The Takeover
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Cara Tanamachi

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley, St. Martins and RB Media and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: On Nami's 30th birthday, she’s reminded at every turn that her life isn’t what she planned. She’s always excelled at everything – until now. Her fiancé blew up their engagement. Her pride and joy, the tech company she helped to found, is about to lose funding. And her sister, Sora, is getting married to the man of her dreams, Jack, and instead of being happy for her, as she knows she ought to be, she’s fighting off jealousy.

Frustrated with her life, she makes a wish on a birthday candle to find her soulmate. Instead, the universe delivers her hate mate, Nami’s old high school nemesis, Jae Lee, the most popular kid from high school, who also narrowly beat her out for valedictorian. More than a decade later, Jae is still as effortlessly cool, charming, and stylish as ever, and, to make matters worse, is planning a hostile take-over of her start-up. sharp elbows and even sharper banter as the two go head-to-head to see who’ll win this time. But when their rivalry ignites a different kind of passion, Nami starts to realize that it's not just her company that's in danger of being taken over, but her heart as well.

My Thoughts: This was a sweet enemies to lovers romcom that was addictive and hard to put down. Nami realizes that on her milestone birthday, at 30, she is not where she planned to be. Her finance left her. The company she created from the ground up is in jeopardy of losing funding and the possibility of being drowned in corporate sharks. She is also jealous of her sister, who is marrying the man of her dreams, Jack, as they are so happy. Her finance cheated on her with a dancer at his bachelor party, which went viral. She then decided to her energy into her career, which is also slipping away from her. She begins to get cryptic messages on her phone, come to find out, they are from her high school arch nemesis, Jae. The complex events has just drained her. Her one birthday wish is that her soulmate will cross her path. Then as fate would have it, Jae impedes into her life like elephants herding. Will her company survive? Will her relationship with Jae crash and burn, with high school fears creeping in? This follows the tropes of enemies to lovers, work rivalry, and child hood relationship. It has references in the tech world and corporate mergers.

This story is a dual narration by both Jae and Nami. The chemistry and banter starts with spicy, like really spicy ramen, then spins with dancing and tennis matches. I loved the diversity of the characters. The story also tackles great social topics, like the effects of company takeovers/mergers to the employees involved. The tension between Nami and Jae is palpable. The characters were developed well with depth, witty banter, chemistry, diversity, and were intriguing. The supporting characters were perfect in this book and really elevated our MCs. The author’s writing style was complex, swoon-perfect, funny, sweet, and heartwarming. My favorite scene was probably the ramen scene, it really set the pace and tone of the story. The author set a very detailed work environment at Toggle and you could really understand Nami’s passion for it.

I had the pleasure of having both the digital and audio versions of the arc. I preferred the audio version. This was such a lighthearted endearing read that made me smile, laugh, and smile some more throughout the story. I highly recommend picking up this book today at the bookstore, or your library.

This debut from Cara Tanamachi is perfect for fans of The Hating Game - another fun enemies to lovers, workplace romance rife with diverse characters and sharp storytelling. I look forward to more from Tanamachi in the future.

Thank you to St. Martins Press for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

The Takeover is my first work romance book. It's also an enemies to lovers which is always fun. Jae & Nami are high school rivals who meet again when the company Jae works for offers to buy the company Nami worked so hard to build. I really enjoyed the banter between the two. I do feel their attraction was a bit quick & it didn't feel like it had a natural progression from hate to love. I did like how it touched on topics of work-life balance. I enjoyed it overall.

"The Takeover" by Cara Tanamachi is a captivating romantic comedy that turns the trope of finding love on its head. Nami, on the cusp of her 30th birthday, finds herself grappling with unexpected twists in life – a failed engagement, impending financial woes for her tech startup, and envy over her sister's seemingly perfect love life. When she jokingly wishes for her soulmate, fate delivers a surprise: her old high school rival, Jae Lee. What follows is a delightful blend of rivalry, wit, and undeniable chemistry as Nami and Jae navigate their past grievances while facing off in a corporate takeover battle. Tanamachi skillfully crafts a story filled with sharp dialogue and endearing characters, keeping readers hooked until the very end. "The Takeover" is a refreshing and entertaining read that proves sometimes love can bloom in the most unexpected places.

This book surpassed my expectations! It was funny, smart, and an immediate attention grabber. As someone who works remotely and lives in Slack for most of my work days, I especially loved the little snippets at the beginning of each chapter. I would read this book again and recommend it to all fans of romance, comedy, and smart writing.

SO CUTE. You know when you watch a romcom and you swoon when you're supposed to?
That was this book for me.
So. Many. Feels!
It felt fresher to me, like nothing groundbreaking, but still truly, truly solid.
I want to read more by her, and I hope she puts out a new book soon. I was OBSESSED with Nami!
Solid 4.7, rounded.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Takeover by Cara Tanamachi follows Nami and her high school nemesis, Jae, and how they meet up again when he is about to buy her company.

The book definitely had some references to our modern day lives in the era of Amazon. It brought up some interesting social issues about the impact of companies on small businesses. Jae was such a fun character and that ramen scene made me cackle at midnight. This book has many positives, but I found the pacing to be too slow and the writing repetitive. We hear how important Nami’s company is to her at least every other page. Nothing truly meaningful happens between our two leads until almost 50% in the book, which made it difficult to root for them by the end.

Rating: 2.5 ⭐️ I think this book had a lot of potential, but needed more editing to create a more cohesive piece.

This was a fun read! I loved Nami and Jae, but I especially loved their family and friends.

This is my second book by this author and I enjoyed it as much as I did the first one.

This book is full of witty banter, which makes it lighthearted, quick and fun. The characters together are enjoyable to read, but individually I'm not crazy about them.

There were many things that Nami expected for her 30th birthday, but being single - having broken up with her cheating fiancee last year - and on the verge of losing her company are not on her list. To top it all off, her high school nemesis Jae Lee works for the big corporation looking to takeover her start-up.

"The Takeover" by Cara Tanamachi presents a lighthearted enemies-to-lovers workplace romance, starring Nami and Jae. Their explosive chemistry and witty banter, notably showcased in the iconic ramen scene, ensure an entertaining read. Immaculate supporting characters enhance the charm, while tech elements contribute depth, despite some readers finding specifics like NFTs unclear.

While successfully exploring romance tropes, the story isn't without its drawbacks, including rushed pacing and convenient conflict resolution. Nonetheless, it offers a refreshing departure from conventional romantic tropes, albeit with moments of predictability. With its flaws acknowledged, it still provides a quick and enjoyable read for fans of charming enemies-to-lovers narratives.

In "The Takeover" by Cara Tanamachi, readers are treated to a delightful enemies-to-lovers tale, featuring captivating banter and a memorable ramen scene. The chemistry between Nami and Jae is explosive, and the supporting characters are immaculately crafted, adding to the story's charm.

Despite the smooth unfolding of the plot and intriguing tech elements, some readers may find Nami's initial repetitiveness and the lack of spark in certain aspects distracting. Pacing issues towards the end impact the flow, yet the narrative maintains its appeal as a cute and fun romantic read, tracing Nami and Jae's journey from high school nemesis to potential soulmates.

Character-wise, Nami's growth brings depth, overcoming initial negativity that may deter some readers, while Jae's confident and charismatic portrayal makes him relatable. The execution of enemies-to-lovers and workplace romance tropes is commendable, even if there are occasional repetitive elements.

Highlighted by engaging banter and a memorable ramen scene, "The Takeover" by Cara Tanamachi offers an entertaining romantic read. The chemistry and banter between the characters shine, with the high school nemesis angle adding an intriguing layer.

Despite concerns about pacing, the novel provides an enjoyable narrative for those seeking a light-hearted story with a touch of workplace romance

I loved this fast paced quirky work place romance and can’t wait to read more from this author in the future.This book follows Nami a young entrepreneur who is struggling after covid and is considering selling off her company. Out of the blue Nami receives a text from Jae her hold school nemesis leaving cryptic messages about seeing her soon. When Jae shows up as a representative for Rainforest the company that wants to buy out Toggle. Nami is floored and out right refuses to sale her company to him. During all of the offers going back and forth Jae and Nami reunite and maybe they weren’t such enemies after all.

I really loved the enemies to lovers romance on this one it was such a cute rom com that gave me hating game vibes. I really enjoyed the writing and the pacing kept me interested throughout. I hope to read more from this author in the future and would like to thank net galley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review .

A huge thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for gifting me a copy of this ARC!

I thought the romantic tension in this book was chef's kiss magnificent! It was fun and immature but sexy and unpredictable all at the same time. This is my second Tanamachi read, and her style is just right for me as a reader. She creates these confident female characters that elevate her tropes. Enemies to lovers here with a lighthearted feel. I really enjoyed it!

I loved the Takeover!! A great rival to lovers trope. I love the buildup of the relationship between Jae and Nami. Their banter and chemistry had me entertained from the beginning of the book.

3/5 ⭐️ Came here for the plot, stayed for the banter.

Summary
Nami's pride and joy, the tech company she helped to found, is about to lose funding. Nami’s old high school nemesis, Jae Lee, is planning a hostile take-over of her start-up. Both Nami and Jae are intelligent, fiercely competitive, and unwilling to compromise. You know what they say though, hate and love have one major thing in common - passion. In their fight to win, their competitiveness and passion takes them in a direction neither of them expected.

Thoughts
The hate-to-love trope will always be a fun one and this book has such good hate-flirting banter. I also like that you can see early on how their competitiveness that's always been directed at each other could have the potential to make them such a good team together.

I don't care much for the business side of this plot and all of the conflict around the integrity of the MMC's company, Rainforest, which is obviously Amazon. If you focus more on main characters' personality/banter, it's a good one. But overall, it's pretty average as far as romance novels go.

This review is posted on Goodreads, and Instagram (@_bookish.brittany)

I don't always enjoy the enemies to lovers trope, as the behavior that drives characters apart is so often contrived, but The Takeover was a joy to read. Nami and Jai are delightful and I was rooting for them the whole time.

Wonderful story, great character development, great writing! Highly recommend this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it

I love the premise of this story and it is such an intriguing plot line!

Due to time I will not be giving a full review here.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The main character Nami is sister to Sora from The Second You're Single. While Sora has found her HEA, Nami finds herself without a fiancé and her beloved tech company is in peril. To make things worse, her high school nemesis Jae Lee starts popping up in unexpected places.

I found both novels reflected the sisters' respective personalities well with the first book having more humor, which I missed in this book. However, I preferred Nami's novel. The relationship is better developed with Jae having a more integral role. Also, I can't help but enjoy a tale of enemies/rivals to lovers with (mostly) playful banter. Jae is, however, one of my most disliked male love interests...ever. His overly inflated ego was something I could not stand even as he redeemed himself toward the end. It was hard to let go of my first impressions of him.

I adored Nami's programming team. It would be awesome to work at a place where the people have fun working with each other and the boss genuinely cares about the employees. My favorite part of the book is the running joke with the office chair. I thought it was funny even if Dell did not.

Grab this one if you like office/workplace based books and enemies/rivals to lovers.

Enemies/ Rivals to lovers is my very favorite romance trope, the option for banter this provides is something Cara Tanamachi used expertly. This was so much fun to read !
This is a dual POV romance so both Nami and Jae get their perspective heard.
Nami is has the feeling her world is coming down around her. Her fiancé cheated on her RIGHT before their wedding, her tech company (which kind of feels like her baby) is going under, and she feels like her employees are her only friends, will she let them down? There’s a surprise birthday party (the big 3-0) where only relatives turn up, has she been working that much ? Add to that the pressures of trying to keep her overbearing mother happy and her feelings of getting too old (that is actually something I hate a bit as a 46yo, those 30yo characters in romance novels who feel like they are growing old …but I really truly loved this book overall, just a little aside 😉).
The weight of the world on her shoulders leads Nami to wish for a soulmate at said birthday party…
Only to have her high school nemesis Jae, reenter her life. But to turn things from awkward to really bad he is now vice president in charge of domestic acquisitions of the company coming after Nami’s tech company. On the plus side, he’s tall and hot and something about him drives her crazy in all the best, and worst, ways…
This was fun to read, light enough but with enough of a grip on harder topics to feel real and relatable. Was it a little unbelievable everything was sunshine and rainbows in the end ? Sure, but isn’t that why she read romance - this was entertaining and fun and I want to try some of the spicy ramen they were having !