This story is a fun light romance that doesn't require any thought. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. The trope is enemies-to-lovers although the enemies part happened back in high school and is still playing a prominent role. The characters are a bit immature, but it's easily overlooked and they are rather likeable. It's a quick palette cleanser and an enjoyable way to pass an afternoon.

I wish I had enjoyed this book more! Unfortunately, I don't think I'm the target audience. My main issue being that the characters felt very juvenile and immature, especially for the environment they were in. A major executive of an "Amazon" type company, and the owner of a startup that has enjoy capital to be working in a high-rise in Chicago? It just felt so separate from the characters who in many ways still seemed stuck in high school. I just couldn't get into the flow of the book, and I couldn't find myself rooting for any of the characters to either get what they wanted out of the business deals, or in their relationship. I couldn't see the chemistry or the enemies to lovers blossom in an authentic way. I do think there is some cute banter between Jae and Nami, but the real enemy of the book was the last quarter, and the ending. Perhaps a reader who is younger (more "new adult") would enjoy this. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

This was a fun read from Tanamachi. As much as I love books with heroines who’s interests mirror my own, it’s also fun to read about heroines, like in this novel, who are small or big business owners with corporate goals and dreams. Nami and Jae are thrown together in this enemies to lovers,Chicago-based corporate story. There’s a lot of laughs (see the stolen chair subplot) and lots of girl bosses (in all the good ways).

There’s also really strong character development which is nice to see in an otherwise equal parts serious and light romance.

super cute enemies to lovers, perfect read for a light read. really lovely. thank you st martins press for the arc!

Actual Rating: 2.5

This was a pretty light-hearted and easy read, but even though it has all the right pieces, it doesn’t really fit together that well.

The Takeover is a rivals-to-lovers romance between Sami, a newly single 30-year-old who’s also the CEO of a tech startup, Toggle, that’s about to be bought out, and Jae, her high school nemesis who narrowly beat her out to win valedictorian — still a sore spot. And then it turns out, Jae is representing the company trying to buy her out. Shenanigans ensue.

The character set-up is interesting enough; it shows a nice contrast between Nami and Jae’s lives and their worldviews, and it explains why they clash the way they do. But it never really goes as deep as it could. There’s a little bit about familial pressure, but the arcs feel a little cookie-cutter. It’s hard to get a grasp on what their high school dynamic is really like beyond “academic rivals trope.”

I really wish this book was braver with the backstories and emotional impact of pressure, because without it the tension between Nami and Jae feels kind of low stakes. Their “rivalry,” even as adults, consists of seeing who can eat spicier ramen, who can drink more…and while all this is fun and definitely puts the com in rom-com, it starts feeling repetitively juvenile.

Other than that, I didn’t really click with either of the main characters. I don’t want to be political (and didn’t read this book with the intention of being so, obviously) but throughout the book, the vibe of both workplaces was kind of uncomfortable. Jae’s is sort of a cartoonish evil corporate perspective, while Nami’s is so over-the-top with the “I love Toggle, Toggle is my life, we’re a family, my employees are everything” that is also feels cartoonishly overbearing. Maybe I read this at the wrong part in my life — when I was in the middle of the horrible, mind-numbing process that is job-hunting and hearing that “we’re a family” is a red flag — but whatever the reason, I found myself thinking that I would definitely not want to work for either of these companies or bosses. In terms of political theory (lol), however, I do like the way the story goes, although it’s not all that surprising.

The romantic development, like I said, is decently fun with the banter and the more serious company backdrop situation going on, but I think it’s one of those where I wish we had more communication and slow development, rather than having the leads come together with zany antics and inexplicable attraction. They also fall victim to a few tropes that I don’t really enjoy (I would’ve rated this a 3 star before the break-up), so overall I found the romance also fell flat, except for a few fun scenes.

The side characters also add to the story well; while the cartoon-iness of the workplace settings didn’t really work for me, I think some side characters that were in these places did. It’s a case of showing not telling being successful — showing how someone is frustrating to work with or showing the Toggle group chat about stealing a fancy chair from that person — both of those are relatable and make me feel a lot more engaged rather than simply hearing narration describing what the environment is like.

Overall, I think I really like the premise here but it didn’t really work for me. I think it really just needed a more mature voice to really tug at my heartstrings.

I just finished The Takeover by Cara Tanamachi and here are my thoughts.

Nami has just turned 30 and her life isn’t what she was expecting. She is feeling the loneliness of being alone after her fiance cheated on her and the company she started is in trouble. Her sister is getting married and it’s showing Nami just how far behind her life has gotten behind. When she wishes on a birthday candle for a soul mate, her wish drops her nemesis from high school back into her life…

Jae Lee. Beat her out for valedictorian was just the icing on her hate cake. He is the lead shark in the hostile takeover of her company and neither of them like to lose. Problem is, there is a very fine line between love and hate….

When I read the synopsis for the book I was like, meh, sure why not! It sounded ok…. IT WAS BRILLIANT!! This book took my expectations and launched it to jupiter. It was well written, funny and so entertaining I finished it within an evening. Couldn’t put it down. It was genius. I was chuckling. I was tearing up. I was on the emotional rollercoaster of a lifetime and the ending was pure magic!

I love books with really good banter between characters and Jae was amazing as far as lead men go. Yes, he had his moments of being a bit of a butthole but Nami wasn’t exactly a peach sometimes either. I’m a hopeless romantic and watching people fall in love is my jam… This book gave it to me in spades. Nami is scrappy and fierce. We get to see from both hers and Jae’s POV. It made for a really well rounded read. The business takeover was a really fun plot and I liked that it all worked out in the end.

I am a huge fan of weddings and Nami’s sister throws my kind of wedding!!

As far as rom-coms go this one is in my top 5.

5 stars.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my gifted copy

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This book was a classic enemies to lovers read. I really liked the way both of the main characters families were also tied into this workplace romance🥰

Oh my word, this was so good!! Normally, I’m not a huge fan of enemies to lovers trope…but this one was different. It was filled with second chances and understanding past misconceptions. I loved the dual POV and the characters are great. Such an amazing book!

This is a difficult review for me to write because The Takeover doesn’t necessary break the genre or do anything particularly extraordinary BUT it is also nonstop fun and I genuinely think I appreciate that more. Could I predict exactly where the story was going? Yes, it’s a romance! Did I giggle all the way to the end? Yes - and *that* was a surprise!

I was torn for awhile because the humor did feel a bit (cringe?) heavyhanded at first. There was a surplus of meta and techy/nerd jokes which I could criticize - and in other contexts would have - but I found myself leaning into it about halfway through the book. I was excited to keep reading, not because I needed to know what happened - but rather because these characters created a cozy space that I enjoyed being in alongside them.

I think the main duo being old academic rivals put a unique twist on the “enemies” archetype and brought it into a more plausible realm. I also appreciated the tackling of some heavier themes: both the morality of big corporations/working for them, and familial expectations - and how those expectations may change as one grow’s older and dynamics are altered.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advance reader’s cooy in exchange for my thoughts. It’s a quick and easy read, and I ended up having a great time. Overall, it’s an experience I wouldn’t change… even for a Wegner Swivel chair (iykyk).

On Nami’s 30th birthday, she wished for her soulmate. Instead, the universe delivered her old high school rival, Jae Lee. Back in high school, the pair were ultra-competitive with one another, with Jae claiming the title of valedictorian over Nami. Flash forward to over a decade later, Jae is back in Nami’s life as a potential buyer for her tech company that is about to lose funding. But is Nami willing to lose control of her company to her old rival? As the two reignite their rivalry, Nami has not only her company to worry about, but her growing feelings for Jae. If you're looking for a feel-good romance, The Takeover by Cara Tanamachi is for you.

The Takeover by Cara Tanamachi is a fun, enjoyable, second chance romance. Nami is a strong willed and smart entrepreneur. She has accomplished a lot at a young age and yet she can only see what is missing in her life. So when she turns 30 she makes a wish to find her ‘person’. So when her high school nemesis shows up to try and takeover her business, Nami not only finds her power but maybe even that elusive ‘person’.

I really enjoyed this book. I have been in my STEM era lately but this book stands out because the characters are interesting and the plot has some twists and turns. It is an enjoyable read which kept me engaged throughout.

Many thanks to St Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for this arc! All thoughts are my own.

Nami is 30 years old, somewhat newly single, and one of the founders of a travel based tech company. Unfortunately, her startup is about to lose their funding and her little sister is getting married while Nami is still dealing with the aftermath of her messy breakup with her ex fiancé. Nami feels frustrated with how life isn’t how she planned it would be. She makes a wish for her soulmate to arrive and much to her dismay, her high school nemesis reappears in her life as he works for the company that wants to take over hers.

This did not give me the high school nemesis, enemies to lovers that I wanted. I also found myself struggling to empathize with two highly successful tech executives battling over a tech company where peoples’ livelihoods are at stake. It felt like this book was trying to make this like a “haha, he’s trying to take over my company!!” when in actuality this is a lot more high stakes and much more serious of an issue. I don’t know how she could fall in love with a man that works at the book’s version of Amazon when he’s actively trying to ruin my company because of his desire to win. Also, it felt like the family conflicts for both sides were rather unnecessary/repetitive and too easily resolved in the end. Also <s>the fact that the book ended with the company being bought out with crypto money was just straight up weird and I’m not sorry but crypto is bad and you can’t convince me otherwise.</s>

I found this book hard to relate to and I didn’t find either character to be very likable. There were too many pop culture references for my taste as well. If you like these kinds of things, this might be a book better suited for you rather than me.

Nami's 30th birthday is not going as she'd wish: her start-up company is facing funding challenges; her fiance cheated on her on the eve of their wedding; and she can't help being jealous of her sister, Sora, and her fiance, Jack. But it could get worse. Her high school rival, Jae Lee, returns to town, determined that the conglomerate for which he works (Rainforest) will take over Nami's company.

Nami and Jae are adorable together. This romance's dialogue is witty but believable, the multi-ethnic families are refreshing, and the thinly veiled references to real-life companies and individuals are hilarious. This is a fun, fast-paced escapist novel. #TheTakeover #NetGalley

After her failed engagement, Nami pours all her energy into finding a way to save Toggle, her tech startup, and avoid being acquired by a mega corporation. On her 30th birthday, she wishes for her soulmate, but it feels like she was delivered her hate mate instead.

Jae represents Rainforest as VP of their acquisitions team. He sees the perfect opportunity to reconnect with Nami by trying to buy her company. Their banter falls right into place just as it did in high school, and Nami makes Jae feel challenged by something for the first time in a long time.

I got a kick out of Nami and Jae’s banter. They both had some great comebacks and I love a good, witty exchange.

I love that Cara wasn’t shy about hating on Rainforest, using real world examples from Amazon as reasons why Nami didn’t want to sell Toggle to them. I absolutely loved how this plot line resolved itself.

My absolute favorite thing about this book was the company slack conversation that took place at the beginning of each chapter. It featured a stolen office chair and I cried laughing more than once. I looked forward to the next set of slack messages and this felt like a story within a story.

Overall I really loved The Takeover and highly recommend it as a fun, light rivals to lovers romance!

Thank you to @smpromance for an eARC. All thoughts are my own.

THE TAKEOVER is such a cute read by Cara Tanamachi! Filled with love-hate, tension, and great if you're looking for an enemies-to-lovers, office romance filled with heart.

This was sooo cute! The gut melting ramen-off, late night taco dates, crazy dance-off, and hilarious banter made for such an addicting read. The rivals to lovers chemistry was tantalizing. Nami made the first move and I was so here for it. But Jae fell harder. His absolute confidence he would marry her eventually was just adorable. Also loved the Hobbits 😂. We have disability and queer rep. I really appreciated that Jae’s family was shown as accepting of his brother being gay, that it was normalized.

The reason it’s 4 stars and not 5 is the obvious basing of the companies off of Amazon and Meta. Down to the Joust-aka-Meta owner frequently wearing a gray shirt. Also, expecting Jae to feel guilty about his job when he no doubt worked his ass off for it was discrediting his achievements. Like he stated, the world is not black and white. I loved his character arc though and where he ended up landing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an arc of this book for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book. It was a great enemies to lovers story. I thought Namby and Jae were both very well developed characters. I also really enjoyed the employees at Toggle. This book was a light fun read and now I want to read Sora’s story!

Overall, I found this to be a fun read! I enjoyed the dynamic between the FMC and MMC. At times, I felt the corporate dynamic became a bit much. However, it's important to note this isn't so much a critique of the story as it has more to do with my personal preferences.

As a Chicago native and a millennial, I felt an instant connection with the characters that propelled me through the story.

This is a well-written romance that had me hooked from the beginning!

The Takeover by Cara Tanamachi is such a fun rom com. It is a bit unusual and quirky but overall it’s such a fun read. This is workplace rom com at its best. Readers of rom coms should love this book. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

I spent this entire book with a huge smile on my face because of the banter between Nami and Jae was simultaneously adorable and hilarious. I don’t think I will ever forget the exact miniscule difference in GPA that earned Jae the valedictorian spot. The hell ramen scene had me howling with laughter.

The techy background was super fun, especially since it’s clear which company “Rainforest” is supposed to be. The background scandal of the missing custom desk chair was a quirky complement to the main plotline, and I certainly never guessed the identity of the culprit.

I would absolutely recommend The Takeover. This was truly one of the best enemies to lovers romances I’ve read in a long time. It’s making me rethink my ambivalence for the genre, but I’ll probably be comparing every new book to this one. I didn’t realize this was the second book in a series, so now I have something to tide me over until I can read Tanamachi’s next book!


I received a digital ARC of this book from St. Martin’s/NetGalley.