3.5 stars. This story was cute and the banter was fun. It hit all the notes for a solid rom com. I just didn't really connect with it. How am I supposed to sympathize with a dude whose father doesn't support his dream of being a venture capitalist? Honestly, unintentionally hilarious. And the narrators were kind of weak here. The female narrator sounded robotic and the male narrator was better, but over-acted a bit. If someone doesn't mind how the main characters' jobs are portrayed and reads instead of listens, they'll probably really enjoy this book.

Thank you, NetGalley!

3 Stars
A quick and fun read

If you're in the market for a lighthearted book, enemies-to-lovers trope, then this is for you. Great banter between the two MCs kept it fun.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Cara Tanamachi, and RB Media for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. all thoughts are my own.***

The Takeover
Cara Tanamachi
It’s Nami’s birthday. She hates birthdays, especially milestone birthdays and this is her 30th. Things have not gone as planned. She has a tech company, Toggle, that has a funding problem partially due to Covid. The company has a laid-back family atmosphere. Her fiancé has ended their engagement. An old frenemy, Jae, comes back in her life. They have been rivals since high school and they pick up where they left off. Jae works for Rainforest, a big tech company, that has made an offer to buy Nami’s company. They are known to come in and destroy the business…Jae works for them. Nami’s business partners want to sell but Nami is determined not to allow Rainforest to take over Toggle.
The characters in this tale are immature and silly. There are several humorous moments in this tale but it falls short. The narrator did a poor job.

I wanted to like this book. The storyline itself was fine, I like enemies to lovers, workplace romance, multicultural romance. The MCs banter was definitely top notch. The problem and solution that comes up definitely have potential. However, this one just didn't do it for me.
I think this could have gone through a couple more rounds of beta readers or something. There are multiple things that are way over used. The Toggle office is glass, the walls are glass, the doors are glass, and the desks are glass. It's all glass and brought up in multiple, multiple scenes.
I know this was a "they knew each other in high school and run into each other 10 years later", but they are both very stuck in high school as nemesis. Another one that was over-used: nemesis. Most people change in 10 years. It just felt like it should have been a YA novel and wasn't at all. "Meant unironically".
I probably would've given it at least 1 more star if I had read as an ebook or physical book. The females narration would probably be better suited for a book without conversations. She is very monotone. No change in the different characters, no matter the age or accent or anything. It's hard to tell when it's a new person talking or even just normal text. Her tiny 87 year old grandma that barely speaks sounds the same as the 20something MMC.

Nami is usually looked down on because she's a perfectionist and a rule follower but her compassion and work ethic makes her an amazing boss. When her high school nemesis Jae Lee comes back in the picture in the form of the whale company trying to buy out her smaller fish company it's a hard mix between feeling all the feelings of the past, some new feelings in the present and pain that he's in her life to dismantle all the good parts of it.

I loved this book. I love the characters and the takedown of some of the caricatures that just feel good to have them cut down a few pegs. The book was funny and layered. The feelings of family were delicately and honestly handled. It was an enjoyable book.


#arc
#netgalley
#thetakeover

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy for an honest review.

Eh. This is hard. Maybe 3 or 3.5 stars.
It started great but around the 65% mark I started to lose interest.
Then the warning Jae has been giving Nami the entire time is pretty uneventful.
And then we find out that Jae got involved in this situation just because he was bored and wanted to pester Nami. Which was REALLY uncool and this got brushed over and forgiven way too easily.

There's also this weird storyline going on about a swivel chair that costs $12,000.

Also, the hero of the story is cryptocurrency?????

Honestly it just kind of fell apart at the end.

This just wasn't it for me. I'm not leaving angry but I'm not leaving excited about this book either.

I also read this as an ebook, loved it then and loved it even more as an audiobook.

The dual narration was great and the narrators did a really good job both with their diction, it was soothing to listen to and they encompassed the characters really well.

Personally I listen to audios on about 3.5x and they were still completely understandable even when listening that fast.

Absolute gem!

Words can’t express how much I loved reading this! More than the fact that it’s incredibly well written it was just so fun.

The Takeover is so engaging I was all in from the first chapter.

The banter in this book had me smiling all throughout.

There’s also a good dose of relatability: BIPOC characters, diverse representation, family and interpersonal issues, self esteem and reflection acknowledgement, etc. I think it’s be easy for just about any reader to find something relatable to them in this book.

I listened to The Second You're Single last year and I really enjoyed that book. So when I saw she had a new one this year I knew I had to listen to it. This one started out a little slow for me for some reason. I really enjoyed all the characters (the mom was a little bit of a pain..Lol) in this book. I definitely had laugh out loud moments. I really enjoyed Nami and Jae Lee's competitiveness and banter. Once this start coming together you will definitely love this book. I also really enjoyed listening to Donald Chang and Chieko Hidaka telling this story. I found it really easy to follow. I can't wait for the next book from Cara. I would definitely recommend this sweet rom com!



Thank you NetGalley and RB Media, Recorded Books for allowing me to listen to this ARC in advance for my honest opinion.

If you are in the mood for a quick and fun read this is the one, or better yet audiobook!! Thank you for the audiobook arc!

2.5 stars rounded up to 3

Ok, first of all, I honestly thought the writing in this was a bit cringe. I don't know the author's age but it seemed like they were trying to force gen z/millennial humor/language and it came out unnatural. I also think the whole premise and plotline were weird, and the third-act breakup and rushed ending didn't help either. The fact that two people that haven't spoken in years were still caught up in high school hatred and competition was also kinda crazy ngl. I get it, but it was too extreme. Also, the fact that she was a hall monitor was mentioned a billion times; We get it. I didn't want to DNF it for the review, but sadly I just didn't enjoy it as much as I would've liked to. P.S. The hell ramen scene was pretty funny though so points for that.

This was a cute enemies-to-lovers romance with a lot of extra storylines surrounding it. Nami and Jae, high school enemies, reconnect righa round Nami's 30th birthday when Jae's business looks to buy Nami's. There's also the struggle of overbearing parents (for both characters) and struggling to have a job that pays your bills but doesn't bankrupt your soul.

Some things I didn't love: I would have preferred if the characters were a bit younger, because they came across that way. The heavy-handed diss toward Amazon (Jae works for an evil corporation called Rainforest...) and Nami's obsession with Jae's flat abs.

Jae and Nami did have good banter and though their switch from hating to dating was very sudden, I liked their overall dynamic. Recommend if you need a light and easy-to-read romance.

Thanks to NetGalley and RBmedia for access to this book in exchange for honest feedback.

I loved the narration for this one. It was just right for the story. I love the rivals to lovers trope. Nami's life is not where she thought it would be. Her start up is the only good thing that is until her highschool rival comes in to take it over. Jae Lee was her constant competition all through highschool. Now he is trying to take the one thing she has that she is proud of. When they have to work close together will their hearts become involved? I loved this fun romcom. The story was so good and the romance was so sweet. I cannot wait to read more by this author. Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I’m sorry but I had to dnf at like 30%
I could not get into the story it is all taking so so long ..

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ALC. I enjoyed the narrators but the story was too immature for my liking. People actually act like that? No thanks.

I like a good romance every once in a while and an enemy-to-lover trope is most of the time fun to follow. Nami and Jae did not disappoint on that part, they are very much into the usual stereotype for this kind of book, which is exactly why I read them. Nami has worked very hard to come where she now is, leading her own company, surrounded by partners and employees she loves dearly. Jae on the other side, is his school-life nemesis (to quote her), a having-it-all golden boy, who stole her the valedictorian position. But when her company cannot be financed anymore and faces a takeover, their paths cross again, for better or for worse.

The book is told from their both point of vue, which is nice. You can see them grow fonder of each other at the same time, through their banters and provocations. At the beginning of the book, I was not sure whether I would grow to like the characters. Nami felt a bit too black-and-white in her positions, repeatedly using the word "evil" to describe Jae or his business, which all felt a bit too childish. At the opposite of the spectrum, Jae qualifies himself as a wolf, in opposition to pigs, in the big dangerous business world. The first chapter from his point of view underlined this bit so much, that the character development felt kind of rushed.

After this first impression though, I genuinely enjoyed them teasing and provoking each other. I giggled a few times at their will to surpass each other and was smiling through the falling for each other part, that was very nicely described. I would have loved to have more about it, before they surrender to their feelings.

All in all, it was a good romance. I also liked the choice of the male voice, which was well rendered. I was less convinced by Nami's voice.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for providing me with the opportunity to read this lovely book, through a digital review copy, in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

So so cute!

Thank you, NetGalley and RB Media for allowing me to listen to the early copy of this book.

Enemies/rivals to lovers are always a hit for me and in The Takeover this trope is splendidly executed.


Nami is 30 yo, with a failed attempted marriage and a company she gave all herself to sinking every day a little more. On her 30´s birthday, she wishes for her soulmate but fate presents her with her old high school enemy/rival Jae, who is working for the multibillionaire company threatening to take over Nami´s smaller one.


I liked a lot the dynamics of this book, and the drive Nami shows for her company and her employees it´s something that I would love to see all people in charge have also in real life.

I particularly enjoyed the prose of this book, how the writer makes us understand what´s important for our main characters, who on top of everything else, are also struggling with their being second-generation immigrants with very demeaning parents. Yes, they are adults, but it´s always difficult to do something that it´s against or not so much in line with what your family wants.

The story is fast-paced and easy to follow. A lot of the dialogues were very smart and relatable (mainly for the sexist talk inside the office).

Also Jae!!!!! He is the perfect book boyfriend. I enjoyed everything about his character.

The audiobook was well produced and Donald Chang did an amazing job voicing Jae.
On the other hand, Chieko Hidaka, who was voicing Nami was a little off with the timing. I found her punctuation all wrong and was slighty annoyed in the beginning. I definitely needed to get used to her tone and musicality.

The best part of this relationship is they don’t change who they are, but they grow and learn new perspectives. They struggle with their families and with themselves. They learn to move on from the past while maintaining their fun rivalry! So relatable!

I received this ARC audiobook through NetGalley.

I always love workplace romance and this delivered it, even though it's not really co-workers. As an Asian girlie who worked in a tech corporate company, I love the representation of the characters and the whole shiny corporate world in a different perspective of a CEO who loves her people and treated them as family.

In the story, we follow Nami who owns a tech company with financial troubles and Jae, her high school nemesis and rival who worked in a huge acquisition company that wanted to buy the company.

The whole story was entertaining and made me laugh out loud (especially with the LOTR references since I love that movie), and I love that we also see the work banter. The ramen scene was gold.

I also love that we see glimpses of their own family and how everything was not perfect as they also struggle with their own hurdles.

The one thing that kinda threw me off was I saw the third-act break-up coming from a mile away, although it was kind of necessary in this, but I kinda wished it went on a different direction but that doesn't take away much from my overall reading experience.

Read if you like:
🌏 Asian American Characters
📦 not a fan of Amazon Company
🥵 Spicy Food Challenges
😡 Enemies to Lovers
📥 Workplace Romances

Overall, this is a solid romance that features high school enemies that are brought back together through business when one wants to facilitate the purchase of the other’s business in a somewhat hostile takeover, hence the title 😉

Jae is the privileged executive of rainforest (Amazon vibes) who is wanting to buy up Nami’s company to chew it up for pieces and spit it out after the deal is solidified since competing with Nami is something that has always brought him joy and currently he is bored and could use with her challenging him to bring a spark back for him.

Nami is definitely blindsided by this even though she has known their small company has been struggling and needs a solution but never thought it would be Jae or selling out to the corporate evil that doesn’t align with her business ethics and values.

This creates quite the tension for the enemies to lovers combined with their high school rivalry and bad blood.

This book, obviously features some miscommunication that leads to the third act break up which I think was something you’d see coming with this plot.

All in all, this is a solid romance that follows the traditional enemies to lovers with miscommunication tropes formulas and will be enjoyable to many.

Thanks so much to the publisher for my ALC in exchange for my honest review!

"The Takeover" was not only a fun romance story, the two main characters also worked to find themselves. Nami and Jae Lee had great rivals' chemistry and banter on the page! I also enjoyed reading about both of their separate families throughout the book and in the little moments with them. I found myself rooting for Nami and Jae Lee all the way through. I couldn't put this book down! I listened to this book and the two narrators were both great to listen to! Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the advanced audio version! All thoughts and opinions are my own!