquarters for his thriving business.
This enemies-to-lovers story is packed full of angst and true, heartfelt moments. Lily Menon's first Contemporary Romance novel certainly did not disappoint.

The enemy to lovers trope has always been a favorite and Make Up Break Up took that love and amped it up by about 1000. The tension between these two was so deliciously sweet. In fact at times it was heart pounding make you want to fan your face hot. The pages were burning with what you could feel between these two and the more they battled it out, the hotter it got.

And while I loved these two together and all that delicious sexual tension, there were things about this that didn't quite sit right with me. I'm all for making sacrifices for those we love but some of the pre-judgments and all that the hero had to sacrifice felt wrong sometimes. I know if the roles had been reversed, there would be tons of people crying out about women being strong and not letting men push them around and give up their dreams, etc., etc,. so yes, at times, I didn't absolutely love this and some of the messages it portrayed.

But overall, this really was a cute love story with a trope that a lot of us love and a lot of us will really enjoy.