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.

Nami’s life is not going as she had planned. Now turning thirty with her engagement off or blown up, and her tech company in the throws of a take over she realizes she only has a few friends and her family. When her arch rival from high school shows up as the person from the company that wants to take over her company she works at fighting through the emotions of losing her company and losing to Jae again. When she begins to look at everything backward she can't accept Jae as her true love from her birthday wish. You see both characters change though and the change in Jae is for the good. A good story along with what happens with the chair. Very much worth the read.

The Takeover is Cara Tanamachi’s second novel and, while tightly connected to her premier novel The Second You’re Single, it is a standalone. That said, I am pleased I read the first book, not only because it was such a delight but also it allowed me to make many connections to this well written romcom.

Nami Reid is an owner of a high performing, yet still struggling, travel website. When her partner Imani is unable to acquire more funding the companies wanting to take them over come sniffing around. First Rainforest, who has taken over all areas in the tech marketplace, then it’s competitor, start vying for a takeover.

As the reader rides along as Nami reconnects with her teenage nemesis Jae Lee the story takes a wild journey. Steadfast and true, Nami wants nothing more than to protect her company and all those who work there. This has become much more than a business to her, it’s about family! Always a rule follower, Nami is ready to fight til the bitter end for her people.

But as she resists Jae Lee she is simultaneously drawn in by his charm, causing a delightful mix of feelings for Nami. And when what she perceives as the worst possible outcome happens, a perfect surprise awaits her.

I very much enjoyed this book and look forward to seeing more from this fresh new author. I do recommend this book!

A fun, quick, and relatively breezy read. Not 100% my jam, but good to have in my arsenal. I know the exact customers I can suggest this to as they are bound to greatly enjoy it.

Sometimes, when you ask the universe for your soulmate, you wind up with your hate mate instead.
_
Love an enemies to lovers and the fmc is turning 30.
A fun startup and big tech trying to buy it. But the VP who came for the deal is her high school rival. The one who was always in her way for valedictorian and other scholarly pursuits.
Dude fell first in high school and never was the same. Interesting to see a takeover from the inside. Loved the family drama!

3.5/5 stars. Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Netgalley, and Cara Tanamachi for providing me with this ebook in exchange for an honest review!

The Takeover was so lovely! The main characters were well written and felt fully fleshed out. I felt like I understood their motivations, thoughts, and feelings. I also loved how diverse the characters were throughout the book as well.

I am a sucker for the enemies to lovers trope, and this one was so fun! Nami and Jae had great banter with each other, and I always wondered what quip they would have for the other throughout the story. The romance felt slightly insta-lovey due to how quickly they went from enemies to lovers, so I wish there was a little more build-up to their relationship.

Overall, a delightful enemies to lovers romance with spice, lots of banter, and a diverse case of characters. If you were a fan of The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, then this book is perfect for you!

Thank you to @netgalley @stmartinspress and @macmillian.audio for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Takeover reminded me of Richard Gere’s storyline in Pretty Woman, less the hooker. Jae owns a company that is known for purchasing other companies and selling them off in pieces. The company in question for this story is partially owned by someone from his past. Rather than taking over Nami’s company and selling it to pieces, he helps various stakeholders become the investors instead…and saves the day! Girl falls for boy. The story was not original, but it was still cute.

I mostly listened to this book and feel that the narrators are what kept me invested in the story. They did a good job making me interested in the characters.

3.5 stars

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #stmartinspress #macmillianaudio #netgalley #goodreads #ltbreaderteam #thetakeover #caratanamachi

DNF at 55%. If you are a fan of The Hating Game but wish they were high school rivals and he was using his power and influence to buy out her company, this is the book for you. I found myself skimming through from 30%-55:% and really not invested in their potential romance. I found both main characters to be childish, holding on to grudges from high school. The opposite of hate may be love, but my personal feelings toward this were indifferent.

Thank you Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy.

This was a really cute book about Nami and Jae Lee ( high school rivals) as they cross paths again when Jaes work company is trying to buy Toggle, Namis company and baby.
As they begin talking and challenging each other left and right, a different kind of fire begins to burn behind their eyes. Namis company isn’t the only thing at risk of being taken over.
This was such a cute and fun read! I especially loved the hell ramen scene. It dragged and little for me at some parts but I enjoyed it over all.

Nami’s life is falling apart - her fiance ended their engagement, she’s struggling to be happy for her sister who is getting married, and now the tech company she helped start is getting sold, likely to a company that her high school rival, Jae works for. Their rivalry picks up right where it left off ten years ago, but their banter quickly begins to turn into a different kind of chemistry.

This was a fun enemies to lovers romance with some interesting insight into what it is like to work for a tech start up. The banter between Nami and Jae was top notch. I mostly listened to the audiobook of this one and enjoyed the narration. This book was a fun and cute read overall!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, RB Media, and NetGalley for the advance copy.