I wanted to like this a lot more for having such a diverse cast, but this was tough. The writing was so tell-y that it was hard to feel any investment in the story. Also, this feels like a case of a gen x-er trying to write millenials/gen z and it being very cringey. Her whole plan about getting her business up and running and all that by age thirty is just wildly unrealistic to me and won't resonate with readers who have graduated unskilled and are trying to make a living. Similarly, the fixation on high school didn't land. I needed a stronger basis for their enmity. Anyway I'm really sad to have disliked this but it made me feel nothing. I hope it finds its audience.

This is a cute and easy read about two high school nemeses who competed against each other and find themselves falling into the same routine 10-15 years later. There is good character development and it was nice to read about customs and mannerisms of Japanese and Korean families. Cute book that I recommend when you want some nice light reading.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for my honest opinion.

We love diversity in books…this book took two classmates that fought each other for everything and let them fall in love. i love workplace romances and a good enemy to lover trope. It’s not your typical romance book and i loved it for that

This was such an enjoyable read and I'm glad I was able to read it with fresh eyes. I can see the patrons at my library loving this book and I will definitely recommend it to my patrons when it is published.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t it for me.

I love enemies to lovers romances (and workplace?? A perk!) but I just didn’t find myself loving this one.

Things I enjoyed:
- banter between the characters (majority when they were enemies)
- hell ramen scene (I laughed out loud at some parts)
- fast-paced, quick read
- the tennis scene

Things I didn’t enjoy:
- the whole take-over process and how it played out. I did not particularly enjoy how the resolution emerged because it seemed so…. Strange to me? It also happened super quick at the end
- I didn’t get the references to Star Wars/Star Trek whatsoever
- hall monitor references ALL the time!
- the name rainforest for the company 💀
- I still don’t really know what Nami did for her job?? It was such an integral part of the story, and all I really knew was that it was a fun place to work and that they had whiteboard debates
- the texting parts. I know this is an ARC, but I got confused about what was a text and what wasn’t with how it was formatted. It wasn’t consistent, either, so I’m hoping that it gets fixed before print.

I think this book needed a bit more angst to draw out the enemies to lovers plot, too. Or maybe I’m just an angst-loving girl?

Overall, it was a cute, fast read but it wasn’t really anything special to me.

And finally - thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Cute, quick read filled with quick-witted banter. The characters bring to mind the bickering couples from the movies who end up together. There is a lot of backstory, family, and so much to love. Great book. Curl up on a lazy afternoon and enjoy!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin for an e-arc in exchange for an unbiased review.

Thank you, NetGalley for the copy!

This was a story I didn't expect to get invested in, however I liked reading about the business aspects of Toggle, Rainforest, & Joust. Some aspects I wasn't here for (preference wise) and that's ok. Wasn't the biggest fan of Nami or Jae, but I did like their character development. I did enjoy the little familial aspect with Nami and Toggle. The banter between Nami and Jae (especially through text messages) did have me chuckling quite a bit. Additionally, we learn more about Jae and Nami's families & some of their issues. This was a quick and fun read!

The humorous aspects of this book make it deserving of five stars. There is so much to love and laugh about in this story. The 9th circle of hell ramen challenge was hilarious! Other funny moments/aspects -- Nami's dance moves; Grandma Mitsuye on pain medication; the saga of the Wegner chair; the Toggle atmosphere/office culture; the names of the tech companies in the book and the real-life companies they are intended to represent. And of course, the love/hate relationship of Nami (Namby) and Jae. Fierce competitors in high school, and always ready with a biting insult, they will pick up where they left off when their paths cross again in the business world. However, they will discover that beneath that fiery hate is actually quite a bit of admiration, and dare say it, love. But can their newfound affection overcome the threat that Jae and Rainforest pose to Nami and Toggle?

And if you enjoyed, "The Second You're Single", you will be happy to see Sora and Jack playing a role in this book, as Sora and Nami are sisters.

I had the privilege of reading a galley copy of The Takeover by Cara Tanamachi. This book was a lighthearted story about High School rivals Nami and Jae, and their re-introduction after over 10 years have passed.

This book was very enjoyable, I found myself looking forward to any down time so I could pick it up again. The story was fast paced, but not too fast, and all of the encounters between characters felt natural and fun. I would often laugh out loud at some of the crazy scenarios our main characters would find themselves in due to their competitive relationship.

I do think that while I enjoyed the pacing of the book, the resolution of the main conflict was resolved with a very swift turnaround. I do think that the actions that were taken to resolve the conflict were a good start, I do think more conversations/work could have been done to result in a complete 180 degree resolution.

Again, I very much enjoyed my read of The Takeover and would recommend it readily to anyone looking for a story along it's themes.

I would like to preface this review by saying I am not the biggest fan of the enemies to lover trope so take my opinions with a grain of salt. However something about this story intrigued me and unfortunately I found Nami and Jae's relationship and interactions insufferable until they reached the lovers part of the story . That being said my only other qualm with the story was the dialogue and over all writing style used . It made it hard for me to get into the story at first but I was able to get through because I really didn't feel like DNF'ing this. book. I would still recommend giving this story a read because of the lightheartedness and y love for workplace romances.

I loved this book. It was such an addictive read. I loved the enemies to lovers aspect and it had great characters. The main characters were well-written to me and you will literally fall in love with the main characters since the beginning. If you like enemies to lovers, you should give this book a chance! The chemistry between them is AMAZING! I fell in love with the story, plot, and the characters.

Rated : 4.5 Stars!

Romance

Solid effort for a sophomore novel.

Jae Lee and Nami were "mortal" enemies as teenagers and fate has brought them back together. Nami never liked that Jae had everything handed to him on a silver platter and thinks that he is selfish. Jae has never been challenged by anyone as much as by Nami, but he doesn't like her need to "police" every situation.

Nami's company has gotten very successful but are at a turning point. Jae's company wants to buy Nami's, but his company is the big bad wolf who will probably lay off all of her team. They are forced to constantly interact with each other and the sparks fly; not all of which are due to irritation.

The story moves along nicely, and the relationship arc feels natural. They have the "big fight", and the relationship gets strained. My only complaint with this novel is how things progress after the fight. It's feels like the resolution comes too quickly. Otherwise, I enjoyed this novel and would read this author again.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for my ARC of this novel.

This was a cute read! I really enjoyed the characters and the hate to love ! I adored the characters and their families!

Nami is a CEO of a tech company, and Jae is the high school nemesis that she loved to hate. Now Jae is back in town working for the hated huge corporation and trying to buyout Nami's company. But when sparks fly between the two, can Jae figure out how to preserve Nami's company and her affections? Loved the Nami and Jae story! Also loved the supporting characters and the setting in Chicago!

I absolutely love enemies to lovers and this one did not disappoint. The banter was top notch and absolutely hilarious. This was wonderfully done

3.5 stars! i really enjoyed this book and it was absolutely what i needed. high school enemies to rivals in adulthood? sign me up!!! i loved these characters and thought they were written beautifully.

i didn't know this book was technically the second in a series, so i think if i had read the second you're single i would've connected more. but nevertheless this can be read perfectly fine as a standalone!

the chemistry between nami and jae was insane and you could sense it from the first scene between the two.

overall i enjoyed this book and thought it was a nice fun easy read. thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review !

This was a cute light read. Nami and Jae were rivals in high school. Later in life, Nami’s company is in trouble and Jae comes back into her life to take over her company. They have a mutual dislike for each other but they figure out that it’s really the ‘idea’ of the other person that they thought they didn’t like.

I appreciated the representation in this book. There was a lot of characters with a lot of different backgrounds. The main characters were Asian and you learn a lot of their family dynamics growing up. You learn about the expectations put on them and how that molded them into why they are the way they are.
The first half of this book was fun! The banter between them was great. I liked the ‘enemies to lovers’ thing they had going on.

I think the thing I didn’t like the most about this book is that it is centered around Nami and her company and I still honestly have no clue what her company does. In some books it might be fine to not know many details but the fact that this book was based all around her job… it was just strange. The most I got was Nami is the boss and the employees have polls about Star Trek and miscellaneous non job relate things on their whiteboard.
Overall, it was a cute book but not life changing.

It's such an addictive read.
It's a great enemies-to-lovers book with plenty of drama and great characters. the main characters are so well-written. You fall in love with them from the beginning. Also, the secondary characters are so exciting and make the main characters come to life. I liked the pace that the author set for this book, There are a few things I would tweak, but that's more on my taste. If you like enemy-to-lovers books, do give this book a chance. The chemistry between them is off the charts and some scenes will make you want to swoon.

Fun, witty, and smart! This enemies to lovers rom-com is sure to leave you wanting more. I really fell in love with the wit and humor and Tanamachi truly wrote a wonderful novel with spectacular characters. The Asian representation and cultural diversity was very refreshing as well and something I highly appreciate.

Nami, a successful businesswoman, owns a business at risk of being taken over by her rival Jae. Rivals since high school, they fell into old ways of arguing. The dual POV allows for a lot more information and different perspectives where Nami is a little more of a rule follower while Jae is more likely to test the limits and push boundaries. This made them significantly more relatable

The secondary characters and the family members were expertly written and personable on their own — the office banter and Toggle chat portions were great and kept my attention.

I don’t know what it was about Nami’s perspective that resonated so deeply with me (a person who has never been engaged or owned a business) but I was full-on weeping NUMEROUS times throughout this book. She’s so earnest and hopeful and genuine, and it brings out the best in everyone around her (except for Dell, who is the exact brand of garbage human who we have all had the displeasure of having to work with).

Jae was a bit pig-headed, but he was right that Nami brings out the best in him, too. Unfortunately that took being around her to realize, so he had already really stuck his foot in it. But he cares so deeply and is so smitten (immediately and obviously). Even when I felt like kicking him in the shins would be a good idea, I still adored him a little bit.

Even the side characters are fully formed and multifaceted, and I adored them. 10/10 would read again and will cry about at least once more, probably.