3.5⭐️

This book was cute! I was expecting a little spice (most of the rom-com type books I’ve been reading lately has had some so that’s why I was expecting it). It was cute though!

Alice and Jamie become desk mates. The company they work for starts doing half-days and half the company works from home in the morning & then they switch and come in to work at the desk in the office. They start writing notes to each other and leaving them on their desk for when the other one comes in to work. Just when you think things are going good - a curve ball gets thrown your way.

I enjoyed reading about Alice and how she learned to accept and stand up for herself when it came to other people. I enjoyed seeing the different sides to Jamie - how he acts in public vs how he acts in private with Alice.

It took me so long to read this book because I was making a cross country move and I just couldn’t find the time to read. It had nothing to do with the quality of the book. This could easily be read in one day.

Unfortunately, this book isn't anything special. I like the basic premise and the chemistry between our protagonists. But the lead has the same epiphany on repeat--it.feels like the author needed to bulk the story up and so repeated the same idea on a loop. Kind of disappointing.

Love through post-it notes?

Alice Dixon was thrilled to go back to work in the office but finding out that she will have to share her desk with another employee. She at least had a job after the cutbacks but sharing her space with a coworker would be hard especially when it was Jamie Lowe. Alice likes to keep stuff around and she was anything but organized vs. Jamie who had a place for everything. But when they had to communicate by post-it notes things started to change for the better.

I would list Hot Desk as a book with romantic elements and not romance because a lot of the book is Alice learning to set boundaries with the people in her life and opening her heart after her ex-boyfriend.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book! Insta-love kind of trope but neither of them admitted to it so it took years for the relationship to develop. Their story was beautiful and seeing them come together all coming from those post-its was just so sweet. Makes you wish you could have a relationship just like theirs (maybe without the little complication Jamie has!) Great read and would recommend.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4199028342

I wanted to love Hot Desk but just found the whole novel a bit lacklustre. Like other reviewers I was expecting something along the lines of The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary but this book just didn’t do it for me. It seemed to take a while for the book to get going and the main characters and plot were predictable. Thank you to NetGalley, One More Chapter and the author for the chance to review.

DNF at 66% :(
Hot desk is alright…it’s decent. (Actually less than decent because decent is two stars) I wouldn’t recommend it unless you like rambly MCs who constantly reminds the audience how she needs her own space, how her ex Dave is controlling blah blah blah. Sometimes I wanted to skim reading (which I eventually did) & I never feel the need to skim it’s just this girl is in her head all the damn time! I liked Jamie tho I just- I don’t understand..they met at a reading festival, makeout & he just walked away????? It didn’t say they shared any dialogue & I think they were a little wasted as well? & apparently that kiss was so good it’s been stuck in both of their minds for two whole years. 🤨

Okay. I wish there was more detail about their first encounter bc a drunken kiss isn’t cutting it for me. Also Alice & Jamie didn’t have any chemistry I felt no butterflies, nothing excited me about them. The only thing I liked about this book was the cute note exchanging.

A light, fun read. I was hesitant to read this at first as I thought there might be too much focus on the pandemic and that it would be depressing, however, the author tackles their subject with a light hand and focuses on the desk share more than the reasons behind it. I really enjoyed this and would recommend to anyone looking for an easy read.

Alice works for a web design company and due to the COVID pandemic the company she works for decides that all their employees will combine working from home with a desk share in the office on alternate days.

Alice is picked to share with James (who she kissed just the once, years ago, at Reading festival). She remembers that kiss, but it appears that he doesn’t!

Alice likes a cluttered desk, James likes a clear desk. Can this desk share work?

This was a somewhat predictable romantic comedy with a touch of drama. The whole will they, won’t they, which let’s face it, we all enjoy.

My only slight negative was that a huge chunk of the book was all about the innermost thoughts of Alice, which could have been condensed. This did slightly irritate me around the middle of the book although I did really like to see Alice as a character grow and stand up for herself against her Ex and her sisters.

I’d give this 3 and a half out of 5 if I could as it doesn’t warrant a 3 but doesn’t quite make the grade as a 4!

Many thanks to netgalley, the publishers and the author for an arc.

Alice loves her desk at work. It’s her place of calm where she is surrounded by momentos that inspire her to create websites for her clients. Outside of work people take advantage of Alice, her housemates and family “borrow” her stuff and her controlling ex sneaks into her room to tidy and throw her things away. Then after lock down, her company announces hot desking. Not only is she losing her sanctuary, she has to share her desk with Jamie, her handsome coworker and the one that got away….

I love quirky romances where people fall in love remotely through notes like “The Flatshare” so I was really keen to read “Hot Desk”.

I feel like this is a book of two halves. I was a bit disappointed with the first half of the book. It was quite slow placed and Alice came across as a bit silly and superficial- case in point - her gushing about sitting on the same seat where Jamie’s bum has touched. It took a long time to build up to the hot desking which I what I signed up for and I was tempted to DNF.

The second half was much better. The chemistry and tension of their budding romance made for great reading and I enjoyed the post it messages they left each other on their desk. I didn’t quite buy into the obstacle in the way of them getting together, it didn’t seem that credible. However it ended well with an ending that will definitely satisfy fans of this genre.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest opinion.

A fun lighthearted read with two engaging and relatable characters. I loved how Jamie and Alice used the post it notes to communicate with eachother once they started sharing the desk- turning the day to day messages into something they both looked forward to each time they were in the office.

Alice hated working from home in lockdown and couldn’t wait to get back to the office. She feels comfortable there, her desk is her sanctuary, but when the company tells them that they are introducing flexible working and that they will be hot desking when in the office, Alice instantly panics. It’s even worse when she finds she will be sharing a desk with Jamie, the most annoying and also the most gorgeous man in the office. How can her desk remain hers when she is sharing? Jamie won't understand why she keeps the things she does on her desk and the thought of him touching and moving her things drives her mad.
On her first day of sharing she arrives to find a funny note from Jamie that makes her feel better and wonder if she hasn’t misjudged him but can a relationship thrive when you are working on different days and only communicate by post it note.
This entertaining, quirky story is light and fun and a great read.

If you loved The Hating Game and came to this one looking for another great office romance... look further, this isn't it. Harsh, I know, but in a trope that is SO SO SO popular and has been written in every way imaginable, you really need to stand out. Maybe that is where COVID came into this story, but I think that's also going to be a major downfall for this one. It's just too early for that. We're still in it, and reading is an escape. The last thing I want to read about right now is COVID.
I also just really couldn't stand the female lead. She was super irritating and hard to like.

Hot Desk might have a good story, but it fails pretty much in pacing and the characters need to have something distinctive between them. It is hard by the middle of the book to tell who is who.
Also need a little more editing.

Post-COVID and it’s time to return to work. Most were/are nervous about this, but Alice can’t wait because her housemates are loud and working from home just wasn’t the same. However, due to budget issues her company is reducing jobs. Everyone is worried about being sacked, so an emergency meeting is high on tension. Given the news they’re introducing hot-desking, most are relieved but not Alice.
When Alice learns she’s sharing her desk with Jamie, it shocks her. It’s not just because she has a huge crush on him…it’s because Jamie is the one she kissed years ago at Reading and for the last couple of years they’ve worked together he has shown no signs of knowing her.
The book focuses on giving us an insight into Alice and Jamie, their developing friendship and the stuff going on around them. Their feelings were obvious from the start. Things are placed in their way, but they’re only minor obstacles. Being inside Alice’s head was quite exhausting, and it got irritating waiting for them to sort things out.

I found this book a bit frenetic and much fast conservation without anything adding up. The attitude of the characters grated on me quite a lot, the references to COVID actually wasn’t really necessary. We are constantly reminded of the situation on the media without it being written in what should an escape in reading a book. This wasn’t at all like her other book which I enjoyed Immensely, such a shame. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC.

Hot Desk was an okay read for me. The premise of sharing a desk with a coworker and splitting half your workweek working from home was interesting. Throw together a pack rat with a minimalist who shared a kiss in college was cute. The notes they left for each other to find was adorable.

However, a good chunk of the book was the innermost thoughts of the main character and the fact that she doesn’t like people touching her stuff. After a while, it got really old. I did appreciate that as the book got on, we start to see her learn to set boundaries.

Hot Desk follows Alice, a web designer whose employer decides to switch to a flexible hot desk working arrangement. Unfortunately, this means Alice must split her time between her overcrowded sharehouse and sharing a desk with Jamie, the most annoying guy in the office. But through thoughtful and funny notes, Alice realises Jamie might just be the guy she's been searching for...

First, I really liked Alice's growth throughout the book. She learns to stand up for herself in more ways than one - confronting her sister for "borrowing" her things, her housemates with no boundaries, and her ex who can't take no for an answer. Her relationship with Jamie, while a slow burn, was another highlight of the book.

It's important to note though that this book references the pandemic. Overall, if you're looking for a quick romance read, check out Hot Desk.

Thank you to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.

"Hot Desk": 3⭐

(Unpaid Review: thank you to @netgalley, @zarastoneley and the publishers for allowing me to read this eArc copy in exchange for a review.)

Work can always be comfortable for us, especially when living through a pandemic. Alice feels that way. She's recovering from working at home and she finds out she'll have a desk sharer.

She's always felt safe, alone, in her desk, doing her job. However, things get complicated with her desk mate. This was such a cute, fluffy read and perfect to break my slump. However, I would've liked the author exploring the concept much more and making this book into a big enemies to lovers romance.

The COVID storyline was not consistent with what was happening on worksites across the country. Desk sharing didn't fit the narrative many of us were living with in our personal work environments. If including a relevant topic, have it at least appear plausible. Hopefully the COVID timeline for her work was corrected as it was mentioned a few weeks out of the office to a few months out of the office in a matter of a few pages. Which was it???

Half of Hot Desk was spent on Alice's inner monologue and her sanctuary of her possessions at work and in her apartment. Candidly, Alice is incredibly unlikable, petty and shallow. While we see some growth with boundaries, needs and wants, overall she just wasn't an appealing character to care much about. Yes, I was intrigued about Jamie, how the met and if they could come together.

This was an ok book for me. And the ARC was poor quality which probably affected how I read the story. It was challenging to read, choppy copy on the Kindle download.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the complimentary copy.

Was such a cute premise, messy desk and clean desk have to share. The story of how they met and only "one" remembering was so cute. I was not a fan of the little twist at the end that kept the two apart for so long. But overall cute story and a great read.