lighthearted medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75

This was fine, but not really great. While the author tried to tackle a lot of topics, the book ended up being more surface level. I wish she'd focused more deeply on a few elements/story points instead of trying to fit in as many things as possible.

I specifically really struggled with these things:

I hated the side plot with the stolen chair. It was so distracting and honestly felt like it took away from the work of the (presumably) very talented staff.
Also did not love the whole "this job is my family" thing. Also reducing her founding parter to a "girl boss" without any further explanation of how she was so good at her job or what she worked on.
The obvious but terrible replacement names for Amazon, Meta, etc.
The dialogue and writing was cringy in a lot of places.

That said, it was somewhat enjoyable. I wish the author had spent more time developing these parts in particular:
The mother-daughter relationship theme throughout the book. We got glimpses of it, but I think it could've been MUCH stronger and more prominent.
The duo-tennis scene was funny — seeing Nami and Jae work together for the first time. But Dell ruined everything. I know every book needs a villain but I don't like when they're obviously terrible and have no redeeming qualities.

I received an e-galley of The Takeover by Cara Tanamachi from St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.

What I liked:
- high school enemies to adult enemies to lovers
- the banter and chemistry between Nami and Jae
- the hilarious start to each chapter where we read what's happening on the Toggle Internal Chat - the Wegner chair kidnapping

I truly enjoyed this contemporary romance - the first I truly enjoyed in a really long time.

I love a good enemies-to-lovers romance, and I’ve surprisingly been enjoying a lot of workplace romances recently. With The Takeover being an enemies-to-lovers focused on the main character’s company, I thought this was going to be the perfect book for me!

It… was not.

To begin with, even though I enjoyed the parts of this book that were in the love interest, Jae’s, point of view, I didn’t enjoy Nami’s side to the story. Our main character isn’t happy with her life and doesn’t understand why everything is ending up the way it is, but it’s very easy to tell even from the beginning that all of her misfortunes are her fault.

She has no friends? That’s because she cut them out of her life!

Her company is going under? Maybe she should stop focusing on so many free vacation days and breakfasts. I understand that Nami’s goal is to have a “good” company that takes care of its employees, but sometimes reality has to set in. She just simply can’t afford some of the decisions she’s making.

I also found the ending to be incredibly unrealistic, even though I kind of loved the underlying theme. I won’t say what exactly happens so as to not give spoilers, but it was the strangest blend of deus ex machina and found family that I couldn’t help but be appalled that it was happening… and also kind of grateful.

However, I will say that there were aspects of this book I enjoyed. The relationship between Jae and Nami was very good, and I really enjoyed seeing their goofing around. I also really enjoyed the saga of the kidnapped chair as a background event throughout the book.

I just cannot get over how goofy the ending was.

This was a cute rom-com. I especially loved their banter back and forth and also when they went to eat soup. Their first kiss gave me butterflies and it was fun to see them go from enemies to lovers.

There were some elements that drug on and others that seemed to move too quickly and the ending had me a bit frustrated. But overall a cute, quick read.

Thank you to St Martins Press & NetGalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

I throughly enjoyed this book, and all the banter between Jae And Nami, and all the colleagues. Sometimes books that are so heavily coded with the corporate world can be confusing to read, but this one was executed perfectly. I’m always a fan of enemies to lovers, but with the added layer of enemies since high school it really spiced things up. I also really liked how each chapter started off with notes from the employees internal software chats, they were absolutely hilarious. The way the author submersed Japanese and Korean culture into the story was fun to read and learn about. If you’re looking for an engaging, funny, and sweet romance definitely pick this one up!

On Nami’s 30th birthday she blows out the candles and wishes for her soulmate. But instead the universe delivers her hate mate, Jae. Her archnemesis since high school, they’ve been at odds and competing with each other for years. Although she hasn’t seen him in a decade he shows up at her company Toggle, to announce the purchase of it to his evil company Rainforest. (It took me a while to get the joke behind his companies name, but then I couldn’t stop laughing).

What ensues is a battle between the two as Jae wants to acquire her company, and Nami doesn’t want to see her baby sold to his big bad company. But as they spend more time together they realize the hate they were feeling towards each other is starting to feel like love. Will there be a happily ever after for them? And what will happen to Nami’s company?

This is an excellent enemies to lovers story. I really enjoyed this take on a workplace romance. If you are a fan of The Hating Game, this book will be for you, though I do think I enjoyed this one more!

I really enjoyed the different POV chapters, and love how Jae and Nami had very different tones for their chapters which was great. I also really enjoyed the complexity of their relationships with their families, and how that was used throughout the story.

One flaw that often happens in enemy to lovers stories for me is often we don’t get to see them together until the third act of the book. I was happy to see that this book doesn’t make you wait until the final act for them to get together.

All the little nods to real world companies made me giggle and I really loved the little snippets of the company chat at the start of each chapter.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and the author Cara Tanamachi for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and RB Media for the ARC and audioARC of this!

What a cute enemies-to-lovers rom-com. The characters had great chemistry, lots of history together, and I loved their families being like "yeah that person you liked forever" and them being like "liked? no that was my rival" completely obliviously.

The Takeover by Cara Tanamachi was a fun enemies-to-lovers romance between Nami and Jae. They were high school rivals who met again when Jae's company, Rainforest, wanted to acquire Nami's tech start-up company. Nami's company is like a second family, and she's determined to revive it without Jae's help. The chemistry between Nami and Jae was fun to read.

I received an ARC of this book by the publisher via Netgalley in an exchange for an honest review.

The Takeover is a rivals to lovers romance that was funny and cute! I loved the witty between Nami and Jae! It was definitely my favorite part of the book. The novel kept my interest all of the way through to the end. The story is more romantic than it is sexy. I'd give it a 3 out of 5 on the sexy scale. There are moments where the novel is silly and unrealistic (like eating an entire bowl of Carolina Reaper/scorpion pepper ramen when you never eat spicy food out of sheer willpower and hatred for your rival). But I don't necessarily expect realism when I read a romance novel. The characters were well developed and I enjoyed that neither of them were perfect.

I really enjoyed reading The Takeover and give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars rounded down!

If you are a fan of enemies to lovers tropes, you will probably like this one. Overall, the story and writing are good. I couldn't give it more than 3 stars for some very specific reasons.

For most of the book the male lead is a jerk. He is not likable and not someone I would want to root for. He continues to call the female lead by a nickname she hates even when they are slipping out of the "enemies" stage. I don't fully understand why she falls for him besides the fact he is supposed to be hot and that is a pet peeve of mine. Grown women falling for someone (who she calls Satan) who is awful just because they are physically attracted to them. Yes, I get the whole bad boy thing but this is an intelligent grown woman that owns her own company. She should be out of that stage by now.

In further, I don't get what she sees in Jae. When she talks about not liking him in high school partially due to his privilege, he says he couldn't speak English in 5 and she immediately feels sorry for him and thinks she saw him wrong. The fact that he didn't speak English in kindergarten does not trump the fact that he was financially stable and at an advantage to her. Summer school when she had to work, private tutors for tennis and the SAT, and college paid for are clear examples of privilege regardless if he had one rough year when he was five years old.

As far as Nami goes, she is mostly likable but I still don't know how someone that would be a strict hall monitor and sees things as black and white would be so wishy-washy in her business. She was all about her people which is great but didn't really translate to how the character was written in her formative years. Speaking of, she was way too obsessed with high school. Everyone should move on from high school the day they graduate.

Lastly, in 2023 there is no way a person like Dell gets to continue at that job with his behavior in an environment that does not promote or condone it. He was thrown in for conflict but the reason for his presence probably should have been explained differently.

I enjoyed the ending even though there is no part of me that believes insanely wealthy young people would still continue to work. (Hello, content creators!) As I said at the beginning of the review, if you like this trope, this is a solid enemies to lovers read for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/St. Martin's Griffin for the ARC.

The Takeover is a sweet, well written enemies to lovers romance. Nami and Jae were competitors in high school, and reconnect 12 years later when he is leading a takeover of her tech start up. Jae is shown as the big bad wolf working for :"Rainforest" (ha), and Nami, despite being a hard core lawyer and programmer, seems a little overly invested in her employees and her workplace culture. There are some very fun side stories about office pranks and other fun. I also enjoyed the members of Nami and Jae's family, and learned there is another book already about Nami's sister. I am hoping for a prequel about Jae's brothers!

She uses her one and only birthday wish to wish for a soulmate and immediately regrets it! This was a quick and easy romantic read! I love Cara’s books she never disappoints! Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest feedback!

Fairly predictable rom com but it was still a gooFairly predictable rom com but it was still a good read that I enjoyed it. It was also a quick read.d read that I enjoyed it. It was also a quick read.

Cute story but overall just okay. I found myself having a hard time connecting with both main characters. While this story included my fav. trope I didn't like the execution. However, I think others will still love this one.

Jae Lee is Nami’s old high school nemesis and academic rival, down to beating her out of valedictorian by .25 points (.245 Nami would correct). And just like in the past he renters her life now as a rival trying to do a hostile takeover of her work baby - her company, Toggle.

Their witty banter and childish rivalry was certainly amusing to read - especially the Hell Ramen scene. Love the casual diversity and the anecdotes at the start of the chapter about Dell’s chair especially! Referencing Amazon as Rainforest in the books was a fun little nugget.

This was a really fun and easy read and I felt pretty captivated throughout the book. Didn’t leave me in want of anything, had it all.

Thank you #NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

First of all, I love that this started with “I hate my birthday” cause I also hate my birthday😂

The first chapter was overwhelming because it introduced about 20 people at the same time…. And I just never got into it.

I’m also 30 years old and I cannot imagine being so bent out of shape about someone from high school😅 it’s just so childish.

I really wanted to like this, but I just couldn’t get in with it. I do have another of the author’s books and I am excited for that one!

First, let me say that Cara Tanamachi’s voice is amazing. But voice isn’t enough to carry a novel. This ended up being a DNF for me at 50%. Here’s why:

- This is a rival-to-lovers book, not enemies-to-lovers. The main characters don’t actually dislike each other. They were rivals in high school for valedictorian, and they’re both competitive by nature. Personally, I love enemies-to-lovers, but rivals-to-lovers is not my thing. So maybe this is a matter of taste. Still, the rivalry angle was superficial IMO.
- The plot seemed more like a series of vignettes with no cause-and-effect driving the story. The FMC isn’t really doing anything to save her company. It’s mostly people talking, with an occasional tennis match or something thrown in that has nothing to do with moving the plot forward.
- I don’t really have a reason to care that the MMC’s company may take over the FMC’s company and sell it for parts. Yes, it’s sad when people lose their jobs, but it happens every day. If the company isn’t financially sound, they’re going to lose their jobs anyway. Give me a character whose sister is in long-term care, which they won’t be able to afford if they lose their job. Something, anything, to create stakes. Not just the FMC worrying that “this company isn’t just my baby, it’s my life.” If that’s the case, she needs better work/life balance.

This is essentially a slice-of-life novel, which appeals to some people. I’m not one of them.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an eARC of this book via NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating: 4/5 Stars
Publishing: January 30, 2024
Pages: 304

This is the first time I have read novels by Cara Tanamachi. So, when I started to read this novel, it was a bit slow for me. I requested the audiobook version to review and was surprised to find that I loved this story. I love a good trope that incorporates enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity and office romance. This was absolutely that kind of rom-com that I enjoyed. The characters were perfect for one another.

Nami has a tech company in desperate need of cash and in walks Jae, her high school nemesis offering to bail her out of her bind. You can see the chemistry coming from a mile away. There are funny characters, awkward moments, and steamy. Well-written story that had a natural pace to the end. Narration performed by Donald Chang and Chieko Hidaka was good. It left me smiling upon finishing this quick listen. This author is hereby added to my list, and this is definitely a winner. Recommend the read/audiobook.

Being 30 is not what Nami thought it would be and she feels like she is failing at everything when all she has ever done is excelled - so who can blame her for making a birthday wish to find her soulmate? Except fate has a sense of humor and instead send Nami's highschool archnemesis, Jae Lee, bulldozing back into her life. But what if the universe knows something that neither Nami or Jae do? As the old adage goes, there is a fine line between love and hate.

I love myself a good enemies to lovers romance, and Cara Tanamachi really delivers with "The Takeover". Seeing the growth of the characters and watching the love grow between them was so fun and a bit spicy. There is a perfect amount of comedy, romance, angst and levity on hard topics found within these pages. Cara's writing style is very reminiscent of Jesse Q. Sutanto, but with a bit more spice and romance!

There was so much diversity and I was so glad to see the Korean-American perspective, as well as mention of the interment camps back in WWII. It wasn't a direct focal point of the book, but the subjects were still given the proper respect that I think they deserve.

You may not like this book is if you want more or less from the tough subjects referred to above, I thought it was the perfect balance though. I did struggle with how prejudiced these two were against each other and how close-minded they were in the beginning.. A lot of their original gripes about one another come down to them making assumptions.

Overall, I highly enjoyed this book. I have liked everything I have read by Cara Tanamachi and love how she brings funny moments into a romance and really pays attention to developing a great plot. I am going to be recommending this one to my romance loving friends!

My absolute favorite troupe is enemies to lovers, bonus points for childhood enemies to lovers, and this book delivered. I was not the biggest fan of The Second You’re Single (and Sora did not redeem herself in this book either) so I went in with low expectations, and this book well exceeded them. The witty banter between Jae and Nami, especially over text, were funny and also very hot. The sexual tension was through the roof and i guess that’ll happen when it’s been simmering for 12 years. Jae’s POV *swoon* obvi that he has been in love with Nami FOREVER and the fact that she’s mean to him and he likes her more?! *double swoon* Loved the brief touch on Grandma’s time at a Japanese internment camp which lead me to research that. All in all, this was a quick, fun read that had me laughing and kicking my feet. WAIT I forgot to touch on my favorite part, the chair stealing. While barely anything to do with the plot, I was on the edge of my seat to know who had it.
Thank you SMP and Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.