This rom-com was FUNNY! I really enjoyed the sense of humor and how light the story was. The plot was easy to read and follow. If you like enemies/rivals to lovers, definitely read this one!

This was such a fun read! I loved how the relationship developed, from the very beginning of a random birthday message the banter kept me engaged!

This book had potential, but ultimately left me feeling more frustrated than fulfilled. While the pacing was quick and the banter between Nami and Jae offered some genuinely funny moments, the rest of the story was bogged down by a preachy tone and a glaring sense of self-righteousness. Nami spends much of the book insisting she's a morally superior boss running a Not Evil company, yet offers no real evidence to back it up beyond cool mugs and catered breakfasts. Meanwhile, the depiction of the tech industry feels naive at best and wildly out-of-touch at worst. Jae isn’t much better—greedy, dismissive of his employees, and oddly fixated on predatory metaphors. Their chemistry goes from zero to committed couple in record time, which was jarring, and the third act conflict was eye-roll worthy. I had high hopes going into this story, hoping to see a nuanced portrayal of a woman in tech, but instead got a shallow dichotomy of Good vs. Evil and a cringe-worthy opening line about birthdays and toilet paper hoarders. Not a total loss—but far from the insightful commentary it seems to think it is.

Enemies to lover? Check.
Great banter between characters? Check.
Actual communication when problems arise? Check.
A Fun and quick read? Check.

This book had all the things. If you need a one sitting fun romance this is the book for you.

Enemies-to-Lovers is probably my favorite trope. There is nothing quite like the banter between those that "hate" each other. HAHA. The one thing to note though, is that in order for the enemies-to-lovers trope to be successful, the MCs have to actually be likeable people. Were Jae and Nami likable enough? Debatable.

Look, this book was a quick and enjoyable read. If you're looking for a book with a lot of substance, this is probably not the right fit. While the plot was fine, problems were either superficial, quickly glossed over, or solved out of nowhere. There is some fun banter and funny scenes. Jae and Nami are both extremely flawed protagonists with little redemption. Not to say that I hated them, but I was often annoyed while I was reading the book. The romance went full throttle a bit suddenly and lacked a development between the two characters, which was a disservice to the main plot.

Overall, this book was enjoyable but ultimately pretty forgettable. I think I just needed more substance.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Enemies to lovers is my favorite trope, so this book was right up my alley. It was refreshing that Nami and Jae actually talk things out. The banter between them was also great. The book had a great cast of secondary characters that helped move the story along.

The perfect read in one sitting, addictive romance! Love the enemies-to-lovers trop? Then this is for you!

Thanks, St. Martin’s Griffin, for the arc!

I enjoyed THE TAKEOVER by Cara Tanamachi, but I lost a little focus at times because I was loathing some parts. It was 50% of me had fun and genuinely loling, and then the other 50% wanted to throw the Kindle across the room because the characters were being so stupid 😅

I love the rivals-to-lovers trope, which this book did well, then seemed to forget it was doing - another frustration. Nami and Jai had such heated chemistry as rivals, working into a passion for lovers. I wanted more! Not it suddenly to pause and then pick up again. It was not paced well.

But overall, Tanamachi writes excellent chemistry between two people. I enjoyed Nami and Jai’s banter so much! I just wish the pacing had been better.

This might not have been my favorite romcom, but it was entertaining enough not to DNF. I’ll definitely read more by Cara Tanamachi in the future!

PS: I also loathed - LOATHED - Jai’s dad, but I think that was his purpose.

I was really looking forward to this book. I feel like romance novels set in tech are a missing niche. I enjoyed the slack-like messages throughout he book and the personalities and hijinks that happen around the office seemed realistic at least in the tech companies I've been introduced to. I just had a difficult time really feeling the enemies to lovers relationship between Nami and Jae. I had difficulty being engaged or drawn into their relationship and where it was going to go.

This one wasn't for me. I didn't find myself rooting for either character and ended up being irritated with them as I kept reading.

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: The Takeover
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Cara Tanamachi
𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬: 304

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐡𝐚𝐬:
• High School Rivals
• Workplace Romance
• Great Supporting Characters
• Enemies to Lovers
• Family Drama
• Dual POV

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝:
• Fantastic Banter
• The Spicy Ramen eating contest
• Dell’s Missing Chair Memos
• Nami’s protectiveness of her employees

𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
Nami just turned 30 and her life is turning upside down. Her (ex)fiancé cheated on her at his bachelor party with a dancer, her company (Toggle) is going under, so her birthday wish is to find her soulmate. What she didn’t expect was to see her high school rival, Jae Lee! Jae is the Vice President at Rainforest, a company known for their ruthless takeovers of companies in trouble. Nami tries everything in her power to save her company without the help of Rainforest.. She doesn’t want them to endure what other companies have since they have a reputation of not treating their employees well. She works closely with Jae to make sure the transition goes smoothly but the lines get blurred along the way.

I really did enjoy this story. I did feel that it started a little on the slow side and then felt rushed at the ending but I loved the chemistry between these MC’s. There were so many cute moments shared between them. It's a quick fun read - definitely recommend!

This book was such a fun read! The tension between Nami and Jae kept me hooked, and their banter was so entertaining. I really enjoyed following Nami as she navigated her personal and professional struggles, and the romance had just the right mix of sparks and sweetness. It’s a perfect pick if you love an engaging enemies-to-lovers story with plenty of heart.

Thank you netgalley and St. Martens Press

This book has been on my Netgalley for a bit and I haven’t picked it up. I haven’t been into romance in a minute, so I’m not the right person to review it anymore.

I loved this book more than I thought i would, going into it mostly blind. I love a fun, quick easy read and this was a great find! I was drawn in easily by the characters, a cute enemies to lovers romance where high school rivals meet up years later. Thanks so much for the copy!

When Nami turns 30, she wishes for her soulmate. She can’t believe she used her wish on something so silly. Especially when life brings back her high school nemesis–Jae. Jae works for Rainforest and is here to negotiate the Rainforest takeover of Nami’s self-made business. The board room isn’t the only place things heat up, though.

It was really hard to get past the unoriginality of the naming conventions, where Rainforest = ‘the big bad company everyone loves to hate’ with bad PR about working conditions; ConnectIn = the novel’s ‘professional connection website’; and Toggle = a chat website that users can break their channels up into subchannels. But under that was a really cute story about doing the right thing and how to live up to parental expectations. And understanding that different people perceive the same situation differently.

I loved the relationship between Nami and Jae. Seeing the billionaire tech company representative crushing on the self-owned small business owner was a fun dynamic that I ended up falling in love with myself. Tanamachi may lose points for naming originality, but she does excellent work at writing a cute love story! Highly recommend this to any romcom lover.

I love the whimsy of The Takeover and the enemies-to-lovers aspect. It's a fun rom-com, and I will look forward to more from this author.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

I liked the set up to this and there was some good dialogue but couldn't get all into it since both leads really frsutrated me

This book is filled with humor, romance, and corporate drama! Nami runs a startup and is in the midst of a corporate buy out, when she discovers her high school nemesis, Jae Lee, is now a ruthless executive looking to purchase her company. The story has several heartfelt moments, with playful banter and an enemies-to-lovers plot line. However, it's heavy on the corporate jargon and a hyperfixation on a stolen chair.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Griffin for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

I wasn’t a huge fan of this book. The characters are ok, but I liked the side characters a little more. The writing wasn’t super great. And the romance wasn’t there for me. In general it felt like nothing really happened in the book. I think the best part was the chair prank.

Would not recommend. I think there are much better books out there.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for providing me this Digital Advanced Readers Copy of the book!