I have to say that my seriously favorite thing about this book was the beginning of each chapter with the emails about the chair or the inspiration. The emails had me dyyyying! They were hilarious. I really loved Jae’s character but Nami left something to be desired. I can’t explain what it was. She just felt so stiff compared to Jae. There was some good chemistry but nothing felt super swoon worthy to me. The plot was fun and I enjoyed that. I loved how much passion she had for her company but I enjoyed their banter far more than their cutesy scenes. She kinda whined a bit in the beginning too. Not too spicy. Even the spicy scenes weren’t graphic. I think there was only one. Still a fun read though. Would definitely recommend.

The book starts on Nami's 30th birthday. She's not a fan of birthdays, and this one is proving to be a challenge since her tech company Toggle is trying to get funding and it's not looking good. To make matters worse, she gets a text from her high school enemy #1, Jae Lee who tells her he'll be seeing her soon. Turns out, Jae works for a BIG company (so much like one we all know) that plans to buy her company. It was good to see Soro and Jack again. Jae has his own family issues, mostly with his Dad and Jae being the firstborn son. Jae really grew as a person through the story. I liked the Toggle tidbits at the beginning of each chapter...Dell and his chair. I enjoyed this story.

Adult | Contemporary Romance | Workplace setting |

I DNFed the book around 9%. I was not in the mood to read about a tech bro who thought of his clients and really competition as "little piggies" while thinking of himself as a wolf.

This book was so much fun to read! The hate-love between Nami and Jae Lee was so entertaining, their banter lighting up all their interactions. This is a smart and witty rom-com, while also being spicy and heartwarming.

As one of my favorite troupes, this enemies-to-lovers book was enjoyable. I think our culture tells us we have to have done X, Y, and Z before a certain age or we are doomed. When we have friends and family that have completed these tasks, we begin to feel even more defeated. I can understand why Nami wishes for a soulmate. However, sometimes the right person is right there. I think Nami was too focused on the wrong things.

It was funny "watching" her discover how perfect Jae is for her. I love the competition added in. Overall, I enjoyed this one

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. I was not enthralled as I started the book but do feel it got better as I kept reading. Nami and Jae were quite competitive and could definitely see the hate-flirt that was happening though I did find it a bit unbelievable that Jae was able to see her company was looking for buyers and swopped in. However, since this is a romance novel, you do have to forgive some of the forced proximity and unexpected coincidence that arises. Pretty cute ending and I did enjoy how the saga of the office chair ended. 3.5 stars.

i’m submitting the reviews for books by you that I already have, but I will never request another one. In October one of your employees made a horribly racist statement and you have chosen to do nothing about it. People have continuously asked you to say that you don’t stand with what the employee said, and you refuse to. This is not someone who I want to promote ever because you are sending the wrong message. These reviews will not be posted on social media because you don’t deserve the promotion. By not speaking out you are also not preventing your followers from stalking and harassing people who are participating in the boycott. Your silence speaks volumes. I hope that all of your authors move to other publishers because you are standing with a genocide. Watch this video for more information https://www.tiktok.com/@vivafalastinleen/video/7288407369313307947?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7211704101519296042

I really enjoyed this book. It was cute to see them realize that they actually did like each other.

High school rivals to lovers is one of my all time favorite tropes, and this certainly didn’t disappoint! Nami and Jae haven’t seen each other in 10 years but their chemistry is still aflame. I loved the dual perspectives, showing us that Jae has always found Nami attractive and intriguing, whereas Nami has to work through her “hatred” of Jae in order to see how well suited they are.

I thought the conflict was very believable, both between the main characters and with their families. I liked getting to know their coworkers, friends, and families. There’s is really nothing about this book I didn’t enjoy!

It's hard to identify with the main character when she keeps detailing her most annoying habits. 5 pages in how jealous she is of someone she doesn't know's life? Also, her company sounds terribly run, of course they can't make it financially if they blow through money like that. Literally the little-good-guy-tech-startup's slogan is "We're Fun, Not Evil." No one with half a brain would be even remotely surprised the business is failing.

Is this a hallmark movie disguised as a new tech story? Dude literally refers to his company as "the big bad one". I could lay you out the whole story right now, the clichéd meet cutes, half-hearted arguments, and *gasp* the change of hearts because "you've taught me the meaning of love/Christmas" only this time it will be " taught me that a rich tech company can be the good guys".

This is my second book by this author and I won't be coming back for more. Her characters are flat and unlikable and unimaginative stereotypes. The "bad guy" is a token misogynist, not even a character just a banner to rail against. And the "big bad company" is constant not-even-thinly-veiled jabs at Amazon.

The Takeover by Cara Tanamachi is a witty enemy to lovers book featuring Nami, a tech startup owner, and Jae a tech giant VP. Nami and Jae have been long rivals going all the way back to high school when Jae beat Nami to be valedictorian by .25 points. Jae hasn’t let Nami forget his success, and is looking for more as his tech company tries to acquire Nami’s startup that is dear to her heart.

Throughout this book, there are brilliant parallels to real tech giant’s that exist today. Cara does a great job of exposing the sometimes unethical realities behind some of these companies seamlessly, I thoroughly enjoyed this aspect.

Loved loved loved! I loved the Asian representation. I loved the banter between Nami and Jae. I couldn't put this one down - I was hooked from the first page! This a perfect book for any one that loves the enemies to lovers trope and hilarious banter.

Enemies to Lovers. Real enemies. The writing is superb. I really hated Jae.

Nami works for a start-up company called Toggle, a vacation app. The company is not doing so well. Investors don't want to invest anymore. They either need to go public or sell. Dell, one of the other owners wants to sell. Rainforest is a big evil corp and they want to buy Toggle. Jae is Nami's high school nemesis, he works for Rainforest. He is the one initiating the buy. In a weird turn of events they end up at a ramen place. They dare each other to eat the hottest item on the menu. Things get spicy.

I really enjoyed this book. I had a hard time putting the book down. I was hooked. I enjoyed the banter between Jae & Nami. It was hilarious. Overall, a very good fun enemies to lovers romance.

This is my second Tanamachi romance book, and I liked it about the same as the first one. It's your classic enemies to lovers troupe with tech as a backdrop. Nami and Jae have been nemesis since high school, and even though they haven't seen each other in years, there is still a "hate" harboring between them. When they met again as adults, it's like they picked up where they left off. No awkward meet agains. Their banter definitely has a flirtation undertone. It reminds me of the saying "the more you hate, the more you love." Nami is in denial he's interested in the guy , while Jae is that guy who has a funny way of showing he's interested in a girl. They a=may act as enemies but they also challenge each other.

Other notes:
> The missing chair bit was comical
> Enjoyed the positive company climate they had and the "nerd" culture references
> Definitely highlights Asian family expectations

My 1st DNF in the new year and it's still Jan. I hate that it's for a diverse read -- we absolutely need more diverse stories, characters and authors -- but life's short and the writing was not doing it for me. The attempt to deliver enemies to lovers was juvenile, lacked chemistry and our heroine's POV was a heck of a lot of whining.

I seriously made an attempt, nearing 50% and that's almost 40% more than I should've gone., then skimming through the rest.

The Takeover is such a cute read. It follows Nami as she tries to save her company that is losing funding. A company Rainforest is planning a hostile takeover of her company and is lead by none other than her childhood rival Jae. This book had a great enemies to lovers trope with amazing back and forth banter. The spicy noodle scene alone made this book a 5 star read for me. I will definitely be reading more books from Cara Tanamachi

They say that there is a fine line between love and hate. Nami and Jae It all started in high school. Nami has worked hard for everything and is a rule follower. Jae's family has never wanted for anything. Now Nami's life is spiraling out of control and a cog in that wheel is Jae. He works for a company that raids new start-ups, gut all there value and then throws it away. He comes waltzing in thinking he can do this rather quickly. Little did they know that it was just the beginning. Add in family drama on both sides, and you have a recipe for disaster. Little did Nami know that her work family had had enough. They set in motion the solution for all their problems. With a little help from her work family, her biological family and Jae's, a HEA is achieved.

3.5 rounded up

This was a fun enemies to lovers, dual POV, workplace romance that sees two childhood rivals reunited as one tries to takeover the company of the other. Forced proximity at its best, the sexual tension in this book was top notch and the perfect embodiment of the line between hate and love is a fine one. I enjoyed this a lot and recommend for fans of Sally Thorne's The hating game! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

The title of The Takeover plays into a few different things with the main thing being Nami possibly losing her company: Toggle. The company is struggling and she doesn’t want to sell but most of all, she doesn’t want to sell to Rainforest which is essentially the book’s version of Amazon.

Things get even tenser when she realizes that she’s going to have to deal with Jae, her old high-school rival. The two butted heads back in high school and now, they’re meeting back up again. Of course, time didn’t heal all wounds and Nami can’t seem to stop butting heads with him yet it ends up being Jae’s favorite part.

This book did take me a while to get into but after I did, I ended up really enjoying it. I loved seeing all the character development for Nami and Jae. The two had a lot of thinking to do about themselves, their careers, and their love lives. Of course, those things can get intermixed given the plotline of the story.

Regardless, Cara Tanamachi did an excellent job of showing both the good and bad sides of these characters. They weren’t flawless or perfect, they felt real and I loved them. There is just something so utterly incredible about watching too imperfect people find their perfect relationship.

Whether you’re new to Cara Tanamachi or not, The Takeover is a great book to read to end your January reading or help kickstart your Valentine’s Day reading. Either way, this was a fun one and helped introduce me to an author I know I’ll be revisiting.

The Takeover is a light frenemy to more romance. Nami Reid is Japanese-American and loves her start up app and her employee family group. But without additional funding they are ripe for a takeover. Enter Jae Lee, Korean-American, who works in acquisitions for Rainforest (think evil conglomerate like Amazon). But Jae and Nami have a past having gone to high school together. He wants to push her buttons and provokes her before even meeting up to discuss a purchase.

Honestly, it wasn’t until almost 40 that I started liking the story. The book says they were high school nemesis, but all it tells is that he was incredibly popular and she wasn’t. Her big gripe is that he beat her out to be valedictorian. But I didn’t see them as actively provoking each other in school. So it seems weird and very childish to be provoking and engaging in drinking and food eating challenges now. Also this is a low stakes drama. If she gets bought out she will go away with a lot of money, although the dollar figure is never mentioned. But she does care about her programmers and her clients' data.

The plus side to the story is they are good at banter and they kind of know how stupidly they are behaving. They are also both dealing with families and their expectations. There is some ongoing silliness about a missing chair that actually is pretty funny. And when Nami and Jae finally give into their feelings they can sizzle, at least in the one open door scene. A quick read book and if you’re struggling in the beginning give it a few extra chapters. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC and I am leaving a voluntary review. (3.5 Stars)

This was not my favorite office place romance book. I really liked Nami, she is one of the owners of Toggle. Jae works for The Rainforest and is trying to buy her company. He is specifically wanting to buy hers because he is bored and misses the challenge, she (little miss hall monitor who had so many followers) gave him in high school. They were academic rivals, and she still holds on to losing the Valedictorian to him really close to her chest. We start the book celebrating Namis 30th birthday so it's been around a decade since they saw or talked to each other. The author tries to play this off as romantic but when you start in Jaes POV, he is just the worst. Thinking the worst things but don't worry because he's a feminist and does not like it when other businessmen think women are less than. I just struggled really thinking that Nami would really like Jae. She is accomplished on her own and has people who care about her and have built her up. Falling in love with someone who just uses her for a fun challenge doesn't sit right with me and made me really struggle to like this story.