The Takeover was a fun, enemies-to-lovers romance with relatable, likable characters. It was well written, the storyline was believable (if a bit exaggerated) and there was witty banter that kept me smiling and laughing,
This author was new to me, but I would read more from her, and I would recommend this book.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved Nami and Jae’s story! Enemies to lovers with the perfect slow burn. They were rivals in high school and when Nami’s start-up Toggle is in trouble, Jae’s company swoops in to try to buy. I think the only thing I didn’t love is the epilogue(s) didn’t round out the story fully. I had a lot of lol moments though and enjoyed the Dell torture around his fancy chair through the story!

The Takeover is a decent romcom with a good plot and great supporting characters. It’s well-written and I really enjoyed its wit and humor and the supportive behavior shared in the workplace. The part I struggled with was the MC’s apparent lack of emotional development past the age of about 14. Nami is a successful business woman who has created a company that works from a business perspective while also making it a workplace filled with loyal, talented employees. So the first chapters filled with adolescent hate/love just didn’t ring true for me. Her lack of self awareness at that point in her life and career did not make her particularly likable. That said, I did read it and generally enjoyed the story. The cast of characters at work really carried the day.

Nami’s company is in danger of being taken over by her high school rival Jae’s company. They fall back into their old competitive ways with lots of arguing, when the arguing takes a turn to romance. Will their business dealings get in the way of their new feelings?

This book had many aspects that I enjoyed. I appreciated the Asian representation and enemies to lover banter. However, I found it to be a bit slow and the tech setting was hard to relate to. I think it will appeal to those who enjoy the tech world and high stakes business.

Thank you to the author, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I took a chance with this book since I had never read this author before, but I fell in love with the story, plot, and characters. Tanamachi crafts awesome characters that are culturally diverse which she artfully blends into a fun and welcoming office setting. A place you wish you could work! Full of pranks, funny, loving characters, and the occasional nerve-wracking moments when corporate take-overs are looming.

She also has characters you want to hate, but just can’t as they continue to grow on you as the two main characters find their hate relationships might not be hate after all. Their chemistry was steamy and oh, so swoony!

The Takeover is everything and more! I fell in love with the writing and the wicked ways of the corporate world as told by this talented author. The nods to some real-life corporate giants is thinly veiled and well-spoken!

For a fun and contagious read you have to check out this book! I’m gushing!

Such a sweet rom com. Loved the banter and the high school rivals to lovers trope. I loved that both main characters were highly competitive it made it such a fun read. Highly recommend

There is a lot to like about this book, The love interests, Nami and Jae are fun and interesting and I liked their enemies to lover story as well as getting the narrative from each side of their perspective. Even though she's a bit of a rule follower and he's a bit too cool for school they're liable characters that I enjoyed spending time with.

The family members and secondary characters are also nice. I especially liked a running gag about a stolen and ransomed office chair.

What I didn't like was how under developed the background and information about Toggle, the company Nami works at was. Normally I might not be hung up on something like that, but when your book is about a business deal I want to have a better understanding on some basics -- not just what their business model is but what is Sami's actual job at the company? Did she invent this app? Is she president of the company? What does she actually do and how did she and her partner get together? Maybe I'm being nitpick but having a greater understanding of Toggle would have helped since especially in the beginning for the book much of the business stuff seemed wildly farfetched.

I liked this! This book was engaging, funny, emotional, and overall, a good time. The story had well done high school rivals to lovers with two highly competitive characters I found myself rooting for. The romance part was solid, but this book also had interesting family dynamics, a cool work-place environment, and well-developed side characters. The only issue I had was with how the company buy out in the end worked out. It seemed a little too easy/far reaching but didn’t take away from the rest of the book for me.

I would easily recommend this book to anyone who enjoys:
• Rivals-to-lovers
• Witty banter
• Dual POV
• Family dynamics
• Workplace setting (tech industry)

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a digital review copy of The Takeover in exchange for my honest review!

For all the enemies to lovers fans out there. This book is a whirlwind. So happy I was able to read it. As someone who is in their 30s I related the the fears of ending one decade and starting another. I loved the office setting and I felt like I haven’t read as much with that setting before.

quick and cute romance with the enemies to lovers trope. i liked the characters and the pacing was great and flowed well.

It’s first person POV but feels very distant and narrative, which I don’t enjoy. I stopped after chapter 1 (5%). I can see this going over decently with the target audience, and four stars for the right readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

Was an easy read and had enjoyable moments. Felt like a continuation of The Second You’re Single which was nice for me but also can be read as a stand-alone. Full review on instagram

Nami and Jae Lee old high school rivals, cross paths again 10 years later… in the worst way possible!!

Like most us of Nami 30th birthday cake and her life was a disaster! Her fiancé dumped her,her tech startup is losing funding, her sister is getting married and that’s really making her a little jealous… So on her birthday she wishes for the universe to bring her, her soulmate…things just couldn’t get any worse…or so she thought.

Tech giant Rainforest is planning a hostile takeover to acquire her company, which causes two really big problems 1. They represent everything she hates and 2. Her old high school arch nemesis Jae Lee is their representative. rivalry reignited!!!! We get some really good banter from these two, their chemistry is off the charts, and I even enjoyed I enjoyed learning about both their families, and it had the perfect amount of spice for me!

Tropes
Enemies to lovers,
He falls first
Fade to black

The Takeover checked all the boxes on my romantic comedy must-haves!

Witty banter
Frenemies-to-lovers
MCs in their 30s
Scene stealing side characters
Literal girl bosses

I loved everything about Jae and Nami! Their history, his nickname for her, their competitiveness, their banter…they kept me laughing and rooting for them from start to finish. The Toggle Internal Chat was an added comedic bonus. If you’re looking for your next romance read, I highly recommend picking up The Takeover!

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin’s Griffin, and St. Martin’s Press for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publishing company and or the author for giving me a chance to read and review The Takeover.


Love how the main characters interacted with each other.

Thank you to netgalley for giving this ARC, and this doesn't influence my review. This was a great book, I enjoyed the tropes and watching them come to life in my mind! I just want the author to mention in the synopsis that this book is dual-POV, cause it doesn't seem like it according to the synopsis.

I tried to give this book a fair chance but couldn’t get through it.

It seemed like every other paragraph needed to make reference to the fact that Nami and her coworkers were nerds. Nerd nerd nerd nerd nerd. And then for Nami to go from hating Jae and everything about him to instantly thinking “maybe I like him?” After kissing him. It’s just…ugh. I couldn’t get through it. The book felt SO childish, especially with the stupid texts Nami and Jae sent back and forth and the Disney movie villains the author tries to make characters be.

Also, it felt like in the beginning the author was trying to tick off every box to have every kind of person in the story, just for the sake of having them. Someone nonbinary, disabled, every race you can think of, different sexualities, you name it. Obviously having representation in your book is great but including these characters (that for the most part aren’t even characters, they’re just named dropped to make sure the reader knows the author is SUPER inclusive) for the sake of having them isn’t how you do it.

Sorry, I just couldn’t do it.

First, thank you to SMP and NetGalley for the ARC! As someone all too familiar with tech takeovers, I was so excited to dive into Tanamachi's new novel. And there was so much that I loved about the first half of the novel (the banter!! immediate sexual tension!! Jae as an ultimate book bf!). However, the second half fell a bit flat for me. I'm avoiding spoilers, but once the romance part seemed clearer, I lost interest in the business storyline.

No doubt other readers will feel differently and love the Toggle community. May just be my own exposure as a techie. Excited to see what Tanamachi writes next! And yes, I now want a new office chair...

High school rivals, Nami and Jae, find each other in their paths again, a decade later as Nani’s startup is failing and Jae is responsible for the acquisition as the representative for the giant company, Rainforest. The problem is, Rainforest embodies everything that Nami despises about these industry monoliths - money hungry and treats its employees as a number. Their rivalry is sparked and what ensues is weeks of competition and banter that ultimately leads to questioning their true feelings for each other.

This book was a riot. The banter was top tier and I was literally laughing out loud at the shenanigans these two got themselves into. There were so many scenes that felt so original and played out like a movie. I also really loved Nami as a character, heard-headed, quirky, and loyal to a fault, she was SO relatable! The storylines with both Nami and Jae’s families was a really great touch. But the greatest thing about this book was the chemistry, so well done and believable (I generally don’t love enemies to lovers, but this one makes me a believer). Although, I really would have loved more spice, this one was very tame 😂 Easily one of my top romance reads this year!

Read if you love:
enemies to lovers
banter
office setting
he falls first
very low spice level
Asian-American MCs

I was so excited for this one, and I just couldn't get into it. There were so many positives, but the collective just did not hold my attention like I'd wanted.